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The Sermon on the Mount: A Harmony of Matthew 5–7 and Luke 6:17–49

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Portions of the Sermon on the Mount are found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Below is a harmony of the two accounts that I prepared for use in a biography of Jesus I’m writing.

Reading this sermon in one sitting can be a tremendous soul training tool. I hope you will have the opportunity to spend some time this week prayerfully considering Jesus’s radical alternative to life in the rat race.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for it is to them that the kingdom of heaven belongs.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for it is they who will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for it is they who will inherit the earth.

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The necessity of the new birth

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In C.S. Lewis’s book, The Lion The Witch, And The Wardrobe, we are introduced to a magical land filled with talking animals and mythological creatures. Four children enter Narnia at a time when it is under the curse of an evil queen whose touch can turn people to stone. A series of adventures removes the curse from the land and liberates those who had been turned into statues. They are set free when Aslan the lion breathes on the stone people, and they miraculously come to life.

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How God changes lives, Part 2: We die to sin—sin does not die to us

When we become followers of Christ, God’s identification with us is so complete that we die (are separated) from sin because Jesus is separated from sin. Nevertheless, all Christians sin. How can one be dead to sin and still sin? God’s answer to that question in the sixth chapter of Romans may surprise you.

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When it’s time for a change…

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Think back to the last big decision you had to make. Perhaps you have recently been engaged or married or divorced. Maybe you weathered a financial crisis or made a career change or had to redefine a relationship with a loved one. Do you remember how you felt while you were deciding what to do? For most of us, decision time is uncomfortable because we know that regardless of the choice we make, there will be consequences.