Section Cluster
5:1–7:29
Jesus preached a sermon on a mountain
For many years, English versions and Christians have commonly referred to Matthew 5–7 as “The Sermon on the Mount.” In some translations, it may be helpful to include a heading for chapters 5–7 that is on a level above the section heading for 5:1–12.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
The Sermon on the Mountain
-or-
The sermon that Jesus preached on a mountain
-or-
Jesus taught people on the side of a mountain/hill
Section 5:1–12
These are the kinds of people whom God blesses/favors
Up to this day, many English versions call the verses in 5:1–12 “The Beatitudes.” The term “Beatitude” comes from Latin. It is the Latin translation of the same Greek word that many English versions translate as “blessed.”
In this section, Jesus gave examples of how God’s people are blessed.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
God blesses/approves of this kind of people
-or-
The kind of people whom God blesses
-or-
The blessings
There is a parallel to the Sermon on the Mount in Luke 6:20–23.
Paragraph 5:1–2
This paragraph describes the setting for the entire Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5–7.
5:1a–b
When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain: The last verse in chapter 4 mentions that large crowds came and followed Jesus. Here in 5:1, we read that when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up a mountain. Jesus probably went up the mountain to escape the crowds. He did not go up the mountain so that he would have a better place to speak to the entire crowd. The teachings in chapters 5–7 were intended primarily for his disciples. So he wanted to find a more private place where he would be away from most of the crowd.
In some languages, it may be important to make some of this information explicit. For example:
1aWhen Jesus saw the crowds, 1bhe went up a mountainside ⌊to be alone with his disciples⌋.
-or-
1aWhen Jesus saw the crowds, 1bhe went up a mountainside ⌊to get away from the crowd⌋.
By the end of his sermon, many people had gathered (7:28–29), and they also heard what he said. But his first desire was to speak to his disciples in a more private place.
5:1a
the crowds: The phrase the crowds refers to the same large group of people mentioned in 4:23–25.
Here are some other ways to translate these words:
those same crowds
-or-
the very large group of people ⌊following him⌋
5:1b
He went up on the mountain: The Berean Standard Bible literally translates the Greek phrase here as the mountain. But the exact mountain or hill is not known. In languages that distinguish between definite and indefinite articles, it will be better to say “a mountain/hill.” For example:
he went up on a mountainside (New International Version)
-or-
and went up a hill (Good News Translation)
-or-
he climbed part way up a mountain ⌊to be alone with his disciples⌋
The mountains/hills near Lake Galilee vary in height from about 30 meters (about 100 feet) to as high as 500 meters (1640 feet) above the lake. Use a term in your language that refers to this size of mountain/hill.
sat down: Jesus sat down because it was the Jewish custom for a teacher to sit down when he taught. Jesus did not sit down because he was tired and wanted to rest.
To make it clearer in your language why Jesus sat down, you could translate these words as:
sat down to teach them (New Living Translation (1996))
5:1c
His disciples: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as disciples refers to “learners” who are in a special relationship with a teacher. The learners commit themselves to their teacher in order to learn from him and live according to his teaching and example. In the New Testament, disciples refer specifically to people who were learning from a religious teacher. Disciples often lived with their teacher and followed him wherever he went.
Here are some other ways to translate disciples:
• Use a term that refers to people who learn from a teacher or an expert. It is helpful if the term also implies that the learners are often with their teacher. For example:
learners/students
-or-
apprentices
Be careful not to use a term that would refer only to students in a school or classroom.
• Use a term that refers to people who follow a teacher or leader by obeying his teaching. It is helpful if this term also implies learning from the teacher and actually following the teacher wherever he goes. For example:
followers
-or-
those who are committed/faithful (to a teacher/leader)
See disciple in the Glossary for more information.
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