Principles of Christian Discipleship Essay Example

The Sermon on the Mount defines the Jesus Christ's teachings and a compilation of His sayings. It majorly emphasizes on the moral teachings of Christ written in the book of Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount occurred in the early Ministry of Christ after his baptism, fasting and contemplation in the desert and when he started to preach in Galilee (McKnight, 2013). It consists of a few of the greatest identified wisdoms of Jesus, for instance the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer. Generally, The Sermon on the Mount contains the fundamental doctrines of Christian discipleship.

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On the other hand, Psalms 23 is found in the Book of Psalms. It is widely recognized by its first verse, "The Lord is my Shepherd". Psalms 23 was in the past used by the early Hebrews to worship God. The verse defines God as the shephered who provides and protects for His loved ones (Morgan, 2013). Currently, the psalm is still being recited, sang, and read by Christians and Jews. It is identified the most famous chapter in the Book of Psalms because of the universal subject of trusting in God.

Whereas The Sermon on The Mount is a verbal passage which worships God, Psalms 23 is a religious, poetic song which is sang to worship God. In Psalms 23, the metaphors used are normally vivid so as to intensify the image of the song. A verse may depict an image of one certainly striding through a valley of immortality yet it only signifies the evil and rough times that the individual is going through.

The Sermon on the Mount on the other hand uses analogies since they are slightly difficult to understand compared to Psalms 23. The analogies to equate unknown relationships to known ones to assist individuals in understanding them better (McKnight, 2013). For instance, the notion of clothing is compared to the lilies out in the meadow and not its obvious meaning. As seen, lilies wear no clothes yet can flourish. In this case, the speaker wants the readers to think of life like lilies or the meadow, where only the essential necessities such as water, food, and air are used.

The Sermon on the Mount talks about Jesus' definition of how His disciples and followers should live in order to enter the God's Kingdom through Beatitudes. The similarities between Psalms 23 and The Sermon on the Mount is that both talk about the faith and the trust that Christians should have in Jesus Christ. It also emphasizes that we should not follow two master because only Jesus Christ is going to provide and protect His follower only if they on live by His ways.

Another similarity is that the two have almost similar themes. Just like The Sermon on the Mount, Psalms 23 talks of humility (Morgan, 2013). It states that one should be humble in spirit even if they are successful as they will be comforted and achieve all the more that is good just like King David did.

Secondly, the theme of happiness appears in the two. Like in Psalms 23, the concern of lack of eternal happiness arises in The Sermon on the Mount (McKnight, 2013). However, Jesus Christ promises to give all those who are living according to His virtues as presented in the Beatitudes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as much as there are differences between Psalms 23 and The Sermon on the Mount. Their similarities majorly show that the two were written for the same purpose. They are both meant to educate the people who have chosen Christianity as their religion on the important ways of how to fully dedicate their lives and to live a disciplined life.

References

McKnight, S. (2013). Sermon on the Mount. Zondervan.

Morgan, R. J. (2013). The Lord Is My Shepherd: Resting in the Peace and Power of Psalm 23. Simon and Schuster.