Let us turn to God's Word in
that portion of Scripture that we read in the Gospel according
to St. Matthew in chapter 5 and the
first two verses Matthew chapter 5 and the first two verses and
seeing the multitudes he went up into a mountain and when he
was set his disciples came unto him and He opened His mouth and
taught them. And seeing the multitude, He
went up into a mountain, and when He was set, His disciples
came unto Him, and He opened His mouth and taught them. Considering then these words
for our text this morning, and then of course what follows through
to the end of chapter 7 is Christ's sermon. that sermon that begins
with those familiar words at verse 3 following which we know
as the Beatitudes the blessings and they are very much gospel
words here we have the Lord Jesus Christ preaching and he is the
great preacher of course of the everlasting gospel and how he
speaks so plainly here of the blessings of that gospel and
as I said on other occasions the word blessed is really in
the plural blessednesses or happinesses the happy man That is the real
Christian and that person is one of course who hears the voice
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, my sheep, hear my voice
and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal
life and they shall never perish. How does that saving faith come? Well, we're told there in Romans
10 17 that faith cometh by hearing. And we're told here, when he
was set, when he was seated, his disciples came unto him and
he opened his mouth and taught them. Or that we might be those
who are the blessed ones. who do know that voice of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And so, as we look at these opening
two verses of the fifth chapter here in Matthew, the beginning
of what we call the Sermon on the Mount, I want simply to say
something with regards to the setting here, the setting of
Christ's preaching. And, first of all, we take account
of the place where the Lord is exercising this ministry, the
place where the Lord is preaching. In a sense, we might call it
his pulpit. And what is the pulpit? Well,
seeing the multitudes, he went up, we're told, into a mountain. He's in a mountain. And it reminds
us immediately, of course, of the fact that when God gave the
law, that was also given upon a mountain. And there is here
a certain similarity with the Lord of God and the giving of
the Lord of God, but not only a similarity, there's also a
very striking contrast between what we have back in Exodus chapter
20 and what we read here in Matthew chapter 5. We can think first
of all of the similarities I've already said. In each case we
have mention of the mountain. Christ went up into a mountain. And you know the setting there
of the giving of the Lord. We have the commandments in Exodus
chapter 20, but in the previous 19th chapter we see something
of the situation into which the children of Israel were brought
as God would enter into covenant with them. There in Exodus 19-20
we're told how the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the
top of the mount, And the Lord called Moses up to the top of
the mount. And Moses went up, and the Lord
said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through
unto the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. Then let the
priests also which come near to the Lord sanctify themselves,
lest the Lord break forth upon them. It was such a solemn scene
that we have set before us in that particular chapter. The
Lord comes to the top of the mount and the people are going
to hear his voice. As we see in chapter 20 the Lord
spoke all these words. And then at the end of that 20th
chapter the people are afraid and they want Moses to be their
mediator. And subsequently there we see
how it's Moses who goes up into the mount to receive other commandments
and instructions and direction. that he might bring God's words
to them, or they are afraid, then, of the voice of God. But
the game here, when we come to Matthew, is it not the voice
of the Lord God? It is God manifest in the flesh.
It's God's eternal Son. It's very God, a very God, who
is speaking these words. And what does the Lord do in
the course of his preaching? He really expounds. something
of the vigor and the spirituality of that holy law of God. All the scribes and the Pharisees,
who were so-called experts in the law of God, they didn't understand
the true meaning and the real significance, the spiritual nature
of that law. That arch-Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus,
was brought to recognize that. He says we know that the Lord
is spiritual. All the Lord had to show in that
truth, the Lord is spiritual, says Paul, as a converted man. But I am carnal, sold under sin. And here we see the Lord expounding
that Holy Lord of God and showing forth the spiritual nature of
it. We read through this fifth chapter
and into chapter 6. And what do we read? Verse 21,
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt
not kill. And whosoever shall kill shall
be in danger of the judgment. But I say unto you, that whosoever
is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of
the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his
brother Raka, vain fellow, it says in the margin, shall be
in danger of the council. But whosoever shall say thou
fool shall be in danger of hell fire." What is the Lord doing? He is showing that the commandment
doesn't just have to do with the actual deed of murder. No, that sixth commandment also
has to do with the attitude of a man's heart, hatred. unjust, hatred. That is equivalent to a transgression
of the commandment, Thou shalt not kill. And then now the Lord
goes on to speak also of the seventh commandment. In verse
27, You have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou
shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever
looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with
her already in his heart. It's not just a question of the
deeds. What's of the heart of the man? Is there lust in the
heart of the man? Is there wantonness? Well, Christ
brings before us in something of the strength and the vigor
and the spirituality of that Holy Lord of God. And whatsoever
things the law saith, we're told it saith to them who are under
the law, that every mouth may be stopped. and all the world
become guilty before God or do we know what it is to feel that
guilt before God's righteous and spiritual law by the law
we are made to understand is the knowledge of sin and that's
what that's what that Pharisee Saul of Tarsus was brought to
when he saw the true nature of the law there is a similarity
then here the Lord Jesus Christ on the mount, preaches something
of the Lord of God. But there's also a contrast,
and it's important that we recognize that. We know that the law was
given by Moses, but, says John in his Gospel, grace and truth
came by Jesus Christ. And what a difference there is,
when we think of Sinai, how the people were there, clearly kept
at a distance. We see that in that 19th chapter.
There were boundaries set around the mount. The people must not
go forth and gaze upon the wonder of the Lord God Himself descending
upon the mount. They were kept back. That is
the language of the law. Stand back. In the law we see
God in all His holiness and righteousness and justice. But here As the
Lord goes up into the mount and sits down, His disciples
come to Him. When He was set, His disciples
came unto Him. All the difference between the
Law and the Gospel. The Law says, stand back. The Gospel says, come. Come unto
me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, I will give you
rest. That's the language of the Gospel,
the preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. At Sinai there were thunderings
and lightnings. Even Moses himself trembled there
before the great God. But what do we have in the Gospel? as the Lord opens his mouth as
he begins to teach. Is he not that still, small voice? Or we can think of the experience
of the prophet Elijah there in 1st Kings 19. Remember the Lord
was not in the wind, nor was the Lord in the earthquake, neither
was he in the fire. But it was in that still, small
voice. Read it there in 1 Kings 19 at
verse 9 following. It's the still, small voice that
God speaks so graciously here in the Gospel. And so, as the
Lord begins to teach, as He begins to preach, what does He say? Blessing. Blessing. Blessing. It's blessings. It's all the blessings of the
grace of God. It's the promise. It's the promise
that's given there in the Old Testament concerning this blessed
gospel of the grace of God. Isaiah chapter 2 and verse 2. It shall come to pass in the
last days. That's the gospel day, the last
days. In the last days at the mountain
of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the
mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations
shall flow unto it." Oh, how this word of grace, God's grace
in the gospel, is to go out and out. We do need to mark that
there is a distinction between law and gospel. And we see it
in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. how He deals with men. We've referred to it before when
He deals with the rich young ruler who comes inquiring what
good thing must I do. He's thinking that there's something
for him to do. And the Lord deals with him therefore
in terms of law thou knowest the commandment. And finally
He says all these have I kept from my youth up. One thing thou
lackest says the Lord. Ghosts have all that thou hast
given to the poor. Well, the Lord probes the man.
What's in his heart? He deals with him then in terms
of law, but when he comes in contrast to that, the blind man
Bartimaeus, how his approach to Christ is so different. Jesus
says, Son of David, have mercy upon me. He doesn't come and
say, what good thing must I do? No, He looks to Him, the Lord
Jesus Christ, as the promised one, the Messiah, the Son of
God. Jesus, our son of David, have mercy. And the Lord deals
with Him in terms of grace. We have to distinguish then between
these two things. Now there is a ministry of the
Lord to bring conviction into the soul of the sinner. Christ
has not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And
sinners are high in His esteem, and sinners highly value Him. And there we see Him, then we
see something of the place, the setting, the pulpit from which
He preaches. But let us, in the second place,
consider more particularly the preacher himself. We have a sermon here in these
three chapters. But who is the one who is speaking?
It's important that we observe the preacher. In the Old Testament, where we
have those prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus, remember, amongst
others, He is spoken of as the Messiah. There are those
Psalms. that are clearly Messianic Psalms,
and amongst them Psalm 45. And there in the second verse
of that Psalm, which speaks of the Lord Jesus, we read those
words, Grace is poured into thy lips. Grace is poured into thy
lips. Never man spake like this man. said those officers that the
Jews had sent to cut him out, as it were. Oh, what grace! He is the prince of all preachers. He is the greatest preacher of
the Gospel that ever there was, ever there could be. He is that
one, of course, who is the great prophet. We thought of the mediatorial
office. Well, the mediatorial office
is of the Lord Jesus. He is a priest, yes. He is a
king, yes. But he is also a prophet. And what is the business of the
prophet? It is to proclaim the Word of God. The prophet saith
thus and thus saith the Lord. And as I said, Moses in many
ways is the greatest of the prophets because all the prophets subsequently
appeal to Moses. It's to the law. And to the testimony,
as Isaiah says, if they speak not according to this word, there's
no light in them. The prophets bring God's laws
to bear upon the nation of Israel. But then there is going to be
a prophet that will come who is greater than Moses. And Moses himself acknowledges
that fact. He declares it. There in Deuteronomy
18, And verse 15, the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a
prophet from the midst of thy brethren like unto me. Unto him
ye shall hearken, says Moses. And then God repeats the word. I will raise him up a prophet
from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words
in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command
him. Who is this great prophet? It's
the Lord Jesus, God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, that in these
last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also He made the worlds, who being the
brightness of His glory, the express image of His person.
It's the Son of God. And in these last days God has
spoken by His Son, and God can speak no more. He has sealed
the vision and the prophecy. He is the last of the prophets. Why? Because He is God. He is
the Word of God, is He not? And the Word was made flesh and
dwelt among us. and we behold His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth." This is the preacher. This is the preacher. It's the
Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And what do we see with regards
to this preacher? Well, he is a preacher that has
been prepared. He's a preacher that has been
prepared. He doesn't come to speak his own words. Now, this
is the mystery, isn't it? Because he is God. He thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. But he made himself of no
reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. He comes
as God's servant. Behold my servant, says God,
whom I uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth. I have
put my spirit upon him. And God poured upon him a great effusion
of the Spirit. And as the Father did that, so
he comes to speak the words of God. Look at the language that
we have there at the end of that third chapter in John's Gospel. And what do we read in John chapter
3? And verse 34, He whom God hath
sent speaketh the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit
by measure unto him. Now those two clauses are connected,
you see. He speaks the word of God. Why? Because God has not given the
Spirit by measure. He has an answer from the Holy
One. He is the Anointed, He is the Christ. And although He be
God, He is a man now, a real man. And He comes as that one
who is a prophet, who speaks the word of God to men. And now
He is prepared, prepared of God to exercise His remarkable ministry. we have those words in Hebrews
5 verse 7 following who in the days of his flesh when he offered
up prayer and supplication with strong crying unto him that was able to save
him from death and was heard in that he feared it says though
he were a son yet learned the obedience by the things that
he suffered How was he prepared? How was he prepared to exercise
his ministry? I've often referred to that little
dictum of Luther's where he says, what makes the minister? What
makes a preacher? Prayer, meditation, temptation
maketh a minister. Luther proved that of course.
He was a very learned man. And yet, it wasn't just his learning,
it was his experience, all that the Lord brought him through. He would meditate in the Word
of God, he would study the Word of God, he understood the original
languages, the Hebrew, the Greek. He had all that ability. But
he also had to go through the fires. And it was true also with
the Lord Jesus. If it was true with a man like
Martin Luther, how much more with the man Christ Jesus, and
we see it here. He doesn't just suddenly appear
as the great prophet. What goes before? Well, remember
in the previous chapter, after the Lord is baptized of John
in the river Jordan, there in chapter 3, and coming out of
those waters of baptism, the Spirit descends upon him in the
form of a dove, And then he's led up of the spirit into the
wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And this is part and parcel
of the preparation. He must go through those fires
of temptation. It's remarkable, isn't it? It
says in Hebrews 4 that he was tempted in all points like as
we are, yet without sin. In all points. in all points
and what temptations come to us in all the same sort of temptations
that you and I might ever know the Lord experienced the same
temptations and yet those temptations never sullied His holy soul He
was always that holy thing that human nature that was conceived
of the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mary that holy
thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
That sinless human body and sinless human soul that was joined to
the eternal Son of God was never sullied in any way by the temptations,
but the temptations were real. And the temptations, we might
say, with all reverence, put metal into that human soul of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This was His preparation. how
He was made to feel things. Look at those words, we quoted
them just now in Hebrews 5 verses 7 and 8. It tells us something
about what He suffered, though He were a Son, the Eternal Son
of God. Oh, what temptations, what tears! And all that we have in that
previous chapter, we have the record there at the beginning
of chapter 4 of His temptations in the wilderness, And then the
devil leaves him, but he only leaves him for a season. And
when he comes to the end of his public ministry, what does he
say to his disciples? Ye are they which have continued
with me in my temptations. Temptations were constantly coming
upon him. And all part and parcel of the
preparation. Here then, we have chapter 4,
when he is led of the spirits into the wilderness to be tempted
of the devil. And then he comes forth in all
the power of the Spirit. And here in chapter 5 we see
him now preaching, exercising his ministry. And what does he
preach? He preaches the truth. Bunyan
said that he would preach what he did feel, what he smartingly
did feel. And that's how the Lord Jesus
Christ preaches. He is prepared. He is prepared
of God. to be this faithful preacher.
And so, what sort of preaching is it? Well, it's not his ministry
of penetrating, and a powerful ministry, and it pierces into the hearts
of men. All we read there in Hebrews
4.13, neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. for all things are open and naked
to the eyes of him with whom we have to do seeing then that
we have a great high priest that he's passed into the heavens
Jesus the son of God that's the one being spoken of there is
the Lord Jesus Christ every creature manifest in his
sight and we see it, we see it in his ministry in John chapter
2 we're told he needed not that any should testify of man he
knew what was in the hearts of men he knew the hearts of men
of course we might say he would know the hearts of all men because
he is God and as God he is omniscient he knows all things God knows
our innermost thoughts and feelings nothing is hid from his sight
but with the Lord Jesus also, you see, as a man he has such
depth of experience again it was said, you know, of Luther
that he could preach as if he had been inside a man such was
the depth of his experience when the Lord has a work for a man
to do the Lord will deal with him in a remarkable way and so
the Lord God dealt in a remarkable way with the man Christ Jesus
because his ministry is such a significant ministry. Remember
John chapter 4 when the Lord must need go through Samaria
and he meets with the Samaritan woman at the well of Syca and
enters into conversation with her and she realizes that this
is the Messiah She goes back to the place of her abode and
tells the people there, come, see a man which told me all things
that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? Well,
this is what the Lord Jesus Christ does. He tells you all things
that ever you did. He knows everything. And when we come to the Word
and the Lord Jesus Christ is there in the Word and the Lord
Jesus Christ is dealing with us in the Word, isn't that a
truth? that he makes God's Word a powerful thing in the souls
of his people. Or is that what we desire as
we come under the Word of God? Be it to read the Word of God
for ourselves, be it to hear the preaching of the Word of
God. He was a penetrating preacher during the days of his humiliation,
and he is still a preacher who comes and penetrates into the
very depths of the souls of his people. Do we desire that the
Lord would deal with us in that way, and show us what we are
and where we are, and what our real needs are? Oh, but He comes,
you see, in all the grace of the Gospel. Grace and truth come
by Jesus Christ. He is one then who is prepared
for this ministry, prepared of God, speaking the words of God, And what goes out of his mouth
as we see him there, glorified in the book of the Revelation,
that sharp two-edged sword, proceeding from his mouth, penetrating into
the very depths of our souls. But then, it's significant here
when we think about his posture. When he was set, it says, seeing
the multitudes, he went up into a mountain, and when he was set,
And the verb that we have here is literally the verb to sit
down. When he had sat down, when he
was seated, when he was seated, his disciples came unto him. Now that is the usual posture
of the rabbi in the scriptures. When they were teaching, they
would not stand, as we would be accustomed to in preaching,
but they would sit. And we see it in John chapter
8. Early in the morning we're told how Jesus goes into the
temple when the people would come together. He sat down and
taught them. There in John 8 verse 2. He sat
down and taught them. That position indicates something
of the authority of one who is being looked to as a rabbi, a
teacher. And in this Gospel, in Matthew
chapter 23, what does the Lord say in the opening verses of
that chapter? He speaks concerning scribes
and Pharisees being in the seat of Moses. Jesus spake to the
multitudes, and to his disciples, saying, The scribes and the Pharisees
sit in Moses' seat. All therefore whatsoever they
bid you observe, that observe and do. But do not ye after their
works, for they say and do not. They are to be recognized as
sitting in the seat of Moses. and they might well speak the
Word of God, but they're not safe guides because they say,
but they do not. Ah, but how different it is with
the Lord Jesus Christ. Because what Christ says, He
also does. He goes about doing good. He ministers to the people. He
heals the sick. Oh, we have the record, don't
we, previously of all the good that He does. Look at the end
of chapter 4. Verse 23, Jesus went about all
Galilee preaching in their synagogues. Teaching in their synagogues
and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom. And healing all manner
of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. And
His fire went throughout all Syria. And they brought unto
him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and
torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those
which were lunatic, and those that had the palsy, and he healed
them. And there followed him great
multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from
Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond Jordan, and seeing
the multitude, He went up into a mountain. He is so ministering
to them. He is so caring for them, ministering
to their physical needs. But also ministering to their
spiritual needs, so different to the scribes and the Pharisees. But it's interesting that at
the end of that fourth chapter we have these three verses that
speak of the miraculous aspect of his ministry. he was able
to perform mighty works. But all of that, you see, in
a sense, is simply preparation for what follows in chapters
5, 6 and 7, which is the preaching. Three chapters record his his
preaching ministry, just three verses there speak of the miracles. And he teaches us a lesson, surely,
how that the miracles are subordinate to the preaching. The important
thing is not so much the preaching. Yes, the preaching is important.
As Nicodemus says, no man can do these works that thou doest
except God be with him. The miracles authenticate the
authority of his ministry, but the ministry itself is the important
thing. And the miracles are therefore
subordinate to the preaching. And I do think that's a vital
matter that we have to mark in the days when many want to see
the miraculous and the mighty things. They are not satisfied
with the simple ministry of the Word of God. But what authority
there is in the Lord's ministry when we come to the end of the
sermon? Verse 28 of chapter 7, when Jesus
had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his
doctrine, astonished at his teaching. Why? for he taught them as one
having authority and not as the scribes." Oh, what a preacher
is this. The greatest of all preachers.
The prince of all preachers. The one who proclaims the glorious
message of the gospel of the grace of God. And then, finally
this morning, the people that this message is addressed to
and there is a contrast really in the opening verse seeing the
multitudes and we read of all those who were following him
great multitudes of people at the end of chapter 4 seeing the
multitudes he went up into a mountain when it was said his disciples
came unto him we see another distinction being made here the
multitudes They are following Him. But who come to hear His
message? We have that word, we looked
at it just the other week in Isaiah 62.11, Behold the Lord
hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter
of Zion. It's interesting isn't it? There's
a distinction there. There's a proclamation to the
end of the world. But say ye to the daughter of
Zion. Many are called, but few are chosen. And when we consider
the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is a distinguishing
ministry and a separating ministry, remember. Those various verses
in John's Gospel about a division, a division because of Him, a
division because of His teaching, a division amongst the people. The Lord Jesus, you see, in His
ministry, He separates. And isn't that the mark of the
true prophet of the Lord? Jeremiah the prophet was told,
"...if they take forth the precious from the vial, they shall be
as my mouth." God's Word makes a difference, makes a separation.
It was so with the apostles. We are unto God a sweet savour
of Christ, says Paul, in them that are saved and in them that
perish, to the one we're the savour of death unto death, to
the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient
for these things? Oh, our sufficiency must be of
God, says Paul. The solemn matter, isn't it,
when there's a difference made, because some hear the words and
believe the word but others. Oh, there's different grounds.
It's not all good soil, is it? There's stony soil. There's a
wayside. There's a thorny ground. Or do
we desire that we might be those who are good ground, receiving
the Word of God? Well, what is the mark? What
is the mark of those who are the disciples? When He was set,
His disciples came on to him well clearly here we see that
the disciples they come they come to him all that the father
giveth me is there shall come to me and he that cometh to me
I shall he no wise cast out the disciple comes the disciple is
one who wants to hear his voice wants to be taught by him And so that's the mark of his
sheep. They come, they come for what? They come to hear him. He opened his mouth, it says,
and taught them. My sheep hear my voice, he says. Or they know not the voice of
strangers, they hear my voice. They follow me, I give unto them
eternal life, says the Lord Jesus. They come and they hear. And as they come and hear, what
else do they do? These are the marks of the disciples.
And we have to look to ourselves and examine ourselves. Do we
come? Do we hear? But what is the consequence?
They obey. That's the mark of those who
are His true disciples. And doesn't the Lord make that
plain when we come to the end of the sermon? There in chapter 7, 24, Therefore
whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will
liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock.
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew
and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded
upon a rock. And every one that heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a
foolish man. which built his house upon the
sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, and great
was the fall of it. Oh, hearing, hearing the voice
of the Lord Jesus Christ, is that our great desire, that we
might obey, that we might obey His Word. Oh, we want Him to
come, we want Him, yes, to speak with power and authority we want
to feel something of the power the penetration of his word but
we want that word also to sanctify us all his prayer was to the
father sanctify them through thy truth all thy word is truth
God grant then that we might be those who know that sanctifying
effect that we might come and hear and obey as the Lord is
pleased to bless his word to us well the Lord be pleased to
grant that the words might prove to be effectual and fruitful
in all our hearts. Amen. Let us now conclude as
we sing the hymn number 894 and the tune is Evan 136, the Savior empties whom he'll fill and quickens
whom he slays. A legal hope he'll kindly kill
to teach us gospel praise. 894.