The Story of God Bible Commentary Series Endorsements
“Getting a story is about more than merely enjoying it. It means hearing it, understanding it, and above all, being impacted by it. This commentary series hopes that its readers not only hear and understand the story, but are impacted by it to live in as Christian a way as possible. The editors and contributors set that table very well and open up the biblical story in ways that move us to act with sensitivity and understanding. That makes hearing the story as these authors tell it well worth the time. Well done.”
Darrell L. Bock
Executive Director of Cultural Engagement, Howard G. Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership and Cultural Engagement,
Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies
Dallas Theological Seminary
“The Story of God Bible Commentary series invites readers to probe how the message of the text relates to our situations today. Engagingly readable, it not only explores the biblical text but offers a range of applications and interesting illustrations.”
Craig S. Keener
Professor of New Testament
Asbury Theological Seminary
“I love the Story of God Bible Commentary series. It makes the text sing, and helps us hear the story afresh.”
John Ortberg
Senior pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church,
and author of Who Is This Man?
“In this promising new series of commentaries, believing biblical scholars bring not only their expertise but their own commitment to Jesus and insights into today’s culture to the Scriptures. The result is a commentary series that is anchored in the text but lives and breathes in the world of today’s church with its variegated pattern of socioeconomic, ethnic, and national diversity. Pastors, Bible study leaders, and Christians of all types who are looking for a substantive and practical guide through the Scriptures will find these volumes helpful.”
Frank Thielman
Professor of Divinity
Beeson Divinity School
“The Story of God Bible Commentary series is unique in its approach to exploring the Bible. Its easy-to-use format and practical guidance brings God’s grand story to modern-day life so anyone can understand how it applies today.”
Andy Stanley
Senior Pastor
North Point Ministries
“I’m a storyteller. Through writing and speaking I talk and teach about understanding the Story of God throughout Scripture and about letting God reveal more of His story as I live it out. Thus I am thrilled to have a commentary series based on the Story of God—a commentary that helps me to Listen to the Story, that Explains the Story, and then encourages me to probe how to Live the Story. A perfect tool for helping every follower of Jesus to walk in the story that God is writing for them.”
Judy Douglass
Author, Speaker, Encourager
Office of the President, Cru
Director of Women’s Resources, Cru
“The Bible is the story of God and his dealings with humanity from creation to new creation. The Bible is made up more of stories than of any other literary genre. Even the psalms, proverbs, prophecies, letters, and the Apocalypse make complete sense only when set in the context of the grand narrative of the entire Bible. This commentary series breaks new ground by taking all these observations seriously. It asks commentators to listen to the text, to explain the text, and to live the text. Some of the material in these sections overlaps with introduction, detailed textual analysis and application, respectively, but only some. The most riveting and valuable part of the commentaries are the stories that can appear in any of these sections, from any part of the globe and any part of church history, illustrating the text in any of these areas. Ideal for preaching and teaching.”
Craig L. Blomberg
Distinguished Professor of New Testament
Denver Seminary
Editorial Board
of
The Story of God Bible Commentary
Old Testament general editor:
Tremper Longman III
Old Testament associate editors:
George Athas
Mark J. Boda
Myrto Theocharous
General editor:
Scot McKnight
Associate editors:
Lynn H. Cohick
Michael F. Bird
Joel Willitts
Zondervan Editors
Senior acquisitions editor
Katya Covrett
Senior production editor
Verlyn D. Verbrugge
ZONDERVAN
Sermon on the Mount
Copyright © 2013 by Scot McKnight
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
ePub Edition May 2016: 978-0-310-59901-2
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McKnight, Scot.
The Sermon on the mount / Scot McKnight.
p. cm.—(Story of God Bible commentary; 21)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-310-32713-4
1. Sermon on the mount—Commentaries. I. Title.
BT380.3.M43 2013
226.9'07—dc23 2013000731
* * *
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Cover design: Ron Huizinga
Cover imagery: iStockphoto®
Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook
Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.
For David and Linda Parkyn
Old Testament series
1 ■ Genesis—Tremper Longman III
2 ■ Exodus—Christopher J. H. Wright
3 ■ Leviticus—Jerry E. Shepherd
4 ■ Numbers—Jay A. Sklar
5 ■ Deuteronomy—Myrto Theocharous
6 ■ Joshua—Lissa M. Wray Beal
7 ■ Judges—Athena E. Gorospe
8 ■ Ruth/Esther—Marion Taylor
9 ■ 1–2 Samuel—Paul S. Evans
10 ■ 1–2 Kings—David T. Lamb
11 ■ 1–2 Chronicles—Carol M. Kaminski
12 ■ Ezra/Nehemiah—Douglas J. Green
13 ■ Job—W. Eric Smith
14 ■ Psalms—Eliz
abeth R. Hayes
15 ■ Proverbs—Ryan P. O’Dowd
16 ■ Ecclesiastes/Song of Songs—George Athas
17 ■ Isaiah—Mark J. Boda
18 ■ Jeremiah/Lamentations—Andrew G. Shead
19 ■ Ezekiel—D. Nathan Phinney
20 ■ Daniel—Wendy L. Widder
21 ■ Minor Prophets I—Beth M. Stovell
22 ■ Minor Prophets II—Beth M. Stovell
New Testament series
1 ■ Matthew—Rodney Reeves
2 ■ Mark—Timothy G. Gombis
3 ■ Luke—Kindalee Pfremmer DeLong
4 ■ John—Nicholas Perrin
5 ■ Acts—Dean Pinter & Cherith Fee Nordling
6 ■ Romans—Michael F. Bird
7 ■ 1 Corinthians—Justin K. Hardin
8 ■ 2 Corinthians—Love L. Sechrest
9 ■ Galatians—Joel Willitts
10 ■ Ephesians—Mark D. Roberts
11 ■ Philippians—Lynn H. Cohick
12 ■ Colossians/Philemon—Todd Wilson
13 ■ 1–2 Thessalonians—John Byron
14 ■ 1–2 Timothy, Titus—Marius Nel
15 ■ Hebrews—Radu Gheorghita
16 ■ James—Mariam J. Kamell
17 ■ 1 Peter—Dennis Edwards
18 ■ 2 Peter, Jude—C. Rosalee Velloso Ewell
19 ■ 1–3 John—Constantine R. Campbell
20 ■ Revelation—Jonathan A. Moo
21 ■ Sermon on the Mount—Scot McKnight
Contents
Acknowledgments
The Story of God Bible Commentary Series
Abbreviations
Introduction
Resources for Those Teaching or Preaching the Sermon
Commentary
Chapter 1: Matthew 5:1–2 and 7:28–29
Chapter 2: Matthew 5:3–12
Chapter 3: Matthew 5:13–16
Chapter 4: Matthew 5:17–20
Chapter 5: Matthew 5:21–26
Chapter 6: Matthew 5:27–30
Chapter 7: Matthew 5:31–32
Chapter 8: Matthew 5:33–37
Chapter 9: Matthew 5:38–42
Chapter 10: Matthew 5:43–48
Chapter 11: Matthew 6:1–4
Chapter 12: Matthew 6:5–6
Chapter 13: Matthew 6:7–15
Chapter 14: Matthew 6:16–18
Chapter 15: Matthew 6:19–24
Chapter 16: Matthew 6:25–34
Chapter 17: Matthew 7:1–5
Chapter 18: Matthew 7:6
Chapter 19: Matthew 7:7–11
Chapter 20: Matthew 7:12
Chapter 21: Matthew 7:13–14
Chapter 22: Matthew 7:15–23
Chapter 23: Matthew 7:24–27
Scripture Index
Subject Index
Author Index
About the Author
About the Publisher
Acknowledgments
This commentary was written at the end of seventeen wonderful years as a faculty member at North Park University, where I was honored to be the Karl Olsson Professor in Religious Studies. In my last few years at North Park we were led by one of Olsson’s successors, President David Parkyn. David and Linda became friends to Kris and me, in part no doubt because we were the same age with similar experiences in life, not the least of which are grandchildren and aging parents. Alongside those experiences was David’s leadership at North Park. David and I can’t neglect mentioning Linda and her infectious joy each time we met, which exemplifies Christian leadership at a university—theologically alert, economically wise, and an exceptional communicator. But most of all I simply enjoyed David and Linda for how they followed Christ with grace and kindness. Not only are they fellow anabaptists with a love for liturgy, but they knew that the way to lead was cruciform. David was the first person at North Park I told when Northern Seminary knocked on my door and David opened his home to me not long after his surgery to discuss my final decision to leave. I miss David and Linda immensely.
Others were involved in this book by offering suggestions. Thanks especially belongs to my close colleague at North Park, Joel Willitts, and to fellow editors Lynn Cohick, Mike Bird, and Katya Covrett. At Zondervan, Verlyn Verbrugge’s attention to details along with theology continues to amaze me. Seventeen years at North Park meant seventeen years of conversations with Greg Clark, a fellow anabaptist of whom I seemed to bounce all my big ideas, some of which were blown into the memories of things I’m glad to have forgotten. Also I thank Jeff Greenman, now at Regent College, for detailed comments on the introduction, and also to Jeff Cook for the same.
Never dare I sign off on a preface without expressing my love for Kris. As we have aged, we have learned that her more introverted personality and my need for quiet to write have become a match made in providence. As this book comes into the light of day, we are beginning to celebrate our fortieth year of splendid marriage.
The Story of God Bible Commentary Series
The Word of God may not change, but culture does. Think of what we have seen in the last twenty years: we now communicate predominantly through the internet and email; we read our news on iPads and computers; we can talk on the phone to our friends while we are driving, while we are playing golf, while we are taking long walks; and we can get in touch with others from the middle of nowhere. We carry in our hands small devices that connect us to the world and to a myriad of sources of information. Churches have changed; the “Nones” are rising in numbers and volume, and atheists are bold to assert their views in public forums. The days of home Bible studies are waning, there is a marked rise in activist missional groups in churches, and pastors are more and more preaching topical sermons, some of which are not directly connected to the Bible. Divorce rates are not going down, marriages are more stressed, rearing children is more demanding, and civil unions and same-sex marriages are knocking at the door of the church.
Progress can be found in many directions. While church attendance numbers are waning in Europe and North America, churches are growing in the South and the East. More and more women are finding a voice in churches; the plea of the former generation of leaders that Christians be concerned not just with evangelism but with justice is being answered today in new and vigorous ways. Resources for studying the Bible are more available today than ever before, and preachers and pastors are meeting the challenge of speaking a sure Word of God into shifting cultures.
Readers of the Bible change, too. These cultural shifts, our own personal developments, the progress in intellectual questions, as well as growth in biblical studies and theology and discoveries of new texts and new paradigms for understanding the contexts of the Bible—each of these elements works on an interpreter so that the person who reads the Bible today asks different questions from different angles.
Culture shifts, but the Word of God remains. That is why we as editors of The Story of God Bible Commentary series, a commentary based on the New International Version 2011 (NIV 2011), are excited to participate in this new series of commentaries on the Bible. This series is designed to address this generation with the same Word of God. We are asking the authors to explain what the Bible says to the sorts of readers who pick up commentaries so they can understand not only what Scripture says but what it means for today. The Bible does not change, but relating it to our culture changes constantly and in differing ways in different contexts.
When we, the New Testament editors, sat down in prayer and discussion to choose authors for this series, we realized we had found fertile ground. Our list of potential authors staggered in length and quality. We wanted the authors to be exceptional scholars, faithful Christians, committed evangelicals, and theologically diverse, and we wanted this series to represent the changing face of both American and world evangelicalism: ethnic and gender diversity. I believe this series has a wider diversity of authors than any commentary series in evangelical history.
The title of this series, emphasizing as it do
es the “Story” of the Bible, reveals the intent of the series. We want to explain each passage of the Bible in light of the Bible’s grand Story. The Bible’s grand Story, of course, connects this series to the classic expression regula fidei, the “rule of faith,” which was the Bible’s story coming to fulfillment in Jesus as the Messiah, Lord, and Savior of all. In brief, we see the narrative built around the following biblical themes: creation and fall, covenant and redemption, law and prophets, and especially God charge to humans as his image-bearers to rule under God. The theme of God as King and God’s kingdom guides us to see the importance of Israel’s kings as they come to fulfillment in Jesus, Lord and King over all, and the direction of history toward the new heavens and new earth, where God will be all in all. With these guiding themes, each passage is examined from three angles.
Listen to the Story. We believe that if the Bible is God speaking, then the most important posture of the Christian before the Bible is to listen. So our first section cites the text of Scripture and lists a selection of important biblical and sometimes noncanonical parallels; then each author introduces that passage. The introductions to the passages sometimes open up discussion to the theme of the passage while other times they tie this passage to its context in the specific book. But since the focus of this series is the Story of God in the Bible, the introduction leads the reader into reading this text in light of the Bible’s Story.
Explain the Story. The authors follow up listening to the text by explaining each passage in light of the Bible’s grand Story. This is not an academic series, so the footnotes are limited to the kinds of texts typical Bible readers and preachers readily will have on hand. Authors are given the freedom to explain the text as they read it, though you should not be surprised to find occasional listings of other options for reading the text. Authors explore biblical backgrounds, historical context, cultural codes, and theological interpretations. Authors engage in word studies and interpret unique phrases and clauses as they attempt to build a sound and living reading of the text in light of the Story of God in the Bible.
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