Matthew 5:1 (NASB)

And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.

 

Ijjdwv    de    tou"    ojclou"    ajnebh     eij"   to    ojro"   kai    kaqisanto"    aujtou

And seeing    the         crowds      he went up   into    the  mountain  and       sitting                him

 proshlqan    aujtw    oiJ    maqhtai    aujtou.

approached       to him    the       disciples     of him

 

EXAMINATION

Idw is 1^st person, singular, aorist, active, subjective of eijdon (3708), which can mean to see, behold, or to attain a true knowledge of. 

 

ojclou" is accusative, plural, masculine of ojclo" (3791), a confused multitude of people (Mt 4:25; 5:1; 7:28) or a multitude or great number of people (Lu. 5:29; 6:17; Acts 1:15). 

 

Ajnebh is 3^rd person, singular, aorist, active, indicative of ajnabainw (305), to go up or ascend.

 

Proshlqan is 3rd person, plural, aorist, active, indicative of prosercomai (4334), to come or to go to any one, approach, draw near.

 

Matthew 5:2 (NASB)

And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying,

 

Kai    ajnoixa"    to    stoma    aujtou    ejdidasken    aujtou"    legwn

And      opening       the      mouth       of him      he taught          them          saying:

 

ajnoixa" is nominative, singular, masculine, aorist, active, participle of ajnoigw (455), to open.  Passive would be, to be opened.

 

ejdidasken is 3^rd person, singular, imperfect, active, indicative of didaskw (1321), to teach or speak in a public assembly.

 

EXPOSITION

 

And when He saw the multitudes.  Why was this statement made and what does it have to do with the sermon Jesus is about to preach?  What was it about this multitude that made mention of them important? 

 

The multitude that Jesus observed was a convoluted, complicated, confused, hodgepodge of humanity.  It consisted of varying personalities, problems, and pains.  Among this multitude one would find an A to Z variety of people.

 

1.                   Disciples (5:1)

2.                  Persecutors and the persecuted (5:11-12)

3.                  Salt and saltless earth (13)

4.                  Light and darkness (14-16)

5.                  Scribes and Pharisees (17-20)

6.                  Murderers and their potential victims (21-26)

7.                  Adulterers and those whom they have betrayed (27-32)

8.                  Liars (33-37)

9.                  Evil persons (38-42)

10.               Enemies (43-48)

11.                Tax Collectors (46-47)

12.               Hypocrites (6:5-7, 16-18, 7:1-6); a group so large that Jesus mentions them three times.

13.               People needing forgiveness and people needing to forgive (6:14-15)

14.               Greedy entrepreneurs (6:19-30)

15.               Anxious worry warts (6:31-34)

16.               Judgmental men (7:1-6)

17.               Prayerful men and prayerless men (7:7-12)

18.               False prophets and false disciples (15-29)

 

Like the people to whom Jesus about to preach, we are caught in the pull between the World and the Kingdom.  We are "in the world," (Jn. 17:11) but "not of the world" (Jn. 17:14, 16).  We live in the world, but we are not to live like the world. 

 

John 17:11, 14, 16(NASB)

¹¹“I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
¹⁴“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ¹⁶“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 

According to John Stott, "…God's historical purpose is to call out [if the world] a people for himself…a 'holy' people, set apart from the world to belong to him and to obey Him; and that its vocation is to be true to its identity, that is, to be 'holy' or 'different' in all its outlook and behavior."^[1] 

 

This can be seen in God's sanctifying call to Israel.

Leviticus 18:1-4 (NASB)

¹Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘I am the LORD your God. ³‘You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes. ⁴‘You are to perform My judgments and keep My statutes, to live in accord with them; I am the LORD your God.

 

Leviticus 18:1-4 (TLB)
^1-2The Lord then told Moses to tell the people of Israel,

“I am Jehovah your God, ³so don’t act like the heathen—like the people of Egypt where you lived so long, or the people of Canaan where I am going to take you. ^4-5You must obey only my laws, and you must carry them out in detail, for I am the Lord your God. If you obey them, you shall live. I am the Lord.

 

In spite of God's call, "the people of Israel keep forgetting their uniqueness as the people of God."^[2]  Balaam observed Israel and made this comment concerning them: "…Behold, a people dwelling apart, and who prefer to remain distinct from every other nation" (Num. 23:9).  Later, the Psalmist declared that Israel "mingled in among the heathen and learned their evil ways, sacrificing to their idols, and were led away from God.  They sacrificed their little children to the demons—the idols of Canaan—shedding innocent blood and polluting the land with murder.  Their evil deeds defiled them, for their love of idols was adultery in the sight of God" (Psalm 106:35-39, TLB).  In the days of Samuel, Israel demanded a king "that we may be like all the nations" (1Sam 8:5, 20).  God's prophetic word to His erring people was clear: "Do not learn the way of the nations" (Jer. 10:2) and "Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God" (Ez. 20:7).  Though the message was clear and repeated often Israel persisted in being like the nations.  When God explained His reason for bringing judgment upon Israel and Judah, it was because the people had "walked in the customs of the nations" (2 Kings 17:8, cf. 2Ki. 17:19; Ezk. 5:7; 11:12). 

 

The disparity between who and what the multitude should have been and who and what they were explains Jesus' simple message—"Repent – that is, change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins --  for the kingdom of heaven is at hand [is within reach or near]" (Mt. 4:17, AMP).  Concerning this call to repentance, John Stott wrote:

 

"The Sermon on the Mount…describes what human life and human community look like when they come under the gracious rule of God… Jesus emphasized that his true followers, the citizens of God's kingdom, were to be entirely different from others.  They were not to take their cue from the people around them, but from him, and to prove to be genuine children of their heavenly Father."^[3]

 

Stott reminds us that Jesus' statement in Matthew 6:8: "Do not be like them," is reminiscent of God's word to Israel in days gone by: "You shall not do as they do" (Lev. 18:3).  He says, "It is the same call to be different."^[4]

 

Throughout His sermon Jesus contrasts the life and behavior of the Kingdom citizen with that of pagan nations and the religious men of Israel, and calls His listeners to a life which is totally at variance with that of the mainstream multitude.

 

He went up on the mountain.  These words communicate two things to me.

 

First, it suggests separation.  He could have preached His message on the plain below, but instead He chose the crest of the mountain as His classroom.  Why?  Perhaps some looked at the steep climb that stood between themselves and Jesus and went home.  Why make it so difficult to attend this important meeting?  Those who did follow Jesus probably did so at great physical cost.  It's not easy to climb a mountain.  Some stumbled on their way up bruising their bodies and cutting their knees and hands.  Others, not accustomed to physical activity huffed and puffed their way up the mountain path.  All arrived sweaty and dusty from their climb.  Again, why put them through such an ordeal?  Why place such an obstacle between them and this time of ministry?  Could it be that He placed this difficulty before His followers in an attempt to separate the casual follower from the committed disciple?  Does He remove Himself from us in an attempt to expose the level of our desire for Him?  My guess is that the crowd on top of the hill was smaller than the one He had observed in the valley floor below.  Did the obstacle weed out all of the curious and casual?  Probably not, but one thing is sure, everyone in that open-air classroom wanted to be there.

 

Second, Jesus' physical action suggests inspiration.  His going up the mountain seems to mirror the spiritual action He was asking of His disciples.  He was about to call them to life on a higher plain. 

 

And after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  According to these words the steep climb had served as a filter—His disciples came to Him.  According to Lawrence Richards a disciple is a pupil or learner.  A disciple was "one who attached himself to another to gain…knowledge…."^[5] Jesus takes the posture of a Rabbi or Teacher—He sat down.  Matthew suggests that those who came to Him were "His disciples."  This meeting was not announced or advertised, but was conducted for a specific audience—His disciples.

 

And opening His mouth He began to teach them.  After the crowd had assembled, He instructed them.  The fact that He opened His mouth seems to indicate that this was a deliberate act.  He had ascended the mountain for this very purpose.  What He was about to speak was premeditated and radical.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

The people who assembled on that mountain were common, ordinary people such as one might see on any busy street, or at a football game, or in a bus station, or in a Mall, or in attendance at a PTA meeting.  The thing that separated them from the multitude in the valley was the fact that they had climbed the hill to be with and be taught by Jesus.  At the base of the mountain it was business as usual, but on top of the mountain Jesus was about to introduce the radical lifestyle of the Kingdom.

 

Everyone who ascended the mountain was challenged and changed.  What they had heard changed their lives, either for good or for bad.  That day on the mountain with Jesus was a benchmark moment for these mountain climbers. 

 

Like the disciples of old we are being asked to come up higher--to allow the words and teachings of Jesus to change us for the good.  There is no way to hear the words of Jesus and not be challenged and changed, so this might be a good time to take that three month vacation you've been thinking about.  One thing is sure, those who separate from the multitude and climb the mountain will have the opportunity to hear a description of life in the Kingdom and to evaluate their life by that standard.  Will you climb the mountain and sit at Jesus' feet with me?