As the Sermon on the Mount nears its end, Jesus returns to an idea that was prominent in the teaching of John the Baptist: that the true judge of what is good, true, beautiful, and holy in the world, is the impact it has on the world around it. Since it bears repeating, truth is … Continue reading The Tree and Its Fruit
It’s often rightly said that the Gospel is neither ‘liberal’ nor ‘conservative’, but as something not of this world, represents a fundamental challenge to any and every human belief system. The Gospel simply refuses to accept our stereotypes or the often bizarre coalitions that comprise our political parties. We have a great example of this … Continue reading The Narrow Gate
Today, as we continue to look at the aphorisms toward the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we come to what is arguably, his most famous teaching, the Golden Rule. In English we know it as something like, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is … Continue reading The Golden Rule
Last week, we looked at Jesus’ teaching against anxiety, which is grounded in seeing God’s providence for all creation. Today we have the flip-side of that teaching: Confidence in asking for what we need. It’s a beautiful and comforting teaching, but one that isn’t without its own challenges. Jesus says: Ask, and it will be … Continue reading Ask, Search, Knock
So far, we’ve seen that the Sermon on the Mount contains a number of different genres within it: beatitude, legal discourse, prayer, and formal instruction. Now as the Sermon nears its end, Jesus switches to aphorisms, short, pithy sayings or proverbs. The one we’ll look quickly at today is simple, so simple that scholars have … Continue reading Pearls before Swine
Matthew Root 