Matthew 5:1-2

When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down 2 and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said: 

I was ready to go straight to verse three this morning and discuss how blessed are the poor, but something else caught my attention.  So I'm actually starting with verse one...novel concept I know.

Jesus has just begun his ministry, but has seen his ministry "draw huge crowds."  When he sees this, he does something that we might not expect.  We would expect to see him putting up billboards, getting a TV deal, opening more campuses, building bigger buildings, writing books and letting "Christian retailers" make everything from journals to leather bound editions of his book on how to be a better...God.  Surely that's what he would have done.  Isn't it what we do when our ministries draw huge crowds?

Obviously, Jesus didn't have all of this at his disposal, but the question that hangs in my head is, "Would he have used them if he did?"  Here we see that when Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hill.  This could have been a method for amplifying his voice so more people could hear him, but there might be another explanation also.  It seems that most of Jesus' mountainside/hillside experiences were more intimate moments than public proclamations.  He went on the mountainside to pray in Matthew 14 and in John 6.  Even here, the 'committed' were the ones that went up with him on the hillside.  It seems clear to me that this was not so more people could hear, but rather so fewer people could hear.

Jesus is about to deliver his manifesto to those who have committed to him.  He is about to show them the uniqueness of his mission on earth.  He is about to unload the details of his revolution and show them the picture he envisions.  He doesn't make it easy for them, either.  After a day of walking, he then climbs a hill - not a large hill, but an ascent nonetheless.  I can hear them whining now, "Oh, c'mon Jesus, can't we just gather here at the bottom!"  What he is about to tell them is so important that he pulls them away from the crowd, so they don't miss it.

Once they get up there, Jesus begins to teach them.  This is not a discussion about possibilities.  It's not a brainstorming session.  Jesus is teaching them the inside truth of the Movement...the Revolution he is leading.

For me, this understanding changes the way I hear the next several verses, commonly referred to as The Beatitudes.  When I was growing up, my picture was Jesus standing on a hill preaching to a huge crowd - and Jesus looked a lot like Billy Graham.  Now, my picture is much more intimate.  It's as if he is calling me to come up the hill, when my legs are tired from following him, and he wants to tell me what it's all about...and all I am to do is listen.