MATTHEW 5:1-7:29, The Sermon on the Mount (so called by Augustine because of its location)

This is Matthew’s greatest composition, a harmonious masterpiece of ethical and religious teaching. More than any other teacher of morality, the Matthean Jesus teaches with exousia, i.e., divine power and authority, and by this empowerment makes possible a new existence. There are parallels between Moses and the Matthean Jesus. The OT conveyer of divine revelation encountered God on a mountain; the NT revealer speaks to his disciples on a mountain (5:1-2). For Christians, next to the Ten Commandments as an expression of God’s will, the eight beatitudes (5:3-12) have been revered for expressing succinctly the values on which Jesus placed priority. In the comparable Lucan passage (Luke 6:20-23), there are only four beatitudes (phrased more concretely: "you who are poor…hungry now…weep now…when people hate you"); and it is likely that Matthew has added spiritualizing phrases ("poor in spirit…hunger and thirst for righteousness) and four spiritual beatitudes (meek…merciful…pure in heart…peacemakers). Seemingly Matthew’s community has people who are not physically poor and hungry; and the evangelist wants them to know that there was an outreach of Jesus for them as well, if they have attitudes attuned to the kingdom. Jesus teaches tyhese beatitudes to the disciples who are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (5:13-16).

The ethics of the new lawgiver (5:17-48) constitutes a remarkable section, not only for the way it has shaped the Christian understanding of Jesus’ values but also for its implicit christology. The Matthean Jesus presents God’s demand not by dispensing with the Law but by asking for a deeper observance that gets to the reason why its demands were formulated, i.e., to be "perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (5:48). The polemics of Matthew’s time are illustrated by the evaluation of Jesus’ righteousness as exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. In the series of six slightly variant "You have heard it said…but I say to you" clauses, Jesus dares explicitly to modify or correct what God said through Moses. He makes the demand of the Law more penetrating (e.g., by prohibiting not only killing but anger, not only adultery but lust); he forbids altogether what the Law allows (no divorce, no oath); and he turns from the Law to its opposite (not retaliation (Deut.19:21), but generosity to offenders; not hating enemies (Deut.7:2) but loving them). In other words, the Matthean Jesus, speaking more confidently than any first-century rabbi, implies that he is more authoritative than Moses, and seems to legislate with all the assurance of the God of Sinai.

In 6:1-18 Jesus reshapes the exercise of piety: almsgiving, prayer, fasting. His warnings are not against pious practices but against ostentation. The Lord’s Prayer has been shaped by Matthew partially along the familiar lines of synagogue prayer, e.g., the reverential "Our Father who art in heaven." The organization into six petitions reflects Matthew’s love of order. The first three, "May your name be hallowed, may your kingdom come, may your will come about on earth as in heaven" are different ways of asking God to bring about the kingdom definitively. The second three deal with the fate of the petitioners as they anticipate that future moment. The coming of the kingdom will involve the heavenly banquet, and so they ask a share of its food (bread); it will involve judgment, and so they ask forgiveness on the criterion of forgiving others; it will involve a dangerous struggle with Satan, and so they ask to be delivered from the apocalyptic trial and the Evil One. (The KJV addendum: "For thine is the kingdom….")

In 6:19-7:27, Jesus provides further instructions on behavior for the kingdom. These touch on total dedication to God, as opposed to worrying about things of this world. Examining oneself carefully rahter than examining others is urged; God’s generosity in answering prayers is assured; and the golden rule (7:12) is proposed: "Do to others what you would have them do to you." Cautions about the narrowness of the gate (for entering the kingdom) and the danger of false prophets who misuse "my name" (presumably Christians active within Matthew’s ambiance) lend an apocalyptic tone to the ending of the sermon. The praise of those who hear Jesus’ words (7:24-7) as building a well-founded house almost constitutes a judgment against those who reject him. The "When Jesus finished these words" formula terminates the sermon, with the accompanying theme of astonishment at the authority of Jesus’ teaching.


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Robert D. Wallin, G411 Mason Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA