Teaching that Reveals (Matthew 7:28–29)
Throughout our journey in the Sermon on the Mount, nine preachers have delivered thirty sermons totalling approximately fourteen hours of teaching. With an average of thirteen hours of preparation per sermon, this represented 390 hours of careful study and preparation. While we did our best to reveal who Jesus is through his teaching, our efforts fall far short of how Jesus revealed himself through his own words.
Jesus’ teaching was not merely countercultural—it was profoundly revelatory. It unveiled his divine authority, and his rich instruction revealed his true identity.
From the beatitudes, we learned that believers are blessed when they pursue these beautiful attitudes. However, we can only pursue such attitudes if we are among the blessed—those saved by grace alone. Believers can live this countercultural life only when they truly see who Jesus is.
Through his teaching, Jesus instructed his disciples about the nature of true faith. He challenged the Pharisees and their works-based interpretation of the law. He also warned those who would hear his words but fail to act upon them.
What Did the Teaching Reveal?
The teaching in the Sermon reveals several things.
The Teacher’s Authority
The Sermon on the Mount reveals both the law and its proper application, but these final two verses reveal something far more significant: the Teacher himself. “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (vv. 28-29). It becomes all too easy to view the Sermon on the Mount as merely another moral checklist while forgetting the one who delivered it.
The crowd likely viewed Jesus as simply another rabbi or teacher to follow. We observe no recorded professions of faith or discipleship following this sermon. Perhaps they saw it as just another set of rules from a different teacher. However, there exists a crucial distinction: The Pharisees taught by authority—authority that had been handed down to them—while Jesus taught withauthority. He spoke as God himself.
Matthew intentionally crafted these verses to emphasise the preacher’s identity. When we examine the text carefully, the answer becomes unmistakable: Jesus’ teaching revealed his divine authority. We must be more captivated by the Teacher than by the teaching itself. When this occurs, we will not only obey what the Teacher instructs but will desire to follow his teachings out of wonder and reverence for him.
The Great “I AM”
Who is this teacher, Jesus? He is the great “I AM.” In John 8, Jesus declared that those obedient to his word would never see death. When the Jews objected, Jesus responded:
If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, “He is our God.” But you have not known him. I know him. If I were to say that I do not know him, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him, and I keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.
The Jews challenged him: “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?” Jesus answered them: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM” (vv. 57–58).
Jesus proclaimed to everyone that he existed before all things, even before Abraham, a towering figure in their understanding. Jesus is God, who spoke everything into existence, and Abraham rejoiced in this knowledge.
The Same Lawgiver
The law Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount is the very same law he gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, recorded in Exodus 19–20. In those chapters, God called Moses up the mountain to receive the law—a law designed to help people restore and maintain their relationship with Almighty God. God commanded the people to consecrate themselves and stay away from the mountain because of his holy presence. Lightning, wind, and smoke engulfed the mountain as he gave the law to one mediator: Moses. Even after receiving the law, the people could not keep it perfectly, necessitating animal sacrifices.
Now Jesus—God himself, the great “I AM”—brings the law directly to the people. In Exodus, God told the people to keep their distance while he gave the law to one man. Now Jesus brings the law to the people again, but with a different message: “Come to me, you can approach, because I am the law, and I am also the Mediator.” He is the one who enables people to approach God Almighty. He also came to be the sacrifice, making it possible for them to fulfil the law’s requirements.
The law now dwells among the people. Jesus enables his people to follow the law out of thanksgiving and praise rather than mere obligation. Jesus fulfilled the law completely—he is the living embodiment of the Sermon on the Mount. Having fulfilled it perfectly, he enables his people to do likewise.
Jesus’ authority cannot be separated from his teaching. He might say: “You ask why you should pay attention to the Sermon on the Mount? My answer is simple: the same God who delivered it to Moses with thunder, fire, and wind is the same God now bringing the Sermon on the Mount to you.” It is the same law Moses received, given by the same divine Teacher, and it can only be fulfilled through the same sacrifice—Jesus himself.
Authority Originates from the Teacher
The authority of the Sermon on the Mount flows directly from the Teacher’s identity. If the Teacher possesses ultimate authority, his teaching carries that same authority. Every aspect of the Sermon on the Mount should direct us to Jesus and his true nature. He is the Son of God, the only one who can save us and enable us to obey this sermon. When we are saved, Jesus empowers us through his Spirit to build upon the rock—himself. He is the truth and the life.
Only the Word Saves
These verses reveal that only the word can save—nothing else—because of who the teacher is. Only the word reveals Jesus’ true identity, and nothing else can rescue us from destruction. Even if someone could perfectly fulfil every requirement in the Sermon on the Mount, they would still not be saved. Salvation comes only through knowing Jesus the Word, the great “I AM.”
Jesus did not preach the Sermon on the Mount merely to establish another legal code. He was not simply offering life lessons for moral living. The Sermon on the Mount presents even greater challenges than the Mosaic Law. Through it, Jesus definitively condemns human efforts to earn salvation or inherit God’s kingdom through works. No one is perfect enough to stand in God’s presence through their own merit. No one is righteous apart from God.
The law points us to the “I AM.” As Paul writes in Romans 2:12–13: “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” Then in Romans 7:7: “What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.”
The sermon directs us to Jesus as our only Saviour, showing us our need for spiritual rebirth. The Sermon points us to Jesus, who came to save us—not making us perfectly sinless, but enabling us to become salt and light as we live out the Sermon on the Mount in his power. This is why the Sermon begins with the beatitudes, declaring us blessed and happy. We have both the privilege and the power to do what the “I AM” instructs us to do.
The People’s Astonishment
These verses also reveal the crowd’s astonishment, a reaction that can manifest in three distinct ways.
First, some were astonished and provoked, responding with anger toward Jesus. We see this reaction in John 8 when they challenged him: “Who do you think you are?”
Second, some were astonished and desired more of what Jesus could provide physically—miracles, political freedom, or other temporal benefits.
Third, some were astonished and humbled into submission, choosing to follow Jesus because they recognised through his teaching who he truly is—God himself.
This clarifies Jesus’ statement in 7:14: “Few will find the narrow path to life.” Only a small number of those listening to Jesus would be saved through his teaching, because only a few would recognise him for what his teaching revealed—the great “I AM.”
Which response describes you? Does hearing God’s word preached make you drowsy or angry? Does it make you self-focused, wanting Jesus only for what he can give you? Or does hearing the word preached ignite a desire to live and die for Jesus? You can embody only one of these responses.
Conclusion
We hear Pilate’s question to Jesus: “So you are a king?” Jesus answered: “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born, and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate responded: “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38).
After thirty sermons and fourteen and a half hours of preaching through the Sermon on the Mount, what has been revealed to you? How will you respond to what the Great “I AM” has proclaimed? Do you understand what truth is? Will you listen to the greatest preacher who ever lived—Jesus Christ?
The choice before you is clear: Will you see Jesus merely as another teacher offering moral instruction, or will you recognise him as the divine “I AM” who alone can save you and transform your life? Your response to this question will determine not only how you live but where you will spend eternity.
AMEN