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The Sermon on the Mount
This chapter is based on Matthew 5-7.
Christ seldom gathered His disciples alone to receive His words.
It was His work to reach everyone, in words of warning, pleading,
and encouragement, seeking to help all who would come to Him.
Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount especially to the disciples,
but He spoke it within the hearing of the crowds. After ordaining
the apostles, Jesus went to the seaside. In the early morning, people
had begun to assemble. “When they heard how many things He was
doing,” they “came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, ...
power went out from Him and healed them all.”
Mark 3:8
;
Luke
6:17-19
.
The narrow beach did not provide even standing room, and Jesus
led the way back to the mountainside. Reaching a level space that
featured a pleasant gathering place, He sat down on the grass, and
the disciples and the crowd followed His example.
The disciples sat close beside Him, eager to understand the truths
they were to take to all lands and all ages. They believed that Jesus
would soon establish His kingdom.
A feeling of expectancy also swept through the crowd. As the
people sat on the green hillside, their hearts were filled with thoughts
of future glory. Scribes and Pharisees looked forward to the day
when they would rule over the hated Romans and possess the riches
and splendor of the world’s great empire. Poor peasants and fish-
ermen hoped to hear that they were going to exchange their small,
poor homes, scanty food, and fear of having nothing for mansions
and ease. They hoped that Israel would soon be honored before the
nations as the Lord’s chosen and Jerusalem be exalted as the head
of a universal kingdom.
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