The calling of Jesus’ disciples followed a series of controversies that Jesus had with the religious leaders and it immediately preceded the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).
The controversies highlighted the fact that Jesus’ righteousness was different from the righteousness of the Pharisees and religious leaders. Theirs was merely an outward form of righteousness but Jesus was more concerned about the condition of the heart.
So after He had called His disciples, He sat down – now that’s significant. Whenever someone in our western culture has something important to say he stands up; but in New Testament times, if a Jewish Rabbi had something important to say, he would sit down. So Jesus sat down and preached the Sermon on the Mount.
Notice to whom the Sermon was addressed (Matthew 5:1-2). It was addressed to His disciples – not the religious leaders or the multitudes that followed Him. The Sermon on the Mount is not addressed to unbelievers. It’s not showing us the way to be saved. It is telling us how to live once we have been saved. This is what discipleship is all about
To become a Christian costs us nothing. It implies an acknowledgement that we are sinners and a total trust in Jesus alone as the only One who can save us from the consequences of our sin which is death. A terrible price had to be paid – it cost the life of God’s own dear Son. But it costs us nothing to become a Christian because there is nothing we could ever do to deserve salvation. The Bible refers to salvation as a gift – a free gift (Romans 6:23).
There was no other good enough,
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
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But discipleship is something different. Jesus said, “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33). To receive the free gift of salvation costs us nothing, but to be a committed disciple of Jesus Christ will cost us everything we’ve got!
It is the life of a committed disciple of Jesus Christ that makes a difference now and in eternity!
Over the next few days, I want to look at the various sections of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus describes in detail the requirements for discipleship.
Morris Hull
Home Life Ministries
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