Sermon on the Mount Explained: What Jesus Taught in Matthew 5-7
The Sermon on the Mount explained — the Beatitudes, the Lord's Prayer, and Jesus' teaching in Matthew 5, 6, and 7 explained verse by verse with commentary.
The Sermon on the Mount is the longest continuous teaching of Jesus recorded in the Gospels — three chapters in Matthew (5-7) that turn conventional wisdom about success, power, and happiness completely upside down. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn. Love your enemies. Do not store up treasures on earth. Do not worry about tomorrow. These teachings were radical in the first century and remain challenging today. They are not general moral advice — they are a description of the life that flows from the Kingdom of God.
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What is the Sermon on the Mount?", "a": "The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of Jesus' teachings found in Matthew 5-7, delivered on a hillside near the Sea of Galilee. It begins with the Beatitudes ('Blessed are the poor in spirit...'), covers topics including anger, lust, divorce, oaths, retaliation, love of enemies, prayer (including the Lord's Prayer), fasting, wealth, worry, and judging others, and concludes with the parable of the wise and foolish builders. It is widely considered the ethical core of Christian teaching.
What are the Beatitudes?
The Beatitudes are the opening statements of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12), each beginning with 'Blessed are...' They describe the character of those who belong to God's Kingdom: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted. They invert worldly values — blessing those the world overlooks — and describe inner character rather than outward achievement.
What does 'Blessed are the meek' mean?
'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth' (Matthew 5:5) does not commend weakness or passivity. The Greek word praus used for 'meek' was also used to describe a war horse trained to respond to its rider — great strength under control. Meekness in Jesus' teaching is the opposite of self-assertion and ego-driven behavior: it is strength submitted to God's purposes rather than one's own. The promise of inheriting the earth is a reversal of the world's assumption that power and aggression win.