Evangelical Scholar Defends Authenticity and Authority of Sermon on the Mount
In a three-part lecture series at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Oxford scholar David Wenham made a case to prove the authenticity, relevance, and authority of 'the most famous sermon of all time'
Esteemed evangelical scholar David Wenham challenged "liberal theologians" on the authenticity and authority of the messages of Jesus, during a three-lecture series at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, in Fort Worth, Texas, March 10-11, 2005.
Wenham, an Anglican priest and dean of Oxford University’s Wycliffe Hall, visited Southwestern to take the podium at the annual Huber L. Drumwright lectures, according to the seminary news release.
He delivered three lectures based on the Sermon on the Mount (SOMT), which he called “the most famous sermon of all time,” recorded in Matthew 5-7, Luke 6, and passages of Mark and John.
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According to the seminary's news release, Wenham began his first lecture by arguing against liberal theologians, whom he says "scoff at the authorship, and thus the authority, of the Sermon on the Mount and who deny the sermon’s theological unity with the rest of the New Testament.”
Wenham noted that such scholars, including those from the "Jesus Seminar" - an international debate about the historical Jesus - offer three points to refute the authority of the SOMT. However, he said, all three arguments can be countered with textual evidence within the Book of Matthew.
In the first argument, Wenham denied the liberal viewpoint that the SOMT is merely an extension of the "Jewish law" rather than the teachings of a new "Christian gospel."
According to Wenham, there is a "gospel theme" that runs throughout Matthew. Even the genealogy of Jesus, recorded in the beggining of Matthew, proclaims the gospel message. The genealogy contains a list of names that are presented in three sets of 14 generations, or six sets of seven generations up to the birth of Jesus.
Wenham said that this makes Jesus the “seventh seven,” which is great significance for Jewish readers because “7” was the number that symbolized perfection and completion in the Old Testament.
Thus Matthew’s genealogy presents Jesus “as bringing to completion the story of God’s people,” Wenham said. “Jesus is the one who fulfills God’s promises to Abraham; he is the true king and son of David, and the Savior of the world from sin.”
According to Wenham, Matthew portrays Jesus as more than a "significant religious leader."
“[Jesus] is the one to whom the Old Testament has been pointing, the one to whom the prophets have been looking forward,” Wenham said.
Jesus is not “a super-Pharisee” in Matthew’s gospel, Wenham asserted, but rather “Jesus is bringing God’s wonderful day of new creation. The emphasis is on amazing, powerful, divine intervention. With Jesus, God’s kingdom is coming.”
Though the Sermon on the Mount should not be viewed as “law,” he claimed that this does not mean Jesus was unconcerned about the law.
“Jesus was not in the business of lowering moral standards,” said Wenham. “Exactly the opposite: the kingdom of God brings higher standards, higher than even the ‘scribes and Pharisees,’” as is seen, for example, in Jesus teachings about murder and adultery in the sermon.
“Jesus and his teaching embrace the Old Testament law, but go far beyond it,” said Wenham. "The kingdom of God is about living beautiful, authentic lives, [about] fulfilling the Old Testament law, not undermining it….[The sermon] sets before us the beautiful life that we are called to grow into, with the grace and love of God being the starting point, and, indeed, the ending point.”
In the next series of arguments, Wenham refuted the liberal scholars' claim that the SOMT "does not, for the most part, consist of Jesus’ own words, but rather presents the theological constructs of the gospel writers.”
Wenham argued that the sermon could be both Jesus’ words and Matthew’s theology since Matthew’s theology likely came from his understanding of Jesus’ teaching. Thus, the two should be congruent, he said.
In his final argument, Wenham countered the question of whether the Sermon on the Mount was “relevant righteousness,” or rather a “recipe for despair” due to the seemingly “impossible” and “impractical” demands it makes.
Contrary to what liberals claim, Wenham said that the “sermon presents a practical “Kingdom ethic” that deals with “down-to-earth” issues that all Christians face.”
He used Matthew 5:21-48 as an example to show how Jesus’ teaching presented “righteousness higher than the Ten Commandments, and far higher than the scribes and Pharisees.”
He acknowledged the difficulty of following the sermon in this modern age, but does not doubt that people can lead “kingdom lives.”
“We will fail and need forgiveness, each other and the Holy Spirit to help us lead kingdom lives. But this is what the kingdom of God is all about, changing things and changing us,” he said.
“What seems impossible and impractical becomes possible and practical with the grace of the kingdom of God.”
