Jesus Goes Up the Mountain to Teach
Month 4: The Teacher (Part 1) · Bible Story
Today's Scripture
Read together: Matthew 5:1-2
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him, 2 and He began to teach them, saying:
Memory Verse
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”— Matthew 5:6 (BSB)memorize this week
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 1 Kings 3-6
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 91 of 365 — Solomon asks for wisdom and builds the temple.)The Heart of It
The crowds had been growing for weeks. People walked for miles from every direction. There were sick people, curious people, and hungry-hearted people. They all came because of one man from Nazareth. He healed people and spoke like no one they had ever heard. So Jesus went up on a mountainside. He sat down the way a teacher sat down in those days, and His disciples gathered close around Him. Then He "opened His mouth and taught them." What came next was the Sermon on the Mount. It's the most famous teaching ever given. And it begins not with rules, but with a surprising word: blessed.
Two small details matter here. First, Jesus sat down. In that culture, a rabbi sat down to teach with authority, and the people leaned in to listen. The King of heaven took the posture of a Teacher so ordinary folks could learn from Him. Second, He went up the mountain. Moses once climbed Mount Sinai the same way to receive God's law. But Jesus does not merely deliver God's word from a distance. He is the Word. He opens His own mouth to show us the heart of the Father. This whole month we get to sit on that hillside with the disciples and listen. The very best Teacher who ever lived is about to begin. So let's lean in too.
Around the Table
Lots and lots of people came to hear Jesus. He sat down on a hill and started to teach them about God.
Let's do it: Sit down together like Jesus did and say, "We're ready to listen!" Then cup your ears.
In Jesus' day, a teacher sat down and everyone gathered close to learn. Jesus is the best Teacher there has ever been.
Let's talk: What makes a good teacher? What do you think made Jesus the very best?
Jesus went up a mountain to teach, just as Moses once went up Mount Sinai. But Jesus speaks as the Author of the words, not just the messenger.
Let's go deeper: Why does it matter that the One teaching us how to live is also the One who made us?
💬 Conversation Starter
If you could sit and listen to anyone in the world teach for one hour, who would you pick? And why is Jesus an even better choice?
🛡️ Defending the Faith
Matthew records where Jesus sat, who gathered, and what He said. That's eyewitness detail, not vague myth. The Sermon on the Mount has been quoted, copied, and treasured for two thousand years, because it really happened. Be ready to give a reason for the hope you have ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
Before Jesus tells anyone what to do, He tells them what they can be: blessed. The Sermon on the Mount is not a ladder of self-improvement. It is a portrait of the kind of person the kingdom of God produces. And it starts with grace, not grit. As you lead your family up this mountain over the coming weeks, resist the urge to turn it into a moral checklist your kids can never quite reach. Let it do what Jesus meant it to do. It exposes our need. It drives us to Him. Then His Spirit forms His character in us. You are not the teacher this month. You are a fellow student sitting on the grass beside your kids.
Draws on: D.A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount.
Let's Pray Together
"Jesus, You are the best Teacher of all. Help our family sit close and really listen as You teach us how to live. Open our ears, and open our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen."
The King of heaven sat down to teach me. So today I'll lean in and listen.