Introduction
The teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount set Him apart from all who came before or after, requiring us to admit that God really does speak directly to our hearts through Him. It is a stunning feat—an undeniable proof that God indeed does know us and how to make Himself known to us. Matthew 5–7 should be the first recommended reading for anyone who is new to His teaching.
The simple power of the passage, however, comes also with a full complement of Biblical depth underneath. As it is written, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!" (Romans 11:33)
Scripture provides a clear precedent for the Sermon on the Mount in the giving of the Ten Commandments.
Moses and Jesus both:
- were chosen mediators between God and the people,
- received testimony from God that they were duly authorized to speak on His behalf,
- put forth this teaching when the people were first coming out,
- ascended the mountain alone to commune with God,
- selected a small group of followers to be closer,
- descended the mountain to deliver words from God to the people,
- began their teaching with ten points, which would become categories to frame the entire teaching.
There are doubtless many other valid and useful comparisons (John 21:25; Hebrews 11:32). But the great advantage of reading the Sermon on the Mount within the larger context of the Ten Commandments is that we begin to see how much greater than the Law of Moses is this teaching of Jesus—"a better covenant enacted on better promises" (Hebrews 8:6).
The Camp in the Wilderness of Sinai
Relatively soon after the exodus from Egypt (a month, months, and half a month), the people encamp at the base of Mount Sinai, making it a focal point for the rest of the book.
They have escaped the world for the moment and come safely to God's presence. The moment is pregnant with expectation. What will God say to them now that they've made it this far?
One cannot help but notice the Lord speaks very kindly with the people at this time. God entreats them to enter into His covenant.
The appeal follows these basic lines:
- He reminds them of the works He has already done to rescue them from Egypt; and
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He makes them promises:
- they will be a favored nation in God's eyes;
- they will spiritually be priests to the other nations;
- the entire nation will be holy to God, not just the priestly class.
Do not overlook the condition God presents along with these promises: "...if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant." Start with obedience; finish with steadfastness.
Exodus 19
1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai.
2 ...Israel encamped before the mountain
3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel:
4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."
Terrifying Mount Sinai
Now, despite the kindness of God's words of entreaty—which are absolutely genuine—He is nonetheless a God to be feared. And the people are definitely afraid of Him. "Note then the kindness and the severity of God" (Romans 11:22).
Exodus 19
9 And the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever." When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD,
10 the LORD said to Moses, "Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments
11 and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12 And you shall set limits for the people all around, saying, 'Take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
13 No hand shall touch him, but he shall be stoned or shot; whether beast or man, he shall not live.' When the trumpet sounds a long blast, they shall come up to the mountain."
Exodus 19
16 On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled.
17 Then Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God, and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain.
18 Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the LORD had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
19 And as the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder.
20 The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
Exodus 20
18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off
19 and said to Moses, "You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die."
20 Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin."
21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Hebrews 12 puts the entire context together for us. As terrifying as Mount Sinai is, with its sights and sounds and severe consequences, we have come to a much more serious mount in Christ. Sinai was a physical mountain, but we are called to the spiritual mount of God today. Our covenenant today is indeed better, but its superiority is based in part on the higher costs involved in extending it to us. The sacrifice of God's only Son makes the Christian life the most serious matter there is.
Hebrews 12
18 You have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest
19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.
20 For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned."
21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." (→ Deuteronomy 9:19)
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.
...
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,
29 for our God is a consuming fire.
The Ten Commandments
The Lord reveals His law in the form of Ten Commandments. All the words given to Moses from Exodus 20 to Exodus 34 are summarized by the Ten. The Ten Commandments, therefore, act as categories or headers over the entire teaching.
Exodus 34:28
So [Moses] was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
We further know that the Ten Commandments can be categorized into five and five:
Matthew 22The first five (Exodus 20:3–12) fall under the command to love God, while the remaining five (Exodus 20:13–17) fall under the command to love your neighbor. We can refer to the first group as piety, and the second as charity.
37 [Jesus] said..., "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets."
Jesus's "Beatitudes" correspond to the Ten Commandments, and they explore the intent behind the commandments.
When Jesus teaches, he does not ease Moses's requirement. On the contrary, He requires us to honor the intent of the Law more than the letter (Matthew 5:21–22).
Exodus 20
1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 You shall have no other gods before me.
4 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
...
7 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
...
12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
13 You shall not murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's."