The Sermon on the Mount: A 21-Day Guide to the Greatest Sermon Ever PreachedSample

The Person Behind the Sermon

If you were to create a list of the most influential speeches and speakers throughout the history of the human race, it would almost certainly include the words of President Abraham Lincoln, who, after the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, gave the Gettysburg Address:

The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us … that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom …
—Abraham Lincoln

These words inspired a nation to keep pressing on, through the horrors of war, to see the light of freedom begin to break over their divided nation. But, the battle for freedom was not finished. It would take more than one hundred years for Black Americans to be granted equal liberties under the law. And it was then, one hundred years after Abraham Lincoln spoke those words, that another history-defining speech was given—this time delivered by a pastor, not a president.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. —Martin Luther King Jr.

Powerful. Moving. Inspiring. And these are just two of many speeches that have been recorded and remembered for generations because of their lasting influence. But, of all the great speeches throughout human history, there is one that stands above them all.

It is a speech echoed in the words of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and so many influential figures of the last two millennia. It has inspired more movements, shaped more policies, and changed more lives than any other speech in history.

What makes this speech so special? It’s special not just because of the words that make it up but because of the One who spoke them. He was so much more than a pastor, a president, or even a prophet. The words of this speech came straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ—the Son of God, the Living Word who spoke the universe into being.

At the end of this speech, we are told, “the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority …” (Matthew 7:28-29 NIV).

Jesus’ authority didn’t come from natural charisma, being elected to a political office, or having enough money to pay for people’s affection. It came from the fact that He authored the very laws of nature, that every word He spoke flowed directly out of the life He lived. There was no distance between what He claimed and who He was. He wasn’t just preaching lofty values that no one can reach. He was painting a picture of who He is, what He was doing, and who we can become when we join our lives with His.

This speech has become known as the Sermon on the Mount. It’s the first speech Jesus delivers in the New Testament, and within it, Jesus shows us what life in the kingdom of God is really like. He teaches us what it looks like when the rule and reign of God take root in our lives.

What Jesus said in this sermon has inspired countless numbers of people to live more faithfully, to trust more deeply, and to work more enthusiastically to see our world remade according to the vision Jesus set forth. But we cannot forget that the real power of this sermon comes from the person who spoke it.

This is why, in the Scripture reading for today, we’re going to look at a handful of passages from the first four chapters of Matthew’s Gospel to unravel the mystery of Jesus’s identity.

Before we do, we invite you to pray this prayer:

Lord, show me who You are. Help me to see the real You. I don’t want to settle for anything less than who You are. Give me the wisdom to understand Your Word, and give me the faith to trust and follow You wherever You lead. In Jesus’ name, amen.