Excerpts from the book.

“I begin with two hypotheses:

First, the core of what it means to be a follower of Jesus is expressed in the Sermon on the Mount. In my opinion, no other section of scripture expresses what Jesus wants from us as clearly as this sermon does. It is the foundation for following Jesus. It eclipses any creeds, man-made doctrine, or Church tradition. I believe it stands alone and above all other scripture… In short, if we want to think like Jesus and live like Jesus, the Sermon on the Mount should be written on our hearts.

Second, it’s our responsibility to understand what Jesus is saying. To grasp that, we have to study, pray, and search our souls. There are complex concepts and seemingly impossible challenges here. There are only two sources that speak to this, with authority. Only the totality of scripture can shine a light on the meaning of any single verse. This means you may need to grapple with verses that appear to contradict the others… The other source is God’s Spirit. God does not hand us a Bible and abandon us. If we carefully listen for His voice, He will open our hearts and minds. He will prompt us to ask questions and challenge our presuppositions. He will transform us if we allow Him to…

There is a contrast between religion and genuine faith in our current challenged and often disturbed world. Faith has always fostered lasting peace, compassion, mercy, and hope. In contrast, religion has often engendered ignorance, arrogance, tribalism, and selfishness. Faith moves us two steps forward, while religion pulls us two steps backward. Jesus emulated faith and opposed religion. If it doesn’t look like Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, it’s not faith and is likely to do more harm than good…

Jesus promises that he will build his church and “the gates of Hades will not overcome it” — Matthew 16:18. That promise doesn’t mean that the Church won’t go through periods where it loses its way. It doesn’t mean that deception and idolatry will never threaten our mission. I believe that we are in the midst of a time like that.”

“I first read the Sermon on the Mount back in January 1974, and today, it still leaves me weak in the knees and hungry to hear more. Throughout this year, I have been living in those three chapters. Since 1974, I have called myself Christian and Evangelical. I’ve followed the crowds to small group studies and megachurches. I’ve listened to Christian Music and attended conferences and seminaries. I’ve led worship, shared my faith, and struggled to be more authentic. I suppose those things have their place, but when I place the total of their impact on my soul next to those chapters in the Book of Matthew, they seem unremarkable…

Can we spend some of this next six weeks, together, chewing on Jesus’ sermon? I want and need to get back to what I experienced back in 1974. There I first opened my Good News for Modern Man and read about Jesus. His words broke me and gave me new life. Jesus has, I believe, been a part of my journey since then, but it’s time to return to the basics. I’m convinced that Jesus’ most well-known sermon is the place to begin. I hope that what is written here encourages and challenges you to join with Jesus. If you’ve never met him, there is no one more important. If you used to love him but have forgotten, I hope this draws you back to your first love.”

“In a perfect environment, to fully grasp the meaning and purpose of any statement, including scripture, I would have to live in the time and at the place where the original statement was written. I would have to fluently speak the language, understand the idioms and dialect of the writer. I would have to be thoroughly acquainted with the culture, politics, history, environment, and circumstances being addressed in the text and the underlying motivation for what is written. I would have to know the people mentioned. I would have to understand the background and intent of the person writing the text. Even knowing all of that, no communication is perfect. Send an email or write a Facebook post and a significant percentage will likely misunderstand at least some of what you’re trying to say. Sometimes, even a change in punctuation can transform the meaning of a statement. ‘I’m giving up overeating for a month‘ can morph into: ‘I’m giving up. Overeating for a month‘… 

What we have today is remarkable. We can be confident that our translations convey a message which is very close to the original. There are minor differences between translations. There have been times when translators allowed their own agenda to intentionally change the meaning of a handful of verses. Still, it is largely consistent and dependable.

The same can’t be said of the reader- the one who interprets the words. Most of us are lacking the key ingredients to fully understand. Consider the things I mentioned above. The things which make up the context, the pretext, the subtext, are often entirely missing. We are missing significant pieces of the puzzle. When you combine that reality with ignorance and arrogance, the Bible (like any religious text) can move from being a thing of beauty and value to become a tool for harm…

When we read the scriptures, I think the primary, and first quality, that we should possess, before we are handed a Bible is humility. Jesus didn’t have the complete canon of scripture. Of course, he didn’t need it because he was, and is, the living Word of God. King David had even less of the sacred texts. So, why should we listen to these, who didn’t have the entirety of the Bible to work with, when the know-it-all down the road has the entire text? Because they spoke with humility, honesty, and authority…

The Bible is meant to be approachable. It is intended to help us begin to understand. It’s also intended to leave us with a sense of awe and a heart full of questions. God doesn’t intend for us to use it as if we have all the answers. It isn’t meant to replace God. It is paper and words, which can point us to the Living Word. Some of those words are addressed directly to us. Some simply tell a story of how God worked in the lives of people millennia ago. Some illustrate concepts in a way that primitive people could understand a central point. Only God’s Spirit can guide us. If you want to understand God, then don’t build a relationship with a book. I believe Jesus’ words are accurately recorded in the gospels. If you read his words with an open heart, I think you will fall in love with him.”

“As we encounter Jesus, we all come with our own personal baggage. Often, the baggage is something we must immediately leave behind if we want to follow Jesus. Some bags he allows a lifetime for us to release. Other bags contain things that we can delude ourselves into believing are perfectly consistent with following Jesus. However, the truth is that regardless of how good the world or members of our church see us, God sees us differently…

Those who share our culture and background may view some things to be perfectly fine because our culture has embraced them. They may condemn things simply because that’s what is condemned in our culture. When we choose to follow Jesus, then he should decide what bags we must leave behind…

Two groups may be reading this. I suggest that both groups need to approach our differences with caution. To the first group, you may be comfortable with the state of the current Church in America. You may defend its connection with conservative politics and cultural identity. In that case, I encourage you to spend some time reading and meditating on Jesus’ most well-known sermon. If considered deeply and honestly, it should leave none of us comfortable. You may be where God wants you to be. Only God can reveal that…

To the second group, you may have left the Church and are deconstructing your faith. Many of us have memories of first hearing Jesus’ words and want something unbound by American culture. Any culture. We can agree on that. Still, be careful. If you have fled the conservative church of your youth, you may be tempted to overcorrect. Not everything you were taught was without merit…

Don’t scrap everything that you have been taught simply because you believe that some aspects are wrong. Consider what you have been taught and look at Jesus. Let Jesus be the one to determine what is and what isn’t worth keeping. As you are cleaning house, go to Jesus before you toss something out…

Jesus’ values should always overrule values we receive from friends, family, political, or cultural influences. Those things are temporal. Only Jesus provides eternal values that we should pursue. A follower of Jesus must derive their identity by walking in his footsteps. No one else can fill his sandals. The world, and its groups, always have an agenda, and their goals will never fully align with Jesus’.”

“Jesus’ Sermon, as recorded in Matthew, begins with a list of blessings. These are for those who he sees as citizens of the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. What is most apparent in his list is that it is the very opposite of the values of the kingdom of man. In today’s world, our cultural beatitudes might read more like this:

• ‘Blessed is the man who is wealthy, for he has greater value and has earned it.
• Blessed are the powerful, for might makes right. They make the law, and they are above the law.
• Blessed are the arrogant, for they never question or doubt their superiority.
• Blessed are those who party and praise, for they are not negative and will be unmoved by suffering.
• Blessed are those who know everything about God, for they believe He is easy to understand.
• Blessed are those who don’t struggle with sin, for they know that being perfect is impossible, and they are better than those people over there.
• Blessed are those who are strong and are quick to fight, for they will make peace, for their friends.
• Blessed are the beautiful, the celebrity, the loudmouth, and the trendy, for they will tell us what to think and what we should value.
• Blessed are you when everyone agrees with you and defends your right to impose your beliefs and views on others.’

Jesus provides a list of values that is the opposite of this…

As we go through Jesus’ list of blessings, it’s critical to ask ourselves if these characteristics reflect us and those we look to for spiritual or lifestyle guidance. I don’t believe that there is a definitive understanding of what each of these blessings means. When I was in college, we were often given poems and assigned the task of interpreting their meaning. Since none of us wrote those poems, we had to guess what the author meant based on clues in the verses. Reading different commentaries on these verses makes it clear that the same is true with the Beatitudes. Fortunately, these verses do provide some clues. Some are relatively clear, and some are a bit less so. Even if we don’t get a definitive answer, they raise important questions that every faithful follower of Jesus should struggle with. These were a foundational teaching by the one we consider our savior. Everything else that we identify with must make peace with these characteristics if we want to be worthy of the kingdom that Christ has prepared for us.”

“Jesus says that people like this are not only blessed but that He joins with them. He understands what it is like to feel the severe and gnawing pain of malnutrition. He understands what it means to be stripped naked, to be beaten, to be mocked, and to be cursed. Just like David, of the Psalms, Jesus understands the feeling of what it is like to feel abandoned by God…

When we suffer, we are blessed. This isn’t just because we have a future hope of deliverance from suffering, as Job did. We are also blessed because we are not alone or forgotten by our Creator in our suffering. God doesn’t want us to suffer, but He wants to draw near us when we experience it.”

“In the first step, we are blessed when we recognize our poverty- poor in spirit. We realize that something valuable is missing. We accept the reality of our utter dependence on God. In this step, we go beyond recognizing our dependence to actually FEELING and grieving the loss…

It’s likely that Adam rose every day, mourning his worst decision. Every time he ached, hungered, or wept, it’s likely he thought of the day he chose to heed a voice that wasn’t God’s. Every time he was cold, angry, or lonely, I suspect he genuinely grieved. I think, perhaps, this is the sort of mourning that Jesus is referring to. Perhaps, it is the kind of mourning that he promises us will be comforted in God’s timing…

Today’s challenge–

Consider what my selfishness and disobedience have cost me and the harm that it has done to others. Lead me to acknowledge my faults, ask for forgiveness, and do my best to repair what I have broken. Prompt me to embrace my grief over what is lost, but rejoice in what is yet promised. Find comfort in the promise that God Himself is now my Comforter and will ever be.”

“I think a more accurate illustration of God’s mercy is presented in the Old Testament story of Joseph. In the Book of Genesis, we are told the saga of Joseph, the youngest of the twelve sons of Jacob (Israel). Jacob doted on Joseph, leading to his brothers’ jealousy and betrayal. In chapters thirty-seven through fifty, Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery, and he is taken to Egypt…

He illustrates both God’s strength and the heart of God’s mercy. He was willing to see God’s hand in allowing an injustice that must have broken his heart. He was able to forgive their betrayal. He willingly erased an overwhelming debt owed to him by his brothers…

Simply showing compassion for a stranger or friend is not the mercy that Jesus is telling us God will bless. It is showing grace and forgiveness to those who do not seemingly deserve it. In the here and now, we experience this mercy because it brings us peace:

‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. — John 16:33 (NIV)”

“In the economy of God’s Kingdom, the mere absence of violence is not peace. The absence of injustice is peace. Simply ignoring injustice, in the name of avoiding offense, or irritating others, is not the peace that Jesus is encouraging. The peace he calls us to is summed in his prayer:

‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.’ — Matthew 6:10-9 (CSB)

When Jesus calls us to be makers of peace, we should consider the peace which God intends for us in eternity. Because God is the preeminent maker of peace, He wants us to model peace, through justice, in the here and now. Peacemakers are rare because they live in the heart of God’s plan for the kingdom of heaven. They disdain violence, control their temper, and place the needs of others over their own. They recognize the role that justice plays in God’s plan for His kingdom.”

“In the first twelve verses, Jesus lists conditions that will result in God’s blessing. What strikes me is how different these conditions are from what many contemporary religious leaders typically promote. In the Beatitudes, Jesus says that in his kingdom, including the here and now, you will be blessed if you:

• are poor in spirit (or materially poor)
• mourn (or weep)
• are meek
• hunger and thirst for righteousness (or are physically hungry)
• are merciful
• are pure in heart
• are peacemakers
• are persecuted for righteousness’ sake
• are reviled and persecuted falsely on Jesus’ account.

Nowhere here does Jesus say that you will be blessed because you believe in some specific doctrine. Nowhere does he even mention religion or theology. Jesus doesn’t even tie blessing to acts that we do for God or the Church. That isn’t to say that he is discouraging sound doctrine or faith, but he clearly lists blessings that supersede those things. This tells us so much about what God values. God doesn’t care about your religion.”

“Jesus loved to speak in metaphors. He rarely expressed his theology plainly. Instead, Christ painted a picture that required those who heard him to think about what he meant. ‘He that has ears to hear, let him hear’ was a challenge to those who listened to him. Frankly, his use of metaphor both delights and frustrates me. There are times when my problem-solving mind wishes he would just plainly make statements that were unequivocal, unambiguous, and left no room for interpretation. There are times when my poetic side falls in love with his stories and word pictures. Here is one of those occasions…

With that as background, Jesus here is saying that this is the ideal within the kingdom of God. However, it comes with a warning. Faithful followers of Jesus serve an essential purpose. We are to preserve and give life. Genuine followers of Jesus are valued, rare, and necessary. In the kingdom of God, our lives should assist Him in His purposes on Earth. We are called to spread the gospel’s good news by drawing everyone to Jesus and sacrificially loving our neighbors. What did Jesus call his followers to preserve? The truth of God’s loving and holy nature, His never-ending mercy for mankind, and a just and truthful world.

Jesus was no fool, though. He knew that many would falsely claim to be his followers:

‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.‘ — Matthew 7:21 (CSB)…

I believe that Jesus is also warning his sincere followers. He doesn’t want us to water down the truth by thoughtlessly abandoning scripture, and Church history, simply because it conflicts with our world’s culture. Scripture is not always clear. We need to account for context, view it in its totality, and consider who the scripture is directly addressing. We have to wrestle with it and not simply scrap it because parts of it make us uncomfortable. It’s wrong to arrogantly claim to fully understand God’s mind. Many on the Christian Right seem to do this. It’s equally wrong to arrogantly dismiss scripture and two millennia of Christian study, interpretation, and wisdom. Many on the Christian Left do this.”

“Let’s look, with honesty, at Jesus. There is something there to challenge, and possibly offend, the worldview of nearly everyone. Up to this point, we see a Jesus who appeals to a more liberal sense of the world. Blessing the poor, the humble, the persecuted, and affirming the value of all those who follow him. In this section, Jesus wades into seemingly more conservative waters. Here, he stresses the enduring importance of The Law. When I read this section, I am reminded that Jesus doesn’t consider holiness optional for his followers. It is essential. In Jesus’ vision of the kingdom, God doesn’t look the other way when we sin. He doesn’t grade on a curve. Those with a more liberal take on the world often major in God’s grace, patience, and forgiveness. They may stress the Jesus who tells the woman, caught in the act of adultery, that he does not condemn her, but then they ignore the second half, where he tells her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” — John 8:11 (NIV)…

The Pharisees spent their lives cultivating an appearance of righteousness, but Jesus was no fan. Certainly, they followed the Law, at least externally and to the letter. Still, if the Law didn’t specifically prohibit some evil, they had little issue with it. Jesus expressed his disdain for that sort of faux-godliness…

I disagree with the commonly held view that the Law is no longer valid. Isn’t believing that to call Jesus a liar? Jesus did not come to invalidate the Law, but he came to better illuminate our path…

Again, the Pharisees missed the point of the Law. It’s not about following a bunch of irrelevant rules to gain respect from the community or gain currency with God, It’s entirely about loving God and neighbor. It’s about our heart and our intent.”

“… I see both extremes as equally harmful. As in most things, a middle ground is usually the most healthy and wise course. Neither Hugh Hefner nor a castrated Origen reflect God’s desire for us. I seriously doubt that Jesus’ imagery of plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand was offered as a serious response to temptation. I speculate that he was merely using a word picture to illustrate the supreme importance of our souls. For all who claim to interpret scripture literally, it seems few have followed in Origen’s footsteps, which is good. A genuinely literal interpretation of scripture would render a congregation of amputees and blind eunuchs…

God seems outraged by David’s involvement in war and the harm he did to Bathsheba and Uriah. He says virtually nothing about David’s sex life. Eight wives resulted in mostly silence. War seemed to be a more significant concern to God. Doesn’t much of the Church’s obsession with sex seem to have those concerns swapped? …

Desire is a healthy and natural part of life and can be good. It’s human to want a safe, comfortable, and healthy life. It’s right to ask God to give us the means to have our daily bread. God understands our need to be loved, to not be alone and our desire for a healthy sex life. Even desiring more than we have is perfectly fine. The problem is when that desire becomes an obsession. We get off track when what we want is more important to us than God or others, and we become willing to scrap everything else for the object of our desire. We run into problems when we are unwilling to accept that God might shut the door on that desire. It stops being healthy and becomes coveting. It becomes idolatry, and no idol can ever give us lasting peace or true joy.”

“… At times, I really wish Jesus had just been clear and stated things in ways that left no room for misinterpretation. I wish he had provided an explicit formula for many things, like the precise requirements for entrance into heaven, an understandable explanation of the Trinity, a Christology class on his own nature, and relation to the Creator God. It would have been nice to hear his opinion on the culture war issues of today. While he provides blurry hints, clues, and references to many of these things, he rarely came out and defined things, like an auto mechanic or a plumber. Perhaps, his hope was that he would get us to think about these things and approach them as if searching for treasure. Sadly, genuine thinking and open-minded discussion on issues of religion or politics rarely yield dividends… That’s why this, the last of Jesus’ antitheses from the Sermon Mount, is so refreshing and unique. It is impossible to misunderstand…

These days, this teaching is weighing on me and challenging the solidity of my own faith. In no time, since the Civil War, has our nation been so divided. There are two sides, two takes, on nearly every issue. Even after the campaign signs go down, the different paths are still traveled and well marked. What is most distressing, though, is not that we simply disagree, but it’s the way that we disagree…

Jesus had both the right and the temperament to cleanse the Temple Courtyard, but do I? I think I have neither. As is too often the case, my mouth sometimes demonstrates a lack of discipline. I don’t think that I’m alone in that. While I have seriously studied, thought, and prayed over the issues that divide us, I am not Jesus. I have to admit that I could be mistaken in some of these things. Unfortunately, few who hold opposing views express any doubt, humility, or grace in their approach. This makes it even more disappointing and annoying and causes me to dig my heels in even deeper. That doesn’t give me license to respond in anger, self-righteousness, or think evil of them.”

“I suspect that Jesus meant at least two things with this metaphor about light and the eye. He may have been telling us that we should love God and neighbor more than possessions. Additionally, we should have a single-minded focus on developing a worldview based on the kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of man…

If you’ve ever worked in a job where you had more than one supervisor, and they disagreed, you know that it is impossible to have more than one master. Jesus tells us that you can’t serve both God and money. The word translated money is Mamona or Mammon. Mamona was an Aramaic word that meant riches. It likely derives from the concept of something that one trusts. While Jesus was explicitly addressing money and treasures, Mammon can be any idol that we treasure…

Daily, we are confronted with the choice of following Jesus or something else. All too often, we choose a different master. We may demonstrate our spiritual weakness by being stingy. We may opt for judgment over grace. We may allow tribal propaganda to overwhelm our commitment to truth. Perhaps we permit our cultural, racial, political, or ideological worldview to corrupt Jesus’ image. Whenever we do this, we are following in Judas’ footsteps. This doesn’t damn us as evil, but we should be wary. When we serve a different master, the result is never good. Jesus will never be a cheerleader for our culture wars, ethnic identity, political, or economic class. We simply reveal our idols when we attempt to kidnap Jesus and conscript him into our ideological conflicts.”

“As we come to the end of Matthew chapter six, I want to stop and give us a moment to reflect and ask God to speak directly to us… 

When we only see ourselves as righteous, what do we leave for Jesus to do in our lives? He comes to us only when we recognize our need for him and our frailty and propensity toward selfishness…

Like the Pharisees, far too many of today’s religious leaders not only fail to promote justice, display mercy, and embrace humility, they seemingly oppose those things. Like the Pharisees, they seem to despise justice. They embrace or fabricate half-truths and lies and promote political and social agendas which foster injustice. Instead of embracing mercy, they seemingly rejoice in the pain and hardship of those they see as sinners. Rather than loving the world that God “so loved,” they portray the entirety of those outside as either a threat to be opposed or a resource to be tapped. They often portray humility as weakness. They promote and raise leaders who never question themselves, much less ask the complex and soul-searching questions that genuine faith requires…

Jesus’s message to the Pharisees on that hillside rings true for the many who corrupt our faith today. His you have heard it said, but I tell you antitheses seem to be pointed at them- all those years ago and today. Just as the influential religious leaders, in Jesus’ day, had misinterpreted, misled, and harmed God’s message and attacked those who questioned, they often do much the same today. Few of the Pharisees had hearts soft enough to receive Jesus’ message. I pray that today’s wolves in sheep’s clothing will reject their traditions, take a step back, and listen to Jesus’ words…

Of greater significance is how few, in the wider Christian community, push back. It’s concerning that so few ask questions or point to how far we have strayed from Jesus’ commission to “go, and make disciples” — Matthew 28:19, 20. Consider the bracelet that many wore a few decades ago- What Would Jesus Do? How much of what characterizes the wider American Church today reflects Jesus? While none of us are perfect, where does the concept of genuine repentance fit into the life of the Church today? …

Today’s prayer:

Lord Jesus,

I have been told what it means to honor God and live in this world, but perhaps, some of that was incorrect. Others have offered examples of their belief of how a godly person should think and behave. I should indeed honor and respect those who have taught me, but only you have the words of life. Only you have authority in this. Help me put aside beliefs, thoughts, values, and loves that don’t reflect your nature. Even if it puts me at odds with those I love, set my feet on a path that follows you, where you direct my faith. Lead me to genuine and honest repentance, and change.”

“… In these verses, the verbs ask, seek, and knock are commands in the present imperative. This indicates that they are seen as continuous actions. In essence, Jesus is saying, ‘Keep asking. Keep seeking. Keep knocking’…

Suppose we were to commit the entire Old and New Testament to memory. If we fail to treat others the way we want to be treated or if we fail to love God and neighbor, then we have failed to live a kingdom life…

Jesus’ Golden Rule demands that we don’t simply avoid harming others but that we actively put ourselves in their shoes and promote justice for them…

Since verse twelve begins with ‘therefore,’ Jesus is giving a condition for receiving what we are asking, seeking, and knocking. If we don’t consider the needs of others, we shouldn’t expect God to answer our prayers for other things. When we are genuinely seeking God’s kingdom, we will actively be pursuing the common good of our neighbors. If we are blind to the suffering and injustice a neighbor is experiencing, our vision is on the worldly kingdom rather than the heavenly kingdom… “