The Way of Life and the Way of Death

And great is the difference thereof

This is last of my series thinking through the Sermon on the Mount in particular in relation to Pennington's book on it. (Posts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Two Ways to Live is not just a catchy evangelistic tract. It’s a fundamental shape of discourse and discipleship, that goes back at least to the Didache, a late 1^st century catechetical treatise, with its opening line “There are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between these two ways”. And, arguably that shape itself takes its pattern from passages like Matthew 7.13-27, and OT precedents like Dt 30.15-20. But what Jesus is doing here is not exactly what the Didache is doing.

Here we have 3 metaphors, and their common thread is the contrast between external appearance and internal reality. In each case, what initially and externally appears ‘good’ can actually be disastrous. But the blessed life of virtuous wholeness often looks bad to external evaluation, but contains true goodness. This offer of true wisdom is eschatological as well, it makes sense because the Kingdom is coming, and because the ordering of this world will be inverted in the age to come.

In the first metaphor (v13-14), we have not merely a description of two paths, but an exhortation – enter the way of life! So often this passage has been read and proclaimed as moralism and good deeds. But the narrow road is not the road of moral rectitude. The two roads being contrasted here are not “good morals vs bad morals” – that misses the whole point of the Sermon on the Mount. The broad path that leads to destruction here is still to be thought of in terms of the Sermon’s internal coherency – the path of external righteousness with heart-hypocrisy. That path remains easy and broad. Jesus’ narrow path is difficult – it demands a righteousness greater than the Pharisees! – precisely because of what we’ve said all along: it “requires deep roots and the exposure of one’s whole person to God, true virtue.” (Pennington, p 274)

The second image in this section (v15-23) is an extended picture dealing with false-prophets, but also with internal/external righteousness, two ways of living, and the Father’s will – three themes that have been with us consistently through the SotM. The definition for false prophets and teachers is not centered on false-teaching per se, but upon seeming righteous but lacking true, heart-oriented, piety towards God. The final words in v23, depart from me, you workers of evil, are from Ps 6:8 (LXX 6:9), and remind us of the Sermon’s theme that there is a true Torah-observance that is obedience to Jesus, not merely law-keeping. External law-keeping is, ironically, lawlessness.

Photo by Pedro de Sousa on Unsplash

The third comparison (v13-21) is between two types of builders. This brings us back to the idea that this is a sermon built on practical wisdom for living. Once more the contrast focuses on external appearance verses internal reality. It remains entirely possible in Jesus’ day, and our day, to have a life of apparent piety, outward religion, moral works by conservative or progressive standards, and yet to have a foundation that is a heart disordered and built upon sand. It is the foundation that matters – whole-hearted orientation and devotion to God.

Secondly, here is the call to not merely hear and learn the words of this sermon, this teaching of Jesus, but to put it into practice. The difference between the two ways is found in the doing, not the listening.

Thirdly, the touchstone of practical application of Jesus’ teaching hones in not on the Torah, but on the response to Jesus’ teaching. It is response to Jesus that determines how one lives, and whether one flourishes or perishes.

And so we are left with the question, the challenge. Will we embrace the way of life, the way of wisdom, the way of Jesus, the way of true human flourishing?