The Sermon on the Mount (Mountains and Lakes - Week 3)

In this sermon, Maggie Mobley explores the significance of the Sermon on the Mount, emphasizing the juxtaposition of challenging teachings with the concept of "type two fun," which refers to experiences that are difficult but ultimately rewarding. She shares a personal story about overcoming her fear of heights during a zip-lining adventure, paralleling this experience with Jesus' call for boldness and discomfort in following Him. The sermon highlights key elements of Jesus' teachings, such as the Beatitudes, the call to be salt and light, and the importance of building one's life on a solid foundation rooted in Christ. Ultimately, Maggie encourages listeners to embrace the discomfort of living out their faith actively, view challenges as opportunities for growth, and respond to Jesus' call with courage.

Transcript

We’re in week three of our series titled “Mountains and Lakes” – a series

where we explore pivotal moments in the life of Jesus that took place on

mountains or lakes. Mountains and pretty much any body of water are both

places that I love very much.

A few months ago, I had an experience on a mountain. I was able to go to

Guatemala with our high school ministry students on their spring break

mission trip. It was wonderful – a powerful week of serving, working with the

kids at Agua Viva; we had a ton of fun. The one day that we got to go to explore

we drove an hour to Antigua, and we drove up to the top of a small mountain.

It was beautiful – we could oversee the historic city; it was a very high end

museum that we were at. But we weren’t there to look at art – we were there to

zipline.

Now, an important part of this experience is that I am very scared of heights –

they make me nervous, and make my hands sweat, and I actively avoid

activities that involve heights. I knew we were going ziplining, and I did have

the opportunity to opt out, but I thought it would be good for me – it would get

me out of my comfort zone, it would make me be brave. I thought it would set

a good example to the students of conquering fears – or something like that.

So, I make it oN the first platform, screaming the whole way. It wasn’t wildly

scary at that point because the first few platforms were high, but once I got up

there and got going, it was okay. Then right before the last platform, we had

had to get down and walk up the hill. And then the tower. And as we climbed

flight after flight of stairs, I started getting nauseous. My hands were sweating,

I was crying. And it wasn’t like I was trying to cry; it was just my bodies

reaction – I was scared out of my mind. It was hard. I didn’t want to do it. And

not only were we climbing the platform, but when we got to the top, we were

ziplining from one peak of the mountain over to the other side, so we were

going across the valley, or the ravine. It was wildly high. I got to the top and it’s

my turn and I’m crying, and my oldest son, who is right behind me in line, he2

says to me “Mom, you can do it. Just think of the sermon illustration that you’ll

get from this.” So I jump oN the platform, and I scream and cry the whole way

across. The rest of the students make it, everyone else loves it, and as we’re

walking back to drop oN our equipment, that same boy of mine said “What did

you think?” I told him that I didn’t really like it while I was doing it because it

was scary and uncomfortable and hard, but now that my heart rate had

slowed and I had stopped crying, that I thought I would do it again. He said

“Yeah, that’s type 2 fun.”

Now, I had no idea what type 2 fun means. So, I’ll share with you in case you

don’t know either. Type 2 fun refers to an experience in which you don’t always

like it during the activity, usually because it’s hard, or takes you out of your

comfort zone, or makes you uncomfortable. But when the experience is over,

you can look back and say, “that was worth it”. You feel accomplished, you

feel thankful for the experience, and you’d likely choose to do it again. It

causes discomfort, it takes boldness, and requires action and it leads to great

things. It’s type 2 fun.

So my most recent mountain experience was type 2 fun. And I think that when

Jesus taught his sermon on the mount, he was setting all of us up for type 2

fun in a way that only He can do.

Let’s get some details about the Sermon on the mount. In the Bible, this

sermon from Jesus is just over 100 verses long, you can find it in its entirety in

the book of Matthew in chapters 5, 6, and 7.

This is the longest recorded sermon by Jesus. It includes both the Beatitudes

and the Lord’s Prayer, which are two very well-known passages. It also

includes the golden rule that we all learn in kindergarten – do unto others what

you would have them do to you. This teaching happened on a hillside near

Capernaum, at the time a hillside or a mountainside was not an uncommon

place for teachings to happen.

This sermon from Jesus has gone on to be one of the most well-known

teachings of the Bible. It is likely the most influential teaching from Scripture,3

and it teaches us about love, humility, compassion, and gives us a moral

framework to live by. One of the things that stands out about this sermon is

the cultural breadth and longevity that the scripture has had. Bob Marley’s

first song in 1961 included parts of this scripture. Bono has a song that recites

these verses. Ghandi read the entire sermon on the mount every morning and

every night for the last 40 years of his life. 40 years! That’s over 29,000 times.

He didn’t even follow Jesus, yet he knew it was important. This teaching in the

Bible goes far beyond Christianity – because the teachings in it are pillars for

humanity and the way that we should behave and live our lives.

Now, I was not given an easy task today, because this sermon is 100 verses

long, and every single verse is powerful and important. And I have about 24

minutes left up here. So, I’m going to give you the 30,000-foot overview and

then zoom in on a few specific teachings, or portions of this sermon. All of

which will lead us to Jesus and to Type 2 fun.

Jesus begins the sermon by describing traits that he was looking for in his

followers. There are 8 listed beatitudes, and they outline the qualities that are

valued in the Kingdom of Heaven. These are the Beatitudes – this is Matthew

5, verses 3-10.

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

• Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will

be filled.

• Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

• Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed. I think that we can get caught up on that word and it can make these

qualities that Jesus shared a little harder to understand. Jesus would have

likely preached this sermon in Aramaic, because it was the language used in

Galilee and Jerusalem at this time. But his sermon would have been4

translated into Hebrew and Greek. And then many translations later someone

landed on the word “Blessed.” That’s not wrong. But for me, the easier way to

understand these qualities is by using the phrase “The good life is for those

who…”. So we would hear “The good life is for those who are poor in spirit, for

theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The good life is for those who mourn, because

they will be comforted. The good life is for those are meek, for they will inherit

the earth. The good life is for those who are persecuted because of

righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus begins with words that seem to contradict each other. Most people that

are mourning or hurting are not feeling like they’re living the good life in the

moment. But what Jesus says that when we live a certain way – that is what

leads us to the kingdom of heaven. He’s saying that the good life is for those

who live out these qualities and it will all be worth it.

But the way that Jesus calls us to live usually contradicts the way that the

world lives. If you want to live for God, you must be ready to say and do what

seems contradictory to the world. This can be uncomfortable. (DISCOMFORT

on the Screen).

You must be willing to give when others take, to love when others hate, to help

when others hurt. You have to be willing to do the right thing, which is often

the hard thing. But by doing things that are contradictory to the world’s terms,

things that can make you uncomfortable in today’s culture and society, you

will one day receive everything that God has in store for you.

Jesus starts his sermon with the Beatitudes, and then he teaches us about

salt and light. This is Matthew 5, verses 13-16:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be

made salty again? Is it no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out

and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill

cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In5

the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good

deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Salt and light. My 10-year-old daughter likes to make this edible cookie dough

at home when she wants a sweet treat. A few weeks ago, she made it, and she

made one tiny little error in the recipe – she mixed up the sugar and the salt.

I’ll let you guess how that turned out. She pretended like it was edible, but it

wasn’t. The salt was salty. But that’s the whole point, right? If salt loses its

saltiness, it’s no good. If seasoning has no flavor, it has no value. When Jesus

says “You are the salt,” he means us. You and me. But if we have no flavor, if

we blend in with everyone else, then we’ve missed it. Salt brings out the flavor

– it makes things better (as long as you don’t use too much). We are the salt,

so we should also make things better. We shouldn’t blend in with the world,

but we should stand out and make others around us better.

There are several other insights on “salt” and what Jesus means here when he

says “You are the salt of the earth.” Salt is one of the most universal human

foods. You can find it in every culture. But since we have refrigerators, it’s easy

for us to forget that salt is also used as a preservative. It was used to make

meat last longer before it went bad. In the Hebrew Bible salt is described as

an important element in animal sacrifices. And often times salt is connected

to purity – it is used to purify things and make things clean, or edible.

It's easy for us to just read Scripture and make some quick conclusions about

what it means. But that word SALT is important – there is meaning and layers

behind it. We are the salt – we are called to make the world better, to not blend

in. We’re universal – we connect with all people. We help God’s word endure

and last by sharing it with others. We are salt in aiming to live pure lives. It’s

not just a good metaphor – it’s an important metaphor.

And the Light! Jesus tell us that we are the light. He doesn’t say “try to become

the light”, or “someday you might be the light.” But He tells us who we are – we

are the Light of the World.6

There is a strong thread of “light” in the Bible. Again, Jesus wasn’t calling us

Light just for fun – there is so much meaning here.

A quick look at this thread of light. In Genesis 1:3, the 3rd verse in the entire

Bible, it says “And God said, let there be light: and there was light. And God

saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ”

In Psalm 119 it says, “Your word is a light on my path.”

Then in John 1:4-5 he says this about Jesus: “In him was life, and that life was

the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has

not overcome it. ”

Then, also in the book of John, Jesus refers to himself as the light in chapter 8

verse 12. He says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never

walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”

As we wrap up the thread of light that we find in scripture, it brings us to

Revelation 22:5. It says “ There will be no more night. They will not need the

light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And

they will reign for ever and ever.”

God’s creation begins with light. Jesus is the light. And we have the promise of

eternal light in heaven with God. And in the Sermon on the mount Jesus tells

us that we are the light of the world. We reflect the light of Jesus in the way

that we live our lives. If we live for Christ, we will shine His light, showing

others what Jesus is like. And in this sermon on the mount Jesus says, “A city

set on a hill cannot be hidden.” It’s not an option to try and hide it. When you

live in the light of Christ, you will be seen. The world is watching. Whether

you’re in your home, at your job, on Instagram or Facebook,- your light is

visible.

And Jesus tells us not to hide our light. Sometimes we may be tempted to dim

our light out of fear – fear of what others think about us, fear of being

misunderstood or not liked by others. But if we hide our light, if we don’t

reflect the light of Jesus and who He is – it serves no one. It doesn’t serve

Jesus, and it doesn’t help others see Him.7

Living as the salt and light requires us to be bold. (Discomfort + Boldness on

the screen). It’s not easy. It will require us to be uncomfortable and brave. But

it’s what Jesus calls us to.

***

As Jesus continues his sermon he moves into the teaching and

interpretations of the laws or commandments. He covers a lot here. He talks

about anger, lust, divorce, vows, revenge, and loving our enemies. He

teaches on giving to those that need it, on fasting, on money. He tells us not

to worry, not to judge others. Jesus also teaches about the Way to Heaven,

and to be aware of false prophets.

And in the middle of this part of the sermon, and actually it’s the center of

the entire sermon, he teaches us about prayer. This is the Lord’s prayer – one

of the most well-known passages of Scripture. Matthew 6:9-13:

“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your

name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give

us today your daily bread. And forgive our debts, as we also have forgiven our

debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

One of the things that so impactful about this passage, is that this is Jesus’

prayer. He’s sharing with us the prayer that he prayed. He made it very

personal and we get a glimpse into how he himself prayed. My favorite line in

his prayer is also a line that he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night

before he was crucified – he says “Your will be done.” What an example he

sets for us. I mean, I pray that, but I do I mean it the way that Jesus meant it?

When we say that prayer, “Your will be done”, we are praying that God’s perfect

purpose will be accomplished in this world. It’s us oNering ourselves to Him,

allowing Him to guide, lead, and give us the means to accomplish His

purpose.

At the end of all of this, Jesus teaches us about building on a solid

foundation. This is the final teaching of the Sermon on the Mount, and it8

addresses the most important aspect of the choice Jesus presents to his

listeners. Where does the path that we choose lead us?

This is Matthew 7:24-27:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into

practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came

down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, yet

it did not fall, because it had the foundation on the rock. But everyone who

hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a

foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams

rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great

crash.”

These two lives that Jesus compares at the end of the sermon on the Mount

have several points in common: they both build, they both hear Jesus’

teaching, and they both experience the same set of circumstances in life.

The difference between them isn’t caused by ignorance, but it is cause by

ignoring what Jesus said. From the outside, their lives may look similar. But

the lasting, structural differences will be revealed by the storms of life. Most

of us don’t deliberately seek to build a house on bad foundation. But if we

aren’t intentional about building our house on the rock – on the foundation

of Jesus – then our foundation won’t be strong. We must listen to what

Jesus calls us to. This is action! In this sermon, Jesus teaches us all these

things, and then he essentially gives us two options and calls us to action.

on the screen)

There is a scene in the Chosen, that is setting up the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus wakes up Matthew, his disciple and his friend, and the author of this

book in the Bible, and Jesus says “I’ve got it”. Matthew says, “what, the

opening of the sermon?” And Jesus says “Yes, it’s a map. A map – directions to

where people should look to find me.”

(Discomfort + Boldness + Action 9

Now of course The Chosen is a show, and it takes creative liberties, so we

don’t actually know if Jesus said that. But it works. It makes sense. The

Sermon on the Mount is a map for how we are to live our lives. It is directions

of how we should act, how we should treat others, how we should put others

before ourselves, how we should live for God and not the world. It is a map

that leads us to a fork in the road where we have to make a choice – a choice

to build our house on the rock or to build our house on the sand. A choice to

shine our light or try to hide it. A choice to live for Jesus or for the world.

***

I told you that the diving into the Sermon on the mount would lead us to Jesus

– which obviously it does. But I also told you it would lead us back to Type 2

fun. In these 3 chapters in the Bible, Jesus is teaching us how to live. But

nowhere in his sermon, nowhere in those 100 verses did it say “this will be

easy”.

In fact, much of what Jesus calls us to will make us uncomfortable. It will

stretch us out of our comfort zone. Because it’s not the way that everyone

lives, it’s not the “norm” or it’s not always “cool” to live like Jesus. It can be

hard. Living the way Jesus teaches us to live requires us to be bold – we have

to be diNerent and not give into the things of the world. We have to be bold to

push back against things like anger, lust, revenge, idolizing money, judging

others.

And we have to live it out. It’s not enough to read the sermon on the mount

every morning and every night. That’s nice and all. But if we don’t put action

behind this – if we don’t follow the map and make the right choice at the

fork in the road, then it’s all for nothing.

Discomfort + Boldness + Action. That’s Type 2 fun.

(Discomfort + Boldness + Action = Type 2 fun. Type 2 fun is how we live out the

sermon on the mount.)

Because at the end of the activity – at the end of our lives - We’ll be able to

look back and say, “It was worth it”. When we get to the end, we’ll be able to10

say, it was hard, it was uncomfortable at times, and I had to be bold, but look

what I accomplished. Look at the disciples that I made and the way that I lived

for the Kingdom of God. When we hear “Well done, good and faithful servant”,

we’ll know that doing the hard things, jumping oN the platform while crying – it

was worth it. It was Type 2 fun.

***

Jesus calls us to action. During this time in our worship, we get to respond to

what Jesus is calling each of us to as individuals. In this response time, I

encourage you to think about type 2 fun – are you being bold in the way you are

living your life for Jesus? Are you putting your faith into action? What might he

be calling you to? What is your next step with Jesus? We’re always at a fork in

the road – we always have a choice to follow Him or to follow the world.

During this time you can respond with action of prayer – by yourself, or with

others around you, or with prayer team around the room. You can respond

with worship.

And we’ll also respond during this time together with communion. Jesus lived

a perfect life and then sacrificed his life for ours. He took our sins upon Him

and said to God – Your will be done. And God’s will was for Jesus to die on that

cross so that we could have new life in Him. There are communion tables

around the room, you can come forward at anytime during this worship and

get your communion. On the bottom is a piece of bread, that Jesus tells us to

remember as his body that was given for us. And on the top is the juice –

which we’re take and remember as the blood of Jesus that he shed for us.

Jesus was bold, and he took action because he loved us and it’s what God

asked him to. So that we have the promise of eternity in heaven with him.

Lastly, during this time, you can give your life to Christ. If you’re at the fork in

the road, or on top of the platform and figuring out what action to take – what

better choice than to build your life with Jesus and follow him with baptism.

Don’t miss out on the type 2 fun we have in front of us. Take this time to

respond to Jesus and you’re next step with him.