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Before you watch these videos (just pick two or three), fill in the blank:
"The main message of the gospel is___________"
"Jesus' main teaching is ______________."
Did you say KINGDOM in response to the questions above?
Jesus defines the gospel as "the gospel of the Kingdom" in Matthew 24:14
Remember how the concept of KINGDOM is to Matthew's gospel.
So whatever the Sermon on the Mount is about, it's about the KINGDOM..
We even see it structurally:
Nazareth sermon:
Note: since, strangely, Matthew does not include Jesus's inaugural sermon at Nazareth, mission statement
take a look at it below. What do you learn about Jesus core message, and the Kingdom?
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted[a] by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “Since you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’[b]” 5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’[c]” 9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “Since you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’[d]” 12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’[e]” 13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth:
14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. 16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” 22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”[f]
23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” 24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” 28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.
Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit, and Heals Many
31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
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"First" implies one would seek something second, third, etc. But he says "seek...the Kingdom, and all these things [food, clothes etc] will be added to you." Not: "seek the Kingdom, and then you can seek food , clothes." No, "all these things" are given you, without you seeking them at all. They are a by-product of seeking the one thing.
To seek them..even sincerely; even secondly... would be idolatry.
"Purity of heart," Kierkegaard said, "is to will one thing."
Christianity is seeking one thing: the Kingdom thing.
How often have you seen it suggested (here in the West, of course, that our priority list should follow this order:
God>family>church etc etc.
Give it up. Get your priorities right, and ditch the priority list.
Read Joel Green (below) carefully and carefully; and then check out Matthew 6 all over again:
When Jesus calls on would-be disciples to "seek first the Kingdom," is he thinking of a list of priorities with "my relationship with God" at the head? In fact, a closer reading of this part of the Sermon on the Mount may indicate that putting God at the top of our list of priorities is precisely what we must never do.Here is how FPU professor Tim Geddert pictures it:
Some may take offense at this suggestion. After all, they may say, look at the passage! Doesn't Matthew 6:25-24 teach just this order of priorities? Doesn't it say, "Don't put food and drink first; don't put clothing concerns first; rather, out the Kingdom of God first'?" On the basis of this passage, should we not say that "seeking first God's kingdom" must occupy the top spot on our list of priorities? Is this not what Jesus is teaching?"
Maybe be can get closer to the meaning of this passage if we paraphrase Matthew 6:33 differently. Consider these alternatives: "Let the Kingdom of God be at the center of your life...not at the top."
"Let the Kingdom of God set the standards for your life." "Let the kingdom of God determine how you live, how you work, how you communicate, how you play." These alternative readings make good on the fact that the Greek word often translated "first" in this context, proton, is used in the gospels not only to denote "the first in a series," but also "that upon which everything hinges."
In other words, do not put the Kingdom of God first on your priority list; rather, let the Kingdom of God determine your priority list! [emphasis mine]
In order to measure our response to Jesus' message in Matthew 6:33, we must ask more than, have I prayed today, or have I read the Bible today? As important as those spiritual disciplines are, they are not the heart of Jesus' message here. We must go further, deeper. We must begin to ask: What had God's kingdom to do with the job I am doing? The way I drive? The church I attend? The friends I have? How I relate to my next-door neighbor. And so on. -Joel Green, The Kingdom of God: It's Meaning and Mandate, pp. 68-69 (review and summary here)
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Leonrad Sweet, in this video, is helpful in heloing us read the Scripture as apple and orange, and is helping us recover from the deadly disease of VERSITIS:
Having watched that...it's also good to know that here are so many chiasms/chiastic structures in Matthew (particularly the Sermon on the Mount) that some people contarct another deadly disease called CHIASMANIA: seeing chiasms everywhere, even where they aren't..(note I said that in a chiasm..kinda). For a chiasm to be genuine, it should be clear in the original language of the text.
see:
Toward a Chiastic Understanding of the Gospel According to Matthew, Part 1
Chiasm in the Beatitudes? Check this crazy video:
See also:
Chiastic Structuring in the Sermon on the Mount
Have a Chiasm Contest and see which party can identify the most chiasms in these scriptures
(watch our for versitis and chasmania)
PHARISEES:
3:11-12
3:14
4:4
SADDUCEES:
5:1
5:45
5:27-28
5:1
5:45
5:27-28
ZEALOTS:
7:1
7:6
7:18
ESSENES:7:1
7:6
7:18
10:16
10:40
11:5
11:28
Now, focus on the ones from the Sermon on Mount (The Sadducee and Zealots lists). Since chiasm intends to highloight certain points, what might these points teach about the message of the sermon?
Chiasm is a form of parallelism (two parallel statements). Sometimes parallelism is "step" parallelism, where the second statement doesn't just equal, but extends the first. Here are example from Sermon on the Mount/Plain:
a. Synonymous parallelism = says same thing different way.
Luke 6:27-28
"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you
bless those who bless you, pray for those who abuse you"
b. Antithetical parallelism = second line sets up contrast with first.
Matt 7:17-18 "Every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit."
c. Step parallelism =second line picks up thought/word from first and builds on it, takes it further.
Luke 9:48
"Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me"
(and whoever welcomes the one who sent me...)
Sometimes a chiasm goes an extra mile beyond the basic chiasm and exites the chiasm making an additional point, which further draws out the point of the chiasm. We could call this "Step Chiasm" or "Chiasm Plus". Symbol at right.Find examples of this device in the from the Sermon on Mount (The Sadducee and Zealots lists),
Having said all that,
- How is the Kingdom ZJesus inaugrates so upside down?
- Upside down compared to who?
- Discuss any ways chapter 10 reminded you of bounded and centered sets, giving specific examples
- What is the significance of TWO feedings of the multitudes? (chapter 10)e) What is the significance of Jesus' temple tantrum? (chapter 10)
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A crazy dude was interviewed:
My sense is that spiritual formation that doesn’t lead me to to act like Jesus and go places Jesus would go is just smoke and mirrors. I am probably sinning by not going to bars more often; by not meeting, let alone learning from prostitutes, outcasts and (gasp!) maybe even Pharisees. That mix is a key crucible for my formation.-LINK
The Scriptures that keynote this all too often quixotic quest are those that focus on the kenosis and self-emptying of Jesus; and are often used to suggest “Jesus did nothing on earth as God (though he was and is God).” Whether or not I buy a full-blown “Spirit Christology” or not, these Scriptures form, reform, chill, kill me:*John 5: 19, 30: Jesus does/says nothing except what he sees/hears.
*Phil 2:5-11: Jesus complelely emptied himself of the rights of Godhood.
Did he volunatrily choose to not access the rights of his divinity and power?
*Acts 10:38: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
power, and he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of
the devil, because God was with him. “
If Jesus did nothing out of his (albeit) divine identity and nature, how much more do I need to radically, prayerfully and carefully ensure that I am not living and (God forbid) ministering out of myself…
..even when I think “myself” is okay!
Watchman Nee’s opening line in “The Release of the Spirit” is a line which needs to form me more: “We don’t go far in the Christian life before we realize the biggest hindrance is not the world, the devil, but ourselves.”
Yikes! Maybe I haven’t yet “gone very far in the Christian life”!
And I need to be far enough along to be in the bars more consistently. Maybe the last five words of my seminary professor Robert Mulholland’s conscise summary definition is “Being conformed to the image of Christ for the sake of others” are all I need to underline.
Assuming I am walking out of the first seven words.
Hope they are not my “seven last words.”
Father, forgive me. I know not what I do.
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More:
Kenosis - Wikipedia
Kenosis: theology
l
See also
"Just go low. Don't worry about getting up"
Pharisee party, DISCUSS/debate this section of the book, as if you were a member of that party: "Irreverent Jesus" pp, 144-147 (be familiar with the "Four Provocative Acts"
Sadducee party, DISCUSS/debate this section of the book, as if you were a member of that party: "Fumigating the Temple," pp, 150-153.
Essene party, DISCUSS/debate this section of the book, as if you were a member of that party:
"The altar of a church building is no closer to God's heart than the restroom" (p. 163, read in context)
Related: see: God in the Bathroom?
Zealot party, DISCUSS/debate this section of the book, as if you were a member of that party: pp, 52-55
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All parties:
discuss/debate these quotes (as yourselves, not your parties
1)"the basin, the cross and the tomb become pivotal signs of the new kingdom. The cross has long served as the preeminent symbol-the flag-of the Christian church. Only looking at the cross, however. detracts us from its very reason for being. Three upside down symbols flow together in the gospel story: the basin, the cross, and the tomb. The basin is actually the foremost Christian symbol. Jesus himself voluntarily selects a basin to capture the meaning of his ministry. The crossis a Roman symbol, a harsh sign of the state's power to execute criminals. The ruling powers used the cross, an instrument of death, to respond to Jesus' basin initiatives. But God has the last word with the empty tomb. It stands throughout the ages as sign of God's reign over they forces of evil." pp. 242, read all of 241-247
2) "With one stroke, Jesus erases titles".."Titles are foreign to the Body of Christ. (p 226-229)
See:
any title, really (and going way back, salaried pastors).. St. Paul (oops, Paul, the saint) didn't seem to be either. We call him "The Apostle Paul," but though he was entitled to, he never called himself that: "Paul (comma), an apostle."
see:
>>>oh, and we showed some of these videos on related topics (Note: the one you're all looking for is the 3rd one!!)
we didn't show this one:
.
DISCUSSION STARTER:
"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,'" Jesus said.
"For you have only one Master and you are all brothers.
And do not call anyone on earth 'Father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
Nor are you to be called 'Teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. -Matt 23:7-12
.. In the old days, this had to be accomplished by means of respectful titles like "Rev." But nowadays, in these egalitarian times, the attitude of spiritual conceit has had to be a a little more creative,and a pastor shows his prowess in humility by asking people to call him "Joe". Behind the scenes, he is a fierce, hard-driving CEO,and reads those CEO magazines, and acts like a CEO on airplanes, right down to ogling the flight attendant in first class. But out in front of the congregation, sitting on that stool, fitted out in a Mr. Rogers cardigan, he is open, transparent,and shares the struggles of his heart--the struggles of a simple guy...named Joe. He is about as deep as a wet spot on the pavement."
-Douglas Wilson,A Serrated Edge: A Brief Defense of Biblical Satire and Trinitarian Skylarking (read entire book here)...p. 36
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