Five Surprising Teachings of Jesus

Five Surprising Teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount

How well do you really know the teachings of Jesus? The most famous sermon of Jesus in the Gospels is called “The Sermon on the Mount,” and it contains some pretty surprising lessons that you may not have noticed. Here are just five of them:

#1 - True happiness Doesn’t Come Easy

Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount by outlining the keys to being “blessed,” or truly happy. While many of us seek happiness in success, wealth, popularity, or good health, Jesus instead says we’ll be happy if we are poor in spirit, mourn, are meek, hunger for righteousness, are merciful and clean of heart, and are peacemakers. Most surprisingly, he warns his followers that they will be happy when they are persecuted because of righteousness (Matthew 5:3 – 12). Jesus makes it clear that we will find happiness not by chasing the pleasures of this world, but by seeking God’s kingdom (Matthew 6:33), and it won't always be easy.

#2 - You have to Love Everyone… Including Your Enemies

We all know that Jesus calls us to love, but did you know that Jesus said, “[L]ove your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:43 – 44)? It’s easy to love our friends and family, but what about grumpy coworkers, criminals, or even terrorists? We are called to everyone, because God loves everyone (although he certainly doesn’t always love the things that we do).

#3 - You Must be Perfect like God

We’ve all heard the saying “Nobody’s perfect.” It’s quite startling, then, that Jesus commands us to “be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Jesus definitely isn’t saying that we can be free from all of our faults if we just try hard enough. Instead, we become “perfect” by humbly recognizing our faults, then asking the Lord for his forgiveness and for the strength to live like Jesus. After all, we’d never be able to love everyone like God does without God’s own strength.

#4 - There’s a Treasure You can Take to Heaven

When teaching about prayer, fasting, and charitable giving, Jesus warns that we shouldn’t do good deeds to be seen by others. Instead, he promises three times that God himself will “repay you” for the loving things that you do in secret (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18). You and I will not be able to take a single penny from our savings accounts into heaven, but you really can “store up treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:20) through little things done out of love for God and others.

#5 - The Gate to Heaven is Narrow

Perhaps the most startling teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is when Jesus says, “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:14). Most of us assume that everyone but serial killers will end up in heaven, but Jesus seems to say otherwise. If God loves us, why would he let us go to hell? Because the joy of heaven is friendship with God, which requires that we love him in return. We know from Scripture that God desires everyone to be saved (1 Timothy 3:4), but our hearts are not ready for heaven until we turn away from sin (i.e., the rejection of God and his plan) and accept in faith Jesus’ simple invitation, “Follow me” (Matthew 4:19). With his forgiveness and grace, we can then learn to follow his example of love, which is the narrow road that leads to eternal life.