The Sermon on the Mount
Picture: The Sermon on the Mount3TC 189.1
Christ seldom gathered His disciples alone to receive His words. It was His work to reach everyone, in words of warning, pleading, and encouragement, seeking to help all who would come to Him.3TC 189.2
Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount especially to the disciples, but He spoke it within the hearing of the crowds. After ordaining the apostles, Jesus went to the seaside. In the early morning, people had begun to assemble. “When they heard how many things He was doing,” they “came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, ... power went out from Him and healed them all.” Mark 3:8; Luke 6:17-19.3TC 189.3
The narrow beach did not provide even standing room, and Jesus led the way back to the mountainside. Reaching a level space that featured a pleasant gathering place, He sat down on the grass, and the disciples and the crowd followed His example.3TC 190.1
The disciples sat close beside Him, eager to understand the truths they were to take to all lands and all ages. They believed that Jesus would soon establish His kingdom.3TC 190.2
A feeling of expectancy also swept through the crowd. As the people sat on the green hillside, their hearts were filled with thoughts of future glory. Scribes and Pharisees looked forward to the day when they would rule over the hated Romans and possess the riches and splendor of the world’s great empire. Poor peasants and fishermen hoped to hear that they were going to exchange their small, poor homes, scanty food, and fear of having nothing for mansions and ease. They hoped that Israel would soon be honored before the nations as the Lord’s chosen and Jerusalem be exalted as the head of a universal kingdom.3TC 190.3
Christ Disappointed the Hope of Worldly Greatness
In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ tried to undo the work that false education had done and to give His hearers a right understanding of His kingdom. Without combating their ideas of God’s kingdom, He told them the conditions for entering it, leaving them to draw their own conclusions about its nature. “Happy are they,” He said, “who recognize their spiritual poverty and feel their need of redemption.” The gospel is revealed, not to the spiritually proud, but to those who are humble and repentant.3TC 190.4
The proud heart tries to earn salvation, but both our title to heaven and our fitness for it are found in the righteousness of Christ. The Lord can do nothing toward our recovery until we yield ourselves to God’s control. Then we can receive the gift God is waiting to bestow. From the person who feels his need, nothing is withheld. See Isaiah 57:15.3TC 190.5
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” The mourning that Christ speaks of does not consist in sadness and wailing. We often sorrow because our evil deeds bring unpleasant consequences, but real sorrow for sin is the result of the Holy Spirit’s working. The Spirit brings us in repentance to the foot of the cross. Jesus is wounded again by every sin, and as we look on Him whom we have pierced, we mourn for sins that have brought anguish on Him. Such mourning will lead us to renounce sin. This sorrow binds the repentant sinner to the Infinite One. The tears of repentance are the raindrops that precede the sunshine of holiness, announcing a joy that will be a living fountain in the soul. See Jeremiah 3:12, 13; Isaiah 61:3.3TC 190.6
There is comfort also for those who mourn in trial and sorrow. Through affliction God reveals to us the deadly spots in our characters, so that by His grace we may overcome. He opens to us unknown chapters about ourselves, and the test comes, revealing whether we will accept the reproof and counsel of God. When in such trials, we should not rebel or worry ourselves out of the hand of Christ. The ways of the Lord appear dark and joyless to our human nature. But God’s ways are ways of mercy, and the result is salvation.3TC 191.1
God’s word for the sorrowing is, “I will turn their mourning to joy, [and] will comfort them.” Jeremiah 31:13.3TC 191.2
A Calm Spirit Glorifies God
“Blessed are the meek.” The meekness that hides itself in Christ will greatly reduce the difficulties we encounter. If we possess the humility of our Master, we will rise above scorn, snubs, and annoyances. These things will no longer cast sadness over the spirit. People who fail to keep a calm spirit when others treat them badly rob God of His right to reveal His own perfection of character in them. Humbleness of heart is the strength that gives victory to Christ’s followers.3TC 191.3
The world may look scornfully on those who reveal the meek and lowly spirit of Christ, but God values them greatly. The poor in spirit, the humble in heart, whose highest ambition is to do God’s will—these will be among the saved who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.3TC 191.4
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” The sense of unworthiness will lead us to hunger for righteousness. All who long to bear the likeness of God’s character will be satisfied. Love will enlarge us spiritually, giving us a capacity for higher achievements, for increased knowledge of heavenly things, so that we will not rest short of the fullness—“For they shall be filled.”3TC 192.1
The merciful shall find mercy, and the pure in heart shall see God. Every impure thought weakens the moral sense and tends to erase the impressions of the Holy Spirit. The Lord may and does forgive the repenting sinner, but though forgiven, the character is marred. Anyone who wants to have clear perceptions of spiritual truth must shun all impurity of speech or thought.3TC 192.2
But the words of Christ cover more than freedom from fleshly impurity, more than freedom from that ceremonial defilement which the Jews so carefully shunned. Selfishness prevents us from beholding God. Until we have given up our self-seeking, we cannot understand Him who is love. Only the unselfish heart, the humble and trustful spirit, will see God as “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth.” Exodus 34:6.3TC 192.3
“Blessed are the peacemakers.” The world is hostile to the law of God; sinners are hostile to their Maker. As a result, they are hostile to one another. Human plans will fail to produce peace because they do not reach the heart. The only power that can create true peace is the grace of Christ. When this grace is implanted in the heart, it will banish the evil passions that cause conflicts and divisions.3TC 192.4
The Multitudes Were Amazed
The people had come to think that happiness consisted in possessing the things of this world and that fame and honor were something to covet. It was very pleasing to be called “Rabbi” and to be praised as wise and religious. But Jesus declared that earthly honor was all that such persons would ever receive. A convincing power accompanied His words. Many were convinced that the Spirit of God was working through this remarkable Teacher.3TC 192.5
After explaining how to obtain true happiness, Jesus pointed out His disciples’ duty. He knew that they would often be insulted and their testimony be rejected. The humble men who listened to His words would experience slander, torture, imprisonment, and death, and He continued:3TC 193.1
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”3TC 193.2
The world loves sin and hates righteousness, and this is what caused its hostility to Jesus. The light of Christ sweeps away the darkness that covers their sins, revealing the need for reform. Those who yield to the Holy Spirit begin war with themselves; those who cling to sin war against the truth and its representatives.3TC 193.3
Because of this, people accuse Christ’s followers of being troublers of the people. But it is fellowship with God that brings them the world’s hatred. They are walking the path that the noblest of earth have walked. Each fiery trial is God’s agent to refine them. Each conflict will add to the joy of their final triumph. When they keep this in mind, they will cheerfully accept the testing of their faith rather than dread it.3TC 193.4
“You are the salt of the earth.” “Do not withdraw yourselves from the world in order to escape persecution. You are to live among people, so that the distinctive quality of divine love may be like salt to preserve the world from corruption.” If those who serve God were removed from the earth, this world would be left to destruction. The wicked owe even the blessings of this life to the presence in the world of God’s people, whom they despise and oppress. But if Christians are Christians in name only, they are like salt that has lost its flavor. By misrepresenting God, they are worse than unbelievers.3TC 193.5
“You are the light of the world.” Salvation is like sunshine; it belongs to the whole world. We must not keep the religion of the Bible between the covers of a book nor just within the walls of a church. It must sanctify the daily life and reveal itself in all our interactions with people. We must cherish the principles of righteousness in our hearts. The consistent life, the unswerving integrity, the kindly spirit, the godly example—these are the mediums through which God conveys light to the world.3TC 193.6
Jesus knew that spies stood ready to grasp every word that they could twist to serve their purpose. He said nothing to unsettle faith in the institutions committed to them through Moses. Christ Himself had given both the moral and the ceremonial law. He did not come to destroy confidence in His own instruction. While He set aside false interpretations of the law, He carefully guarded against surrendering the vital truths God had committed to the Hebrews.3TC 194.1
To the Pharisees, the Savior’s words sounded like heresy. As He swept away the rubbish under which truth had been buried, they thought He was sweeping away the truth itself. He read their thoughts and answered them, saying, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” His mission was to vindicate the sacred claims of the law that they charged Him with breaking. If God could have revoked or changed His law, then Christ did not need to have suffered the consequences of our transgressions. He came to explain how the law related to us and to illustrate its principles by His life of obedience.3TC 194.2
Obedience Leads to Joy
God loves mankind. To shield us from the results of transgression, He has revealed the principles of righteousness. When we receive the law in Christ, it lifts us above the power of our natural desires and tendencies, above temptations that lead to sin. God gave us the commands of the law so that in obeying them, we could have joy.3TC 194.3
At Sinai, God made known to the human family the holiness of His character so that by contrast they could see the sinfulness of their own. He gave the law to convict them of sin and reveal their need of a Savior. This is still its work. As the Holy Spirit reveals to us our need of Christ’s cleansing blood and justifying righteousness, the law is still a means to bring us to Christ so that we may be justified by faith. “The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7.3TC 194.4
“Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” The shining sun and the solid earth are God’s witnesses that His law is eternal. Even if they might pass away, the divine principles will endure. The system of symbols that pointed to Jesus as the Lamb of God would come to an end at His death, but the Decalogue is as permanent as the throne of God.3TC 195.1
The Savior’s life of obedience proved that it was possible for a human being to keep the law, and it showed the excellence of character that obedience would develop. On the other hand, all who break God’s commandments support Satan’s claim that no one can obey the law. To allow them into heaven would bring in strife and rebellion again and would threaten the well-being of the universe. No one who willfully disregards one principle of the law will enter the kingdom of heaven.3TC 195.2
The greatest deception of the human mind in Christ’s day was that just agreeing with the truth makes a person righteous. All of human experience has proved that a theoretical knowledge of the truth is not enough to save the soul. It does not bring out the fruits of righteousness.3TC 195.3
A jealous regard for what people call theological truth often accompanies a hatred of genuine truth that would show in the life. The darkest chapters of history are filled with the record of crimes committed by bigoted advocates of their religion. The Pharisees thought themselves to be the most religious people in the world, but their so-called orthodoxy led them to crucify the Lord of glory. Many claim a faith in the truth; but if it does not make them sincere, kind, patient, selfrestrained, and heavenly minded, it is a curse to them, and through their influence it is a curse to the world.3TC 195.4
The Depth and Breadth of God’s Law
Jesus talked about the commandments separately and showed how far-reaching their principles are. He said that we can violate the law of God by the evil thought or lustful look. The smallest injustice breaks the law. Those who give hatred a place in their hearts are setting their feet in the path of the murderer.3TC 195.5
The Jews nurtured a spirit of retaliation. In their hatred of the Romans, they denounced them harshly, training themselves to do terrible deeds. Some kinds of indignation are justifiable, even in the followers of Christ. When they see God dishonored and the innocent oppressed, a righteous indignation stirs the soul. Such anger is not sin. But we must banish bitterness and animosity from the heart if we want to be in harmony with heaven.3TC 196.1
God’s ideal for His children is higher than the highest human thought can reach. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” NRSV. This command is a promise. The plan of redemption aims at our complete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ always separates the sorrowing one from sin. He has made provision to give the Holy Spirit to every repentant person, to keep him from sinning.3TC 196.2
Temptations Are Not Excuses
We should not think that Satan’s temptations are an excuse for one wrong act. There is no excuse for sinning. A holy temper, a Christlike life, is within reach of every repenting, believing child of God.3TC 196.3
As the Son of man was perfect in His life, so His followers are to be perfect in their lives. In all things Jesus was made like His brethren. He became flesh, the same as we are. He shared the condition of mankind, yet He was the blameless Son of God. He was God in the flesh. His character is to be ours.3TC 196.4
Christ is the ladder that Jacob saw, with its base resting on the earth and the topmost rung reaching heaven. If that ladder had failed to reach the earth by even a single step, we would have been lost. But Christ reaches us where we are. He took our nature and overcame, so that we, through taking His nature, may overcome. Made “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3), He lived a sinless life. Now He asks us by faith in Him to come up to the glory of God’s character.3TC 196.5
We are to be perfect, even as our “Father in heaven is perfect.”3TC 197.1
Jesus had shown what righteousness consists of and had pointed to God as its source. Now He turned to practical duties. “Do nothing to attract attention or win praise to self. Give in sincerity, to benefit the suffering poor. In prayer, talk with God. In fasting, do not let the heart be filled with thoughts of self.”3TC 197.2
Service given with a sincere heart has great rewards. “Your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” By the life we live through the grace of Christ, we form our character. Christ gives us the attributes of His character, and the divine image begins to shine out. Men and women who walk and work with God are surrounded with the atmosphere of heaven. For these souls the kingdom of God has begun.3TC 197.3
“No one can serve two masters.” Bible religion is not one influence among many others. It is to saturate the whole life.3TC 197.4
“If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” Whoever wants to know the truth must be willing to accept all that it reveals. If we waver and are halfhearted in allegiance to truth, we are choosing error and Satan’s delusions.3TC 197.5
Worldly schemes and the principles of righteousness do not blend into each other, like the colors of the rainbow. God draws a clear line between the two. The likeness of Christ stands out distinctly from that of Satan, like noontime contrasts with midnight. And only those who live the life of Christ are His coworkers.3TC 197.6
All who have chosen God’s service are to rest in His care. Christ pointed to the birds flying in the heavens and to the flowers of the field, and He asked, “Are you not of more value than they?” God watches over the little brown sparrow. The flowers and the grass share the notice of our heavenly Father. The great Master Artist has taken thought for the lilies, making them outshine Solomon’s glory. How much more does He care for His human creatures, who are the image and glory of God! As the sunbeam gives the flowers their delicate tints, so God gives us the beauty of His own character.3TC 197.7
In the book of God’s divine guidance, the volume of life, we are each given a page. That page contains every particular of our history. God’s children are never absent from His mind. “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow.” God does not give His children all the directions for their life journey at once. He tells them just as much as they can remember and perform. The strength and wisdom He gives are for the present emergency.3TC 197.8
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” “Do not think yourself better than others and set yourself up as their judge. You cannot see the motives. In criticizing another, you are passing sentence on yourself, because you show that you are a participant with Satan, the accuser of the brethren.” See 2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Corinthians 11:31.3TC 198.1
The good tree will produce good fruit. So the fruit of our lives testifies about our character. Good works can never purchase salvation, but they are an evidence of the faith that works by love and purifies the soul. The reward we receive is not because of our merit, yet it will be in proportion to the work we have done through grace.3TC 198.2
In this way, Christ laid out the principles of His kingdom. To impress the lesson, He added an illustration. “It is not enough,” He said, “to hear My words. By obedience, you must make them the foundation of your character. If you build on human theories, your house will fall. It will be swept away by the winds of temptation and trial. But these principles that I have given will endure. Receive Me; build on My words.”3TC 198.3
“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”3TC 198.4
