Jesus Announces the Principles of His Kingdom
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. Matt. 5:1, RSV.
Jesus knew that the time for His ministry to take a firmer, more visible form had come. John the Baptist had announced His arrival, at His baptism He had been filled in a fuller way by the Holy Spirit for ministry and blessed by the Father, and at the temptation in the wilderness He had met Satan face-to-face and set His boundaries.
Subsequently He had begun His ministry in Galilee, announcing that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Then came the calling of His students, understudies, disciples--those individuals who would eventually take over His mission. Jesus would spend much of His energy and time and patience during the next three years in preparing those young men for the task ahead of them.
His early ministry in Galilee was one of "preaching the gospel [good news] of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people." As a result, "his fame spread....And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan" (Matt. 4:23-25, RSV). His ministry had become a sensation almost overnight as the people sensed that something great was happening.
The time had come for this popular teacher, this healer of disease, this unique person in the history of Israel to announce the principles of His kingdom. He will do so in what would become the most well-known sermon in world history--the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7).
In that inaugural sermon Jesus set forth the principles of His kingdom--He announced how its citizens were to think and live. It would cover every aspect of their lives.
He began by highlighting the ideal character of the citizens of His kingdom in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12). Then He followed it with treatments on a Christian's influence (verses 13-16), their righteousness (verses 17-48), their piety (Matt. 6:1-18), their goals and priorities in relation to their daily needs and desires (verses 19-34), their relationships with others (Matt. 7:1-12), and their commitment to Him and the Father (verses 13-29). By the time He was finished He had set forth principles of His kingdom for every aspect of the lives of those who would follow Him.
As a result, we need to listen carefully as the King speaks. His message is for me.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. Matt. 5:1, RSV.
Jesus knew that the time for His ministry to take a firmer, more visible form had come. John the Baptist had announced His arrival, at His baptism He had been filled in a fuller way by the Holy Spirit for ministry and blessed by the Father, and at the temptation in the wilderness He had met Satan face-to-face and set His boundaries.
Subsequently He had begun His ministry in Galilee, announcing that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. Then came the calling of His students, understudies, disciples--those individuals who would eventually take over His mission. Jesus would spend much of His energy and time and patience during the next three years in preparing those young men for the task ahead of them.
His early ministry in Galilee was one of "preaching the gospel [good news] of the kingdom and healing every disease and every infirmity among the people." As a result, "his fame spread....And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan" (Matt. 4:23-25, RSV). His ministry had become a sensation almost overnight as the people sensed that something great was happening.
The time had come for this popular teacher, this healer of disease, this unique person in the history of Israel to announce the principles of His kingdom. He will do so in what would become the most well-known sermon in world history--the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7).
In that inaugural sermon Jesus set forth the principles of His kingdom--He announced how its citizens were to think and live. It would cover every aspect of their lives.
He began by highlighting the ideal character of the citizens of His kingdom in the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12). Then He followed it with treatments on a Christian's influence (verses 13-16), their righteousness (verses 17-48), their piety (Matt. 6:1-18), their goals and priorities in relation to their daily needs and desires (verses 19-34), their relationships with others (Matt. 7:1-12), and their commitment to Him and the Father (verses 13-29). By the time He was finished He had set forth principles of His kingdom for every aspect of the lives of those who would follow Him.
As a result, we need to listen carefully as the King speaks. His message is for me.
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