PEOPLE WERE ASTONISHED - Matthew 7:28
Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Christ has just completed the Sermon on the Mount. In this verse, we are told the response of the people who heard the commands of Christ. We are told that the people were astonished. According to Webster’s 1828 dictionary, astonish means amazed, confounded with fear, surprise, or admiration. The commands of Christ found in the Sermon on the Mount was not what people expected to hear.
In the next verse, we are told that Christ had said these words as one who had authority, and we are also told that he did not speak as the religious leaders of the day. You must understand, the commands of Christ are a radical change from the traditions of their fathers. The Jews have been living their entire life making sure that they were following the traditions and making the right sacrifices at the right time so as to make sure that they pleased God.
All of a sudden, here comes a man speaking with authority telling them that God is more concerned with their heart then HE is with their actions. Their entire focus has been upon what they could do for God so that they can earn HIS good pleasure. Now all of a sudden, here is a man who is telling them that if their heart is not right, God is not pleased with them.
The Sermon on the Mount is really the first major direction from God about how the nation of Israel was to order its life since Moses received the law. While Christ made clear that HE was not here to abolish the law, this new law really was much different from the traditions that the Jews had been following for many years.
The problem with the Jews was not that they were not capable of having a personal relationship with God, the problem was that the Jews were so focused upon the law that they failed to maintain the relationship that God desired to have with HIS people.
David is just one example of an Israelite who had a personal relationship with God. We are told that David had a heart after the heart of God. David understood that HIS relationship with God was the most important thing. Saul on the other hand was focused upon himself and while both David and Saul had sinned, God showed great mercy upon the house of David because of the relationship that David had with God.
The Law of Moses was filled with many things that the Israelites were to do and what they were not to do. Because the nation became so focused upon traditions, they lost sight of God. Christ was concerned about restoring that relationship with God and as such, HE taught us in this passage where the proper focus is to be so that we can live a life pleasing to God.
It is easy to go to church and just do the motions each week. You can wear nice clothing, you can sing the songs, you can close your eyes and hear the prayers, and you can say amen at the appropriate times during the sermon. You can fool a lot of people into believing that you are a good person, but God looks at your heart and your righteousness is as filthy rags.
You must take the time to add knowledge of the ways of God to your life. As you focus your attention upon what God desires you to do, you will learn that God is concerned about your relationship with HIM. Your focus should not be on traditions but on the relationship.