Ancient Papyrus of Matthew, post by QuineThe Proverbs of Jesus
Lessons of Wisdom from the Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:1—16
notes,
"This address can hardly be viewed as only prophetic, and it is clear that Jesus expected immediate response from His hearers, not simply acquiescence that He was telling the truth. Accordingly, the study of the Sermon on the Mount yields its treasures to those who analyze each text, determine its general meaning, its present application, and its relation to the future kingdom program."
Pentecost sees the Sermon on the Mount as dealing with the issue of righteousness. The people needed to know what a righteous God expects from his people in the Kingdom.
When they came together, one question was paramount in their minds: ‘How can we enter Your Kingdom? How righteous must we be to be saved? Will our righteousness be sufficient to admit us to Your Kingdom?’…They were concerned about the righteousness demanded for entrance into His Kingdom.
He continues, “So they came to Christ with this basic question, “Will the righteousness of the Pharisees in which we have been brought up bring us into Your Kingdom?” Certainly, this is Christ’s intent by the time he begins His commentary on the Law. By then the multitudes have again begun to gather beside His immediate disciples. But in the
Beatitudes, Christ’s intent seems to be an encouragement to His disciples for continued ethical living in view of the coming Kingdom.
A Note on the Nature of Ancient Proverbs There are several different kind of proverbs. Those proverbs spoken by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount may best be described as “synthetic.” A comparison with His proverbial style with the Proverbs of the Old Testament is helpful to understand not only how Jesus is communicating but also the content of his message.
Summarizing the forms of the parallelisms found in the Proverbs, Cohen succinctly writes,
(i) Synonymous, the second clause repeating the thought of the first in different words…
(ii) Antithetic, the second clause presenting a contrast to the first…
(iii) Synthetic, the second clause continuing the thought of the first.
Woodcock adds “step parallelism,” where there is both a repetition and the advance of thought by the second line, and “emblematic parallelism,” where one line states the meaning in literal terms, and the other using some figurative representation. In His sermon, Jesus seems to employ several of these forms, but in the proverbial beattitudes He seems to advance the thought introduced by the first line with the second.
His AudienceThe crowds pressed upon Him. Jesus departed and went to this “mount.” The more interested disciples followed. While some take “disciples” here to mean the crowd it seems most natural to recognize the distinction between the disciples who followed Him and the multitudes which He left behind and which will again gather at His feet (compare 5:1 and 7:28). The seven beatitude proverbs were given mainly to His more interested and closer disciples in private.
It is important to note that Jesus is informing His disciples (those who claim to follow Him) on happy living and not the multitude. Toussaint carefully observes,
Jesus is speaking to His disciples, not the crowds. He tells them they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. They are to pray to God and to address Him as “Our Father.” Service and not salvation is spoken of in 6:24-34. God is referred to as their heavenly Father in 6:26. It is clear from these indications that Jesus is in these portions of the sermon speaking to His disciples.
Regarding the arrival of the crowd he also writes,
In addition, it must be noted that while the address was directed to the disciples, the multitudes also heard it, at least the last portion of it. Matthew 5:1-2 says that when Jesus saw the multitude He left them and went into the mountain. It seems as though He sought to avoid the crowds. When His disciples came to Him, He began to teach them. Since the sermon ends with the crowds praising the sermon, it may be inferred that they followed the disciples and reached the spot where Jesus was teaching somewhat later than the disciples. Therefore, they heard only a final portion of the whole sermon. This may be a reason for the invitation of Matthew 7:13, a warning of judgment in Matthew 7:21-23, and the parable of the two foundations given in Matthew 7:24-27. It will be noted that all of these are in the last portion of the sermon, that section which the multitudes would hear (cf. John 6:1-5).
The pattern of leaving the multitude and teaching the disciples in private is seen several times in Matthew. In Chapter 13 Jesus begins teaching the multitude in parables. The disciples interrupt Him and ask Him separately “why do You speak to them in parables”? (Matt 13:10) Jesus draws a distinction between what He teaches the multitudes, and what He teaches the disciples. “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.” (Matt 13:11). He continues to teach through the use parables, and then leaves the multitudes (Matt 13:36). Once again it is the disciples who follow and whom the Lord further instructs.
The distinction between the multitudes and the disciples is very clear in Matthew 23:1 where Jesus addresses both. He then departs the crowd and is followed by only His disciples who ask Him questions about the end of the age (Matt 24:1). Once again Jesus teaches the disciples who follow Him away from the ears of the multitudes.
This pattern fits what the Gospel of Matthew indicate as Christ’s expectation of a disciple. Hand picking several men, Jesus demanded them to “follow me” (Matt 4:19; 8:21-22; 9:9-10). Repeatedly the narrative portrays the disciples as followers. In 5:1 they followed Jesus to the mountain. In 8:23 they followed Him across the lake. In 10:38-39 Jesus instructed them to follow Him by taking up their cross as He sent them out to proclaim the nearness of the kingdom. To follow Jesus was both a literal following (joining Him as He traveled) as well as a spiritual commitment and reprioritizing. As a result Jesus had a relationship with His disciples that was closer than family (Matt 12:49). Finally, even though it would no longer be possible to literally join Jesus as He walked about Judea, He nevertheless charged them to “make disciples,” that is, future spiritual followers who, as a result of reprioritizing their lives would enjoy a close relationship with their Lord.
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