"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)
Thus begins the greatest and most well known sermon in history; Jesus’ glorious Sermon on the Mount.
The sermon took place in the early stages of Jesus’ three-year ministry and was given on an unnamed mountain—more like a large hill—on the north shore of the Sea of Gallilee. The customary tradition of the day was for a teacher to sit down while he taught and that is what Jesus did. If a rabbi spoke while standing it was considered to be informal and unofficial. Because He sat to deliver this sermon, Jesus’ teaching was viewed as authoritative and official. Jesus’ teaching was directed at his disciples and “the multitudes”—a decidedly Jewish audience that lingered within listening distance. What Jesus preached to the crowd that day was revolutionary. Our Lord quoted no sources, no ancient rabbis and no revered tradition. Instead He spoke on his own authority. His words were a stinging indictment targeting the erroneous teachings of the Law and the hardened hearts of the scribes and Pharisees and Jesus left no doubt of the grave consequences of turning away from God. The audience was “astonished” (Matthew 7:28) by what they heard that day. The most well known sections of the sermon include the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) that focus on how we as Christians should live, the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6: 9-13) with Jesus providing a model of how we should pray, and the call to salvation (Matthew 7: 13-27) as Jesus clearly draws the line between the way that leads to destruction and the way that leads to everlasting life. Interestingly, many phrases from the Sermon on the Mount are still part of today’s lexicon… “Blessed are the meek”… “Salt of the earth”… “Light of world”… “Eye for an eye”… “Tooth for a tooth”… “If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out… “If thy right hand offend thee, cut it off”… “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also”… “No man can serve two masters”… “Judge not, that ye be not judged”. But, few people realize the scope and importance of the sermon itself. The Sermon on the Mount is important for at least six reasons:
Sadly, Matthew’s gospel notes the audience was “astonished” by the Sermon on the Mount, but says nothing of conversions to Christ. Certainly, there were some believers in the audience but many walked away without accepting Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus’ call to salvation in the sermon begins with Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” and concludes with Matthew 7:24-27,
“Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”
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