Preaching to People in Glass Houses?

Jesus must have preached lots of sermons. The sermon on the mount might be a "collected works," as might the "sermon on the plain." But it's clear Jesus picked a small group of disciples from the large crowds following him. And he did preach to the crowds. So perhaps it's time to read what he said.

(18) Mountains, Plains and (maybe glass) Houses

Jesus has spent time near Jerusalem. John gets into trouble. Jesus moves north to Galilee, via Samaria where he meets the woman at the well. He stays with Peter’s family in Capernaum, goes walkabout to escape the crowds, can’t escape the crowds and chooses his own particular crowd of 12 disciples. Then… Read Mark 3:14,20, Luke 6:13,17, Matthew 5:1 Everyone’s heard of “The Sermon on the Mount.” But what about “The Sermon on the Plain”? In the house?

1.       Who was following Jesus when he chose the twelve?

2.       What was Jesus doing before he chose the twelve (Read Luke 6:12)?

3.       Why did Jesus go up a mountain? (Do you remember how Old Testament worship took place on mountains?)

4.       Why did Jesus choose the twelve? (Read Mark 3:14)

5.       Would it worry you to think the Sermon on the Mount might happen on a plain? Matthew and Luke will both list the Beatitudes. Are they quoting the same sermon, concatenating sermons, just adding context to a collection of Jesus’ teachings, describing different sermons where the same things were said…? What do you think?

6.       One theory suggests Matthew places the sermon on a mountain because Jesus is the new Moses, and Moses received the law on a mountain. (Matthew also lists 5 “sermons” of Jesus, Matthew 5-7, 10, 13:1-52, 18, 24-25, like the 5 books of Moses… maybe.) Do you have any strong opinions about this or other theories? How do we decide what’s worth arguing about?

Read Matthew 5:2-12, Luke 6:20-26 What difference do you notice first?

1.       Who is listening to this sermon? Try to list at least three groups, then think about which group you would be in.

2.       Read Matthew 5:3, Luke 6:20,24. Who is this directed to? Which part of the crowd starts cheering?

3.       What’s the difference between poor in spirit and poor in money? Are they ever connected (except here)?

4.       Read Matthew 5:4, Luke 6:21,25 (second half of each Luke verse). Who is this directed to?

5.       What’s the difference between comfort and laughter? Are there different kinds of laughter?

6.       Read Matthew 5:5. Is Luke leaving someone out? What does “meek” mean anyway?

7.       Read Matthew 5:6, Luke 6:21,25 (first halves of the Luke verses this time) Who is cheering now?

8.       What’s the difference between being hungry and being hungry for righteousness—and what’s the connection?

9.       Whose version of these beatitudes seems more spiritual and whose seems more concerned with everyday needs? Why might that be? (Who was there on the day?)

10.   Read Matthew 5:7 Who’s cheering now? Are we merciful? Is our country? Are our churches? Do we need mercy?

11.   Read Matthew 5:8 Who were the pure in heart? Who are they today?

12.   Read Matthew 5:9 Think of the Middle East today—their world had been at war forever. The Sanhedrin were peacemakers, in that they collaborated with the enemy. But who, in the crowd listening to Jesus, would consider this aimed at them? Are we, personally, peacemakers? When and how?

13.   Read Matthew 5:10 What constitutes being “persecuted”? When Christians complain about the “war on Christmas,” are they peacemakers? Can they claim to be persecuted?

14.   Read Matthew 5:11-12 How does Matthew describe persecution in these verses?

15.   Read Luke 6:22-23,26 How does Luke describe persecution? (Is he really only concerned with everyday needs in this passage?) How does the world describe persecution? Do we/should we describe it differently? When have we seen or read about persecution in history?

16.   Who was cheering at the end of this part of Jesus’ sermon? And who was not cheering? Which part of the crowd would we be in?