The city on the mountain
Series: Metamorphosis | Bible text: Matthew 5:13–16, Isaiah 2:2–5
The city on the mountain describes a place of longing and is an image for heaven on earth. It is an image for the kingdom of God that is invisibly building itself in us and around us. It is a city that reaches far beyond geographical and political boundaries and where Jesus is the undisputed ruler on the throne. In this city built with living stones, Jesus is the cornerstone. With the giving of our lives in baptism, a person becomes such a building block.
Man is created to orientate himself to the Creator, to take up the rhythm of the Creator in the shaping of his life. This is the vision of the biblical drama that reaches its destination in the last two chapters of the Bible in the form of the City of God. Cities are places of life and great possibilities with almost unlimited potential. They offer space for protection and encounter. The Sermon on the Mount is something like the Magna Charta or the government programme of this city..
The original of the future
God’s story with us starts in a garden and leads to an eternal city in which we will live, as we read in Revelation. When we look at the history of God with his people, we discover a common thread:
Abraham went out to find this city (Genesis 12; Hebrews 11:8–16).
David placed the Ark of the Covenant and a 24–7 prayer altar in the centre of this city. The historical Jerusalem came to flourish (1Chronicles 15; 16:37; 23:4–6).
Ezra, Nehemiah and others had the same passion and mission, to restore the dwelling place of God among men.
The prophets speak of Zion as the place on the mountain where God dwells among men. They announce that when God realises his reign, the city of God on Zion will play a central role: «In the last days, the mountain on which the house of the Lord stands will become the most important peak and will rise above all other mountains. All nations will flock to it. They will come in droves and say, «Come, let us go to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Israel. There he will teach us his ways, that we may walk in his paths.» For then the Lord’s teaching will go out from Zion and his word from Jerusalem. The Lord will judge between the nations and administer justice among many peoples. Swords will be reforged into ploughshares and spearheads into pruning knives. No nation will go against another and they will no longer learn to wage war. Come, people of Israel, let us live a life in the light of the Lord!»(Isaiah 2:2–5 NLB). In this city, which is situated on a mountain and cannot be overlooked, justice will prevail. Instead of waging wars, people will constructively and productively cultivate and preserve God’s creation.
Jesus speaks about this city in the Sermon on the Mount. He uses the image of the wise man who builds his house on him, the rock. Many houses built on the rock make a city on the mountain that shines so brightly that it cannot and should not be overlooked (Matthew 5:14–16).
The Letter to the Hebrews informs us that all who belong to God have already come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God (Hebrews 12:22).
The Revelation speaks of a golden city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from heaven (Revelation 21). «And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride adorned for her bridegroom. I heard a loud voice from the throne crying: Behold, the dwelling place of God is now with men! He will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them. He will wipe away all their tears, and there will be no more death and mourning and weeping and pain. For the first world with all its calamity has passed away forever» (Revelation 21:2–4 NLB).
The image of the present
These texts describe that the arrival of the City of God is in the future. The original of the City of God lies in heaven or in the future. But with Jesus, something like a copy, an image, is already beginning to be realised here and now. (Matthew 4:17). The Sermon on the Mount speaks of the city on the mountain and the people who build houses on rocks, which together form this city. The city is an image of the kingdom of God that is invisibly built up in us and around us. It is a city that reaches far beyond geographical and political boundaries and in which Jesus is the undisputed ruler on the throne.
The people who listened to Jesus expected that with the coming of the Messiah King, Jerusalem would finally assume its role as the centre of the world. The city on the mountain that shines out into the world. And now this: the people who have set out to dance to the music of heaven shall be the city on the mountain. As already mentioned: the wise man who builds his house on Him, the rock. Nota bene, the wise man differs from the foolish man in that he not only hears the words of Jesus, but also does them. In other words, people who dance to the music of heaven and allow themselves to be transformed in their being. This is how the city on the mountain comes into being, which appears so bright that it cannot be overlooked. This has always been the dream of God.
In this city built of living stones, Jesus is the cornerstone on which the whole structure is aligned. (Ephesians 2:21f). Through the death of Jesus on the cross, the way to the Father and into his kingdom has been opened. With the surrender of our life in baptism, a transfer of ownership takes place. We enter into a covenant agreement with Him: He gave everything for us, we give everything back to Him in return. Through this surrender of Jesus we live in the reality of the Kingdom. The city on the mountain comes into being wherever people devotedly live discipleship and unite in it.so that all areas of life are permeated by the love of Jesus.
The image of the city on the mountain is being built here and now. This thought goes beyond our boxes. It opens up a great perspective for the kingdom of God, far beyond personal salvation. Beyond the question of how we can invite new people to worship on Sunday and how we design worship accordingly. This thought is much bigger than the desire to stand out positively at work by being friendly because you don’t lie, or not getting drunk at the Christmas party. It is about a holistic transformation, about character and virtue formation according to God’s music, about being a living stone in the city on the mountain.
As seetal chile, we are challenged to build even now as it is normal in this city of the King. In and out of deep trust and faith that God is the one who is owns all the resources and makes them available to us. A place where the relationships to each other are in the foreground and so Productivity and creativity unleashed become. A place where the fullness of each individual’s talents recognised, seen and allowed to grow. And so many wonderful things more. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus wants to introduce us to the heavenly dance and show us the possibilities of a metamorphosis.
The radiance in action
«Abraham was able to act in this way because he was waiting for a city with a firm foundation, whose builder and creator is God himself»(Hebrews 11:10 NLB). This is followed by a list of all that Abraham did in faith. The longing for the future city, made him dance to the music of the sky. Abraham’s radiance extends to the present day – all three monotheistic religions trace their roots back to him.
The city of God should also be a place of longing for us. A good 4000 years after Abraham, we are still waiting for the original: «For this world is not our home; we await our future city only in heaven» (Hebrews 13:14 NLB). If we are already dancing to the music of heaven, we take a place in this vision on the way to the eternal city where God will dwell in our midst. We are part of a fascinating story, of building the eternal Kingdom of God! This is the motivation and the framework in which our personal metamorphosis is to take place. The perspective of the New Jerusalem must remain: «If faith in Christ gives hope only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world»(1 Corinthians 15:9 NLB).
The city on the mountain is also called Zion in the Bible. In Hebrew, this means «highest point» or also «signpost». This refers to a place that shows us the way, provides orientation and gives us a goal. The prophecy of Zion points the way for us as God’s people.
Being part of this city is the secret of a life that is salt and light. The city on the mountain is a place of being and not of doing, because we live in communion with the almighty Creator of the earth and the great «I Am». That is why Jesus speaks to the listeners: «You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt when it has lost its flavour? Can it be made useful again? It is thrown away and trampled on, like something that is worth nothing. You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain that shines brightly in the night so that all can see it.»(Matthew 5:13f NLB). With Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven has begun. No, it is not yet complete. It also remains hidden, mysterious and future. But already now, through the people dancing to the music of heaven, something is to become visible. Above all, something is to become effective: This community is said to be «salt of the earth» and «light of the world». Well understood: Not to be shouldbut be! The city on the mountain – it is an expression of a lifestyle that is so attractive that outsiders can recognise the radiance and orient themselves by it in the darkness of the world. Yes, even come there to find shelter and become part of it.
Finally, a quote from John Donne, a 16th century English theologian: «I will rise from the dead. … I will see the Son of God, the Sun of Glory, and will myself shine as the Sun. I will be united with the people of times long past, and also with God Himself, who had no morning, who never began. … no man has ever seen God and lived. And yet I shall not live until I see God. And when I have seen him, I shall never die.» The city on the mountain, the new Jerusalem, should be a place of longing that motivates us to dance to the music of heaven.
Possible questions for the small groups
Read Bible text: Matthew 5:13–16
- What do you understand by the term «city on the mountain»? What does that have to do with you?
- What do you imagine the original of the future to be (cf. Revelation 21)?
- What significance does the fact that you are or can become a living component of this city have for you?
- What can you contribute so that the city of God can already take shape on this earth?
- How can the seetal chile already be a good reflection of the future city?
- What does it take for a person to be salt and light in the sense of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13f)?
