Not as the Scribes
Jesus had come up out of the water and through the wilderness (see His Baptism and Temptation). He was walking through Galilee saying, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17), and great crowds were following Him (Matthew 4:25). Then He climbed a mountain, sat down the way a teacher sat down, and His disciples came close.
“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,”MATTHEW 5:1–2 · KJV
What followed is the longest unbroken sermon of Jesus that the Gospels record. People who have never opened a Bible know pieces of it, such as Judge not (Matthew 7:1) and the Golden Rule. In the 390s Augustine called it “a perfect standard of the Christian life.” It is also among the most misused passages in the Bible.
Some treat it as the way to heaven: be kind, do your best, and God will accept you. Some file it away as a message for someone else, and never let it touch their week. And some simply admire it. Jesus left no room for that. He ended with two builders. Both heard Him. One did what he heard (Matthew 7:24–27).
Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5 to 7, given to His disciples with the crowds listening. It describes the people who belong to the King, shows what God's law was always after, and calls every hearer to trust Him and do what He says.
He blesses those who suffer for my sake (Matthew 5:11). He says But I say unto you (Matthew 5:22) where the prophets said “Thus saith the LORD.” On the last day men will call Him Lord, Lord, and He will decide their end (Matthew 7:22–23). No wonder the people were astonished at his doctrine (Matthew 7:28). See The Deity of Christ.
Luke records a shorter message with much of the same teaching, given when Jesus stood in the plain (Luke 6:17). Teachers differ on whether that is the same sermon or the same teaching given again, and nothing rests on deciding it.
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For Deeper Study
- Design for Living: Lessons on Holiness from the Sermon on the MountAmazon J. Dwight PentecostA devotional study of Matthew 5 to 7 by a dispensational Bible teacher at Dallas Theological Seminary.
- Behold the KingAmazon Stanley D. ToussaintA dispensational study of Matthew, useful for the Sermon's setting in the kingdom announced to Israel.
- Live Like a King: Making the Beatitudes Work in Daily LifeAmazon Warren W. WiersbeA warm, practical walk through the Beatitudes by an evangelical pastor and Bible teacher.
- Studies in the Sermon on the MountAmazon D. Martyn Lloyd-JonesReformed. A searching exposition by a Welsh preacher. We differ on the kingdom and on Calvinism.
- Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.
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Matthew
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised Messiah and King of Israel, the Son of David and Son of Abraham, who fulfilled the prophets, was rejected by His people, died and rose again, and sends His disciples to every nation.
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