Sermon on the Mount - a picture of eschaton

In my own reading of the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7) many times before it's never occurred to me that this particular passage could be viewed as a picture of eschaton (about end-time.)

I, like most people, generally assume Jesus’ discourse on the Mount is a radical call to his followers for entering the kingdom of God. It’s a sermon on radical discipleship. Its message was beyond the comprehension of its hearers. It went against all norms and worldly teachings.

Jesus began his discourse with “You’ve heard that it was said…..But I tell you.…” in almost every first sentence of the paragraph. All the stuff he spoke about in his discourse is not even easy for “faithful” Christians to follow suit. When common people (non-believers) read of such extreme instruction like “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (5:44),” they would think it is a senseless world.

However, to the Anabaptists, not only they won’t think of the world is senseless, they see it as a kingdom about to come, which motivates many of them to live and act out in anticipation of the coming. They see that the Sermon is not just about how to be a better individual Christian. It is a picture of how a church (the faith community) is to look. To them,

“It is an inauguration manifesto of how the world is supposed to look with Christ ushered in God’s kingdom. “

“It is about Jesus’ invitation to all people to become citizens of a new kingdom, a messianic community, where God is creating a new world.”

“The Sermon is eschatological, it concerns with the end of things – the final direction toward which God is moving the world.”

Anabaptists’ theology believes that when the people have that picture and know where God is directing them, then the church would know where it supposes to head its way. The rationale–we can only act within a world which we can see. If you see the picture depicted in the Sermon on the Mount, and it is the picture of the future, now you will have to start to live out that picture.

So do you see that picture?