To read the texts click on the texts: Isa 55:10-11; Mt6:7-15
The three chapters beginning from 5:1 and ending at 7:29 contain one of the most famous discourses of Matthew known as “The Sermon on the Mount”.
It is important to have a brief background of the
Sermon in order to appreciate fully each separate text within it. The first
point that we note about the Sermon on the Mount is that it is the first of the
five great discourses in the Gospel of Matthew. Each of these five ends with
the phrase, “and when Jesus had finished…” (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1). It
begins by showing Jesus as a Rabbi teaching ex-cathedra (5:1) and ends by
showing Jesus as the Messianic prophet addressing the crowds (7:28).
The second point that must be kept in mind is that the
Sermon is a composition of Matthew. An analysis of similar texts in the Gospels
of Mark and Luke indicate that many verses found here in Matthew are found in
Mark and Luke in different contexts. This does not mean that Jesus did not say
these words. It means that Matthew has put them together in this manner.
The third point is the theme, which will determine how
one will interpret the Sermon as a whole. Most are agreed that the theme of the
Sermon is found in 5:17-20, in which Jesus speaks about having come not to
abolish but to fulfill the Law and Prophets, and issues a challenge to those
listening to let their “righteousness” be greater than that of the scribes and
Pharisees in order to enter the kingdom.
The mountain is a “theological topos” in the Gospel of
Matthew (Luke’s Sermon is from “a level place” see Lk 6:17) and therefore means
much more than simply a geographical location. Matthew does not name the
mountain, but by choosing it as the place from where Jesus delivers the Sermon,
he probably wants to portray Jesus as the New Moses delivering the New Law from
a New Mountain. While Jesus in the Gospel of Luke “stands” and delivers the Sermon
(Lk 6:17), in Matthew, Jesus sits down. This is the posture that the Jewish
Rabbis adopted when communicating a teaching of importance or connected with
the Law. In Luke the crowd is addressed from the beginning of the Sermon and
addressed directly, “Blessed are you poor…” (Lk 6:20), but in Matthew, it is
the “disciples” who come to Jesus and whom he begins to teach.
The section on
Prayer begins in 6:5 and Jesus contrasts the prayer of his disciples with the
prayer of hypocrites who like to be seen by all and also Gentile prayer which
heaps words upon words and may also mean a prayer made to many “gods” to
placate them. This kind of prayer is only for self gratification or to receive
favours. The prayer of the disciple is to God who is Father and who knows what
they need even before they can ask. Thus, prayer is not simply to place the
petition before God who is all knowing but primarily to acknowledge dependence
on God for everything.
What follows
this contrast is the prayer that Jesus teaches his disciples and which is
commonly known as the "Our Father". However, a better term for this
would be "The Lord's Prayer". The reason for this is because there
are two versions of the same prayer. The other is found in Lk. 11:2-4. There,
the pronoun "Our" is missing and the prayer begins simply with
"Father". In Matthew this prayer is at the very centre of the Sermon
and must be read with that fact in mind. It begins with an address and then
goes on to make two sets of three petitions. The address of God as “Father”
brings out the intimacy of the relationship that disciples and God share. The
pronoun “Our” here indicates that God is not merely the father of individual
believers but of the community as a whole and therefore all in the believing
community are brothers and sisters.
The opening
petitions indicate that prayer does not begin with one’s needs, but with the
glory and honour due to God. God’s name is and will be honoured by all men and
women, since God as revealed by Jesus is primarily a God of mercy, forgiveness
and unconditional love. The kingdom of God has come in Jesus and is also in the
future when God will be all and in all. This is a situation in which God will
show himself to be king as he has done in the life, ministry, death and
resurrection of Jesus. As Jesus constantly did God’s will, so it will continue
to be done both in heaven and on earth. It is only when God’s will is done
rather than one’s own that there can be true and lasting peace and harmony.
Despite
petitioning God for something as stupendous as the kingdom, the disciple also
acknowledges dependence on God for something as regular and ordinary as bread.
God’s forgiveness is unconditional and without any merit on the part of the
disciples. However, in order to receive this forgiveness which God gives
graciously and gratuitously, the disciple will have to remove from his/her
heart any unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness or anger that might be present
there. The prayer ends with a final petition that God, who always leads the
people, will not bring them into a time of testing, when the pressure might be
so great as to overcome faith itself, but that he will save them from the
ultimate power of evil.
The Lord’s Prayer is not just a prayer; it is also a
way of life. The words of the prayer communicate the attitude that one must
have toward God and others. While we must acknowledge our dependence on God for
everything that we need and regard him always as the primary cause, our
attitude to others must be one of acceptance and forgiveness.
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