I think the problem is, people see the Sermon on the Mount as being easier to manage, and it’s squishier, IOW, more feelings based and being *nice* and accepting and kumbaya, where the Ten Commandments come across has absolutes and people portray them as harsh and condemning.
So doing the Sermon on the Mount seems nicer, on the surface, more accepting, etc, but in reality, the Sermon on the Mount sets the bar far higher.
I think that if that is what the minister believes, he failed as a communicator.