Sermon on the Mount - Dr. Patrick Latham

In Matthew 7:28-29, Matthew provided a conclusion to Jesus’ sermon. The words of the actual Sermon on the Mount ended with verse 27. One could see Matthew 7:28-29 as a parallel to Matthew 5:1-2. While the later passage introduced Jesus’ sermon, the former concluded it. Both passages contained Holy Spirit-inspired editorial remarks from Matthew. 

In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus concluded his Sermon on the Mount by calling his hearers to obedience. In doing so, he used the fourth, and final, metaphor of his conclusion. To speak of the benefit and blessing of obedience in a believer’s life, he compared obedience to a firm foundation.

Jesus’ final metaphor was a memorable one. Matthew 7:24-27 constitute some of the most vivid words from the Sermon on the Mount. To this day, even unbelievers make reference to Jesus’ metaphors within the passage.

In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus taught his hearers about the tragedy of false professions of faith. With verse 21, Jesus shifted to the third section of his conclusion. Whereas his first section focused on two different paths of life (Matthew 7:13-14), and whereas his second section focused on two fruits in life (Matthew 7:15-20), his third section focused on two different professions of faith in life. J.C. Ryle has described the verses as giving “heart-piercing application.”

In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus provided the second section of his conclusion to his Sermon on the Mount. Astute Bible readers may immediately notice a connection between the first and second sections of Jesus’ conclusion. Wherein the first section warned believers to stay on the right path of Christian living, the second section taught them how to stay on that path. Namely, Jesus instructed his hearers to be on the look out concerning inferior forms of Christian teaching.

In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus began his conclusion to his Sermon on the Mount by putting a choice before his readers. He called them to consider which road they were on in life. After stating his Golden Rule, Jesus began the conclusion to his sermon by saying…

Matthew 7:13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.”

In Matthew 7:12, Jesus shared his famous “Golden Rule.” Some have postulated that the title was drawn from Roman history. It is said that the Roman Emperor Alexander Severus had Matthew 7:12 inscribed in gold on the walls of his throne room. Consequently, people began calling Jesus’ teaching “the Golden Rule” in the Third Century AD. Luke shared his version of the rule in Luke 6:31. He depicted Jesus as saying…

Luke 6:31 “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

Along with Jesus’ Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) and Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), the Golden Rule stands as one of Jesus’ foundational and fundamental teachings. The rule is valued by both Christians and non-Christians throughout the world.

In Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus gave his disciples assurance that God would hear and respond to their prayers. At face value, it may seem that his teaching in the current passage is unrelated to his teaching from the previous passage. However, he returned to giving explicit teaching on prayer because he knew that adherence to the teaching in Matthew 7:1–6 would require wisdom from God. In order to know how to rightly respond to people problems with others (Matthew 7:1–6), one must pray and seek wisdom from God (Matthew 7:7-11).

In Matthew 7:1-6, Jesus taught on the subject of interpersonal judging of others. He knew that a fixation with the faults and failures of others would serve as what might be called a “prayer block” or “prayer hindrance.” When one is preoccupied with the sins and shortcomings of others, one will be unlikely to see his or her own need for grace. A judgmental perspective is antithetical to the poverty of spirit and mourning over one’s own sins that Jesus encouraged in Matthew 5:3-4.

 In Matthew 6:34, Jesus taught his disciples to be on guard against worry. His words were interestingly contained within a section of his sermon that was focused on prayer (Matthew 6:1-7:11). In his teaching on prayer, Jesus highlighted two realities that can seemingly shut down a disciple’s prayer life, two realities that can serve as what we might call “prayer blocks” — anxiousness over provisions (Matthew 6:11; 19-34) and animosity towards people (Matthew 6:12; 14; 7:1-6). Jesus would later teach his disciples how to have assurance and confidence in prayer (Matthew 7:7-11). Before he did, he warned them to be on guard against hindrances that block and prevent sweet fellowship with God in prayer (Matthew 6:19-7:6).

In Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus warned his disciples about the sin and struggle of worry. His words were uttered within a discussion on prayer. His teaching on prayer constituted the largest section of teaching in his sermon, spanning from Matthew 6:1-7:11. In his teaching, Jesus first taught his disciples how to avoid self- righteous approaches to prayer, as well as self- righteousness in other spiritual disciplines (see Matthew 6:1-8; 16-18). He then gave practical instruction on how to pray (Matthew 6:9-12). After such things, he discussed two “prayer blocks,” we might call them, that have a way of stifling and shutting down prayer in the life of a disciple. In particular, Jesus discussed two blocks that prevent prayer — anxiousness concerning possessions and provisions (Matthew 6:19-35) and animosity towards people (Matthew 7:1-6). Jesus concluded his teaching on prayer, by offering his disciples assurance of concerning the power and profitability of prayer (Matthew 7:7-11). Our current text is found within Jesus’ discussion regarding prayer block #1 — anxiety over possessions and provisions. In simplest terms, Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:25-33 is concerned with the sin and struggle of worry.