Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount part two

Jesus taught His disciples, but He allowed the multitude to overhear His sermon. He addressed His disciples, except for Judas Iscariot, as His children destined for heaven. He demonstrated in verse 19 that His disciples can be imperfect and still get to heaven. This revelation also comports with what He taught in Matthew 21:32. The difference between the hell bound and the heaven bound is that the former practice excessive pride in that they refuse to come out of the darkness to the Light while the later humble themselves to God and admit that they are weak sinners in need of God's mercy and grace. Luke 18:9-14; John 3:17-21.

At times, Jesus directed His sermon more to the multitude than to His disciples. In verse 4, Jesus taught that anyone who has ever mourned will be comforted. In verse 5, He taught that the meek will inherit the earth. In verse 9, Jesus seemed to address both His disciples and the multitude when He taught that the peacemakers would be called the children of God. Clearly, Jesus addressed two different types of children of God in His sermon, those who would inherit the earth and those who would inherit heaven. In Revelation 21:3-5, God describes His recreated people who will inherit the earth. God will strip them of all excessive pride; they will be comforted, and they will live together in perfect peace and harmony forever.

In verses 38-47, Jesus taught again about the impossibility of man to make himself good enough to get to heaven. Jesus is the only person who ever completely loved His enemies to the extent of dying for them on the cross. Jesus went the extra mile when He carried His cross to Calvary. Jesus is the only person who gave His life to save all mankind. Jesus died for the imperfect, but He also revealed in verse 48 that one had to be as perfect as His Father to get to heaven. Clearly, Jesus meant that He would be the perfection for all who would humble themselves to Him, repent, and put their faith in His ability to save them and take them to heaven. But for all those whom God does not bring to heaven, He will recover all His goodness that He ever put into them and use it to recreate a new human race to live on His new earth. God will also consign all total evil within man to the lake of fire forever. Colossians 1:15-20; Revelation 21:1-5; Revelation 21:8.