Bible Study on Matthew 5, verses 1 and 2, Jesus prepares to teach a great sermon

 

Matthew 5:1 ¶  And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2  And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

 

Jesus has called Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, so far. Compare this to the passage in Luke 6 where Jesus will teach in a plain, not on a mountain.

 

Luke 6:12 ¶  And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. 13  And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; 14  Simon, (whom he also named Peter,) and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew, 15  Matthew and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes, 16  And Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, which also was the traitor. 17  And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; 18  And they that were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed. 19  And the whole multitude sought to touch him: for there went virtue out of him, and healed them all.

 

So, the two sermons have a similar tone but are given at a different time and place before a smaller audience and a larger audience with Jesus seated here but standing in Luke. Some people say that the sermon in Luke almost deals with social issues as much as spiritual ones and I have thought that myself but I believe now that the topics are the same or very similar with parallel phrasing showing the meaning of the commonly-called Beatitudes and the message Jesus gave. By comparing the two sermons one can see what is meant by each using cross-referencing. This sermon in Matthew is much more detailed. It is an absurdity to think that the poor are blessed by being poor as a poor person who does not trust Christ as their Saviour is as lost as a rich person in the same state. Let’s compare the sermons.