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gives the laws of the kingdom when set up. We feel, from the standpoint of
interpretation, that both these conceptions are wrong, for the former assumes the kingdom
of heaven to be the church and the latter assumes that the great Messianic kingdom is one
of suffering and loss, whereas the prophets maintained that it would be the time when
Christ should reign gloriously as the Son of David:
"In His days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the
moon endureth" (Psa. 72: 7),
and so many are the growing O.T. descriptions of this kingdom, both spiritually and
temporally along these lines, that there is no need to quote them.
The two great key thoughts of the Sermon on the Mount, and in fact the whole Gospel,
are reward and entry into the kingdom. The Sermon is giving us the qualities of those
who are permitted to enter and those who will be shut out.
We will now give the outline of the section before us:
A | 5: 1-16. Reward.
B | 5: 17. The Law and the Prophets.
C | 5: 19, 20. Entry into the kingdom.
D | 5: 21-44. But I say unto you.
E | 5: 45-48. The Perfect (spiritually mature).
A | 6: 1 - 7: 11. Reward.
B | 7: 12. The Law and the Prophets.
C | 7: 13-23. Entry into the kingdom.
D | 7: 24-29. These sayings of Mine.
E | 7: 24. The Wise.
The word for `enter' or `go into' occurs no less than 35 times in the Gospel of
Matthew. Five of these occurrences are found in the Sermon on the Mount. The word is
eiserchomai:
". . . . . except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (5: 20).
". . . . . when thou prayest, enter into thy closet . . . . ." (6: 6).
"Enter ye in at the strait gate . . . . . broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and
many there be which go in thereat" (7: 13).
"Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of
heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father . . . . ." (7: 21).
It is clear that conditions for getting into this kingdom are severe, and bear in mind
that the whole sermon is addressed primarily to the disciples, saved men who had been
"born again" by believing in Christ. This will no doubt cause problems, but Scriptural
problems are meant to be faced, and must be faced if we want truth.
Other references in this Gospel which bear directly on the kingdom are the following: