Sermon On The Mount

Brother Paul said:
Actually me too Silk...it is just my lay person approach (when approaching a verse) to do four things...first is pray for the guidance of the Spirit...second is look up terms in the lexicon (which does not always help, believe me) and then third, I to try and read it is context with as little theological bias as possible (sometimes the denomination we are or were in, implants an understanding that I have found is not always true)...then I try and explore as much as I can find in the scriptures on that topic...

So what I offered does not mean I am correct, I just wanted to help with the definition of terms...to give something to the discussion other than just my opinion (because it is the Bible Study section). Most of His audience in the Sermon on the Mount did not yet have Christ like you or I (He had not yet been given, nor had the general outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred). The same with when He gave a similar message in Luke (different time under different circumstances).

So I can see how for some who have Christ in their heart it is unfamiliar to feel spiritually poor (for we are rich - Ephesians 1)....we all have sinned without a doubt, but some of us were more evil than others...I was evil, very evil, did evil, liked evil....and on occasion evil still tries to creep into my mind (which I by God's help rebuke and cast down, sometimes having to utterly fall on the rock)...I lived for sin then and now in Christ have died to sin. The question I ask every day for 30 years is "How could there be such a love?" But praise His holy name there is...Amazing grace that loved a wretch like me has really deep meaning...that old man should have been physically killed or imprisoned for life, but thanks be to our ABBA he has been judged, found wanting, condemned, and nailed to the cross...and now by the patience of the Holy Spirit I am altogether a new creature of the last Adam.

So what do you (or others, please weigh in) think "inherit the earth" means?

In His love

Brother Paul
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Hello Paul and welcome! Your comments are well said and prayfully given.

When we consider "inherit the earth", It is my opinion that we must remember that God has not finished with the nation of Israel. The promises God made to Abraham did NOT pass on on to the church. If they did that would be called "Replacement Theology" and it is not Biblical in any way whatsoever IMHO.

God promised Abraham THE LAND and Abraham bever possessed the land promised to him. Neither has his people ever possessed all of that Land. So then, for God not to be a liar, it is important that the children of Abraham inherit the LAND God promised to the father of the faithful.(Gen. 13:15 & Gen. 15:18).

Psalms 37:9-29 (in part)...........
"For evildoers shall be cut off, but those that wait upon the lord, they shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace........

"Such as be blessed of Him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of Him shall be cut off.......

"The righteous shall inherit the LAND and dwell therein forever".

The *KEY* is the Biblical fact that Israel is an earthly people that were given an earthly promise. The church by contrast is a HEAVENLY people with heavenly promises.

Rev. 21:1 says that John saw....."a new heaven and a new earth".

Rev. 21:10 says that John saw............"The new Jerusalem, The pearly White City of God desending out of heaven from God".

Biblically, there will be a "new earth" and it will be occupied by Israel and the saved nations. There will be the Pearly White City of God that will be the home of the Church which is in fact the Bride of Christ.
 
Silk said:
I would feel a powerful hole, trying to study scripture without you, Major (my very first contact when I came to the Forum). Not so much kind as true. We don't always agree but we always walk back friends. And when we agree (Joy), I think (grin), "I knew I was right on that one." (Just a wee bit of teasing.)

I thought meek was bad enough, until I heard spiritually poor. Do you think "spiritually rich" means, perhaps that not only do we "reap" our reward in heaven but also here on earth?
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Silk, you are way to kind to me.

IMO Paul was talking about "rich" in the way that having Christ as Saviour removes the need for everything else.

It seems to me that Paul learned the lesson Jesus was teaching us in Luke 12:15............
"..........a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth".
 
It seems no accident to me, that many, in these last several years, have lost wordly goods and money. The closer I get to understanding, the less these things mean. And yet...I still have a hard time letting go. But does being "spiritually rich" mean it makes things better, here, on earth, in the here and now. I think it does. That's kinda why I have a very real problem with "blessed are the meek (spiritually poor) who will inherit the earth".
 
Silk said:
It seems no accident to me, that many, in these last several years, have lost wordly goods and money. The closer I get to understanding, the less these things mean. And yet...I still have a hard time letting go. But does being "spiritually rich" mean it makes things better, here, on earth, in the here and now. I think it does. That's kinda why I have a very real problem with "blessed are the meek (spiritually poor) who will inherit the earth".
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The "meek" are not spiritually poor Silk. They have humbeled themselves before God admitting to HIm what they are and accepting His cure for what ailes them which is sin. I really believe that humbelness is the way we have to come to Christ in order to be saved. That makes the Christian a saved person.....not a spiritually weak person.

You see, it is the "humble who are saved" that will inherit the earth. That is why the only thing in this world of value is knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.
 
Talk about outrageous coincidence, which I don't really believe in, or more like catching a glimpse of a microscopic thread of God's glorious tapestry/design (and I am, as always awed.) - I was reading Dean Koontz book, "From the Corner of His Eye" who often writes on the struggle of good and evil, as fiction and I found this on page 538 : "Three years ago, in St.Mary's Hospital, with Phimie's warning fresh in her mind, Celestina swore that she would be ready when the beast came, but here he came, and she was as not ready as possible. Time passes, the perception of a threat fades, life becomes busier, you work your butt off as a waitress, you graduate college, your little girl grows to be so vital, so vivid, so alive that you know she just has to live forever, and after all, you are the daughter of a minister, a believer in the power of compassion, in the Prince of Peace, confident that the meek that shall inherit the earth, so in three long years, you don't buy a gun, nor do you take any training in self defense, and somehow you forget that the meek who someday will inherit the earth are those who forego aggression but are not so pathetically meek that they won't even defend themselves, because failure to resist evil is a sin..."

It's an excellent book and Koontz is one of my many favorite authors. I just thought I'd post it.
 
Silk said:
Talk about outrageous coincidence, which I don't really believe in, or more like catching a glimpse of a microscopic thread of God's glorious tapestry/design (and I am, as always awed.) - I was reading Dean Koontz book, "From the Corner of His Eye" who often writes on the struggle of good and evil, as fiction and I found this on page 538 : "Three years ago, in St.Mary's Hospital, with Phimie's warning fresh in her mind, Celestina swore that she would be ready when the beast came, but here he came, and she was as not ready as possible. Time passes, the perception of a threat fades, life becomes busier, you work your butt off as a waitress, you graduate college, your little girl grows to be so vital, so vivid, so alive that you know she just has to live forever, and after all, you are the daughter of a minister, a believer in the power of compassion, in the Prince of Peace, confident that the meek that shall inherit the earth, so in three long years, you don't buy a gun, nor do you take any training in self defense, and somehow you forget that the meek who someday will inherit the earth are those who forego aggression but are not so pathetically meek that they won't even defend themselves, because failure to resist evil is a sin..."

It's an excellent book and Koontz is one of my many favorite authors. I just thought I'd post it.
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I have read his books also and I agree. I like his books.

I would also suggest Frank Peritte.
 
Major said:
I have read his books also and I agree. I like his books.

I would also suggest Frank Peritte.
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Well, I was guiltily reading "From the Corner of His Eye" before re-reading Matthew 1-4, to take notes on a rough time line, according to Matthew, of when the Sermon took place. We are told that after the Temptation of Christ, He started his 3 year ministry (1,095 days - was there a leap year?:)). From memory, I know He had his baptism and had picked his Disciples/Apostles. He had healed and was drawing crowds (or had started to draw?). I read very fast and started the Koontz book last night and read the part I posted this morning, near the end. It stunned me :^).

I probably have read Peritte but he only rings a vague bell -what's he written?
 
Silk said:
Well, I was guiltily reading "From the Corner of His Eye" before re-reading Matthew 1-4, to take notes on a rough time line, according to Matthew, of when the Sermon took place. We are told that after the Temptation of Christ, He started his 3 year ministry (1,095 days - was there a leap year?:)). From memory, I know He had his baptism and had picked his Disciples/Apostles. He had healed and was drawing crowds (or had started to draw?). I read very fast and started the Koontz book last night and read the part I posted this morning, near the end. It stunned me :^).

I probably have read Peritte but he only rings a vague bell -what's he written?
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"This Present Darkness"..........."Piercing The Darkness" are two that come to my mind.
 
OK...so I was getting set to read Matt. 1-4, and chose one of my mother's old bibles, The Open Bible, published in 1975, (King James version - red letter edition). There were a small number of pages before Matthew started that I never had seen before. The first 6 pages or so were called "The Harmony of the Gospels and it was a spread sheet of Christ's entire life as encompassed in all of the New Testament, with dates, times, description, location and gospel reference. It places the Sermon on the Mount at 28 A.D., near Capernum, and lists as references as Matt. 5.1 - 7.29, and Luke 6:20-49. Then there were 7 pages of The Christian Life Study Outlines and notes which totally impressed. These lessons on the doctrines of the New Testament are by Porter Barrington.

In the Harmony (for short) there are 12 events listed for the begining of Jesus' ministry. In the table for the Galilean Ministry of Jesus, the Sermon is listed as 17 of 55 events. The first 16, with references (there are "relevant" references which I didn't include) in parenthesis are:
1) Healing of the Nobleman's son (John 4:46-54)
2) Rejected at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-31)
3) Moved to Capernum (Matt.4:13-16)
4) Four become Fisher's of men (Mattt.4:18-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 5:1-11)
5) Demoniac healed on the Sabbath day (Mark 1:21-28, Luke 4:31-37)
6) Peter's Mother-in-law cured, plus others (Matt.8:14-17, Mark 1:29-34, Luke 4:38-41)
7) First preaching tour of Galilea (Matt.4:23-25, Mark 1:35-39, Luke 4:42-44)
8) Leper Healed and response recorded (Matt. 8:2-4, Mark 1:40-45, Luke 5:12-16)
9) Paralytic healed (Matt 9:1-8, Mark 2:1-12, Luke 5:17-26)
10) Matthew's call and reception held (Matt 9:9-13, Mark 2:13-17, Luke 5:27-32)
11) Disciples Defended via a parable (Matt 9:14-17, Mark 2:18-22, Luke 5:33-39)
12) Goes to Jerusalem for second Passover, Heals lame man (John 5:1-47)
13) Plucked grain precipitates Sabbath controversy (Matt 12:1-8, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 6:1-5)
14) Withered hand causes another Sabbath controversy ( Matt 12:9-14, Mark 3:1-6, Luke 6:6-11)
15) Multitudes healed (Matt 12:15-21, Mark 3:7-12, Luke 6:17-19)
16) Twelve Apostles picked after night of prayer (Mark 3:13-19, Luke 6:12-16)

Better post before I lose it. I would hate to have to retype.
 
Sorry about the top Matthew references. I added a period. Any typos or screwed up refs are mine. I was afraid I would lose the post (as I have frustratingly done before) and have to retype (it took me forever!) to recheck before posting. I did google Harmony of the Gospels and found one site that looks similar: http://www.lds.org/scriptures/harmony?lang=eng. I found a dissonance of the gospels that I may go back for later. On second reading, this includes neither dates or locations . But I did not go to all listings. I just think it is a wonderful tool and framework to work within.
 
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My first thought is wondering about the word multitudes. Do we have demographics for the time and area? Is it many? or 5,000? Was it the healing that drew so many people to listen? Is Jesus mainly preaching to His fellow Jews? Certainly, He and His Disciples, all followed the law of Moses, and worshipped the God of Adam, Noah, and Abraham.
 
Silk said:
I would feel a powerful hole, trying to study scripture without you, Major (my very first contact when I came to the Forum). Not so much kind as true. We don't always agree but we always walk back friends. And when we agree (Joy), I think (grin), "I knew I was right on that one." (Just a wee bit of teasing.)

I thought meek was bad enough, until I heard spiritually poor. Do you think "spiritually rich" means, perhaps that not only do we "reap" our reward in heaven but also here on earth?
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Remember Silk that God promised Abraham and his sons the Promised Land. That is here on the earth and Abraham and his sons never received that promise as they have never fully lived in all the Land God promised them. That will happen after Armageddon when Israel will fulfill that promise by living in the Promised Land.

Christians were never promised the Land but instead Heaven. Our home is heaven and the Bride of Christ which is the church will come down from heaven above earthly Jerusalem in what the Bible says is the Pearly White City of God. That will be the home of the believers who made up the church. Rev. 20-21.
 
Silk said:
My first thought is wondering about the word multitudes. Do we have demographics for the time and area? Is it many? or 5,000? Was it the healing that drew so many people to listen? Is Jesus mainly preaching to His fellow Jews? Certainly, He and His Disciples, all followed the law of Moses, and worshipped the God of Adam, Noah, and Abraham.
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It was MORE than 5000. Jews only counted men and not women and children hence the word "multitude".
 
Major said:
Remember Silk that God promised Abraham and his sons the Promised Land. That is here on the earth and Abraham and his sons never received that promise as they have never fully lived in all the Land God promised them. That will happen after Armageddon when Israel will fulfill that promise by living in the Promised Land.

Christians were never promised the Land but instead Heaven. Our home is heaven and the Bride of Christ which is the church will come down from heaven above earthly Jerusalem in what the Bible says is the Pearly White City of God. That will be the home of the believers who made up the church. Rev. 20-21.
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I am not so sure about the never fully lived, but I agree that God keeps all promises. I also believe that they are part of God's plan, lovingly, in the "end times." According to ancestry.com, I have a bit of Jewish blood, which I treasure (I am also part American Indian, Irish, English, Welsh, Scots, but mostly Swedish -50%). I think all mankind can reach God/Heaven but I agree that this can only be thru Christ.
 
Silk said:
I am not so sure about the never fully lived, but I agree that God keeps all promises. I also believe that they are part of God's plan, lovingly, in the "end times." According to ancestry.com, I have a bit of Jewish blood, which I treasure (I am also part American Indian, Irish, English, Welsh, Scots, but mostly Swedish -50%). I think all mankind can reach God/Heaven but I agree that this can only be thru Christ.
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Silk, the descendants of Abraham at the most only occupied about 10% of the original Land that God promised Abraham.
 
I hope you don't mind me jumping in here, I look at the Sermon on the Mount in a different way.

Most people believe that the Sermon on the Mount is a list of rules for believers to do and live by today, but actually, if we are walking in the Spirit, led by the Spirit won't we be "doing" these things naturally, a result of being a Spirit led Christ follower?

However, on the other hand, if we carefully study the context and reason why Matthew was written, primarily to a Jewish audience to present Jesus as their Messiah and King, maybe we can glean more from this book.

Matthew starts off with a genealogy that shows that Jesus, the step son of Joesph (who had been disqualified by Jechonias of having a blood heir to the throne) had the legal authority by adoption to sit on David's throne. First Matthew presented Jesus as their King then he recounts how He was worshiped as their King by Gentiles, next, after a time of obscurity, a front man (John the Baptist) appears on the scene and announces the King is coming, the King is presented to the people and immediately His right and authority is questioned by a usurper, after that He chooses men for His government, but does He really have the authority, the people need to see a demonstration of His power so we are told He went through the land preforming miracles.

That brings us to the Sermon on the Mount, we are told multitudes had gathered to listen to Him, so what does a person do when they come into, are given authority, they tell the people how it's going to be while they are in authority and in my opinion that is what Jesus is doing with the Sermon on the Mount, if there is going to be a Kingdom then there has to be a constitution for the Kingdom, the Sermon on the Mount is the constitution for the millennium, the Kingdom age when Jesus rules and reigns for one thousand years.

Now, I'm not saying the Sermon on the Mount is not for us in the Church, but like I said, if we are led by the Spirit, moment by moment, won't we be living, won't it be our natural character, ...what Jesus taught in His Sermon? Also, something else to think about, won't we be fulfilling, accomplishing, actually living everything in the Sermon on the Mount during our reign with Him during the millennium, and if so, why not today, since the Holy Spirit will be living inside of us then like He is today, ...since we have the Treasure in these clay pots?

Blessings,

Gene
 
Hey JustPassing (waving) hope you aren't just passing through and will return to examine these scriptures with us.
Gotta say tho, your post left me confused. I can't disagree that Christ was speaking for the ages because I think He was but I think He was telling the people of then totally new things. I don't think there is a verse in these 2 chapters of Matthew that we haven't all heard, again and again. Usually, separate and out of context. I think Christ was telling the multitudes, how to get back to God. And that audience may have understood Him in some parts because of context to their times better than we do today. These 2 chapters, outside of Revelation, may be the most complicated than any place else in the Bible. I want to understand them better. And His then audience must have understood something, because at the end of the 7th chapter, they marvelled, that He spoke with more authority than those rabbi's, pharisees and scribes spoke on these things of God.
 
Hey Silk, (waving back) sorry for the confusion, that was not my intention, but if you will think about it, what I said was for those people at that time, ...if they hadn't rejected Jesus, if they had accepted Him as their Messiah/ King then we would have a whole different ball game, only God knows what we would have today and we can't speculate, but the historical fact is they rejected their Messiah/King which brought about the destruction of the Jewish state in 70 A.D. by the Roman General Titus which resulted in the diaspora of the Jews into the entire world, which caused the prophetic time clock of Dan 9 to stop ticking.

Now, don't you think these two chapters would not be confusing if they are regarded as actually being fulfilled in the Millennium, sure would free up a lot of people, don't you agree, what about Matt 11:28-30, dear one, this seems to be a heavy yoke that you claim to be struggling with, ...also, Jesus was teaching them the law was spiritual, like Paul echoed, for instance, if I steal or lust after a woman, I'm to cut off my hand, I'm to pluck out my eye(?) then what about the other one, it can/will steal/lust too, but Jesus didn't address that problem, so is it possible that it's like I said, and we, are who are born again children of God, led by the Spirit, walking with the Spirit will just naturally keep, observe, do the principles in the Sermon on the Mount?

Dear sister, the Revelation is one of the easiest books to understand if we follow the Divine outline given to us in chapter 1:19, where Jesus told cousin John to write the things he has seen, the things that are and the things that are to come.

What did John see? The glorified Lord Jesus Christ, chapter 1.

What are the things that are? The seven churches situated on the circular Roman postal route the he was the pastor of, the Church Age (us), chapters 2 and 3.

What are the things to come?
The rapture of the church into heaven, chapters 4 and 5.
The final 7 years of the 490 year prophecy of Daniel 9, chapters 6 through 19.
The Millennium and the Great White Throne Judgement, chapter 20.
The new heavens and the new Earth, chapters 20 and 21, ...and we all live happily ever after.

Now, what's so hard 'bout that?

The people accredited Jesus with authority because He said, "I say to you!" Whereas the custom of the rabbis, pharisees and scribes in the time of Jesus never gave their own opinions, they always quoted other popular rabbis or as is recorded in the Word for us, "the law says."

Does that help any?

Blessings Sis,

Gene
 
Sorry JustPassing for taking long to respond to your posts but I wanted to think on what you typed. I didn't say that Revelation was un-understandable - I said it was complicated. The 2 chapters of Matthew is equally complicated, perhaps for different reasons or perhaps not. The Sermon has been quoted and interpetted 50 ways from Sunday to the nth power. I want to look at it again with "new" eyes to understand the Word of God better.
The people who heard that sermon, not even the Disciples, fully understood who they were listening to, but they felt it, nonetheless.
I agree that everyone should ask the Holy Spirit for help in reading the scripture - and writing and reading posts.
 
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