Participants: David Down
Series Code: DUTP
Program Code: DUTP000011
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00:01 For this program we go to Mount Sinai, at the foot of which is
00:05 Santa Katarina, or St. Katherine's Monastery. 00:09 But, of course, the most important reason for being there 00:12 is because this was where the Israelites camped for a whole 00:15 year, and where Moses met with God, and the Ten Commandments 00:19 were proclaimed. 00:57 After Pharaoh had given permission for his Israelite 01:00 slaves to leave Egypt, they marched to the Red Sea, 01:03 but Pharaoh had some second thoughts and pursued them. 01:06 The Red Sea, which you see behind me, is quite shallow at 01:10 this point, and it was pounded by a strong wind, 01:14 and the Israelites were able to cross to the Sinai Peninsula. 01:17 When the Egyptians followed the wind dropped and the 01:20 sea closed in. 01:21 The entire Egyptian Army was drowned. 01:24 From here the vast throng of Israelites had to plod their 01:29 weary way across the desert to Mount Sinai. 01:49 Now we are at Mount Sinai, and from here we can look down on 01:53 the Montessori of Santa Katarina, or St. Katherine's. 01:56 Early in the Christian era some pious monks established a 02:00 settlement here, but it was dangerous living. 02:04 The nomads gave them no peace, and many of the monks perished. 02:08 In the fourth century AD, Helena, the mother of the 02:11 Roman Emperor Constantine visited Jerusalem, and she heard 02:15 of the plight of the monks. 02:17 She provided the money for a protective tower to be built 02:20 here so the monks could be safe from the marauders. 02:26 In the year 530 AD the Emperor Justinian had a defensive wall 02:30 built around this chapel, but even then it was so lawless 02:34 the Greeks were afraid of the nomads crashing the gates. 02:37 So the only way they had entrance was by being hauled up 02:40 by a rope, or a basket, up onto that platform up there. 02:44 In the 3rd century AD there was a Christian woman by the name of 02:49 Katherine who was martyred in in Alexandria in Egypt. 02:52 Legend has it, and we may doubt this legend, but the legend is 02:57 that her body was miraculously transported to the highest peak 03:02 in this area. 03:03 Three hundred years later the monks found it and brought it 03:06 down and buried it in this chapel here. 03:09 This is a Greek monastery. 03:11 When the monks die they're buried in the cemetery. 03:14 After awhile they're disinterred, and their skulls 03:18 are placed in this skull room. 03:19 We'll go in and have a look. 03:48 Well, we're climbing Mount Sinai, and there's our first 03:52 glimpse of the summit up there. 03:53 See the little chapel? 03:54 It's right at the top. 04:05 Jebel Musser, or the Mount of Moses, is 2,300 meters high. 04:10 You have to climb 3,750 steps to get to the top. 04:28 Well, I climb this mountain twice a year. 04:32 I bring a group of tourists around the middle East 04:35 every year. 04:36 In fact this is the second time I've climbed 04:39 the mountain this year. 04:40 And do you want to know something? 04:41 It never gets any easier! 04:44 Anyway, we're on the last steep pitch here. 05:25 Well, at last we've reached the summit. 05:27 Up here is a little Greek chapel that is meant to commemorate 05:34 the visit of Moses to the top of the mountain. 05:38 Mind you, there's no guarantee that this is actually the 05:42 mountain that Moses climbed because most scholars favor 05:47 a peak over there called Rassassafi. 05:51 The reason is up here there is no place you can see the 05:55 Israelites encamped down below 05:56 Whereas over there there's a place where the Israelites 05:59 could be encamped. 06:00 However, this is typical of scenery here in the 06:04 Sinai Peninsula. 06:05 What a tremendous view you get as you look around here. 06:21 Over there in the distance is Gebal Katarina, or the mountain 06:26 of Saint Katherine, where she was supposed to have 06:28 been buried miraculously. 06:30 That is 2,600 meters above sea level. 06:34 That makes it 300 meters higher than where we are 06:36 at the present time. 06:37 And when the voice of God was heard around here somewhere 06:41 proclaiming the Ten Commandments, it must have 06:44 really been an awe inspiring scene. 06:45 I think the best thing we can do is just read from the Biblical 06:49 account what it says. 06:53 Here it is in Exodus 19:16. 06:57 Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, 07:00 that there were thunderings and lightenings, and a thick 07:04 cloud on the mountain, and the sound of the trumpet was very 07:08 loud; so that all the people who were in the camp trembled 07:12 because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the whole 07:17 mountain quaked greatly. 07:19 Then the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the 07:22 mountain: and the Lord called Moses to the top of the 07:26 mountain; and Moses went up. 07:28 And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, 07:35 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house 07:37 of bondage. 07:45 ...or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, 07:48 or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters under 07:52 the earth: Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them: 07:56 for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the 07:59 iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third 08:02 and fourth generation of those who hate me; 08:04 but showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep 08:09 my commandments. 08:15 ...for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name 08:19 in vain; 08:23 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work: 08:27 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: 08:30 in it you shall do no work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, 08:37 nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, 08:40 nor your stranger who is within your gates: 08:43 for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 08:47 the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh 08:50 day: therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, 08:53 and hallowed it. 08:57 ...that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord 09:01 your God is giving you. 09:14 ...your neighbors house, you shall not covet your neighbors 09:18 wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, 09:22 nor his donkey, nor any thing that is your neighbor's. 09:27 Well, that's a very good law. 09:30 The trouble is that not too many people really make much of an 09:33 effort to keep it. 09:34 Have you ever noticed some of the things that 09:37 it's saying here? 09:39 For instance, it says You shall not take the name of the Lord 09:42 your God in vain. 09:43 Have you ever listened in to the average conversation? 09:46 You know, people can't say a sentence these days without 09:50 bringing God's name, or the Holy Spirit, 09:53 or Jesus Christ into it. 09:54 It's awful! 09:55 God says, You shall not take the name of the 09:57 Lord your God in vain. 09:58 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 10:02 How many people really stop work and put down tools, 10:07 and keep the Sabbath day holy? 10:10 It's, unfortunately, something that's forgotten instead of 10:13 remembered today. 10:15 Then it says here, You shall not murder. 10:19 Life is cheap! 10:21 And even hating your brother is breaking this law. 10:26 Life is sacred in God's sight. 10:29 Then it says, You shall not commit adultery. 10:32 That's one that seems to be old fashioned in most 10:36 peoples thinking. 10:37 But what a beautiful thing marriage is! 10:40 God ordained marriage, and for a husband and wife to be 10:45 faithful to each other. 10:46 Marriage is a very beautiful and sacred relationship; 10:49 the family, the home. 10:51 Beautiful! 10:52 But people spoil it by breaking God's laws. 10:56 Nobody ever made themselves happy by committing adultery. 10:59 Premarital sex; all you get is some early thrills. 11:02 But beating the gun to it like that is only spoiling the 11:06 ultimate enjoyment of the marriage relationship. 11:09 God wants you to be careful about things like this. 11:12 And as for homosexuality, or you can call it an alternative 11:17 lifestyle, if you'd like, but that's only giving a trade 11:20 name to a poison. 11:23 God forbids the practice of homosexuality. 11:27 That's why Sodom and Gomorrah got destroyed. 11:30 So people need to stop and think about these laws, and realize 11:35 that God means what He says. 11:37 Unfortunately, there are some well meaning people in the world 11:40 today who try to say that when Jesus Christ came He ushered in 11:44 a new era of love and abolished the Ten Commandments so that 11:48 Christians don't need to keep them. 11:49 Well, I find Christ's sayings just the opposite of that. 11:53 Do you remember when the rich young ruler came to Him and 11:56 asked Him a very important question? 11:57 He said, Good Master, what good thing should I do to inherit 12:01 eternal life? 12:02 Jesus Christ said to him in Matthew 19:17 12:07 Why do you call me good? 12:09 No one is good but one, and that is God, but if you want to enter 12:13 life keep the commandments. 12:15 So it doesn't seem that Jesus was abolishing 12:18 the Ten Commandments. 12:19 In fact, I'll tell you something maybe you don't know. 12:22 Do you know that it was actually Jesus Christ who spoke 12:26 the Ten Commandments from the top of Mount Sinai? 12:29 You see, when 1 Corinthians 10:4 says 12:34 Moreover brethren I do not want you to be unaware that all our 12:37 fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 12:40 and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank of that 12:44 spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ. 12:47 Was Christ! 12:49 You see, it was Christ that led the Israelites through the 12:51 Red Sea, across the Sinai Peninsula, to Mount Sinai. 12:55 And then it was He who proclaimed the Ten Commandments 12:58 because He says, I am the Lord your God, who brought you up 13:02 out of the land of Egypt. 13:04 So if Christ proclaimed the Ten Commandments, I don't suppose 13:07 He's likely to abolish them. 13:08 Well, what about the Apostles? 13:11 Did they change the Ten Commandments 13:13 or say that they are abolished? 13:14 I think they'd be surprised at such an idea. 13:17 For instance, Paul said in Romans 7:12, Therefore the Law 13:24 is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13:30 Paul couldn't see anything wrong with the Ten Commandments. 13:33 He thought it was really good. 13:34 What about the beloved Apostle John? 13:36 You know John is called the Apostle of love, and he was too. 13:40 If anyone is going to say love replaces the Ten Commandments 13:43 you'd expect the Apostle John to be saying that. 13:46 But over here in 1 John 2:3 we find him saying, Now by this we 13:55 know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 13:58 He who says I know him and does not keep his commandments, 14:02 is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 14:05 That's laying it right down the line, isn't it? 14:07 But I didn't say that; that's the Apostle John, and he says 14:11 that if you say that you love God and don't keep his 14:13 commandments, you're just not telling the truth. 14:18 We're on the plain of Genneseret on the edge of the 14:22 Lake of Galilee. 14:23 It was down here one morning when Jesus went down to the 14:29 edge of the lake. 14:30 There's a little narrow beach down there. 14:32 There were so many people gathered to hear him that he 14:35 realized that there just wasn't enough room. 14:37 so he led the way across the plain of Genesseret to 14:42 the nearby mountain, and up the mountain. 14:46 I think it was probably; you see that rise over there where the 14:50 mountains goes up and then sort of levels off? 14:52 I think that's a very likely place where He sat on the 14:56 mountain and preached to the people the famous 14:58 Sermon on the Mount. 15:00 It's a wonderful sermon. 15:01 I think we should look a bit more closely at it. 15:03 Well, we've climbed up onto this slope that I pointed out to you, 15:08 but I want to tell you there's one big difference; 15:11 Jesus preached this Sermon on the Mount in springtime 15:14 just when the grass had just started growing nice and green 15:17 and soft. 15:18 We've come here when the grass has all gone dead. 15:20 I want to tell you that there's some 15:22 pretty sharp prickles around here. 15:24 Anyway, this is the scene, and what a magnificent view it is 15:28 looking out over the Lake of Galilee. 15:31 Jesus must have been really inspired. 15:36 Anyone could be inspired here. 15:37 And what wonderful truths He taught! 15:41 I'll read you some of them. 15:43 We can't deal with the whole sermon. 15:45 There's three chapters in the book of Matthew on the 15:48 Sermon on the Mount. 15:49 I can recommend you get your Bibles out and read it. 15:52 It's good, spiritual, uplifting reading, and some very high 15:57 standards here. 15:58 It says: He went up on the mountain, and when he was 16:01 seated, his disciples came to him. 16:03 Then he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 16:06 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is 16:09 the kingdom of heaven. 16:10 Blessed are those who morn: for they shall be comforted. 16:12 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 16:16 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 16:20 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 16:24 There are eight blessings here; beautiful truths. 16:27 As the people listened their hearts must have thrilled as the 16:31 wonderful blessings were pronounced on those who had 16:33 really been trying to do the will of God. 16:36 But, you know, there must have been some people in the 16:40 congregation who were critical, you know? 16:43 They'd never heard anything like this before, and they were 16:46 probably thinking in their hearts, Yeah, what about 16:49 the Law of Moses? 16:50 What about the Ten Commandments proclaimed from Mount Sinai? 16:53 And I think Jesus read their thoughts because it says here in 16:57 chapter 5, and in verse 17, Do not think that I came to 17:04 destroy the law, or the prophets: I did not come to 17:07 destroy, but to fulfill. 17:09 For assuredly I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass away 17:13 one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law, 17:18 till all is fulfilled. 17:19 You know, a jot or a yod, is the smallest letter in the 17:23 Hebrew alphabet, and a tittle is the little bump on the edge of 17:27 one of the Hebrew letters; just a part of a letter. 17:30 Not even a yod or a tittle is going to pass from the 17:34 Ten Commandments He says. 17:35 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments 17:39 and teaches men so, shall be called least in the 17:43 kingdom of heaven. 17:44 Now that doesn't mean that they're going to get to heaven 17:45 and be called least. 17:46 It means up there in heaven such people will be 17:49 called least. 17:50 So, you see, Jesus wasn't saying that the 17:53 Ten Commandments are finished. 17:55 Oh, no! 17:56 He was the one who spoke from Mount Sinai, and he said, 17:58 Don't think that I've come to destroy the law, 18:00 or the prophets. 18:02 And whoever keeps these commandments and does them, 18:04 well then, he's the one who is doing the will of God. 18:12 Seated here on the Mount Jesus said to them, You are the light 18:17 of the world. 18:18 A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 18:21 Now that's very meaningful language for those people. 18:24 You see, for defensive purposes most of the villages and towns 18:29 of Israel were built on top of low hills. 18:32 We call them tells. 18:33 So Jesus said to them a city that is set on a hill 18:37 cannot be hidden. 18:38 You're going to see it. 18:39 And... you are the light of the world... so let your light shine 18:44 before men that they may see your good works, 18:46 and glorify your Father in heaven. 18:49 He also said, Nor do they light a lamp, and put it under a 18:53 basket, but on a lampstand; and it gives light 18:56 to all who are in the house. 18:57 The archeologists have found so many of these little oil lamps. 19:02 People would put some oil in the lamp, and a wick at the end 19:06 of it and light it up. 19:08 Well, you're not going to put a lamp like that under the bed or 19:11 under a basket or something. 19:13 You're going to let it be seen, or where it will show light. 19:16 So Jesus says, Let your light so shine before men, that they may 19:21 see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven. 19:24 Then He goes on to say, and I want you to notice that He's not 19:29 demolishing the law here, He's rather expanding it. 19:32 He's showing how deep it goes. 19:34 Listen. 19:35 You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall 19:38 not murder; and whoever murders shall be in danger of the 19:41 judgment: but I say to you that whoever is angry with his 19:45 brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. 19:48 So it's not just a case of whether you hit a fellow 19:50 on the head, or cut his throat, or shoot him, 19:52 or something like that. 19:53 It's a case of if you just get angry with him you are breaking 19:56 the commandment which says, You shall not kill. 20:00 Here's another one. 20:01 You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shalt not 20:06 commit adultery. 20:07 That was the law that was proclaimed from Mount Sinai. 20:10 Now Jesus says, I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to 20:14 lust for her has already committed adultery with her 20:17 in his heart. 20:18 So Jesus is not getting rid of the Ten Commandments, He's just 20:21 showing how deep they go. 20:23 They go right down to your motives, and right down 20:24 to your thoughts. 20:26 So this is setting a very high standard of commandment 20:29 keeping, isn't it? 20:30 One more. 20:31 I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason 20:34 except sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. 20:38 Divorce has become too easy these days. 20:41 People entering into marriage take it too lightly. 20:44 It is true Jesus makes an exception. 20:47 He says if somebody is unfaithful to the marriage vow, 20:50 then the innocent party has the right to get a divorce. 20:53 The marriage is broken. 20:54 But apart from that, He said, just because you don't like the 20:58 way your partner stirs her or his coffee, is not a good reason 21:02 for divorce. 21:03 So Jesus set some very high standards here. 21:09 Now, have you ever heard of the golden rule? 21:13 Well, that's part of the Sermon on the Mount, you know. 21:16 And just in case you're not familiar with it, 21:18 let me read it to you. 21:20 Therefore whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them: 21:25 for this is the law and the prophets. 21:29 Well, it is a golden rule, isn't it? 21:31 And it's a very good one too. 21:32 What a high standard it sets for people to live up to today 21:37 when they're thinking about the Ten Commandments and the 21:39 Sermon on the Mount. 21:41 There are some people who say, Listen, you just can't do it. 21:44 You just can't reach a standard like that. 21:47 But I want you to notice what Jesus says here in Matthew 5, 21:54 when he's talking about this Sermon on the Mount. 21:57 I think he's really referring to people who are just wondering 22:00 whether they can keep it or not. 22:03 He says, look at the birds of the air: for they neither sow, 22:07 nor reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father 22:10 feeds them. 22:11 Are you not more valuable than they? 22:14 He says, Why do you worry about clothing? 22:17 Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; 22:21 they neither toil nor spin: yet I say to you, that even 22:24 Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 22:28 So he says, If God so clothed the grass of the field, 22:32 which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, 22:34 will he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 22:38 You see, what He is saying is to the people who think, Oh, 22:41 look, you've just got to do a bit of cheating 22:44 to get on in business. 22:45 You've got to tell a few lies. 22:46 He says, listen, this is the standard. 22:49 What you should realize is that if you live up to what God 22:53 tells you to do, He's going to look after you. 22:55 In fact, it says over here in Matthew 6:33, Seek first the 23:01 kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these 23:05 things shall be added to you. 23:07 So just put God first, and everything else will come along; 23:11 just so long as you do your part. 23:13 Now does this mean that you've got to so live that you just 23:18 never make any mistakes? 23:19 Well, of course, you want to try that, but don't be 23:22 discouraged if you don't live up to this Sermon on the 23:25 Mount just in one day. 23:26 I think the Bible makes it very plain that even if we do our 23:32 best, we're still going to make mistakes. 23:33 Listen, in 1 Kings 8:46 Solomon was praying and he said, 23:38 When they sin against you, for there is no one who 23:42 does not sin. 23:43 If you happen to think that you're one of these people 23:46 who never makes any mistakes, you don't realize just how 23:49 sinful you are. 23:50 We all make mistakes. 23:51 Listen to what James says. 23:53 And James, mind you, was the Lord's brother, and probably 23:58 at this time, the head of the church. 24:00 He says in James 3:2, For we all stumble in many things. 24:07 Yeah, we've got to face it, we all make mistakes. 24:09 So, okay, if we make mistakes, what then? 24:13 Do we give up in despair, and say you just can't do it? 24:16 Some people say, you know, well, we're under the new covenant. 24:19 We're not under the law of the Ten Commandments proclaimed from 24:23 Mount Sinai. 24:24 Do you know what the new covenant is all about? 24:27 I'll read it to you in Hebrews 8. 24:30 This is the new covenant that I will make with the house of 24:35 Israel after those days, says the Lord. 24:37 I will put my laws in their minds, and write them on their 24:41 hearts. 24:42 Under the new covenant there's no question of 24:44 abolishing the law. 24:46 What it says, I'll write that law in your heart. 24:49 In other words, God is going to help you to keep it. 24:51 But listen, if you do make mistakes, don't get discouraged. 24:55 Don't get the idea that if you sin against God; break one of 24:59 His laws, or fall fowl of some of the sayings of the Sermon 25:03 on the Mount, God is going to wipe you out and say, 25:05 I've finished with you. 25:06 Not at all! 25:07 We've got a wonderful, loving God! 25:08 And even if you do make a mistake, remember if you have 25:12 faith in Christ you are still God's child. 25:14 Do you know what it says in 1 John 2:1? 25:20 It says here, My little children, these things I write 25:24 to you that you may not sin. 25:26 You see, God doesn't want you to sin. 25:28 He doesn't want you to break his laws. 25:30 You should make up your mind you should try 25:33 not to break God's laws. 25:34 But, He says, if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the 25:39 Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous... 25:42 So he says, even if you do make a mistake, don't be discouraged. 25:46 You're still God's child, and Jesus Christ is your 25:50 great advocate. 25:51 So the whole teaching of the law from Mount Sinai, and the 25:55 Sermon on the Mount is this is God's standard. 25:59 You should choose. 26:00 God wants you to choose; to try and live up to this standard, 26:04 but if you make mistakes you have a wonderful loving Savior 26:08 who still regards you as His child. 26:10 You still belong to Him, and you can still trust Him. 26:14 There's an appropriate verse in Psalms 119 for today's very 26:19 stressful world. 26:20 It says, Great peace have those who love your law... 26:23 We certainly need as much peace of mind as we can all get. 26:27 In our next program we travel around the Lake of Galilee, 26:31 which is behind me, to the little town of Capernaum. 26:34 and we talk of the things that Jesus did there on the 26:38 Sabbath day. |
Revised 2014-12-17