But seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain, and having sat down, his disciples came to him;
Crowds have been streaming to Jesus from every direction, and now He climbs a hillside and sits down to teach. The first verse already raises three questions: which mountain, who was listening, and what kind of teaching this is.
Jesus taught with a whole country's attention already fixed on Him.
The attention of the whole country was drawn to Him, and vast crowds followed Him, eager to hear His gracious words. So He unfolds the character of the kingdom of heaven, and of the people who would enter it, in what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. It opens with the beatitudes.
Older English Bibles read "a mountain" here. That is not quite what the wording says.
In Matthew 5:1; 14:23; and Mark 3:13, "the mountain" does not mean one particular mountain well known by that name. Nor does it mean "a mountain," as the King James Version has it. It means "the mountain" in the sense of the hill country or highlands, in contrast with "the plain."
His posture carries meaning too.
I take it that the Lord sitting there suggests the Teacher. When we read of the Lord walking, disciples are to see in Him the example they should follow. But when He sits, it is more as Teacher. A completely new set of principles is coming out, and the Lord sits as the great Teacher of this crowd.
The scene recalls Moses on a mountain. But the One seated here is greater.
The Spirit in Matthew loves to present Christ as the One like Moses, whom they were to hear. He presents Jesus not simply as a law-giving prophet-king like Moses, but far greater. It is never forgotten that the Nazarene was the Lord God. That is why this whole sermon on the mountain carries the tone of One who knew Himself to be God with men. Jehovah called Moses up to the top of one mount. Now He who then spoke the Ten Commandments sat on another mount. There He taught His disciples the character of the kingdom of heaven.
The verse names two groups: the crowds He saw, and the disciples who came to Him. Who He speaks to shapes how we read the rest.
The crowds were present, but He addressed the discourse to His disciples… In the sermon on the mount He lays down the principles of the kingdom. He describes the character of those who would enjoy its privileges. He gives definite directions for how they are to live… So moral principles and precepts, not redemption, are the subject of the discourse.
Another man once climbed a mountain and came back with law.
Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, went up into the mountain where he received the law. But here is a greater one than Moses: the Mediator of a better covenant, and the King at the same time. He begins with blessings, the blessings of grace.
Yet this sermon is not an offer of salvation.
As to the sermon, it teaches the righteousness that belongs to all who enter the Kingdom of the heavens. Only those born of the Spirit can meet the state of soul that is blessed in the Lord's eyes. It is not a requirement as on Sinai, but Christ's description of those who suit the Kingdom. Not a word of grace to sinners is uttered. It is not the gospel of God's grace to the lost. It is His words for His disciples, and personal obedience is the rock at its close.
Luke's Gospel places a very similar sermon on level ground. Is that a second sermon, or the same one?
- Crowds — The whole country's attention was on Him, and vast crowds followed. That gathering is the setting of the sermon.
- Mountain — "The mountain" means the hill country, not a named peak. It marks the kind of ground, not a landmark.
- Seated — When the Lord walks He is the example; when He sits He is the Teacher, and a new set of principles begins.
- Greater — Moses climbed one mount to receive the law. Here the One who spoke the Ten Commandments sits on another mount and opens with blessings.
- Disciples — The crowds listen, but He speaks to His disciples. His subject is the character of the kingdom, not redemption.
and, having opened his mouth, he taught them, saying,
Matthew's Gospel has spent four chapters presenting the King. Here the King begins to speak. One short line of narrative carries a great deal: who was listening, what He taught, and by what right He taught it.
The setting itself is affectionate. The teaching that follows also has a shape.
And now we read, "When He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them" (Matt. 5:1-2). Oh, how He loves to have His own near Himself. You will notice that there are nine "Blessednesses." You will also see that they divide into first seven, and then two.
The mouth that opens here has its own story across the Gospels.
As a dependent Man He relied on God's mouth, the Giver and Sustainer of life (Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4). In His earthly ministry the Lord opened His mouth to teach and bless (Matt. 5:2ff). And as the Revealer of secrets He opened His mouth as foretold by the prophet (Matt. 13:35).
Verse 1 mentions the crowds, but the word "them" points at a narrower group. Reading the sermon well starts with getting this right.
In that discourse, then, the Lord had His own disciples right in front of Him... The disciples were a group who had truly received Jesus as the Messiah by the Spirit of God. Judas was an exception, and so was any other special case like him, if there were any. They had not chosen Him, but He had chosen them, that they should go and bear fruit, and that their fruit should remain. They were gathered around Him as His witnesses. Even now they were separated from the rest of the nation in a measure — that is, in faith and affection to His person. Soon His death and resurrection would separate them far more fully, and so would the power of the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.
A teacher going up a mountain to speak to Israel had happened once before, and the contrast is the point.
The first section in the fifth chapter, from verse one to verse sixteen, is before us. Seeing the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and when He sat down, His disciples came to Him. And He opened His mouth and taught them. Moses, the mediator of the old covenant, went up into the mountain where he received the law. But here is a greater one than Moses: the Mediator of a better covenant, and the King at the same time. He begins with blessings, the blessings of grace.
What follows verse 2 is often read as advice for anyone. Commentators here read it as instruction for people already inside the kingdom.
As to the sermon, it is instruction in the righteousness proper to all who enter the Kingdom of the heavens. Only those born of the Spirit can meet the state of soul that is blessed in the Lord's eyes. It is not a requirement as at Sinai, but Christ's description of those who suit the Kingdom. Not a word of grace to sinners is spoken. It is not the gospel of God's grace to the lost. It is His words for His disciples, and personal obedience is the rock at its close.
Miss that, and the sermon becomes a ladder for self-improvement.
People do not understand that the Lord was addressing those in relationship with Himself as subjects of grace. So they assume that man in the flesh can produce these moral traits, apart from the new nature given at new birth. And so the whole truth of the gospel is set aside. This is why many admire the Sermon on the Mount while rejecting the truth of the gospel as set out in the New Testament.
He quotes no one. He argues from no earlier teacher.
Note, too, His authority. If it is the glory of other teachers to hide behind their theme, it is not so with Him. He brings His Person to the front, and that without apology, in the most simple and unaffected way. He spoke with authority without stopping to say why, and commanded without declaring His right... He always honoured and fulfilled Holy Scripture. Yet He cites no previous authority for what He says: He taught them as One having authority and not as the scribes.
- He sits — the King takes the teacher's seat and draws His own close, because He loves to have them near Him.
- He opens — the same mouth that lived on God's word and revealed hidden things now opens to teach and bless.
- He addresses — the "them" is the disciples. He chose them, and faith and affection for His person already set them apart from the nation.
- He surpasses — Moses climbed a mountain and came down with law. A greater than Moses climbs one and starts with blessing.
- He commands — this is kingdom righteousness for people already born of the Spirit. The One who speaks it cites no authority above His own.