One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them. (Matthew 5:1–2 NLT)
The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most widely recognized sermons in our world. The Golden Rule, phrases such as “casting pearls before swine,” and imagery like the narrow gate leading to life are all found within these three chapters in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus begins with the Beatitudes and ends with the parable of the wise person who builds on solid rock, a gentle admonishment to heed his words.
Over this Lenten season, let’s slow down a little bit to read – and reread – these words from Jesus in hopes that we can better attune our hearts and souls with our Messiah, the Lamb who was slain for the restoration of all things. While the passages won’t always appear in the order we typically know them from Matthew 5–7, may this grant us a way to see new connections, or even read Jesus’s words with new perspectives.
Like the disciples in the first century, let us gather around him to receive what he has to say to us.