Esta página contiene traducciones automáticas, por lo que puede haber algunos errores. El video de esta página también está en inglés. Pronto habrá traducciones oficiales y un video en español.
Sermon On The Mount
In the sermon on the mount, we see that Jesus not only properly defined and interpreted the Law of Moses, he fulfilled it for us.


What’s Happening?
From the telling of Jesus’ birth, Matthew has compared Jesus to Moses, one of Israel’s most famous leaders. Moses led the Israelite people out of slavery, through a desert, all the way to Mount Sinai. There, God made a covenant with Israel and through Moses delivered the Law that the Israelites needed to keep. The Law was the instruction for God’s people on how to live life in God’s covenant.
In Matthew, Jesus travels through a wilderness in chapter 4 and ends up on a mountain in chapter 5. This is no coincidence. Once again, Jesus is the new Moses, who brings a new word from God. The important difference is that Jesus is God. He speaks with authority, as the crowds not eat the end of chapter 7. And his teaching is about life in the new covenant.
He begins with a list of blessings to the kinds of people who don’t necessarily appear blessed – the poor in spirit, the mourning, the persecuted. In the Kingdom, the people hungry for more of God will find their desires met.
Jesus continues by explaining that citizens of the Kingdom live this counter-cultural life in ways that cause others to notice and glorify God, the way a light shines from a lamp stand. At the same time, Jesus warns that citizens in God’s Kingdom are living for God’s glory, not their own. And in chapter six he compares this humble Kingdom faith with the public, self-aggrandizing practices of the “hypocrites in the synagogues.” These types of people are praising God to be seen by men, rather than serving among men that God might be praised. Rather than seeking the earthly reward of human approval, Jesus encourages his listeners to trust there is a reward in heaven stored up for them.
Jesus’ teaching shows our hearts matter to God as much as our actions. For instance, six times Jesus says, “You have heard…” quotes a command from the Law of Moses and then says “but I tell you…” And each time he gets at the heart of the commands – or outright amends them. Murder begins with anger, adultery with lust. Enemies are to be loved, not hated. No marriage should end in divorce out of convenience. Jesus will take us further and impact us deeper than the Law.
Taken as a whole, Jesus’ teaching shows that God’s Kingdom will radically alter and impact every part of our lives. Jesus speaks with authority about our daily life and our thought-life, the words we pray and the people we judge, the reasons we give and the worries we hold on to.
And as Jesus concludes, he emphasizes that these aren’t teachings only for learning. They are for living. Listeners would do well to trust Jesus to the point of putting into practice what he has taught. To hear and do nothing is to build upon sand. To hear and to trust the teaching and the Teacher is to find a sure foundation.
Where is the Gospel?
For centuries, Jews failed to uphold the Law God gave to Moses. So Jesus declares good news for Jews (and Gentiles) when he says, “I have not come to abolish [the Law and the Prophets] but to fulfill them.” Jesus will be the one to fulfill what neither Israel nor anyone else could.
Even more, Jesus fulfills the Kingdom commands he gives. He loved his enemies by dying for them. He prayed, “Father, forgive them,” when persecuted on the cross. He turned his cheek when struck by Roman guards. Jesus doesn’t just give this teaching; he lives it on our behalf and leads us into this new Kingdom life.
Through Jesus’ obedience we are transformed into his righteousness instead of being trapped in sin. Galatians 3 describes Christians as being clothed withChrist. This is the only way we can be ‘perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect.’ Jesus overcomes our sin and shares his life with us, leading us into his perfection.
This is also good news because Jesus is our narrow way. There are many ways to destroy our lives, but only one way to restore them. There are many temptations that can lead us astray, but there is only one name by which men can be saved. And the good news is that through Jesus, we indeed can be saved.
Jesus is also our solid rock. Storms and struggles will come into our lives. The windows may rattle, the frame may creak, but the rock won’t move. Jesus is our unshakable savior, our enduring hope, and our steadfast Lord. To put faith in Jesus is to find the surest footing for today and for eternity.
See for Yourself
May the Holy Spirit open your eyes to see the God who is a perfect Father in Heaven. And Jesus as the one who fulfills the Law and lets us build our lives on His obedience.