Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 85:1 (Spring 2023)
Article: The Homiletic Design Of The Sermon On The Mount
Author: Steven J. Carter

WTJ 85:1 (Spring 2023) p. 39

The Homiletic Design Of The Sermon On The Mount

Steven J. Carter

Steven J. Carter is Dean of Students at Westminster Theological Seminary.

I. An Interpretive Disconnect

Matthew’s conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount is a vivid account of the Sermon’s impression on those who heard it: “The crowds were astonished at his teaching.”1 Matthew uses the same word, ἐξεπλήσσοντο, for the disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ later statement that it is very difficult, even humanly impossible, for a rich man to be saved (Matt 19:25). On the latter occasion, the astonishment may have included an element of disappointment, confusion, or even fear. But typically, the NT uses this word to express astonishment that is overwhelmingly positive. For example, after casting out an unclean spirit and healing a boy, Luke reports the reaction by those who were witnesses: “And all were astonished [ἐξεπλήσσοντο] at the majesty of God.… They were all marveling at everything he was doing.”2 It was this exhilarating sense of the majesty of God that came from hearing the Sermon on the Mount. Those who heard it must have gone away wanting more. This was an address that gripped the hearers, that caught and kept their attention, and left them sensing they would not be the same after what they had heard.

Such an address must have been well crafted. One would expect it to have a clear and controlling main point. It would have progressed with recognizable transitions and the development of thought that reached a conclusion with satisfying resolution. At least one commentator on the Sermon on the Mount makes this assumption a gateway for interpretation: “As in all sermons worthy of the name, there are divisions, there is development, and the message reaches a grand climax. It makes a point.”3

With such a clear starting point readily available, it is disappointing that so many studies of the Sermon on the Mount have failed to achieve even the limited goal of discovering a logical structure for the Sermon. One would think

WTJ 85:1 (Spring 2023) p. 40

this a more reasonable expectation than the more ambitious goal of reaching a consensus on the Sermon’s main themes. But this is what awaits those who explore the history of research on the Sermon’s structure:

There are almost as many outlines of the Sermon on the Mount as there are commentaries on it.… In view of the widespread disagr...