The Sermon on the Mount is not a one-off sermon, one topic in a lineup of topics, an interesting subject among other subjects. No, it is the announcement of a revolutionary new kingdom. In Christ, the whole history of Israel was reenacted with covenantal faithfulness and the Sermon on the Mount is the entire message of the Old Testament restated.
Blessed Are the Unblessed
January 29, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
With the beatitudes, Jesus pronounced His covenant blessing upon the most unlikely people. Those who found themselves on the outside of the religious system looking in suddenly found themselves invited to the front row. Suddenly and unexpectedly, those at the lowest level of the social hierarchy were acknowledged by none other than God Himself as the very ones who would turn the world upside down with the gospel.
But I Say Part 1
February 12, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reenacted the giving of the Law by Moses on Mount Sinai. The religious leaders imagined He was destroying the Law, but the fact is they were destroying the Law by reducing it to a legalistic list of rules that must be kept to earn God’s favor. Jesus came to “fulfill” the Law by showing that it applies to the inner motives as well as the outer deeds, which means all of us are guilty, even those who imagine they are keeping the Law by obeying it outwardly. Therefore, we all need God’s mercy.
But I Say Part 2
February 12, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
Our world is characterized by retaliatory violence. If you do something evil to me, I’m going to do something evil to you. Jesus comes along and completely overturns retaliatory violence in favor of a far superior relational ethic: respond to evil with good and love your enemies.
Keep it Real
February 19, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
Jesus warns His followers away from pretentious and performative religion, which He says is motivated by a desire to be “seen by men.” True righteousness, He insists, is motivated by love and springs from “the heart.”
Deliver Us from Evil
February 26, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
Jesus acknowledged the presence of evil as real, but He didn’t see it as a depersonalized force or balancing principle of the universe, running alongside goodness. He prayed that we would be delivered from the evil one. Evil, suffering, and temptation do not come from God, Jesus taught, but are traceable to a satanic being, the devil. We are promised though that one day, God will resolve evil and suffering for good, for His is “the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
Money Matters
March 5, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
Jesus talked a lot about money, but not in the way many religious leaders talk about money. Jesus wasn't trying to get people to give Him money but rather to get people to understand that the way they handle money reveals what's going on in their hearts. As a general rule, your life will follow the trajectory of your financial pursuits.
Juggling Judging
March 12, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
According to Jesus, judging people is a bad thing. But why is it bad? Well, according to Jesus, judging others is bad because it blinds us to our own condition and prevents us from engaging in spiritual growth. In the end, all judgment backfires on ourselves.
The Narrow Gate
March 19, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
The straight path and the narrow gate of which Jesus speaks, according to His own context, is the way of non-judgmental love, non-violent response to evil, love of neighbor, and love of enemy.
The Coming Crash
March 26, 2022 • Ty Gibson, David Asscherick
Jesus closes His Sermon on the Mount with a parable that encapsulates the contrast between the two structures of life we can build. The wise man built his house on the rock and the fool on sand. What are these two foundations? And which one am I building on?
