This is Jesus’s first big public ministry after healing the sick and drawing a large crowd. He went up a mountain as it naturally amplifies your voice from the echo, so it makes it easy to hear. This was a common tactic and shows historical knowledge of customs when speaking to large crowds of the day. I have seen some people misunderstand what verse 1 means and say that it was just Jesus talking to his disciples, and he went up the mountain to escape the large crowds, but Matthew 7:28-29 just clearly shows that is a false idea. This was a message for everyone.

The sermon on the mount spans the next several chapters and is the main reason non-Christians consider Jesus an excellent moral philosopher. The teachings were very countercultural for all cultures of the day. Love, justice, mercy, forgiveness, peace; these were not primary concerns back then. Rape, murder, theft, and slavery were the common things to do to foreigners or during periods of war. It was the norm all over the world.

So, God addresses that through Jesus’s ministry. This also shows what God’s desire is for us. To live in peace with one another, to have a charitable heart, to forgive one another, to have a pure heart, and to love one another (even a foreigner) as you would love yourself. God expresses this in Leviticus 19:34. The Torah is the most amazing book ever written btw.

The Beatitudes

The word “beati sunt” means blessed in Latin. Hence the name. These are the blessings of Jesus and apply to all of us who live for him. A blessing is favor and love poured out from God. The word being used here is makarios in the Greek. It essentially means blessed, happy, and privileged. It is giving someone a special privilege or desirable position. The ancient Greeks used makarios to describe their gods because they had the privilege of divine power. The word was also used to describe the rich, who lived without the usual worries of life. In Greek mythology, makarios was used to describe people who were favored by the gods and given divine blessings. Jesus is using this word and idea for us.

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Now at first glance this passage is unexpected. As Christians this just makes sense. We live this out now and its natural for us, but if you are reading it from the perspective of a Greek / Jew of His age, then you would be very confused. The poor are the untouchables, those who mourn deserve it, those who are meek are weaklings, etc. Jesus gives very powerful blessings, not as promises or doctrines, but as mere facts. The way he describes it is that this is just the way it is. This is how God sees us.

Also, the impact of these words. Those who mourn should be divinely happy since they will be comforted (Isaiah 61:2-3, Psalm 34:18). This mourning can be applied to mourning over the dead or mourning over our own sins. I have mourned many times for my sin. When I screw up and watch porn again or get prideful or lie, I hurt. I mourn. Yet God comforts me and wipes away my tears and my sin.

The poor in spirit is likely a reference to Psalm 51:17 as well as Isaiah 57:12, 66:2. When we are repentant and broken, God can work in us and bring us back to life with him. David seeks this and knows it is true and Jesus affirms it here. Repentance and seeking the Lord will bring you into salvation with him.

The other beatitudes all have biblical references as well: Psalm 37:11, Isaiah 29:19, Isaiah 55:1-2, Psalm 42:1-2, Proverbs 14:21, Micah 6:8, Psalm 24:3-4, Psalm 73:1, Psalm 37:12-13, Isaiah 51:7, 2 Chronicles 36:16 (among many others). Jesus is teaching the heart of the Old Testament in all of the sermon on the mount and the introduction is no exception.

One of my favorite parts of Nabeel Qureshi’s testimony is him reading this passage for the first time. The words jumped off the page at him when he needed it most. I have had that experience with other sections of the bible quite often.

Letting your light shine

Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

As a Christian, we are what brings the light of God into all the world. We are what brings clarity, goodness, truth, love, and God’s knowledge to the world. If you are in darkness, how can you see God? We shine the light into the darkness so that the blind may see.

Yet we do not do good works to receive praise from others. This is taught in the next chapter in Matthew 6:1-18. I have seen some critics and Muslims use this as a contradiction which is just wild to me. We are called to be the light of the world but not in a showy fashion. We are not seeking praise from men but from God. When we stand in the center of the city and try to look as righteous as possible to everyone as we pray or give to the poor, we are not honoring God but ourselves. That is what Jesus is getting at here.

God alone should be praised from our faith and walk with God. All credit, worship, praise, and boasting goes to him alone. So, our job is to be the light and the example for all but to not allow ourselves to become prideful when others recognize the goodness in us. Why do we serve? If the answer is anything but “to glorify God and serve his kingdom” then you should examine your heart and motives. Our good deeds are the byproduct of our faith and are what can touch people’s hearts and get them open to God to be saved.

Jesus vs The Law

The Fulfillment of the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

God here does not say that he is abolishing the law or removing it for the new covenant. Both still hold true and are true, but only the moral laws which are reaffirmed in the new covenant still apply to us today as Christians. Which God makes clear in acts and the epistles. So, any person who claims to be a Christian yet tries to put the yoke of being kosher onto anyone, that person has been deceived and needs to learn and read more. Do not listen to them. The same would apply of any manmade tradition that seeks to place a yoke onto you which Christ did not give such as the Catholic church with the sacraments. We do not follow any law, but the Law God put on our hearts which is given by the Holy Spirit when we are saved and born again.

That being said, God did make the moral law stricter. The old law was already impossible to accomplish and live out sinlessly. Yet God made it even more strict by not only judging our actions but also our thoughts and the condition of our hearts. This makes it even more impossible to follow the law. Which is why God gives us grace.

Jesus says you have to be even more righteous than the Pharisees. Which would be impossible to do for man as the Pharisees were the people who took the law the most seriously. They took it so seriously they added hundreds of laws and ways to follow the 613 commandments in the law! They made it so hard to follow that it was simply impossible. Jesus pushes back against their adding to the Law all over the gospels.

Jesus is the only one to actually keep the Law in perfection. God is showing us here that our good works and righteousness aren’t enough to be saved. We can’t simply follow the Law perfectly as the ones who were supposed to be doing that still were not enough! He didn’t say you needed righteousness as great as the Pharisees. He said you needed greater righteousness than them. What is that? Perfection. We can’t achieve that, so we need grace.

Grace pays for the sin, and we now live in a better covenant with God even with the stricter moral laws. So, Jesus didn’t do away with the law. If anything, he made it harder, but he gave us grace and the Holy Spirit to live it out and walk in sanctification and holiness.

New type of sin

Murder
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Adultery
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

These two are the best examples of what I was referring to by God making it harder. It used to be that you just couldn’t put your penis into your neighbor’s wife. Now you can’t even imagine doing such! Jesus is saying that the heart is where sin originates from and not our actions. Our actions are the outpouring of the heart’s desires and the brain’s commands. In the same way, hating someone is just as bad as murder. You have already murdered them in your heart and if given the chance you would likely murder them in reality as well.

God cares so much about our heart condition. The entire bible is about that one subject. Man’s heart led them away from God (pride) which then made us fall into every kind of wickedness you can imagine to appease the lusts of the heart. God then deals with this heart issue by dying on a cross for us to give us a new heart which is able to live in harmony with him and that can seek after his righteousness and love.

Divorce
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

The reason for divorce given here is pornea. Which means any form of sexual immorality. This could be pedophilia, furries, adultery, porn use, etc. God makes it general as this is a serious issue. There are 2 other legitimate reasons for divorce outside of this passage. Abandonment and abuse. Abandonment we get from Paul and the culture and abuse we get from applying biblical principles of harm and preservation of life and the innocent. I will make a long post on divorce and remarriage later on.

Can Christians make promises?

Oaths
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Can we promise things? Well, there are cases where we promise things to God and because of God. My wedding vows are a great example of this. BUT I did not swear by anything when I made the oath. I didn’t say “By God, I will be faithful to you”. I said, “I will be faithful to you.” This is a different way of making promises. A ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ approach is basically how most of us already make promises. “I will do this for you” is a promise. Yet, it lacks any thing that makes it sound stronger. It just is a simple claim. I think that is what God wants. And when you make these promises, keep them.

Loving our enemies

Eye for Eye
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

The “one mile” thing was something romans could make non-citizens do, especially soldiers. They had the right to command any non-citizen to carry their belongings on the road for one mile and they had to do it under threat. Jesus is saying to give in abundance and without restraint. Love those who hate you and forgive and be merciful. This doesn’t mean you should just lie down and take any punishment a vindictive person wants to give you and your family. But it does mean you shouldn’t seek revenge or fight unnecessary battles in your life.

Love for Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Which Jesus reiterates here and expands on. Jesus preached radical love in a culture which deified war. You can’t get more counter-cultural than Jesus.