Toward the Kingdom of Heaven: 40 Daily Readings on the Sermon on the Mount

by Amy-Jill Levine

Overview

How is the follower of Jesus to understand the words of the Old Testament? How are those words relevant to the New Covenant He is establishing? What might the words of the Lord’s Prayer have conveyed to his initial followers, and why is that historical information essential to the prayer two millennia later? In Sermon on the Mount, Dr. Amy-Jill Levine takes a detailed and colorful overview of Matthew 5-7, collectively known as Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Through Dr. Levine’s engaging method of biblical interpretation, readers will come away with a solid understanding of the Sermon on the Mount in its historical and theological context. This collection of 40 daily readings is drawn from Amy-Jill Levine’s teachings on the Sermon on the Mount. Containing additional stories, insights, and lessons from the author, the reader further illuminates the wisdom of Jesus’ most famous sermon.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781791009151
Publisher:	Abingdon Press
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Series:	Sermon on the Mount Series
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Amy-Jill Levine (“AJ”) is Rabbi Stanley M. Kessler Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Hartford International University for Religion and Peace and University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies Emerita, Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies Emerita, and Professor of New Testament Studies Emerita at Vanderbilt University. An internationally renowned scholar and teacher, she is the author of numerous books including The Difficult Words of Jesus: A Beginner's Guide to His Most Perplexing Teachings, Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi, Entering the Passion of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to Holy Week, Light of the World: A Beginner’s Guide to Advent, Sermon on the Mount: A Beginner’s Guide to the Kingdom of Heaven, and Signs and Wonders: A Beginner’s Guide to the Miracles of Jesus. She is also the coeditor of the Jewish Annotated New Testament. AJ is the first Jew to teach New Testament at Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute. In 2021 she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. AJ describes herself as an unorthodox member of an Orthodox synagogue and a Yankee Jewish feminist who until 2021 taught New Testament in a Christian divinity school in the buckle of the Bible Belt.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

1 The Teacher is Here 4

2 Fulfilling Scripture 7

3 Jesus, Torah, and Tradition 10

4 Jesus and the New Community 13

5 Blessed are the Christ-Pushers 15

6 The Righteousness of the Pharisees? 18

7 Love as Risk 21

8 Suing and Pursuing Your Neighbor 24

9 The Gift on the Altar 27

10 Rules for Confrontation 30

11 Your "Yes" is Enough 33

12 Public Displays and Private Holiness 36

13 Prayer: It's Personal 39

14 Raising Money Without Raising Eyebrows 43

15 Jesus's Guide to Eyecare 45

16 Righteousness, Righteousness You Shall Pursue 48

17 Light and Blindness 50

18 Our Father 53

19 The Politics of Prayer 56

20 Who's Your Abba? 59

21 Making God's Name Holy 62

22 Your Will Be Done: What We Must Do 65

23 Pray Boldly 67

24 Bread from the Earth, Bread from Heaven 70

25 Forgive Us Our Debts? 73

26 Rescue Us from Evii 76

27 Mammon 79

28 What We Wear 82

29 The Price of a Sparrow 85

30 The Days of Our Lives 88

31 To Seek and Save the Lost 90

32 Judge, but Do Not Be Judgmental 93

33 The Canaanite Woman 96

34 Do for Others? 99

35 The Road Less Traveled 102

36 False Prophets and Good Fruit 105

37 Fathers and Mothers 108

38 Blessed are the Doers 111

39 Circumcised Hearts 114

40 Teaching with Authority 117