 |  |
No.8.
The Sermon on
the Mount
(5: 1 - 7).
pp. 114 - 118
We now come to the first of the great address contained in Matthew's Gospel. Before
we consider the details, there are one or two observations that must be made. We must
not fall into error of imagining that the Lord said a thing once only and never repeated it.
How many times did He use the phrase "he that believeth in Me"? He was constantly
drawing the attention of His hearers to Himself, for this was fundamental to His ministry
and witness. We may be sure that we have only a few occurrences preserved in the
Gospels.
With regard to the Sermon on the Mount, it would not be safe to say that this address
was given on one occasion and never repeated. We have a shorter version given by Luke.
Is he abbreviating Matthew's account or recording another occasion when the Lord
repeated some of His teaching? This sermon is presented as one discourse in the first
Gospel, whereas, various items from it are spread over Luke's Gospel in at least ten
places. The diligent student should compare the following:
Matthew
Luke
Matthew
Luke
16: 13
6: 24
6: 20-23
5: 3-12
12: 22-31
6: 25-34
14: 34, 35
5: 13
6: 37-42
7: 1-5
11: 33
5: 15
11: 9-13
7: 7-11
16: 17
5: 18
6: 31
7: 12
12: 57-59
5: 25, 26
13: 23, 24
7: 13, 14
16: 18
5: 31, 32
6: 43-45
7: 15-20
6: 27-30, 32-36
5: 38-48
13: 27
7: 23
11: 1-4
vi 9-15
6: 47-49
7: 24-27
12: 33, 34
6: 19-21
11: 34-36
6: 22, 23
Matthew may have gathered together in one discourse the various subjects of the
Lord's teaching. It is equally possible that Christ Himself presented these subjects in
one discourse and Luke records items at different places in his Gospel. We cannot be
dogmatic about this, nor is it necessary, for however the Lord's teaching is grouped
together, the genuineness, authority and value of it is not affected in any way.
Matthew gives no indication of date, but it would be wrong to assume that this sermon
was given at the beginning of the Lord's ministry. We must remember that Matthew only
gives us two dates in his Gospel, as we have seen. Moreover he does not attempt to
present events in their chronological order. The multitudes in 5: 1 clearly refer to the
great multitudes of the previous verse (4: 25), and these did not gather until the Lord had
been working and witnessing for some time and the report of Him had spread abroad.