Did Jesus Need an Editor? The Chosen’s Sermon on the Mount

In The Chosen, Jesus is writing the Sermon on the Mount. He’s got nineteen sections so far. And who’s helping Him edit it? Matthew.

Matthew says the opening is a problem. “You are the salt of the earth” might not land with the crowd at the back. And their Jesus answers, “I do agree with you, it shouldn’t begin with salt.” Then He tells Matthew, “Good work.”

Now listen to what the Jesus of the Bible says about where His words came from.

"For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak." — John 12:49 (KJV)

Who gave Him what to say? The Father. So could Matthew have helped Jesus with that sermon? No. And yet the scene tells you the words the Father gave the Son needed a man’s critique.

He Was a Real Man

And this opens up a problem we see in a lot of Christian circles, doesn’t it? The idea that God’s word needs an editor.

Now let’s be clear first. Jesus Christ was a real man. In John 11:35 He wept. In Matthew 4:2 He hungered. In John 4:6 He was wearied with His journey. And in Luke 22:44, “being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." — Luke 2:52 (KJV)

Increased. That word is in your Bible.

But notice what that sweat in Gethsemane was for. Was He sweating over what to say? No. He was carrying what we couldn’t carry. 1 Peter 2:24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.” Hold on to that. It matters later.

So is it wrong to show a Jesus who sweats and grieves and gets tired? No. That’s faithful to the text. The question is never whether they showed Him as a man. The question is whether they marred the character of God along the way.

What Happens in That Room

So watch the scene. Matthew and Jesus go through the sermon. Matthew suggests twenty sections would be more symmetrical, or eighteen, because brevity is usually preferred. Their Jesus asks for Matthew’s honest opinion and promises not to be offended.

And Matthew critiques it. If you do the math, there isn’t much good news here. Lust is adultery. Gouge out your eye. Give up your cloak. Bad trees burned. The narrow gate. Depart from me.

Then the opening. Matthew worries that salt will remind people of Rome salting Carthage, and the back rows will hear only a curse. Their Jesus explains that salt preserves, salt flavors, salt heals. Matthew asks why He doesn’t just say that. And their Jesus answers, “Come on, Matthew, allow me a little poetry.”

Then He gives in. He agrees the sermon shouldn’t start with salt, and He says, “Good work.” Matthew suggests opening with the light of the world. Their Jesus says, “I could.” Later He comes back and says He’s got it, and the new opening is the Beatitudes.

So where did that opening come from in the show? From Matthew’s notes. Not from the Father. And that’s the problem.

Whose Words Were They?

The real Jesus says it over and over, and He never softens it.

• John 7:16“My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.”
• John 8:28“as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.”
• John 5:19“The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do.”
• John 14:10“the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself.”

Same claim, every time. The content was never His to revise.

And here’s why that’s good news for you.

"And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak." — John 12:50 (KJV)

Think about that. Not one word was His own invention. So how much of it can you trust? All of it. There’s no rough draft hiding behind it.

And look how the sermon actually landed. Matthew 7:28–29: “the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” In John 7:46, the officers came back empty-handed: “Never man spake like this man.”

Now put that beside a man asking a former tax collector whether nineteen sections is too many. If the sermon needed a rewrite, then somewhere there was a worse version, wasn’t there? A draft that wasn’t good enough yet. That isn’t a Saviour at rest. That’s a man grinding to get it right.

He Did Prepare, and Here’s How

Now, does Scripture show Jesus preparing for this sermon? It does. And it tells us exactly how.

"And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles;" — Luke 6:12–13 (KJV)

"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God." — Luke 6:20 (KJV)

To be fair, the show does give Jesus time alone before the sermon. But what does He do with it? He isn’t talking to the Father. He’s running His lines and reworking them. And in Luke, when Jesus gets alone, what does He do? He prays. Luke 5:16: “And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.”

So the show kept the solitude and took out the Father. That isn’t cultural context. That’s a different Jesus.

And here’s why it matters. If Jesus had to workshop the sermon, then it’s a man’s best draft. And what can you do with a man’s draft? You can edit it. Keep the parts you like. Cut the parts you don’t. But Jesus said:

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." — Matthew 24:35 (KJV)

Nobody gets to revise words that outlast heaven and earth.

Given a Mouth

And the show doesn’t just get this wrong. It gets it backwards.

In Scripture, the Father gives the Son the words. Then the Son promises His disciples the same thing.

"...it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." — Matthew 10:19–20 (KJV)

So which way do the words flow? Father to Son. Son to disciples. Down from the Father. And the show runs it the other way: a disciple gives words to the Son.

Now watch the real promise get tested.

"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." — Acts 4:13 (KJV)

Unlearned. Ignorant. No editor. And the only explanation the council had was that they had been with Jesus.

So did Jesus need Matthew’s help? No. Matthew needed to be with Jesus.

Who Gets to Understand

There’s one more line from that scene. Their Jesus says those who are truly committed will dig deeply into His words looking for truth. So what does that make understanding? The reward for effort.

Here’s what the real Jesus said when the disciples asked about this.

"Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." — Matthew 13:11 (KJV)

Given. Not earned. Not dug up. Verse 13: “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”

They took a gift and turned it into a wage. But understanding is offered freely.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." — James 1:5 (KJV)

And that’s good news, because a theology degree is expensive these days, isn’t it? If the gospel is for the poor but locked behind a degree, it isn’t a gospel for the poor anymore. James 2:5: “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”

And look how Jesus responded.

"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight." — Luke 10:21 (KJV)

The Oldest Lie

All of this goes back to the first lie.

"For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." — Genesis 3:5 (KJV)

Did the serpent tell Eve there was no God? No. He offered her a promotion.

It’s the same thing Satan reached for himself. Isaiah 14:14: “I will be like the most High.” And that offer keeps coming back, doesn’t it? It’s a typical pattern. Latter Day Saint theology teaches a man who progressed to godhood. That is their version of Jesus and it offers men the same path. And a Jesus who has to workshop his way to the right words carries the same message: you can work your way up.

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." — 2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)

And what’s the simplicity? Salvation is a gift.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." — Ephesians 2:8–9 (KJV)

An Example or a Saviour

If Jesus had to become what He is, then He’s just a man further up your road. And what’s that? An example. Not a Saviour.

But here’s the good news. Jesus was never on your road. He came down onto it.

"For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;" — Hebrews 7:26 (KJV)

Did He qualify? No. He arrived qualified.

Hebrews 10:12: “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God.” He did what? Sat down. He isn’t revising anything.

That’s why He can say:

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." — Matthew 11:28–30 (KJV)

Their Jesus hands you a shovel. The real One finished the work and hands you rest. That’s your rest.

We Can Become Editors Too

And before we point at the show, let’s take heed to ourselves. Have you ever read a hard verse and thought, “That can’t mean what it says”? Maybe it was about forgiving somebody who hurt you. Or about money. Or about your words. That’s the moment we all become editors, isn’t it? We don’t cross the verse out. We just quietly skip it.

So try this instead. When a verse bothers you, write it on a card. Keep it in your pocket, or set it as your phone wallpaper, and ask God for wisdom on it every day that week. Let the verse edit you, not the other way around.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." — 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (KJV)

Throughly furnished. Fully equipped. Not a first draft.

"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." — 2 Peter 1:21 (KJV)

Not by the will of man. Not a writers’ room. Not Jesus sitting with a tax collector hashing out His sermon.

So watch like the Bereans, who “searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:11). If they checked an apostle against Scripture and God called it noble, a TV show doesn’t get a free pass. And once you know a show presents a different Jesus, Romans 16:17–18 tells you what to do:

"Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." — Romans 16:17–18 (KJV)

Keep Reading the Series

• Previous · Part 3“I Am the Law of Moses”: The Line in The Chosen That Is Not in Your Bible
• Next · Part 5The Chosen’s Mary and Joseph vs. What Scripture Records
• Related · Part 8Did Jesus Tell Jokes? The Problem With a Joking Jesus (coming soon)
• See Every PostThe Chosen series hub