Title: Sermon on the Mount -- The Conclusion
Mt. 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go by it.”Mt. 7:14 “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Some people define religion as a system of ethics, a code of conduct, an ideology or creed. To a Jewish person it is none of these. Such definitions are misleading, deficient, or inaccurate. Rather, a Jew understands his daily life in terms of a journey or pilgrimage. His religion was tantamount to the way he chose to walk. If a person knows God, he is daily at God’s disposal, and walks in relationship with Him along the road of life.
Mt. 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
Ceremonialism and ritualism alone did not meet God’s requirements for the good life. But, those who act justly, and love mercy, and walk humbly with God do please Him (Micah 6:8). Thus, we return to the fact that the essence of religion is relationship. It is walking with God in His path of wisdom and righteousness, and His way of service to others. In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua used this familiar Hebraic imagery to teach about the two ways. The broad (easy) way leads to destruction and the narrow (difficult) way leads to life. The concept of the Two Ways is also found in other religious literature outside of the Bible. For example, the Dead Sea Scrolls indicated that the Qumran Community called itself “The Way.” In addition, the Didache, a sort of anonymous book of Christian instruction from the second century discusses extensively the “Two Ways,” the way of life and the way of death.
Sources: Micah 6:8; Dead Sea Scrolls; Didache
Mt. 7:16 “You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?”
Lk. 6:44 “For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, not do they gather grapes from a bramble bush.”
Eccl. 27:6 says, “The fruit discloses the cultivation of the tree; so the expression of a thought discloses the cultivation of a man’s heart.”
Mt. 7:17 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad fruit.”
Mt. 7:18 “A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, not can a bad tree bear good fruit.”
Lk. 6:43 “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.”
Mt. 7:19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Mt. 7:20 “Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
Lk. 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Lk. 6:46 “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not the things that I say?”
Mt. 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that does the will of My Father in Heaven.”
What does it mean to do God’s will? Aren’t we saved by God’s grace? Grace is God’s unmerited favor and He gave it to us. We still have something to do for it to be appropriated in our lives. In Judaism, action is everything. Action is toward one’s fellow man. You can look completely through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and you will find very little said about worshiping God. But, it must also be very clear that it is not a Jewish belief that you are saved by works. It is taught, though, that the way you live is to be a demonstration of your faith in God.
Mt. 7:22 ”Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’”
This verse talks about doing something “in the name of .....” This indicates that what is said was on that individual’s authority. One example comes from the Mishnah: “Rabbi Yahudah said in the name of Rabbi Eleanor, ‘In all places where there is a public congregation, individuals are exempt from saying the additional prayers.’” This is a common rabbinic reference meaning that what was said was using the authority of another person.
Source: M:Berachoth 4:7
Mt. 7:23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me you who practiced lawlessness.’”
Mt. 7:24a “Therefore who hears these sayings of Mine, and does them,
Lk. 6:47 “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like.”
Mt. 7:24b “I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on a rock.”
Lk. 6:48a “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.
Mt. 7:25 “And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.”
Lk. 6:48b “And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
A rabbinic parallel states, “He whose wisdom is greater than his works, what is he like? A tree whose branches are many, but whose roots are few, and the wind comes and uproots it and overturns it. But, he whose works are greater than his wisdom, what is he like? A tree whose branches are few, but whose roots are many. Even if all the winds were to come against it, they could not remove it.”
Avoth de-Rabbi Nathan says, “A man who has good deeds to his credit and also studied much Torah, what is he like? He is like one who builds a structure and lays stones below for the foundation and bricks above, so that no matter how much water collects at the site, it will not wash away. But, a man who has no good deeds to his credit, even though he has studied much Torah, what is he like? He is like one who lays bricks first and builds a structure. He lays no stone above, so that even of a little water collect, it undermines it.”
Mt. 7:26 “Now every one who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”
Lk. 6:49a ”But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation.”
Mt. 7:27 “And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it.”
Lk. 6:49b “Against which the stream beat vehemently, and immediately it fell. And great was the fall of it.”
Mt. 7:28 And so it was, when Yeshua had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished by His teaching.
Mt. 7:29 For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
In Mt. 7:22 an example is given from M:Berachoth 4:7 of a rabbi giving a teaching using the authority from the teaching from a previous rabbi. This was the common way of teaching for the scribes and Pharisees. None of the teachings they gave to the people were original with themselves. They always quoted from a previous sage as their authority. Yeshua never did this, but taught on His own authority. This surprised the people not only because He was doing things differently, but it was also saying something about who He was and where His authority came from.
Mt. 8:1 When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.
