More than fourteen centuries before Jesus was
born in Bethlehem, the children of Israel gathered
in the fair vale of Shechem, and from
the mountains on either side the voices of the priests
were heard proclaiming the blessings and the curses--
"a blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord
your God: . . . and a curse, if ye will not obey."
Deuteronomy 11:27, 28. And thus the mountain from which
the words of benediction were spoken came to be
known as the mount of blessing. But it was not upon
Gerizim that the words were spoken which have come
as a benediction to a sinning and sorrowing world. Israel
fell short of the high ideal which had been set before
her. Another than Joshua must guide His people to
the true rest of faith. No longer is Gerizim known as the
mount of the Beatitudes, but that unnamed mountain
beside the Lake of Gennesaret, where Jesus spoke the
words of blessing to His disciples and the multitude.
Let us in imagination go back to that scene, and, as
we sit with the disciples on the mountainside, enter
into the thoughts and feelings that filled their hearts.
Understanding what the words of Jesus meant to those
who heard them, we may discern in them a new vividness
and beauty, and may also gather for ourselves their
deeper lessons.
When the Saviour began His ministry, the popular
conception of the Messiah and His work was such as
wholly unfitted the people to receive Him. The spirit
of true devotion had been lost in tradition and
ceremonialism, and the prophecies were interpreted at the
dictate of proud, world-loving hearts. The Jews looked
for the coming One, not as a Saviour from sin, but as a
great prince who should bring all nations under the
supremacy of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. In vain
had John the Baptist, with the heart-searching power
of the ancient prophets, called them to repentance. In
vain had he, beside the Jordan, pointed to Jesus as
the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the
world. God was seeking to direct their minds to
Isaiah's prophecy of the suffering Saviour, but they
would not hear.
Had the teachers and leaders in Israel yielded to His
transforming grace, Jesus would have made them His
ambassadors among men. In Judea first the coming
of the kingdom had been proclaimed, and the call
to repentance had been given. In the act of driving
out the desecrators from the temple at Jerusalem,
Jesus had announced Himself as the Messiah--the
One who should cleanse the soul from the defilement
of sin and make His people a holy temple unto the
Lord. But the Jewish leaders would not humble themselves
to receive the lowly Teacher from Nazareth.
At His second visit to Jerusalem He was arraigned
before the Sanhedrin, and fear of the people alone
prevented these dignitaries from trying to take His
life. Then it was that, leaving Judea, He entered
upon His ministry in Galilee.
His work there had continued some months before
the Sermon on the Mount was given. The message He
had proclaimed throughout the land, "The kingdom of
heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17), had arrested the
attention of all classes, and had still further fanned the
flame of their ambitious hopes. The fame of the new
Teacher had spread beyond the limits of Palestine, and,
notwithstanding the attitude of the hierarchy, the feeling
was widespread that this might be the hoped-for
Deliverer. Great multitudes thronged the steps of
Jesus, and the popular enthusiasm ran high.
The time had come for the disciples who had been
most closely associated with Christ to unite more
directly in His work, that these vast throngs might not be
left uncared for, as sheep without a shepherd. Some of
these disciples had joined themselves to Him at the
beginning of His ministry, and nearly all the twelve had
been associated together as members of the family of
Jesus. Yet they also, misled by the teaching of the rabbis,
shared the popular expectation of an earthly kingdom.
They could not comprehend the movements of
Jesus. Already they had been perplexed and troubled
that He made no effort to strengthen His cause by securing
the support of the priests and rabbis, that He
did nothing to establish His authority as an earthly
king. A great work was yet to be accomplished for these
disciples before they would be prepared for the sacred
trust that would be theirs when Jesus should ascend to
heaven. Yet they had responded to the love of Christ,
and, though slow of heart to believe, Jesus saw in them
those whom He could train and discipline for His great
work. And now that they had been long enough with
Him to establish, in a measure, their faith in the divine
character of His mission, and the people also had received
evidence of His power which they could not
question, the way was prepared for an avowal of the
principles of His kingdom that would help them to
comprehend its true nature.
Alone upon a mountain near the Sea of Galilee,
Jesus had spent all night in prayer for these chosen
ones. At the dawn He called them to Him, and, with
words of prayer and instruction, laid His hands upon
their heads in benediction, setting them apart to the
gospel work. Then He repaired with them to the seaside,
where in the early morning a great multitude had
already begun to assemble.
Besides the usual crowd from the Galilean towns,
there were great numbers from Judea, and from Jerusalem
itself; from Perea, and from the half-heathen
population of Decapolis; from Idumea, away to the
south of Judea, and from Tyre and Sidon, the Phoenician
cities on the shore of the Mediterranean. "Hearing
what great things He did," they "came to hear
Him, and to be healed of their diseases; and . . . power
came forth from Him, and healed them all." Mark 3:8,
R.V.; Luke 6:17-19, R.V.
Then, as the narrow beach did not afford even
standing room within reach of His voice for all who
desired to hear Him, Jesus led the way back to the
mountainside. Reaching a level space that afforded a
pleasant gathering place for the vast assembly, He
seated Himself upon the grass, and His disciples and
the multitude followed His example.
With a feeling that something more than usual
might be expected, the disciples had pressed about
their Master. From the events of the morning they
gathered assurance that some announcement was
about to be made in regard to the kingdom which, as
they fondly hoped, He was soon to establish. A feeling
of expectancy pervaded the multitude also, and
eager faces gave evidence of the deep interest.
As they sat upon the green hillside, awaiting the
words of the divine Teacher, their hearts were filled
with thoughts of future glory. There were scribes and
Pharisees who looked forward to the day when they
should have dominion over the hated Romans and
possess the riches and splendor of the world's great
empire. The poor peasants and fishermen hoped to
hear the assurance that their wretched hovels, the
scanty food, the life of toil, and fear of want, were to
be exchanged for mansions of plenty and days of ease.
In place of the one coarse garment which was their
covering by day and their blanket at night, they hoped
that Christ would give them the rich and costly robes
of their conquerors.
All hearts thrilled with the proud hope that Israel
was soon to be honored before the nations as the
chosen of the Lord, and Jerusalem exalted as the head
of a universal kingdom.