Category Archives: Satan

A New Look at the Sermon on the Mount

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In the past, my understanding of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 has been that it was a compilation of sayings or nuggets of wisdom much like the Proverbs. However, when I recently read through the sermon again, I noticed three themes that laid a foundation for Jesus’ message.

However, before we look at the sermon itself, let’s back up a couple of chapters to look at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. From Matthew 3:13 to 4:11, Jesus starts preparing for His ministry. He is baptized by John and is anointed by the Holy Spirit (3:13-17). After this, He is led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and fasts for forty days and nights. Following this time of fasting, Satan tempts Him three times, but Jesus overcomes the temptation by remaining faithful to God (4:1-11). Jesus then begins His ministry by preaching the Kingdom of God (4:17) and demonstrating the power of the Kingdom by healing the sick and casting out demons (4:23-25). Immediately large crowds from the entire region began to follow Him, and when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and began to teach them thus bringing us to the Sermon on the Mount.

As I mentioned above, I saw that Jesus’ sermon can be divided into three themes. The first one is found in chapter five. He begins His message by discussing attitudes that people of the Kingdom of God should have. He says that people should consider themselves blessed if they are poor in spirit, meek, merciful, and hungry for righteousness. He even says they should feel blessed if they are persecuted. He then talks about us being the light of the world and the salt of the earth, and having a righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees. From here He discusses certain topics such as murder, divorce, and adultery. In each of the topics, He begins by saying “You have heard that it was said…,” and describes the common teaching on that topic. He then adds, “But I tell you…,” and presents a higher standard for each subject mentioned. I imagine the people hearing this sermon were confused because everything He was saying went contrary to human nature and the teachings of their culture.

The key verse which sums up this entire chapter is found at the end in verse forty-eight: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”. The word translated perfect means complete, mature, and lacking nothing. When Jesus was baptized by John, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit to reveal the character of God, proclaim the message of the Kingdom, and demonstrate the Kingdom’s power. Everything He said and did went contrary to the culture which amazed the people and upset the leadership. In the same way, we are to be so filled with the Spirit of God that we can also demonstrate the nature and character of God to the world. We are not to follow the world’s standard but instead, we are to live by the higher standard of the Kingdom. We are to be the influencers—the salt of the earth and the light of the world that attracts people to God just as Jesus had been doing.

Chapter six presents the second theme. Jesus teaches that we are not to seek attention or earthly praise when we help the poor or in our times of prayer and fasting. Our focus should not be on building up rewards or accolades here on earth. Instead, our emphasis should be on humbly building the Kingdom of God. Jesus adds that our concern should not be on how much wealth we can accumulate in this world, but on storing up “treasures in heaven” (Matt. 6:20). The key verse in this chapter is verse thirty-three: “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (NIV). The principle Jesus presents here also goes against the world’s thinking. He is submitting the idea that we should develop such a passion for the Kingdom of God that the wealth, fame, or treasures this world has to offer are not important to us. He is also advocating that when we put His Kingdom first, we can have the confidence that He will provide for all our needs.

Jesus demonstrated this principle when He faced Satan’s temptation. He was faithful to God and so dedicated to fulfilling the work of the Kingdom that the worldly enticements Satan presented to Him had no effect. The Kingdom of God was first and foremost in His heart, demonstrate and He knew His Father would provide for all He needed (see Matt. 4:1-4).

The third principle is found in Matt. 7:24-27. Here, Jesus is teaching how important it is to build our life upon the Word of God. Throughout this chapter, He talks about making sure our life is in line with God’s Word before we start pointing out the faults of others (7:1-5). He reminds us that we fulfill the Law when we treat others with love and respect (7:12). He also warns us that just saying that we are a follower of Jesus is not enough. We must show it by obeying His Word and demonstrating godly character (7:15-23). It is only when we are committed to the Word of God in our life that will we be able to share the Word with wisdom and power and be able to see the power of God work through us through signs and miracles as Jesus did (Matt. 4:17,23-25). In summary, when Jesus began His ministry, He was anointed by the Holy Spirit and empowered to reveal God and the life of the Kingdom to the world. He was committed to the Father and the work of the Kingdom so that Satan was not able to distract Him with the attractions of the world. And the Word of God was the foundation of all He did (Matt. 5:17-18). These principles are what Jesus taught in His Sermon on the Mount, and are principles that we, as people of the Kingdom, should be incorporating into our lives. We should make the Word of God the foundation of our life, develop a passion for the Kingdom that overshadows any allurements of the world, and be so filled with the Spirit of God that we live by a standard that is higher than and contrary to the culture of the world. If we do this, we can become the salt of the earth and the light of the world that will draw people to Jesus.

Satan As a Roaring Lion

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1 Peter was written to Christians facing persecution in Rome and the Roman territories of Asia- modern-day Turkey. Peter warns the believers of all kinds of trials that they would be facing for their faith, gives words of encouragement, and instructs them on how to live during times of persecution. In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter encourages them to be watchful because Satan, as a roaring lion, is “seeking someone to devour”.

As I read this passage the other day, I began to wonder about a lion’s roar: when does he roar and why, so I did some research on the subject. I found out that it is the male lions who roar most and have the loudest roar. They usually roar at night when the air is cooler and sound travels farther. And they usually roar for four reasons: 1) to warn the pride of impending danger, 2) to locate members of the pride who may have strayed and gotten lost, 3) to scare away intruders, and 4) to display dominance. Lions do not roar when they attack their prey because they are sneaking up on them and, therefore, want to be as quiet as possible. So, other than warning of danger and locating lost members of the pride, the purpose of the lion’s roar is to frighten and display dominance.

If it is true that lions do not roar when attacking their prey, then I wondered why Peter said that Satan “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (ESV). To try and get a better picture, I further examined the words he used. The word for prowl is the Greek word peripateo which means “to walk, live, conduct your life, behave, or be occupied with. The word, then, is not just referring to strolling or going from one place to another but is used in reference to their behavior or conduct. We use it in the same sense today when we say someone should “walk the talk”: that their behavior should match their words.

Also, the word devour is the Greek word katapino which means “to drink, swallow, destroy, and consume. But it also means “to be overwhelmed”. It is used in 2 Cor. 2:7: “so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow” (ESV emphasis mine). With all this in mind, then, I believe a paraphrase of this verse could be: “Be aware of our enemy Satan for he is occupied with overwhelming us with fright through his roars.”

When Nancy and I were missionaries in Hungary, we lived in the city of Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary. Debrecen is a beautiful city with a large zoo about a mile from our apartment. The zoo housed some lions and on some summer evenings, we could hear the roar of the lions. They say that a lion’s roar can be heard for up to five miles, so you can imagine how loud and clear the roar was for us. I knew that the lions were in a strong enclosure so we didn’t need to fear, but I could imagine how fearful it might be to hear that sound on the African savanna at night.

I also know that it is easy to be overcome with fear when Satan roars. However, I don’t believe Peter was warning the believers because Satan posed a threat. On the contrary, he immediately tells them that they can resist him (1 Peter 5:9). Instead, I believe that he was warning them of Satan’s tactics: that Satan is going to make a lot of noise to attempt to frighten them. But, because Satan was defeated through Jesus’ death and resurrection, all his roaring is just that—a lot of noise! He has no power or authority over God’s people, so he tries to intimidate and display dominance.

In my opinion, in these verses, Peter is giving the believers instructions on how to handle the adversity they are or will face. He tells them to humble themselves under God’s mighty hand (verse 6). In other words, they should place themselves in God’s care because He is bigger than any problem they face, and they don’t need to worry about the problem (verse 7). They should remember that Satan is defeated and all he can do now is make noise to frighten them. Therefore, they don’t have to give in to that fear but can stand against his attacks (verses 8-9). And they can rest assured in the fact that, in the end, God will restore all things in Christ (verse 10). The message Peter gave to the believers facing persecution in Asia is true for us today. No matter what attacks, persecutions, or problems we face we can stand firm in God’s power and care knowing that no matter how loudly Satan roars, we will not fear because we know that God is bigger, and we win in the end.