Leaving the examination of opinions, we turn our attention to that which is more

profitable, viz., the testimony of the Word itself.

The BEATITUDES, with which the Sermon on the Mount opens, contain the key

thought, and if we do not find the key here we shall miss our way through the remainder

of the passage. That key word is REWARD. Verse 12 sums up all that is said under

varying aspects in verses 3-11:--

The literary structure now comes to our aid by expanding this idea of reward. In

chapter 6: the reward which the hypocrite receives now is set over against the reward

which shall be given by the Lord at His coming. Almsgiving must not be done to be seen

of men, otherwise there will be no reward from the Father in heaven. Those who give

alms as the hypocrites do have their reward. The same thing is said of prayer and of

fasting. There is a present reward given by mortal man, or there is a future reward to be

given openly by the Father, and the section reaches its climax in the words, "Ye cannot

serve God and Mammon" (6: 24).

The second feature of this Sermon on the Mount, and one which expands and

expounds the character of the reward, is the emphasis upon ENTRY INTO THE

KINGDOM. Unless the righteousness of those addressed exceeded that of the Scribes

and Pharisees, the Lord said they should in no case enter the kingdom of heaven. In the

conclusion of the Sermon He says, "Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall

enter into the Kingdom of Heaven" (7: 21), and a little earlier He gives the exhortation

to enter in at the strait gate (7: 13). Suffering now, with the reward of the Father and

entry into the kingdom as a future compensation, is held out by the Lord to those who

possessed certain qualities which are summed up in 5: 48, "Be ye therefore PERFECT".

Our previous studies under the titles of "The Hope and the Prize" and the "Epistles to

the Hebrews" will have prepared us to see the fitness of associating reward, and entry

into the kingdom, with perfection.

The structure places the "wise man" in

correspondence with the perfect, which further emphasizes and illuminates the great

theme. This we shall see the better when we deal with the Sermon in the light of the

whole Gospels. There remain the references to the Law and the Prophets, and the sayings

of the Lord Himself. The authority of the Law and the Prophets is upheld and enforced,

while a deeper and more spiritual apprehension of their teaching is required of those who

would enter the kingdom. We can now appreciate the main outline of the Sermon on the