Sermon on the Mount
Life of Jesus · Draft · BSB
Content revision: 4a5d16463e0c9742 · No editorial review date recorded
Date: Ministry in Galilee. A guided comparison of Gospel accounts, not a measured calendar or a claim that every parallel follows the same sequence.
Jesus teaches about blessing, mercy, love of enemies and a life that puts his words into practice. Matthew’s longer discourse also addresses the Law, reconciliation, prayer, possessions and the dangers of outward religion.
Matthew describes a mountain; Luke describes a level place and includes woes alongside blessings. These are distinct literary presentations. Read each discourse as a whole rather than treating every line as an identical transcript of one scene.
Primary Scripture
5:1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,
5:2 and He began to teach them, saying:
5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:11 Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
5:13 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
5:14 You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
5:15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
5:17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
5:18 For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
5:19 So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
5:20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
5:21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.
5:23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
5:24 leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
5:25 Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.
5:26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
5:27 You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
5:28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
5:29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.
5:31 It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
5:32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
5:33 Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’
5:34 But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
5:35 or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
5:36 Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
5:37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.
5:38 You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’
5:39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;
5:40 if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well;
5:41 and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
5:42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
5:43 You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’
5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
5:46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?
5:47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?
5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
6:1 “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
6:2 So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
6:3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
6:4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
6:5 And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
6:6 But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
6:7 And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard.
6:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.
6:9 So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.
6:10 Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
6:15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.
6:16 When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.
6:17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
6:18 so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
6:20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
6:22 The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
6:23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
6:24 No one can serve two masters: 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 both God and money.
6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
6:26 Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
6:27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
6:28 And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin.
6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.
6:30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
6:31 Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
6:32 For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.
6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.
7:1 “Do not judge, or you will be judged.
7:2 For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
7:3 Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?
7:4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye?
7:5 You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
7:6 Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
7:8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
7:9 Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
7:10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
7:11 So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
7:12 In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.
7:13 Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.
7:15 Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
7:16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
7:17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
7:18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
7:20 So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.
7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
7:22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’
7:23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’
7:24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
7:25 The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.
7:26 But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
7:27 The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”
7:28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,
7:29 because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
6:20 Looking up at His disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
6:21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
6:22 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
6:23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.
6:24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
6:25 Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
6:26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.
6:27 But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
6:29 If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone takes your cloak, do not withhold your tunic as well.
6:30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back.
6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them.
6:33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.
6:34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
6:35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
6:37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
6:39 Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit?
6:40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
6:41 Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?
6:42 How can you say, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while you yourself fail to see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6:43 No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit.
6:44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles.
6:45 The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.
6:46 Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say?
6:47 I will show you what he is like who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them:
6:48 He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.
6:49 But the one who hears My words and does not act on them is like a man who built his house on ground without a foundation. The torrent crashed against that house, and immediately it fell—and great was its destruction!”
Related Scripture
Deuteronomy likewise joins hearing God’s words with the practices of daily life.
Location evidence
Matthew’s mountain and Luke’s level place are unnamed. The shaded Galilee region does not authenticate a traditional sermon site.
Event map marker: Approximate region; [longitude, latitude] = [35.35, 32.85]. This is a teaching marker, not an exact event venue.
Galilee: Approximate region. Coordinates [longitude, latitude]: [35.35, 32.85]. Classification source: editorial.
Illustrative regional extent: [[35.1,32.55],[35.68,33.15]]; not a measured confidence interval.
Gospel setting; extent is an editorial illustration, not a boundary
Gospel setting; extent is an editorial illustration, not a boundary
For the class
What distinguishes hearing Jesus’s teaching from building a life upon it?
Interpretation and reuse
Narrative order is a reading arrangement, not a proven chronology. Dates retain their stated uncertainty. An identified locality does not establish the exact venue or prove an event. Region extents and routes are illustrative, not surveyed boundaries or ancient roads. Draft material has not completed editorial review.
Record source: theographic (296)
Record source: editorial
Events and places adapted from Theographic Bible Metadata (github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata), CC BY-SA 4.0. This adapted data is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Place coordinates from OpenBible.info Bible Geocoding Data, CC BY 4.0.
Teaching stops, summaries and regional extents are original editorial content of this atlas.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain. https://berean.bible/licensing.htm