Sermon on the Mount

Of the five discourses of Jesus in Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount (chaps. 5-7) is the first, the longest, and the most prominent. Following Matthew's introduction to the person of Jesus (1:1-4:25), the sermon comprises the first words of Jesus to confront the reader and because of the arrangement of the canon, it holds the place of honor in the New Testament. Since the postapostolic age it has attracted more attention than any other section of the Bible and was considered the quintessential expression of Jesus' teachings. The study of its interpretations is the history of the development of theology. Luke's parallel, the Sermon on the Plain ( 6:17-49 ), with its 33 verses compared to Matthew's 107 or 109, does not match its detail, organization, complexity of interpretation, and unequivocal demands. Luke locates many parallels to Matthew's Sermon in other episodes of Jesus' life and not his Sermon on the Plain. Where Matthew's Sermon has the Lord's Prayer as part of a general instruction given by Jesus to the disciples ( 6:9 ), Luke has the disciples asking Jesus to follow the example of John the Baptist who taught his disciples to pray ( 11:1 ). Mark has no similar discourse and his parallels are few ( Mark 4:21 Mark 4:24-25 ; 9:43-48 ; 11:25 ).

Matthew and His Sermon on the Mount. Matthew's Sermon on the Mount must be interpreted within the totality of his Gospel and not as an isolated discourse. His penchant for order is evident in the division of the genealogy into three parts each with fourteen persons ( 1:2-17 ), the five discourses, and the division of the Gospel into two parts ( 4:17 ; 16:21 ); this indicates that he is arranging and editing preexisting material spoken by Jesus on more than one occasion, a suggestion put forth by Calvin and supported recently by Joachim Jeremias. Such divisions concluding with repetitions (e.g., "when Jesus had finished [ 7:28 ; 11:1 ]), aided the reader's memory. Matthew is more the editor of sayings collected in the Sermon on the Mount than he is their author.