NOW WHEN HE saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them, saying:
Original Meaning
THE INITIAL PHASE of Jesus’ ministry has been narrated briefly yet powerfully: Jesus announced his kingdom mission (4:17), called his first coworkers (4:18–22), and conducted an extraordinary teaching, preaching, and healing tour of Galilee (4:22–25). Matthew now records an extensive message that develops in detail the kind of life available to those who respond to the arrival of God’s kingdom.
Matthew has a special interest in Jesus’ messages. While Mark and Luke give summaries of several different messages and John’s Gospel records the extended Upper Room Discourse Jesus gave on the night before his crucifixion, Matthew has preserved for us five major messages or discourses, which alternate with narratives about Jesus’ activities. As discussed in the introduction, these discourses are a key to understanding at least one of Matthew’s purposes for writing his Gospel. He has gathered together a collection of Jesus’ messages that enable the church for all ages to carry out a crucial component of Jesus’ final commission: “teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (28:20).
This first of Jesus’ discourses, traditionally called the Sermon on the Mount (SM), is undoubtedly the most widely known. From the time Jesus first uttered these words up to the present day, people from all backgrounds and traditions have been galvanized by its potent expression of the moral and ethical life. In the twentieth century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Hindu Mahatma (Sanskrit for “Great Soul”), was profoundly influenced by this Sermon as he established India’s freedom through a nonviolent revolution. Likewise, Martin Luther King Jr., the American Protestant preacher who became a legendary international civil rights leader, strove to make the teachings of the Sermon the basis of his political program and his ideological commitment to nonviolence and civil disobedience.
This Sermon as recorded in Matthew 5–7 is almost certainly a summary of a much longer one. One can read through it in thirty minutes or less. Jesus’ regular practice was to spend extended time teaching and preaching, to the point that on at least two occasions he spent an entire day speaking to the multitudes and ended up miraculously feeding five thousand and four thousand (14:13–21; 15:32–38). But this summary is not just a collection of randomly selected thoughts. The structure of this message is a unified whole.
The context of the SM is Jesus’ inauguration of the kingdom of heaven. As the one born “king of the Jews” (2:2) and as one who has demonstrated power over sickness and the devil (4:23–25; cf. 9:35; 10:1), Jesus gives a powerful statement of the reality and availability of kingdom life for his followers, which includes practical instruction on how to carry out kingdom life. Thus, at the center of the SM is Jesus’ message about the kingdom of heaven. Its opening words speak of the kingdom of heaven as a present possession (5:3, 10), declare different levels of status for those in the kingdom (5:19), and announce the terms of entering it (5:20). The model prayer Jesus teaches his disciples has the coming of the kingdom as its central theme (6:10), and his admonition related to daily priorities of life emphasizes seeking first the kingdom (6:33). The ultimate reward for those who truly know Jesus and do the will of his Father is to enter the kingdom of heaven (7:21–23).
The discourse gets its name from the geographical setting, “on a mountain” somewhere in Galilee (5:1). The traditional site, as well as the most recent consensus, identifies it above Tabghah, near Capernaum, on a ridge of hills just to the west of the town. This ridge is likely the place referred to in the Gospels where Jesus went “into a solitary [eremos] place” (14:13; cf. Mk 1:35). Ancient tradition named the top of the hill “Eremos.” At the foot of Eremos lies the area of seven springs, which carried the Greek name Heptapegon (“Seven Springs”), later roughly transliterated into Arabic as et-Tabgha.1 Eremos offers a magnificent overview of the Sea of Galilee and the surrounding villages. The cragginess of the hill meant it was left uncultivated, which could have enabled Jesus to gather large crowds around him without causing damage to the surrounding farmlands.2
Jesus goes to a mountain as a special place of divine revelation several times for significant events in Matthew’s narrative.3 Expositors have wondered whether Matthew draws parallels with Old Testament incidents or themes, such as Moses’ going up to Mount Sinai to receive the Law (Ex. 19–20).4 It is doubtful, however, that Jesus is to be seen as a new Moses giving a new Torah in the five discourses, as some have suggested. Jesus does not give a new law; rather, he is the One whose life and teaching fulfills the law (cf. 5:17–20). If anything, he is contrasted with the oral traditions of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus, the authoritative Messiah, fulfills the intention of the Law, because his teaching penetrates to the full meaning of God’s commandments.5
Matthew’s wording to specify the audience of the SM is important. Jesus sees the crowds, then goes up on the mountain and sits down. Sitting down is the typical position from which a teacher in Judaism taught (cf. 23:2), a position Jesus takes regularly (cf. 13:1–2; 15:29; 24:3–4; 26:55). His disciples then come to him, and “opening his mouth” (KJV, another Jewish idiom), he begins to teach them. Since the nearest antecedent to “them” is “his disciples,” Matthew specifies that Jesus leaves the crowds so that he can teach his disciples. Who are the “crowds” and who are the “disciples”? What is the significance of his teaching the disciples, not the crowds?
“Crowd” (ochlos) is the same term used to designate the large group of people who followed Jesus around in 4:25. The term “disciple” (mathetes) occurs here for the first time in Matthew; almost certainly they are the four brothers who have just been called to follow Jesus (4:18–22), along with any others who have made a commitment to him by this time. The designation “disciple” was a general term used to represent a follower of a variety of different kinds of masters within Judaism, but Jesus fashioned its use throughout his ministry in a unique way to describe his own followers.
Matthew specifies three primary groups of people around Jesus in his earthly ministry: his disciples, the religious leaders, and the crowds.6 The disciples are those who have made a commitment to Jesus as the Messiah. The religious leaders are Jesus’ opponents for much of his ministry, represented especially by the Pharisees (12:22–32). The crowd is basically neutral, a curious group of people who are astounded by his teaching and ministry (7:28–29) but who have not yet made a commitment to him.
Jesus’ objective was to make disciples from among the crowd. As he teaches and preaches, the sign of faith is when one comes out of the crowd to call Jesus “Lord,” at which time that person becomes a disciple/believer (cf. 8:18, 21; 17:14–15). At first the crowds are amazed at Jesus’ teaching (7:28–29) and miracles (9:8) and receive his compassionate attention (9:35–38; 14:13–14). But they increasingly demonstrate hardness of heart (cf. 13:2–3, 10–17, 34–36), until at the end the religious leaders persuade the crowd to ask for the death of Jesus (27:15–25). At this early point in his ministry, Jesus will teach the disciples in the Sermon, but he will also have an eye on the crowd, extending to them an invitation to become disciples.
We should emphasize as well that the “disciples” are not identical to the “Twelve,” because some of them have yet to be called (e.g., Matthew the tax collector in 9:9; cf. 10:2–4). The Twelve are a more restricted group within the larger group of Jesus’ disciples. Note Luke 6:13: “When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.” The term disciple here designates those who have come to believe in Jesus, while the term apostle designates specific disciples as leaders of the church to come.7 As disciples the Twelve are like any others who have responded to Jesus’ call to eternal life in the kingdom, but as apostles they have responded to an additional call to leadership (cf. 10:1–2).
Since Jesus’ teaching in the SM is designed primarily for disciples, it can be designated as training in discipleship. It is the first basic instruction for those who have made a commitment to Jesus and his proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom. In addition, the SM also contains at certain points an invitation to the crowd to enter the kingdom of heaven (e.g., 5:20; 7:28–29).
Relationship to Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain” (Luke 6:17–49). A message with striking similarity occurs in Luke 6:17–49. Both sermons come in the context of Jesus’ widespread speaking and healing ministry (Matt. 4:23–25; Luke 6:17–19), both begin with beatitudes, both give significant ethical teaching on love and judging, both emphasize the necessity of bearing fruit, and both conclude with the parable of the builders. But there are significant differences as well. For example, Matthew does not include the “woes” after Luke’s beatitudes (Luke 6:24–26), Luke does not include the majority of the antitheses found in Matthew 5:21–48, and Luke’s version of the Lord’s Prayer does not occur in his sermon but in Luke 11:1–4.
Reconciling the similarities and differences have led to different conclusions by interpreters. (1) The similarities lead some to assert that Matthew and Luke present two distinct summaries of the same message given by Jesus.8 (2) The differences lead others to suggest that Matthew and Luke record two different sermons, given by Jesus on separate occasions when he repeated some of the same or similar content.9 (3) Still others propose that either Matthew or Luke (or both) gathered together teachings that Jesus gave on separate occasions to make one sermon.10 The latter is usually suggested because there are parallels to Matthew’s sermon scattered throughout Luke’s Gospel.11
Since Matthew and Luke both imply that their sermons were given on one occasion, the third view is less likely. The first view is strengthened by observing the same general context, the general order, and the similar geographical setting (mountainous area) of both sermons.12 The second view is strengthened by recalling that Jesus went about teaching and preaching all through the countryside of Galilee for nearly two years, and he almost certainly repeated much of the same content on numerous occasions. Since nothing of great importance relies on the solution to this question, it may be best to say that until further insight is gained, either the first or second view is preferable.
Bridging Contexts
INTERPRETATIONS OF THE Sermon on the Mount. Throughout church history, expositors have subjected the SM to a variety of interpretations.13 Those interpretations have led to diverse applications, ranging from those who place the SM at the center of their present civil and social agenda to those who limit the applicability of the details of the SM to a future time when Christ reigns on the earth. Each of these interpretations results primarily from understanding the way Jesus intended his kingdom mission to be applied to present-day life. Literally dozens of interpretations have resulted, which may be summarized under the following headings.14
(1) Entrance requirements to the kingdom. Many have understood Jesus’ statements about entering the kingdom (e.g., 5:20) to mean that the SM is primarily an invitation to enter the kingdom of God and that one finds within Jesus’ ethical and moral teaching explicit requirements for entering that kingdom. This approach is quite varied, shared at least in part by some within Protestant liberalism, existentialism, and the social reformers. While these approaches do not necessarily advocate a works-legalism adherence to the details of the SM, they do believe that the essence of the SM is to define the means by which one actualizes the kingdom of God. That attainable, essential element may be found in maintaining the sermon’s ethical ideal (Adolph Harnack), or in carrying out authentic human existence before God (Søren Kierkegaard), or in achieving the ideal of personal and social nonviolence (Leo Tolstoy).
This approach to the SM acknowledges the radical nature of the kingdom of God that Jesus announces, but it confuses the results of participating in kingdom life with the means of obtaining kingdom life. The kind of life to which Jesus points in the SM will be the Spirit-empowered result of those who have already responded to the gospel of the kingdom, not the means by which one enters it. The sermon must be read within the context of Jesus’ overall earthly ministry, which includes the redemptive work of the cross. Jesus’ followers will actualize these ethical and moral ideals, not as a means of entering the kingdom but as an outgrowth of the kingdom life that will be theirs through the empowering of the Spirit.
(2) An impossible ideal. Martin Luther recognized that the SM cannot be an articulation of the means of entering the kingdom of God because it is impossible for humans apart from God’s grace to carry out its stringent demands. Therefore, he understood the SM to be similar to Paul’s statement of the role of the law (Rom. 3–4; Gal. 3). It gives God’s perfect expression of his moral will, which is impossible for humans to maintain, and therefore forces us to recognize our sinfulness and cry out for God’s grace in repentance.
Luther did not clearly differentiate the audience of the sermon. Jesus addresses disciples who have already responded to his kingdom mission, which includes their prior repentance (3:2; 4:17). While the SM does indeed articulate an ideal that is impossible for fallen humans to attain, it is an ideal that disciples will strive to live out under the grace of God and the power of the Spirit in their everyday world (see 5:48). Jesus not only gives the ideal of the kingdom in the SM, but his description of life in the kingdom includes the enablement to attain the ideal.
(3) An example for another age. Other approaches to the SM do not see it as having direct relevance to the present age. Some suggest that Jesus gave these instructions to his disciples as a rigorous emergency ethic to prepare them for the imminent arrival of the kingdom of God with Jesus’ return. But since Jesus didn’t return, the rigorous ethic of the SM is inappropriate for the present age (Albert Schweitzer). In a completely different direction, others suggest that since Jesus did not establish the literal kingdom of God to Israel at his first advent, the literal application of the SM awaits a future time when the kingdom of heaven will be established on the earth during the millennial reign of Christ (e.g., C. I. Scofield). Both of these views find principles within the SM that present-day believers must heed, but the primary application is for another age.
While these two approaches are poles apart theologically, they both take seriously their understanding of the nature and timing of the establishment of the kingdom. Both generally conclude that Jesus either established the kingdom literally then, or it is not at all present now. However, if we understand the inauguration of the kingdom by Jesus to be a combination of the “already-not yet,” then we do not have to go for an either-or extreme that both of these approaches take. As we discussed in Matthew 4, certain aspects of the kingdom were inaugurated with the arrival of Jesus while other aspects await a final fulfillment. Since Jesus teaches his disciples about how their lives are impacted by the arrival of the kingdom, then the SM is addressed in principle to disciples of every age, including now.
(4) An optional elitism. Several others suggest that the SM was given for a select group of highly committed believers pursuing a higher standard of ethical and moral life. This view was suggested by the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas, who claimed that there were two levels in Jesus’ teaching. One level was for the average Christian (generally the “laity”), while the higher level was for those who were seeking a higher level of righteousness (especially the clergy and various priestly/monastic orders). Similarly, some today suggest that the “crowds” represent average believers while the “disciples” represent those who are either more highly committed to serious spiritual formation or who are in training to be leaders of the church.15
We must certainly agree that the SM is a high standard of ethical and moral life, but rather than being directed toward a select few, it is the high calling of all believers. A two-level ethic that artificially separates Christians into lower and higher categories has consistently been attempted but rightly rejected, as the Reformation doctrine of the “priesthood of all believers” emphasized. Further, while we agree that there is a distinction between the “crowds” and the “disciples,” the distinction is not between two categories of believers (e.g., disciples are more committed than are the average “crowds” of believers). Instead, the distinction is between believers and unbelievers—that is, disciples are those who have made a commitment to Jesus as Savior, while the crowds are interested but have not yet made a decision to believe on Jesus for eternal life. Becoming a disciple occurs at conversion. Therefore, the SM is a high calling, but it is a light yoke of obligation for all Christians.16
The essence of kingdom life for disciples of all ages. Each of the above views have some truth to their claim. A majority of interpreters, however, with some variation, understand the SM to be Jesus’ declaration of the essence of life in the kingdom that he has announced. Several key elements are involved in this general approach to the SM.
(1) We must hear clearly the messages intended specifically for disciples and crowds. One of the primary interpretive keys to understanding the SM is to clarify the message that is intended for either the disciples or the crowds. The disciples are those who have made a commitment to Jesus as the inaugurator of the kingdom of God and so receive direct teaching about kingdom life. The crowds are those who are interested but who have not yet made a commitment to Jesus’ gospel of the kingdom. Since the SM is designed primarily for disciples, it can be designated as training in Christian discipleship for believers of all eras.
To make a distinction, the SM is primarily instruction for disciples about how life is to be lived on this earth in the light of the radical truth that the kingdom of heaven has arrived. But secondarily it holds out an invitation (not entrance requirements) to the crowds to enter the kingdom (e.g., 5:20). Some overlap will occur, because the crowds that Jesus left at the beginning of the sermon (5:1) appear at the end of the sermon, exclaiming that Jesus was “teaching them” with an authority not found in the teachers of the law (7:28–29). Even when directly teaching his disciples, Jesus has an eye on the crowd, hoping to persuade them to become his disciples. His teaching is a tantalizing attraction to the crowds within hearing range.17
(2) We must recognize the targets of criticism within the historical religious setting. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees at that time were the most influential interpreters of the Old Testament Scriptures. They were the predominant caretakers and examples of righteous religious life among the common people. However, some of their interpretations and applications were leading the people astray from the intended will of God as revealed in the Law and the Prophets. Therefore, on the one hand, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees are the targets for Jesus’ implicit and explicit criticism because of their faulty teaching and hypocritical example (e.g., 6:1–18). On the other hand, Jesus demonstrates throughout the SM how the kingdom life that he has inaugurated correctly fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures (5:17–20).
A subtle shift occurs in the SM, so that the relatively positive note at its beginning gets increasingly harsher. In chapter 5 Jesus calls for a higher form of righteousness than that exhibited by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees (e.g., 5:20), in chapter 6 the hypocrites are “outside” (addressed as “them”), but in chapter 7 the hypocrites are addressed directly (addressed as “you”), taking on the adversaries directly who are leading the people astray.18 So at virtually every point in the SM we must determine how Jesus confronts an erroneous interpretation or a hypocritical application of the Old Testament that is being advanced by the Jewish leaders. Jesus shows the intended meaning of God’s will by bringing the Old Testament to its fulfillment, and he does so by addressing the religious life of the common people as they have seen it speciously interpreted and modeled by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees (5:17–20).
(3) We must view the Sermon as the realistic, though ideal, model of the Christian life. The SM gives the ideal of discipleship (e.g., 5:48), yet that goal is set within a realistic understanding of everyday human life as it will be transformed through participation in new covenant life (26:26–29). The new covenant that Jesus inaugurates includes both forgiveness of sins and transformation of lives, because it is the basis of Spirit-produced regeneration and spiritual growth (cf. Ezek. 36:26–32; Titus 3:4–7). Although he does not mention the Holy Spirit explicitly in the SM, as the Spirit-anointed messianic inaugurator of the kingdom of God (3:16–4:1), Jesus exemplifies the kind of life that is empowered by the Spirit to live out the radical teaching included in the SM.
Jesus’ disciples will participate in real forgiveness of sins through the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, they will experience the real beginnings of kingdom life that comes through the new covenant regenerative work of the Spirit, and they will experience real transformation by the Spirit into the image of Christ (cf. 10:24–25; Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18). Jesus displays in his own life and teaching the perfection of the Father that is laid before the disciples as the ideal goal toward which they are to strive. The wonderful truth behind the goal is that there is a realistic promise of initiation and ultimate realization, even though they will not attain the goal perfectly in this life (see comments on 5:48). The ideal life that Jesus lives and teaches becomes the goal that all of his disciples are to strive toward in this life.
Jesus interprets the unchanging principles of God’s divine will already embodied in the Law and the Prophets for those who live in the already-not yet kingdom of God. The emphasis in the SM will be on inside-out transformation. Jesus will continually go to inner motivation, not external performance. The inner life will naturally transform the outer life. The heart that treasures the kingdom of heaven above all else will be the starting point for transformation of the entire life.
Contemporary Significance
MATTHEW’S INTRODUCTION TO the SM brings important implications to our attention that will be helpful when understanding more clearly how to develop our own discipleship to Jesus.
The SM delineates the foundation of our discipleship to Jesus. The kind of kingdom life elucidated in the SM is the foundation for each Christian’s personal discipleship to Jesus. The mandate of the Great Commission that concludes Matthew’s Gospel is to “make disciples” of all the nations (28:19). As a person is converted, he or she becomes a disciple of Jesus, which is synonymous with being a Christian. The final participle of the Great Commission directs new disciples to be taught to obey everything that Jesus commanded (28:20). And the SM is the first major teaching of Jesus found in the Gospel, delineating the core of what it means to live as Jesus’ disciple. I emphasize this especially to counteract some who understand discipleship to be reserved for an advanced stage of commitment. From the biblical point of view, all Christians are disciples, so the teaching in the SM is not for a few more-committed believers. This is the heart of Jesus’ teaching for all Christians.
Matthew’s discourses develop a full-orbed description of our discipleship to Jesus. It is no coincidence that all five major discourses in Matthew’s Gospel are directed to Jesus’ disciples and that these discourses are the most extensive and intentionally organized collection of Jesus’ teaching ever recorded. Thus, when we understand that disciples are to be taught to obey all that Jesus has commanded, these five discourses give us the most complete articulation of the kind of discipleship life that Jesus intends for each of us. That is why I refer to Matthew as a “manual on discipleship,” because throughout most of church history, this Gospel was used to provide the content of instruction on full-orbed Christian living.
We will develop this more fully as we study each of the discourses, and we will consider the ramifications for using this Gospel as a teaching tool when we examine Jesus’ final Great Commission. But as an overview, we can see the kind of disciples that will develop when taught to obey the content of Jesus’ discourses.
• Kingdom-life disciples. The SM, or the Kingdom-Life Discourse, unpacks what it means for Jesus’ disciples to live out a radical kingdom life in their everyday world (Matt. 5–7).
• Mission-driven disciples. The second discourse is the Mission Mandate, which describes how Jesus’ disciples are to go out and live out the message of the gospel of the kingdom of God to an alien and often hostile world (Matt. 10).
• Clandestine-kingdom disciples. The third discourse is the Parabolic Disclosure, which reveals what it means for Jesus’ disciples to live as kingdom subjects in a world not yet fully manifested with God’s power (Matt. 13).
• Community-based disciples. The fourth discourse is the Community Prescription, which focuses on discipleship to Jesus that is expressed through a church characterized by humility, purity, accountability, forgiveness, and reconciliation (Matt. 18).
• Expectant-sojourner disciples. The fifth discourse is the Eschatological Forecast, traditionally called the Olivet Discourse, which culminates Jesus’ teaching on discipleship by describing how his disciples are to live each day in expectant preparation for his return with power (Matt. 24–25).
There is a progression of teaching in these discourses that addresses the fullness of the disciple’s life. Matthew was the favorite Gospel of the early church throughout much of church history because it was a natural catechetical tool designed to develop wholistic disciples. The basic thrust of each discourse points to that kind of intentional well-roundedness. We would do well to return to Matthew on a regular basis throughout our lives, both for guidance in our own development as Jesus’ disciples, but also for our use in guiding others within our ministries.
A balanced understanding of the SM will mature our discipleship to Jesus. Jesus’ teaching in the SM gives some of the most radical challenges to our discipleship found in Scripture. It takes a careful understanding of what Jesus actually intends in his teachings for us to be truly radical in our discipleship to him and yet not take his teachings to unwarranted extremes. Some of his teachings have been misunderstood and either wrongly applied or rejected because Jesus uses intentional exaggeration to make his point (see comments on 5:29; 6:31–33). The use of normal Bible study practices and hermeneutical principles will help us to glean accurately what Jesus intends and allow us to avoid misinterpretation and faulty application.
Some specific tips for a balanced interpretation of some of the more problematic teachings of Jesus in the SM may help. Here are a few suggestive illustrations.
(1) Take the passage at face value and attempt to understand the meaning of Jesus’ statement. Most problems can be resolved by looking at the literary and cultural context and seeing the intent of Jesus’ saying within the larger setting. For example, when Jesus says that we are not to swear at all (5:34), the saying must be understood within the context of religious leaders trying to manipulate themselves out of their stated obligations to fellow Jews. Jesus is not condemning giving an oath of allegiance or vowing to fulfill a contract.
(2) Glean the principle being taught in the passage. An important part of understanding the SM is recognizing that when Jesus says that he has come to fulfill the Old Testament, he is taking us to the level of the intent and motive of Old Testament passages that were misinterpreted by religious leaders of his day. Behind specific instructions, such as turning one’s cheek or giving up one’s cloak (5:39–40), lay principles that are easily transferable to our own lives.
(3) Check to see if the passage needs to be balanced with another biblical principle in order to understand the full counsel of God. As in standard polemical argumentation, Jesus often gives one extreme with regard to an issue to drive home his point. He is not implying that other, equally important principles are invalid. For example, Jesus’ statements about not being anxious about what we eat or drink or wear need to be balanced with the consistent theme of Scripture that godliness includes honest work to supply our own needs (e.g., 2 Thess. 3:9–12; 1 Tim. 5:8).
(4) Once your understanding is balanced, go back to the passage in the SM and attempt to live that principle out radically. Balancing Jesus’ teachings does not water them down or mute their radical significance. Rather, truly radical discipleship means taking all of Jesus’ teachings and living them all in the manner in which they were intended to be lived. For example, Jesus warns against laying up treasures for ourselves on earth (6:19–21). We should live that principle fully. But he later uses a parable of sound investment of funds to warn equally against irresponsibility in investing what God has given to us to use for his service (25:14–30). Living with both of those principles at the same time will allow us to be radical disciples who live with God’s perspective on our values and service.
With these guidelines for reading the SM, we must look for our discipleship to Jesus to be challenged and strengthened and to become more practical in its outworking. We look for Jesus to become more real, both as our Lord, who provides the power to live out the wonderful life he offers, and as our example, who provides the model for us to follow.