A Summary of Jesus,
the Preacher of the Sermon
So who was this Jesus? Who was
this preacher that delivered the message we are considering here? When we hear
the name of Jesus today, it may evoke an innumerable variety of images and ideas,
partly due to the fact that Jesus has been presented in so many different ways.
Books, theatrical works, documentaries, academic critiques, and movies have
depicted Jesus as anyone from the focal point of a historical conspiracy of the
Institutional Church to the reinvention of a pagan myth. Jesus’ life has been
scrutinized, popularized, and refurbished to suit a never-ending array of
purposes and agendas.
But the important thing is to try
to see Jesus from the perspective of those who were actually listening to this
message. Thus, we will rely on a first century document’s depiction of Him in
order to try to see Him as others did in His day. To provide a basic summary,
we will see what the Gospel writer Matthew says about Jesus’ background and His
public ministry.
Jesus’ Background
Matthew
does us the privilege of providing a family record of Jesus’ lineage, which was
very important to the Jewish culture, and is invaluable to our understanding of
Jesus. Matthew begins his document as follows: “The book of the genealogy of
Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1). This is
followed by a condensed detailing of Jesus’ ancestry from Abraham to David to
Jesus’ earthly father Joseph. What we find is that Jesus is a Jew, and He is in
the kingly lineage. Matthew will go on to recount events which allude to Jesus
being much more than a mere man, but Jesus would have been known popularly in
His day as the son of Joseph and Mary. Matthew uses this as a platform to show
that Jesus had the credentials to be regarded as the rightful king (and even
the Messiah) of Israel.
Jesus’ Ministry
It is
important to note that the people of Jesus’ day would have known about the
ministry of a man named John, who was seen as a prophet. He lived and preached
in the Judean wilderness, wearing a cloak of “course camel hair” and “a leather
belt around his waist”. His diet consisted of “locusts and wild honey” (Matt.
3:4, NLT). Certainly by our standards, and to some degree among the people of
his day, this was a strange dude.
People from
all over the region were coming out to hear this man speak, and his message
was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:2) The people
were confessing their sins and being baptized—that is, dipped in the Jordan
river signifying a change of life (Matt. 3:5–6). Interestingly, the practice of
baptism before this time was reserved for those converting to Judaism (Lea and
Black, 179), which means that John was showing that even the Jews (those who
had religion) had to be converted.
This widely
known prophet paved the way for the ministry of Jesus through his message and
his public endorsement of Jesus. He said to the people, “I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I,
whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire” (Matt 3:11). The people, then, would have been prepared for
the ministry of another prophet, who would be even greater than John!
The first
aspect of Jesus ministry was his public speaking. The writer Matthew says, “Now
when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. And
leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the
regions of Zebulun and Naphtali. . . From that time Jesus began to preach and
to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’. . . And Jesus went
about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the
kingdom (Matt. 4:12–13, 17).
The Jewish
synagogue had some similarities to our modern local churches. People would
gather for worship weekly, and portions of the Scriptures were used during the
service. A text of Scripture would be read and taught, and if there was a visiting
rabbi, he would often be given the opportunity to teach at this time
(MacArthur, 123). Jesus, then, would have utilized this occasion to present His
message throughout the region. He, like the prophet John, also called people to
repentance—to turn from their sin to live for God. It is remarkable that Jesus
and John were calling people closest to the teaching of the Bible to change
their ways. Many people today feel that they are pretty morally upright and
have no need for fundamental change, but Jesus says otherwise (as we will see
in His sermon). He says all people need repentance. He also preached the gospel
(good news) of the kingdom—declaring that the kingdom of God was arriving.
This leads
to another aspect of Jesus’ ministry: doing miraculous, good works. He
proclaimed the good news kingdom of God, and He demonstrated the good news
through His actions. Matthew says He was “healing all kinds of sickness and all
kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all
Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various
diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and
paralytics; and He healed them” (Matt. 4:23b–24). Jesus was showing what God
would ultimately do for a sin-infiltrated world. People suffer and face great
turmoil because of the curse of sin, but Jesus showed that God would deal with
sin and all of its horrific effects. This was good news indeed.
Jesus had a
message of repentance and good news coupled with works of divine power and love,
but His ministry also entailed calling people to follow Him:
And Jesus, walking
by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his
brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said
to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They
immediately left their nets and followed Him.
Going on from
there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.
He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and
followed Him (Matt. 4:18–22).
Throughout
His ministry, Jesus called for people to listen to His message and follow Him.
That is exactly what we are seeking to do in looking at His sermon, to listen
to Jesus and follow His teaching. If we want to know and follow God, we have to
listen to Jesus.
Jesus’ Audience
Jesus
became very popular at this point in His ministry. “Great multitudes followed
Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and
beyond the Jordan” (Matt. 4:25) People were coming from all over the place to
hear this great man speak. As we feel when we are going to hear a well-known
person, they must have felt a great sense of anticipation at the thought of hearing
this mighty prophet. Matthew then tells us that “seeing the multitudes, He went
up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then
He opened His mouth and taught them” (Matt. 5:1–2).
The
traditionally recognized location of this sermon is today referred to as “the
Mount of Beatitudes.” We must not picture a huge mountain, but more of a large
hill near the Sea of Galilee. When I lived in New Jersey, I was impressed with
the Pocono “Mountains,” but now living in New Hampshire, I think of them more
as large hills. Jesus was not taking people on a Mount Everest-like hike, so
that only the most athletic people could hear His sermon. Rather, he went to a
location on a large hill, perhaps speaking from a lower position with the
audience listening from the slope of a “natural ampitheatre.”[1]
This sermon in the book of Matthew may
represent teaching given over several days (Carson, 129).
Matthew
mentions that Jesus’ disciples were present. He also says (after the sermon)
that the “the crowds were amazed at His teaching” (Matt. 7:28b, NASB). In this
audience there would have been disciples that had been specifically called by
Jesus to follow Him, and there would have been a host of others who were
interested in Jesus for various reasons. Jesus’ message is for a variety of
people, including those committed already to following Him as well as those who
want to know more about what this man really stands for. I hope you will join
me with anticipation and openness to hear what this history-altering teacher
has to say.
Works Cited:
D. A. Carson, Frank E. Gaebelein (Gen. Editor), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Volume 8
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984).
Thomas D. Lea and David Allan Black, The New Testament: It’s Background and Message (Nashville: Broadman
& Holman Publishers, 2003).
John F. MacArthur, The
MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Matthew 1–7 (Chicago: Moody Press,
1985).
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken
from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980,
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House
Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the NEW
AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995
by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
[1] Cf. Ministry of Tourism, Government of Israel, “Mount of Beattitudes” (available
at http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist%20Information/Christian%20Themes/Details/Pages/Mount%20of%20Beatitudes%20%20%20chr.aspx,
accessed May 2011; Internet).
No comments:
Post a Comment