How to Read the Sermon on the Mount: A Practical Bible Study Guide
Matt · April 21, 2026
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) is the most famous extended teaching of Jesus in the entire Bible. It covers everything from how to handle anger and anxiety to how to pray, give, and treat enemies — and reading it well takes more than a single sitting.
What the Sermon on the Mount Actually Is
Most people have heard the Beatitudes ("Blessed are the poor in spirit…") or the Lord's Prayer, but they often don't realize these come from a single connected sermon that spans three full chapters of Matthew. Jesus delivers it on a hillside near Galilee early in his ministry, and it functions as something like a manifesto for kingdom living.
The sermon isn't a random collection of sayings. It has a clear structure:
- Matthew 5:1–12 — The Beatitudes (the character of kingdom people)
- Matthew 5:13–16 — Salt and light (the role of kingdom people in the world)
- Matthew 5:17–48 — Jesus reinterprets the Law ("You have heard it said… but I say…")
- Matthew 6:1–18 — Practicing righteousness privately (giving, prayer, fasting)
- Matthew 6:19–34 — Money, worry, and where your heart rests
- Matthew 7:1–12 — Judging others, prayer, the Golden Rule
- Matthew 7:13–29 — Two roads, two trees, two builders — the call to respond
Reading the whole thing in one go (it takes about 15 minutes) gives you a feel for the flow before you slow down and study each section.
How to Actually Study It
Read it in one translation first, then compare. The Sermon on the Mount has some famously difficult lines ("gouge out your eye," "be perfect as your Father is perfect") that can feel jarring out of context. Reading a study Bible or a second translation alongside your main one helps a lot here.
Take it section by section over a week. Don't try to absorb all of Matthew 5–7 in a single devotional. Spend a day or two on the Beatitudes alone — they're counter-cultural enough that they deserve real reflection. Then move through each block at a pace that lets you think.
Ask yourself: what does Jesus assume here? A lot of the sermon presupposes that his listeners are already people of faith who pray, fast, and give. He's not introducing those practices — he's radically reorienting the motives behind them. That assumption changes how you read it.
Journal one application per section. After each block of verses, write down one specific thing Jesus is asking you to do differently. Not a general principle — a concrete change. That's where the sermon stops being theory.
If you're working through a structured Bible reading plan like Bible In A Year, you'll encounter the Sermon on the Mount relatively early in the New Testament. It's worth pausing your normal daily pace here and giving it extra time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Sermon on the Mount meant to be taken literally?
Yes and no. Jesus uses hyperbole deliberately ("if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off") to make a point about radical seriousness — not as a literal instruction. But much of the sermon is meant to be obeyed directly: love your enemies, don't worry about tomorrow, forgive others. Read each passage in context and ask what Jesus is actually calling you to do.
How is the Sermon on the Mount different from the Ten Commandments?
The Ten Commandments focus on external actions (don't murder, don't steal). The Sermon on the Mount goes deeper — Jesus addresses the internal attitudes that produce those actions. He's not abolishing the Law but fulfilling it by going to the heart of it.
Should I read Luke 6 alongside Matthew 5–7?
Yes, it's worth comparing them. Luke 6:20–49 contains a shorter version often called the "Sermon on the Plain." Reading both side by side shows which teachings Jesus returned to repeatedly and helps clarify meaning when one account is more concise than the other.