In this sermon we cover a number of key questions about the sermon on the mount, including: • How many “disciples” did Jesus have? How should we understand that term when it’s used in the Gospels? • Who is the audience in the Sermon on the Mount? What group or groups were there? • Exactly what is the Sermon on the Mount? • Comparing the accounts of Matthew and Luke of the Sermon on the Mount, what differences do we see? How do we account for these differences? Are they describing the same event? • How is Matthew’s Gospel organized? What are the implications of this for understanding the Sermon on the Mount? • Where was the Sermon on the Mount given—on a mountain (Matthew’s account) or on a level place (Luke’s account)? How do we reconcile the differences? • Does Matthew use a remez in placing the Sermon on the Mount on a mountain? If so, what is the point and purpose of the remez? Various other questions are addressed in a Q&A at the end of the message.

Scott Ashley

United Church of God Pastor, Beyond Today Managing Editor

Scott Ashley is managing editor of Beyond Today magazine, United Church of God booklets and its printed Bible Study Course. He and his wife, Connie, live near Denver, Colorado. 
Mr. Ashley attended Ambassador College in Big Sandy, Texas, graduating in 1976 with a theology major and minors in journalism and speech. It was there that he first became interested in publishing, an industry in which he has worked for 50 years.