The Sermon on the Mount

One day, when Jesus once again saw large crowds streaming toward him "to be healed of their diseases," he decided instead to preach to them. It was time to present his great vision and articulate his halakha, his legislative teachings. This speech would become known as the Sermon on the Mount, which contains eight blessings known as the Beatitudes. The Greek expression Makarioi ("Blessed are . . . ") as used in Matthew was a popular rhetorical flourish that frequently appears as ashrei ("Happy are . . . ") in the Hebrew Scriptures (Psalms 1:1ClosePsalms 1:1 Oh, the joys of those who do not  follow the advice of the wicked,  or stand around with sinners,  or join in with mockers. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ; Job 5:17CloseJob 5:17 "But consider the joy of those corrected by God!  Do not despise the discipline of the Almighty when you sin. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ; Daniel 12:12CloseDaniel 12:12 And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days! OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). Another close parallel to the beatitude "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth" is Psalm 37: "But the meek shall inherit the land." (Psalms 7:11ClosePsalms 7:11 God is an honest judge.  He is angry with the wicked every day. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) )

Or in Jesus' words:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:3-6CloseMatthew 5:3-6 "God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,*  for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn,  for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble,  for they will inherit the whole earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,*  for they will be satisfied. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) )

This theme, of a kingdom of God that is within the grasp of those who cleave to Jesus' words, would dominate Jesus' teaching for much of his subsequent ministry in Galilee and beyond. Whereas most of Jesus' contemporaries saw the reign of God as a future promise to be realized by a redeemer or Messiah, many Gospel passages suggest that Jesus saw the kingdom as present in his lifetime (Mark 1:15CloseMark 1:15 "The time promised by God has come at last!" he announced. "The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!" OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ; Luke 17:21CloseLuke 17:21 You won't be able to say, `Here it is!' or `It's over there!' For the Kingdom of God is already among you.*" OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). Arguably, Jesus' kingdom concept was not a new Davidic polity (though some scholars have tried to portray it in such terms), but a radically new way in which society would operate. Its realization would require a new social covenant whereby Jews pledged to return to the quintessential virtues of the Law: compassion toward one another, solidarity within one's community, and love and faith in God.

In this, Jesus may have found inspiration in prophets such as Micah, Hosea, and particularly Jeremiah, who also admonished the Jews of their time on the biblical commandment for social justice. "Behold," Jeremiah had said, "if you truly amend your ways, if you truly act justly with one another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood," then God "would dwell in this land." (Jeremiah 7:1-7CloseJeremiah 7:1-7 The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, "Go to the entrance of the LORD's Temple, and give this message to the people: `O Judah, listen to this message from the LORD! Listen to it, all of you who worship here! This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says:  "`Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land. But don't be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the LORD's Temple is here. They chant, "The LORD's Temple is here! The LORD's Temple is here!" But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) )

One interpretation of Jesus' kingdom of God, then, is that it was both a social and a spiritual revolution, to be brought about as a grassroots movement of people power. "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed," Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke; "Nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For in fact, the kingdom of God is among you." (Luke 17:20-21CloseLuke 17:20-21 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the Kingdom of God come?"  Jesus replied, "The Kingdom of God can't be detected by visible signs.* You won't be able to say, `Here it is!' or `It's over there!' For the Kingdom of God is already among you.*" OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) )

There is, however, some ambiguity in Jesus' parables about the kingdom, and it is questionable whether his disciples ever truly grasped the meaning of Jesus' vision. But one thing is clear: Jesus never imagined a break from contemporary Judaism. Rather, he sought a redefinition of its most essential values—social responsibility and faithfulness to God. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets," Jesus states emphatically at the end of the Beatitudes, referring to the two principal divisions of the Hebrew Bible—the Law (Torah) and the Prophets (Nevi'im)—of his time; "I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17CloseMatthew 5:17 "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) And to underscore that notion, he added, "Not one letter, not one stroke of a letter will pass from the Law until all is accomplished."

The Mount of Beatitudes

There are several places that tradition has marked as the place where Jesus delivered his seminal speech at the beginning of his campaign of social and spiritual renewal. Some suggest it took place near Bethsaida; other traditions point to Mount Arbel near Tiberias, the highest hill in walking distance of the Sea of Galilee, at an altitude of more than 1,000 feet above the level of the lake. But the location with the longest claim is undoubtedly the so-called Mount of Beatitudes (or Mount Eremos) close to Tabgha and ancient Capernaum, on the northernshore of the Sea. As early as the fourth century c.e., a Byzantine church was built there, later expanded into a monastery, of which some remains have been excavated. In 1937, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini commissioned a new church on the site, which was designed by Antonio Barluzzi, loosely inspired by the centralized church in Raphael's painting "The Marriage of the Virgin" (1502). The result is a lovely octagonal church, each side of which is dedicated to one of the eight beatitudes. From here, one has a stunning view of the softly undulating hillside that once reportedly served as the sounding board for Jesus' words.

Just a short walk away is Tabgha, traditionally associated with Jesus' miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes. This miracle, also known as the "Feeding of the Five Thousand," is the only miracle described in all four Gospels (Matthew 14:13-21CloseMatthew 14:13-21 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. That evening the disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus said, "That isn't necessary—you feed them." "But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!" they answered. "Bring them here," he said. Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children! OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ; Mark 6:31-44CloseMark 6:31-44 Then Jesus said, "Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile." He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat. So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone. But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat." But Jesus said, "You feed them."  "With what?" they asked. "We'd have to work for months to earn enough money* to buy food for all these people!" "How much bread do you have?" he asked. "Go and find out."  They came back and reported, "We have five loaves of bread and two fish." Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed from those loaves! OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ; Luke 9:10-17CloseLuke 9:10-17 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick. Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, "Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place." But Jesus said, "You feed them."  "But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. "Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?" For there were about 5,000 men there.  Jesus replied, "Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each." So the people all sat down. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers! OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ; John 6:5-15CloseJohn 6:5-15 Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, "Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?" He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, "Even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money* to feed them!" Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up. "There's a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?" "Tell everyone to sit down," Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, "Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted." So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. When the people saw him* do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, "Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!"* When Jesus saw that they were ready to force him to be their king, he slipped away into the hills by himself. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ). According to the story, Jesus felt compassion for the crowds that had come from afar to see him, "because they were like sheep without a shepherd." (Mark 6:34CloseMark 6:34 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ) Jesus charged his Apostles to go and find something to feed them with. They answered incredulously, "Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them?"— implying that this would have severely strained the movement's modest funds.

Jesus replied, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." They did so, and reported back that they had "five (loaves), and two fish." Jesus then ordered everyone to "sit down in groups on the green grass." And "taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples." And, says Mark, "all ate and were filled." And when everyone was finished, "they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of fish." (Mark 6:37-43CloseMark 6:37-43 But Jesus said, "You feed them."  "With what?" they asked. "We'd have to work for months to earn enough money* to buy food for all these people!" "How much bread do you have?" he asked. "Go and find out."  They came back and reported, "We have five loaves of bread and two fish." Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass. So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share. They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) )

The traditional spot associated with this miracle was marked in the fourth century by a small church, which was later replaced by a fifth-century Byzantine basilica. In 1932, the remains of this basilica were excavated. This in turn inspired the current structure, built by the German Foundation for the Holy Land in the late 1970s, which in many ways attempts to re-create the elegant simplicity of the original. The new walls were rebuilt on the old wall remains whenever possible, while columns were restored in their original positions; the overall effect is exceptionally peaceful. In the pavement just before the altar, the builders retained a beautiful mosaic of a basket of loaves with two fishes, which the pilgrim Egeria described in her fourth-century notebook.

Luke tells us that this was also the place where Jesus formally commissioned his Apostles. For the roughly 12 months that remained to him, Jesus then set out to propagate his great vision—not only in Capernaum and surrounding villages, but in all of Galilee, and even the towns and cities beyond, in foreign lands.