# The Sermon on the Mount: the Beatitudes and more (Matthew 5)

> Seeing the crowds, Jesus goes up on a mountain and teaches his disciples. He begins with the Beatitudes — blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers — calls his followers the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and invites them to a righteousness that reaches the heart.

> Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
> — Matthew 5:9 (King James Version)

> Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
> — Matthew 5:14 (King James Version)

Matthew gathers Jesus’ teaching into one long sermon, spoken on a mountain to his disciples with the crowds listening in.

## Blessed are…

Jesus begins with a series of blessings that turn expectations upside down. Blessed are 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 those persecuted for doing right.

## Salt and light

He tells his listeners that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. A lamp is not lit to be hidden under a basket; their good works are meant to be seen, so that others give glory to their Father in heaven.

## Deeper than the rules

Jesus says he has come not to abolish the law but to fulfil it. Anger, not only murder; desire, not only adultery; love for enemies, not only neighbours. The chapter ends with a call to be perfect, as the heavenly Father is perfect.

## Questions to carry

Which Beatitude surprises you most? Where could your small "light" be seen this week without being a performance?

## Read the chapter

Read [Matthew 5](/en/bible/matthew/5), then continue through chapters 6 and 7 for the whole sermon.

## Sources

- [Matthew 5 (King James Version)](https://api.getbible.net/v2/kjv/40/5.json)
- [Gustave Doré, The Sermon on the Mount (Wikimedia Commons)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dore_Bible_Sermon_on_the_Mount.jpg)