On Treasures and Pearls - Jeremy Duncan

Most of us know the Sermon on the Mount. The foundational sermon Jesus gives as he launches his public career. It’s a masterful invitation into the life of God. Most of us are less familiar with the Sermon by the Sea. An enigmatic sermon Jesus gives later in life as he is preparing to head toward the cross. If the sermon on the mount presents us with the common sense life of God and the practical steps we can take to experience it, the sermon by the sea presents us with the strange and paradoxical imagination of the upside down kingdom. A kingdom where Jesus’ death is his crowning glory, and to give away everything becomes the means to receiving what we have always truly, deeply wanted. As we prepare ourselves for Easter, we explore the sermon of Jesus that perhaps most directly pointed to the surprise of Holy Week.