Matthew 5:1-2
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying…
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is very much a teacher, a Jewish rabbi who imparts wisdom for the life of faith. He is also a lawgiver, one who interprets the gift of the law for the people. He is more than both of these, of course, but these two elements – teacher and giver and interpreter of the law – are central to Matthew’s understanding of Jesus. In fact, for Matthew, Jesus isn’t just any teacher and lawgiver, he is most like Israel’s greatest teacher and lawgiver, Moses.
Indeed, this comparison between Jesus and Moses will structure much of what is to come in Matthew’s story of Jesus. And so in this scene Jesus retreats for a time to teach his disciples. But he doesn’t just retreat anywhere; he goes up a mountain. Jewish readers would know that mountains are often places of epiphanies, or revelations, from God. Moreover, they would remember the sacred mountain, Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.
Jesus has much to teach, and Matthew will divide and share the content of Jesus’ teaching – which, we will soon see, is both fulfillment and renewal of the law – in five major scenes, or parts, of the gospel. Again, Jewish readers would be aware that there are five books containing the law of Moses and would make the connection between that and Jesus’ five distinct teaching times with his disciples.
Jesus, to Matthew, is a teacher, a lawgiver, like Moses and yet greater, for Jesus will bring the law to its fulfillment as he ushers in the kingdom of God to which Moses could only point. We’re on the brink of that part of the story, and I am eager to enter into it with you.
Prayer: Dear God, let us receive the teaching of your Son that we might come to know you and your will more clearly and be equipped and empowered to turn to our neighbor in wisdom and love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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