Greatest sermon ever preached

The greatest sermon ever preached was delivered by Jesus early in His ministry. After His baptism by John, Jesus traveled throughout Galilee preaching and healing. Seeing the great multitudes that followed Him, Jesus went up the side of a mountain with His disciples. There, He delivered the famous Sermon on the Mount, chronicled by chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew’s gospel.

On the mountainside, Jesus launched the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12) and the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13). When my grandmother, Delia Powell, went to be with the Lord, a Beatitude that described her life was engraved on her gravestone in Perry’s Evergreen Cemetery. It was Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

Jesus amended the Mosaic Law (established 14 centuries earlier) regarding the sins of murder, adultery and divorce. Jesus looked beyond the exact sin to the thought processes that produced it, stating that murder begins in the heart when one is angry with his brother (Matt. 5:21-22) and that adultery begins with the lust in one’s heart (Matt. 5:27-28). Jesus redefined divorce, saying that any man who divorces his wife for any reason other than sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery (Matt 5:31-32).

Jesus said we should love our neighbors, bless those who curse us, be kind to those who hate us and pray for those who despitefully use us. He urged that we do not worry but to place our trust in God. He warned us not to judge that we be not judged. The Master said that broad is the gate that leads to destruction, but narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it. In effect, Jesus said that we need a new heart whose manifestation is love, forbearance and kindness.

Jesus’ sermon sets the guidelines for Christian living. The Scripture concludes: “The crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” This sermon comprises 111 verses and a thousand words. Everyone who reads it will benefit.

In this sermon, Jesus taught us how to pray. I close with His model prayer: “Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.”

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