Many people assume that we can separate the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount from the teacher. In almost every other religion that is true. The teaching is primary and the teacher is secondary, so we can accept the teaching and discard the teacher. But when it comes to the Sermon on the Mount we encounter a difficulty. If we try to separate the teaching from the person who offered it, the Sermon on the Mount becomes ludicrous and nonsensical. That's why the crowds who first heard Jesus speak these words were astonished. They were literally dumbfounded because, quite simply, they had never heard anyone say anything like this before.

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