Be Different

Have you studied or read through the entire Sermon on the Mount before? Did it strike you different?

Most of us have studied parts of the sermon – perhaps the beatitudes or the Lord’s Prayer. But most of us have not given a great deal of time or effort in studying the entire passage. Sometime in the next week, read the entire sermon, the fifth through seventh chapters of the gospel of Matthew.

The sermon captures Jesus’ most inspiring and challenging description of the Christian counterculture. The value system, ethical standard, religious devotion and network of relationships shouts the clear message of the Savior.

Be Different. Different from the secular world. Different from the religious world.

John Stott, and author of one of the definitive books on the Sermon on the Mount, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, writes, “Every Christian should be both conservative and radical; conservative in preserving the faith and radical in applying it.”

Sitting Humbly at the Feet of the Master: A Different Way to Listen to a Sermon (Mt 5:1-2)

The passage begins with a simple statement, but one that we must ponder.

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them (Matthew 5:1-2 NIV).

The crowds are probably those referred to in Matthew 4:23-25. Jesus is standing at the height of his popularity. Although His ministry touched the masses, He sensed a need to teach His “disciples.” Maybe He wanted them to hear in the presence of a crowd. A basketball player senses the pressure when a full crowd is watching.

Be Different as a Disciple

The word disciple (μαθηταὶ , MA THAY TIE) should not be restricted to the Twelve. It is not a special word for leaders in the faith, a concept with which we struggle. It is the same word that is used to describe John the Baptist’s followers (Matthew 11:2). In the parallel passage in Luke’s gospel, we are told of a “large crowd of disciples” as well as “a great number of people” (Luke 6:17).

What does it take to be a disciple? Church growth gurus debate and calculate the answer to that question.

Our command to make disciples comes from some of the last words Jesus spoke on earth before his ascension into heaven. Let’s examine Jesus’ words from the last chapter of Matthew.

19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

different words

Two words stand out, sometimes in contrast to current church practice. We are told in verse 19 to go. Our tendency has been to allow people to come. If we have the biggest building, the best preacher, the most innovative praise band, the most encompassing youth program, people will come to our building and become disciples.

Some scholars will point out that the verb should best be translated “as you are going,” which introduces a flavor that is even more poignant. As each member of the body of Christ is going about normal, everyday life, he should be making disciples.

The second word that stands out is “make.” When a person steps forward to accept Christ, we have no magic wand to wave that turns a person into a disciple. It is also not something that the person necessarily can do alone. We are commissioned to make them disciples – to assist, suggest, walk alongside as they follow more closely to Jesus. Becoming a Christian is their first step closer to Jesus as a disciple, as a follower. The walk will take a lifetime. How closely they want to follow – and how quickly they want to get closer – depends on many things, including their own will.

different disciples

If making disciples is what the church is trying to accomplish, then we should do everything we can to teach what the Bible says about being a disciple. We don’t want the definition to be any more complex than it has to be; yet we don’t want to make it any simpler than what Jesus expected it to be. The definition should be clear and concrete enough that the whole church could remember and recite it.

There are three Greek words which provide the concepts for our rendering “disciple.” Each of these words carries one simple flavor – follow. The verb AKOLOUTHEO is the answer of a man who hears a call and redirections his steps. “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”  The word μαθηταὶ has at its heart the definition “learner” or “pupil.” It was used of the students of the philosopher or the rabbi – ones who learned from their teacher literally by following them in life. The MIMETES was one who followed and tried to imitate the teacher’s teachings, behaviors or works. We get the English word “mimic” from this root.

What is a disciple? A disciple is one who follows. The disciple of Jesus is one who follows Jesus because of a call. A disciple of Jesus follows in a way that he learns who Jesus is and what he teaches. A disciple of Jesus imitates his Master.

We probably have fallen into some habits when it comes to listening to sermons or lessons. Sitting in the same seat, we let the words hit us the same way. Our degree of paying attention probably varies little.

So if our goal is to be in this crowd of disciples, listening to Jesus teach this sermon, how do we need to be different as we listen to this sermon? Three distinct characteristics stand out.

ears to hear

Seven times in the Greek Scriptures, and only from the mouth of Jesus, there occurs the expression, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This short call reappears frequently in the Gospels and elsewhere in Scripture (e.g., 13:9, 43; Luke 14:35; Mark 7:16; Rev 2:7; and cf. Isa 5:4 for possible Old Testament background), again suggesting that Jesus’ teaching is not entirely self-evident, particularly to those who only superficially listen and think.

Those to whom God has granted a degree if spiritual perception will hear Him as He speaks through His Word. Listen! Pay Attention. Take heed what you hear.

Psalm 94:9 says “Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?” The inner ear is made of what is called a hammer-and-anvil and a stirrup. When sound comes to the ear through the trumpet, the hammer starts tapping the anvil, and at once the nerves set to work and send the sounds down to the true ear, which is immersed in fluid. As soon as the ear-trumpet brings the sound to the drum, and the drum transmits it to the fluid, thousands of telephones are at work–in fact, in a rightly constructed ear there are as many telephones as there are sounds in the universe. When these come into action, then the mind hears. All this happens before we become aware of a sound. It is not only a delicate instrument, but you must be very careful about what goes into the ear. What enters into the ear enters into the mind, the brain, and proceeds to the heart and the spirit.

words from Lucado

In his book, Just Like Jesus, Max Lucado writes,

It’s not that we don’t have ears…it’s that we don’t use them! Scripture has always placed a premium on hearing God’s voice. The great command from God through Moses began with the words, “Hear O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (Deuteronomy 6:4 KJV).  Proverbs 8:34 says, “Happy are those who listen to me.”

Max Lucado, Just Like Jesus

Jesus urges us to listen like sheep. “The sheep recognize his voice. . .they follow because they’re familiar with the shepherd’s voice” (John 10:3-5). Each of the seven churches in Revelation is addressed in the same manner: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Revelation 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:29; 3:6; 3:13; 3:22).

Our ears, unlike our eyes, do not have lids. They are intended to remain open! How long has it been since you had your hearing checked? When God sows seed your way, what is the result? Remember, “Faith comes from hearing…” (Romans 10:17).

Be Different. Be Ready to Listen.

open heart

Paul writes to the Ephesian Christians, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people” (Ephesians 1:18 NIV).

Paul Baloche, the worship leader who gave us Open the Eyes of My Heart, says that the “bottom line of praise and worship music is to get people to sing their prayers.” With this song, he has penned words accompanied by music to allow singers, worshipers, and seekers to do just that.

It should be the desire of any Christian’s heart to see Jesus and so we pray for that. But what does that mean, exactly? How does one see with one’s heart? Does the heart have eyes? And, if so, how can they be opened? 

Even more frightening, I suppose, is what we might actually catch a glimpse of were we to even catch a fleeting vision of the Lord, high and lifted up.

Be Different. Come with an open heart.

courage to obey

Jesus always obeyed the Father’s will. Not once did he allow the thought of disobeying God take root in His mind.

Jesus said, “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work he started. As you look around right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time (John 4:34-35 MSG)!

So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God’s presence in heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, he doesn’t have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. Finshed once and for all. He offered up himself as the sacrifice. The law appoints high priests never able to accomplish their task. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect (Hebrews 7:26-28 MSG).

Jesus: a different man

Although He was a perfect man, Jesus did not try to remain perfectly obedient on His own.

While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do (Hebrews 5:7-9 MSG).

For us to remain obedient, we also must keep a humble, prayerful attitude and spirit.

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion (Philippians 2:5-8 MSG).

Charles Stanley preached a message titled, “The Courage to Obey.” In it he said, Obeying God is always the right thing to do, but it’s not always the easiest. We need courage—a special quality of mind and spirit that enables us to meet danger, opposition and the challenges of life with steadfast fearlessness.

Be Different. Have the Courage to Obey.

Be a disciple.  Be Different.

Lord give us the wisdom to understand the greatest of all sermons and the courage to put it into practice. We pray in the name of Jesus. Forever. Amen.