Introducing Sermon On The Mount In a New Light

Jesus is one of the most influential people in all of human history. His teachings are still relevant to this day and continue to be taught throughout the world. In Matthew's Gospel, we find Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, which was delivered near Jerusalem, where he gave his disciples a new way of life.

Let’s talk more about Sermon on the Mount

The teachings in this Sermon are very different from those of other religions and philosophers at the time, which is why it became so popular with people who were seeking something new. Let's take a look at some main points from this Sermon:

Love your enemies

One of the most important points in the Sermon on the Mount is Jesus' commandment to love our enemies. He tells us that "whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me" and instructs his disciples, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you."

The point here is that if we are having a hard time forgiving someone who wronged us, we should try to put ourselves in their shoes and imagine how it feels to have those feelings.

A common misconception about this point is that we are supposed to love people who have hurt us. Of course, we should, but it's not our duty to get along with everyone and be friends with the enemy. Our responsibility in regards to those around us is only if they treat us well--which means being kind back.

If someone hates you or mistreats you and you wish to be kind back, then do good things for them. The point is not that we should love and get along with everyone but rather that when someone does something wrong, whether it be a minor annoyance or something more serious like an act of violence against us--we shouldn't respond in anger because what goes around comes around.

Don't judge others, but instead be compassionate and forgiving

Jesus also teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount not to judge others. Instead, we should be compassionate and forgiving because God will reward those who are humble and give up their worldly possessions for His sake.

Judging others is easy. We can do it in our heads without ever letting the person judge them, so they will never know of our judgment because we don't need their permission or knowledge for us to judge them. Even if people tell you not to judge others, there is still a powerful temptation within each one of us to want to judge others.

We should not be judging other people because it will cause us to do harmful things against them, and we really don't know who is going through what that person has gone through in their life, so how could we ever think of doing anything bad against them when they have done nothing wrong?

No one wants to be judged, so why should we do it to others?

God will reward those who are humble and give up their worldly possessions for His sake

In the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus teaches us how living a life of humility will lead to eternal life. He says that if we give up our worldly possessions for His sake, God will reward us with an eternity of happiness in Heaven

If we want something we can't have, it will make us feel sad. But if God tells us He wants something from us, and we give it to Him without question, He will reward us for our obedience.

To practice humility means to be humble in heart, seeking the lowest place possible with a detached attitude, and to be obedient in all things. We can avoid a lot of needless suffering by being humble, detached from the worldly possessions we don't really need.

Stories in the Sermon of the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount is followed by stories meant to illustrate how following these principles will lead us into Heaven and away from hell. For example, one story talks about two men who had houses next door to each other; one man was generous with his wealth while the other man hoarded everything for himself; both men died, but only one went into Heaven because he had been charitable during his lifetime.

The stories in the Sermon on the Mount also talk about how God will judge our actions. But, apart from this, the stories ask us to imagine how our actions will appear not only before other people, but also to God.

Final Thoughts

The Sermon of the Mount is an integral part of Christian scripture. It outlines a series of standards for how Christians should behave and includes many stories to illustrate its points. If you want to become more familiar with Jesus' teachings, I recommend reading this passage in its entirety.