The crowds had come from all over. For every one healed and sent away whole, it seemed three more arrived to replace him. Was this all the Master came to teach? Was He going to make of His disciples healers? No, there was more teaching than healing, though perhaps only His close followers knew that. A few in the crowd, indeed, wanted only the healing. Many realized the healings were but signs for something different, a teaching which had brought such power, a power not before seen in Israel. The scrolls held stories of miracles of old, but not on this scale.
More than a teaching of power, it was powerful teaching. Like no one before Him, this rabbi taught a stirring message. It was not simply one more rehashing of the Talmudic lessons, nor a dry recitation from the Books. No, this teaching beckoned to a place far beyond, a standard which, if obeyed, would require a miracle itself. For many, it was too much, and they went away confused. Plenty went away ridiculing. Still, just a few seemed to get it, seemed to hear in all this something they needed more than mere healing of the body, but healing of the soul.
Most likely it was Mount Tabor, more of a rocky, rounded high hill nearby where Jesus climbed up above the crowds for a time of teaching. Matthew uses this moment in the story to launch into an explanation of all the various teachings Jesus gave in those days. Finding a prominent spot, Jesus followed rabbinic custom and took a seat to teach. It was a subtle signal for quiet listening. In such a setting, the teaching session was primarily for His disciples. From the text, we know of only the first four of the Twelve, and they would have sat closest. The crowd would have already seen by their behavior these were His servants. By now, He would surely have drawn several others hoping for similar honor. Perhaps it was a pretty large group. Thus, it is unlikely some of the other eight were not among the listeners. It was time to begin winnowing the group, to see who could weather the dramatic difference in style, and more so, the difference in content.
He preached about the Kingdom of Heaven right on top of them. What was it like? It would be so easy to get lost in the details of His message. There really is a great deal of material, but we must first discern the theme. That is, what is the underlying concept Jesus seeks to declare? In this first collection of sayings, we are exposed to the shortcomings of typical rabbinic teaching. The constant refrain, "you have heard it said" refers to that. In this first few verses, Jesus starts by redefining what it means to be favored by God, to be blessed and happy in this life. As we've already established, the mainstream teaching of that day was to use relative wealth and comfort as the measure of God's favor, and holiness as marked by adhering to the massive pile of Talmudic minutiae, something about which Pharisees and Scribes were quite pushy.
Jesus threw this all out. Not only did He ignore the rabbinical style of quoting revered experts, but seemed to poke fun at them. No doubt some felt this was tantamount to rejecting the Covenant itself, but clearly He did not. Indeed, all of this was reflected in obscure comments by some rabbis, but most of that day paid only lip-service to such things. Jesus seemed to offer a competing understanding of the Covenant and its requirements. It was not about rules, wealth and political power, but about the soul at rest in God, regardless of circumstances. God's favor fell on those who were humble, mourned more at sin than at physical injury, knew who held the reins of life, cared more about true righteousness, showed mercy to others, were transparent in their motives, and preferred shalom of the soul over that of the flesh. Most favored of all were those who faced contempt for these attitudes, for it put them in the company of the famous prophets of old. These would receive from God far more in spiritual blessings than any man could claim in earthly rewards.
Such persecution was unavoidable, because the truly righteous were radically different. They were driven from within. This was not about overturning the Law and Prophets, but of bringing them to life, fulfilling their message. Their message was precious, and any man who dared to raise anything above them -- as most rabbis did with the Talmud, claiming it was more binding than Moses -- would find no place in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Word would outlive every man. Those who lived by the Word did not simply observe the obvious requirements in conduct, but sought to live the higher meaning. Here Jesus clearly shows the Law was type and shadow, but He is the Light of Truth. One could obey the whole of Moses, yet fail God completely.
It was not enough to withhold your hand from murder; you must pull your heart from the pit of anger. The courts of earthly judgment were severe enough. Imagine the Court of Heaven, where God sees the hearts of men, and needs no prosecutor. You can't stand before Him with unclean hands, but even worse is an unclean heart. Go first and live according to pure motives, or your ritual offerings will have no meaning.
Treating wives as little more than good cattle is an abomination to God. The Law of Moses was weak on men of weak character. However, the true standard of God was to hold your wife as His sacred gift. The only just reason for sending her away was adultery. God takes marriage seriously, and your marriage covenant was made before Him. It's not just avoiding pagan wives, but avoiding trading them around like property. One man, one woman, for life.
Silly nit-picking over legal trifles will cost you more in the end. If it requires some sort of legally binding oath to get you to keep your promises, you don't know God. God demands you simply say "yes" and "no" and mean it. If you spend your whole life just trying to get even with those who attack you, you don't know God. It's better to absorb losses and attacks and trust Him for recompense. Don't cling to mere stuff! The greatest riches are His genuine approval. The greatest power over all your enemies is love. Return blessings for evil, so that evil does not own you. How can you hope to enter the Kingdom if you aren't and different from sinners?
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Ed Hurst
18 August 2007
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