The Sermon on the Mount (Part 2 of 0)

A Renewed Law for a Renewed Israel – Part two

We left off last time as Moses/Jesus and the children of Israel/disciples had ascended a mountain to receive the law. This article shows connections between the Sermon on the Mount and Old Testa­ment quotations of and allusions to the law of the Lord given at Sinai.

  1. Blessed are those who keep the law — Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with a series of blessings (Mt. 5:3-10). The Psalms and Proverbs often refer to the blessing of those who keep the law of the Lord. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly…But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Psa. 1:1-2). “Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law” (Psa. 94:12). “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart” (Psa. 119:1-2; all of Psalm 119 celebrates God’s law). “He that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18). See also Prov. 3:1-4,13 (cp. Di 6:1-9) and Prov. 8:1,32-35. By opening the Sermon on the Mount with blessings, Jesus sets the stage for a renewal of the law. Many of the blessings themselves refer back to specific statements in Exodus.
  2. The kingdom — “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3,10). Similarly, the Lord called unto Moses, saying, “Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel…Ye shall be unto me a king­dom of priests, and an holy nation” (Ex. 19:3,6; cp. 1 Pet. 2:9).
  1. Mourners comforted -­”Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted (Gk. parakaleo)” (Mt. 5:4). “And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hands of the Egyptians” (Ex. 3:7; see also 3:9; 4:31; 6:5). “Thou hast guided in thy righteousness this thy people whom thou hast redeemed, by thy strength thou hast called (Gk. parakaleo) them into thy holy resting place” (Ex. 15:13 LXX). God continues to hear the cries of his children, calling them to his side in his holy sanctuary.
  2. Inherit the earth/land -­”Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth” (Mt. 5:5). The Greek word “ge,” here translated “earth,” is translated “land” in other occurrences both in the New Testament and the Septuagint; for example, “land of Is­rael” (Mt. 2:20). The inheritance of the land had been a major theme in Exodus. “And the LORD said… I am come down…to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey…And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they are strangers…And I will bring you into the ..” (Ex. 3:8; 6:4,8; see also 3:17; 12:25; 13:5,11; 19:5; 20:12; 23:30).
  3. Hungry and thirsty filled -­”Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Mt. 5:6). Though not in the same spirit, the children of Israel were hungry and thirsty in the wilderness.
    “And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron…ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger…thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” (Ex. 16:2-3). Although their complaint was unjustified, God gave Israel bread from heaven and they were filled.
  1. Mercy, forgiveness — “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Mt. 5:7). After the episode with the golden calf, “the LORD passed by before (Moses), and proclaimed, The Lord, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Ex. 34:5-7).
  2. They shall see God — “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8). The sacrifices establishing the Old Covenant had been offered and the people purified thereby (Ex. 24:1-8). “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink” (Ex. 24:9-11).
  3. Sons of God — “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God” (Mt. 5:9 RV). “And the LORD said unto Moses…Thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Is­rael is my son, even my firstborn: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn” (Ex. 4:21,22-23).
  1. Prophets — “For so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Mt. 5:12). The Old Testament prophets taught the law and were often persecuted for doing so. “They were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law behind their backs, and slew the prophets which testified against them to turn them to thee, and they wrought great provocations” (Neh. 9:26). See also II Kgs. 17:13-14; Jer. 18:18 and Zech. 7:5,11-12.
  2. The salt of the covenant Jesus continues using words and ideas from the Old Testament allusions to the law, “Ye are the salt of the earth” (Mt. 5:13). Salt was important in the law. It was required for acceptable sacrifice. It emphasized that God’s covenant was for ever. “And every oblation of thy meal offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meal offering: with all thine oblations thou shalt offer salt” (Lev. 2:13 RV). “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the LORD, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the LORD unto thee and to thy seed with thee” (Num. 18:19). “The LORD gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt” (2 Chron. 13:5).
  3. God’s law the light — “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house” (Mt. 5:14­,15). These images are all associated with the law, the word of God. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Psa. 119:105). “For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light” (Prov. 6:23). “Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, 0 my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people” (Isa. 51:4). “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem…For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that bumeth” (Isa 2:2-3; 62:1).
  1. A priest’s daily service– Every day the priests had three duties: to keep the lamps burning, to burn incense, and to offer by fire the morning and evening sacrifices (Lev. 24:1-4; Ex. 30:1,7-8; Num. 28:1-8). We have just seen that Jesus refers to his disciples as the light of a lamp that is not under a bushel but on a lampstand and as the salt that seasons the incense and the burnt offerings. True disciples of Jesus are those who continue the true daily service of the priests, those who themselves are the light, the incense, and the salt of the sacrifice, those who continually burn for the law of the Lord.
  2. To fulfill the law and the prophets — “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: lam not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and I shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of I heaven” (Mt. 5:17-29). Jesus may have had Ezra in mind when he used this last phrase, for “Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments” (Ezra 7:10).
  1. Six extensions of the law — The rest of Matt. 5 contains six antitheses of the form, “Ye have heard that it was said to them of old…But I say unto you…” (Mt. 5:21-22,27-28,31-32,33-34,38­,39,43-44 RV). The “old” sayings are taken from the law given at Mount Sinai: “Thou shalt not kill” (Ex. 20:13; Mt. 5:21); “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14; Mt. 5:27); “Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement” (Dt. 24:1; Mt. 5:31); “Thou shalt not forswear thyself” (Mt. 5:33) probably refers back to the ninth commandment “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor” (Ex. 20:16); “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” (Ex. 21:14; Mt. 5:38); “Thou shalt love thy neighbor” is a positive statement of the tenth commandment (Ex. 20:17; Mt. 5:43; cp. Mt. 19:18-19 and Rom. 13:9).
  2. The Lord’s prayer — The Lord’s prayer is based on the Exodus account. “Hallowed be thy name” (Mt. 6:9) refers back to the first four commandments, especially “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:7-8). “Give us this day our daily bread” (Mt. 6:11) just as you did for the children of Israel in the wilderness. “Lead us not into temptation” (Mt. 6:13) so we do not follow their example of failure (cp. 1 Cor. 10:1­13).
  3. Food and clothing — In Mt. 6:25-34 Jesus exhorts his disciples not to worry about food and clothing, telling them that God knows they need these things, and that He will provide them, if they seek first His kingdom and right­eousness. Perhaps Jesus had in mind the words of Moses. “All the command­ments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. He humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live. Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years” (Dt. 8:1-4). Note the parallel ideas: God provides food, water, and clothing to those who remember and seek Him.
  4. The law summarized -­”Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Mt. 7:12).
  5. These words — Moses recorded, “These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words that the LORD commanded him…And God spake all these words…And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD…And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD” (Ex. 19:6-7; 20:1; 24:3,4). And Matthew writes, “Every one therefore which heareth these words of mine…And every one that heareth these words of mine…And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these words” (Mt. 7:24,26,28 RV).
  6. Hear and do — Moses also recorded, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant…And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken will we do…and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do…And (Moses) took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient” (Ex. 19:5,6-7; 24:3,7). And Matthew also writes, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven…Every one therefore which heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man…And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man” (Mt. 7:21,24,26 RV).
  7. When the words had ended -­”And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these words (the Sermon on the Mount in Mt. 5-7)” (Mt. 7:28 RV). An almost identical statement is made about Moses when he finished writing the words of the law. “And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing these words of this law in a book, until they were finished” (Dt. 31:24-27).