How did people react to this sermon?  They were amazed and astonished at what he said because he taught as one who had the authority to say such things.  He wasn’t quoting other rabbis or schools of theology.  He was himself the origin of authority.  When he did quote Moses or others he did so only to show how his teachings were superior.  This was not to say that Moses got it wrong, but rather that Jesus came to finish the work that was started under the Mosaic Law.  He would be the one to fulfill this law not simply by his teaching, but by his very being.  This is one major difference between Jesus and other religious figures.  Others could only claim to be teachers or at best prophets, but nothing more.

Unfortunately, today people no longer seem to be amazed at this sermon and his teachings.  They try every way possible to turn these truths into something abstract.  Their point is to make it unnecessary for anyone to take it seriously as a way of life. They turn it into a form of idealism where one can only meditate upon it, but certainly not apply these teachings to their reality.  Was Jesus giving this sermon just for the mere reason of establishing a “Christian Ideology?” No!  So, when you read or listen to these teachings simply allow yourself to become amazed and astonished.  This will be the beginning of true understanding.