The Rudolf Steiner Archive

9. The Sermon on the Mount

[ 1 ] The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) is Christianity’s most significant revelation. It is generally understood to refer to a sermon that Jesus is said to have delivered to the people from the top of a mountain. But “going up the mountain” is a key phrase found in all secret languages and is of ancient origin. “To love” is also an occult key phrase. “The disciple whom the Lord loved”—and at the raising of Lazarus: “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus,” “See how he loved him.” The “disciple whom the Lord loved” is always understood to be the author of the Gospel of John. Yet his name never appears anywhere in the entire Gospel of John, not even at the crucifixion. There it says: “When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple standing nearby, the one whom he loved.” This word “love” has a profound meaning. The disciple of a master who is most deeply initiated into and introduced to the occult sciences is called “a disciple whom the Lord loves.” “Going up the mountain” means: entering into the deepest mystery and teaching words which the disciples then in turn speak to the people. One does not read the words of the Bible in the ordinary way, but rather reads right past the words.

[ 2 ] Verse 1, correctly translated, reads: “But when he saw the crowd, he went up on a mountain and sat down, and his disciples came to him.” Jesus, then, walked away from the crowd and spoke only to his disciples. Jesus Christ always had to speak in two ways. He spoke in parables when addressing the people in a way they could understand. But when he was “on the mountain” with his disciples, he explained the occult meaning of his words to them.

[ 3 ] Verse 3: “Blessed are those who are beggars for the Spirit, for they will find within themselves the kingdoms of heaven.” The words—indeed, even the letters—all have a secret, profound meaning. Our German word for “I” (Ich), with its letter combinations I, C, H, contains within itself the initials of Jesus Christ: I-Ch. The great initiates interpreted the word in such a way that “I” = Jesus Christ emerged. Only one people could discover the birth of the name of Jesus Christ from within the “I”—and thus German Christian mysticism came into being. There are even more such words that contain a deep, literal meaning; for example, “heilig” (holy) = to be whole or perfectly healthy. “Selig sein” (to be blessed) = to be full of the soul, to find the soul’s essence within oneself. Blessed is the one who has the urge and drive to lead the soul ever closer to the Spirit. When many people keep saying, “We must look within ourselves, and then we will find God”—that is not correct. For if we look only within ourselves, we will find only what is already within us. We must guard our striving; our individuality must reach out beyond itself—that is to say: Know thyself. —Human authority should not give us conviction, but rather inspiration.

[ 4 ] Verse 4: “Blessed are those who take suffering upon themselves, for they will find comfort within themselves.” Suffering presents itself to the world as one of its greatest mysteries. Even the Greeks—that free, joyful people who clung so dearly to existence, for whom the pleasure of the senses was the very breath of life—have the wise Silenus answer the question of what is best for man: “Wretched, fleeting generation… The very best is utterly beyond your reach: not to be born, not to be, to be nothing. But the next best thing for you is—to die soon.” Aesop, meanwhile, says that one learns lessons from suffering. And Job, through all the sufferings imposed upon him, comes to the conclusion: Suffering purifies; it elevates humanity. - Why do we leave the theater satisfied after hearing a tragedy? The hero triumphs over suffering. There is a connection between man’s ascent to higher levels and the pain he endures. The suffering and pain of the soul speak to those who recognize them through facial expressions. Human beings must create an organ within themselves so that they can bear suffering. Just as the eye was formed by light and the ear by sound, so too do suffering and pain create spiritual organs. Within themselves, human beings carry the consolation of knowing that they can bear suffering. Human beings are elevated through suffering.

[ 5 ] Verse 5: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the kingdom of heaven.” Two forces are at work in the world: on the one hand, selfishness; on the other, love and compassion. For love to develop, selfishness must fade away. Sensual love must evolve into higher spiritual love. To be meek is also what is meant in the third sentence of “Light on the Path”: “Before the voice can speak before the Masters, it must unlearn how to wound.” We should approach everyone with a loving disposition so that our voice no longer wounds; then we are meek, as meant in the Sermon on the Mount. The goal of earthly evolution is love; it will inherit the kingdom of the earth.

[ 6 ] Verse 6: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” Here Christ reveals to the disciples the full significance of the deeper, innermost forces of the human soul: Give love to others—not: strive for love—and then love will become universal, if everyone does this for themselves.

[ 7 ] Verse 7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” We should empathize with every single person; then the mercy we have shown and given will shine back toward us from others.

[ 8 ] Verse 8: “Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God through themselves.” This sentence is a guide to mysticism. We are to purify and cleanse our hearts. The “eye” referred to here—the one that sees God—is the heart. It is the organ of the future, not the brain. In relation to God, it is what clear eyes are to light.

[ 9 ] Verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they themselves will be called children of God.” The soul travels the path from God through humankind back to God. The souls were peace-loving, and peace leads back to the divine essence.

[ 10 ] Verse 10: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus Christ demands that a person impose the standard of righteousness upon himself; then his thirst will be quenched by righteousness. An earthly demand and a heavenly demand are always kept distinct.

[ 11 ] Verse 11: “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” Christianity must not be confused with other religions. In Buddhism, what matters is that everything Buddha taught be followed. The same is true of the teachings of Hermes in Egypt, Zarathustra in Persia, and so on. Christ, however, was there in person. The disciples were called to bear witness: “We have heard him ourselves; we have placed our fingers into the marks of his nails.” The evangelist John speaks most extensively about Jesus Christ in his Gospel. Christianity must believe in Christ Jesus himself, not merely in his teachings. The Logos came down to human beings; the Word became flesh in a human being and truly dwelt among us. All are blessed in their faith in the One in whom the Logos himself is embodied. Only One can say: “Blessed are you when you are persecuted for my sake.”

[ 12 ] Verse 12: “Be of good cheer and full of comfort; it will bear fruit for you in heaven, for this is how they persecuted the prophets.” This refers to the “I-people” inspired by God.

[ 13 ] Verse 13: “You are the salt of the earth.” Salt is what gives the earth wisdom.

[ 14 ] Now, one might point to the end of chapters 7, 28, and 29: “And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished this discourse, the people were astonished at his teaching, for he preached with authority and not like the scribes.” One might therefore think that Jesus had indeed spoken to the people. However, these verses have absolutely no connection to the Sermon on the Mount; in fact, they contrast with what had meanwhile caused an uproar among the people. The people were astonished by a speech Jesus gave, but it was a completely different one from the Sermon on the Mount—and this led to tumult and uproar among the people. One need only carefully trace all the events in the Bible and know how to read the words correctly; then a new understanding dawns regarding many things that one has simply skimmed over until now.

Q&A

What can be said about the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus?

[ 15 ] Above all, one must recognize that symbolic interpretation does not exclude the historical reality. Some people insist on interpreting everything literally, viewing Jesus merely as a human being who actually lived, and cannot believe that there is a deeper meaning behind it all. Others, on the other hand, want to interpret everything in a mysterious way and cannot believe in the historical events. But the symbol is, at the same time, a real historical fact. The reality of Christianity can only be grasped at all if it is regarded as a real fact. It is the mystery of human evolution: Christ between the two criminals, the one who repents and the one who remains obstinate. This, once again, is the balance between selfishness and love. Love is founded on blood kinship, and selfishness seeks to tear it apart. Christ seeks to restore this balance; that is the meaning of the three crosses on Golgotha. One represents the principle of good, the other the principle of evil. “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Paradise is a key word and means: You will be with me in a place beyond the ordinary day. Before man became guilty, he lived in the bosom of the Godhead. How does he gain the right to become a child of God again? Through peacefulness! How does one stray from this? Through selfishness!

Do other peoples also have the initials “I-CH” in their sense of self?

[ 16 ] This applies only to the German language. The German “Ich” infuses the soul with strength. The fact that these initials spell out the name “Christus” is meant to bring the Word to life for us. Christ is present every day and works through all languages. The farther east we go, the richer the language; the farther west, the poorer. America is therefore the poorest; it has the smallest vocabulary in its language. The prayers of the ancient languages lose their former power when they are translated into newer languages. There is far more power in the Latin words of the Pater noster than in the “Our Father.” The language of the ancient “Our Father” is Aramaic. Anyone who spoke it in Aramaic felt its magical power. By grasping the true nature of things, we must restore the power of words to the language. The four sentences in Light on the Path, for example, do not have the same power in English as they do in German. These four sentences sound more beautiful in German than in any other language; German has the most beautiful translation of these four sentences.

The third question is unclear.

[ 17 ] These early natural scientists looked up to the Bible with the greatest reverence. Pastor X said: “Moses knew just as much as the modern natural scientist, or he was inspired.” Pastor X has a brilliant, subtle way of explaining the Bible. When biblical criticism began, that reverence and respect for the Bible were lost. But nothing else will ever come of biblical criticism. One thing is characteristic of spiritual science, and that one thing is attitude. Every thought is permeated by this attitude; everything is imbued with it. And what is this attitude? We also have an attitude toward nature, but we do not criticize nature. Spiritual science seeks to understand impartially and with insight, to follow everything in life; not to apply the yardstick of sympathy and antipathy, but to understand everything impartially—both in human life and in the spiritual world. Spiritual science is about understanding. One must cultivate a certain attitude in spiritual life just as in the study of nature; only then does one gain experience. The Bible should become a book before which criticism falls silent. When one then reads it correctly and impartially, one experiences that one begins to perceive something as an expression and an experience that one could not have imagined before. One then discovers profound wisdom, whereas before one had placed obstacles in one’s own path. Spiritual science must provide the key to reading the Bible correctly; and it will find it. Then biblical criticism will be superseded by a deep and profound interpretation. Natural science deals only with material phenomena and overlooks the fact that these have a spiritual development underlying them. The task of spiritual science is to investigate the nature of the human being and the development of the human being within the universe. Where the wisdom of the natural scientist must come to a halt, spiritual research takes over, for the natural scientist sees only the outer appearance; he seeks to fathom the atoms. But precisely what the natural scientist cannot explain is what is actually there. Even Haeckelism is truth for the spiritual scientist, insofar as it describes external phenomena. The spiritual researcher, however, seeks to look back with higher, spiritual eyes upon the delicate process of becoming and to explore which spiritual realities accompany the external realities. When one observes things with spiritual eyes and spiritual ears, one perceives the supersensible aspect of the human being.

[ 18 ] We perceive the external world to the extent of our physical senses. Therefore, anyone who argues, “Only what I physically see exists,” has not yet developed spiritual powers. Every time a person acquires a new sense, they perceive a new world. The eyes and ears of the soul can be acquired. If a person has enough energy and patience, they will become an initiate. What an initiate sees with spiritual eyes, they must express through images from the physical world. This is what Goethe, who was an initiate, meant in the verse: “All that is transitory is but a parable.” Expressing the great spiritual truths in apt parables is called imaginative insight. Thus, spiritual science does not seek to lead us away from matter; rather, it sees in matter the condensed spirit, which relates to matter as ice relates to water.

[ 19 ] The seven-day creation is a metaphor for great spiritual truths. Anyone who has the key to reading the Bible can always take the Bible quite literally. No document contains the truths of theosophy better than the Bible. Spiritual science strives to explain the Bible and to provide access to the most unbiased understanding of it. One will come to understand the division of the work of creation into two parts when one learns to distinguish between the human being who is asexual—that is, the spiritual astral human being. Then a transformation took place: the asexual, spiritual human being became the physical, bisexual human being; therefore, we must speak of a dual creation. One often hears it said: “The letter kills, the Spirit gives life”—though each person then means their own Spirit. Goethe says:

And as long as you don't have that,
This: Die and Be Reborn!
You are but a gloomy guest
On this dark earth.

[ 20 ] This “die” does not mean: kill the physical body, but rather: give birth to a new human being from within yourself, so that he may provide you with the instrument for the spiritual world. He is to become an instrument of strength. We must also take “die and become” literally. In spiritual science, everything is valuable; even the smallest thing is an expression of condensed spirit. Those who fight against the Bible do not understand it; they are fighting against their own delusion. Many people presume to establish a creed. But it is petty and immodest to then be content with the thought: “How wonderfully far we have come!” — Spiritual science seeks to penetrate ever deeper; it seeks to immerse itself lovingly in the letter of the text and open the way to the Divine for the soul.