8 days
The Sermon on the Mount in eight days
Matthew 5 to 7, Jesus' most famous speech, in eight parts: blessed, salt and light, loving enemies, the Lord's Prayer, the house on the rock.
On a mountain in Galilee, Jesus sums up what life looks like in the kingdom of God. The Church Father Augustine called these three chapters 'the perfect standard of the Christian life'. They are short, but not easy: read a little each day, slowly, and choose one sentence to take with you.
0 of 8 days read
- Day 1Read Matthew 5:1–12
Blessed are
Jesus does not begin with rules, but with blessings for those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek and who hunger for righteousness. Blessed means happy, favoured by God. The kingdom turns the usual standards upside down.
Which of the Beatitudes would you least expect, and why?
- Day 2Read Matthew 5:13–20
Salt and light
'You are the salt of the earth, the light of the world' (5:13–14). Jesus does not say: become it, but: you are it. And He has not come to abolish the law, but to fulfil it (5:17).
Where could you be a little salt or light today?
- Day 3Read Matthew 5:21–37
Beyond the rule
'You have heard… but I say to you.' Jesus goes to the root: not only murder is wrong, but hatred too; not only adultery, but lust too. And let your yes be yes, and your no be no (5:37).
With whom would you first need to be reconciled, before you bring your gift to the altar?
- Day 4Read Matthew 5:38–48
Love your enemies
In the ancient world, an eye for an eye was a limit on revenge. Jesus goes further: turn the other cheek, pray for those who persecute you. That is how you resemble your Father, who makes his sun rise on the good and on the evil (5:45). Christians differ on how to apply this, for example to violence and war.
Who could you pray for today whom you would rather avoid?
- Day 5Read Matthew 6:1–15
In secret, and the Lord's Prayer
You give, pray and fast not for an audience, but for your Father who sees in secret. In the middle of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches the prayer that Christians pray all over the world: the Lord's Prayer (6:9–13).
Pray the Lord's Prayer very slowly. Which phrase do you linger on?
- Day 6Read Matthew 6:16–34
Do not worry
Do not store up treasures that moth and rust destroy. You cannot serve two masters. Look at the birds and the lilies: seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be given to you as well (6:33).
What are you most worried about right now? Can you give it to God today?
- Day 7Read Matthew 7:1–12
Do not judge, but do ask
First look at the log in your own eye. Ask, seek, knock: the Father gives good things to those who ask Him. And then the golden rule: do to others what you would have them do to you (7:12).
What would you honestly like to ask God today?
- Day 8Read Matthew 7:13–29
The house on the rock
The narrow gate, the tree and its fruit, and the ending: whoever hears these words and does them builds on the rock. The crowds are astonished, for Jesus teaches with authority, not like the scribes (7:28–29).
Which one sentence from the Sermon on the Mount do you really want to start doing this week?