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1 Jesus, seeing the crowds, climbed a hill. He sat, and his disciples came to him. 2 He opened his mouth and began to teach, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure of heart, for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are they that are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 

11 Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you and falsely speak every kind of evil against you. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for thus they persecuted the prophets before you.

Comments

Mt 5-7 is traditionally known as the Sermon on the Mount and forms the first of Mt’s five teaching scenes. Because of the crowds, Jesus climbs a slope to teach from the hillside. There is an intentional parallel here with Moses: just as Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to bring down God’s Law and Covenant, Jesus climbs a hill to give his followers divine guidance. Mt does not specify which hill Jesus climbed, but it is traditionally identified as a hill on the Korazim Plateau that is known today as the Mount of the Beatitudes. The area is rocky and full of basalt boulders. Perhaps one of these made a convenient seat for Jesus. 

Jesus begins his sermon with beatitudes, i.e. statements on what it truly means to be blessed or happy (from the Latin word for blessed, beatus). Beatitudes were a common teaching device in Jewish Wisdom Literature (e.g. Psalm 1; Proverbs 3.13, 8.34, 14.21, 16.20). With these statements, Jesus lays out the values of the Kingdom: God’s will is manifested on earth by those who are humble and inter-dependent, compassionate, non-violent, just, merciful, and peaceable. Those who live these values with integrity may well face opposition and harassment, but that has always been the risk for those who try to authentically follow God.