SOnTheM 01

"Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:"
Matthew 5:1-2

Jesus went up on the mountainside and he sat down. Why would he sit down to teach? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to stand up so that his disciples could see him? Yes, I guess it does make more sense, looking at it from a Western perspective. In Jesus time, the teacher/rabbi sat down, while the people stood up. Sitting was a sign of authority, and as you know, Jesus had all authority in heaven and on earth. Who were these disciples? Just the twelve apostles and a few others. Nope. At this time, Jesus had not yet begun his teaching ministry (for the most part), and so many people were still following him because they had seen him do miracles. After this point, however, people began to see that the Way Jesus taught would be a hard one, and from this point on, even though many came to follow Jesus, many others who began following him left because they were not willing to follow his Way. The disciples mentioned here were many; this was a large group of people wanting to follow Jesus without ever hearing him teach them what it meant to follow him.

Over the next few weeks, months, etc., I am going to blog about the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), and this was the opening to the Sermon on the Mount. Hopefully I'll be able to blog more frequently as I go, but stay tuned for more. Feel free to leave comments, additions to what I've said, and even leave disagreements. Thanks.