What is the Sermon on the Mount?

   

The Sermon on the Mount is the sermon that Jesus gave in Matthew chapters 5-7. Matthew 5:1-2 is the reason it is known as the Sermon on the Mount: "Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them..." The Sermon on the Mount is the most famous sermon Jesus ever gave, perhaps the most famous sermon ever given by anyone.

The Sermon on the Mount covers several different topics. It is not the purpose of this article to comment on every section, but rather to give a brief summary of what it contains. If we were to summarize the Sermon on the Mount in a single sentence, it would be something like this: How to live a life that is dedicated to and pleasing to God, free from hypocrisy, full of love and grace, full of wisdom and discernment.

Matthew 5:3-12 - The Beatitudes
Matthew 5:13-16 - Salt and Light
Matthew 5:17-20 - Jesus fulfilled the Law
Matthew 5:21-26 - Anger and Murder
Matthew 5:27-30 - Lust and Adultery
Matthew 5:31-32 - Divorce and Remarriage
Matthew 5:33-37 - Oaths
Matthew 5:38-42 - Eye for an Eye
Matthew 5:43-48 - Love your enemies
Matthew 6:1-4 - Give to the Needy
Matthew 6:5-15 - How to Pray
Matthew 6:16-18 - How to Fast
Matthew 6:19-24 - Treasures in Heaven
Matthew 6:25-34 - Do not worry
Matthew 7:1-6 - Do not judge hypocritically
Matthew 7:7-12 - Ask, Seek, Knock
Matthew 7:13-14 - The Narrow Gate
Matthew 7:15-23 - False Prophets
Matthew 7:24-27 - The Wise Builder

Matthew 7:28-29 concludes the Sermon on the Mount with the following statement: "When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law." May we all continue to be amazed at His teaching and follow the principles that He taught in the Sermon on the Mount!