Christianity in Ministry and Practice

Matthew 4:23-5:2

March 17, 2002

 

What does a Christian look like? I do not mean, how does he dress or how does he comb his hair or what color is his skin, but what does he look like in word, thought, and deed? The Bible makes clear that God's redemptive work always involves Him setting apart a people for Himself. In the prefacing remarks before delivering the Ten Commandments, the Lord God told the nation of Israel, "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:4-6). His deliverance was for the purpose of setting apart a people for his own possession. Peter picks up on these same words in speaking to those who are redeemed by the blood of Christ, "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession" (I Pet 2:9). Paul does the same thing in Titus 2:14, "[Christ Jesus] who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." He summarizes the whole concept of being God's possession in Ephesians 2:19, "You are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."

 

So what does this look like? In some circles it is pictured by ritualism, form, and the monotony of ceremony. The show of religious acts substitutes for inner righteousness. In other arenas it is a harsh, rigid legalism that is called Christian, filled with do's and don'ts, knotted along the way by a critical spirit toward everyone not crossing the same t's and dotting the same I's. It has the effect of one in a prison house obeying all the rules lest he be thrown into solitary confinement, and only doing so out of fear, not delight and desire. Yet another view emphasizes sentimental love, it is a love without law, a love without doctrinal moorings that follows an emotional path, winks at sin, and neglects the gospel.

 

Jesus Christ makes clear what a Christian is to be in conduct, speech, and deeds. Neither the ritualist nor legalist nor antinomian grasps it. What Christ calls for cannot be done by everyone, for that matter, apart from the new birth it cannot be done by anyone! What Christ calls for stands as cross-cultural to the cultural mores, values, and practices of the world. Take a good look at the world under the influence of the Fall. Now turn in the opposite direction; gaze upon what the mind has difficulty imagining, and you have the life of the Christian spelled out in the Sermon on the Mount. In a word, it is a life not like the world. Instead, it is radically different, radically Christ reflecting, and radically Kingdom oriented. Christians are called to live like Christians in the world. That is the simple message of this most profound portion of God's Word. It is not a roadmap for achieving Christianity, but a model for genuine Christian living for every believer. Where do you find yourself in the Sermon on the Mount?

 

Our purpose this morning is simply to set the stage for more detailed exposition of the entire text in the coming weeks. We must begin with the pattern of ministry that we see in Jesus Christ, and then move into the Sermon that has captivated generations. So let us give thought to Christianity in ministry and practice as we investigate the Sermon on the Mount.

 

I. The pattern Jesus sets forth for Christian ministry (4:23-25)

 

Scholars debate whether or not Jesus actually preached this sermon, conjecturing that it was a combination of random teaching gathered over many years and finally collated by Matthew or other followers of Christ. But the failure among many scholars is to see the continuity and breadth of what our Lord was doing in this sermon. While I certainly think that Matthew gave us only the highlights, the pithy, mind-etching thoughts of the sermon, he captures what Jesus may have done in several hours or perhaps even a stretch of days, as he taught his disciples and the multitudes. Indeed, though the emphasis may have been on the disciples, the multitude focused upon our Lord's message, for they were astounded when he finished (7:28-29).

 

But I do think that it is important that we get something of the feel for what Jesus Christ was doing as he prepared to preach this sermon. We find that noted for us in the concluding verses of chapter four, where Matthew gives a summary of Jesus' methodology in ministry. I believe we must see it as a pattern, as the grand substance of our own Christian ministry. Circumstances are quite different; the crowds have changed; and the vessels engaged in ministry fall woefully short of the divine model, yet there is something for us to see by way of charting a course for Christian ministry as we look at Jesus Christ.

 

The essence of it is found in verse 23: "Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." The three-fold pattern of teaching, preaching, and healing helps us to see something of how Christian ministry must continue to function in our own day.

 

1. Teaching

 

There is a grand emphasis in all the Gospels on Jesus Christ teaching the people. Read through the Gospels or trace it in a concordance, and you will see that he was constantly teaching. Matthew tells us that at this point he was "teaching in their synagogues." It is interesting that he calls it "their" synagogues rather than his own, for the Gospel writer wished to call attention to the distinction of the message and life of Jesus Christ. Though our Lord was Jewish, he was not bound by the traditions of the synagogues. He could see beyond them. They had failed to prepare the people adequately for Messiah's coming, so Jesus needed to teach them right in their own synagogues.

 

This was a nation of religious people, yet they were grossly ignorant of the ways of God. If we merely judged their spirituality by the percentage of how many attended synagogue each week, we would vow that they were highly spiritual. The synagogue, since the days of the Maccabees, served as the central focal point of community life and spiritual training. Yet what were they getting as they gathered each week?

 

Can we not identify with them in our own day? Millions of people gather weekly at "houses of worship," yet most are grossly ignorant of the truths of God's Word. The church has become a repository for every kind of non-perverted, amusing activity known to man, but it is not known for the systematic teaching of the Word of God. Yet as Matthew summarizes the methodology of Jesus Christ in his ministry, the first thing he noted about him was this, Jesus Christ was "teaching in their synagogues." The word "teaching" implies a careful, systematic instruction in the truths of God's Word. It involves comparing Scripture with Scripture, unfolding precept upon precept, and applying the teaching to the hearers' lives. It is light to those in darkness, the path of life to those on the way of destruction. Jesus addressed truth in light of the people's ignorance. They were steeped in traditions, superstitions, and confusion, so step by step, Jesus taught them the truth of God. It did not happen overnight. It was a slow process, and one that was carried on by the disciples after the resurrection. And it is a process that we must have today if we are to be faithful in Christian ministry. We must never minimize the necessity of teaching God's Word. It stands at the foundation of all that we do, or else what we are doing will arise out of wrong motives.

 

2. Preaching

 

Jesus was "proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom." We know that "gospel" refers to good news, particularly the good news of what God in Christ has done on behalf of sinners so that we might be brought into a right relationship to Him. The gospel is capsuled in the person and work of Christ, who he is and what he did in his death, burial, and resurrection (I Cor 15:3-5). Just as Isaiah had prophesied, Jesus was bringing good news to the afflicted (61:1), as the people who lived in darkness saw and heard the light of the gospel through Christ (Matt 4:15-17). Matthew continues to emphasize that it was the good news "of the kingdom" that Jesus proclaimed. As we will see in weeks ahead (D.V.), Jesus was concerned with kingdom living in the Sermon on the Mount. The gospel of the kingdom was at the heart of the ethical teaching of Christ. Without the gospel of the kingdom, then the instructions in the Sermon will be cold, sterile, and frustrating laws without life. But with the gospel of the kingdom, the rule of Christ over our lives, then the Sermon makes perfectly good sense. Jesus was not preaching good news of free living, but the good news of living in submission to the will of God through Jesus Christ. That is why it is folly to talk of "accepting Jesus as Savior" without any desire to know him or follow him as Lord. The call of Jesus Christ in gospel preaching was to become a member of his kingdom, to live in the radical submission of his kingship over their lives. That is still what is called for in gospel preaching!

 

Every time you hear the preaching of the gospel, the gospel itself calls for a verdict. Jesus was "proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom," and in doing so he was calling for his hearers to respond to the gospel. One cannot be neutral to the gospel. The gospel either penetrates your mind and heart, giving light and life through faith in Christ, or you ignore it, reject it, argue against it, attempt to explain it away, or excuse its message because of the frailty of the one proclaiming it. Yet even that is decisive in a dangerous sense, for every time the gospel is heard, every single person under gospel influence makes a verdict.

 

The crowds following Jesus leaned toward the healing aspect of his ministry, thinking more of immediate relief from temporal pain and troubles, and less of the eternal issues set forth in the gospel. They scarcely thought beyond the moment. Though intrigued by the gospel, they were not decisively responding in favor toward it. Their attempt at neutrality, of hanging on to their old patterns, customs, and beliefs, while toying with the gospel, eventually showed up in their decisive rejection of Christ and the gospel.

 

Because we do not have the traditional "altar call" that is commonly given at the end of a sermon in most Baptist churches, I am asked, "Do you give an invitation?" I respond, indeed I do, for the gospel itself is the invitation to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Gospel preaching is that act of setting forth the truths of God's Word, and calling for a right response. I fear to confuse the response with a transfer of one's geographical position in a church service. The response is one of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and it is a decisive response that transforms the life.

 

Jesus Christ and his gospel brook no rivals. You cannot attend to the gospel while hanging on to your own beliefs or religious traditions. Eventually your duplicity will expose the rejection in your heart just as happened with the fickle crowds of Israel.

 

The "gospel of the kingdom" that Jesus preached emphasizes his sovereign rule over the lives of those who believe in him. It is his rule that Christ stressed in the gospel message. That is why the believer's loyalty cannot be divided between two masters (6:24), but must focus unreservedly upon Jesus Christ.

 

3. Healing

 

The healing work of Christ demonstrated his conquering of all evil. Jesus went throughout Galilee "healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people." The masses "brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them." Jewish teaching considered sickness to be a result of the Fall. It was an inherent part of man's sinfulness. To conquer it in all its dimensions through miraculous healing demonstrated the power of the kingdom of God in their midst to conquer and rule over all. Our Lord gave much attention to this, especially at this juncture, in order to demonstrate his ultimate conquering power over sin in its broadest effects. Sickness, in this sense, was a symptom of a greater evil: men's wicked hearts. But nothing could stand in the way of the mighty work of Jesus Christ! His many acts of healing gave vivid demonstration of the greater work that he would accomplish at the cross, in dealing the deathblow to sin in all of its heinous effects.

 

There is a sense that the teaching, preaching, and healing of Christ offers a pattern for ministry in God's kingdom. Ignorance still shadows people's minds. There's no doubt that multitudes still do not understand who God is, why they were created, how sin has affected them temporally and eternally, so they must be instructed through systematic teaching.

 

Preaching sets forth these facts of divine truth in a decisive way. A verdict is called for and a response must be given in light of truth proclaimed.

 

Healing addresses the temporal effects of sin. We are so colored in thought regarding healing by the Oral Roberts and Kenneth Copelands of the world that we tend to shun the idea. But what is sickness but consequence of the Fall? Add to this all manner of ignorance, suffering, war, anxiety, psychoses, hunger, deprivation, destitution, addictions, oppression, enslavements, disease, famines, and countless other effects of sin. They have their roots in the Fall, that one act with myriad consequences that brought death into the world and the creeping reality of separation from God. These multiplied effects are not necessarily the consequence of individual sins, as though a sin here equals a disease there, but the result of humanity's fallenness.

 

So what are we to be doing regarding the temporal effects of sin? We are to address them with our lives, resources, and actions, acknowledging that they are temporal yet not ignoring that they cause great suffering. Everywhere the gospel of Jesus Christ has gone, everywhere this saving message reigns, human misery has been dealt with in remarkable ways. Look at the regions of the world that are spiritually the darkest, and you will inevitably find greater human suffering. Christian messengers through the centuries have begun educational institutions to dispel ignorance, medical services and hospitals to provide healing, agricultural training and food distribution to deal with hunger and famine, intervention and counseling to help those who are oppressed or in addictions, and social actions and surrogate families to help orphans and those in distress. Jesus Christ gave the example! Even though the crowds per se did not follow him to the end, he still healed them. He still met them at the point of their temporal need and showed great mercy. He still demonstrated the power, love, and mercy of God's kingdom by dealing with all manner of human suffering, even though he knew what was in their hearts (John 2:24-25).

 

We will never lack for ministry until Christ gathers us to himself. Teaching, preaching, and the diversity of healing must be part of what we do as Christians in the name of Jesus Christ for the sake of God's kingdom.

 

II. The Pattern Jesus declares for Christian practice (5:1-2)

 

The next few months will be given to looking at Matthew 5-7 in detail, but it will help us to consider something of the nature of this sermon. We find Jesus responding to the crowds by teaching. He assumed the normal scribal position of sitting down, with the disciples likely at his feet, and the crowds gathered about him. "He opened His mouth and began to teach them," was a common Hebraism that emphasized the solemnity of what he was about to speak. The Sermon on the Mount sets forth both a divine standard for all who believe, and the ongoing practice of Christian living.

 

1. A standard

 

To set something as a standard implies that it is a rule of sorts, something by which all other things are to be compared. The standard for all timepieces is adjusted to "Greenwich Mean Time." Measurements are based upon particular standards of length, weight, and density. So how are we to measure our progress in sanctification? What are we to use as a standard for Christian living? Some would say, 'We just look to Christ, live as he lived, and that will be fine'. While there is much truth in this, it is very hard for us to practice experientially without seeing something objective to direct us. That is where the Sermon on the Mount comes in. It certainly reflects the character and practice of Christ, but it is set forth in objective propositions so that we can grasp in no uncertain terms what Jesus calls for in those who are under his rule.

 

Jesus was setting forth truth for all disciples. "His disciples came to Him," and then "He opened His mouth and began to teach them." The Twelve had not been appointed at this time, but we see our Lord laying the groundwork for the seriousness of being a follower of Jesus Christ. His instructions cover all arenas of life. John Stott has given a helpful breakdown of the Sermon, demonstrating that it covers all of life.

a. A Christian's character (5:3-12): the beatitudes emphasize eight principal marks of Christian character and conduct, especially in relation to God and to men.

 

b. A Christian's influence (5:13-16): the two metaphors of salt and light indicate the influence for good which Christians will exert in the community if (and only if) they maintain their distinctive character as portrayed in the beatitudes.

 

c. A Christian's righteousness (5:17-48): what is to be the Christian's attitude to the moral law of God? Is the very category of law abolished in the Christian life, as the advocates of the 'new morality' and of the 'not under law' school strangely assert? No. Jesus had not come to abolish the law and the prophets, he said, but to fulfil them. [He gives us six illustrations of how the law is practiced, e.g., regarding murder, adultery, divorce, swearing, revenge, and love. He affirmed the Old Testament Scriptures and clarified their implications].

 

d. A Christian's piety (6:1-18): [instead of pretension and show, Jesus calls for genuine devotion in giving, prayer, and fasting].

 

e. A Christian's ambition (6:19-34): the 'worldliness' which Christians are to avoid can take either a religious or secular shape. So we are to differ from non-Christians not only in our devotions, but also in our ambitions. [This will involve attitudes toward wealth, possessions, and such basic issues as food, drink, and clothing. Here is the clearest, sanest instruction for Christians to not live in anxiety but trust in the Lord].

 

f. A Christian's relationships (7:1-20): [all relationships have changed through Christ, so he instructs us in how to relate to both fellow believers and those who are unbelieving].

 

g. A Christian's commitment (7:21-27): the ultimate issue posed by the whole Sermon concerns the authority of the preacher [i.e., Jesus]. It is not enough either to call him 'Lord' (21-23) or to listen to his teaching (24-27). The basic question is whether we mean what we say and do what we hear. On this commitment hangs our eternal destiny. Only the man who obeys Christ as Lord is wise [adapted from Christian Counter-Culture: The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, 1978, pp. 24-26].


 2. A practice

 

The Sermon on the Mount is to be practiced now! It is not for some future age, as some have taught in dispensationalism, and thus leaving room for the carnal Christian myth. There is not one indicator in the sermon that Jesus was leaping over the present for a future idyllic life. He was speaking to those who called themselves believers, and how they were to live day by day. Many have ingeniously interpreted the Sermon in ways to avoid its demands. But we must not be so arrogant as to pass over the teaching of our Lord concerning the practice of his followers. Instead, we must see that he amplified and expanded the Ten Commandments in the most practical ways.

 

But I must add that any reading of the Sermon on the Mount will bring either condemnation in the sense that it is holy law that holds everyone accountable or it is the life of the Christian that must be lived in dependence upon a constant supply of divine grace. On one hand it exposes hypocrisy, sinful passions, and may even reveal an unregenerate heart. On the other, it encourages holiness, and shows in the most practical ways of how the kingdom of God is about living under the reign of Christ, while simultaneously receiving grace to obey him.

 

Conclusion

 

We are all engaged in ministry as Christians. We'll be teaching, preaching, and/or healing in a variety of ways. The message of the kingdom of God will be part of our conversation and vocation as Christians in this world. But we are also involved in practical living. That's where the Sermon on the Mount will be a pattern for us to follow, and an answer to the question of how do I live like a Christian in an unchristian world. May the Lord give much grace to us in the days ahead to profit in the most practical ways from studying the Sermon on the Mount. Let us minister and live like Christians.

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