Sermon Tone Analysis

Slide: Psalm 119:105

Introduction:

Attention: There are many things for which Jesus is known; words that describe what He did or who He was while on earth.

What are some of these things?

(Allow answers)

Slide: Title Today we will be focusing on two of these: Teacher, Preacher

Big Picture:

For those of you who have been with us for a while, you know a bit of the ‘sermon journey’ that we’ve been on...

August: What is the Gospel?

Jesus Christ is Lord

Shortly after that, we talked about why we have the Gospels,

“Written that we may have new life through knowing and trusting Jesus”

Then we started getting into the life of Jesus in the Gospels…

Baptism, “God identified Jesus as the sinless Son of God”

Temptation, “Jesus sinlessly identifies with sinful humans, showing us the new life He offers”

His assumption of command into ministry, “Chosen & empowered by God, Jesus delivered the Gospel”

Calling of the disciples, “Jesus invites us to respond to the Gospel, which will bring dynamic change to our lives!”

And then we back-tracked to the Christmas story in Matthew,

Genealogy, “Jesus is the Messianic fulfillment of God’s gracious salvation promises,”

Joseph’s side, “God the Son was born to save His people from their sins & bring them into a relationship with Him,” &

Wise Men, “God invites us to pursue & worship Him through King Jesus”

Now we are jumping back into where we left off before Christmas, shortly after Jesus’ public ministry began.

Between now & Easter we will journey through a survey of Jesus’ life, which can be divided into two great sections:

His first 30 years were His private life; we know very little beyond what we commonly attribute to the Christmas story!

Slide: Intro-a The next 3 years were His public ministry; and this could be divided into three parts:

Year 1, The year of Obscurity: After His baptism by John Jesus slowly emerges into public notice

Slowly over this year He gains notoriety for his preaching, teaching, & healing throughout Judea & Galilee

Three things that were definitive of His work, as Matthew 4:23 shares:

Slide: Intro-b Year 2, The year of Public Favor: Israel becomes thoroughly aware of Jesus

He was actively ministered throughout the land, esp. in Galilee

Slide: Intro-c Year 3, The year of Opposition: In His final earth-bound year, public favor ebbed away...

His enemies multiplied & attack Him continually more until they succeeded at crucifying Him

But today back in Year 1, we’re jumping in at the very end of Jesus’ teaching & preaching in His famous “Sermon on the Mount"

Thesis: As we do, I hope that you will see that…

Slide: Thesis Life-changing wisdom comes when we hear & apply Jesus’ preaching & teaching.

Since we are jumping over the Sermon on the Mount, I encourage you to read through it this week

Take your time & read through it slowly

In these verses Jesus teachings,

The new life that His transforming power will create within those who love Him

His teachings, when taken at face value, are actually distinctly uncomfortable!

They fundamentally challenge our natural human state!

& many American values!

They will legitimately make you ask, “If this is what it means to be a Christian… am I even a Christian?”

There is such challenging depth and richness in this sermon for every Christian

So, please do dive into them on your own & reach out to me if you have any questions!

Transition: But for now, I invite you to join me at the end of this sermon as we read...

Jesus’ Authority: Why we listen to Jesus

3 Slides: Verses Verses: Matthew 7:24–29

Explain: Let’s linger on those last two verses, “When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.”

(28-29)

At the time of Jesus Jewish teachers (scribes, rabbis, Pharisees, & Sadducees) had a certain custom.

To defend the authority of their teachings & understanding of the Bible, they would reference Jewish oral tradition, famous past rabbis, or other prominent teachers who shared their view

“As Rabbi So-and-So said, you must love your neighbor, but your enemy can be hated.”

Slide: MP1a Jesus did not follow this tradition—

On the contrary He had teaching authority—and this is why we listen to Him!

Jesus spoke without calling to any human for authority or as a defense of His words.

He was actually known for saying things like, “You have heard that it said.... but I say to you!" (Mt.

5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43).

Slide: MP1b Jesus made it clear that he had the supreme authority and accuracy to teach God’s truth!

He actually called out other supposed “authorities” and masterfully correct their errors with a right understanding of God’s truth!

As He will do in our own lives, if we so hear Him!

Illustrate: It actually reminds me of one of my more frustrating teachers in college who taught a Bible class…

This teacher taught a rather liberal and loose theological understanding of the Bible

When her students called her out on it on this & asked for her to defend her view, one of her most common replies was, “Well, so-and-so says this & they are an expert in this field.”

or “This-woman wrote a paper all about that, I’m not going to explain it now.”

Instead of going to God’s Word for authority, she had trusted in the people that agreed with her perspective & would turn to them for authority & defense in her understanding of God’s truth, even when it went against a plain reading of Scripture!

Argue:

Jesus was far from this!

He Himself was God in human flesh with ultimate authority & accuracy in what is true!

He is the supreme teacher & preacher!

Therefore,

He would call people back to the Bible to correct their errors

He would specifically teach what the Old Testament truly meant,

Regardless of what any supposed expert in the field at that time had said!

Slide: MP1c So, do you live in a way that recognizes Jesus’ supreme authority to accurately teach God’s truth?

(more on this later…)

Transition: Assuming we indeed recognize & respect Jesus as an authority of the all-encompassing truth of God, the next primary thing we must consider is this—

What did He actually teach?

As Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine...”

So let us consider broadly, what are the words of Jesus & how do we come to hear them?

Jesus’ Teachings: Hearing the words of Jesus

Explain:

Where can you find the teachings of Jesus?

(Allow responses)

Of course the Gospels are the primary area we go!

But what about the later parts of the NT, or the much earlier OT?

Slide: MP2a Remember that the Bible is a book all about Jesus!

Jesus is central to our faith; consider it in this way:

In the Old Testament Jesus is predicted.

In the Gospels Jesus is revealed.

In the Acts of the Apostles Jesus is preached.

In the Letters Jesus is explained.

In the book of Revelation Jesus is expected.

The Bible does not give us the liberty to ‘cherry-pick’ what we want to hear & what we do not want to hear!

As the Apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Or even as Jesus says in Matthew 5:17

Slide: MP2b We need a holistic understanding of the Scriptures, guided by Jesus’ clear teachings, to rightly understand God’s truth

Illustrate:

Reading the OT & never the NT is like watching the first Act of a 2-Act play & then leaving

You’re left with all sorts of unanswered questions & unfulfilled expectations!

Similarly, reading the NT & having an inadequate understanding of the OT is like watching only the second Act of the same performance

You’re left with great confusion as to why certain things happened & what they all mean!