Listening to the Sermon on the Mount

Look It Up: Matthew 5:1-7:28

The Sermon on the Mount is so named because Jesus gave the teaching on a hill near Capernaum. Perhaps some of the most difficult teaching of Jesus’ entire ministry is contained in these chapters; in them, Jesus challenged the rigid legalism of the religious leaders of his day (the Pharisees and Sadducees), emphasizing that God desires obedience of the heart, not the appearance of obedience. Perhaps the most well-known section is known as the Beatitudes (which comes from the Latin word meaning “blessed”):

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the gentle,

for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,

for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they shall be called children of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

-Matthew 5:2-10

A common interpretation of these high expectations and the rest of the Sermon on the Mount’s teachings is that Jesus painted the portrait of absolute perfection that God demands. Is this utterly impossible? Absolutely. That’s why Jesus is required to bridge the gap between the perfection that God requires and the best of what humans have to offer.

Praying the Lord’s Prayer

Look It Up: Matthew 6:5-12

The Bible treats it as a given that Christians pray, but it says little on how to pray. Jesus, however, in his Sermon on the Mount teaching, gives such instruction in what Christians call the Lord’s Prayer (or Our Father):

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Let thy Kingdom come.

Let thy will be done,

on earth as in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

Bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

For thine is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.

Amen.

When you look at the prayer Jesus gives, you see that Jesus starts by worshiping God the Father. Because Christians believe that God is worthy to be worshiped, then it follows that they should surrender to his will. (See Chapter 16 for more on God’s will.) Christians believe that after you’ve worshiped him and surrendered to his will, you are invited to ask God to provide for you, forgive your sins, and protect you from evil.

Although the Lord’s Prayer is a great prayer to memorize and recite, it’s even more helpful to think of the prayer as a blueprint or a model for how to pray.