Matthew 5:1-2
“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:”
This is the introduction to the 9 “blessed are” statements. And not just that; it’s the introduction to the entire “sermon on the mount” which goes through Matthew 7:29 and includes much more than I’ll be covering in this blog. It’s interesting to note who Jesus is talking to. We see three key people / groups: Jesus, crowds, Jesus’ disciples. According to my study bible, the crowds were those who “were curious and often astounded by his teaching and ministry yet for the most part remained neutral and uncommitted.” The disciples were “those who had made a commitment to Jesus as the Messiah.”
So what we have is this: lots of non-disciples are following Jesus, but there are disciples following him as well. Jesus sees these crowds and goes up on a mountain. When he sits down to teach, the ones that come to him are the disciples (which means “learners); we can assume the crowds stayed at a relatively safe distance away (which, by the way, is never a good idea when it comes to Jesus).
Then we read that “he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…” He taught them. While the crowds at a distance were more than likely within earshot of this teaching, the teaching seems meant for those who “came to him” – Jesus’ disciples.
Context is an amazing thing I’m still learning about. It’s how we can tell, among other things, who someone is talking to. In this case, the context shows that Jesus intends to teach the disciples who came to him. Context shows us more as well: Jesus is about to say something important. He sees the crowds, goes up on the mountain, sits down, the disciples come to him, and he opens his mouth and teaches them.
Join me again soon as we start to dig into the meat and potatoes of the Beatitudes (…the Be-attitudes… get it?).
“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:”
This is the introduction to the 9 “blessed are” statements. And not just that; it’s the introduction to the entire “sermon on the mount” which goes through Matthew 7:29 and includes much more than I’ll be covering in this blog. It’s interesting to note who Jesus is talking to. We see three key people / groups: Jesus, crowds, Jesus’ disciples. According to my study bible, the crowds were those who “were curious and often astounded by his teaching and ministry yet for the most part remained neutral and uncommitted.” The disciples were “those who had made a commitment to Jesus as the Messiah.”
So what we have is this: lots of non-disciples are following Jesus, but there are disciples following him as well. Jesus sees these crowds and goes up on a mountain. When he sits down to teach, the ones that come to him are the disciples (which means “learners); we can assume the crowds stayed at a relatively safe distance away (which, by the way, is never a good idea when it comes to Jesus).
Then we read that “he opened his mouth and taught them, saying…” He taught them. While the crowds at a distance were more than likely within earshot of this teaching, the teaching seems meant for those who “came to him” – Jesus’ disciples.
Context is an amazing thing I’m still learning about. It’s how we can tell, among other things, who someone is talking to. In this case, the context shows that Jesus intends to teach the disciples who came to him. Context shows us more as well: Jesus is about to say something important. He sees the crowds, goes up on the mountain, sits down, the disciples come to him, and he opens his mouth and teaches them.
Join me again soon as we start to dig into the meat and potatoes of the Beatitudes (…the Be-attitudes… get it?).
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