Overview
The Sermon on the Mount has been called the greatest sermon ever preached, the most demanding ethical teaching in human history, and an impossible standard deliberately set to drive hearers to grace. All three readings have something to commend them. This guide takes the Sermon seriously as kingdom ethics — commands Jesus actually means and expects to be obeyed — while keeping the grace that makes obedience possible clearly in view.
| Session | Title | Passage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beatitudes | Matthew 5:1–12 |
| 2 | Salt, Light, and the Law | Matthew 5:13–48 |
| 3 | Piety in Secret | Matthew 6:1–18 |
| 4 | God and Money | Matthew 6:19–7:6 |
| 5 | The Two Ways | Matthew 7:7–29 |
The Beatitudes
Each beatitude has the same structure: a present-tense description of a person, followed by "for theirs is" or "for they shall" — an announcement of what is true or will be true of them. Jesus is not saying "try harder to be poor in spirit so that you can gain the kingdom." He is identifying the people who already belong to the kingdom and declaring what they possess or will receive.
"Poor in spirit" (5:3) is not financial poverty but spiritual bankruptcy — those who have no spiritual resources of their own, who bring nothing to God except need. This is the foundational posture; everything else in the Sermon assumes it. The kingdom belongs to people who know they have no claim on it.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8
The beatitudes move from internal character (poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry for righteousness) to relational virtues (merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers) to suffering (persecuted). The final beatitude expands to two verses — persecution on Jesus's account is the sign of belonging, not exclusion. The prophets suffered the same way (5:12).
Discussion Questions
- The beatitudes describe people who would typically be viewed as lacking something — poor, mourning, meek, hungry. How does Jesus's valuation of these states differ from how the world evaluates human flourishing?
- "Blessed are those who mourn" — what is the grief being described here? Is it only grief over sin, or something broader?
- "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (5:8). What does purity of heart mean, and why is seeing God its reward?
- Jesus says the persecuted are to "rejoice and be glad" (5:12). What does it take to experience that reversal — what has to be true about your relationship to Jesus for persecution to feel like blessing?
Salt, Light, and the Law
"You are the salt of the earth… you are the light of the world" (5:13–14) — both declarations, not commands. Salt and light function by being what they are; so kingdom citizens influence the world not primarily by effort but by being genuinely different. "Salt that has lost its taste" is a contradiction in terms — a Christian whose character is indistinguishable from the surrounding culture has lost the only thing that made them useful.
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48
The six Antitheses (murder/anger, adultery/lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, love of enemies) follow a consistent pattern: the law sets a floor on external behaviour; Jesus relocates the issue to the heart. It is not enough to not murder — anger and contempt carry the same guilt. It is not enough to not commit adultery — lust does the same damage to the image of God in another person.
The standard of verse 48 — "be perfect as your Father is perfect" — is not aspirational but absolute. Its function in context (following the command to love enemies) is to ground the demand in the character of God himself: God sends rain on the just and unjust (5:45), and God's perfection in this regard is the model, not a mere encouragement.
Discussion Questions
- Jesus says he came not to abolish but to "fulfil" the law (5:17). What does it mean for Jesus to fulfil the law — and what implications does that have for how Christians relate to the Old Testament law?
- In the Antitheses, Jesus repeatedly goes from the external act to the internal disposition (anger, lust, oaths, retaliation). What does this tell us about where sin actually lives?
- "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (5:44) — what makes this possible? What would need to be true about your relationship with God for this to be anything other than performance?
- "Be perfect as your Father is perfect" (5:48). Is this command meant to drive us to despair or to something else? What is its function?
Piety in Secret
The controlling principle of 6:1–18 is stated at the start: "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them" (6:1). The issue is not the act but the audience. When religious acts are performed for God, they produce the reward God gives; when performed for human applause, that applause is the only reward there is.
The Lord's Prayer (6:9–13) is not a model to be recited but a pattern to be inhabited. Its structure moves from God's agenda (hallowing the name, the kingdom coming, the will being done) to human need (daily bread, forgiveness, deliverance) — and in that order deliberately. Kingdom citizens learn to want God's agenda before their own needs.
Your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6
The section on forgiveness (vv. 14–15) immediately follows the prayer — the petition "forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors" is the one petition Jesus comments on. Receiving forgiveness and extending it are inseparable. This is not teaching salvation by works; it is saying that a person who hoards what they have received freely is not actually understanding what they received.
Discussion Questions
- Jesus says hypocrites "have received their reward" — they wanted human approval and got it. What forms does performing religion for approval take in your context?
- The Lord's Prayer begins with "Our Father" — what does the filial relationship assumed in that address tell us about the nature of prayer?
- "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" — what does praying this prayer honestly commit you to?
- Jesus links receiving forgiveness and extending it in verse 14–15. How do you hold this in tension with the gospel's unconditional forgiveness?
God and Money
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven" (6:19–20). The logic is investment: treasure laid up on earth is insecure and temporary; treasure laid up in heaven is permanent. The "eye" saying that follows (vv. 22–23) means that a person with a healthy eye (singular focus, undivided loyalty) will be full of light; the divided person trying to serve two masters will be full of darkness.
No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Matthew 6:24
The anxiety section (6:25–34) does not command contentment as a psychological state to be achieved; it grounds the command in the character of God as Father. The birds and flowers are given by the same Father who gives his children what they need. "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you" (6:33) — the command is a reordering of priorities, not a promise of material prosperity.
Discussion Questions
- "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (6:21). This says the heart follows the treasure, not the other way around. What does that imply about how to change what you love?
- Jesus says you cannot serve God and money — not "you should not" but "you cannot." Why is divided loyalty impossible rather than just undesirable?
- "Seek first the kingdom" — what would it look like for your actual daily decisions to reflect this priority? What decisions would change?
- "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (7:1). What kind of judgment is Jesus prohibiting? How does this fit with Jesus's own condemnation of Pharisaism elsewhere in Matthew?
The Two Ways
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (7:7). The verbs are present continuous — keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. Prayer is persistent engagement, not a single request. The ground for confidence is the Father's character: if earthly fathers give good gifts, how much more will the heavenly Father give good things (7:11).
Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13–14
The Sermon ends with the parable of the two builders (7:24–27) — and the storm hits both houses. The difference is not between the sheltered and the exposed, but between those who hear these words and do them and those who hear but do not. The Sermon has been demanding throughout; it ends by saying that hearing it and responding is the only safe foundation.
The crowd's astonishment at Jesus's authority (7:28–29) is the right response. Jesus does not say "Moses said… therefore you should." He says "I say to you." He speaks with the authority of the one who gives the law, not merely interprets it.
Discussion Questions
- "The way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (7:14). Is Jesus's point here about effort (it is difficult to obey) or about orientation (most people are not even looking for this way)?
- The false-prophet warning in verses 15–20 says "you will recognise them by their fruits." What are the fruits that distinguish genuine kingdom teaching from false? What are the limitations of this test?
- Jesus describes people who prophesied and did miracles in his name but were unknown to him (7:22–23). What does this say about the difference between religious activity and knowing Jesus?
- Looking back over the five sessions: what has been the most challenging part of the Sermon on the Mount for you personally? What would it look like to obey it more fully?