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And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.  Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying…

The sermon on the mount represents the single longest recorded teaching of Jesus in the New Testament. The breadth and depth of the sermon are utterly amazing despite its brevity by modern standards. The sermon can be read in just twelve minutes, but covers a plethora of subjects including character, ethics, marriage, authentic religion, and happiness.  Jesus challenges His hearers to ascend to the mountain top of Christian living. Today, we will embark on that journey for the higher perspective in Christ. But first a warning, Jesus’ teachings are not always easy, comforting, or agreeable, but neither is climbing a mountain. 
 

“And seeing the multitudes”
Jesus was surrounded by need. We may recall that people clamored for Him in various situations (Mark 2:4, 5:31). The multitudes were sick, hungry, desperately alone, and spiritually broken.  The multitudes were gathering around Jesus because of His immense power, pure life, and pervading voice. Multitudes need this sermon more than ever! We pride ourselves in our individualistic modernity and pluralism, in which everything seems relative, but Jesus emphatically says, not so! The only way to achieve mountain top living is under the mantle of His lordship and teaching.
 

“He went up on a mountain”
The Messiah ushering in the new covenant from the mountain is typologically tied to Moses delivering the law at Sinai. The Hebrew writer declares that Jesus is “counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house” (Heb. 3:3). Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy and successor of Moses as promised centuries beforehand (Deut. 18:15,16) (Acts 3:22). The mountain plays a significant role in Jesus’ life. It was a place of solitude and prayer (Matt. 14:23), temptation (Matt. 4:8), transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13), and redemption on Golgotha (Mark 14:22). Jesus preaches from the mountain and urges us to see things from a higher perspective. But more importantly, to live out what we learn.
 

“He was seated”
Jesus assumed the position of sitting which was the traditional posture for teachers and rabbis during their discourses. His teaching was marked by unprecedented spiritual authority. Jesus made no reference to other notable rabbis as was custom but only to the law and his declaration, “But I say unto you.” The sermon concludes with Matthew’s observation, “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt. 7:29). Jesus’ teaching was sometimes described as a “hard saying,” and caused questioning, anger, or astonishment (Jn. 6:60, Mk. 2:20, Lk. 4:28). Yet, when chosen as with Mary, the sister of Lazarus, described as that “which will not be taken away” (Lk. 10:42). Jesus’ teaching was not limited to his words but was divinely demonstrated in His life (I Pet. 2:21) (Heb. 4:15). 
 

“His disciples came to Him”
Will you answer Jesus’ call to follow even unto the mountain or the cross? Albert Schweitzer famously wrote, “He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside, He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same words: ‘Follow thou me!’ and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.” 

This post is the first in a series taken from Dr. Rushing's forthcoming book, Mountaintop Living. Preorder your copy by clicking here!