The Bible Book

207

There are several parallels in

Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount that

would not have been lost on His

audience, for it strongly echoes the

giving of the Ten Commandments

to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus

20): just as Moses went up the

mountain and received God’s

word, so Jesus here ascends a

mountainside and teaches with

God’s authority.

Moses’s Law showed the

Israelites how to live as God’s

new community following their

deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

Jesus is less concerned about

establishing a moral code for a

defined earthly kingdom; instead,

He presents a picture of life in

God’s spiritual kingdom of heaven

that is accessible to all people at

all times. To some in His audience,

it may have seemed that Jesus was

contradicting Moses. However, in

a large section of the Sermon on

the Mount, Jesus addresses this

question directly: “Do not think

that I have come to abolish the

Law or the Prophets; I have not

come to abolish them but to fulfill

them” (Matthew 5:17). Jesus is

God’s new Moses, instructing the

crowds as they follow Him.

See also: The Ten Commandments 78–83 ■ The Golden Rule 210–11 ■ Parables of Jesus 214–15

THE GOSPELS

In the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, this

fresco of the Sermon on the Mount

(c.1461) by Cosimo Rosselli is opposite

the artist’s fresco of Moses receiving the

Ten Commandments.

Other religious leaders at the time—

in particular, the Pharisees—

encouraged people to follow the law

down to its last letter. However,

Jesus says that such rigid adherence

to Moses’s Law is not sufficient to

guarantee people a place in God’s

kingdom: “I tell you that unless your

righteousness surpasses that of

the Pharisees and the teachers

of the Law, you will certainly not

enter the kingdom of heaven” (5:20).

Instead, in the Sermon on the

Mount, Jesus intensifies the

meaning of the Law by declaring

that it is not enough simply to obey

God’s commands outwardly; rather,

His Law must transform the desires

and motivations of the heart of

those who seek to obey Him.

In a series of teachings that

take the form, “You have heard

that it was said ... but I say to you,”

Jesus takes some of the most

familiar commandments from

Moses’s Law and broadens their

application. His disciples must not

simply refrain from murder, but

must avoid anger or ridiculing

others, and prioritize forgiveness

and reconciliation. Lustful looks

are to be considered as perilous as

adultery, and marriage relationships

should not be broken except in

clear cases of unfaithfulness.

Disciples should not merely keep

the oaths they have made to God,

but rather be faithful to every word

that they speak.

Exercising humility

Moses’s law had sought to restrict

overly harsh punishments by

commending the principle of “eye

for eye, tooth for tooth” (Leviticus

24:20); but Jesus rejects the notion

of giving “as good as you get.”

Instead, He tells His disciples to

exercise restraint, never fighting

back, but always praying for those

who would seek to bring harm

to them. By loving their enemies,

they would be showing that they

belonged with Jesus as children ❯❯

Be perfect, therefore,

as your heavenly

Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:48

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