The

Story of God

Bible Commentary

SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Scot McKnight

Tremper Longman III & Scot McKnight

General Editors

ZONDERVAN

Sermon on the Mount

Copyright © 2013 by Scot McKnight

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

McKnight, Scot.

The Sermon on the mount / Scot McKnight.

p. cm. —(Story of God Bible commentary; 21)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-310-32713-4

1. Sermon on the mount—​Commentaries. I. Title.

BT380.3.M43 2013

226.9'07—​dc23

2013000731

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—​electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—​except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Cover design: Ron Huizinga

Cover imagery: iStockphoto®

Editorial Board

of

The Story of God Bible Commentary

Old Testament general editor:

Tremper Longman III

Old Testament associate editors:

George Athas

Mark J. Boda

Myrto Theocharous

General editor:

Scot McKnight

Associate editors:

Lynn H. Cohick

Michael F. Bird

Joel L. Willitts

Zondervan Editors

Senior acquisitions editor

Katya Covrett

Senior production editor

Verlyn D. Verbrugge

For David and Linda Parkyn

Contents

Acknowledgments

The Story of God Bible Commentary Series

Abbreviations

Introduction

Commentary

Scripture Index

Subject Index

Author Index

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Joel Willitts, Lynn Cohick, Mike Bird, and Katya Covrett for their careful readings, corrections and suggestions, and to Verlyn Verbrugge, for his always careful attention to details. Thanks also to Greg Clark, Jeff Greenman, Steven Wilkens, and Jeff Cook for some pushback on the introduction.

The Story of God Bible Commentary Series

The Word of God may not change, but culture does. Think of what we have seen in the last twenty years: we now communicate predominantly through the internet and email; we read our news on iPads and computers; we can talk on the phone to our friends while we are driving, while we are playing golf, while we are taking long walks; and we can get in touch with others from the middle of nowhere. We carry in our hands small devices that connect us to the world and to a myriad of sources of information. Churches have changed; the “Nones” are rising in numbers and volume, and atheists are bold to assert their views in public forums. The days of home Bible studies are waning, there is a marked rise ...