J. Knox Chamblin on the Sermon on the Mount

Status
Not open for further replies.

bookslover

Puritan Board Doctor
I'm reading this book as part of my daily devotions: Matthew by J. Knox Chamblin; A Mentor Commentary series; 2 volumes (Fearn: Mentor, 2010), 1,592 pages. It's an excellent commentary to go through as I read the Gospel of Matthew.

Here's a little taste: a portion of his opening discussion of the Sermon on the Mount:

"Jesus announces the inauguration of the kingdom, and promises its consummation. By expelling demons, Jesus shows that God's rule is mightier than Satan's; yet evil persists, and will only be eradicated when the divine powers are fully unleashed at history's end. By the same token, the blessings announced in the beatitudes may now be experienced; but the poverty, sorrow, and weakness depicted here, and the tyranny, injustice, and oppression reflected here, will persist until Messiah's reign has eclipsed all others. . .

"Given the stupendous power and marvelous grace which mark the kingdom's inaugural, Jesus calls His disciples to radical obedience (Matthew 5.17-7.12). All these commands are to be taken as they stand. We must beware the temptation to make them less demanding or more manageable; or so to qualify and rationalize them that they become shades of their former selves. But in seeking to obey them, we must also keep in view the already and the not yet of the kingdom's coming. We are constantly beset by the evil one; we do not consistently and unfailingly do God's will. On the contrary, we often willfully and deliberately disobey His commands, and thereby show all too clearly that we are not fully submissive to His rule. We experience the struggle Paul describes in Romans 7.14-25. In Luther's language, we recognize ourselves - each one - to be simul iustus et peccator and semper iustus et peccator. So, when we disobey Jesus' commands, whether by failing to do what He requires or by doing what He prohibits, we do not despair. We recognize that sinless perfection is not attainable in a fallen world; that we have been redeemed but not yet fully liberated from our fallen condition. At the same time, we grieve over sin and take action accordingly: we return to the gospel in the beatitudes; we ask the heavenly Father to forgive our debts and to hasten the end of spiritual warfare; and we turn from our sins and submit anew to God's rule - and to striving toward an elusive and seemingly unattainable goal.

"Furthermore, as we read the sermon 'already' given, we appropriate spiritual resources 'not yet' granted - but to be granted before Matthew concludes. The author obviously wants his book to be read as an unbroken whole. Our doing so puts us at a huge advantage: unlike Jesus' original listeners, we receive this sermon already knowing of Jesus' death and resurrection, the wondrous events at the gospel's close. So we have learned that Jesus, by His redemptive death, saved His people from their sins; that this sermon is intended for them; and that it is these very people whose repeated violations of His commands He forgives by virtue of His atoning sacrifice. Having newly experienced saving grace, the Savior's people are strengthened in their resolve to take up their own crosses and to obey Jesus' words at whatever cost. A resource provided in addition to Jesus' redemptive death is the Name of the Trinity - that is, the presence and the power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - to aid us in keeping Jesus' commands." (Volume 1, Pages 308-310; all italics are in the original)

Good stuff!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top