Jump Start # 2581

Matthew 5:1-2 “And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And opening His mouth He began to teach them”.

After all these years of reading my Bible and preaching, I have found something in Jesus that I don’t like. It’s nothing wrong. Jesus never did anything wrong. It’s a way He did something. It worked for Jesus. It doesn’t work for me.

Our verse today is the opening scene to the sermon on the mount. We often fly through these verses to get to the sermon itself. But Jesus did something here. He sat down. He wasn’t standing when He preached this lesson. And, this wasn’t the only time. In Matthew 13, a large crowd gathered, so Jesus got in a boat, sat down and preached while the multitude stood on the beach.

I recently preached a sermon sitting down. It wasn’t by choice, it was just the way things worked out. I was at home making a video. With a ipad, tripod, and needing to put my Bible and notes on something, the best arrangement was to sit at my desk at home. Boy, I didn’t like it. This video preaching without an audience is hard. It’s not natural or comfortable. One wonders if the connections are being made. And, for me, I like to walk around. Can’t do that when the camera is stationary. I’ll be so glad when I can be back in the pulpit again.

Jesus sat down and taught. He did that more than once. I am amazed at that. I wondered why He would do that. Here are a few thoughts:

First, when the speaker is sitting, those standing tend to gather in much closer so they can see and hear. There is more of an intimacy and closeness this way. Can you imagine being that close to Jesus? What a special blessing that would have been. Jesus sat down.

Second, there is a sense of power in His words. Jesus was God on earth, however, it was His words that He wanted people to hear and understand. It was His words that carried authority. Standing carries a sense of power and authority. It can be intimidating. Jesus created an atmosphere that invited and welcomed people. They were not threated by His presence or His position. His words were strong. Sometimes the crowd was bothered by what Jesus said. Sometimes they were even offended. But it wasn’t His presence. He was not threatening. He was not scary. People were not afraid to be around Him.

We were in St. Louis many years ago, walking down a sidewalk. We got close to the Federal Exchange building. An armored car was there with several armed guards all around. They shouted at us to stop and then to get on the other side of the street. They meant business. The tone of their voices and the guns they had in their hands showed us that they meant business. We walked on the other side. We never said a word to them. Our Lord was not like that. People didn’t run in fear of Him. It was just the opposite. Children, multitudes, even critics gathered around Him. They couldn’t stay away from Him. Jesus sat down.

Third, it is interesting what God has preserved and what was passed on from generation to generation about Jesus. It is His words. It is those words that are important. We don’t know exactly what Jesus looked like. Most modern representations have Him bearded and with long hair. Maybe. Maybe not. In most pictures, Jesus stands out by the way He looks. Everyone is wearing ugly drab colors and there is Jesus in all white or bright and brilliant colors. That’s not how God preserved Jesus. It wasn’t in how He looked or dressed. It was in what He said. The Holy Spirit would remind the apostles what Jesus said. The words of Jesus is what saves. That’s what we have. That’s what is given to us by God. This is how God wants us to know Jesus. Jesus sat down. Jesus taught that way.

Fourth, the Bible teaches that when Jesus ascended to Heaven, that He SAT DOWN on the right hand of God. Jesus sat. Jesus rules from the throne of Heaven. And, in an interesting passage, when the preacher Stephen was being murdered for what he was saying, he saw a vision of Jesus. He said, “I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” If someone walks into a room while we are sitting, the polite thing to do is to stand. This isn’t about being polite. Jesus stood as Stephen was dying. It’s as if He wants a better view and is ready to welcome Stephen. What a grand thought that is.

Jesus sat while He preached. I plan to stand. I need to stand. I can’t do what Jesus did. But how something so little like sitting, can bring such great lessons for us.

Roger

Jump Start # 1641

Matthew 5:1-2 “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them.”

It’s Monday morning. Back to work. Back to our routine. The busy weekend is over. Sunday worship is over. A young preacher recently asked a class he was teaching, “What makes a good sermon?” Are the things taught on Sunday remembered and carried over on Monday and the rest of the week? Just what does make a good sermon? Preachers think about this often. When the preacher has preached well, the compliment is often, “You sure hit that one out of the park.” That makes the preacher feel good on the inside, but it also creates great pressure because he knows that he needs to do the same again the next week.

What makes a good sermon? Superficially, the answer may be nothing more than how the preacher preached. Some would answer that question based upon “the delivery” and not the content. Was he passionate, energetic, and easy to listen to? Was it short? Often the measure of the sermon is solely based upon the “performance” of the preacher. A good public speaker doesn’t always make a good preacher.

What makes a good sermon? Is the answer based upon how easily it is to remember what was said? Were there certain catch phrases that just stuck with me and I will use those phrases myself?

What makes a good sermon? How about how Biblical the sermon was? Did it teach God’s word? Was it honest with what the Bible says? Did it explain things that I did not know about the Bible? Did I learn anything?

What makes a good sermon? Did it affect me in any way? Did it challenge me and move me to change and be like Christ? Did it open my eyes to what God is expecting of me? Was there application and relevance to the world we live in? Sermons are more than college lectures that give out facts and information. Sermons are the bridges to Christ. They are the means to persuade people to be like Christ.

Our verse this morning, is how the sermon on the mount begins. That sermon, preached by Jesus, is commonly considered to be the greatest sermon preached by the greatest preacher of all time. The sermon on the mount covers three chapters in Matthew’s Gospel. It moves quickly. There are many little subjects that are addressed. At the end of the sermon, Matthew tells us that the crowd was amazed because Jesus taught “as one having authority.” This is especially true early in the sermon. Multiple times in Matthew 5, Jesus would preach, “I say to you…” The audience hadn’t heard rabbis teaching that way before. Most rabbis quoted old dead rabbis. Their lessons were generally dry like toast. Jesus’ sermon moved along. It was personal. He didn’t talk about Israel, but instead, “you.” I say to “you.” Over and over it was “you.” Jesus was talking to the audience. He knew where they were. He used comparisons. He told them what not to do but also, what to do. The sermon ends with stories about what they would do with those words. Would they use those words to build their lives upon or would they continue on as they were?

What makes a good sermon? People have their favorite sermon for different reasons. It may have been a sermon that opened up things and changed them. It may have just been the right time in life and they were going through some valleys and it touched their hearts.

It has been said that there is Five sermons in every sermon. First, there is the sermon that the preacher wants to preach. Second, there is the sermon that the preacher studies to preach. Third, there is the sermon that the preacher actually preached. Fourth, there is the sermon that the audience heard the preacher preach. Fifth, there is the sermon that the audience wished the preacher preached. On a good day, all five are the same.

Some of my favorite sermons that I have preached, few people said anything about. Some sermons that I really didn’t like, it seemed the audience loved. Which really gets to the answer to this question, “what makes a good sermon?”

The answer is any sermon that is Biblical and helpful in getting me where I need to be with the Lord. There isn’t one single step to making a good sermon. It’s the combination of the preacher, the delivery, the content, the audience, and the situation of the moment. Some will remember what is said at a funeral much longer than what they heard in a Sunday sermon. It was the moment and what was said. What one person thinks is a good sermon, someone else may not like. There may be one person who leaves on Sunday and declares that is one of the best sermons he has ever heard. The next guy that leaves, slept during the sermon. That’s always a mystery to me.

Those of us that preach, we work hard in trying to make every sermon great. We do this, not for the accolades or job security, but rather, because we want to help people and we want to do our best for the Lord. There are many, many truly dedicated men preaching. I’m honored to know so many personally. I know that they work very hard to do the best that they can do on Sunday. Monday comes, many of them are drained, tired and wondering if they did anything worthwhile on Sunday. Immediately, the thought comes to their minds, Sunday is coming again, what will I preach on this week?

Have you told your preacher that you appreciate the work that he does each week? Preaching a good sermon once in a while is not all that hard. But to do it week after week, often twice every week. That’s hard stuff. Finding the right ideas. Finding the right way to say things. Making things interesting, challenging and Biblical. Digging. Researching. Studying. Then, there are all the other things he must do during the week. It’s not easy. God bless those who are pouring their all into what they are doing. They are making a difference. It is because of their hard work that the word of God is sinking deeper and deeper into our hearts. It is because of their hard work that we are getting stronger in faith.

What makes a good sermon? Great question. I believe the best answer is simply, a sermon that did something for me.

Catch your breath, preacher, then get back at it. We need another good sermon this week!

Roger

  Jump Start # 67

Matthew 5:1-2 “When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,”

  The greatest sermon ever preached, the Sermon on the Mount, begins with our verses today.  Matthew covers this sermon in the next three chapters. The sermon opens with those innocent eight beatitudes, “blessed are”. Topics range in this sermon from attitudes, religious practices, the proper response to opposition, the golden rule and ends with the famous wise man and foolish man parables. Multiple themes and serious subjects are the heart of this sermon. The relationship with God, fellow man and self and the underling foundation to this sermon. Jesus doesn’t spend much time explaining nor proving things, He just states them as  “this is the way it is” in the Kingdom. This is life for the citizen of the kingdom. The disciples of Christ will act differently than the world. Many of the themes introduced in this sermon will surface again in the teachings of Jesus.

  But what immediately grabs my attention is how it begins. Jesus went up on the mountain and SAT DOWN. Jesus did this often. In Mt 13:2-3, “And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. And He spoke many things to them in parables…” In John 8:2 we find, “Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.” The sitting teacher. Jesus sitting and teaching. That is the opposite of the way we do things. In school, the students sit at their desks and the teacher stands and teaches. In politics, the President stands behind the podium. In our church services, the preacher stands behind the pulpit as the congregation sits in the pews.

  There may have been some reasons for this. Today, we stand so people can see us and hear us. Jesus may have been on terrain that made a natural “amphitheater” concept, with the audience above the teacher. This is better for sound and it allows the crowd to see the person teaching.

  But somehow I think there was a deeper reason. When a person stands and the audience sits, there is a sense of authority. His presence commands. He is in charge. Although Jesus had such power and authority, He didn’t demand attention. The sitting Jesus was humble. This act invited a sense of warmth and caring. The sitting Jesus “wasn’t in your face” as we use that expression today. His authority wasn’t in his posture but rather in His words. A person is more comfortable with someone sitting than they are someone who is standing. The emphasis is not upon the person who is standing, shouting and pointing fingers, but the one who is sitting and teaching. Too often we remember the speaker and not what was said. Jesus wanted the audience to grasp what He said.

  You will find little details throughout the gospels like this one, the sitting Jesus, that are too natural to be planned and too obvious for us to avoid looking at. Speaking to the dead, touching the lepers, inviting Himself to the home of a tax collector are all the things that made Jesus the real deal. He invites you to listen, to obey, to become.

  Notice today those that use their position by standing and those that influence even though they “sit.”

 Roger