N. T. Wright (After You Believe) tells of his friend James. James had recently come to believe that Jesus was more than just a man. James came to believe that Jesus was God’s son and that he had died on the cross for the sins of humans. But after the initial euphoria of his conversion to Christ faded, James asked Wright: “Isn’t there anything else that happens after you believe and before you finally die and go to heaven?”
It’s a good question. If the Christian faith is only about going to heaven, then why do we stay here on earth? Last Sunday Isabelle Van Duren was baptized during the Life Center service. If baptism was just about her getting into heaven, why is she still here on earth today? Why didn’t Jesus just beam her up to the clouds when her Dad Tom raised her out of that water? If the Christian faith is just about the hereafter, what do we do in the here-and-now?
Perhaps Jesus’ most inspiring answer to that question came in the form of the Sermon on the Mount. It’s found in Matt. 5-7.
This Sermon follows of the heels of an announcement from Jesus. Just prior to his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated that “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17 ESV). If you’ve never heard that language, it may sound strange: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Say that out loud: “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The word “kingdom” is a perfect word to summarize what Jesus is all about. A kingdom has a king. That king has a reign, a way of doing things. And all the people in that kingdom are influenced by the reign of their king. His reign could be harsh or helpful. It could be cruel or compassionate. It’s conceivable that a person might want to flee one kingdom because of the dark reign of its king and become a citizen in another kingdom because of the delightful reign of that other king. .
Before Jesus delivers his Sermon on the Mount he says, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” What’s Jesus saying there? He’s is saying that he is a king establishing a new kingdom. It’s a helpful kingdom. It’s a compassionate kingdom. It’s the kind of kingdom that people would want to be in, that people would flee to from other darker kingdoms.
And the most important thing about that kingdom is this: it is “at hand.” That means this is not a kingdom that’s going to happen sometime in the future. This kingdom is being built now—it is at hand. The reign of Jesus is breaking into the world-in the present.
And what happens after we believe is this: we get to participate in building and bringing that kingdom. Following Jesus is about building the kingdom here and now-not just hereafter. It’s about expanding the borders of Jesus’ kingdom–now. It’s about demonstrating to others what Jesus’ reign is all about—now. It’s about inviting others to flee their kingdoms and come into Jesus’ kingdom—now.
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the great summaries of what Jesus’ “kingdom” looks like. Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the ultimate picture of kingdom building. If someone asked you, “What does it look like when a person or a community lives under the reign of King Jesus?” the best answer would be the Sermon on the Mount. If someone asked you, “What kind of life could I or my church live that would make a world-changing difference in the here and now?” the best answer would be the Sermon on the Mount.
Randy Harris, a friend of mine and Eric’s who will be at Highland in February, is fond of saying that if just a handful of people committed to living out the Sermon on the Mount, the world would be changed. I believe that. At the Sermon’s introduction, Jesus says that if you live out the Sermon, you’ll be like salt in a decaying world. You’ll be like light in a dark world.
Earl Lavender, a friend of mine who teaches at Lipscomb in Nashville, requires students in one of his classes to choose one part of the Sermon and to find ways to put that part into practice during the semester. Earl says the results are astounding. Students grow deeper and the campus is transformed.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is the ultimate picture of kingdom building. It’s the ultimate vision for what your life here and now should be about. It’s the ultimate dream for the impact you can make right now-before you go to heaven.
And a question is this: How do we grow into that kind of life? Jesus gives us a clue near the beginning of his Sermon. After important introductions in Matt. 5:1-20, Jesus basically says the same thing five times. Five times Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said…” and he quotes a verse or two from the Bible:
- 5:21 “You have heard that it was said…” and Jesus quotes Ex. 20:13.
- 5:27 “You have heard that it was said…” and Jesus quotes Ex. 20:14.
- 5:33 “You have heard that it was said…” and Jesus quotes Ex. 20:7; Deut. 23:23.
- 5:38 “You have heard that it was said…” and Jesus quotes Ex. 21:23-25; Deut. 19:21.
- 5:43 “You have heard that it was said…” and Jesus quotes Lev. 19:18.
Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount by pointing his listeners and us back to the Bible. He quotes Scripture five times.
Jesus, it seems, was always quoting Scripture. In the four Gospels, Jesus quotes directly from nearly 60 different Old Testament texts. He quotes indirectly from about 120 different Old Testament texts (Steven Moyise Jesus and Scripture). Jesus was always pointing people back to the Bible. And that’s how Jesus begins his most significant sermon.
Why? I think Jesus is trying to tell us something. I think he’s saying that reading Scripture is critical to living a Sermon on the Mount life. Jesus seems to be saying, “If you want to grow into the kind of person through whom God can change the world in the here and now, you’ll need to start by reading your Bible.” Jesus starts his Sermon by pointing to the Bible because he knows how critical Bible reading is to kingdom building.
For a period of four years, 1,500 churches participated in a study to measure the spiritual growth of the members of those churches. The study was called REVEAL. It tried to identify what practice led to the most spiritual growth in a church. Let’s take a quick poll. If you think prayer led to the most spiritual growth of church members, raise your hand. Raise your hand if you think getting into a small group led to the most spiritual growth. Raise your hand if you think going on short term missions led to the most spiritual growth? The answer from REVEAL was surprising. The one practice most associated with the spiritual growth of Christians was this: reflecting regularly on Scripture. The researchers put it this way: “If churches could do only one thing to help people at all levels of spiritual maturity grow in their relationship with Christ, their choice is clear. They would inspire, encourage, and equip their people to read the Bible—specifically to reflect on Scripture for meaning in their lives.”[1] These researchers found that even if a person was involved in a small group, attending worship services and volunteering in a ministry, if that person wasn’t regularly reflecting on Scripture, that person wasn’t growing. Maybe that’s why Jesus starts his Sermon here-with an implicit call to read our Bibles.
But there are three problems with that call. First, we read our Bibles infrequently. The Barna Organization finds that only 20% of American adults have read the Bible from start to finish, and only 21% read the Bible at least 4 times/week (barna.org). Jesus says “You have heard that it was said [in the Bible]…” five times. The reason Jesus could say, “You have heard that it was said…” and then quote Scripture is that he knew the people in his audience had read their Bibles. But Jesus could not make that assumption today. Because some of us read our Bibles infrequently.
Bible reading doesn’t “sizzle” or sound as adventurous as serving in a soup line or going to a Christian concert. But for Jesus attending to Scripture was fundamental to kingdom-building. Simply put-you’ll never be shaped into a Sermon on the Mount person if you’re not reading your Bible.
Imagine all the things God wants you to hear–things essential to your growth–that you haven’t heard because you read too infrequently. Imagine all the things God wants our churches to hear–things essential to them being part of Jesus’ kingdom–that they haven’t heard because they read too infrequently.
Second, we read our Bibles incorrectly. This is the issue Jesus raises in 5 “You have heard that it was said” statements. Jesus finds that the Bible-readers in his audience have embraced the letter, but not the spirit, of what they’ve been reading in their Bibles. They’ve satisfied themselves by reading and applying the command to not murder, not commit adultery, not swear falsely, and not exact revenge. But they’ve neglected the underlying call in Scripture to restrain the anger that leads to murder, the lust that leads to adultery, the dishonesty to leads to swearing falsely, and the self-centeredness that leads to revenge. They’ve not gone deep into Scripture to hear the call for radical love, costly mercy, and unswerving character.
The 5th “You have heard that it was said” statement is particularly troubling: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” Jesus’ Bible readers have embraced Lev. 19:18-where the Bible says “You shall love your neighbor.” But they’ve added something which neutralizes that biblical command. They’ve added this caveat—You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. The Bible never says “you shall hate your enemy.” But somewhere along the way people started and then assuming that the demand to love neighbor—which is from the Bible—only to be applied to good neighbors, not neighbors who were hard to love. Those neighbors could be hated. And that caveat just got stuck in people’s minds as something they thought the Bible said but it didn’t. It’s similar to the way many today think “Cleanliness is next to godliness” or “God moves in mysterious ways” is from the Bible. “Hate your enemy” was, of course, not in the Bible. But people had read it back into Scripture in order to excuse themselves from doing what the Bible actually said.
And that’s a problem which some of us have. We read incorrectly. Consider the ways you’ve read the Bible incorrectly-either not going deep enough or reading back into the text something you want it to say, but it doesn’t say. Consider the ways our churches have read the Bible incorrectly. Perhaps this explains the church’s blindness to social ills like racism, poverty, etc. in various ages. The church was not reading deeply enough or honestly enough to hear what the Bible was actually saying.
Third, we read our Bibles intellectually. Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with words about how we read the Bible. He contrasts a person who “hears these words of mine [which are now our Scripture] and does them” with the person who “hears these words of mine and does not do them” (Matt. 7:24-27 ESV). One is wise. The other foolish. Jesus is saying that we have to do something with what we hear. Reading Scripture is intended to be more than just an intellectual exercise. It’s intended to lead to a doing and a living.
Consider all the Scripture you’ve read intellectually-but never really applied. Consider all the texts our churches have read intellectually-and never truly acted upon.
So, Jesus seems to believe that reading our Bibles rightly is a key to becoming people who build an alternative kingdom to the kingdoms of this world; people who make a radical difference in the here and now. But, we tend to read infrequently, incorrectly or merely intellectually. How do we change that?
One way of doing this is through a practice called lectio divina. That phrase literally means holy or sacred reading. Lectio Divina is a way of reading Scripture that leads to the Sermon on the Mount life. In this Sunday morning series Eric and I are sharing some spiritual practices that take ten minutes or less but which can make a big difference in your life. Lectio Divina is one of those. It’s a way of reading Scripture that, at least initially, can take about ten minutes but make a tremendous difference in your life. Lectio Divina can help you avoice reading infrequently, incorrectly or merely intellectually.
While its roots run deep in both Old and New Testaments,[2] lectio divina was popularized by a man named Benedict (ca 480-550).[3] While attending school in Rome, Benedict became appalled at the sin rampant throughout the ancient city. He determined to create an opportunity for people to experience a different life. Benedict retreated to a village, attracted bands of people, organized them into groups and created a guide for their living. This guide spelled out the three primary activities through which people could enter into a life of rich spirituality: prayer, work, and lectio divina. Benedict believed that one of the most fundamental ways to lead people into the deeper life of God was through lectio divina.
Eventually, Benedict’s Lectio Divina was widely accepted and practiced. It was a way of reading Scripture which had four steps. I’ll briefly explain them:
Read – Select a biblical text. Choose one that is just a few verses in length. Before reading it, get into a comfortable position and maintain silence for a few minutes. This prepares your heart to listen. Now, read the text slowly. Savor each word. To help you hear every sentence, consider reading it out loud. When finished, read it two or three additional times. As you slowly read, be sensitive for one word or a phrase that sticks out and begs for more of your attention. Your goal is to hear one word or phrase that speaks to you or that piques your interest. Keep repeating your reading until this word or phrase comes to you.
Reflect – Now reflect on this word or phrase. Meditate on it. Chew on it. If you keep a journal, write the word or phrase there. Ask questions of it: “Why did this word or phrase catch my attention?”; “What is it about my life that needs to hear this word today?” Your goal is to identify why God has placed this word or phrase on your heart and what God may be asking you to do or be through it. Is he calling for some action? Is he requiring some repentance? Is he granting some insight? Is he highlighting a reason for praise?
Respond – Now you respond to what you’ve heard from God. By means of the word or phrase you’ve focused on God has spoken to you. Now, you speak to Him. If God has convicted you of sin, respond with prayerful repentance. If God has given you a new understanding about something, respond with prayerful gratitude. If God has called you to action, respond with a verbal commitment to begin the action.
Rest – Finally, rest. Just as you began with a few moments of silence, so now finish with a few moments of silence. Rest quietly in the grace and presence of God.
If you take as little as ten minutes every day, and read a brief portion of Scripture in this way, you’ll find God doing some pretty remarkable things in you. You’ll find yourself becoming more like the person Jesus imagines in his Sermon on the Mount. And you’ll find yourself building Jesus amazing kingdom.
I recently spent 30 days in silence. Each day I did Lectio Divina. Each day I would read and meditate on one passage of Scripture—for 6 to 8 hours. At first I didn’t think it would be possible. Surely I’d be bored of one text after the first 30 minutes. But what I found was just the opposite. The longer I read that one Scripture and listened to it, the more God did within me. I’m almost certain I could have taken one Scripture and meditated one it for 30 days and not exhausted what God had for me in it.
I don’t say that because I want you to spend 6-8 hours a day in Lectio Divina. I say that as a testimony to the richness and fullness of Scripture. God has so much in store for you in his Word, if you’ll just take the time to slow down and listen. Lectio Divina is one way you can do just that.
[1] http://uncover.americanbible.org/uncoverleaders/proof.html#.UIAAOsXAeUI; Greg Hawkins and Caly Parkinson Move (Zondervan, 2011), 19.
[2] See Richard Foster Celebration of Discipline 20th Anniversary Edition (Harper SanFrancisco, 1998), 15-17.
[3] Tony Jones The Sacred Way, (Zondervan, 2005), 48.
