Jesus' Sermon on the Mount

JESUS' SERMON ON THE MOUNT The Big Idea: The Sermon on the Mount is the most complete record we have of Jesus’ announcement about the arrival of God’s Kingdom, promising that God’s presence and blessing is available to everyone. Matthew places the Sermon on the Mount within his larger narrative about Jesus that takes place in Jerusalem, Judea, Galilee, and the surrounding occupied lands of the Greco-Roman Empire between approximately 4 B.C.E. and 35 C.E. The book was likely composed sometime between 55 and 90 C.E. The Sermon on the Mount is not a random collection of teaching snippets. These are Jesus’ core teachings, organized intentionally to help readers understand emphasis points and to aid memorization. Readers can identify a three-part repeated structure to the sermon. It contains three major sections, and the middle section (main body) itself has three parts, and each middle part breaks into three parts, as well. At the center of the center section, we read the famous prayer Jesus taught His followers.