Post by Soulfyre on Oct 22, 2005 14:07:17 GMT -5
Of all that I have written, I continually return to the Sermon on the Mount as a source of unending enlightenment about the very heart of Christian identity. While it is doubtful that the entire sermon has been recorded, we have the "Readers' Digest" version, edited through the apostles by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. So we may trust that what we have comprises that very essential distillation of the words of Jesus necessary for our growth in the way.
You may wonder why I assert that it is doubtful that we have the entire sermon. This conclusion appears to be supported by the text, which indicates that when His disciples had gathered, Jesus sat down and began to teach. This was the very traditional posture taken by a rabbi as he taught his students. It was at the same time a posture of authority and humility. Such studies were far more like graduate seminar classes than college lecture classes. There was often much interaction with students, who were encouraged to ask questions and were challenged by the rabbi for responses so their understanding could be gauged and corrections could be made. There was a skillful use of illustration to clarify and drive home points. One difference, however, between the Sermon on the Mount and other rabbinic approaches to teaching is that rabbis generally relied on midrashim and targums (extensive Jewish commentaries on Scripture), and rabbinic tradition. The people were amazed at Jesus' teaching, however, because He taught as "one with authority". When he touched upon tradition, he often asserted: "You have heard it said...but I say..." Nevertheless, this teaching method would often take hours (remember the feedings of the 5,000 and of 7,000, which appear to indicate that the length of teaching had gone past a meal time, and the disciples were concerned to let the people travel back to their homes to eat and returned).
Clearly, reading through the sermon on the mount in a non-interactive manner can be done in less than thirty minutes, so it is assumed that much of the interaction in the sermon is not included (although it may be obliquely alluded to). I encourage you, however, to interact and to ask questions (I will provide a separate thread for discussion). All I ask is that we limit our discussion to the presentation at hand, not getting ahead of the study (unless you simply wish to state that you believe a particular conclusion I make appears to in in conflict with teaching later in the sermon, which I will then discuss when I reach that later information.
God bless us all and throughout His Holy Spirit guide us into all truth as we prepare to study His word, and taught by THE WORD made flesh, Jesus Christ.
Matthew (soulfyre)
BTW, among my resources I will be using the book The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, by R. Kent Hughes, the senior pastor at the College Church in Wheaton, Illinois. I recommend any commentary by R. Kent Hughes highly. This is a volume in the commentary series Preaching the Word, edited by R. Kent Hughes. I especially appreciate this series because it is written in a manner that is very available to the layperson. It is not innundated with the scholarly arcane, but has excellent end notes for people who wish to research the conclusions of the author. These books may be found at both Amazon.com (which is often the least expensive option), from Christian Book Distributors, or from local Christian bookstores. Of course, I get credit if you order from the links I create on my site (so far, just Amazon, but soon I will again have CBD set up).
You may wonder why I assert that it is doubtful that we have the entire sermon. This conclusion appears to be supported by the text, which indicates that when His disciples had gathered, Jesus sat down and began to teach. This was the very traditional posture taken by a rabbi as he taught his students. It was at the same time a posture of authority and humility. Such studies were far more like graduate seminar classes than college lecture classes. There was often much interaction with students, who were encouraged to ask questions and were challenged by the rabbi for responses so their understanding could be gauged and corrections could be made. There was a skillful use of illustration to clarify and drive home points. One difference, however, between the Sermon on the Mount and other rabbinic approaches to teaching is that rabbis generally relied on midrashim and targums (extensive Jewish commentaries on Scripture), and rabbinic tradition. The people were amazed at Jesus' teaching, however, because He taught as "one with authority". When he touched upon tradition, he often asserted: "You have heard it said...but I say..." Nevertheless, this teaching method would often take hours (remember the feedings of the 5,000 and of 7,000, which appear to indicate that the length of teaching had gone past a meal time, and the disciples were concerned to let the people travel back to their homes to eat and returned).
Clearly, reading through the sermon on the mount in a non-interactive manner can be done in less than thirty minutes, so it is assumed that much of the interaction in the sermon is not included (although it may be obliquely alluded to). I encourage you, however, to interact and to ask questions (I will provide a separate thread for discussion). All I ask is that we limit our discussion to the presentation at hand, not getting ahead of the study (unless you simply wish to state that you believe a particular conclusion I make appears to in in conflict with teaching later in the sermon, which I will then discuss when I reach that later information.
God bless us all and throughout His Holy Spirit guide us into all truth as we prepare to study His word, and taught by THE WORD made flesh, Jesus Christ.
Matthew (soulfyre)
BTW, among my resources I will be using the book The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, by R. Kent Hughes, the senior pastor at the College Church in Wheaton, Illinois. I recommend any commentary by R. Kent Hughes highly. This is a volume in the commentary series Preaching the Word, edited by R. Kent Hughes. I especially appreciate this series because it is written in a manner that is very available to the layperson. It is not innundated with the scholarly arcane, but has excellent end notes for people who wish to research the conclusions of the author. These books may be found at both Amazon.com (which is often the least expensive option), from Christian Book Distributors, or from local Christian bookstores. Of course, I get credit if you order from the links I create on my site (so far, just Amazon, but soon I will again have CBD set up).