Matthew 1-5. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 3, 2023.
As we embark on our look at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 through 7, we want to take time to adjust just how we see this scene.
The word “sermon” sounds as if Jesus is simply a preacher, and everyone that day was simply going to church. As we will see, Matthew sees something far greater than a teacher exhorting us to live for God.
As an introduction to this series, I have picked the subtitle, “Behold Your King!” These words are used in Zechariah 9:9 to point Israel to Messiah who would come to them as lowly, and riding on a donkey. Both Matthew and John quote Zechariah 9:9 to Jesus, particularly the Triumphal entry before his crucifixion.
The early church understood that Jesus was presenting himself as king. Even after his rejection and crucifixion, he is still King Messiah. God had made him king, and God was not taking nominations for the position. He wasn’t looking for our input on who it is going to be. We see this in Psalm 2.
Matthew’s gospel is not just a diary that tells us what happened each day of the life of Jesus. It does roughly follow his life, but it is presented, or packaged, in a way to help us see who Jesus really is. Some of the crafting of this message is done by Jesus himself, particularly when we are reading his words. However, in the chapters leading up to the sermon on the mount, Matthew is purposefully arranging things so that we will understand what he understood about Jesus. In fact, the whole book of Matthew is clearly packaged in a way to highlight things about Jesus. There are 5 large collections of the teachings of Jesus in Matthew with the Sermon on the Mount being the first. Another one that we see is the Parables of the Kingdom. It is believed that Matthew puts it in these 5 collections to map or to picture the five books of the law. A similar thing is done with the five collections, or books, of the Psalms.
I say all of this because I want us to pay attention to how Matthew presents the very Jesus who gives the sermon on the mount starting at Matthew 5:3. There are two main pictures that lay behind who Jesus is. Let’s look at those.
In the very first verse (1:1), Matthew signals something important about Jesus. He is descended from David, “the son of David.” He is also descended from Abraham. Matthew will go on to give the data of the genealogy of Jesus. However, this is the most important connections. Why?
He does so because King Messiah would come from the lineage of David. Matthew is ultimately presenting Jesus as the Messiah of God, sent to rule Israel and the nations. He is also presenting Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of The Promise to Abraham. Through Jesus, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
Yet, Messiah is not just a son of David. Messiah, Jesus, is greater than his ancestor David. David gives us a template of a righteous king versus King Saul, a template of a wicked king. David was righteous, but not like Jesus.
If you think that I am making this up, then look at 1:18. Matthew writes, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows…” For us, the word “Christ” almost comes off as a last name. However, it is the Hebrew word for Messiah, and all of the prophecies in the Old Testament make it clear that Messiah is a king. You can particularly go to Psalm 2 to verify that.
Yet, the king references given by Matthew continue. In Matthew 2:2, the Magi come from the East and ask Herod a question. “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” They are looking for a king, which is disturbing to Herod (isn’t he the king? Who is this king they are looking for?). In 2:4, Herod inquires from his religious experts where “the Christ was to be born.” Notice that Herod and his religious leaders make the connection from a king of Israel, that Gentiles would be looking for, to the Messiah, Christ. The chief priests then respond by using Micah 5:2. Messiah would be born in Bethlehem and would become the “Ruler,” and the “Shepherd” of Israel.
All of this harkens back to the Davidic covenant given in 2 Samuel 7 (also in 1 Chronicles 17). There God tells David that one will come from his line who will be a son to God and that God would be a father to him. This special son would reign as king forever. This king would be directly anointed by God’s Spirit to fix and rule over Israel and the nations.
This is most likely why the exile (“captivity”) is mentioned by Matthew in his genealogy of Jesus, 1:17. The captivity was a great crisis among the people of Israel. The line of David was cast down, Jerusalem destroyed, and the temple gone. What was God doing? Was He done with Israel? We will look more at this later.
In Matthew 4:17 and 23, the main thing that Jesus is proclaiming is “The Kingdom,” which is connected to King Messiah. Jesus is not just a man from the house of David trying to be king. He is being presented as the Messiah who brings in a special time of heaven’s administration on earth called “The Kingdom,” or “the Kingdom of Heaven.” In the sermon on the mount alone, Jesus references “kingdom” nine times (five times in chapter five, three times in chapter six, and 1 time in chapter seven). The Kingdom is important for Jesus.
Jesus tells them in Matthew 4 to repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. They need to get things right with God, but they specifically need to listen to the one whom God was sending, Jesus. He would show them how to fix everything in Israel and the nations.
The sermon on the mount becomes a king who is announcing his arrival, and declaring the terms of his kingdom. Yet, this is not the only image that Matthew is projecting to us.
Jesus is not just giving Israel the word of the Lord. He is the Word of the Lord. Similarly, Jesus is not just another prophet in a long series of prophets. He is The Prophet. In fact, Moses prophesied that God would send another prophet like him in Deuteronomy 18. Israel would need to listen to this prophet. This is important because Moses was not just another prophet. The writer of the book of Hebrews in chapter three of his letter makes the connection between Jesus and Moses. Moses was faithful as a servant in order to set up the House of Israel for Yahweh. All the prophets that came after him were different in that they pointed Israel back to the writings of Moses. They were not instituting a new thing, but maintaining what Moses helped set up. Even the prophecies they gave of the future Messiah were in light of Israel.
Jesus would similarly build a new house. However, Jesus is greater than Moses. He is not just building a house for God, but He is building a house as a son. This is a marriage picture. The son builds onto the house of his father to make room for him and his bride. Jesus is The Prophet who is like Moses, and yet, who is also greater.
Matthew’s 5 large collections of the teachings of Jesus are presenting him in this light. We can notice on top of this that Jesus goes up in Matthew 5:1 “on the mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.” “The mountain” is sometimes translated as “a mountain” simply because it is not defined in the passage. Yet, the definite article is there. Matthew is using language connected to the days of Moses, and the mountain they went to in order to receive the instruction of Yahweh.
This may not be expected for us, but the Hebrews understood from the prophet Isaiah that God was going to do a New Exodus in order to solve the problem created by Israel’s sin. Isaiah ends chapter 39 with the revelation that God was going to judge Judah and send her into exile in Babylon. Yet, the next chapter opens with God telling the prophet to comfort His people. God would send a servant that would bring Israel back from the captivity and enable the work of God to prosper in his hands. This servant would set up the promised Kingdom of Messiah. From chapter 40 to 66, the imagery of the Exodus is promoted as God’s template for saving Israel again. The same God who saved them from Egypt would save them from Babylon, and even more than that.
Yes, it looked like Israel was done, and that the line of David was done. However, through Isaiah, God says that He is not done! When the enemy tells you, “It’s over,” and “There is no recovery from that,” don’t listen to him. Whether it comes to mind about yourself, another person, or a certain Republic you know and love, it doesn’t matter if it is dead, the meat is completely rotted off of the corpse, and the bones are completely dry. God is able to bring back from the dead in order to keep His promises. This new exodus would be on a greater scale, and such an impact would require a greater Moses.
Christ would be the end of the captivity of not just Israel, but also of the nations.
Yet, Jesus is greater than simply being the greater Moses. In Matthew 2, we see the child Jesus going down to Egypt in order to escape Herod’s attempt to kill the kids under two years old. Isn’t it strange that we have a king killing babies, and Jesus going to Egypt? There is purposefulness to this. Jesus is even the greater Israel. Everything that Israel went through and failed, Jesus will walk through and succeed, without sin. He will be the perfect Israel, the perfect servant of the Lord, following the leading of Yahweh even through the desert.
Israel’s time in the wilderness was supposed to be an intimate time of God’s supernatural care and provision. Yet, they fell to sin by grumbling and complaining. They created a golden calf to serve, rebelled against Moses, and even committed sexual immorality at Baal Peor. Yet, Jesus goes into the wilderness and is tempted at all points by the devil, only to come out of it having passed the test with flying colors.
All the promises to Israel fall upon the One who is the ultimate Israelite. We should even note that the name Israel was not given to the nation. It was given to an individual, Jacob. Jacob had wrestled with God and is given a blessing of a new name. It is often translated as “Prince with God,” which is fair. However, it might be more impactful to think of it as “One who has power with God.” Jacob had touched God, and God helped him. He had power with God, not a power of control, but a power of relationship. God cared for him. Jesus is the greater Jacob, the greater Israel, the greater One who has power with God! God listens to him.
Listen, God is not done with Israel even today. Romans chapters nine to eleven show this. Just as God did not throw off the gentiles forever, but used Israel to reach them, so too, God has not thrown off the nation of Israel forever, but will use the nations to bring Israel to a place where they will recognize Jesus as Messiah and repent before the Lord.
In Matthew 2:15, he quotes Hosea 11:1 “out of Egypt I called my son.” When you look at the context of Hosea 11, you may think that they are misquoting. It is clearly speaking of Israel as a nation. Yet, when you see Israel as a prophetic, image in contrast, then you see how Matthew makes the connection. Just as God called Israel out of Egypt, so Messiah would be brought out of Egypt. Messiah is the ultimate Israel.
This connection of Jesus with King David and with The Prophet Moses will later be rounded out with The Great High Priest. Jesus is presented as all of these roles all wrapped up into one. He sits on the mountain and gives the Torah, the instructions of Yahweh for His people. This is what Matthew is presenting.
So, when we read the sermon on the mount, we are not just hearing a nice sermon. Jesus is setting up his kingdom, and we would do well to heed his instructions. He is the prophet of god who we need to listen to so that we don’t perish in the wilderness (Exodus). And, he is the king established by God that we need to submit to so that we don’t perish in the way when his wrath raises up just a little (Ps 2, Messiah). Lastly, he is the High Priest who we need to remove our sins from us, to reconcile us to God so that we do not miss out on our inheritance.
Thus, Jesus tells us in the sermon on the mount, 5:17-18, that he did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. He is all that the Law was pointing towards. He is the ultimate fulfillment of what the Law was showing us. Hallelujah!