Read again: Matthew 7:13-29 . . . and if you have time, read the whole Sermon on the Mount in one sitting (Matthew 5:1 – 7:29).

 In his commentary on Matthew,* Dale Bruner offers a breezy overview of the ways the Sermon on the Mount (SotM) has been interpreted over the centuries:

1. Just Do It: Jesus fully intended that his followers would receive the promises and actually live out the precepts of the SotM [early Church].
2. It’s Just for a Few: The sermon gives “counsels of perfection” intended only for the super-spiritual, like priests, monks and nuns . . . and pastors? [Middle Ages].
3. It’s Just to Convict: The SotM raises the bar impossibly high (“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”) in order to convince its hearers/readers of their need for salvation through the grace of God in Jesus Christ [Post-Reformation].
4. It’s Just Your Attitude: Jesus never meant for us to literally follow the SotM; rather, he “intends mainly to give directions and principles, and especially to inculcate attitudes or motivations” [Early Modern Protestant].
5. It’s Just Not Yet: This is the kingdom ethic that will be practiced during the future millennial reign of Christ, after his second coming [Dispensational].
6. It’s Just for Then: The SotM reflects an “interim ethic” for 1st century Christ-followers based on their (obviously faulty) expectation of Jesus’ imminent return [late 19th – early 20th century biblical scholarship].

You’ve likely heard strands from some of these interpretations woven into sermons on the Sermon or into small group Bible studies you’ve done in the past.  For me, this overview testifies to the significance of the Sermon – the majesty of the Message. Through the centuries, followers of Jesus have grappled with this teaching, sometimes yielding to and sometimes sidestepping its most challenging demands . . . and almost always coming down where its first hearers did: “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”

I suspect that you will not be surprised that I embrace that first interpretative approach – Just Do It (does that make me an “originalist”?).  I long to be part of a blessed and beloved, salt-and-light community of faith – kingdom of heaven citizens, who are both inspired and empowered by our Lord to make it happen. Right Here.

How about you?

– Pastor Dave 

* Bruner, Frederick Dale.  Matthew: A Commentary, Volume I: The Christbook.  Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987/2004.