The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (49 page)

Discourse 1: The Sermon on the Mount (5–7)

The introduction to Jesus' first discourse, the Sermon on the Mount (5–7), clearly portrays him as the new Moses.
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Jesus' ascent of the mountain is reminiscent of Moses' ascent of Mount Sinai (Exod 19:3; 24:13, 18). As in the OT (e.g., Mount Sinai; Exod 19:3), mountains in Matthew are places of divine revelation (e.g., the Mount of Transfiguration; 17:1–3, with Moses and Elijah joining Jesus).
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Moreover, the blessings pronounced by Jesus recall Moses' blessing on the tribe of Israel (Deut 33:29). In this his inaugural address, Jesus sets forth his vision for establishing the kingdom of God. The Beatitudes (5:3–12) identify Jesus' disciples as the new true spiritual Israel on whom God's blessings rest.

Jesus urged his disciples to live lives that were characterized by purity and that served to glorify God. In this way they will be “salt” and “light” in the world (5:13–16). He affirmed the inspiration of the OT and ordered his disciples to be characterized by complete obedience to even the least of the OT commands as interpreted by him in his teaching. Unless their righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, Jesus' followers will be unable to enter God's kingdom (5:17–20). Rightly interpreted, the OT demands that disciples control their tempers, pursue sexual purity, honor the covenant of marriage, speak with integrity, refrain from acts of vengeance, and love their enemies (5:21–48). Jesus insisted that only his disciples were capable of such righteousness since he graciously imparted this righteousness to his followers by his blessing (5:6).

Jesus also gave instructions regarding the so-called three pillars of Judaism: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (6:1–18). He especially cautioned his disciples against performing acts of religious devotion in order to please a human audience. He stressed that true acts
of devotion must be focused exclusively on pleasing God. He promised that God would reward such expressions of genuine piety. Jesus urged his disciples to value eternal and spiritual matters above temporal and material things. In particular, he warned his disciples about the allurement of materialism. He commanded his disciples to be free from anxiety by trusting in God's ability to provide for their needs and by letting God's priorities define theirs (6:19–34).

Jesus prohibited hypocritical judgment of others (7:1–6). He taught that disciples may assist others in conquering sinful habits only as they gain victory over their own. Jesus promised his disciples that those who asked for good gifts would receive them. Those who sought the kingdom would find it. Those who knocked on the narrow gate that led to the kingdom would be granted entrance. However, Jesus warned that the life of the true disciple would entail difficulty and persecution. Few people would be willing to suffer this hardship for the sake of receiving eternal life (7:7–14).

Jesus warned his disciples about false prophets and false disciples (7:15–23). Disciples could recognize these counterfeits by their “fruits,” the actions and words that attested to their true inner character. Jesus taught that false disciples would be exposed on judgment day for what they truly were. He would personally unmask them and banish them from the kingdom of heaven. Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with a parable that taught that hearing and obeying Jesus' teaching were the only effective means of preparing for eschatological judgment. Matthew noted that the people recognized the unusual authority of Jesus' teaching in comparison with their scribes and teachers of the law (7:24–29).

B. Second Part of Jesus' Galilean Ministry (8–9)
The narrative section that follows the Sermon on the Mount is saturated with accounts of Jesus' miracles. He cleansed a leper, healed the paralyzed servant of a Roman centurion, cooled the fevered brow of Simon's mother-in-law, controlled the weather by his mere command, delivered the man from Gadara from a legion of demons, raised a synagogue ruler's daughter from the dead, stopped a woman from hemorrhaging when she simply touched the hem of his garments, gave sight to the blind, and enabled a mute man to speak.

These miracles served several different purposes. First, they confirmed Jesus' identity as God the Savior since Isa 35:5–6 promised that when God came to save his people, he would open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf, enable the lame to leap like a deer, and cause the mute to shout for joy. Second, some of the miracles, particularly the healing of the centurion's servant and the exorcism of the Gadarene demoniac, demonstrated Christ's compassion to Gentiles and clearly stated God's intention to grant them salvation. Third, because Matthew explained Jesus' healing power by quoting Isa 53:4 (Matt 8:17), the miracles showed that Jesus was the Servant of the Lord who would offer his life as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of God's people. Fourth, one healing miracle and the accompanying dialogue clearly expressed Jesus' authority to forgive sins (9:1–8). Finally, several of Jesus' healing miracles displayed his compassion toward people regarded as unclean who were rejected by the religious community and treated as untouchable. These
miracles demonstrated that Jesus' grace and mercy extended even to the most despised and unworthy people.

This section concludes with Jesus' observation that the crowds were like sheep without a shepherd (9:35–38; see Num 27:17 with reference to the leadership transition from Moses to Joshua), an indictment against the Jewish leaders (see Ezek 34:5).

Discourse 2: Instruction of the Twelve (10)
Jesus followed his indictment of the Jewish leaders with the appointment of the Twelve to serve as shepherds of the lost sheep of the house of Israel. These 12 disciples would serve as the nucleus of a newly reconstituted spiritual Israel. Jesus commanded the disciples to proclaim the message of the coming kingdom, to perform miracles similar to his to demonstrate that the messianic age had dawned, and to live in dependence on God's gracious provisions.

Jesus also warned his disciples about persecutions they would have to endure because of their association with him. These persecutions would give them the opportunity to testify about Jesus before rulers and kings. They need not be anxious regarding their testimony in such cases because the Holy Spirit would give them the words to say. Jesus' disciples were to fear God more than others since God could destroy both their body and soul while people could only destroy the body.

C. Third Part of Jesus' Galilean Ministry (11–12)
This section describes the wide variety of responses to Jesus' ministry ranging from the doubt of figures such as John the Baptist to his hearers' refusal to repent. Jesus alleviated John's doubts by pointing to his miraculous works that fulfilled OT prophecy and confirmed his messianic identity (11:1–19). Jesus pointed out that he and John the Baptist had been different in several ways. John had lived an austere lifestyle, but Jesus had associated with sinners. By rejecting both Jesus and John, the people demonstrated that their problem was with the shared message about the coming kingdom and the necessity to repent rather than personalities or lifestyle differences. Jesus identified John as the Messiah's forerunner, thereby implicitly identifying himself as the Messiah.

Jesus warned unrepentant cities of the terrifying judgment that awaited them if they did not repent of their rejection of Jesus (11:20–24). He explained that no one knows God the Father except Jesus his Son and “anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal him” (11:25–30). The following pericopes display the intensifying rejection of Jesus by the Jewish leaders. The Pharisees first challenged Jesus' disciples for breaking one of their Sabbath laws. Jesus replied by identifying himself as the Lord of the Sabbath, a title the Pharisees would have recognized as belonging to Yahweh alone. When Jesus later healed a paralyzed man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees began to plot to take Jesus' life (12:1–14).

Again, Jesus is identified as the Servant of Yahweh (see 8:17), fulfilling OT messianic prediction not only with regard to his miraculous healing ministry of universal scope but even with regard to the meek and humble manner of his ministry (12:15–21). The Pharisees' rejection of Jesus climaxed when they identified the ruler of the demons as the source of Jesus' ability to cast out demons (12:22–37). Jesus warned them that ascribing
the activities of the Spirit through his ministry to Satan constituted the sin of blasphemy against the Spirit, a sin for which no forgiveness was offered. He further warned that the words of the Pharisees would result in their condemnation on judgment day.

The Pharisees asked Jesus to perform a sign for them to confirm his claims (12:38–45). Jesus replied that the only sign that they would be given was his own resurrection (the “sign of Jonah”; this is the only “sign” of Jesus in the Synoptics, while John features a series of signs to show that Jesus is the promised Messiah). However, Jesus warned that the Pharisees and many others of that generation would reject that sign and that their spiritual condition would only grow worse, like a man liberated from one demon only to be inhabited by numerous more evil spirits. Finally, Jesus taught another lesson on faith and discipleship by identifying all those who performed his Father's will as his spiritual brothers and sisters (12:46–50).

Table 4.3: Parables of Jesus in the Synoptics

Discourse 3: Parables of the Kingdom (13)
In his third major discourse, Jesus told a number of parables related to the kingdom of God.
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The parable of the sower (13:1–23) explained the reasons for which many rejected Jesus' message. Jesus invoked the message of Isaiah (Isa 6:9–10) who faced serious rejection and noted that Israel's rejection of Jesus as Messiah fulfilled OT prophecy. Jesus' parable also emphasized the amazing production of righteous deeds and words by those who heard and accepted Jesus' message.

Jesus' parable of the weeds (13:24–30,36–43) was his response to those who wondered why Jesus did not immediately destroy the wicked if he were the promised Son of Man. The parable demonstrated that Jesus was not the source of evil in the world (compare 13:27–28 with 13:36–39), that the entire world belongs to the Son of Man, that the devil had no right to bring evil into the world, and that the Son of Man would assert his kingship over the world by punishing the wicked and blessing the righteous at the appropriate time.

The parables of the mustard seed and the leaven (13:31–35) portray the remarkable growth of the kingdom and its extensive influence on the world. The parables of the hidden treasure and the valuable pearl (13:44–46) show that the kingdom of God is worthy of any sacrifice Jesus' disciples may be called upon to make.