Mt. of Beatitudes - Sermon on the Mount

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Introduction

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Welcome to the Mount of Beatitudes. One of the most significant events from the Bible took place here. Here are the highlights.

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1. This is the location of the Sermon on the Mount. The longest sermon of Jesus recorded in Scripture.

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2. Imagine multitudes of people gathered here to listen to Christ's powerful and impactful words.

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3. Scripture says the people were astonished at Jesus's teachings, and He taught them like no one else.

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4. It's no surprise that Jesus taught from here, as it has a breathtaking view of the Sea of Galilee.

 

5. We'll tour the church and the surrounding area, seeing all its highlights and points of interest. 

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6. We're going to highlight some of the parts of the Sermon on the Mount right here, embracing and just soaking it in, just like the people that Jesus taught.

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7. We are going to be sitting in the very area where Jesus taught around 2000 years ago, listening to the exact words He spoke in the very same place He spoke them.

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8. Afterward, we're going to walk in the same footsteps of Jesus down the Mount of Olives to the Sea of Galilee. Along the way, we'll stop to visit some ancient stones with inscriptions marking the site of a small church that once stood on the spot.

 

Location

 

1. The Mount of Beatitudes is located on a hill overlooking the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee.

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2. This is the best candidate for the location of the Sermon on the Mount.

• Matthew 5:1 says, "Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him."

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• Luke 6:12-13: In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. 13 And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles. 

 

Luke 6: 17: ​"And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people."

 

3. It has a spectacular view of the sea.

 

4. It has great acoustics.

 

Historical Background

 

1. This sermon is the most complete and famous teaching Christ preached.

 

2. It’s three chapters long and is found in Matthew 5–7.

 

3. In the same way the Law was given on Mt. Sinai, many theologians see the Sermon on the Mount as the summary of the New Covenant.

 

4. In this sermon, Christ clarifies many Old Testament meanings and misinterpretations by constantly saying, “You have heard it said, but I say to you.”

 

5. The view from the Sermon on the Mount is spectacular and provided a perfect backdrop for Christ’s hearers to see as they contemplated His powerful message.

 

6. It was no accident that Christ chose this setting, as He used nature and creation to aid in much of His teachings.

 

7. Archaeological remains at the foot of the modern church include the foundations of a small Byzantine-era church dating to around 350 AD.

• Fragments of mosaic flooring and a rock-cut cistern were found in those excavations. This early church is evidence that Christians identified this slope as a holy place by 350 AD.

• Building churches was illegal in the Roman Empire until 313 AD. So, even before a church was built here, the early 
  Christians marked out this spot and venerated it long before the first church was built here.

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8. Today, the Church of the Beatitudes is an octagonal building located on this site. It was built in 1938 for a Franciscan order of nuns. The eight sides of the church represent the eight beatitudes, as shown in Latin, in the upper windows.

 

Places of Interest 

 

1. Entrance

2. Plaques with Bible verses of the beatitudes.

3. Fountain

4. Guest House and Beatitude Monastery up the hill from the church.

5. Church of the Beatitudes

• It's shaped in the form of an octagon (eight sides). Why is this church, and many others, in the shape of an octagon?

  • Jesus rose on the eighth day.​

  • Sunday was called the eighth day.

  • By the time Christianity was legalized by the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, a universal Church tradition known as the Octave had developed. 

• Eight plaques on the walls with the eight beatitudes written on them in Latin.

• Altar in the center made of alabaster and onyx.

• On the floor around the altar are eight mosaic tiles written in Latin.

  • The main one says Praise be to Christ.

  • Each of the other seven tiles has a specific biblical virtue written on it.

    • Fortitude​

    • Charity (love)

    • Prudence

    • Faith

    • Justice

    • Hope

    • Temperance

• Other plaques, written in Latin, are located around the walls.

• The acoustics within the church are excellent. Many groups sing a song while inside the church.

6. Sea of Galilee
7. Ancient Monumental Stones down the hill from the church.

• The circle of black basalt stones around this tree is the ruins of that ancient church. We're not certain what this site conmemorates, but it appears to venerate sharing the gospel.

8. Eremos Cave down the hill from the church.

• Some believe this is the cave where Jesus spent the night in prayer before selecting his 12 disciples and preaching the Sermon on the Mount. However, it doesn't align well with the context and the Bible's account of this event. 

9. Job's Spring on the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee.

• A large spring with a waterfall that empties into the sea.

 

The Sermon on the Mount in the Bible

 

1. In the eight beatitudes, everything is flipped or reversed from what most of us would understand as blessings.  
Matt. 5:1–12: Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 

2. Christ addressed the true essence of anger, adultery, divorce, keeping our word, how to treat our enemies, giving, prayer, and what genuine salvation looks like.

 

3. He taught about storing our riches in heaven and how to handle worry and stress.
Matthew 6:19–20: Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

Matthew 6:25–34: Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles [nonbelievers] seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

 

4. Christ ended His message with a sober warning about the importance of obeying and living out His words, not just listening to them.
Matthew 7:24–29: Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

 

Faith Lesson from the Sermon on the Mount

 

1. Christ began His sermon by clarifying the principles of true blessings in life. Do we understand each principle, and are we living them out?

 

2. Christ focused on the heart attitude behind His commands. Do we understand that Christ looks at our hearts and motives for why we obey or don’t obey His commands?

 

3. Christ stressed the importance of storing our riches in heaven and living for eternity. Do we truly value our treasures in heaven, or are we primarily focused on this life and the treasures it has to offer?

 

4. Christ defined a wise person as one who lived out what He taught. He defined a foolish person as one who heard but did not put into practice what He taught. Do we often know what to do but fail actually to live it out?

 

5. Are we building our lives on the sand or on the rock?