Hi, My Name Is Ralph Bass...This Is My Library
The Sermon on the Mount
Living the Christian Life
There are at least two ways a person can write a commentary on a Biblical passage. One is called an exegetical study. In this, one looks carefully at the vocabulary, grammar, context, culture, and history of the times, and examines the passage in the light of this information.
The second often called a devotional study, is to view the passage more holistically, paragraph by paragraph, for instance, instead of the minutiae that is common to exegesis. These commentaries can be warm and comforting; however, to some people, they are viewed as pablum, shallow, and noted for skipping the hard stuff.
Of course, both types, if done well, are desirable, but probably few achieve this reach in one book. As a result, writers often consciously choose to write one way or the other, aiming their work at a particular audience.
So I must conclude that this work is an exegetical effort focusing on how this Sermon affected that first-century audience. However, I do hope that you will find many contemporary and personal applications as well, insights that will change your life.
In working through the Sermon, several insights were developed.
The Book of Matthew is a renewal of the Mosaic covenant with the Sermon on the Mount that part of the covenant called the stipulations.
Works on the Sermon on the Mount often fail to note 1) the role of Rome as an oppressive occupier of Judah, and 2) the role of the Zealots in their reaction to this oppressor. This is a critical backdrop to the Sermon affecting much of the content of Jesus’ teachings.
There is a general failure by the commentaries to make sense of Matthew 5:38-42, a section from which various forms of pacifism are derived, most of which are not Christian.
Moreover, in a discussion on the One who did not come to destroy the law, there was a general disrespect by many of the Law of God (of course expressed respectfully), with the result for some that he actually did come to destroy the law and the prophets.
In Matthew 7:6, the dogs and the pigs have never been explained or perhaps even understood.
Matthew 7:7-11 on prayer simply appears to say too much; can one really ask, seek and knock, and get whatever they want?
These issues and more suggest a new look at this Sermon.
I hope this study provides unique answers to longstanding problems that will, in turn, give you new insight into this brilliant Sermon.
The second often called a devotional study, is to view the passage more holistically, paragraph by paragraph, for instance, instead of the minutiae that is common to exegesis. These commentaries can be warm and comforting; however, to some people, they are viewed as pablum, shallow, and noted for skipping the hard stuff.
Of course, both types, if done well, are desirable, but probably few achieve this reach in one book. As a result, writers often consciously choose to write one way or the other, aiming their work at a particular audience.
So I must conclude that this work is an exegetical effort focusing on how this Sermon affected that first-century audience. However, I do hope that you will find many contemporary and personal applications as well, insights that will change your life.
In working through the Sermon, several insights were developed.
The Book of Matthew is a renewal of the Mosaic covenant with the Sermon on the Mount that part of the covenant called the stipulations.
Works on the Sermon on the Mount often fail to note 1) the role of Rome as an oppressive occupier of Judah, and 2) the role of the Zealots in their reaction to this oppressor. This is a critical backdrop to the Sermon affecting much of the content of Jesus’ teachings.
There is a general failure by the commentaries to make sense of Matthew 5:38-42, a section from which various forms of pacifism are derived, most of which are not Christian.
Moreover, in a discussion on the One who did not come to destroy the law, there was a general disrespect by many of the Law of God (of course expressed respectfully), with the result for some that he actually did come to destroy the law and the prophets.
In Matthew 7:6, the dogs and the pigs have never been explained or perhaps even understood.
Matthew 7:7-11 on prayer simply appears to say too much; can one really ask, seek and knock, and get whatever they want?
These issues and more suggest a new look at this Sermon.
I hope this study provides unique answers to longstanding problems that will, in turn, give you new insight into this brilliant Sermon.
