Jordan, Clarence | Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Mount
Clarence Jordan

Paperback: Judson Press, 1952, (Koinonia Edition, 1970) 95 pp.

By the time Clarence Jordan wrote Sermon the Mount in 1952, he'd been immersed in living the Word for some time, and much of his vision for doing so came from Matthew 5-7. Along with his wife Florence, and Martin and Mabel England, Jordan cofounded Koinonia Farm in rural Sumter County, Georgia in 1942, creating an interracial community in which residents attempted to live out the gospel of Jesus together. The founders saw Koinonia Farm, as “demonstration plot for the Kingdom of God,” which took the shape of “an intentional community of believers sharing their lives and resources, following the example of the first Christian communities as described in the Acts of the Apostles.” The primary commitments that the community took from the witness of the early churches were to racial equality, pacifism, and economic sharing. These Christian commitments did not make Koinonia Farm popular among its neighbors in rural Georgia of the 1940s and 1950s, and Koinonia members lived under a barrage of intimidation, including economic boycotts, the destruction (via dynamite) of their produce stand, and a drive-by motorcade organized by the K.K.K. Following the example of Jesus, the community did not return evil for evil, but the threats upon their lives and livelihoods took their toll over time, and the community shrunk in size over the 1960s. After Clarence Jordan’s death in 1969, Koinonia continued their farming work, but also branched out into social services that benefitted neighbors, including a housing initiative that would play an instrumental role in the genesis of Habitat for Humanity.

For Jordan, who held a PhD in the Greek New Testament, the principles of the Christian way must be lived out and not simply assented to. In this short book on Jesus's most famous message, he breaks down the key points of the sermon with clarity and insight. As much as he preaches morality, though, Jordan always stays grounded; he recognizes that living out the Sermon on the Mount presents a variety of challenges, not least of which come from the regular demands of life.

Jordan presents readers with several key areas. He begins by walking us through an entrance into the Kingdom of God. His process looks less like sanctification than simply a process of growth. From that point, Christians – in community – demonstrate something new to the world, but that representation requires recognizing the differences between old and new ways of being. The difference comes largely through a change of heart, including our motivations and values. Finally Jordan shows how faith and discipline can lead to strong, meaningful action as we build our lives around the rock that is Jesus.

Radical Kinship

Much of Jordan's writing posits that when one becomes a Christian, one enters into a new sort of relationship with members of the faith. In Sermon on the Mount, he focuses more on the requirements and benefits of the Kingdom in a broader sense, but ideas about kinship remain strong. He explains that the purpose of the Law was “to cause people to live together in peace and harmony with one another and with God” as Israel was meant to be “a united, harmonious, cooperative community” (30). As Jesus fulfills the Law, we see that idea applied to his followers. When Jesus gives his people the Lord's Prayer, he invites them to call God “Father,” bringing them in as children, being of “infinite value” not just to God but also to “one another” (62).

Jordan adds that “not all people are brothers and sisters … Only the believers are brothers and sisters” (63, italics in the original). This kinship – which Jordan sometimes refers to as “fellowship” – draws us into a community that shines like a light before the world. As part of that shining, Christians should “eliminate all barriers to genuine fellowship until everyone knows that you are Christ's disciples because you love one another” (28). The Koinonia Farm community that Jordan co-founded strived to be this sort of community that, inspired by the Sermon on the Mount, embodied this sort of radical kinship.

Active Disciplemaking

Within this community, believers find it necessary to grow in the faith. They will face various trials, even “warfare against darkness,” and so must persevere in faith and discipline (28). Jordan's writing on the Beatitudes contains some of his most provocative insights, as he sees the list as “the steps into the kingdom, the stairway to spiritual life … arranged progressively and in order” (8). He sees the sayings specifically as part of the entrance to Christian life, but they point toward a continued growth (including evangelism). All of the Sermon on the Mount guides us through a “change of heart” as we grow spiritually (35). God gives us the strength for this growth, but if our lives remain “anemic,” then “the fault lies with us” (82). We need to walk in faith, but also in discipline. People who dabble or “spread one's energies” won't have the focus and power to follow the narrow way (86).

Jesus has given his followers clear instructions, and we must remain dedicated to this way, which always includes action and not just mental assent. Jordan writes that Jesus “wants people's loyalty, not merely their praises” (95). He points out that Christ wanted his disciples to “count the cost and be prepared for difficulties,” helping them to stay on the path in challenging times (89). We must continue to grow throughout our journey, learning to weed out false teachers, restrict our own pointless busyness, and invite others into the Kingdom.

Embodying the Good News

That sort of invitation, as discussed in the Sermon, doesn't come about simply through handing out pamphlets or asking non-believers the right sorts of questions. Jesus's message challenges us to live in a new kind of way, as both salt and light to the world. Our way of living should both change our world (Jordan is concerned with the various ways human civilization seems to be failing us) and welcome others in. We don't just speak against the world, but offer something new. Jordan says, “No one has a right, however, to call on others to change their ways unless he or she has a more excellent way to offer” (4, italics in the original). As we model a new way of living (as the Koinonia Farm community, including Jordan, did), we show those around us something different. That understanding is what allows us to “urge and encourage all people everywhere to forsake their evil, selfish ways and to come into the kingdom” (28).

The Kingdom of God

The theme of the Kingdom of God remains central throughout Sermon on the Mount. Jordan doesn't explicitly delineate what the Kingdom is, but its concept informs everything else he writes, from the meaning of the Beatitudes to the results of evangelism. He explains: “The environment God intends for all people is the kingdom. It is the summation of all his plans and purposes” (71). We flourish not simply from asking and receiving (as if at God's whim), but through being in the environment that best facilitates our well-being, the Kingdom. Just as Kingdom citizens can weather crises, humanity can better survive “the crashing of our civilization” if it builds on a proper foundation. That foundation allows us to build on the teachings of Jesus, not only for right ideas but for, again, proper action. Christian principles of love turn into embodied experience. As one example, Jordan shows that God made the world with enough for all our needs. “The problem [of poverty] is not in supply but in distribution, not with God but with us … When his kingdom comes, when his will is done on earth, both poverty and riches will go!” (72). Ultimately, our spiritual discipline and loyalty help display and deploy God's plan on earth, benefiting all of us while honoring Jesus.