The teachings of Jesus

The Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5 to 7 · Jesus’ greatest sermon, the manifesto of the kingdom

The Sermon on the Mount is the longest and most famous teaching of Jesus, given on a hillside in Galilee to a great crowd. In it He describes the life of the kingdom of heaven: not a new list of rules to keep from the outside, but a whole new heart that loves what God loves. He blesses the poor in spirit, calls His people salt and light, presses every commandment down to its root in the heart, teaches us to pray and to trust our Father, and ends by calling us to build our lives on His words. It is beautiful and impossible at once, and it drives us to the only One who ever lived it: Jesus Himself, who gives grace to all who follow Him.

Begin with the Beatitudes

The sermon opens with the Beatitudes, the surprising blessings Jesus pronounces on the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, and more. They turn the world’s idea of the good life upside down and set the tone for everything that follows. Read them in full at The Beatitudes, then walk through the rest of the sermon below.

The sections of the sermon, in order

• Salt and Light: Ye Are the Salt of the EarthMatthew 5:13-16
• I Am Not Come to Destroy, but to FulfilMatthew 5:17-20
• Anger and Reconciliation: Whosoever Is Angry With His BrotherMatthew 5:21-26
• Lust and Purity: A Clean Heart Behind the EyesMatthew 5:27-30
• Divorce in the Sermon on the Mount: A Hard Saying Handled With GraceMatthew 5:31-32
• Oaths and Your Word: Let Your Yea Be YeaMatthew 5:33-37
• Turn the Other Cheek: Do Not Return Evil for EvilMatthew 5:38-42
• Love Your Enemies: Be the Children of Your FatherMatthew 5:43-48
• Giving to the Needy: Let Not Thy Left Hand KnowMatthew 6:1-4
• The Lord's Prayer in the Sermon on the MountMatthew 6:5-15
• Fasting: Wash Your Face and Seek Your FatherMatthew 6:16-18
• Treasure in Heaven: Where Your Treasure Is, There Will Your Heart BeMatthew 6:19-24
• Do Not Worry: Consider the Lilies and Seek First the KingdomMatthew 6:25-34
• Judge Not: First Cast Out the Beam Out of Thine Own EyeMatthew 7:1-6
• Ask, Seek, Knock: How Much More Shall Your Father GiveMatthew 7:7-12
• The Narrow Gate: Strait Is the Gate That Leads to LifeMatthew 7:13-14
• By Their Fruits: Ye Shall Know ThemMatthew 7:15-20
• The Wise and Foolish Builders: Build Your House Upon the RockMatthew 7:24-27

The sermon also gives us the Lord’s Prayer, studied line by line in its own place at The Lord’s Prayer.