And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came to him:
seeing.
Matthew 4:25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
Matthew 13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Mark 4:1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
he went.
Matthew 15:29 And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
Mark 3:13,20 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him…
John 6:2,3 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased…
his.
Matthew 4:18-22 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers…
Matthew 10:2-4 Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; …
Luke 6:13-16 And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles; …
He went up on the mountain
Mountains in biblical times were often places of revelation and divine encounter, reminiscent of Moses receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. This setting underscores the authority of Jesus' teachings, as He delivers what is known as the Sermon on the Mount. The mountain symbolizes a place of higher spiritual insight and connection with God.
and sat down
In Jewish tradition, sitting was the posture of a teacher or rabbi when delivering instruction. This act signifies Jesus' authority as a teacher and His role as the ultimate Rabbi. It also indicates a formal teaching moment, inviting His listeners to pay close attention to His words.
His disciples came to Him
This phrase highlights the distinction between the general crowd and those who were committed followers of Jesus. The disciples' approach signifies their readiness to learn and receive deeper spiritual truths. It also reflects the pattern of discipleship, where followers actively seek the presence and wisdom of their teacher. This gathering of disciples can be seen as a precursor to the Great Commission, where they are later sent out to teach others.
Jesus’ ministry was never detached from real people; He literally laid eyes on multitudes hungry for truth.
• His sight was compassionate, like in Mark 6:34 where “He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.”
• He recognized both their physical and spiritual needs, echoing Isaiah 40:11.
• The Lord’s awareness assures us He sees us now (Psalm 34:15), proving His ongoing care.
The action is geographical and theological.
• A mountain gives space and acoustics for a large audience (Luke 6:17).
• Mountains are meeting places with God—think Exodus 19 with Moses, 1 Kings 18 with Elijah. Jesus positions Himself as the greater Moses, yet distinct as God the Son.
• It also demonstrates intentionality: withdrawing from ground-level bustle to a place suited for concentrated instruction (Mark 3:13).
First-century teachers commonly taught seated, a posture of settled authority.
• In Luke 4:20, Jesus sits to expound Scripture, signaling, “Listen; this is binding truth.”
• Psalm 29:10 pictures the Lord “enthroned,” underscoring that when Jesus sits, He rules.
• His calm seating contrasts the restless world below, inviting hearers into rest (Matthew 11:28-29).
The verb pictures intentional approach; they don’t stay at a distance.
• Discipleship is coming close enough to hear, obey, and be changed (Matthew 4:19).
• The crowd may overhear, but the lesson is aimed at committed followers, paralleling John 6:68 where Peter says, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
• Approach leads to commissioning; those who come up the mountain with Jesus eventually go down to represent Him (Matthew 28:16-20).
Matthew 5:1 paints a living tableau: the compassionate Lord notices real people, deliberately ascends a mountain, sits in sovereign authority, and welcomes disciples who draw near. The verse sets the stage for the Sermon on the Mount, assuring us that Jesus still sees, still speaks with authority, and still invites His followers to come close and receive life-giving truth.
V.(1) What is known as the Sermon on the Mount is obviously placed by St. Matthew (who appears in the earliest traditions connected with his name as a collector of our Lord's "Oracles" or discourses) in the fore-front of his record of His work, as a great pattern-discourse, that which more than any other represented the teaching with which He began His work. Few will fail to recognise the fitness of its position, and the influence which it has exercised wherever the Gospel record has found its way. More than any other part of that record did it impress itself on the minds of men in the first age of the Church, and more often is it quoted by the writers of that period--St. James, and Barnabas, and Clement of Rome, and Ignatius, and Polycarp. More than any other portion, in recent time, has it attracted the admiring reverence even of many who did not look on the Preacher of the Sermon as the faith of Christendom looks on Him. Not unfrequently its teaching, as being purely ethical, has been contrasted with the more dogmatic character of the discourses that appear in St. John. How far that contrast really exists will appear as we interpret it. Two preliminary questions, however, present themselves: (1) Have we here the actual verbatim report of one single discourse? (2) Is that discourse the same as that which we find in Luke 6:20-49, and which, for the sake of distinctness, we may call the Sermon on the Plain? Following the method hitherto adopted in dealing with problems which rise from the comparison of one Gospel with another, the latter inquiry will be postponed till we have to meet it in writing on St. Luke's Gospel. Here it will be enough to state the conclusion which seems to be most probable, that the two discourses are quite distinct, and that each has traceably a purpose and method of its own. The other question calls for discussion now.
At first sight there is much that favours the belief that the Sermon on the Mount is, as it were, a pattern discourse, framed out of the fragments of many like discourses. Not only is there a large element common to it and to the Sermon on the Plain, but we find many other portions of it scattered here and there in other parts of St. Luke's Gospel. Thus we have:--
. . .
-2Matthew 5:18 . . .
Verse 1. - And seeing the multitudes; i.e. those spoken of in Matthew 4:25 - the multitudes who were at that point of time following him. He went up. From the lower ground by the lake. Into a mountain; Revised Version, into the mountain (εἰς τὸ ὄρος); i.e. not any special mountain, but "the mountain nearest the place spoken of - the mountain near by" (Thayer); in contrast to any lower place, whether that was itself fairly high ground (as probably Luke 9:28) or the shore of the lake (Matthew 14:23 [parallel passages: Mark 6:46; John 6:15]; 15:29). The actual spot here referred to may have been far from, or, and more probably (Matthew 4:18), near to, the Lake of Gennesareth. It cannot now be identified. The traditional "Mount of Beatitudes" is Karn-Hattin, "a round, rocky hill" (Socin's Baedeker, p. 366), "a square-shaped hill with two tops" (Stanley, p. 368), about five miles north-west of Tiberias. This tradition, dating only from the time of the Crusades, is accepted by Stanley (cf. also Ellicott, 'Hist. Lects.,' p. 178), especially for the reasons that(1) τὸ ὄρος is equivalent to "the mountain" as a distinct name, and this mountain alone, with the exception of Tabor which is too distant, stands separate from the uniform barrier of hills round the lake;
(2) "the platform at the top is evidently suitable for the collection of a multitude, and corresponds precisely to the 'level place' (τόπου πεδινοῦ, Luke 6:17) to which our Lord would 'come down,' as from one of its higher horns, to address the people." But these reasons seem insufficient. And when he was set; Revised Version, had sat down; as his custom was when preaching (Matthew 13:1; Matthew 24:3; Mark 9:35). His disciples; i.e. the twelve, and also those others out of whom they had, as it seems, just been chosen (Luke 6:12, 20). The word is used of all those personal followers who, as still more distinctly indicated in the Fourth Gospel, attached themselves to him to learn of him, at least until the time of the crisis in John 6:66, when many withdrew (cf. also infra, Matthew 8:21, and for an example in the end of his ministry, Luke 19:37). In English we unavoidably miss some of the meaning of μαθητής, to our loss, as may be seen from the saying of Ignatius, 'Magn.,' § 10, Μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ γενόμενοι μάθωμεν κατὰ Ξριστιανισμὸν ζῇν Came unto him (προσῆλθαν αὐτῷ). Came up to him, and, presumably, sat down in front of him to listen.
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