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The Sermon on the Mount: Inspiring the Moral Imagination (Companions to the New Testament)

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Dale Allison's The Sermon on the Mount: Inspiring the Moral Imagination (Herder & Herder, 1999) is a brief commentary on Matthew 5-7.

Allison places the Sermon within its historical and literary context and chooses to interpret the Sermon within the framework of church history. The result is a commentary that succeeds at several levels.

First, the book gives the historical data necessary in order to correctly interpret the Sermon. Allison may not delve as deeply into the historical specifics as scholars like N.T. Wright, but he goes deep enough to give a solid interpretation of several difficult-to-understand passages.

Secondly, Allison seeks to understand the Sermon within its literary context. He shows how the Sermon is echoed in other parts of Matthew's Gospel. He breaks down the structure of the Sermon, and the structure of certain passages of the Sermon - an illuminating step that helps one see the rhetorical devices of Jesus' well-known words.

Third, Allison gives brief descriptions of how the Sermon has been interpreted throughout church history. Once he arrives at a particular passage, he offers several interpretive options that have been suggested by other scholars or church fathers. He then weighs the interpretations and decides which one is most likely correct.

Inspiring the Moral Imagination is a helpful, concise commentary on Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. If you're planning on preaching through the Sermon, you will want to consult this book.

If you are curious about accepting the Sermon on the Mount and learning from it, this is a must-read. Allison will challenge you regardless of your current position. If you think you are right, think again. You are left with lingering questions and a very broad perspective of differing point's of view which makes it an important read for anyone interested in the Sermon on the Mount.