Category Archives: Sermon on the Mount

(Mat 5:10-12 ESV) 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely … Continue reading →

The final group of three Beatitudes speaks to those who create peace — (Mat 5:9-12 ESV)  9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for … Continue reading →

So I was teaching the college class at church about the Sermon on the Mount, and the campus minister told me he’d recorded me. So I wasn’t planning on this, but here’s the Bible class. The first couple of sentences … Continue reading →

McKnight organizes the nine Beatitudes into three groups of three. The second group is those who pursue justice and righteousness — (Mat 5:6-8 ESV)  6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed … Continue reading →

Jesus paraphrases Psa 37:11 when he says the meek shall inherit the earth. But this is not just a proof text showing that prophecies come true. Rather, Jesus is declaring the entire context of v. 11 as coming true — … Continue reading →

The SOTM begins with the Beatitudes. Contrary to much teaching, the word is from the Latin for “blessed,” not a contraction of “be attitude.” And the Beatitudes are not commands. This is not a list of rules to live by. … Continue reading →

As is true of much of the NT, the early portions of Matthew closely parallel the Exodus. We’ve already seen in the recent series on 1Co how Exodus informs our understanding of chapters 8 – 10. There are also fascinating … Continue reading →

Scot McKnight explains that, unlike any other teacher of ethics, Jesus “did” ethics from four angles: Ethics from Above, Ethics from Beyond, Ethics from Below, and then setting each of these into the context of Jesus’ messianic ethics designed for … Continue reading →

Matthew records Jesus’ baptism, followed by his fasting in the wilderness, and then the temptations by Satan. Matthew then records, (Mat 4:17 ESV) 17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at … Continue reading →

        So I’ve been working on a series of lessons on the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM), and after writing about 8 or 9 of them, I realized I hadn’t yet really explained what’s most important. So I asked myself, … Continue reading →