After the Beatitudes and his radicalization of the Law, Jesus turns his attention to questions of personal piety. Today’s post will explore each of these teachings through the primary lens of the common thread among them, and then see how they connect with the other parts of the Sermon on the Mount we’ve studied so … Continue reading Against Performative Religion
Last time, we saw how Jesus turned the idea of religious perfectionism on its head, arguing that if we truly want to be like God, we have to guard not just our actions, but the thoughts, feelings, and intentions that lie behind them. So, we can’t pat ourselves on the back if we don’t murder … Continue reading Fulfilling the Law (Part 2)
Many of the biggest debates in any society revolve around the question of the law and how it should be applied. Is law about punishing crime or maintaining justice? Must we stick to the letter of the law or can we judge the intent behind it? Do extenuating circumstances matter when deciding a question of … Continue reading Fulfilling the Law (Part 1)
Over the last two posts in this series on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we’ve seen how the sermon begins with the Beatitudes, a collection of apocalyptic Wisdom sayings that overturn the general ways things work in human societies. Rather than it being the world’s ‘winners’ who are blessed, Jesus insists it’s those who are … Continue reading Salt and Light
The other day, in part one of this brief exploration of the Beatitudes of Jesus, we looked at the eschatological (i.e., ‘end-oriented’), apocalyptic, and wisdom assumptions lying behind Beatitude as a literary genre in the Ancient Mediterranean world, and saw how the first three of Jesus’ Beatitudes promote an ethic based in a radical acceptance … Continue reading The Beatitudes (Part II)
Matthew Root 