Teachings
SABBATH AFTERNOONRead for This Week's Study:
Matt. 5-7, 20:25-28, John 4:22-24, 8:1-11.Memory Text:
"The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law" (Mark 1:22, NIV).Jesus could have flashed bright beams of light on the darkest mysteries of science, but He would not spare a moment from teaching the knowledge of the science of salvation. His time, His knowledge, His faculties, His life itself, were appreciated only as the means of working out the salvation of the souls of men."—Ellen G. White, Mind, Character, and Personality, vol. 1, p. 245.
There is a danger that in talking about the wisdom of His teachings (as in the title of this week's lesson), we may not distinguish enough between Jesus and other (so-called) wise teachers across the centuries. Jesus' teachings were not simply wise. They contained, in addition, a qualitative element that essentially distinguished them from everything that preceded or has since followed. There was about them a certain finality, a conclusiveness not found elsewhere. In other words, this was God talking in human flesh. However much the people did not know about the true identity of Christ, they still could tell there was something unique about Him and what He said. "The crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority." (Matt. 7:28, 29, NIV).
This week we will look at just what some of those teachings were.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, April 26.
| SUNDAY | April 20 |
The Greatest Sermon (Matt. 5-7)
Year after year hundreds of thousands of sermons make their way into the realm of oblivion. Some are remembered for a while, then forgotten. What would it take to have a particular sermon not only remembered and quoted for two thousand years, but even identified by the place of its delivery? Such is the Sermon on the Mount.
During the First World War, the Society of Friends printed The Sermon on the Mount as a separate pamphlet, without commentary, for distribution among the allied forces. But both the British and French governments forbade its distribution among their troops. After all, a sermon telling people to love their enemies was not exactly what you wanted men on the front lines in a war to be reading!
Read through the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3-12). Which aspects do you find most meaningful for the experiences you are going through right now?
In the Beatitudes some elements merely describe the condition in which we may find ourselves. The person who "mourns," for instance, does not seek that state. But meekness (or better, humility) we should seek; as the prophet says: "Seek righteousness, seek humility [meekness]" (Zeph. 2:3, NIV). Hungering and thirsting after righteousness is not a state natural to us humans, nor can we manufacture it. But we are admonished to seek after it.
Give a brief summary of the following teachings that appear (among others) in the rest of the sermon:
1. Our influence in society (Matt. 5:13-16)
2. The law of God (Matt. 5:17-20)
3. Heart religion (Matt. 5:21-30)
4. Divorce (Matt. 5:31, 32)
5. Retaliation (Matt. 5:38-42)
6. Love for enemies (Matt. 5:43-48)
7. Prayer (Matt. 6:5-15)
As you reflect on the Beatitudes and the rest of the sermon, which aspects do you find most pointed? Which most keenly cuts across your accustomed ways, your own cultural norms? What changes do you need to make in order to be more in harmony with these words from God?
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