Matthew 5; Luke 6 – Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2023 Week 8

Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount: Blessed Are Ye

The Beatitudes (from the Latin beatus meaning “blessed”) are a series of teachings that Jesus gave in the Sermon on the Mount that describe a refined and spiritual character (Matt. 5:3–12; Luke 6:20–23). The Beatitudes are arranged in such a way that each statement builds upon the one that precedes it. A more comprehensive and accurate record of the Beatitudes is found in 3 Ne. 12. 

The Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 5:1–7:29 is a discourse by the Lord to His disciples who were about to be sent forth on missions. It should be placed chronologically soon after the calling of the Twelve. It is similar in many respects to a sermon recorded in Luke 6:20–49, although the Matthew account contains more pointed references to the law, the prophets, and the individual calling and responsibility of the disciples. The Luke account appears to have a more general application. For example, “Ye are the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13); “Ye are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14); and, “take no thought, saying, What shall we eat … drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed” (Matt. 6:31) do not occur in the Luke account. The Sermon in Matthew is greatly clarified by the JST (compare the KJV to the JST here for Matthew 5 and here for Luke 6) and a similar sermon recorded in 3 Ne. 12–14.