5 Lessons Learned from the Sermon on the Mount
The first recorded sermon from Jesus is His famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). While interpretations of this famous sermon will vary, Bible scholars and pastors agree that Jesus’ preaching style was revolutionary for his listeners. Moreover, this sermon offers incredibly helpful tips for pastors on preaching the Word of God.
A Quick Background of the Sermon on the Mount
The most robust recording of the Sermon on the Mount comes from Matthew, one of Jesus’s disciples. Since messages could not be quickly spread, many scholars believe that Jesus taught this sermon multiple times, which was the core of his teaching. Matthew and the other disciples would have heard these teachings as they traveled with Jesus.
Luke – a doctor who converted after the resurrection and wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts – also recorded important parts of this sermon (Luke 6:20-49). While interviewing and researching, Luke must have found that this teaching was paramount to Jesus’ earthly teaching ministry.
Most of Jesus’ listeners attended Jewish synagogues where they would have been accustomed to hearing the Torah, prophets, and other writings recited. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus deconstructs and then reconstructs Scripture. He draws parallels, uses illustrations, and even offense to draw the listener in. Jesus wanted to help his audience understand where the disconnect was in their faith. He recognized that many Jewish people had lost passion and zeal in their faith. Most were going through the motions, and some leaders were exploiting their faith and roles for monetary gain! Jesus wanted to confront and ultimately change their way of thinking.
5 Lessons Learned from the Sermon on the Mount
So, what communication strategies could a leader learn when preaching to their local congregation? Here are 5 lessons preachers can learn from the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ preaching style to help further God’s mission.
Lesson One: Connect with Your Audience
The goal of any communicator in the pulpit is to help people take the next step – to take action – and move forward in their faith. But a great preacher knows the call to action can’t come first. Great communicators connect with their listeners and help them know they “get them.”
If the listener feels like the communicator understands them and their culture, then they are more likely to be open to hearing the message. Feeling understood is one of the greatest emotional human needs. Jesus helped his listeners feel understood. He connected with their current context to draw a line from that to start the change process.
Lesson Two: Challenge Your Audience
The second thing Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount was to challenge his audience. His challenge was not to change their actions but to assess their motives: why were they doing what they were? Jesus challenged them with prayer, fasting, giving, and being a steward. He showed them how people with impure motives live out these virtues, and he drew a parallel between impure motives and what pure motives should look like in their religious tradition. This helped his listeners gain a picture of what the standard was when they practiced these virtues.
This is juxtaposition teaching. This type of teaching draws parallels between what is to what should be. This teaching style challenges the listener to reassess their motives and actions against what the Lord truly requires.
Lesson Three: Comfort Your Audience
Jesus also wanted to comfort his listeners. God does challenge us, but he also comforts us. In the religious tradition during Jesus’ time, many people thought they weren’t good enough for God. After all, they had 613 laws of the Torah, and according to Deuteronomy 28, their level of care from God depended on how well they performed. Therefore, those who were impoverished, sick, or lame were thought of as cursed.
In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches his audience that God cares for everyone and that they are important to him. He explains that God wants to meet their needs and be there for them. Pastors should also help their listeners gain comfort from the Scriptures. Your audience needs to understand God’s care for them and how God becomes their Heavenly Father who desires to meet their needs when they surrender to Christ as their Savior.
Lesson Four: Illustrate for Your Audience
Jesus also used real-life illustrations. He used birds, flowers, and material things that people could see around them. Being outside and teaching, he may have been able to point out these things as he taught. At any rate, it was something people could relate to and activated their five senses, helping them understand the point of the teaching even more.
Great preachers know the power of stories and illustrations. These bring color to messages that often seem “black and white.” Illustrations help listeners gain a different perspective on the communicator’s point. Another added benefit is that they allow the listener to connect to the message and connect deeper to the messenger. This is especially true if the communicator can use personal stories tactfully to help the listeners know that everyone in the room is human.
Lesson Five: Call Your Audience to Action
Jesus was very clear in his calls to action. He dealt with the four major questions everyone asks about a message when they are listening:
- What do I need to learn?
- Why do I need to learn this?
- What do I need to do?
- How do I do this?
Part of Jesus’ preaching style was to be clear in what he asked his audience to do. He even gave them a template for prayer that we still pray today, traditionally called “The Lord’s Prayer.” He showed them the wrong way to pray and then outlined what it should look like when they are passionate and engaged in their faith.
The Faded Flag Principle
There is the “faded flag” principle that Dr. Tim Elmore outlines in his book, “Habitudes for Communicators.” This means that there is no clear call to action. The call to action is vague and ambiguous. If the call to action is vague, those acting on it will be unmotivated. They will leave asking, “What exactly was I being asked to do?” So, great preachers must have a clear and compelling call to action as they close their messages. They want to motivate their listeners to follow Christ and the Scriptures.
Learning from the Best
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has some of the most amazing teachings that the world has ever encountered. Even non-Christians find themselves using these teachings.
But pastors can also learn something beyond the content from Jesus’ preaching style and methods. As preachers examine Matthew 6, specifically, they can use these methods to help them as they disciple followers of Christ.
Was this article helpful? You might also enjoy:
- Sermons on Sermon on the Mount
- The Seed and Soil (Shift Worship)
- The Lord’s Prayer (Shift Worship)
