Setting and Background
Matthew places the Sermon on the Mount at the opening of Jesus' public ministry, immediately after his baptism, temptation, and the calling of the first disciples (Matthew 4:17–22). The crowd was large; the teaching was directed first to disciples (Matthew 5:1–2). Matthew presents it as the first of five great discourses — deliberately structured to echo the five books of Moses and to present Jesus as the new and greater lawgiver.
The crowds "were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes" (Matthew 7:28–29). The scribes quoted predecessors; Jesus spoke on his own authority. The "but I say to you" formula in Matthew 5:22–48 is unlike anything in the prophets — it is a claim to divine authority over the law itself.
The Beatitudes (5:3–12)
The nine Beatitudes open the Sermon with a portrait of Kingdom citizens — a portrait that inverts the world's values at every point. The word "blessed" (μακάριος, makarios) denotes deep, God-given well-being — not the fleeting happiness of favorable circumstances.
"Poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3) means recognizing one's utter spiritual poverty before God — the opposite of the self-sufficient Pharisee. Luke's version reads simply "poor" (Luke 6:20), pointing to those whose poverty has taught them dependence on God. Both point to the same disposition: one who has nothing to bring and knows it.
Those who mourn over sin receive comfort (5:4); the meek — not the aggressive — inherit the earth (5:5, echoing Psalm 37:11); those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are satisfied (5:6). Each beatitude describes not separate types of people but facets of the same Kingdom character.
The Beatitudes culminate in persecution (5:10–12). A righteousness that costs nothing may cost nothing because it has changed nothing. Jesus places his followers in the line of the OT prophets: "so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Salt and Light (5:13–16)
Having described the character of Kingdom citizens, Jesus now describes their function in the world. The metaphors are complementary: salt works quietly, preventing decay; light shines openly, revealing what is true.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14–16
Good works are not the basis of justification — but they are the inevitable and visible expression of Kingdom life. The goal of visible obedience is not self-promotion but the glorification of God before a watching world.
The Law Fulfilled (5:17–48)
Jesus makes a stunning claim: he has not come to abolish the Law and Prophets but to fulfill them (Matthew 5:17). The word "fulfill" (πληρόω, plēroō) carries a double meaning: he completes the law's demands perfectly in his own obedience, and he brings the law's deeper intention to full expression in his teaching.
The Six Antitheses (5:21–48)
Six times Jesus says "You have heard that it was said… but I say to you." He is not contradicting the OT — he is correcting a tradition that had reduced the law to external compliance while ignoring the heart.
| Heard | Jesus teaches |
|---|---|
| "Do not murder" | Anger and contempt are already murder in the heart (5:21–22) |
| "Do not commit adultery" | Lust is already adultery in the heart (5:27–28) |
| "Whoever divorces… give a certificate" | Divorce (except for sexual immorality) causes adultery (5:31–32) |
| "Do not swear falsely" | Let your yes be yes — oaths imply a double standard of truthfulness (5:33–37) |
| "An eye for an eye" | Do not resist the one who is evil; absorb wrong rather than retaliate (5:38–42) |
| "Love your neighbor, hate your enemy" | Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (5:43–44) |
Heart Disciplines (6:1–18)
Chapter 6 addresses three classic Jewish piety practices — giving, prayer, and fasting — with a single repeated warning: do not perform them "before others to be seen by them" (Matthew 6:1). The hypocrites (literally "actors") have already received their reward — public applause. Those who act before God alone will be rewarded by the Father who sees in secret.
The Lord's Prayer (6:9–13)
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:9–13
The first three petitions (hallowed name, coming kingdom, done will) are entirely God-focused. The final three (daily bread, forgiveness, deliverance) are human needs. This ordering teaches us to begin with God's glory before our needs — a counter to our instinct to treat prayer as a wish list.
The prayer assumes a community ("our," "us," "we") — it is not a private transaction but the prayer of the covenant people together. The inclusion of "as we also have forgiven our debtors" in the petition for forgiveness is among the most serious conditions in the Sermon: those who refuse to forgive reveal that they have not themselves received forgiveness (Matthew 6:14–15).
God and Mammon (6:19–34)
The central section of chapter 6 addresses the competing lordships of God and wealth. It is impossible to serve both, because the heart is undivided — it will treasure one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24).
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:31–33
Anxiety is theological failure — it mistakes the character of God. The Father who feeds birds and clothes lilies knows his children's needs and is both able and willing to meet them. The antidote to anxiety is not self-discipline but a reoriented trust in the Father's care.
The Two Ways (7:1–29)
Chapter 7 brings the Sermon to its climax through a series of contrasts, each demanding a decision:
Matthew 7:1–5 does not forbid all moral discernment (7:6 immediately requires it) but prohibits the censorious, hypocritical judgment that ignores one's own sin while scrutinizing another's. The plank-and-speck image is comical — and deliberately so.
The repeated commands to ask and seek (Matthew 7:7–8) are grounded in the character of God as Father. If sinful human fathers give good gifts to their children, "how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11).
The narrow and wide gates (Matthew 7:13–14), the good and bad trees (Matthew 7:17–19), and the wise and foolish builders (Matthew 7:24–27) all press the same binary choice: either respond to Jesus' words with obedient faith, or ignore them and face collapse. There is no neutral path.
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24–25
The Sermon on the Mount is not a new law to earn salvation — it is a description of the life that flows from the new birth. Read in isolation, it crushes; read in light of the cross and resurrection, it describes the freedom of those who have been set free. The Sermon begins with "poor in spirit" and ends with building on the Rock — that progression is the whole of the Christian life.
For Further Study
The Sermon on the Mount, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. 2 vols. Eerdmans, 1959–60. The magisterial expositional treatment — sixty sermons of unmatched theological depth.
The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, John R.W. Stott. IVP, 1978. More accessible than Lloyd-Jones; a model of clear application without sacrificing exegetical rigor.
Commentary on Matthew, John Calvin (1555). Calvin's verse-by-verse treatment remains lucid and forceful. Public domain.