And the People were Astonished

The point: Continue to read and re-read the Sermon on the Mount throughout your lifetime to walk in its light and obey its principles.

A dear saint frequently reads the Sermon on the Mount to 'blister his own soul' and remind him of his duty and privileges. This illustrates the ongoing, transformative power of the Sermon beyond a single hearing.

that we are not done with reading it and re-reading and re-re-reading again and again, for we have a lifetime of activity before us, as we seek to walk in the light of its precepts and to obey its principles of truth. And so as we leave this sermon, I trust it isn't a leaving of it, but that we shall come back again and again, periodically. A dear saint of God, whom I know and whom you know and whom we mutually respect as a man of God, very frequently takes a morning to just read through the Sermon on the Mount and let it afresh blister his own soul.

1:06 - 1:46 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Now the word astonished literally means struck out of their senses.

Martin asks listeners to imagine themselves as a 'fly on the side of a mountain' to hear Jesus as a common man, stripping away preconceived images and emphasizing his ordinary appearance.

And most of them either have him looking so effeminate or they have a halo around him that you'd recognize him in any crowd. Whenever I see a tall man with a beard and looks a little effeminate, he'd stand out in any crowd. If some were sitting here this morning, I'd see him just like that. Now, get all those pictures out of your mind and try to be a little fly on the side of a mountain there where our Lord was teaching and hear a man who is just a common man.

4:40 - 5:06 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Now the word astonished literally means struck out of their senses.

The example of people standing out in a crowded place like the Port Authority or Newark Airport is used to contrast with Jesus' unimpressive physical appearance, which would not have drawn attention.

Isaiah 53 says, there's no beauty that we should desire him. And I'm convinced what that means is there was nothing in his physical appearance that would strike us as being impressive. I've been in places. Those of you who do any traveling, you'll walk through a crowded place like the Port of Authority in New York or Newark Airport, and there are some people you can't help but stop and look at them as they walk by.

5:07 - 5:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon then explores the reason for the multitudes' astonishment: Jesus taught 'as one having authority and not as the scribes.' This reaction stemmed from the stark contrast…

The analogy of a New Guinean tribesman being astonished by a rocket launch at Cape Kennedy, compared to the commonplace view of technicians, illustrates that astonishment comes from confronting something outside one's normal experience.

You take those fellows that prime our missiles and those rockets that send our spacemen up into orbit. They're not astonished at those great big edifices against which. The rocket stands before it takes off. And then they put in that liquid oxygen.

8:41 - 9:00 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details three negative characteristics of the scribes' teaching: they parroted human predecessors, nullifying God's law; they majored in minor details while neglecting…

Martin uses the metaphor of 'pairing your religious nails' and 'crimping your religious hair' to vividly describe the scribes' focus on meticulous, minor religious details rather than the heart of God's law.

To love God with the whole heart and the neighbor as ourselves. And he says, you've omitted all of that, running around with these meticulous little details, majoring in the minors. That's what they were used to. When you came to listen to a scribe, you got details as to how to pair your fingernails and your foot nails.

16:17 - 16:23 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin details three negative characteristics of the scribes' teaching: they parroted human predecessors, nullifying God's law; they majored in minor details while neglecting…

The metaphor of 'whitewashed sepulchers' is used to describe the scribes' hypocrisy, appearing beautiful outwardly but full of dead men's bones and uncleanness within, highlighting the contrast between their words and lives.

You see the third thing about their teaching? They parodied their predecessors, majored on the minors, and for the most part, their teaching was couched in a wicked life. He said, You're like whitewashed sepulchers. You say, but you won't do.

17:54 - 18:13 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And suddenly these people are absolutely astonished and dumbfounded and struck right out of their senses because his teaching and his life were in absolute contrast to the teaching and lives of the scribes.

The metaphor of a 'crack in the barrel' is used to describe the lack of integrity in the scribes' lives, implying that their teaching lacked substance and sincerity because of their hypocrisy.

There was a crack in the barrel. When they said something, you knew. You had that suspicion. They're saying, but they don't do.

18:37 - 18:44 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But it's the penetrating concepts of our Lord that gave authority to his ministry.

Martin asks rhetorically, 'When did the Holy Ghost ever anoint a dissertation on tithing spices?' to emphasize that the Holy Spirit does not empower teaching focused on trivial externals, but on penetrating spiritual concepts.

When he came to that section where he talked about hearing and doing his words, penetrating concepts the like of which they'd never heard. And I can't help but pause for a moment and say this. When did the Holy Ghost ever anoint a dissertation on tithing spices? Never.

29:33 - 29:54 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Thirdly, Jesus' teaching possessed powerful simplicity. He used relatable analogies like plucking out an eye or cutting off a hand for sin, and observing birds and lilies for…

Listening to a scribe made one feel like they had to 'hold their head up to keep all that learning in,' illustrating the overwhelming and unedifying complexity of their teaching, contrasted with Jesus' simplicity.

You see, when you got done listening to a scribe, you went away feeling you had to hold your head up to keep all that learning in. You know, Dr. So-and-so said this and Dr. So-my, you just had a head full.

30:33 - 30:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Study, pray, plead and labor to cultivate the authority of simplicity.

Jesus' instruction to 'look at the birds' and 'look at some of those wild lilies' to overcome anxiety is presented as an example of powerful simplicity, contrasting with 'psychological jargon' and complex lectures.

The Holy Spirit may not have so moved upon them that they were willing to repent, but one thing they knew, if they ever entered the kingdom, they had to come to that place where they were willing to start plucking out right eyes and cutting off right hands. There was a power in his simplicity. He said to his own, when he tried to deliver them from the threat and carking care about temporal things, he didn't give them a big lecture and talk about, it will sublimate your anxieties, hogwash. And you young men going into the ministry, don't you confuse your people with psychological jargon.

31:52 - 32:25 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The power of a pulpit ministry, whether it is in that class or sitting at the table with your children or whether it is behind the sacred desk or out in the bush in the mission field, this is it. The power of a peerless …

The example of someone in the congregation nudging another, saying, 'that's the same guy that I saw pull that business deal' or 'hasn't paid a bill,' illustrates how a scribe's wicked life undermined his teaching authority.

Ah, you say, but that's our Lord and he wasn't sinful. Yes, in that sense the parallel breaks down but as we are going to see a little bit later in conclusion there is a direct application to us but so unlike the scribes for whenever the scribes stood to talk usually there was someone in the congregation that could nudge someone else and say, hey, listen, that's the same guy that I saw pull that business deal and that's the same guy I know hasn't paid a bill down at Abies for six months. Don't listen to him. See, they said but they did not.

35:52 - 36:28 Read in full sermon

The point: For your witness to work associates to have authority, let them see a holy life that reacts contrary to worldly expectations, piercing their hearts before you speak.

The analogy of a 'sharp arrow' representing a holy life is used to explain how consistent, godly reactions to injustice (e.g., a boss doing wrong, vacation time taken, promotion denied) penetrate a person's heart, preparing them to listen to a verbal witness with authority.

You let him see something in your life. When the boss does you wrong, and they know he did you wrong, and they watch how you're going to react. And they see you react contrary to what they know they would do, something's happening. You know what's happening?

47:05 - 47:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Young men, the price for authority in ministry is a life that rings true seven days a week; inconsistency will destroy your authority.

Martin warns young men in ministry that if their lives don't ring true seven days a week, their people 'will smell the rotting carcass of your hip,' a vivid metaphor for the stench of hypocrisy destroying a pastor's authority.

Young men, the price to pay, for authority in this desk, is a life that rings true seven days a week. And if it doesn't, your people will smell the rotting carcass of your hip. I can't make a whole sermon out of that last application, but it's so relevant to our own lives. When Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching.

48:52 - 49:26 Read in full sermon