SOTM—The Mountain

<p>For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ <a href="https://www.douglasjacoby.com/som-01-the-mountain/" target="_blank"><strong>website.</strong></a></p><p>Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. (<strong>Matt 5:1-2</strong> ESV)</p><ul><li>Mountains in the Bible are associated with Moses (<strong>Exod 19-20</strong>), Elijah (1 Kings), and Jesus.</li><li>In Matthew, Jesus is found on mountains five times:<strong>Matt 4:8; 5:1; 14:23; 17:1-8; 28:16-20</strong>.</li><li>Matthew presents Jesus as the Second Moses (see Deut 18), a teacher of God's truth to his people.</li><li>Matthew has put Jesus' teaching into five blocks, like the five books of Torah (Gen-Deut) or the five books of Psalms. These blocks are <strong>Matt 5:1-7:29; 10:1-11:1; 13:1-53; 18:1-19:1; 23:1-26:1.</strong></li><li>For more on this, watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8JbCZkKoTc">Jesus Is the Second Moses </a>(13 minutes).</li><li>Jesus and his disciples are seated—the normal position of a rabbi with his followers.</li><li>Throughout his ministry, both men and women alike sat at Jesus' feet (<strong>Luke 10:38-42</strong>).</li><li>We too must take time out to learn—to read and study…</li><li>Through the disciples Jesus spread the message among the people (as in <strong>Matt 28:19-20</strong>).</li><li>We may think of the eight beatitudes as a set of qualities. Jesus' focus is on the inner life, the kind of people we are, especially in difficult circumstances.</li></ul><p><i>Next podcast: "Poor" (Matt 5:3)</i></p>