And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying… (Matthew 5:1-2)

Perhaps the greatest sermon ever preached on the planet Earth can be read in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of the gospel according to Matthew. This short, simple, but powerful sermon was presented by Jesus near the very beginning of His ministry in the region of Galilee, probably within sight of the beautiful Sea of Galilee itself. Time and again Jesus challenges the people of Galilee to reconsider the doctrines they had been taught by the scribes for so long. As we see Him do so masterfully throughout His three-year ministry, Jesus uses common things such as the lilies of the field and the fowls of the air to make profound points clear to all who hear Him. Never had a man spoken as this man had (John 7:46), a man with little or no formal education, probably trained to be a carpenter like His “father” Joseph, a man from an obscure little town called Nazareth, from which some people believed that no good thing could come (John 1:46).

This sermon is significant in that it marked the commencement of the greatest earthly ministry of all time as the Word of God became flesh and dwelled among men (John 1:14). We will truly be “blessed” if we will take to heart these eternally modern teachings imparted by the Master nearly 2,000 years ago to an audience of Galilean fishermen.