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Matthew 5 · a question people ask

"His disciples came to him" (5:1), and he "taught them" (5:2). Was Jesus teaching his disciples, or the multitudes?

In the text

Matthew doesn't say in so many words, and these notes don't decide it. "Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him" (5:1). "He opened his mouth and taught them" (5:2). "When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes" (7:28-29). Matthew names both, and doesn't say which he means by them. Luke's telling is set beside this chapter in the section Beside Luke 6, and these notes don't use it to settle Matthew's words. That is why Favor's notes on these chapters say "Jesus said", and not that he told his disciples or the multitudes.

The verses

“Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,”
Matthew 5:1-2 · World English Bible
“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them with authority, and not like the scribes.”
Matthew 7:28-29 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Matthew 5

Matthew 5: Blessed

In Matthew 5 the first and the eighth "Blessed" sayings end with the same words, "for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven" (5:3, 5:10). And the first time Matthew calls God Father is here, in Jesus's words: "glorify your Father who is in heaven" (5:16).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions