Limitless Word
And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
Matthew 5:1 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
  • KJV And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
  • BSB When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,
  • NASB Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
  • NLT One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Seeing the crowds, Jesus goes up the mountain, sits, and His disciples come to Him. It introduces the Sermon on the Mount.

Overview

Jesus assumes the posture of a teacher, sitting as rabbis did, on a mountainside that recalls Moses at Sinai. Yet here is one greater than Moses, giving authoritative instruction on the life of the kingdom. The setting signals that what follows is foundational teaching for His disciples.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Mark 3:13He went up into the mountain, and called to himself those whom he wanted, and they went to him.
  • Matt 15:29Jesus departed there, and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up into the mountain, and sat there.
  • John 6:2–3A great multitude followed him, because they saw his signs which he did on those who were sick.
  • Mark 4:1Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea.
  • Mark 3:20The multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
  • Matt 4:25Great multitudes from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and from beyond the Jordan followed him.
  • Matt 10:2–4Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother;
  • Luke 6:13–16When it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles:
  • Matt 4:18–22Walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
  • Matt 13:2Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 5:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 5:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.