Famous sermon on the Mount which inspired Mahatma Gandhi

I present here the Sermon on the Mount by JESUS which was so famous, even Mahatma Gandhi was inspired by these words. Gandhi was so inspired by the principle of JESUS that ‘love reigns supreme’; his Ahimsa principle is derived from this concept of love. It was also said that he loved CHRIST but not Christians because he failed to see the same love in most of the Christians, especially when he faced racial discrimination.
It is easy to tell many good things but to follow the things and then preach is difficult.

In Mathew 5: 19, JESUS says

¹⁹ Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Mahatma Gandhi used the same statement of JESUS many times – If anyone slaps you on your cheek, show him the other cheek also (this statement is underlined for better view of the same in the following passages). See what JESUS said about murder, adultery, oaths, etc

Few lines from the Sermon on the Mount
Mathew 5: 1-11

5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Mathew 5: 21-48

Murder

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’(empty headed) is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵ “Settle matters quickly with your adversary (opponent or enemy) who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Adultery

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Divorce

³¹ “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³² But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Oaths

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ ³⁴ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷ All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Eye for Eye

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth’. ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

JESUS through all these presented the standard of righteousness expected from us by GOD. GOD looks at the intentions of the man's heart and not what his/ her works are. Sadly, no one is able to keep these things in their life, no, not even a single person in this entire world from the beginning of creation of man, till now and even later on. No one is able to cut off the part of their body which is causing them to stumble. Such purity and righteousness can be achieved only with the help of GOD’s love and HIS grace.

A person may attempt to live holy, but what about the DNA of the person which carries sinful hereditary characteristics? How can that be altered? What about the conscience which needs to be changed to acquire the DNA of GOD..? Without change in the inside of a person, it is not possible to enter heaven or kingdom of GOD.

Even the Bible says in Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” and that "There is none righteous, not even one." (Romans 3:10)

The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and everyone is supposed to bear the punishment unless and until someone volunteers to bear the punishment – who doesn’t bear the sinful DNA in his genes and who lives holy and blameless all his life. 

Death is eternal separation from GOD, life is eternal unification with GOD. The death we see here on earth is temporary and after such death the soul of the person either goes to death (eternal punishment) or life (eternal life with GOD). 

For this reason JESUS volunteered and came down to be born in flesh and bone, and bear the punishment of death on behalf of human race. Now, because of HIS sacrifice GOD is willing to redeem us from the punishment and allow us to live with HIM. 

But one has to accept this fact and accept JESUS that HE saved the person from condemnation and death. Then JESUS comes in and starts living in the person through the HOLY SPIRIT to guide the person and help the person live a holy life thus taking the person into eternal life with GOD. It is not possible for a person to live such high standard of righteous living on his/her own or through his/ her own righteousness (this only tends to self righteousness in their own terms and not on GOD’s terms). Without GOD’s help this is impossible to attain.  

In all faiths and beliefs around the world, the principles are the same like do not steal, do not lie, do not commit adultery, etc. The whole difference comes at the level of understanding GOD, knowing GOD, perceiving GOD and identifying GOD more clearly. May GOD bless every person reading this with the right understanding and truth, Amen.

The whole purpose of presenting these truths is only because of the desire that everyone should be saved and no single soul should be lost. I thank GOD for helping me write these, glory be to HIS name alone, amen