Quote:
Originally Posted by testallthings
So let's analyze this footnote. The first things we notice is the really small audience. If you ever watched a movie about Jesus then you got it all wrong. The sermon on the mountain was only for His disciples, maybe 12 or 70? and not for the crowds, too. Is it really so? In the previous verse it is stated that, “And great crowds followed Him from Galilee and Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan” (Mat. 4:25, RcV). Great crowds followed Him. So the Lord Jesus without dismissing the crowds sat down on the mountain. The message was intended for His disciples (who sat closer to Him) and the crowds. And so, “28 And when Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astounded at His teaching, 29 For He taught them as One having authority and not like their scribes” ( Mat. 7:28-29, RcV). The crowds were astounded! Were they not part of His audience?
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This is a valid point about the footnote in question. Jesus was around his disciples all the time, he could tell them anything he wanted to, and he did. The notion that he would address a crowd without intending his message to be for the crowd is laughable. But for some reason, WL felt that this was so. I'm not too sure what his motivation was for pushing this view.