{"id":7577,"date":"2025-10-30T06:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T10:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/learn\/?p=7577"},"modified":"2025-10-29T14:02:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T18:02:33","slug":"sermon-on-the-mount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/learn\/topics-themes\/explainers\/sermon-on-the-mount\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is the Sermon on the Mount? Its Context, Summary, and Application"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Sermon on the Mount is Jesus\u2019 foundational ethical and spiritual lesson. It\u2019s his first major speech after his baptism and temptation in the wilderness, and it includes some of the most-quoted passages in the gospels \u2014 if not the entire Bible. It’s also one of the longest speeches he gives in any gospel and comprises all of Matthew 5-7<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out a comprehensive overview of his message to his followers: who is blessed by God; how to apply the Law and Jesus\u2019 relation to it; and how to get into the kingdom of heaven. It also includes the Lord\u2019s Prayer \u2014 recited daily by Christians around the world \u2014 and the Golden Rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article will walk through each section of the Sermon on the Mount, summarizing and explaining Jesus\u2019 teachings and how we might apply them today. We\u2019ll also discuss its context and background, comparing it with other related passages in the Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first part of the Sermon on the Mount is known as the Beatitudes, derived from a Latin word meaning \u201cstate of blessedness.\u201d It\u2019s where Jesus begins to lay out his vision of what is sometimes called his \u201cupside-down kingdom,\u201d a countercultural vision where the wisdom of the world is turned upside down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the people who Jesus says are blessed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n