What on Earth?: Considering the Social Implications of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount

In his most famous Sermon, Jesus announces a Kingdom so counterintuitive that it appears upside down in contrast to conventional wisdom. By prescribing both a revolutionary personal piety and a radical social possibility he teaches us how to become better people who in turn make the world better. His vision for a countercultural Kingdom challenges our engagement with contemporary culture morally, socially, and even politically. The impact of this Kingdom “on the earth as it is in heaven,” with a view to partnering with Jesus in his venture to nudge the world toward its intended design is the focus of this compelling treatment of the Sermon. By a lifestyle of holy nonconformity shaped by the “Blessed Attitudes” (Beatitudes), Jesus commissions his prophetic community to embody a social alternative that the world cannot imagine on its own and to foment a humble and loving cultural shift where the privileged and powerless flourish together in peace and justice. As previews of the coming attractions when Christ will return and reign as King over a new heaven and earth, Kingdom citizens work toward initiating such a world on earth as it is in heaven today. Read more