IndexIntroductionDifferences with other gospelsThe Lord's PrayerAnalysis of the Sermon on the MountThe role of the Sermon on the MountConclusionBibliographyIntroductionThe Sermon on the Mount is one of the three main discourses given by the Lord Jesus Christ in the performance of His prophetic office while engaged in His ministry on earth. Concerning the Upper Room Sermon and the Olivet Sermon there is little divergence among Bible-believing interpreters regarding the period of applicability, the persons to whom they are addressed, or the principles of action contained therein. There is no such unanimity in the interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, even among interpreters who approach Scripture from the same literal and dispensational point of view. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Differences with other Gospels In both Gospels the sermon begins with what are commonly called the Beatitudes (Mt 5,3-12; Luke 6,20-23), short sayings that begin. «Blessed are you...» . .' The Greek adjective translated 'blessed' represents a Hebrew word often used in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms and Proverbs. It means lucky, wealthy, to receive congratulations or similar. The person declared blessed may not feel happy at all; in fact, those whom Jesus called blessed would seem decidedly unhappy to most people. There are four differences between the Beatitudes reported by Matthew and those reported by Luke. First of all, Matthew has nine Beatitudes, Luke only four. Luke lacks sayings regarding the meek, the merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted for justice. Secondly, while Matthew's Beatitudes are more generally pronounced in the third person ("the poor in spirit", "those who mourn" and so on), switching to the second person only in the last Beatitude, Luke's are all addressed directly to the listeners in the second person ("you poor", "you who are hungry now"). A third and very important difference is that Luke understands and expresses the Beatitudes in a more literal and material sense than Matthew. It is not "the poor in spirit" who are called blessed in Luke, but "you poor", not "those who hunger and thirst for justice" but "you who are hungry now". Instead of “those who weep” Luke has “you who weep now,” and instead of “they will be comforted” he has “you will laugh.” The fourth difference is even more marked. Luke's four Beatitudes are followed by four corresponding Woes (6.24-26): «But woe to you who are rich, woe to you who are now full, woe to you who now laugh, woe to you when all men they speak well." of you." The Lord's Prayer Sincerity in prayer requires that it be direct and simple. God is not impressed by verbosity (vv 7-8). Nor is the purpose of prayer to give him information. Prayer is the child's expression of his hopes, fears and aspirations towards the Father, who already knows what the child needs, but wants communion of spirit with spirit. Here Matthew gives (6.9-15; cf. Luke 11.2 -4) what we call the Our Father, introduced with the simple indication: 'Pray therefore thus'. Luke places it after the story of Mary and Martha. Both settings can be artificial; it is the prayer itself that counts. Marco doesn't report it at all. It begins with “Our Father who art in heaven.” Luca simply has "Father". Matthew (or his special source) prefers the expression “Heavenly Father” or its equivalent “Heavenly Father,” both in prayer and in speaking about God (e.g., Matt. 16:17; 18:10, 19 ). It is a Jewish form of address that Jesus himself may well have used. In oneshape or form, Jesus' most characteristic word for God was "Father." With the possessive pronoun 'mine' or 'his' or only the definite article (Mk 8.38 and parallels; 13.32 and parallels) it refers to God as the Father of Jesus himself or of the future Son of Man or Messiah. According to Luke, since he was a boy, Jesus spoke of God as "my Father" (2.49). It is again Luke who reports that Jesus twice invoked God as Father from the cross (23.34.46), and after his resurrection he spoke to the troubled disciples about "the promise of my Father" (24.49). But Jesus didn't just talk about God as his Father; he also spoke of "your Father" (Mt 6.15 and often) and taught the disciples to address God as "Our Father" or simply "Father". In Judaism it was not at all unusual to speak of God and of Him as Father, both of individuals and of the entire people of Israel. Some prayers in the Jewish prayer book begin with "Our Father, our King." A famous rabbinic saying is, “Who is there upon whom we can lean?” On our Father who is in heaven." In the apocryphal book of Sirach a prayer begins: «O Lord. Father and master of my life" (Sir 23,1); and in another place (51,10) the reading of the Greek text. “the Father of my Lord,” represents a Hebrew text that was probably meant to read, “My Father, my Lord.” For Jesus the term "Father" meant not only Creator, although that was part of the meaning. It didn't just mean the supreme authority that we must obey, although that's what it meant. It also meant Provider, Protector, Loving Parent, with all that human parenting at its best implies. It meant much more, in fact, than the most perfect human parenting could mean. "If you therefore, who are evil", said Jesus (Mt 7,11; cf. Luke 11,13), "know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good gifts" to those who ask him." In Matthew the Lord's Prayer consists of seven requests, of which Luke has five. The first three are required not for ourselves but for the glory of God and his purposes on earth. The first petition is typically Jewish: "Hallowed be thy name." The idea of ​​name consecration has a long history behind it. Among the early Semites the name represented fame or reputation; indeed it expressed and embodied the very existence and identity of a person. Thus God's acts of grace were said to be performed for His name's sake (e.g. Ps 23:3); blasphemy or any speech or conduct that reflected discredit upon him was said to profane his name (e.g., Lev 22:32); while I revere him as a saint. praising him as holy and acting so as to reflect credit upon him were called (e.g. Isa 29:23) sanctifying or hallowing his name (literally, making him holy). This must be the first concern of Jesus' disciples. The second request of both Matthew and Luke is: "Your kingdom come" (Mt 6.10; Luke 11.2). Jesus had proclaimed upon his return to Galilee after his baptism (Mk 1.15 and parallels): «The kingdom of God is near. “Close as he was, he was evidently not yet there when he addressed this prayer to his disciples. It hasn't arrived yet. The advent depends on God. "Thy will be done", whether it corresponds to our desires or not, is the ultimate desire of every devout heart. It was the prayer of Jesus himself in Gethsemane. What God's will requires must be accepted with sincere submission. This is the passive aspect of the petition. It actively means that the one who prays desires to do God's will himself and wants every group of which he is a part to do God's will. The phrase "on earth as it is in heaven" applies not only to the third question but to all other. Three. The critical editions of the Greek text make this clear with the arrangement of the verses, but our translationsEnglishmen obscure it or ignore it. Literally the phrase says: "as in heaven, so also on earth". In heaven, this implies, God's name is hallowed, his kingdom is present and manifest, his will is done. What does "in heaven" mean? Jesus, as a child of his time, may have thought of heaven in simple terms of time and space. Rabbinic Judaism believed in several heavens, sometimes three, sometimes as many as seven. How much significance such ideas had for Jesus we cannot say. His statement that those who participated in the resurrection of the dead angels would be similar, neither marrying nor giving in marriage (Mk 12.25 and parallels), implies a sort of incorporeal existence. All we can be sure of is that he believed in a real world in which what one could only hope and pray for here was already realized. However, even in this case, it is not possible to move away from the simple meaning of "even on earth". The shortest form of Luke's Our Father omits both "thy will be done" and "as in heaven, so on earth". Perhaps this omission simply reflects the liturgical practice of a different group of churches. Perhaps Luke preserved the original prayer. and Matthew presents a liturgical expansion. The same question applies to the form of speech at the beginning of the prayer. There is no way to determine the right answer. What the disciples are to pray for is not vitally affected. Matthew's form has a clear structure, but this may be the result of the use of prayer in public worship. The remaining four requests are for our good, but only the first concerns bodily needs. "Give us this day our daily bread" (Mt 6.11; Luke 11.3) is a request for physical sustenance, perhaps intended to cover not only food but all the needs of daily life. Instead of "this day" Luke has "every day"; in both cases the measure is required only for one day at a time. Whether "daily bread" is the correct translation is a question on which scholars disagree. The Greek adjective is found nowhere else. For me 'our bread for the next day' seems like the best translation. In the morning this would refer to the day that has just begun; evening would mean the next day. That the petition has anything to do with the messianic feast of the age to come seems unlikely to me. In the next petition the words 'debts' and 'debtors' bother some people, who prefer 'offensive' and 'those who sin against us'. .' This latter reading dates back to Tyndale's pioneering work (1535). The English Prayer Book perpetuated this interpretation, which is still used in many churches. All standard English versions after Tyndale. however, they have "debts" and "debtors"; and this is what the Greek actually says. In Aramaic, sins are regularly called debts and sinners are called debtors. Luke reads "sins" instead of "debts" (11.4). It is probably simply a different translation of the same Aramaic word. The idea of ​​debt is preserved in Luke's “all who are indebted to us,” while Matthew speaks of “our debtors.” Several recent translations read "the evil we have done" and "those who have harmed us" or similar. The supplication (Matt. 6:13; Luke 11:4), “And lead us not into temptation,” has troubled sincere Christians perhaps more than anything else in the Lord's Prayer. It seems unworthy and cowardly to ask to be spared from temptation, and the idea that God could ever tempt anyone to sin seems incongruous (see James 1:13). The word 'temptation'. however, it was not always as limited in meaning as it is for us now. The Bible often refers to tempting God (see Mt 4:7) in the sense of putting him to the test. The Greek word translated "temptation"means proof or proof of any kind, including persecution. “But deliver us from evil.” The Greek is ambiguous (see Mt 5:39). The connection with the previous period suggests a particular reference to the temptation or test from which the disciples ask to be spared. So, double petition can mean. “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Tempter”; or, since 'evil' has a wide range of meanings in the Bible, 'Do not subject us to too severe a test, but deliver us from evil.' Since we cannot say precisely what Jesus had in mind, it would seem justifiable to use prayer in any of these senses. The entire prayer is expressed in the plural. Although Luke's simple "Father" is more authentic than Matthew's "Our Father," both Luke and Matthew read "give us our daily bread," "forgive us our debts," and "our debtors," "Do not guide us... but deliver us." Even in the privacy of his own room with the door closed, the Christian cannot leave his brother out of his prayers. Obviously, this model prayer was not intended to exhaust all the things for which the disciples could pray. Everything in the Gospels concerning the subject justifies the assumption that anything worth asking or desiring would be a worthy object of prayer, subject always to "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Mt 26.39 ). . At the end of the prayer in Matthew (6:13) some manuscripts say: 'For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.' The parallel in Luke (11:4) and some manuscripts of Matthew omit it. It clearly appears to have been added into the liturgical use of prayer in some churches. There is a tendency in the liturgy to multiply words (see Mt 6:7-8), although in this case the language is not at all redundant or inappropriate. It is less verbose than David's prayer (I Chron 29:10-111), which probably provided a model for it. After the prayer, Jesus adds in Matthew (6:14). «For if you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive men their sins, neither will your Father forgive your sins." This is one of only three sayings in the Sermon on the Mount (5:29-30. 312-33) that have parallels in Mark (9:43-48; 10:11-12; 11:25-26). In all three cases Matthew has a subsequent doublet. Analyzing The Sermon on the Mount First, the standard of character in the Kingdom is God-like perfection. v.3-48. This is described, in his journey and his experiences, in the Beatitudes, v. 3-12. Hatch, in his "Essays in Biblical Greek," tells us that the terms employed here (πτωχ!!), -ραεις) were commonly used to describe the Fellahin of the East, the poor suffering multitudes by whom every spirit had been crushed. by the incessant oppression of the rich and dominant classes. In this natural condition of the lowest strata of the population Jesus sees the illustration of the conscious spiritual condition of all those who have just entered the Kingdom. Personally, they feel spiritually bankrupt. Secondly, the world is worth it, w. 13-16. Members of the Kingdom are like salt, which saves the world from corruption, v. 13 and light, to give light to men and glory to the Father, w. 14-16. Thirdly, its relation to what is required by law - completes the latter, w. 17-47. This is expressly stated in w. 5-8pm. The initial words (“do not think”) indicate that Jesus has in mind the suspicion, and perhaps the accusation, already afloat of loosening the constraints of morality. Which He absolutely denies. The requirements of the law must not be abolished but satisfied, updated; not lowered, but raised higher, even to perfection. Kingdom justice must far surpass the prevailing standard of the scribes and Pharisees. The body of truthrevealed in the law and the prophets is compared to a temple that slowly rises through the centuries under the hand of God. In summary, the character required in the Kingdom is that of divine perfection, see 48. The children of the Kingdom must be perfect like their Heavenly Father. The fact that this verse is intended to summarize the teaching of the entire chapter is not only suggested by the nature of the thought, but expressly indicated by the particle. The Role of the Sermon on the Mount These findings of modern biblical research provide an extraordinarily rich theological context in which we can understand and appreciate the role and teaching content of the Sermon on the Mount. As Pope Benedict observed in his recent study of Jesus, "The Sermon on the Mount is the new Torah brought by Jesus as the new Moses, whose words constitute the definitive Torah." Furthermore, the Sermon on the Mount can also be understood within the new covenant that God was establishing the new Israel as Jesus' opening speech ushering in the kingdom of God. As the leader of God's new people, he was setting forth the message of the dramatic miracles and healings what he had accomplished previously in the gospel of Matthew, that the kingly power of God now began to manifest itself in the activities and teachings of Jesus. As Matthew summarizes: «Jesus went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, announcing the good news of the Kingdom and curing every disease and every infirmity of the people." The sermon that closes this opening section of Jesus' gospel ministry in Matthew shows us Jesus now describing and explaining what life would be like for his followers in the kingdom, as he would describe and confirm to subsequent generations of new Christians, beginning with Matthew's Christians. community, what being a disciple of Jesus now regularly entailed for them. The role of the Sermon on the Mount in the time of Jesus and subsequently in the life of the Church was well highlighted by Pope Benedict when he described how, “In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus addresses his people, Israel, as the first bearer of the promise. But by giving them the new Torah, he opens them, to give birth to a new great family of God coming from Israel and the people. Matthew wrote his Gospel for Jewish Christians and, more generally, for the Jewish world, in order to renew this great impulse that Jesus had initiated. discover its internal structure and thus recognize that the entire discourse has been carefully fashioned from earlier sayings of Jesus to provide a detailed exposition of his key statement which forms, as it were, the text of the sermon: "I say to you , unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The sermon is an analysis of what Christians' true relationship with God must entail, as opposed to how their opponents, the scribes and Pharisees, are (polemically) described as behaving. As in the case of Paul in his letter to the Romans, the famous but elusive biblical term "righteousness", or dikaiosune (based on the Greek term dike, or justice), attempts in the Sermon on the Mount to capture how a forgiving God takes the lead in relating to us and how we in turn should respond accordingly from our hearts to this generous heavenly father. Keep in mind: this is just a example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion Matthew's Sermon on the Mount is purposeful in presenting an authoritative portrait of Christian discipleship. After a description of Jesus' introductory healing ministry, the scene is set as he ascends the hill and sits down solemnly to address his disciples and the crowd of.): 13.