John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:1
And seeing the multitudes ,.... The great concourse of people that followed him from the places before mentioned, he went up into a mountain ; either to pray alone, which was sometimes his custom to do, or to shun the multitude; or rather, because it was a commodious place for teaching the people: and when he was set : not for rest, but in order to teach; for sitting was the posture of masters, or teachers, see Matthew 13:2 Luke 4:20 . The form in which the master and his... read more
William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 5:1-48
As we have already seen, Matthew has a careful pattern in his gospel. In his story of the baptism of Jesus he shows us Jesus realizing that the hour has struck, that the call to action has come, and that Jesus must go forth on his crusade. In his story of the Temptations he shows us Jesus deliberately choosing the method he will use to carry out his task, and deliberately rejecting methods which he knew to be against the will of God. If a man sets his hand to a great task, he needs his... read more