When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching,And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching:
6 sermons cite this verse
… The rain came down, the streams rose, the winds blew. and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. Verse 28, when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority and not as their teachers of the law. Before we dive too deeply into this text, I want to take a look at verse 28 and 29, and that is the reality. Keep in mind, they're amazed at the whole teaching, the whole Sermon on the Mount from Matthew chapter 5 to Matthew chapter 7. And they're like, whoa, something is different about this guy when he talks. Now you and I are like, yeah, it's because it's Jesus. But keep in mind, this is the crowd pre-death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So to them at this point, he's just another teacher of the scriptures, but they had heard other teachers of the scriptures talk before. And when they did, they'd say things like the scripture says, the Torah says, AKA they taught off of borrowed authority, but Jesus doesn't need to borrow authority. Jesus is the final authority. His words are the very bedrock to life itself, which begs an important question for us today. …
… Listen as if you've never heard it before. It's recorded in Matthew chapter 7, verses 24 through 29. I'll be reading it from the New Living Translation. Matthew chapter 7, verse 24 begins, Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise. like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching. For he taught with real authority, quite unlike their teachers of religious law. Few things are more memorable than a good story. It's funny, we can forget the details of information and data that has to do with the abstract, but somehow our minds never fully release a great story. …
… Would that all sermons ended like this. The result was when Jesus had finished these words, the multitudes were amazed at his teachings, He was teaching them as one having authority and not as a scribe. He wasn't just rehearsing theology. He was talking truth and was living it. And they sat on that mountainside and they were amazed. You know why? Because so few lived what they taught. Nothing turns you off with a teacher like knowing that teacher isn't living what he's saying or what she's saying. See, this golden rule puts steel in your message. It backs up words with a model. And there isn't a skeptic on earth that can deny the model. He may argue circles around your logic and your theology, but he can't deny the fact that you're different. You don't rip him off. you don't hold a grudge you don't seek your own glory you're not looking to win the argument he can't figure that out you're so different i put it down in a little simple step-by-step process here it goes when i think about carrying out the golden rule i i begin on this step first i think about a sticky situation most of us are in a little sticky situation in our lives and so i i envision the sticky situation that hasn't been solved hasn't been resolved second step rather than trying to find a rule to follow i engage my imagination now follow this i'm in a sticky situation and it isn't working out, it hasn't worked out, …
… He was direct to the point, black and white, sometimes offensive, many times offensive. When he gave the Sermon on the Mount, it says, when he had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Very similar to what we read here. Now, remember back to that Sermon on the Mount. The reason they were so astonished is because he said things like, you have heard that it was said to those of old, such and such, but I say unto you. Very authoritative. I've always loved that part in John 7 when the leaders in Jerusalem commissioned a group of guys to go arrest Jesus. And so they go out, find Jesus, and they come back without Jesus. And the leaders go, so what's up? I mean, you had one job to get Jesus and bring him here. And all they could say back was, never a man spoke like this man. He spoke with authority. …
… You'll see why I call it a foundational scripture in just a moment. Matthew chapter 7, verses 24 through 29, to be specific. Full disclosure, I was not ready to preach yet. I got a phone call from our chief of staff here at the church who said, if we want to preach, it's going to need to be tomorrow. It might not be safe, or we might not be able to do it after that. and so i told the lord i'm not ready to preach you and i both know that i had set aside the next few days to study and uh lord since you do rule the universe could you move the weather that's going to be bad to the days where we're not gathering in your name like are we not on the same team here of course i understand that there are far more pressing issues to the Lord than when my study day is, but I was praying like that. And he gave me my message title while I was praying about my message. And the title that I want to use for this message, and actually I want you to say it to your neighbor, look at him and say, you are more ready than you recognize. …
… and maybe underline this phrase in verse 28 because it's the same phrase you're going to see five different times. Matthew chapter 7 verse 28. First phrase beginning of this verse. When Jesus had finished saying these things. So Matthew gives some closure there, okay? He finished saying these things and he goes on. The crowds were amazed. He taught as one who had authority, not as their teacher of the law, and he came down from the mountainside. He gives closure when Jesus had finished teaching them these things. Okay, that's number one. Let's go to number two. Turn over to Matthew chapter 10. Look at Matthew chapter 10. Again, we're going to see him pulling his disciples together, the disciples surrounding Jesus for some teaching and instruction. Verse 1, chapter 10, he called his 12 disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the 12 apostles. He lists their names and then it says in verse 5, these 12, Jesus sent out with the following instructions. …