This book provides the essential meaning of the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, how these teachings spoke directly to Jesus' listeners, and then moves directly to how these teachings of Jesus have relevance for people today. The context of the teaching in Israel/Palestine is provided with an introduction to the life and mission of Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount is identified as the life calling of the Christian and the way that a contemporary reader can sense and learn the will of God. There are examples of how Jesus taught the teachings of the Sermon to assist people in applying these universal teachings not only to their personal lives but also to their setting with layered governments such as the Roman and Jewish and how the teachings speak to issues of social justice, poverty, and illness. Included in the book are those who shared with Jesus the mission of assisting people to the identification of the pathway to life lived in the presence of God.
