Visitor stats are tanking at your local church. Giving is down. The parking lot is deserted.

Why?

You started secretly holding your church services on top of a nearby mountain.

Odd strategy, right?

Yet Jesus embraced this counterintuitive approach. Despite having crowds of fans, he slipped away to deliver The Sermon on the Mount to a limited audience of his most committed disciples.

Consider where we are now.

The Bible is ubiquitous, with billions of copies available digitally and physically. Nearly anyone can access a Bible anytime they want.

Yet The American Bible Society's research shows that Scripture engagement dropped 21% last year. Nearly half of U.S. adults are disengaged "Non-Practicing Christians."

Clearly, more accessibility hasn't led to more engagement.

In Matthew 4:25, we read, "Large crowds followed Jesus from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan."

But instead of capitalizing on the crowds, Jesus retreats up a mountain with only his closest disciples. He could have reached thousands. But instead, he chose to talk with a few.

Matthew 5:1 tells us, "When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him."

Further, his sermon seems designed to send the disciples back down the mountain! He calls them to total poverty of spirit. He insists they restore wholeness to a society ravaged by injustice. He says they must demonstrate a righteousness more remarkable than the most observant religious people in their community.

Please give me the worst strategic ministry plan you've ever seen. Is it as foolish, absurd, and as unlikely to succeed as what Jesus is doing?

Yet, his decision to limit the audience of the Sermon on the Mount exclusively to his disciples worked out well. This message ranks as one of the most famous and world-altering messages ever.

It's a paradox worth considering.

Why didn't Jesus give this message to the crowds?

Why restrict his audience to only his most dedicated disciples?

You can approach the question intellectually.

But it's more important to consider it personally.

How committed are you to hearing the Sermon on the Mount?

Do you want to study the Sermon on the Mount together?

Learn more and apply to be a Missional Partner.

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