The Word from the Mount: Christ's Kingdom Manifesto

Jesus’ sermon on the mount has been esteemed by many as the greatest sermon ever preached. Those who first heard it went away absolutely amazed at what they had heard. They had heard many sermons before, but Jesus was different. Unlike the scribes of old, Jesus taught as one with authority (Mt. 7:28-29). The sermon itself provided a glimpse of who Jesus really was and what God was doing at that most critical point in redemptive history. Jesus, the long-anticipated king, the ultimate son of David, the better Moses, had finally arrived, though not in the way expected by many. And with his arrival, the kingdom of heaven had broken into this present evil age, again not in the way expected by many. The sermon on the mount represents a disruptive intrusion of the ethics of heaven—the antithesis to the kingdoms of this world. It’s Jesus’ kingdom manifesto instructing disciples on how they ought to be and live in this world as we await his return.