An alternative interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount is, from beginning to end, a statement of free will and personal responsibility. If the teachings of Jesus had been accepted by the people, the Pharisees would’ve been left powerless.
It is strange that the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, 6 and 7) is the one place in the Bible where the teachings of Jesus are spelt out and yet Matthew is not part of the epistleistic teachings of the Christian church.
Look closely at the modern religious institution and you will discover that it has one outstanding characteristic: it is, with a few notable exceptions around the world, engaged in a headlong flight from reality. Most of us were brought up on “preaching” churches, where the pulpit becomes a protective barrier keeping the minister at a comfortable arm’s length from the sordid problems he so eloquently describes.
(Noffs, 1984)
It’s the same problem that existed with the Pharisees. Make laws, preach, tell people what they should do, and all problems will be solved without the need to get involved with the problems.
The law of the Pharisees was built on the premise “thou shalt not,” with the list of “thou shalt nots” being exceedingly long, complicated, and leaving the Pharisees the sole arbitrators of if thou had or had not. The Pharisees set themselves up as God’s representatives on earth and gave themselves the responsibility of deciding law and punishment on God’s behalf.
Unfortunately, the church of Paul has followed the same path. At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught the still radical concept of self-responsibility. It was up to each of us to seek God on a one-to-one basis. This completely undermined the power of the Pharisees, who sought to control all things.
The message Jesus gave that day was a profile of a person who lived according to God’s wishes, and it is a profile of Jesus himself. At the same time, Jesus left made it clear that it was our choice—we had free will—to accept his teachings or not. It was the character of Jesus that he followed his own teachings to the letter.
. The Sermon on the Mount begins in Matthew 5.
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Greek: “for they shall be satisfied.”)
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
(Greek: “clean in heart.”)
9 Blessed are the peace-makers: for they shall be called the children of God.
(Greek: shall be called the sons of God).
The Sermon on the Mount starts with a list of “blessed are . . . for they” statements. I see this as saying that if you want it you can have it. This sets the scene for the way I see the Sermon on the Mount. It starts with Jesus saying if you want it you can have it, and then follows with details of how to get it.
The word “righteousness” is used over and over again in the Sermon on the Mount. It is used to describe two types of righteousness, the righteousness of the Pharisees and the righteousness of God. Jesus does not seem to like the “righteousness of the Pharisees” one little bit.
There are three religions that trace there origins back to Abram. These are Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The secret of these three religions are that they are not religions at all; they are legal systems.
The Abrahamic legal system is that the “Priests” are God’s lawyers on Earth, therefore they can do anything they like to anyone at anytime and remain free of sin because since they are God’s lawyers, whatever they do must be God’s will.
This passes down to our secular legal system as we can do whatever we like to anyone at anytime, and provided it is legal, we remain free of sin. The next step down is right and wrong. We can do whatever we like to anyone at anytime, and provided we are “right” and they are “wrong,” we remain free of sin. That is all being right is, a way of remaining free of sin.
The righteousness of the Pharisess is the righteousness of Abram—they were God’s lawyers on Earth and they could do whatever they liked and remain free of sin. But Jesus said that we must go past this “righteousness” if we are to find the Kingdom of Heaven.
The section “for great is your reward in heaven” is a difficult one because of the way Jesus uses “heaven.” Instead of referring to the conventional Christian concept of Heaven being “in the sky,” he gives a different perspective of the Kingdom of Heaven in the following passage from Luke 17:
20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not by observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or Lo there! For, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
There is a continuous switch from the “Kingdom of God” and the “Kingdom of Heaven” in the New Testament. Whether or not there is a distinction here that is not apparent I do not know. To me it seems that the two terms are so close that they are interchangeable. My understanding of this passage is that rewards come from within. If we want peace, mercy and all the other things, then we must go past Abrahamic religion, past right and wrong, and find peace and mercy from within.
My understanding of this part of the Sermon on the Mount comes partly from what comes later in the sermon. This opening section seems to be a general overview of what is to follow.
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its flavour, where with shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of man. (Greek: “but if the salt be tainted, by what shall it be salted? for nothing is it strong longer except being cast out ....” )
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candle stick; and giveth light to all that are in the house.
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father, which is in heaven.
If want these thing then you must stand up and be counted. If you don’t, then you are of no use. If you don’t want to be counted, then don’t complain when you are trodden under foot of man. If you do stand up to be counted, then what is within will shine forth.
“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” If you do stand up to be counted, don’t expect it to be easy. You will be standing up to the Abrahamic system and you can expect full weight of the “righteousness of the Pharisees.” But you will find peace from within.
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, not one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. (Greek: “iota one or one point by no means shall pass away from the law,” ....)
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Here Jesus is making it clear that he is not saying break the Ten Commandments, the law of Moses; he is saying keep them.
The problem is the righteousness of the Pharisees. The Ten Commandments say don’t kill, don’t cheat, don’t want what isn’t yours and other basic rules to help people get along in this world. But the Abrahamic law is a way of finding excuses for our transgressions so we remain free of sin. “I am right, you are wrong. Therefore it is your fault if I harm you.”
21 Ye have heard it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
The words “without a cause” are not in the Greek text. The Christian church has inserted an “escape clause” into the words of Jesus. That allows the church to be angry provided it has a cause. What is a “cause” is entirely the judgment of the church.
This is Abrahamic law in action. The crusades, the burning of witches, the Inquisition and all the other atrocities carried out in the name of the Christian church have only been possible because of the concept that there can be a “cause.” And the Church remains free of sin because they are God’s lawyers on Earth and so everything they do must be God’s will.
According to the book of Matthew, there is never a “cause”; these words simply do not appear in the original text. This is another example of the mistranslation that changes the meaning of a passage, and takes power away from the individual and gives it to the church.
We can say things that make us accountable by law, but if we call someone a fool, we are in danger of hell fire. When we call someone a fool, we are making the judgment that we are superior to that person. The problems associated with judgment come later in the sermon.
This passage is also a lead into the responsibility of dealing with our own problems before attempting to solve the problems of others. Again, personal responsibility is paramount.
23 Therefore if thou bring a gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; (Greek: “something against thee;”)
24 Leave the gift before the altar, and go thy way: first to be reconciled with thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
This is a lesson that seems to be completely forgotten by the modern world. If we want to offer something to God, we must first fix our own lives, because fixing our own lives is the greatest gift we can give to God. This makes total nonsense of any war or conflict between religious groups. When Christians fight against Jews, Moslems, Hindus or any other group, or among themselves in the name of God, they directly contradict the teachings of Jesus.
According to Jesus, God is not interested in any gifts from us until we learn to live in peace with one another, and that is the greatest gift we can offer God. It is our responsibility to fix any conflict we have with another. Then, and only then, can we know God.
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; (Greek: Be well disposed to the opponent of thee quickly, while thou art with him in the way;) lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
26 Truly I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
This is a passage that amplifies the practical side of not getting into disputes. If you want get involved with legal disputes, it is going to cost. This is still valid advice for living in today’s world: stay out of the hands of the lawyers; you may seek justice, but all you will get is the law. This passage highlights the difference between what Jesus taught and what the Christian church teaches. Jesus taught a very practical, day-to-day way of living.
This passage goes beyond the law. If we have a problem with another person, fix it. Do not fix it by anger and judgment, but by agreement. If the lawyers get involved, the only ones to benefit will be the lawyers.
There is something more here. The lawyers work with Abrahamic law. To find peace and mercy from within we need to go past this.
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shall not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Throughout the reported teachings of Jesus there is continuous use of stories and examples to illustrate a point. Jesus could have used any of the Ten Commandments to illustrate his point. He could have said that whosoever wants to kill someone has already committed murder in his heart.
The point of this example is that it is not enough not to do something because the law or commandments tell you not to. To find real peace, there must be no desire to think of breaking the commandments.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Greek: “the right eye of thee causes thee to stumble ...” ). 30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (Greek: “the right hand of thee causes thee to stumble ...”).
If there is something about ourselves that causes us to act in a way that is different from the way we want to act, get rid of it. Have we learned a habit that is harmful to us? Have we learned to act in ways that offend others? Unlearn it. Get rid of it.
30 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
(Greek: dismisses the wife of him)
31 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
(Greek: who a dismissed (woman) marries committeth adultery)