Sermon on the Mount - The Impact of Jesus' Words

(Matthew 7:28-29)

By Mary Jane Chaignot

Categories: Sermon on the Mount, Sermon on the Mount (Bible Study)

The end of the Sermon Matthew continues with a description of the impact of Jesus' teaching upon the crowds.
Matthew does not recap the Sermon; rather, he puts the focus on Jesus himself.
“And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”
“And it came to pass” is kai egeneto, a phrase that Matthew repeats at the end of each of the five major sections of his gospel. (See also 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1.)
It is a formal way of saying something important has happened.
For example, it is found at the end of Deuteronomy when Moses’ writings to the people were finished. (See Deut. 31:24.)
It could also be another not-so-subtle reference comparing Jesus to Moses, essentially, raising the status of his teachings to those of Moses.
In Matthew, it also forms a transition to the next block of teaching.
The word “finished” is from the Hebrew word, teleo, here, with the meaning of being “fulfilled.”
The word “crowds” is slightly problematic.
Scholars have noted that Jesus begins this Sermon by going up the mountain and having his disciples join him.
It gives the idea that he moves away from the crowds in order to privately teach his disciples.
Now at the end, it seems that the crowds have been there all along as a secondary audience.
No doubt, Matthew’s overall purpose has been to universalize these teachings for all Christ-followers, and not just for his immediate disciples.
“Amazed” has the connotation of “losing one’s mind,” “to be struck out of one’s senses.”
Sometimes it means consternation, fear, or panic.
The Amplified New Testament translation states they “were astonished and overwhelmed with bewildered wonder.”
It is, most likely, copied from Mark 1:22ff, when Jesus has finished teaching at Capernaum.
There, too, the people are “amazed,” although nothing is said at that time about the content of his teachings.
“Amazed” is also in the imperfect, meaning continuous action; this is not a momentary response. The amazement lasts a long time.
The word “teachings” is also in the imperfect, suggesting repeated teachings.
The reason for all this amazement is not the words Jesus has used, but his sense of authority, his sense of office in speaking them.
Going forward he will use that authority to forgive sins, heal the sick, and cast out demons.
The crowds compare his teachings with those of “their teachers of the law.”
These are people who devote their lives to studying the law and interpreting its use for daily life.
The “teachers of the law” would ordinarily limit their teachings to quoting scripture or interpreting the words of previous teachers.
This becomes known as the “oral law,” and some rabbis give it great weight.
Much of this oral law involves trivial matters, like the proper length of a tassel or how to properly wash a cup.
“Their teachers” reflects Matthew’s later writing, noting the distinction between Jewish rabbinical teachers and Christian teachers.
The only times Jesus quotes the law is when he wants to reinterpret it.
He repeatedly uses the phrase, “you have heard it said…but I say unto you….
He speaks of weighty issues: anger, adultery, death, eternity.
He speaks so forcefully that it becomes obvious that he is imbued with God’s authority.
He outlines God’s purpose for their lives.
In 7:21 he says “many will come to me,” while discussing false disciples.
Jesus presumes a role, alongside the Father, in making these distinctions between true and false disciples.
At the end of Matthew’s gospel, he will state: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).
It’s an amazing claim and sets Jesus apart from all others.
Despite being amazed, it says nothing about whether the crowds follow Jesus’ teachings.
The Sermon on the Mount calls its listeners to be doers.
So, it is important to observe the flow of the Sermon.
The blessings come first; it is because of the blessings, because of God’s gifts that followers are commanded and enabled to do any of Jesus’ words.
No one can do any part of the Sermon without the blessings.
The Sermon describes a process, a way of living in relation to God and other people.
The moral imperatives of the Sermon are firmly rooted in an unconditional relation to God.
They are neither totally unattainable nor easily attainable.
They are neither the cause for hopeless despair nor foolish optimism.
The path will be difficult, but it is inexorably tied to the Christian imperative to be in practice what the Christian already is in reality as a child of a loving Father, Mother God.
It remains a standard for those who possess the Christ spirit and live in the kingdom of God.

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