Jesus Teaches His Disciples

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AStudying God’s Word

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Studying God’s Word

Studying God’s Word

Introduction

As we begin this unit, we are entering into Jesus’ second year of ministry. After revealing himself in Jerusalem by cleansing the temple, Jesus spent most of that first year traveling throughout Galilee, teaching and healing. As we saw through many of Jesus’ interactions, there were only two responses to Jesus: people either accepted him or rejected him. As we wrapped up the previous unit, we saw how the Pharisees turned hostile toward Jesus after he broke their Sabbath regulations and declared himself to be God.

Jesus spent most, if not all, of his second year touring Galilee, teaching and performing signs. Today, and for the next few lessons, we are going to dive into the longest recorded sermon Jesus delivered, the sermon on the mount.

After Jesus returned to Galilee (after having spent the Passover in Jerusalem), he called his disciples to him on top of a mountain and chose 12 of them to be named his apostles.

Let’s read Luke 6:12–16 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

Jesus named these 12 to be his chosen apostles, his most intimate friends and disciples. They not only witnessed his teaching and ministry, but they also took part in his ministry and received additional teaching and explanations in private. After coming down the mountain with his newly appointed apostles, Jesus rejoined the crowd of followers and those who had come to see him perform signs, and he began to teach them.

There is an interesting chronology here. The sermon recorded in Luke 6:20–49 shares many similarities to the sermon recorded in Matthew 5–7. However, there are some marked differences, like the pronouncement of woes in Luke 6:24–26. Scholars disagree if these are records of the same event or different events. When considering the contexts of each passage, it seems to make the most sense if these are different events. It is reasonable to expect that Jesus, like most itinerant preachers, would have taught the same basic message more than once throughout his ministry. Matthew records that the sermon on the mount occurred just before Jesus healed the leper (Matthew 8:1–4), which would place the sermon during Jesus’ first year of ministry (Luke 5:12–16; Mark 1:40–45), before he called Matthew to follow him (Matthew 9:9–13; Luke 5:27–32). Luke places the event, which some have labeled the sermon on the plateau, after naming the 12 apostles, which included Matthew, meaning that Matthew was already among his disciples.

For the sake of this lesson, we will assume Luke records the sermon early in Jesus’ second year of ministry, but because the sermons would have been similar in content, and Matthew’s account is more extensive, we will use the sermon on the mount (Matthew 5–7) to study the teachings of Jesus.

On the New Testament History timeline, you will see the sermon on the mount during the second year of Jesus’ ministry, which is more consistent with the timing of Luke’s sermon on the plateau.

Jesus Clarifies the Law

The sermon on the mount begins with what many call the beatitudes and then moves to offer some analogies to the life of a godly person. It is worth noting that the grouping of “blessed are” statements into the beatitudes is a man-made tradition. The word beatitude comes from a Latin root (beatus) meaning “blessed.” Rather than a separate teaching, these were opening ideas to frame the attitude of those who were intent upon obeying God.

In verse 17, Jesus took a turn. Let’s read Matthew 5:17–30 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

You have to be holier than the holiest people you know to enter heaven. But it’s not just your outward actions; the thoughts you have are also being examined by God. Think about it for a minute—if you call someone a moron or take a second lustful glance at that beautiful woman or man, you have committed murder or adultery in your heart. An abusive insult carries the same level of moral responsibility as actually murdering someone! Just thinking sexual thoughts demands the same punishment from God as actually committing the act! Yelling at that driver who cut you off earns you the same condemnation as ramming them with your car and running them off a cliff. Wow!

• What had Jesus come to do regarding the Law and Prophets? He had come to fulfill those things written, not to abolish them.
• How does verse 18 relate to verse 17? Jesus reiterates the enduring nature of the Law and Prophets, noting it will not pass away until all is accomplished.
• What does the phrase “not an iota, not a dot” refer to? These were minor marks in writing. Some versions use the phrase “one jot or one tittle.” The jot (yohd) was the smallest Hebrew letter, and the tittle was a flare on a letter like the leg on an R. Because the iota is the smallest Greek letter ( ), it is the equivalent of a jot, meaning “the smallest part.” Jesus was affirming that all of the law, even the smallest part, was to be fulfilled and nothing lost or destroyed.
• How many commandments do you have to break to be least in the kingdom of heaven? One.
• How many commands do you have to keep to be great in the kingdom of heaven? All of them.
• How righteous must one be to enter the kingdom according to verse 20? More righteous than the scribes and Pharisees.
• Why did Jesus point his hearers to these men as a standard? They would have been seen as the most zealous and righteous people of the day, so the crowd would have seen this as a very high bar to obtain.
• What comparison might we make today to make the same point? We might say you have to be better than Mother Teresa or a saint or monk. In reality, these people are outwardly righteous but not necessarily inwardly.
• What phrase is common to verses 21 and 27 (as well as 31, 33, 38, and 43)? “You have heard that it was said.” This would have been some reference to what the people had been taught. This phrase stands in contrast to “have you not read” (which Jesus often asked the religious leaders) since his listeners may not have had direct access to read the Scripture but had heard teaching from the Scripture.
• What two things had the listeners heard about murder? They had heard 1) you shall not murder and 2) whoever murders will be liable to judgment.
• What passages did Jesus point to when he talked about not murdering? “You shall not murder” is a quote from Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17.
• What phrase did Jesus use to challenge the understanding of the command in verse 22? “But I say to you” is used here as well as in verses 28, 32, 34, 39, and 44.
• How did Jesus redirect their thinking about murder? He stated that being angry with a brother incurs the same judgment as murder.
• What two examples did Jesus give of contemptible speech? He said that insulting someone—the Greek literally speaks of calling someone “Raca”— or calling someone a fool is an offense worthy of judgment. Raca is likely an Aramaic term that means “empty headed,” and fool is moros in Greek, the root of our word moron.

  Jesus then went on to give two more illustrations of reconciling with those you have offended in verses 23–26 before moving on to another example.

• In verse 27, what command did Jesus point his hearers to? The command to not commit adultery from Exodus 20:14 and Deuteronomy 5:18.
• How did Jesus reorient their thinking about adultery? He directed them to think of the law not just as prohibiting the act of adultery but prohibiting even a lustful thought.
• Does this command only apply to men since Jesus talked about looking at a woman with lust? He used men as an example, but the same thoughts would be sinful for a woman as both bear the image of God.
• How did Jesus drive home the importance of the point to his listeners? He told them to tear out their eyes or cut off their hands if that’s what was causing them to sin.
• What connection did Jesus make to punishment in hell? He told them it is better to lose a part of your body and enter heaven than to be cast into hell for continuing in sin.
• Did Jesus mean for his hearers to actually cut off body parts to avoid sinning? No. Jesus was using hyperbole to emphasize his point. Even if you could cut off your hand to prevent you from stealing, you could still have covetous thoughts in your heart, which are just as sinful as actually stealing. This is an example of reading the Bible literally, interpreting the words as Jesus meant them to be understood by his hearers, not with wooden literalism.
• Hyperbole: using exaggerated language to make a point of emphasis
Discover the Truth
• If you had been sitting there listening to just this small portion of the sermon, how would you have responded? What would you have been thinking about getting to heaven? Discuss various answers, focusing on the fact that salvation seems unattainable. It seems that Jesus was setting an impossible standard before his hearers.

  And that is the point—you can’t earn heaven by your good actions because even if your actions are pure, your thoughts aren’t. The sinful nature of humans brings condemnation to all because all have sinned. You have sinned against God in more ways than you can count and in more ways than you have been taught or have read. You are a sinful creature who is deserving of God’s judgment.

• What attribute of God is demonstrated in pointing out the exceeding sinfulness of humans? Holy—God hates all sin in thought, word, or deed. Refer to Attributes of God poster.
• Without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). When you hear of this impossible standard of holiness and the knowledge of God’s judgment, what should this make you long for? The proclamation of the law and how far short we fall of meeting the standard of perfect righteousness should bring us to our knees, begging God for a remedy to our condition. But God had promised to send a Savior, one who would take away the sins of the people. We should look to that Savior, calling out to God for his mercy in light of our sin.

  The bad news is that we have all sinned against God. God is holy and must judge all sin. But the good news is that God is merciful and has sent his Son to be the Savior of those who repent of their sin and turn to Jesus in faith, trusting that he has paid the penalty for sin on the cross. Knowing God’s holiness and our sinfulness, we should cry out for his mercy because he is faithful to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness through Jesus Christ (1 John 1:9).

Heart of the Matter Activity

We have just examined a few of the statements from Jesus, and it seems that he was changing the commands of God by replacing them with new commands. Some commentators have suggested that, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus raised the bar on obedience above the law of Moses as he gave the six “but I say to you” commands. Your task is to examine this claim and to come up with an explanation of what Jesus was doing as he directed his listeners to his own comments and not what they had heard.

You will find the Heart of the Matter activity in your Student Guide. Work in groups to think about the passages presented there, and then we’ll discuss your conclusions in a few minutes. Have the students work in pairs or small groups to complete the activity.

Connect to the Truth

Let’s look at the conclusions you came to regarding what Jesus was teaching in this section of his sermon.

Jesus was not altering the original meaning of the commands from the laws he pointed to; rather, he was helping the people understand the true intent of those aspects of the law. He wasn’t negating the law but pointing to its true intent and fulfillment. No one could ever fully obey the law. If they could have met the requirements of perfection, Jesus would not have needed to come as the Savior. God never desired only outward obedience but that our hearts would be directed to loving and obeying him.

This was not a concept Jesus introduced but one that we see throughout the Old Testament. It was the case with the sacrifices offered by Cain and Abel. It was Job’s desire as he sought to obey God. It was Joshua’s appeal to the Israelites as they prepared to cross into the promised land: “put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel” (Joshua 24:23). Obedience to God is first a matter of the heart before it can ever be an action of our hands or feet. This is why we need to look to Christ to renew our hearts and let them be conformed to his perfect character more and more every day.

• What had the Jews heard about murder (5:21)? It would bring judgment.
• What did Jesus say would bring the same judgment (5:22)? Hatred and harsh words toward another.
• What does Leviticus 19:17–18 teach? God commands men not to hate others, but to love them as themselves.
• Does Leviticus 19:17–18 align with what the Jews had heard or with what Jesus said? It aligns with Jesus’ statement, not what the Jews had heard.
• What had the Jews heard about the act of committing adultery (5:27)? It would bring judgment as described in the law.
• What did Jesus say would bring the same judgment (5:28)? To look at a woman with lustful thoughts in your heart is linked to actually committing adultery with her.
• What does Exodus 20:17 teach about covetous thoughts regarding another man’s wife? It is morally wrong to covet another man’s wife, desiring her to be your own wife (at least part of which would involve the sexual aspect of marriage).
• What does Job 31:1–4 and 31:9–12 help us understand about Job’s view of lusting after a woman? Job clearly understood that to lust after a woman would bring God’s judgment, so he worked against such desires.
• Do Exodus 20:17 and Job 31:1–12 align with what the Jews had heard or with what Jesus said? Both align with Jesus’ statement, not what the Jews had heard.
• Based on these two points, do you agree or disagree with the statement that Jesus raised the bar on the standard of obedience above the Old Testament law for those who heard (and now read) his sermon? It seems clear that God’s intent in the commands of the Old Testament was not just concerned with outward actions like murder or adultery, but with the intents of the heart. What the Jews had heard from the teachers they were listening to had been skewed to focus on outward actions rather than matters of the heart.
• If you disagree that he was raising the bar, how would you describe what Jesus was doing by offering the correctives he did? Rather than raising the bar and creating a higher standard, Jesus was helping the Jews to see the original intent of the law that had been distorted by things they had heard. He was refocusing their attention on the original intent that had been skewed by the traditions of various teachers they had heard from.
• What is the relationship between hatred and murder? Between lust and adultery? Both are answered as the thoughts and intents of the heart turn into actions. Jesus made this clear as he connected the moral consequences of judgment for both the thoughts in our hearts and the actions that flow from them. Lust is adultery in the heart. Anger is murder in the heart.

A Standard of Perfection

Jesus continued to demonstrate this point as he expounded on divorce, oaths, and retaliation, clarifying the intention of the law, rather than its outward expression that the people had been taught. Let’s look at one more section of the sermon to drive this point home.

Let’s read Matthew 5:43–48 together. Have someone read the passage aloud.

• What command of men did Jesus reject in this passage? He told them to reject hatred for enemies.
• What did Jesus tell the Jews to do instead of hating their enemies? He told them to love their enemies and pray for them.
• What would result from these actions? They would be sons of their Father in heaven.
• To whom did Jesus compare those who only love their friends? He compared them to tax collectors who do the same.
• What types of blessings does God give to all men, whether they’re his children or not? He gives them rain and sunshine
• What standard did Jesus call his hearers to in verse 48? He called them to be perfect.
• Whom would they be imitating in their perfection? Their heavenly Father, God the Father.
• Is this a standard these people could meet? No, it is impossible to be perfect as God is perfect in our own strength apart from the Holy Spirit.
• Was this a new standard given by Jesus? No, this is a restatement of commands given to Abraham (Genesis 17:1) and to the Israelites (Leviticus 11:44, 19:2; Deuteronomy 18:13). Perfection has always been the standard of holiness.
• • Remind students that cross references in the margins of their Bibles can identify Old Testament concepts and passages in the New Testament.
  What does James 2:8–11 tell us about the requirements of God’s law? Even if we keep some parts of the law, breaking one point makes us just as guilty as if we had broken it all.
• How does this verse reinforce the call to perfection as an impossible standard to achieve on our own? It makes it clear that no one will be able to keep all of the law perfectly since breaking one command brings judgment.
• For anyone listening to Jesus, what hope was there to enter the kingdom of God? There was no hope in their own abilities or merit; their only hope (as is ours) was to look to God for mercy found in the Savior who was standing before them.

Discover the Truth

Jesus seems to have been hounding the issue of full and total obedience of heart and mind, calling his hearers to be perfect just as God is perfect. But he knew that they could not achieve this standard on their own—indeed, they had already failed to meet that standard. But he did this to point them to their insufficiency and sinfulness. He constantly pointed out the hypocrisy of those who claim to be righteous based on their own actions. He knew that he would obey for them and offer his life as a sacrifice for the sins that they had committed. His call to his hearers was to enter by the narrow gate to find eternal life, calling him Lord and doing those things he had called them to do. But all of this could only be done in God’s power.

This power was promised by God to Jeremiah and Ezekiel in the institution of the new covenant—God would take the heart of stone that is hardened and sinful, and he would replace it with a heart of flesh (see Jeremiah 31:31–33; Ezekiel 36:25–27; Hebrews 9:7–14). As we look to Christ to obey in our place, we are empowered to live a life of holiness in Christ. We have broken and will break God’s law, but we are seen as holy and perfect because Jesus stands in our place. There is no hope for those who break the law apart from the one who obeyed in their place. The one who calls us to the standard of perfection is merciful and gracious to us. He has obeyed for us.

Application

We have all sinned in thought, in word, and in deed. Beyond that, we have failed to do the things that we know we should do. Jesus pointed his hearers to the standard of perfection and absolute obedience—not just outwardly, but also from the heart. But if our hearts are desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and as hard as stone (Ezekiel 36:26), how can we obey God perfectly? We can’t, and that is the point. We need to have a heart transplant that makes us alive to the things of God, willing and able to obey him. In Christ, we are new creations with new desires. And when we still fail, we are forgiven in Christ. We can strive to obey, knowing that Jesus has already obeyed for us.

As we turn to Jesus as Savior, our sins are washed away, and his righteousness is given to us. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Let these truths invigorate us to look to Christ, trusting in his sacrifice and righteousness on our behalf and knowing that God sees his perfect obedience when he looks at us.

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  How do we offer the same type of authoritative challenges as Jesus did to those we see disobeying God, whether believers or unbelievers? In either case, we must point them to the Bible as the authority on holy living before God, not our own standards and convictions. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict them of that sin. Our role is to proclaim that truth with grace and love. We must be careful not to teach our own man-made standards, like the Pharisees did (legalism), but to point to God’s commands as he originally intended them to be applied.
• How do you respond in your heart to the impossible standard of perfect obedience? Do you find this standard discouraging or encouraging in light of the gospel? Discuss various answers, encouraging the students to remember that in us there is no good, but only that which is done in Christ is good (Romans 7). Knowing that God loves us and has forgiven us in Christ even though there is nothing loveable in us should give us great joy and cause us to be thankful for all God has done for us. If there are those in your class who are unsure of their position before God, encourage them to examine themselves and look to Christ for forgiveness.
• How can we use this same principle of perfect obedience to the law as God’s standard as we seek to share the gospel with unbelievers? The use of the law to show people their sin so that they can understand their need for a Savior is the pattern of the New Testament. We must share the bad news of sin and judgment before we can share the good news of salvation in Christ. This mirrors the way Jesus used the law to point out people’s sin.
• Some skeptics use this passage of Scripture to suggest that Jesus was actually changing the rules that God had set forth in the Old Testament. They conclude that Jesus was working against God, so the Bible presents a contradiction and therefore cannot be the Word of God. How could you respond to a skeptic who presents this challenge to the integrity of Scripture? We should never accept conclusions of skeptics regarding contradictions, but instead use the Bible to point them to the truth. Using the Old Testament cross-references discussed in the lesson, we can show the skeptic that what Jesus was saying was what had been revealed earlier. He was correcting erroneous teaching, not God’s eternal standard of righteousness. We can use this as an opportunity to call them to examine themselves in the light of God’s standard of holiness and point them to the Savior, calling them to repent and put their trust in him.
• How do you intend to live differently in light of what you have heard from the Word of God today? Discuss various answers, reminding the students that we have the power in Christ by the Holy Spirit to say no to sin, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, as we look forward to Christ’s return (Titus 2:11–14). And when we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1–2).

Group Prayer

Be sure to pray with your class before you dismiss them.

• Praise God for his holiness, mercy, and grace.
• Ask God to give each person conviction of sin, so that we can repent of it and turn to Christ for forgiveness.
• Thank God for sending his Son to obey for us.