Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

One of the great preachers of only a generation ago, Dr. Ironside, made some statements on the these verses that we do well to repeat here:

IN the so-called “Sermon on the Mount” our Lord was not preaching the Gospel, but He was setting forth the principles of His kingdom, which should guide the lives of all who profess to be His disciples.

In other words, this is the law of the kingdom; the observance of which must characterize its loyal subjects as they wait for the day when the King Himself shall be revealed.

Throughout, it recognizes the existence of definite opposition to His rule, but those who own His authority are called upon to manifest the same meek and lowly spirit that was seen in Him while in the days of His humiliation here on earth.

The Epistle of James answers very closely to the teaching set forth here.

He calls it “the perfect law of liberty,” because it is that which is becoming to the new nature received when one is born of God.

For the natural man this sermon is not the way of life, but rather a source of condemnation; for it sets a standard so high and holy that no unsaved person can by any possibility attain to it.

He who attempts it will soon realize his utter helplessness, if he be honest and conscientious.

He must look elsewhere in the Scriptures for the Gospel, which is the dynamic of God unto salvation to all who believe (Rom.

1:16).

The keenest intellects of earth have recognized in the Sermon on the Mount the highest ethical teaching to men, and have praised its holy precepts even when conscious of their inability to measure up to its standards.

So far as the unsaved are concerned, therefore, the teaching given here becomes indeed, as C. I. Scofield has well said, “Law raised to its Nth power.”

But for the believer, just as the righteous requirements of the law are “fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom.

8:4), so the principles laid down in this sermon will find their practical exemplification in the lives of all who seek to walk as Christ walked.

It is not for us to relegate all this to the Jewish remnant in the last days or to disciples before the cross, though fully applicable to both.

But we discern here “wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Tim.

6:3) which we dare not refuse to obey, lest we be proved to be such as are described in the following verse (1 Tim.

6:4): “He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings.”

We need to remember that, though a heavenly people, we have earthly responsibilities, and these are defined for us in this greatest of all sermons having to do with human conduct.

[Ironside, H. A. Expository Notes on the Gospel of Matthew.

Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1948.]

Main Thought: Following the Beatitude Blueprints for the Blessed Life, and shining as Disciples worth our salt for the Savior, Jesus now challenges our thinking regarding the Bible and Righteousness.

As we live for the Lord, we must maintain the right perspective in relation to the Bible and true Righteousness.

Failure to do so will result in future loss at best, and hell at worst.

Sub-Intro:

He began his Sermon with beatitudes in the third person (‘Blessed are the poor in spirit’); he continued in the second person (‘You are the salt of the earth’); and now he changes to the authoritative first person and uses for the first time his distinctive and dogmatic formula I say to you (18) or I tell you (20).

This paragraph is of great importance not only for its definition of Christian righteousness but also for the light it throws on the relation between the New Testament and the Old Testament, between the gospel and the law.

It divides itself into two parts, first Christ and the law (17, 18) and secondly the Christian and the law (19, 20).

[Stott, John R. W., and John R. W. Stott.

The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture.

The Bible Speaks Today.

Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985.]

Body:

I. Right Thinking About the Bible (Matt.

5:17-19)

A. Christ’s Purpose - Fulfillment (Matt.

5:17)

  “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:” (Matthew 5:17)

1. Challenging False Misconceptions About Christ’s Ministry (v.

17a)

Note the force of the Prohibitive Subjunctive as a negative imperative

Note - Jesus’ “...own attitude toward the Old Testament, and His total endorsement of it, are emphatically announced at the outset” ~ J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book.

“A greater than the O. T., than Moses and the prophets, is here.

But the Greater is full of reverence for the institutions and sacred books of His people.

He is not come to disannul either the law or the prophets.... Jesus expresses here in the strongest manner His conviction that the whole O. T. is a Divine revelation, and that therefore every minutest precept has religious significance which must be recognised in the ideal fulfilment.”

[Bruce, Alexander Balmain.

The Synoptic Gospels.

New York: George H. Doran Company, n.d.]

The scribes and Pharisees had developed the oral tradition in order to explicate the law more clearly for the people; they wanted to make its meaning evident on the practical level of living it rightly.

Jesus is saying in effect that they have failed to do so.

Only he can “fulfill” it, that is, bring it to its intended end or goal.

[Osborne, Grant R. Matthew.

Vol. 1. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament.

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010.]

2. The Consummation of the Old Covenant in Christ (v.

17b)

“...I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”

(Matthew 5:17)

The term “fulfill” (plēroō) is more than obedience.

Jesus not only fulfills certain anticipated roles, but his interpretation and application of the Old Testament Scriptures completes and clarifies God’s intent and meaning through it.

All that the Old Testament intended to communicate about God’s will and hopes for humanity find their full meaning and accomplishment in Jesus’ teaching and ministry.

[Arnold, Clinton E. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke.

Vol. 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002.]

Jesus Christ fulfilled God’s Law in every area of His life.

He fulfilled it in His birth because He was “made under the Law” (Gal.

4:4).

Every prescribed ritual for a Jewish boy was performed on Him by His parents.

He certainly fulfilled the Law in His life, for nobody was ever able to accuse Him of sin.

While He did not submit to the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees, He always did what God commanded in the Law.

The Father was “well pleased” with His Son (Matt.

3:17; 17:5).

Jesus also fulfilled the Law in His teaching.

It was this that brought Him into conflict with the religious leaders.

When He began His ministry, Jesus found the Living Word of God encrusted with man-made traditions and interpretations.

He broke away this thick crust of “religion” and brought the people back to God’s Word.

Then, He opened the Word to them in a new and living way—they were accustomed to the “letter” of the Law and not the inner “kernel” of life.

But it was in His death and resurrection that Jesus especially fulfilled the Law.

He bore the curse of the Law (Gal.

3:13).

He fulfilled the Old Testament types and ceremonies so that they no longer are required of the people of God (see Heb. 9–10).

He set aside the Old Covenant and brought in the New Covenant.

Jesus did not destroy the Law by fighting it; He destroyed it by fulfilling it!

Perhaps an illustration will make this clear.

If I have an acorn, I can destroy it in one of two ways.

I can put it on a rock and smash it to bits with a hammer.

Or, I can plant it in the ground and let it fulfill itself by becoming an oak tree.

When Jesus died, He rent the veil of the temple and opened the way into the holiest (Heb.

10:19).

He broke down the wall that separated the Jews and Gentiles (Eph.

2:11–13).

Because the Law was fulfilled in Christ, we no longer need temples made with hands (Acts 7:48ff) or religious rituals (Col.

2:10–13).

How can we fulfill the Law?

By yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to work in our lives (Rom.

8:1–3).

The Holy Spirit enables us to experience the “righteousness of the law” in daily life.

This does not mean we live sinlessly perfect lives, but it does mean that Christ lives out His life through us by the power of His Spirit (Gal.

2:20).

When we read the Beatitudes, we see the perfect character of Jesus Christ.

While Jesus never had to mourn over His sins, since He was sinless, He was still a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa.

53:3).

He never had to hunger and thirst after righteousness since He was the holy Son of God, but He did delight in the Father’s will and find His satisfaction in doing it (John 4:34).

The only way we can experience the righteousness of the Beatitudes is through the power of Christ.

[Wiersbe, Warren W. The Bible Exposition Commentary.

Vol. 1. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996.]

B. Covenant Promises - Still Valid (Matt.

5:18)

1.

To the End of the World (v.

18a)

  “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, ....” (Matthew 5:18)

2. To the Smallest Iota (v.

18b)