This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Sermon on the Mount” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, November 4, 1990.

This morning we are reading once more from Matthew’s Gospel, the seventh chapter. We begin our reading with verse 7. Hear the word of God. I ask and it shall be given you. seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. For what man is there of you, whom, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do for you, do ye even so for them.

For this is the law and the prophets. Enter ye in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Ye shall know them by their fruits, Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by their fruits ye shall know them.

Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, that he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity.”

Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which build his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock.” And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand, and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell. And great was the fall of it. And it came to pass, when Jesus had entered these sayings, that people were astonished at his doctrine, for he taught them as one having authority. and not as described.

Lord, our hearts would rush to you and to your word. The world is filled with the words of men, and Father, it is true that we have even contributed to the confusion that exists. But you are the Lord of light, and by your Spirit illumination comes. And Lord, we would have your word and we would be filled, Lord, with that meat from the word that then shall sustain us. We pray, our God, that we would be filled with a zeal to know the things that you are revealing to your people. This we ask in Jesus’ name.

Amen. not in a simple literary and rhetorical point of view. This latter section of the Sermon on the Mount, the section which we have read this morning, is a pure masterpiece. The movement in these verses is amazing in itself. quickening the pulse, exciting the vision.

This section moves from the most magnanimous, that is, the most generous invitation. Note how it begins, verse 7. Ask, seek, knock. It moves from the most generous invitation to the deepest and most serious of warnings and challenges. On that level alone, it is sermonic in the very best sense. It is sermon giving. It is sermonizing at its best. But note also the movement in this regard.

As we are carried along by these verses, we are carried from the general application to the whole of that community Jesus organizes around himself, to the narrow application to shepherds that would arise within that community, then back once more to the broadest of applications, that is, to the community as a whole in the concluding remarks. You start out with the broad invitation, ask, seek, knock. In the middle of these verses, things are narrowed down to an address with respect to false prophets being on your guard, those who would pretend to shepherd. And then you broaden out at the end, where there is a statement with regard to the wise man and the foolish man, generally applicable to all in the community of Christ.

There is, therefore, here something of an hourglass configuration to this entire section. You start out wide, you narrow down at the middle, and you end up wide at the conclusion. When we also have the interlocking effect of Jesus’ statements as he moves from section to section within this portion, you’ll notice it. You’ll note particularly how a certain feature introduces the next section for consideration. As an example of that, note how you move from the twentieth verse to the twenty-first. The sections respectively in view there are verses 15 through 20 and then 21 through 23.

The focus of 15 through 20 is the false prophets or the false shepherds. That’s a very narrow consideration. In view, specifically, are those who are called to gospel ministry. And that theme is carried on, then, in verses 21 through 23, because you have there specific mention made by Jesus of those who prophesied, those who cast out demons, those who performed miracles in his name.

In other words, The theme is carried through as you move to those latter verses, verses twenty one through twenty three. Yet, at the same time, in the midst of those verses, twenty one through twenty three, you’re prepared for what comes in verses twenty four through twenty seven. The general consideration so that you’re not able to say that Jesus’ concern in verses 21 through 23 is the shepherds or the ordained ministry alone.

No, there’s general application there that carries you on to the next section. The note is struck in the twenty-first verse. He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven shall enter the kingdom of heaven.” That’s a general statement, you see. It pertains not just to shepherds, but to sheep.

There is the interlocking effect that Jesus uses as he moves from paragraph to paragraph, from consideration to consideration. You’ll note how that powerful conclusion of the very first section in the segment of the Sermon on the Mount, the section that began with verse 7 ended in verse 12. You’ll note how the powerful conclusion of that first section, namely verse 12, dominates the exposition of every section that follows. It’s as if you can’t properly understand any of what Jesus is saying, anything of what Jesus is saying, unless you keep in mind that twelfth verse or that which has been called the Golden Rule. So you keep that in hand as you move through the remaining verses to the conclusion of Jesus’ message here. As if to say, there will be an exposition now for you of what that golden rule means. Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do for them. For this is the law and the prophets. I will have something more to say about that in a little bit.

But let’s keep in mind now the literary and rhetorical features, the structural considerations, as we look at this gem from Holy Scripture. We have Jesus’ abundant use of images. What grand language he uses, that my language was his grant that I had at the tip of my tongue the images and the imagery that Jesus so wonderfully and so easily uses. Images of inquiry, search, doors to be opened images of loaves of bread and fish of stones and serpents, images of gifts given and received, gates and roads and cities, destinations, images of sheep and wolves and grapes and thorns, figs and thistles, trees and fruit, houses, rocks, sand, rain, floods and wind, images of permanence, images of dissolution and collapse, images of confirmation and judgment. Rich, powerful images.

And also, the power of the section. As you move from that marvelously encouraging invitation to ask, seek, and knock, to that devastating concluding line with respect to the house built on the sand that fell, there’s drama There’s drama abounding in merely observing the movement as you press on to that concluding remark from Jesus. And great was the fall thereof. Well, if you’re into literature, If you’re into rhetoric, on those rebels alone, you’re dealing with a masterpiece here. Note one other thing in this regard.

As Jesus presses on to his conclusion, we hear him set in antinomy, that he is over against one another. the two ways, the two points of view, the two worldviews. There only are two ways. There is not a multiplicity of ways. There are only two. And as Jesus pushes on to the conclusion of his message, he is setting out so clearly the antinomy that exists between those two points of view in a series of contrasting couplets. He warns and challenges his hearers with the contrasts that exist between the two gates. There only are two gates, no more.

The two ways, there are only two ways. The two trees. There are only two types of trees. The good and the bad. And finally, there are only two foundations. Either it’s Christ’s word or it is not. There are only two kinds of houses. those that are built upon Christ’s word and those that are not.

So you see, what Jesus has to say, so powerfully worked out in a wonderful literary and rhetorical scheme, There we are face to face with the rich and beautiful, deep, compelling, integrated and dynamic aspects of this message that comes from our Lord. I’ll take a drink to indicate that I’m going on to the next point now. But what if all we see there are literary features? A rhetorical scheme used very well, marvelously, by Jesus. marvelous features that we take note of and truly enrich our appreciation for the Word of God, as helpful and as interesting as they may be, of relative value.

Tragically, one of the unfortunate facts of modern biblical interpretation and Most of those who have ventured into the seminary and theological world of our time have found this to be true. One of the unfortunate facts of modern biblical interpretation is that it seems to exhaust itself, nearly exhaust itself, with these peripheral or relative concerns. The preoccupation with literary framework, endless detailed analysis of the facts of verbal, linguistic structure. And where it isn’t linguistic and literary, the interests veer off in the direction of sociological, if not psychological, analysis. that all of these matters end up on the periphery. They are of relative value. And in many respects, a lot of what is said is purely speculative and not helpful, truly. We then must push on.

We’re appreciative of the literature, are we not? We’re appreciative of the rhetoric of Christ, but we press on to the heart and substance of Jesus’ words, his message. And what is his message? What is the message that is dressed up so nicely with these literary and rhetorical considerations? Here is the message.

The new day has come. The new day is here. The day the prophets longed for, looked for, it has arrived. The kingdom of heaven has dawned. The new day of the kingdom of heaven has come, and this new day means the unprecedented access to the Father in heaven. Never before has He been accessible as He is now. He hasn’t even been known as He is now. And that knowledge of Him mediated through the Son who has come to reveal Him. The new day has come.

Therefore, ask, seek, knock. The invitation is open, and you will find the Father wonderfully willing to give you what you need. Now, hear this note now. this great and all-important note in what Jesus has to say. This new day of access to the Father has a reciprocal effect upon you. That’s the force of verse 12 and the golden rule. Yes, God is accessible, the Father is accessible as never before, for the kingdom of heaven has dawned. But that being true, the reciprocal effect is this. Never before have you been as accessible. Let’s read that twelfth verse again, keeping that in mind.

Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you when you ask of them, do for them when they ask of you. You ask of God and you receive. But now, in this new day of access, in which the initiative of the Father in the Son actually determines the life of those who belong to the kingdom. Others will ask of you and they will receive as never before.

The very heart of the message, then, that Jesus has for the people in light of this unprecedented day of the dawning of the kingdom of heaven, regards giving and receiving, offering, expending of oneself that others may have and be benefited. That’s the heart of it. That’s the law and the prophets. And this reciprocal character of the kingdom now becomes that small gate and that narrow way by which we are then entering into life, that is, into the fullness of the heavenly kingdom. You can’t get in without it.

If you are not being conformed to the image of the Father who gives of Himself to you, you will not enter. It is this reciprocal character of the kingdom, then, that is ultimately lacking what is absent from those would-be guides or shepherds called false prophets, in verse 15, who, after all, are nothing more than wolves. These folk are sheep eaters, not sheep feeders. They cannot give after the similitude of God’s giving in Christ. They cannot give in the kingdom sense of giving because they have never been gripped by the kingdom.

They love the world. They are bad trees. bearing bad fruit. Watch out for them. They cannot give up themselves as God has surrendered himself in Christ. They are strangers to suffering. Their gospel contains no cross. And what cross they do speak of is merely image, form, symbol, nothing more.

This reciprocal character of the kingdom, It scrutinizes, that is, judges ministers claiming to know Jesus, to have prophesied, cast out demons, performed wonders in His name. It scrutinizes and judges all of them. Therefore, when you read in that twenty-first verse about entering the kingdom of heaven about that one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. When you read of that individual, you are reading about the one in whom the reciprocal character of the kingdom is manifest. The one who has learned by root of the opening up of heaven, by the revelation of the Father in heaven, by an intimate acquaintance with Jesus Christ, how to give of himself to the uttermost. cross-like, even unto death. These alone gain access to the fullness of the kingdom, those in whom Jesus recognizes And also, as we come to verses 24 through 27, and Jesus takes up this matter of hearing him and doing what he says, once more he’s specifically the reciprocal character of the kingdom that is in view.

Those who hear Jesus and do what he says will endure, they will endure. They will endure as houses anchored in, built upon the rock, even though rains and floods and winds assault, even though apocalyptic upheaval comes and the dissolution of the elements arrives. They will endure. Those who have learned to give as they have been given unto. Those who have learned to give like God gives in Christ. But those who either reject those who hear but don’t obey. These are houses built on sand, incapable of standing when the storm of God’s final judgment strikes.

But having said this, We have to say a little bit more. I have to take another drink. Even grabbing things now at that level where we see the reciprocal character of the kingdom tied up in that twelfth verse and then working itself out to the whole. Even grasping things at that level, we have not satisfied entirely Jesus’ intent.

Is it not plain, as we come to the conclusion of this sermon from Jesus, is it not plain to us just how central he himself is to the whole matter? Certainly, this should be clear to us from verses 21 through 23, as well as these concluding verses 24 through 27. Note the way in which Jesus speaks. He is bold to speak of himself in the first instance, that is, in verses 21 through 23, as the judge.

Many will say to me in that day, what day is it? It’s the day of judgment. What are these confessions that are being made, these protestations that are offered? The protestations that are offered in light of the day of the Lord, the coming judgment, and who is sitting on the throne, who is making decision in that day?

Jesus is the one. He is the judge, he is alive, he is exalted, he is sitting on the throne. And the day of judgment approaches. But note what he says in verses 24 through 27. The image shifts a bit there. For now, Jesus portrays himself to be the primary, the exalted source of all divine wisdom. You have to listen to me. It’s my word. No one else’s. My word, and my word alone. And you are obliged to obey me for wisdom, primarily. in an exalted sense, resides in me alone. But if we are going to grasp the great significance of his words here, we must see that it is he who is cloaked, hidden within the very words of the sermon itself.

He, Jesus Christ, The one who speaks in his person is the veritable appearance of the kingdom of God in the flesh. Jesus on one occasion will say to his detractors, if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

He is the living testimony to the guarantees of that kingdom, for he asked and received, he sought and found, he not, it was open to him. He is the embodiment of the golden rule in the gift of himself upon the cross. He gives that others may be profited and benefited.

He is the gate He is the way. He is the door. He is the truth. He is the life. He is the good shepherd who stands over against all false prophets and false shepherds. He is the one who gives his life for his sheep. He is the Son of God who perfectly does the will of His Father who is in heaven. He is the rock. He is the stone rejected by men, but made most important of all by the activity of God, transformed into a house, into a temple, His body being raised on the third day as the new temple of God. And we are His house, His body, His temple.

If we abide in him, and if we abide in him, we will reside in that one edifice of all the edifices of the world that is given this promise. The goats of hell shall not prevail against her. You don’t walk through the Sermon on the Mount without grabbing hold of the Christ himself in all of his glory, in all of his matchless might and wonder and righteousness. So that as you come to perform the least of deeds in his name, You do it in and from Him alone. In Him is life for all who trust and obey.

Let’s pray. O Lord, we ask you now that we might be gripped by more than literary and rhetorical features. And Lord, we pray that it may be true that we are gripped by even more than the dawning of the kingdom of heaven in Christ. May we be gripped by him and all that he is. But even in our response to a passage like this, we may be found to be willing and obedient servants of the Jesus we love. Your Son, Lord, do bless us, for we would build our house upon the rock. and seeth stand in the day of judgment.

The sermon text provided above is derived from the sermon audio recording making use of generative tools. It has not been manually edited. While transcription tools have a high degree of accuracy, the output may include generative textual, punctuation, and/or formatting errors.