THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT:
JESUS TEACHING ISRAEL!
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT:
JESUS TEACHING ISRAEL!
JAN LILLEBY
Jesus would not have preached this sermon in New York, or in London, or in Berlin, or in any Gentile nation whatsoever!
Meaning: The ‘Sermon on the Mount’ was especially and exclusively for the inhabitants of Israel in the times of Jesus and His disciples.
Key word here is Mat. 15:24:
“But He answered and said, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
And when He later on sent out His disciples as apostles to Israel, they were to go to the very same clients, namely the ‘Lost sheep of the house of Israel’, specified in John 21:15-17, NASB,
“15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Tend My lambs."
16 He said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He said to him, "Shepherd My sheep."
17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, "Do you love Me?" And he said to Him, "Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You." Jesus said to him, "Tend My sheep”. (Editor’s emphasize).
Tending whom? Shepherding whom? The very sheep flock of Israel, the nation of God and Christ!
And as we later find Peter and the twelve in ministry, told in Acts, that was what they did in their entire time of ministry for Jesus Christ.
Peter’s reference when preaching to the friends of the Roman Captain Cornelius, in Acts 10:36-38, NASB, cannot be misunderstood….they were truly sent to preach to ISRAEL, and no other – except for the fact that Peter now had been allowed to take in some proselytes with the Messianic assembly,
“36 "The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all )-
37 you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed.
38 "You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
(Editor’s emphasize).
In Acts 11 we find that Peter and the others went back on to preach ONLY to Jews. The incident with Cornelius did not alter Peter’s ministry and mission: He kept on with his original work-orders, which was to go to Israel and not Gentiles! It was simply a ‘One Off’.
The Lord had one more ‘card up His sleeve’ – named Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. He should be the one to proclaim the salvation of the Gospel. Jesus and His regular twelve apostles were to go to Israel only. And that is what the entire Book of Acts proves. The twelve cannot be found anywhere abroad in mission. No wonder that Luke’s Gospel ends its story as follows, (chapt. 24) -
“52 And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
53 and were continually in the temple praising God”.
That temple was the one sited in Jerusalem, Israel. This site is repeated throughout the story found in Acts. The apostles gathered in the temple site, under the portico of Solomon it says, Acts 5:12, NASB,
“At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico.”
Jesus preaching His famous sermon up in the hillsides above the Sea of Galilee was not for the Church, it was for Israel only. Matthew 5-7 proves also, by analyzing the sermon Biblically, that the Church cannot possibly have been the recipient of this sermon!
We shall have a closer look at this.
Mat. 5:1-12, NASB,
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2 He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
12 "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. “
Verses 3-10 is clearly speaking of the future millennial Kingdom of God in Israel. Verse 10….for theirs is the kingdom of heaven – is not speaking of heaven up above, like it is with the Church, but He spoke of the earthly kingdom, the restoration of Israel’s kingdom, which His disciples questioned Him in Acts 1:6 after having been taught central truths for 40 days – on the EARTHLY kingdom of God, verse 3. No wonder that the twelve (eleven, since Judas left) raised that issue…namely the restoration of the kingdom in Israel.
“So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?"
So, on the hillside along the West side of the lake, Jesus was teaching the huge crowd about things pertaining to the Kingdom of God on earth.
No actual need to analyze the entire sermon – since we already in Mat. 5 have solid proof that Jesus was talking of Israel and His future there as their Messiah King.
We, the Church, the ‘One new Man’ according to Eph. 2:14, 15 as Paul gives us the faith doctrine of the free Grace Gospel to the whole world, are NOT going to be inhabitants or members of the future millennial kingdom in Israel!
Our homeland is heaven up above, as Paul called it in Greek, epiouranos heaven – the heaven above the heavens, where Christ now resides at His Father’s right hand. The audience hearing Jesus preaching on the mount, they were simply Israel’s inhabitants and part of the nation of God on earth at that time. It had nothing to do with the future Christian church.
Reading further from Mat. 5, we notice in verses 34 and 35 that Jesus was pointing to Himself as their future (Great) King,
“34 "But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
35 or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.”
Jesus explains to the crowd, that He will be that great king and that Jerusalem actually shall be called “The City of the Great King”!
The Sermon on the Mount was never about rules and things concerning the church, but Israel only.
At this time in N.T. history, Jesus did not disclose that He was going to be killed by the religious elite in Jerusalem. That was told to the disciples later on. So that scenario is not found within the sermon.
For instance – reading His words regarding the Law of Moses, and that He – Jesus – was not come to have the Law abolished, is a pure contradiction to Paul’s teaching to the church. In Eph. 2:14, 15 Paul wrote (63-64 CE) that the Law and its ordinances were abolished at the cross, so that Christ thereby created the ‘One new Man’. The church.
Verses 17 and 18, in Mat. 5, goes….
“17 "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
18 "For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”
These words were true only because the crucifixion had not yet taken place. It was more than one year ahead in time when He preached the sermon, He was in His second year of ministry on earth.
The entire sermon in Mat. 5-7 is filled with elements and much doctrinal quotes from the Law of Moses….in so much that Jesus used that well known phrasing found in it, such as …You shall…and You shall not…often used when an ordinance or commandment was quoted. Jesus has lots of words/phrases which tell us that Israel is taught to show forth works in their lives for God Jehovah. Verse 16 is an excellent little passage to demonstrate that,
"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
But our salvation, according to Paul’s grace gospel, is without any works, it is a salvation by faith only and telling us to regard this as a gift of God (Eph. 2:8, 9).
I shall end this little article by a short review of the Lord’s Prayer, as in Mat. 6:9-13, NASB,
“9 "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10 'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
11 'Give us this day our daily bread.
12 'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.']»
“Your kingdom come…” - verse 10, indicates definitively that it is still the earthly millennial kingdom in question. Jesus asked His listeners/followers to pray that this kingdom should be coming, and getting established in Israel.
The greeting to Mary when Gabriel visited her to tell of Jesus to be borne by her, declared that He will be the promised king of the house of Jacob, - as found in Luke 1:28-33, NASB,
“28 And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."
29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was.
30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.
31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.
32 "He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David;
33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." (Editor’s emphasize).
So, the very conclusion must be, that the sermon on the mount has not anything to do with the church regarding faith doctrine and ordinances to be kept in the Church dispensation. It was for Israel only.
And as I already pointed out above, Jesus Himself ANULLED His sermon as such, since He at the cross, abolished the Law once and for all. No longer is there any demand for believers in Christ to show forth works for salvation, such as for example that of first forgiving a person for his sins, so that you may also be forgiven….and so on and so forth. This is no longer ordinances valid in the church dispensation.
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