Inquiry:
Was Jesus’ first sermon preached on a plain or on a mount? Matthew 5:1-2 says He went up into a mountain to teach the people, but Luke 6:7, 20 says he stood in the plain. Which is it? Is there contradiction?
Response:
The questioner has made a couple false assumptions to arrive at this supposed ‘contradiction.’ First, he identifies these sermons (Matthew 5-7 & Luke 6) as Jesus’ first. We find in both Matthew (4:14, 4:23) and Luke (4:15ff; 4:31; 4:44; 5:17; 6:6) instances where Jesus preached before this/these occasions.
Second, the questioner assumes that what is recorded in Matthew and Luke are the same occasion. Since Matthew speaks of Jesus going “…up into a mountain…” and Luke says that He “…stood in the plain…”, it would seem only logical that we are reading of two separate preaching opportunities. I don’t know of a preacher who has not preached the same sermon more than once. Just recently, I preached one lesson (Behold, The Bridegroom Is Coming – Matthew 24:1-13) in three different places within the span of two weeks. Could Jesus not have conceivably preached this sermon on the mount, and at another time in the plain? Also, it is noteworthy that the content of the sermons are not entirely parallel. Likewise, though I preached the same sermon three times within a two week span, the delivery and content of the lesson was not exactly the same each time. Preachers do tend to provide content which will best suit the audience to whom they are speaking. Certainly, I imagine the Lord would do so as well.
There is no contradiction.
This article is a response to Skeptic’s Annotated Bible, but original article is no longer listed
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