The Sermon on the Mount
1 When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, a and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them, saying: b
The Beatitudes
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, c
for the kingdom of heaven d is theirs.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, e
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the humble, f
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, g
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy. h
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God. i
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God. j
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for the kingdom of heaven k is theirs.
11 “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted l the prophets who were before you. m
Believers Are Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. n
14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. o 15 No one lights a lamp p and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. q 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. r
Christ Fulfills the Law
17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. s 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. t 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
Murder Begins in the Heart
21 “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, ,u and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. v 22 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool! ’ will be subject to hellfire. ,w 23 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. x 26 Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.
Adultery Begins in the Heart
27 “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. ,y 28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. z 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, a gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. b 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce Practices Censured
31 “It was also said, Whoever divorces c his wife must give her a written notice of divorce. ,d 32 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. e
Tell the Truth
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. ,f 34 But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. g 36 Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one. h
Go the Second Mile
38 “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. ,i 39 But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. j 40 As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. k
Love Your Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor ,l and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, m 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. n 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? ,o Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, p therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
5:1–2. The first major section of 4:17–16:20 highlights Jesus’s teaching ministry. Matthew arranges most of Jesus’s teaching into five major blocks, or “discourses.” In the first discourse (5:1–7:29), the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches his disciples (along with the crowds, 5:1; cf. 7:28–29) about the kingdom that he has announced in 4:17. The single consistent theme of the sermon is the imminent kingdom of God (5:3, 10, 19–20; 6:10, 33; 7:21). The sermon centers on a call to covenantal faithfulness (e.g., 5:13–16, 17–20; 7:12) and provides a vision of how discipleship ought to look as God comes to make all things right (e.g., 5:7–10; 6:9–13, 25–34).
5:3–6. While much of this discourse consists of exhortation, its headlining passage announces blessing (with allusions to Is 61:1–11). These blessings, the great reversals that will happen with the arrival of God’s reign, indicate that God’s decisive act of restoration precedes and grounds the expectation for kingdom discipleship and enables the believing community to live it out. Thus, Matthew expects his readers to hear this discourse as an attainable ethic for believers in community with Jesus in their midst (18:20; 28:20).
5:7–12. In the final four beatitudes (with the fourth expanded; 5:11–12), blessings are conferred on those who live in alignment with the values of God’s reign. As God’s people show mercy and allegiance, enact peace and justice, and live with the resulting persecution, they show their alignment with God’s care for those most destitute (5:3–6). The harmony between their actions and God’s kingdom ensures they will receive mercy (5:7), see God (5:8), and be called God’s children (5:9; cf. 12:50), and that they are already receiving the kingdom (5:10).
5:13–16. The Beatitudes are followed by a declaration of the distinctive identity and mission of Jesus’s followers. They are “the salt of the earth” (5:13) and “the light of the world” (5:14–16), indicating their distinctive identity within their environment for the sake of mission to the world. The light imagery evokes God’s expectation for Israel to be a light to Gentiles (Is 60:1–3; see also Is 9:1–2; 49:6; Mt 4:16). This imagery defines Jesus’s followers in relation to Israel’s mission to the nations, setting their own mission in covenantal context.
5:17–20. The body of the Sermon on the Mount begins by highlighting the disposition of Jesus and his followers in relation to the OT law, or torah (5:17–48). Jesus affirms his mission to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (the OT Scriptures) rather than abolish them (5:17). The “antitheses” of Matthew that follow (“You have heard that it was said . . . But I tell you . . .”; 5:21, 27, 31, 33, 38, 43) reflect Jesus’s interpretation and intensification—rather than contradiction—of six OT commands or cases. In each case, the expectation for Jesus’s followers is more stringent than its OT counterpart (a surpassing righteousness, 5:20). This intensification fits the Jewish, rabbinic practice of “making a fence” around the torah in order to minimize the possibility of transgression.
5:21–32. The OT prohibition against murder is broadened to include anger (5:21–22; see Ex 20:13), with a related call to reconciliation (5:23–26). Jesus also expands the prohibition against adultery to include lust (5:27–30; see Ex 20:14). The third case involves the OT prohibition of remarriage to a first spouse after a divorce and second marriage have occurred (5:31–32; see Dt 24:1–4). Jesus again commands a stricter ethic by limiting the allowable reason for divorce to sexual immorality rather than the broader circumstance of a husband’s displeasure for something indecent (Dt 24:1). [Gehenna]
5:33–37. The fourth case raises the importance of keeping oaths made to the Lord (Dt 23:21–23). Jesus narrows this to a prohibition against making oaths generally (5:34–36). Rather than swearing oaths frequently and thoughtlessly about ordinary things, as people were known to do at the time, his followers ought to let their word alone guarantee their actions (5:37).
5:38–42. In its original context, “eye for an eye” (the lex talionis, or law of retribution; see Ex 21:24) was likely a means of limiting personal revenge, leaving the exacting of fair retribution to a court (5:38). Once again, Jesus further limits an OT prescription, this time disallowing all forms of retaliation to various insults to honor: a backhanded blow as an act to dishonor (5:39), legal removal of one’s basic possessions (5:40), Roman conscription of a civilian to carry loads (5:41), and more general requests to borrow money or possessions (5:42). While each of these illustrations contains elements of hyperbole (e.g., removal of both tunic and cloak would leave a person naked), the exaggeration emphasizes nonresistance as a nonnegotiable for Jesus’s disciples. In a context in which active political or social resistance has severe consequences, Jesus’s radical ethic of nonretaliation moves beyond capitulation to one’s oppressors to active self-sacrifice for others, even enemies.
5:43–48. The final “antithesis” functions as a summary. By its emphasis on love of everyone, even one’s enemies, it captures the spirit of the other five directives. While the command to love one’s neighbor derives from Lv 19:18, the coordinate “hate your enemy” is not an OT quotation (5:43; cf. Ps 139:21–22). Jesus broadens the love command to explicitly include love of enemies and prayer for them (5:44). The rationale is that love of neighbor fulfills no greater ethic than that of tax collectors and pagans (5:46–47). Of the six cases of torah interpretation that Jesus has specified, only the final case includes a purpose. As Israel was to image God to the nations, Jesus’s followers are called to be like their heavenly Father, morally complete or perfect (5:45, 48). They do this supremely by fulfilling the command to love, which sums and binds together all other commands (cf. 22:40).