The Promise of the Word (Luke 6:36-42)

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, or you too will be judged. Do not condemn, or you too will be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the log in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

For Christians, the Sermon on the Mount should be regarded as the Mount of Gospel. This is because Christians stand in the position of those who have been forgiven seventy times seven times. From that position, they offer prayers of gratitude for Jesus' forgiveness and petitions for His love to be bestowed upon them.

Is the Sermon on the Mount a book of proverbs for Christians?

The Sermon on the Mount is a teaching about discipleship. It is the teaching Jesus gave when He called His disciples, and it contains guidance on how to live as a disciple, which is why it is called discipleship. The Sermon on the Mount also appears in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus says to turn the other cheek if someone strikes you on the left cheek and to go the extra mile with someone who asks you to walk a mile with them. He also says to be prepared to give not only your outer garment but also your inner garment to someone who asks for it. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells us to be merciful, not to judge, and to forgive instead of condemning. Upon reading the Sermon on the Mount, Christians often feel guilty and fall into deep contemplation because they are sure of their calling as Jesus' disciples but fail to live as one.

The Christian tries to find a solution. Loving one's enemies, not judging, forgiving, and living generously are principles separate from their practice. After establishing these principles, the Christian also creates detailed guidelines for implementation. Loving one's enemies is fundamental, but there are exceptions. Do not judge, but in some cases, it is permissible to judge. Sadly, the principles and rules they establish become a net that binds their body and mind more tightly, rather than setting them free.

Jesus begins with the words, "Do not judge," but Christians who try to follow Jesus' words and live without judgment often fail. They think they must live mercifully because Jesus said to be merciful, they must not judge because He said not to judge, and they must forgive because He said to forgive. If Christians read the Sermon on the Mount in this way, they are bound to fail. Their reading of the Bible becomes merely a collection of beautiful rules and good words. If Jesus only called His disciples, or today's Christians, to sit down and tell them to live this way or that way, could His words pierce their hearts and marrow? When Jesus spoke the Sermon on the Mount, He was about 30 years old. Would not an older adult listening to Him respond by saying, "Young man, live a little more. You don't know the world yet. The world is not as soft as you think, with a carpet laid out!" and instead admonish Him? In a fiercely competitive society with survival of the fittest, wouldn't any modern person say, "No, look at this. I get stepped on if I don't step on others, and you're telling me not to judge? You don't know what you're talking about!"?

From the Sermon on the Mount to the Gospel on the Mount

Now Christians must ask again what the Bible really says. Christians should read the Sermon on the Mount with more open eyes. Christians should read the teachings on the mount not as commands to do or not do, but as the words of revelation in which Jesus proclaims himself. Christians should read the teachings on the mount in Matthew or Luke as Jesus' self-declaration. So, the Sermon on the Mount should be read as the gospel proclaimed on the mount. Christians may think of the Bible as the word of God, but in the details of the Scriptures, they often consider it as ethics or guidelines for behavior rather than God's revelation. When the details of the Sermon on the Mount no longer sound like rules that Christians must practice, but as the words of promise that Jesus will act in such a way, their eyes will be opened, and their hearts will burn just as the disciples who experienced it on the way to Emmaus.

Now Christians, reading verse 36 as the conclusion of loving one's enemies from verse 27, are no longer bound by the principles and rules of becoming merciful. In verse 36, they no longer hear it as a guideline for behavior, but as Jesus' promise to act, not that they should become merciful, but that Jesus will treat them with mercy. It is not about not becoming a judgmental Christian, but about hearing Jesus' promise not to judge them; not about living as a Christian who does not condemn, but about hearing Jesus' promise not to condemn them. The command to forgive is not a principle that Christians should forgive even when they cannot, but it changes into the words of promise that Jesus will forgive them. It is like water turning into wine. The first miracle of Jesus at the wedding in Cana still comes to Christians today as the first miracle. This is the experience of Christians realizing that the Bible is not a moral teacher, opening their eyes and ears, and making their whole body shudder with the miracle.

The Prayer of the Forgiven Christian

Peter asks Jesus, "Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answers, "You should forgive not just seven times, but seventy times seven." How can a human like Peter, who struggles to forgive even seven times, possibly forgive seventy times seven? The forgiveness that Jesus speaks of is not something Peter can accomplish on his own.

Christians must clearly understand the roles when reading Peter's question about forgiveness. Jesus should be the subject, and Peter should be the object. Peter is not the one who forgives, but rather the one who needs to be forgiven. Therefore, Jesus is the one who forgives, and Peter must receive forgiveness seventy times seven times. Today's Christians who read the dialogue between Jesus and Peter must decide whether they will insist on being the subject or accept their place as the object.

Contemporary Christians should humbly stand in Peter's place, as those who need to receive forgiveness seventy times seven times. Christians may live in conflict with others, even their own family, but it is crucial to realize that there is still someone who loves them. Blessed are the Christians who listen to Jesus' promise to remove the speck from their eye, and who read the Bible with such ears. These ears are the blessed ones who can truly hear the Beatitudes that begin with "Blessed are!" Nevertheless, if Christians still believe that they can and must carry out Jesus' words, they are like the blind leading the blind. How can they not experience inner conflict when they think they must do something they cannot?

So, are there no ethical guidelines left for Christians? The Bible recommends only one thing: prayer. The only thing that a Christian who has been forgiven seventy times seven times can do is offer a prayer of thanksgiving. It is said that people who have received a lot of love and those who have not are different. Parents want their children to marry someone who has been raised with a lot of love. They try to discern how bright and warm the person their child meets is by looking at their parents. This is because of the experience that people who have received a lot of love know how to care for and love others. It is because of the life experience that those who have received abundant love also love their children, family, and neighbors.

This is where the content of the Christian's prayer is determined. "Lord, love me, but love me abundantly." A Christian must receive Jesus' love, which forgives them seventy times seven times, so that His love overflows in them. Only then can they truly love not only themselves but also their neighbors. The bucket of love that a Christian has must be filled to the brim and overflow so that the excess love can flow to their neighbors. To put it more actively and positively, the more a Christian's prayer for love from Jesus is answered, the deeper their understanding, mercy, and forgiveness towards their neighbors become.