The Gospel of Luke the Sermon on the Mount. Sermon on the mount by jesus christ gospel of matthew

Sermon on the Mount

Christians believe that Jesus Christ brought people the New Testament (Heb. 8: 6). The Sermon on the Mount is sometimes seen as analogous to Moses' proclamation of the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai.

The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of sayings of Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Matthew, mainly reflecting the moral teaching of Christ.

Matthew chapters 5 through 7 tells of Jesus preaching this sermon (circa 30 C.E.) on the side of a mountain to his disciples and a crowd.

Matthew divides the teachings of Jesus into 5 parts:

Sermon on the Mount
about disciples of Christ,
about the church,
about the Kingdom of Heaven,
condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees.

V Sermon on the Mount includes:

Beatitudes
prayer our Father,
the commandment "not to resist evil" (Matthew 5:39), Turn the other cheek
Golden Rule.

Also, the words about "salt of the earth", "light of the world", and "do not judge, that you will not be judged" are often quoted.

Many Christians regard the Sermon on the Mount as a commentary on the Ten Commandments. Christ appears to be the true interpreter of the Mosaic Law. It is also believed that the main content of Christian teachings is concentrated in the Sermon on the Mount, this is how many religious thinkers and philosophers relate to this part of the Gospel, for example Leo Tolstoy, Gandhi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther King. This view is one of the main sources of Christian pacifism.

Mount of Beatitudes

The mountain on which the Sermon on the Mount was delivered was called the “Mount of Beatitudes”. Although there are no real mountains in this part of Galilee, there are several large hills to the west of Lake Galilee. In addition, some scholars believe that the Greek word used in (Matthew 5: 1) is more accurately translated as "mountainous area" or "hills", and not just "mountain".

According to ancient Byzantine tradition, it was Mount Karney Hittin (literally "Horns of Hittin" because it has two peaks), which is located on the path between Tabor and Capernaum, about 6 km west of Tiberias. Following the Byzantines, the Crusaders also thought so, and the Catholic Encyclopedia still insists on this version. Greek Orthodox tradition also considers the slopes of this mountain to be the site of the Sermon on the Mount. At the time of Napoleon, some believed that the Mount of Beatitudes was Mount Arbel, located on the western shore of Lake Galilee, south of Capernaum.

Mount Karney Hittin (lit. "Horns of Hittin" because it has two peaks), which is located on the path between Tabor and Capernaum, about 6 km west of Tiberias.

From the middle of the XX century, after the construction on the top of Mount Nachum, in the immediate vicinity of Tabgha, a Catholic temple dedicated to the Beatitudes, it was she who became known as the Mount of Beatitudes. The mountainside is an amphitheater with good acoustics. Today Christian pilgrims of all faiths and simply tourists visit this very peak as the Mount of Beatitudes.

Blessed Augustine, in his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, speaks of the parallel of this sermon with the ascent of Moses to Mount Sinai. He believes that such symbolism points to Jesus Christ as fulfilling the commandments of Moses.

Comparison with Sermon on the Plain

Evangelist Matthew collected similar teachings of Jesus Christ together, and Luke scattered the same material throughout the Gospel. The Sermon on the Mount can be compared to a similar, albeit more succinct, passage in Luke's Gospel called the Sermon on the Plain Luke 6: 17-49.

The circumstances of preaching the sermon are similar: the same time and possibly the same place. Some scholars believe that this is the same message, while others believe that Jesus often preached the same message in different places.

It is also believed that at least one of these sermons was never actually delivered, but is a compilation recorded by the author in the form of a sermon in order to present the teachings of Jesus contained in the document.

Listeners

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus sits down before delivering a sermon, which may mean that it was not intended for the entire nation.

The teachers in the synagogue always sat teaching the doctrine.

Matthew shows that the disciples were the main listeners of Christ, and this view is supported by the church tradition, which is reflected in the works of art (in the paintings, the disciples sit around Jesus, and the people at a distance, although they can hear what is being said). Many believe that the sermon was intended for three groups of listeners: the disciples, the people, and the whole world.

John Chrysostom believed that the sermon was intended for the disciples, but should have spread further, and therefore was recorded.

Structure

The Sermon on the Mount consists of the following parts:

1. Introduction Matthew 5: 1-2)

A large crowd gathers as Jesus performed the healing. Christ climbs the mountain and begins to speak!

2. Beatitudes Matthew 5: 3-12)

The Beatitudes describe the properties of people in the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ makes the promise of bliss. In the Gospel of Matthew there are nine beatitudes, in the Gospel of Luke there are four, and after them there are four “woe to you” (Luke 6: 17-49). Matthew, more than Luke, emphasizes the moral, spiritual component of Christian teaching.

3. Proverbs about Salt and Light (Matthew 5: 13-16)

Completes the Beatitudes, dedicated to the people of God

4. Explanation of the Law (Matthew 5: 17-48)

According to Christian doctrine, in contrast to the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, which had a restrictive, prohibitive nature, 9 Beatitudes indicate that emotional disposition that brings a person closer to God and leads him to spiritual perfection and the Kingdom of Heaven.

Here Jesus does not cancel the Law of Moses, but clarifies and interprets it.

For example, the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" was interpreted in its literal, narrow sense; in the New Testament, it receives a broader and deeper meaning and extends its effect even to vain anger, which can become a source of enmity, with its disastrous consequences, and to all kinds of expressions contemptuous and humiliating for a person.

In the New Testament, the law punishes not only the hand that commits murder, but also the very heart that harbors enmity: even the gift offered to God is rejected, while the heart of the one who brings it harbors some kind of evil feeling.

The sinfulness of adultery - violation of marital fidelity (Lev.20: 10, Deut. 5:18) is seen even in the look at a woman “with lust” (Matthew 5:28).

Jesus fills with new meaning and reinterprets the Law of Moses, and especially the Ten Commandments, in the part of the Sermon on the Mount called the Antitheses (see Jesus' Interpretation of the Law of Moses): after the introductory phrase, you have heard that the ancients said the interpretation of Jesus followed.

5.Do not do as the hypocrites do (Matthew chapter 6)

Only such alms, fasting and prayer are pleasing to God, which are not done “for show”, for the sake of human praise. Christ's disciples should not be concerned about earthly welfare by seeking the treasures of the heavenly kingdom.

6. The Lord's Prayer

The prayer "Our Father" is included in the part of the Sermon on the Mount dedicated to the hypocrites. This is an example of a prayer that should be prayed to God. The Lord's Prayer contains parallels to 1 Chronicles 29: 10-18

7. Do not judge, lest you be judged (Matthew 7: 1-5)

Jesus tells how easy it is to avoid condemnation and convicts those who judge others before themselves.

8. Heavenly Father's goodness and holiness (Matthew 7: 7-29)

Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with a warning against false prophets, and emphasizes that man cannot do anything good without God. The base should rest on stone.

Interpretation

The Sermon on the Mount caused a lot of interpretation and research. Many holy fathers and teachers of the church, for example, John Chrysostom and Augustine, dwelt with love on the interpretation of the Law of Moses, and then new literature began to abound in treatises dedicated to him (for example, Tholuck, "Bergrede Christi"; Achesis, "Bergpredigt"; Creighton, "Great Charter of Christ" and others).

In Russian literature, there are many separate considerations about the Sermon on the Mount: it is hardly possible to point to such a more or less outstanding preacher who would not explain it (for example, Philaret of Moscow, Macarius of Moscow, Demetrius of Kherson, Vissarion of Kostroma, and many others).

Often difficulty for those who read the Sermon on the Mount is the line "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven".

Clergymen (both Orthodox and Catholic) interpret the “poor in spirit” not as spiritless people, but as people who understand their need for the spirit, hungry for spirituality, as well as humble people, who consider themselves insufficiently spiritual and take active steps to fill spiritual poverty.

One of the difficult questions of Christian theology is how compatible the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is with the daily life of a Christian. Theologians of various Christian denominations interpret the Sermon on the Mount in different ways.

A literal understanding of the teaching rejects any compromise.

If a believer, following Scripture, is deprived of anything earthly, this should not be an obstacle to fulfilling the words of the Gospel. This is how Francis of Assisi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Leo Tolstoy understood the Sermon on the Mount in the last years of their lives. This is how the Eastern Fathers of the Church understood the Sermon on the Mount.

Changing the text of the Gospel is one of the methods that is quite common, but does not apply to any of the denominations. In ancient times, scribes simply changed the text to make the sermon easier to understand. Thus, in Matthew 5:22 the scribes changed the phrase "Everyone who is angry with his brother is liable to judgment" to the phrase "everyone who is angry with his brother in vain is subject to judgment." Mt 5:44 "Love your enemies" changed to “pray for your enemies” in the Oxyrinchus papyrus 1224 6: 1a; Didahi 1: 3; from Polycarp of Smyrna Pol. Phil. 12: 3. In Matthew 5:32, the exception for divorce “except the guilt of fornication” may have been added by Matthew, as it is not found in similar passages Lu 16:18, Mark 10:11, or 1 Cor 7: 10-11; and in 1 Corinthians 7: 12-16.

The hyperbolic interpretation, one of the most common, says that the principles proclaimed by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount are just hyperboles, and in real life they should not be carried out so categorically. Most commentators, however, do agree that some of the points of the Sermon on the Mount are hyperbolic, especially verse 5:29, but there is no general agreement about which parts should be taken literally and which should not.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount does not offer the hearers instructions for doing, but only defines the basic principles that should be guided in life.

General principles are illustrated in the sermon with examples.

Persian miniature "Sermon on the Mount"

The Roman Catholic Church has an ambivalent interpretation. The entire teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is divided into general provisions and special cases (see en: Evangelical counsels). The fulfillment of the former is a necessary condition for salvation and is obligatory for all Christians; the second is for those who are cultivating in God, they must be performed by clerics and monks.

Interpretation, the essence of which can be described with a phrase "Not what you do, but how you do it", was developed in the 19th century. Its origins can be found in the blessed Augustine. What matters is not what a person does, but what spirit his actions are imbued with.

Sermon on the Mount and the Old Testament

The Sermon on the Mount is often misunderstood as the abolition of the Old Testament, despite the fact that at its very beginning, Jesus Christ clearly said against it:

“Do not think that I came to break the law or the prophets: I did not come to break the law, but to fulfill it. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law "(Matthew 5: 17-18);

“If you want to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17);

“For if you believed Moses, you would also believe Me, because he wrote about Me. If you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words? " (John 5: 46-47);

“If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, then if someone is raised from the dead, they will not believe” (Luke 16:31).

Sermon text

1. Seeing the people, He went up the mountain; and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2. And He, opening His mouth, taught them, saying:

Although the text directly states that the disciples approached him, the text of the sermon itself touches upon the commandments given to the majority of the population, and not to a narrow group of disciples. Therefore, this text should be considered as instructions for life in the world.

3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

A person's spiritual search in many cases is interpreted as reading spiritual books, observing the norms and rules adopted by a particular church, prayer, meditation, etc. These actions lead to the accumulation "Spiritual wealth of the individual".

Indeed, in real life we can feel hunger, lack of water or money, desire to read another clever treatise about God, etc. But we cannot feel a small amount of Spirit. We can understand that the search for food, the search for money, the search for "spirituality" never gives contact with the Spirit. And then we can totally understand the lack of spirituality of our searches and throwings and realize POVERTY IN THE SPIRIT. In this state of poverty, a person can lose interest in spiritual literature and practices of spiritual growth, but it is in this state that he can comprehend the Kingdom of Heaven. During such a period, a person is in a state of total life crisis, which can be overcome only in one way: by turning inward in search of God and an answer to the situation that has arisen. The Kingdom of Heaven is within us, therefore, with this approach, he has the full opportunity to enter it. With this approach, outwardly, a person can become like an unreasonable person who does not think about spirituality at all. But this is only an external impression. Behind the back of such a person is a huge path of seeking Truth and comprehending Wisdom.
4. Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted.

It is sometimes said that life is a chance to get a chance to touch God. It is in moments of intense grief and deep feelings that people have an exacerbated tendency to seek answers to the most important questions of life. By turning inward and revealing their true Self, they come into contact with God and find consolation.

5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

To approach the analysis of this statement, it is necessary to clarify the meaning of the term "meek." There is an opinion that meek people are those who have tamed their emotions and who in all situations behave with restraint and courtesy. Such people do not defend their personal interests and are ready to sacrifice them in conflict situations. It seems to me that this interpretation is completely wrong. The concept of meek must be related to the relationship of man with God. If a person recognizes the superiority of God and is ready in any situation to follow His providence and fulfill his destiny, then he is meek in nature. Fulfilling his destiny and God's providence, a person can enter into heated polemics and take military action. It is such a person who will be successful on his life path. It is he who inherits the right to manage earthly affairs, and it is such people who can count on good luck in earthly affairs.
Commandments 3 and 5 provide a complete answer to the relationship between religiosity and everyday life. The full dedication of one's strength to the search for "earthly happiness" is just as unproductive, as is the complete dedication of oneself to the "spiritual search" through external standards of behavior and rituals. Earthly happiness is possible only in contact with a higher spiritual principle and only on condition that one's destiny is fulfilled.

6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
The inextinguishable striving for the knowledge of the truth always resonates with God. Therefore, those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness and truth will not be deprived in their search.

7. Blessed are the merciful, for they will have mercy.
It uses a connection with the fundamental law of our existence. This law has many formulations. For example: what you sow is what you reap. Or treat others the way you want others to treat you.

8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Although all religions say that God is an indefinable category and an indescribable concept, Christ points out that purity of heart allows a person to come into contact with God and feel His presence and existence. Purity of the heart is generated by the purity of thoughts and deeds. Purity of thoughts and actions is closely connected with the knowledge and realization of one's destiny.

9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
The word peacemakers is sometimes understood in a completely distorted sense. They believe that these are people who, in any conflict situation, do nothing but pronounce the magic phrase "Guys, let's live together." Christ's indication that these are the sons of God provides the key to understanding this commandment. Like the above commandments, this commandment turns us to the meaning of existence. If we see the meaning of our existence in the search for a higher beginning, which can be called Spirit, God, Truth, Love, etc., as well as in strengthening the connection with this beginning and the realization of this connection in our life, then we become one with this beginning ... And since this beginning is the main force of the creation of the World, then we take part in the process of peacemaking. Therefore, people who create the world are naturally called sons of God.
If we turn to the resolution of conflicts and the understanding of the term "peacekeepers" in the first sense, as people helping to achieve a peaceful settlement of conflicts, then here, too, the connection of such people with a higher principle is clearly visible. The theory of conflictology says that in every conflict there is a plus-plus solution, i.e. the decision is positive for each side. Such a solution can be found on the basis of understanding the purpose of each of the parties, which are destinations from a single beginning, and which, due to this unity, cannot be antagonistic. By implementing a plus-plus solution, people begin to realize their purpose, i.e. follow the path of the creation of the World provided by the highest principle.
10. Blessed are those cast out for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Here there is a statement of the fact that a person who has cognized the Truth and openly proclaims it despite the delusions of the people around him, is established in the Kingdom of Truth, i.e. in the Kingdom of Heaven.

11. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and in every way unrighteously revile you for Me.
12. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

18.11.2013

The Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ is considered one of the most important sources for teaching principles. In fact, a sermon is a kind of collection of sayings of Jesus, spoken to his disciples and a crowd of people and contained in the Gospel of Matthew.

Place and listeners

The Mount of Beatitudes, on which Jesus read the sermon, later received this name due to the Beatitudes, which were voiced in the sermon. Since there are no real mountains in the part of Galilee in question, most likely, one of the small hills near Lake Galilee was meant, and the name “mountain” appeared as a result of translation difficulties.

The ancient Byzantine tradition says that the Mount of Beatitudes is Mount Karney Hittin, located near the city of Tiberias. The same version was later adhered to by the Crusaders, and in the Catholic and Greek Orthodox traditions they continue to adhere to this theory to this day.

Before delivering a sermon, Jesus sits down, so it is believed that it was intended mostly for the disciples, and not for the general public, because teachers in synagogues usually taught while sitting. But anyone could hear the sermon.

The Sermon on the Mount can be roughly divided into several logical parts:

The meaning of preaching

Despite the fact that the Beatitudes are an interpretation of the Ten Commandments, for many believers they are still not fully understood. Comments and interpretations of these can be found in the writings of many theologians and clergy, which provide an exhaustive explanation of their true meaning.

It is believed that it is the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ that contains the foundations of the Christian doctrine, is the source of Christian pacifism. It was to her that many famous philosophers turned to: Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Leo Tolstoy and others.

The Sermon on the Mount is considered a compilation (collection) of the sayings of the Son of God, which contain the moral teaching of all Christianity. Matthew relates that Jesus delivered these moral teachings on a hillside in Galilee in AD 30, listening to the apostles and a large number of lay followers. This letter contains the very essence of the Gospel, the essence of the doctrine that every Christian needs to know. In its design, the sermon corresponds to the traditions of the prophetic monologue of antiquity.

The meaning of preaching

Followers of Christ consider the Sermon on the Mount to be a full-fledged commentary on the Ten Commandments, which the Lord taught Moses on the sacred Mount Sinai. The Savior appears before the people and the apostles as the true interpreter of the Mosaic Law. However, moral preaching does not serve as a prohibition, but reveals a spiritual disposition that can bring a person closer to the Almighty and lead to perfection.

Icon of the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ

The consideration of the message of Christ, in turn, is approached by prominent theologians and thinkers who try to combine the words of the Son of God and the daily activities of everyone. This instruction opens with the nine Beatitudes, which set out the principles of the New Testament on spiritual rebirth.

Christ mentions the beneficial influence of his followers, which they naturally have on the environment. Jesus emphasizes that preaching does not cancel the Law of Moses, but fully complements it. The Son of God teaches everyone to overcome anger emanating from within, to remain chaste, honest and frank, to keep one's word, to be able to forgive mistakes and vices, to love not only friends, but also enemies, and also to strive for spiritual perfection.
Further, Christ calls to become truly righteous, to hear your heart and not bow down under the yoke of your own feelings. He says that one should get rid of the desire for ostentatious holiness, as many Jews did. The Son of God emphasizes the special importance of prayers, fasting, alms - all this pleases the Almighty, in whom one must believe.
At the end of the sermon, Jesus speaks of non-condemnation, constancy in virtue and the preservation of holy things from reproach. He teaches to distinguish between false and righteous ways, warns of believing false prophets and explains to everyone that in order to overcome life's difficulties, you need to strengthen your own consciousness.

About this knowledge, the Son of God himself says that "the World passes, but the words of the Lord remain forever." In the Sermon on the Mount, every Christian will see divine truth that does not die and is applicable to every person without exception. The law of the Lord, in which both Covenants are preserved, is immutable, despite changes in morality among people. Therefore, a Christian striving for the assimilation of pure good must see the wisdom of the Sermon on the Mount and build life based on the postulates set forth in it.

On a note! The hill in Tiberias of Galilee, on which the Son of God delivered Christian guidance, is called the "Mount of Beatitudes." Researchers claim that the sermon was delivered near the place where the Savior multiplied bread and fish. In 1935, the ruins of a small church built in the 4th century and destroyed at the beginning of the 17th century were discovered at the foot of the hill. In 1938, a Catholic church was erected here; today it is part of the Franciscan monastery.

Analysis of the commandments

Each of them begins with the words "blessed", which encourages virtue and leads to endless joy at the pedestal of the Lord. The ancestors, succumbing to sin, lost their true happiness and deprived their descendants of it. Since then, this word has been viewed as an unattainable ideal, a dream. However, the Son of God descended to earth and revealed happiness in the context of a concrete reality, attainable during his lifetime.

The promise from the Sermon on the Mount is being fulfilled in the present, in accordance with how a person himself gradually opens his heart to true faith and is freed from the yoke of depravity.

The righteous Christian receives the gift of grace from the Holy Spirit himself, radiating endless joy and spiritual happiness. No worldly pleasure, finite, brief, and painful, can compare with such a worldview. The holy sages made any sacrifices in order to achieve a state of closeness to the Lord, the laity should take an example from these people.
The Nine Commandments are structured in a logical sequence, they demonstrate the correct path and ways to achieve a goal. They are often compared to the stairs leading to the house of heavenly virtue.
The Sermon on the Mount says that everyone is subject to sin - this is the tragedy of humanity. Vice darkens reason, takes away free will, brings sadness and longing. The sinner is deeply unhappy and unable to understand the cause of his troubles. The first commandment rightly points out that spiritual sickness gives rise to all sorrow.

The Sermon on the Mount and the Teachings of Jesus Christ contains the basic idea that everyone is a sinner

Further consideration

Christ calls for healing, the voice of God's Son sounds like the voice of the Father who lost his son and begs him to return. When a person comes to God, he has nothing but eternal purity. Unfortunately, it is not easy for the sons of the Almighty to admit their guilt and turn away from pleasures, therefore, an effort of will on the path to the Lord is rewarded by the Kingdom of Heaven. Restoration, healing begins with humility, which is not pessimism, but is based on the hope of being close to the Primordial Almighty and experiencing His mercy.

Repentance - the intention will be corrected after the accomplished deeds. It is often accompanied by the shedding of tears, which leads to relief and consolation. After getting rid of sinfulness, harmony comes in thoughts and deeds. A person avoids irritation, anger and quarrels, he becomes meek and inheriting the earth, as stated in the third commandment.
The sinner gets better when the urge to do good deeds arises in his mind. In the fourth instruction of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ glorifies those who seek spiritual truth, for for them sense gratification no longer exists.
The righteous man sees that God will grant him forgiveness, harmony, and supreme love. Mercy, responsiveness, gratitude arise in the heart. On the fifth stage of perfection, there are merciful people who are naturally abandoned by misery. Further, the soul is transformed from being overflowing with the Holy Spirit: it can be compared to a lake that was previously muddy and overgrown, but has become crystal clear. The Lord is seen by those who have attained purity of heart - this is stated in the sixth commandment.
The blessed become true servants of the Lord, whose vocation is to save others who are drowned in the abyss of suffering. They become like the Son of God and strive to bring peace to the environment. Thus, righteous Christians ascend to the seventh degree.
The two final commandments of the Savior narrate that the world, filled with evil, is unable to accept spiritual purity and calls the saints its enemies. The righteous easily accept suffering for faith and rejoice at the return to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Sermon on the Mount reflects the moral teaching of Christ, complementing the Laws of Moses. The Savior pronounced it on the side of the mountain in front of crowds of people devoted to God and the apostles, who, after the Crucifixion, carried the Word of God all over the earth.

Important! Following the instructions of the Sermon on the Mount, a person becomes righteous and gradually comes to the realization of the Lord.

Sermon on the Mount. Beatitudes

Prof. Duluman E.K.

"Essays on Orthodox Culture - OPK"]

Christian doctrine and morality in their self-awareness is, as it were, the highest level of biblical, in fact - Jewish, world outlook. They (Christian doctrine and morality) seem to continue Judaism and at the same time, as it were, oppose themselves to it. This can be observed in all parameters of the historical and logical comparison of Christianity with Judaism, or, as they say in theological circles, the biblical Old Testament and the biblical New Testament. Let us turn to the moral teaching of Evangelical Christianity.

The core of Old Testament morality was set forth by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. Hence, it is also called the Sinai legislation. The core of New Testament morality is set forth by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, also on the mountain. Hence it is called the Sermon on the Mount of Christ. The core of all Sinai legislation is the Ten Commandments of Moses (Decalogue). The heart of the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ is the Nine Beatitudes.

It would be wrong, as is often done by ignorant believers and theologians, to reduce the entire Old Testament moral teaching to the Decalogue, and the New Testament to the Beatitudes. Moses, according to the Old Testament, on behalf of God offered the Jews, according to the Talmudists, 613 commandments (365 - according to the number of days in a year - prohibitions and 248 - according to the number of bones and cartilage in the human body - instructions), and Christ set forth his moral teaching, according to estimates of Christian theologians, in many of his sermons, 40 parables and 38 confirmed miracles. The Evangelist John reports that if everything that Jesus Christ said "were described in detail, then, I think, the world itself will not contain the books written" (John 21:25).

The most complete and detailed moral teaching of the gospel Jesus Christ is set forth in chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew. It can be assumed that the main elements of the Sermon on the Mount were repeated by Jesus Christ, were interpreted by his apostles and disciples in other scriptures of the New Testament. So, in the Gospel of Luke, the actual Beatitudes of Jesus Christ are transmitted in a different way and under different circumstances. Let us first read the text of the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ according to the Gospel of Matthew.

After being baptized in the Jordan River, after forty days in the wilderness and being tempted by Satan, Jesus Christ " retired to Galilee. And leaving Nazareth, he came and settled in the seaside Capernaum”(Matthew 4: 12-13) that on the shores of the Tiberias (Galilee) lake (sea). Here he begins his preaching exclusively among Jews, elects 12 disciples (apostles) for himself. " And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and healing every sickness, every sickness in the people. And there was a rumor about Him throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all the weak, possessed by various diseases and seizures, and the possessed, and the lunatics, and the paralyzed, and He healed them. And many people followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond Jordan.(4:23-25).

Seeing the people, He went up the mountain; and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And He, opening His mouth, taught them, saying (5:1-2):

(according to the gospel of Matthew)

Who is blessed?

2. Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted.

3. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

5. Blessed are the merciful, for they will have mercy.

6. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

7. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

8. Blessed are those cast out for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

9. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and in every way unrighteously revile you for Me. Rejoice and rejoice, for great is your reward in heaven: so they persecuted [and] the prophets who were before you.

(Gospel of Matthew 5: 2-12)

Beatitudes

I. To whom is bliss promised?

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of God.

2. Blessed are those who hunger today, for you will be satisfied.

3. Blessed are those who weep today, for you will laugh.

4. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they excommunicate you, and revile you, and bear your name as dishonorable for the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and rejoice, for great is your reward in heaven. This is what their fathers did to the prophets.

II. Who is at risk of grief?

Against,

1. Woe to you rich! for you have already received your consolation.

2. Woe to you, now satiated! for free.

3. Woe to you who laugh today! for you will weep and weep.

4. Woe to you when all people speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

(According to the Gospel of Matthew)

I. You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world :

1. You are the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its strength, how can you make it salty? She is no longer good for anything, except to throw her out and trample on people.

2. You are the light of the world. A city on top of a mountain cannot hide. And, having lit a candle, they do not put it under a vessel, but on a candlestick, and it shines on everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father.

II. Do not break the Laws

and the prescriptions of the prophets of the Old Testament :

3. Do not think that I came to break the law or the prophets: I did not come to break the law, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law, until all is fulfilled. So, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people so, he will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever does and teaches, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For, I say to you, if your righteousness does not surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

III. Christian must transcend

Old Testament righteousness :

You have heard what the ancients said:

4. Do not kill, whoever kills is subject to trial. And I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother in vain is subject to judgment.

5 . Whoever says to his brother: "cancer" (simpleton), is subject to the Sanhedrin. And I tell you that anyone who says to his brother: "insane" (fool) is subject to fiery hell.

6 If you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, then leave your gift there before the altar, and go first, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make peace with your rival quickly, before you have quarreled with him, so that the rival does not give you to the judge, and the judge does not give you to the servant, and you are not thrown into prison. But you you will not get out of there until you give it to the last penny (the last kopeck - ED).

8. You have heard what the ancients said: do not commit adultery. And I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 9. If your right eye tempts you, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body was cast into Gehenna. And if your right hand tempts you, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body was thrown into Gehenna.

10. It has also been said that if anyone divorces his wife, let him give her a divorce. And I tell you: who divorces his wife, except for the guilt of adultery, he gives her a reason to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

11. You have also heard what the ancients said: do not break your oath, but fulfill your oaths before the Lord. And I tell you: do not swear at all: nor by heaven, because it is the throne of God; nor the earth, for it is His footstool; nor Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King; Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your word be: yes, yes; no no; and what is beyond this is from the evil one.

12. You've heard it said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And I tell you: do not resist evil. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also; and whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer garment as well; and whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go with him two. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

13. You have heard that it is said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. And I tell you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you and pray for those who offend you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Heavenly Father, for He commands His sun to rise over the wicked and the good and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what is your reward? Do not the tax collectors also do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing special? Do not the Gentiles do the same?

So, be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.

IV. Give alms in secret.

V. How to Pray

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love in synagogues and on street corners, stopping to pray to appear before people. I tell you the truth, they are already receiving their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room and, having closed your door, pray to your Father, who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. And when praying, do not say unnecessary things, like the pagans, for they think that in their verbosity they will be heard; do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Pray like this:

Our Father who art in heaven!

I.D but thy name is holy;

2. Thy kingdom come;

3. Thy will be done, as in heaven, on earth;

4. Give us our daily bread for this day;

5. and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors;

6. and do not lead us into temptation,

7. but deliver us from the evil one.

Vi. Forgive people of their sins.

For if you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, and if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins.

VII. Fast without discouragement.

Also, when fasting, do not be discouraged like hypocrites, for they take upon themselves gloomy faces in order to appear to people who are fasting. I tell you the truth, they are already receiving their reward. But you, when you are fasting, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may appear to those who are fasting not before people, but before your Father, who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.

VII. It is impossible to serve God and mammon.

1. Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not dig in and steal, for where your treasure is, there will be and your heart.

2. The body lamp has an eye. So, if your eye is clean, then your whole body will be light; if your eye is bad, then your whole body will be dark. So, if the light that is in you is darkness, then what is the darkness?

3. No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate one, and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect about the other.

4. You cannot serve God and mammon.

VII. Don't worry about tomorrow .

1 Therefore, I say to you, do not be anxious about your soul, what you eat and what to drink, nor about your body, what to put on. Is not the soul greater than food, and the body more than clothing?

2. Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than them?

3.Yes, and who of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature [though]?

4. And why do you care about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you that Solomon, in all his glory, did not dress like any one of them; But if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow will be thrown into the oven, God dresses this way, if only more than you, you have little faith!

5.So, do not worry and do not say: what do we have? or what to drink? or what to wear? because the Gentiles are looking for all this, and because your Father in Heaven knows that you have a need for all of these.

6 Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you.

7.So, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow [itself] will take care of its own: enough for [every] day of its own concern.

IX Do not judge, lest you be judged.

X. The shrine is not for dogs, pearls are not for pigs.

Do not give the holy things to the dogs and do not throw your pearls before the pigs, so that they do not trample it under their feet and, turning, do not tear you to pieces.

XI. Ask, seek, knock.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened for you; for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Is there a man among you who, when his son asks him for bread, would give him a stone? and when he asks for a fish, would give him a serpent? So, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him.

So, in everything that you want people to do to you, so do you to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

XIII. Choose the narrow gate and the narrow path.

Enter by the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the path leading to destruction is wide, and many walk by it; for narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it.

XIV. Beware of False Prophets - Wolves in Sheep's Clothing.

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes harvested from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree can bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So, by their fruits you will recognize them.

XV. Hear my words and do them.

Not everyone who says to Me: "Lord, Lord!" Will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me on that day: Lord! God! Did we not prophesy in your name? and did they not drive out demons in your name? and did not you perform many miracles in your name? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, I will liken to a wise man who built his house on a rock; and the rain fell, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and rushed on that house, and it did not fall, because it was founded on a stone. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not fulfill them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain fell, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and he fell, and his fall was great.

And when Jesus finished these words, the people marveled at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes and Pharisees.

Continuation of Christ's Sermon on the Mount

(According to the Gospel of Luke)

I Instructions for the Followers of Christ :

But to you who are listening, I say:

1. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who offend you.

2. To the one who hit you on the cheek, substitute the other, and to the one who takes away your outer garment, do not prevent him from taking a shirt.

3. Give to everyone who asks of you, and do not demand back from him who has taken yours.

4 . And as you want people to do to you, so you do to them.

5. And if you love those who love you, what thanks do you have? for sinners also love those who love them.

6. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks are you for that? for sinners also do the same.

7. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to get back, what thanks are you for that? for sinners also lend to sinners in order to get back the same amount.

8. But you love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is good to both the ungrateful and the wicked.

9. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; Give, and it will be given to you: with good measure, shaken, compressed and overflowing, they will pour into your bosom; for with what measure you mete, it will be measured to you also.

so , be merciful as your Father is merciful

2 He also said to them in parables:

1. Can a blind man lead a blind man? will not both fall into the pit?

2. A disciple is never superior to his teacher; but, and having perfected himself, everyone will be like his teacher.

3. Why are you looking at the mote in your brother's eye, but you don't feel the beam in your eye? Or, how can you say to your brother: brother! let me take the speck out of your eye, when you yourself do not see the beam in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

4. There is no good tree that bears bad fruit; and there is no bad tree that bears good fruit, for every tree is known by its fruit, because they do not pick figs from the thorns and do not take grapes from the bushes. A good man brings out good from the good treasure of his heart, but an evil man takes out evil from the evil treasure of his heart, for out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaks.

5. What do you call Me: Lord! God! - and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and does them, I will tell you to whom he is like. He is like a man building a house who dug, went deep and laid the foundation on the rock; why, when the flood happened and the water pressed on this house, it could not shake it, because it was based on stone. But he who hears and does not do is like a man who built a house on earth without a foundation, who, when the water pushed on him, immediately fell; and the destruction of this house was great.

When He finished all His words to the listening people, He entered Capernaum.

(Luke 6:27 - 7: 1)

“Blessed” - this is how the Greek word “makarios” is translated into the Church Slavonic language, which means “happy”. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato considered "Bliss", "Good" to be the highest Idea and identified it with God.

In the ancient copies of the New Testament it was written: "Blessed are the beggars." The expression "poor in spirit" was inserted later - somewhere in the 5-6th century, after the canonization of the text of the Bible.

The Gospel of Luke says that after settling in Capernaum, Christ begins to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and heals the sick. People flock to Him. “In those days He went up a mountain to pray and stayed all night in prayer to God. When the day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he called apostles ”(Luke 6: 12-13). And descending with them, He became out of the blue(The Gospel of Matthew says that Christ “ climbed the mountain, and did not "come down from the mountain" and did not "stand out of the blue" _E.D.) and many of His disciples, and many people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seaside places of Tire and Sidon, who came to listen to Him and be healed of their diseases also those who suffer from unclean spirits; and were healed. And all the people sought to touch Him, because power proceeded from Him and healed everyone. And He, lifting up His eyes on His disciples, spoke ”(Luke 6: 17-20).

The Holy Scripture of the Jewish religion (the Old Testament part of the Christian Bible) is divided into three parts: the Law (in Hebrew - the Torah, which includes the Five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), Prophets (written by the prophets) and Scripture (books instructive and liturgical). Here Jesus Christ speaks of the need to accurately and completely fulfill all the prescriptions that are set forth in the Torah (in the Law) and in the prophetic books of the Old Testament.

Gehena is a garbage pit in which filth was burned under Jerusalem. In the mouth of the Gospel Jesus Christ, Gehenna means hell boiling with a stinking tar, in which sinners are tortured (Matthew, 18: 9; Mark, 9:14; Luke, 12: 5).

More at length about self-mutilation in the name of heavenly bliss, Christ says: “And if your hand tempts you, cut it off: it is better for a crippled one to enter life than to go with two hands into Gehenna, into an inextinguishable fire, where their worm does not die and the fire does not fades away. And if your foot tempts you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter the life of a lame man than to be thrown into hell with two legs, into an inextinguishable fire, where their worm does not die and the fire does not quench. And if your eye tempts you, pluck it out: it is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye, than to be thrown into hell with two eyes, where their worm does not die and the fire does not quench. " (Mark, 9: 43-48). The most courageous Jesus Christ advises to castrate in the name of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Gospel of Matthew writes about this as follows: “And the Pharisees came to Him, and tempting Him, said to Him: Is it permissible for a man to divorce his wife for any reason? He answered and said to them: Have you not read that He who made the first man and woman created them? And he said: Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and the two will be one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. So what God has united, let not man separate. They say to Him: how did Moses command to give a divorce letter and divorce her? He says to them: Moses, because of your hardness of heart, allowed you to divorce your wives, but at first it was not so; but I tell you : Whoever divorces his wife, not for adultery, and marries another, [he] commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced commits adultery. His disciples say to Him: if such is the duty of a man to his wife, then it is better not to marry. But he said to them: Not all can contain this word, but to whom it has been given, for there are eunuchs who were thus born out of their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who are emasculated by people; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever can contain, let him contain ”(Matthew 19: 3-12).

Christian theologians, in their interpretations of the prayer proposed by Jesus Christ, call it the Lord's Prayer and distinguish three components in it: 1. Appeal to God; 2. Seven petitions and 3. Final praise of God.

The Gospel Jesus Christ repeated the commandment to forgive sins of one's neighbors several times. “Then Peter came to Him and said: Lord! How many times should I forgive my brother who sins against me? up to seven times? Jesus says to him: I do not say to you: up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:22). It is not difficult to calculate that a Christian believer within one day must forgive the same criminal 490 of his sins.

Having begun to preach the Heavenly Beatitudes, Christ and his disciples led a vagrant lifestyle. in modern terms, they were homeless. Jesus Christ complained to one of the scribes: "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but I have no place to lay my head" (Matthew 8:20). The way of life of homeless people is also offered to all Christians: “And one of the leaders asked Him: Good Teacher! what should I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him: why do you call Me good? no one is good but God alone; you know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother. But he said: I have kept all this from my youth. Hearing this, Jesus said to him: there is one more thing you lack: sell everything that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me. But when he heard this, he was saddened because he was very rich. Jesus, seeing that he was grieved, said: How difficult it is for those who have riches to enter the Kingdom of God! for it is more convenient for a camel to pass through the ears of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God ”(Luke 18: 18-25).

Christian theologians inspire believers that Christ marked the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind. Religiously, it is the atonement for the sins of all people. Christ overcame death, opened the heavenly gates for those who believe in him. With Jesus Christ begins a new era for humanity and life according to new, Christian, moral commandments. Among these commandments, according to theologians, the greatest and newest is the commandment of love. "I give you a new commandment, that you love one another" - said Christ (John 13:34). And again: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) But in his exalted expression, Jesus Christ repeated himself prosaically. The commandment to love from all sides was not new by the time it was pronounced by the Gospel Jesus Christ. Love for each other is also inherent in animals, in the environment of which man was formed. The oldest, in my opinion, the first, works of art speak about love. The object of this love was a woman, whose first image is presented in a stone statue of "Windsor Venus", made 30 thousand years ago. In all ancient, ancient and modern religions, in one form or another, the commandment to love each other is inherent. In the religion of the Greco-Roman pantheon there was a whole dumpling of the gods of love: here Cupid and Cupid, and Venus with Hero, and Aphrodite with Juno, and the loving Zeus who stole Europe ... Christian apologists say that Christ's commandment about love was new in comparison with the commandments of the Old covenant. But this is not the case. The Old Testament speaks of love for one another. "Do not be enmity against your brother in your heart ... Do not take revenge and do not bear grudge against the sons of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself ”, - stated in the book of Leviticus (19: 17-18). As for the commandment: “ in everything, as you want people to do to you, so do you with them ", then this commandment is eternally inherent in all codes of morality, including the codes of all religions: Vedism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism ... To the question of his student: "Is it possible to be guided by one word all my life?" Confucius (551 - 479 BC) replied: "This word is reciprocity: do not do to others what you do not wish for yourself". Speaking about a primitive society in which there was a war of all against all, the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) wrote that in society everyone“ should be content with such a degree of freedom in relation to other people, which he would allow in relation to himself "(Leviathan, ch. XIV.) The basic and universal rule of morality, later called golden, is the following:“ do not do to others what you would not want to be done in relation to you ”(Leviathan, ch. XV).

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INTRODUCTION

Jesus Christ is the founder of the world religion that bears His name - Christianity. He is also the creator of life teaching, which can be briefly defined as the ethics of love. Jesus Christ united religion and morality into a single whole: His religion has a moral content: his religion has a religious basis and orientation. According to Jesus Christ, man's misfortunes began from the very moment when he fell away from God and, firstly, imagined that he himself could know and judge what is good and what is evil, and, secondly, he decided to fight evil by his own means, above all by deception and violence. Accumulating and multiplying, these disasters have reached catastrophic proportions, have brought man and humanity to the line beyond which there are eternal torments of dying. The only salvation of man is to return to the origins and realize that the very way of dividing people into good and evil and opposing evil with evil is false. To understand: all living things were created by God, all people are His children. This is their first and most important characteristic. Relationships between people are true when they are what the relationship between brothers, children of the same father should be - a relationship of love. Love is initially, self-sufficient, it does not need any foundations, it itself is the only foundation on which only the human house can firmly stand.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF JESUS CHRIST

We know about the life of Jesus Christ from the testimonies of His disciples and the disciples of His disciples. These biographies are called the Gospels (Gospels) and are distinguished among themselves by the names of the narrators. The four Gospels are considered authentic - from Matthew, from Mark, from Luke, from John, canonized by the Christian church in the IV century. The moral teaching of Jesus Christ is presented in all four Gospels, considered in their entirety. It is most integral and concentrated in the famous sermon that Jesus preached while climbing the mountain (hence its name on the Sermon on the Mount), and which is reproduced in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Jesus Christ is the God-man, as the Gospels tell us. “The birth of Jesus Christ was like this: after the betrothal of His Mother Mary to Joseph, before they were united, it turned out that She had in the womb of the Holy Spirit. But Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to expose her, wanted to secretly let her go. But when he thought this, - behold, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said: Joseph, son of David! do not be afraid to receive Mary your wife, for what is born in her is of the Holy Spirit; She will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins ... Rising from sleep, Joseph did as the Angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife, and did not know Her. How at last She gave birth to Her firstborn Son, and he called His name: Jesus. " He was born in Bethlehem, in a stable, and only a star showed the way to Him. Then the king of Judah - Herod - learned about His birth and wanted to kill Him, but the Angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and told him to go with his family to Egypt and stay there. After the death of Herod, the Angel of the Lord appears to Joseph and tells him to go to the land of Israel. The Bible tells us about this event: "... and having come, he settled in a city called Nazareth ...". When Jesus was 12 years old, the family came to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. On the way back, the parents discovered that they had no son with them. Disturbed, they returned to the city, searched for Him for three days and found Him in the temple listening and asking the teachers. Jesus showed an early interest in spiritual matters. He also learned the craft of a carpenter. As for education ... He knew the books of Moses and the prophets well. Another source of His mental inspiration was the observation of the lives of ordinary people - reapers, plowmen, winegrowers, shepherds, as well as the harsh beauty of his native northern Palestine. His worldview was an amazing combination of spiritual depth and ingenuous naivety.

Jesus set out with his own teaching at the age of 30. He preached for 3 years, after which He was accused of blasphemy by the Sanhedrin and executed (crucified on the cross). The decision was made by the Sanhedrin and at its insistence, as well as under pressure from the parishioners excited by the clergy, it was approved by the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate. The execution was carried out by the Roman authorities. The form of execution applied to Jesus Christ was considered the most shameful, intended for slaves and robbers. He was crucified for his word, for thought, for teaching. And two forces did it: state power (secular and spiritual) and an angry crowd. Thus, these two forces revealed their dark essence and forever branded themselves as forces hostile to a person, a free spirit. In the face of a violent death, Jesus had doubts, He asked God to carry this cup past Him. However, He quickly overcame a momentary weakness and found a calm determination to walk His path to the end. The greatness and inner harmony of His spirit, as well as the meaning of His teaching, is evidenced by the words pronounced by Him from the cross: “Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. " It was He who asked for His executioners, for those who divided His clothes below and shouted gloatingly: "Let Him save Himself, if He is Christ." After which He died, and He was buried in the tomb of a rich man, they rolled a stone and set up a guard. On the third day, He rose again as He promised. After spending another 40 days among the disciples, He ascended to heaven and promised to return a second time, but to take those who believe in Him and are waiting for His coming.

THE TEACHING OF JESUS CHRIST

What is the preaching of Jesus Christ? What vital things did He want to convey to people? Why is He remembered and confessed already 2000 thousand years later? What is so special about Him, because He is the Son of a carpenter and, after preaching to people for 3 years, “did not have where to lay his head”? So, to find out the answers to these questions, let us turn to the Sermon on the Mount of Jesus Christ.

“Seeing the people, He went up the mountain; and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And He, opening His mouth, taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who weep, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will have mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those cast out for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile you and persecute you and in every way unrighteously revile you for Me. Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven: so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth. If the salt loses its strength, how can you make it salty? She is no longer good for anything, except to throw her out and trample on people. You are the light of the world. A city on top of a mountain cannot hide. And, having lit a candle, they do not put it under a vessel, but on a candlestick, and it shines on everyone in the house. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Heavenly Father. Do not think that I came to break the law or the prophets: I did not come to break the law, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law, until all is fulfilled. So, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches people so, he will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever does and teaches, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For, I say to you, if your righteousness does not surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard what the ancients said: do not kill, whoever kills is subject to judgment. But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother in vain is liable to judgment; whoever says to his brother, "cancer," is subject to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, "foolish," is subject to fiery hell. So, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go first, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Make peace with your adversary quickly, while you are still on the way with him, so that the adversary does not give you up to the judge, and the judge does not give you to the servant, and they do not throw you into prison; Truly I say to you: you will not get out of there until you have given every last penny. You have heard what the ancients said: do not commit adultery. But I tell you that everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye tempts you, pluck it out and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body was thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand tempts you, cut it off and throw it away from you, for it is better for you that one of your members perish, and not your whole body was thrown into Gehenna. It has also been said that if anyone divorces his wife, let him give her a divorce. But I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for the guilt of fornication, gives her an excuse to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. You have also heard what the ancients said: do not break your oath, but fulfill your oaths before the Lord. But I say to you: do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God; nor the earth, for it is His footstool; nor Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King; Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. But, let your word be: yes, yes; no no; and what is beyond this is from the evil one. You've heard it said: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you: do not resist the evil one. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also; and whoever wants to sue you and take your shirt, give him your outer garment as well; and whoever forces you to go one mile with him, go with him two. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it is said: love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you: love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who offend you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Heavenly Father, for He commands His sun to rise over the wicked and the good and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what is your reward? Do not the tax collectors also do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing special? Do not the Gentiles do the same? So be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.

See that you do not do your charity in front of people so that they may see you: otherwise there will be no reward for you from your Father in Heaven. So, when you do alms, do not trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and in the streets, so that people may glorify them. Truly I say to you, they are already receiving their reward. But with you, when you do charity, let your left hand not know what your right hand is doing, so that your charity may be secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites who love in synagogues and on street corners, stopping to pray to appear before people. I tell you the truth, they are already receiving their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your room and, having closed your door, pray to your Father, who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. And when praying, do not say unnecessary things, like the pagans, for they think that in their verbosity they will be heard; do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray like this: Our Father who art in heaven! hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done, as in heaven, on earth; Give us our daily bread for this day; and forgive us our debts, just as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and power and glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive people their sins, then your Heavenly Father will also forgive you, and if you do not forgive people their sins, then your Father will not forgive you your sins. Also, when fasting, do not be discouraged like hypocrites, for they take upon themselves gloomy faces in order to appear to people who are fasting. I tell you the truth, they are already receiving their reward. But you, when you are fasting, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may appear to those who are fasting not before people, but before your Father, who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly. Do not lay up for yourself treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not dig in and steal, for where your treasure is, there will be and your heart. The body lamp has an eye. So, if your eye is clean, then your whole body will be bright; if your eye is bad, then your whole body will be dark. So, if the light that is in you is darkness, then what is the darkness? No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate one, and love the other; or he will be zealous for one, and neglect about the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Therefore, I say to you, do not be anxious about your soul, what you eat and what to drink, nor about your body, what to put on. Is not the soul greater than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than them? And who of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? And why do you care about clothes? Look at the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you that Solomon, in all his glory, did not dress like any one of them; But if the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow will be thrown into the oven, God dresses this way, if only more than you, you have little faith! So, do not worry and do not say: what do we have? or what to drink? or what to wear? because the Gentiles are looking for all this, and because your Father in Heaven knows that you have a need for all of these. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all this will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of its own: every day has enough of its own concern.

Do not judge, lest you be judged, for with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you mete, it will be measured to you also. And why do you look at the mote in your brother's eye, but do not feel the beam in your eye? Or how do you say to your brother: "Let me take the speck out of your eye," and now, there is a log in your eye? Hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see how to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Do not give the holy things to the dogs and do not throw your pearls before the pigs, so that they do not trample it under their feet and, turning, do not tear you to pieces. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you will find; knock, and it will be opened for you; for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Is there a man among you who, when his son asks him for bread, would give him a stone? and when he asks for a fish, would give him a serpent? So if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him. Therefore, in everything that you want people to do to you, so do you to them, for this is the law and the prophets. Enter by the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the path leading to destruction is wide, and many walk by it; for narrow is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and few find it. Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes harvested from thorns, or figs from thistles? So every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree can bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me: "Lord, Lord!" Will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. Many will say to Me on that day: Lord! God! Did we not prophesy in your name? and did they not drive out demons in your name? and did not you perform many miracles in your name? And then I will declare to them: I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them, I will liken to a wise man who built his house on a rock; and the rain fell, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and rushed on that house, and it did not fall, because it was founded on a stone. And everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not fulfill them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain fell, and the rivers overflowed, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and he fell, and his fall was great. And when Jesus finished these words, the people marveled at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes and Pharisees "(Matthew 5-7 chapters).

jesus christ preaching teaching

PERSONAL EXPLANATIONS ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN SERMON

Jesus Christ calls for what many do not understand happiness. For example, how can we be happy when we are persecuted for the truth, reviled for the name of Christ, and slandered in every possible way? "Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven ...". Jesus preaches about the Kingdom of Heaven, about paradise, where there is peace with God, where there is joy and happiness. Earthly life is the path that God provides to man so that he makes a choice for himself where he wants to spend eternity - in hell or in paradise. This choice is the behavior of the individual from conscious age to death. Every person who follows Christ will receive his reward in heaven, so there is no reason to grieve, despair, there is reason to rejoice. And why does a person rejoice, but because He knows that all trials, persecutions and difficulties in life are sent to Him by God for his own good, in order to teach him to live happily and fully. “The smelter is for silver and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts” (Proverbs 17: 3). The more stupid, selfish and rude a person behaves in life in relation to others, the more unhappy he is. Living for others, a person becomes useful, necessary, and this is not enough for each of us.

Many thought that Jesus was breaking the law because saw how He healed the sick, the dumb, the lepers on the Sabbath day, for example, which was honored by the Jews, and the violation of which was a sin. But Jesus explains that He did not come to break the law, but to fulfill it. I would even say to complicate it. After all, doing justice is much easier than doing grace.

So, Jesus, addressing the people, said that if their righteousness does not exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, then they will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. And then he explains about the essence of the commandments that God commanded "to the ancients", i.e. to the Jewish people when they were freed from Egyptian slavery. They heard that killing is a sin, and Jesus reveals these words, saying that if we call our neighbor a fool or insane, we have already killed him in our hearts and are subject to "fiery hell." He turns all the false righteousness of the Pharisees inside out, calling them "painted tombs," because a person looks at the face, but God looks at the heart. It was important for Jesus to convey this to everyone. He continues to destroy the stereotypes of people calling them to the opposite - they had - an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and Jesus tells them not to resist the evil, and if "someone hits you on the left cheek, turn to him and the other." He calls to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us and to pray for those who offend us. What lofty and incomprehensible sayings! How much wisdom, simplicity and at the same time sublimity! Where to find such a person? Is it possible to have in oneself the same feelings that Christ had? The Apostle Paul affirms that it is possible, moreover, it is necessary to have them in oneself: "For the same feelings must be in you as in Christ Jesus." Why does Christ call us to do this? And because we are His children, because He loves us, such imperfect ones, and accepts us as we are, with all our "cockroaches", so to speak. After all, the Lord God "commands His sun to rise over the wicked and the good." And yet, if we love only those who love us, what is our reward for that? After all, it’s the easiest thing to love the one who loves you, makes you gifts, treats you well. And the person who is bad in appearance and character, is unfriendly to you? Love for this is developed by patience, humility, sacrifice of one's own interests and pleasures. Why should we sacrifice? Because Jesus sacrificed His life for us, suffered on the cross, and endured a great shame. And our mood can take some small offensive word beyond the framework of a good one, and here our patience is sometimes undermined. So Jesus is calling us to be perfect. Of course, of course, we cannot become perfect, however, we can strive for this unattainable, because "there is no limit to perfection."

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a simple example of the prayer "Our Father", which is a direct conversation between a person and God. Now you do not need to go to the temple and perform certain rituals or go to the priest, God hears us at any point in the Universe and at any second of time.

Christ calls us to move away from hypocrisy and to be who we are. Do everything with a pure heart and with a clear conscience. Because “Everything secret becomes clear” for the Lord, and sometimes it comes to the surface in front of the people around us. If we condemn a person, then we ourselves will be condemned, therefore Christ teaches us not to condemn our neighbor, but to look first into our hearts, deal with personal “logs”, and only then see how to remove the “mote” from a brother's eye. And you can take it out only with love, mercy and compassion, to which the Lord calls.

The world famous phrase: “So, in everything you want people to do to you, so do you to them” - is the words of Jesus Christ. Indeed, this should become one of the basic rules in our life. Verbosity is inappropriate here.

“Enter by the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the path leading to destruction is wide, and many walk by it; because the gate is narrow and the path leading to life is narrow, and few find it. " It all comes down to the fact that we find this "narrow path" leading to heaven, if of course we want to. To do this, we undoubtedly need to follow Christ, accept His sacrifice. After all, why did He come and walk the earth teaching the people? He came for that one main goal - to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind. A person himself cannot do this, because he is sinful, and innocent blood is needed. Christ is the dear Price for our sins. Firstly, He is the Son of God, secondly, He lived an absolutely sinless life (there was nothing to crucify Him for), and thirdly, His death was shameful. But the Father was forced to do this, thereby giving each person a choice: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. (John 3:16). What is this choice? Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me ”; “Truly, truly, I say to you: he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come to judgment, but has passed from death to life.” Through Jesus Christ we can come to the Father, that is, to go to heaven, to have eternal life, repenting of our sins and believing that Jesus forgave them to us, this is the good news. Or choose to pay for our sins on our own by rejecting Jesus' offer, but this will take us a long and painful eternity in hell.

CONCLUSION

Summing up His life, Jesus says: “I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He conquered by the fact that having stood on the path of love and mercy, he did not turn away from it. Jesus was born in a stable, He ended his life on the cross. He went through a misunderstanding of relatives, betrayal of students, persecution of the authorities. He could harden His heart a thousand times. He had enough reasons and reasons to tell people that they were not worthy of His love. But He didn't do it; even crucified, He asks to forgive his executioners and thinks about the soul of the robber standing next to him. This is His victory over the world. This is His freedom.

God born in a stable; God spat upon by the crowd; God crucified on the cross - if these ideas, absurd by all the laws of logic, are subject to rational understanding, then it consists precisely in the fact that the very ability of Jesus to be firm in meekness, to go to the end the path of sacrificial love, no matter what, is the expression His divine nature, His freedom.

Obviously, not a single commandment of Christ, no matter how indigestible it may seem, is for our good, for our happiness. His commandments are simple and at the same time complex, they are clear to everyone, but they do not penetrate into every heart. They are for one and all. They lead us along the path of freedom, morality and life.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.A.A. Guseinov Great prophets and thinkers. Moral teachers from Moses to the present day, - M .: Veche, 2009.

2. The Bible.

.Bondyreva S.K. Morality, - M .: Publishing house of the Moscow Psychological and Social Institute; Voronezh: Publishing House NPO "MODEK", 2006.

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