# The Setting of the Sermon on the Mount: Up or Down the Mountain?

Did Jesus go up or down the mountain to deliver the Sermon?

The Gospel of Matthew indicates Jesus “went up on a mountain” before preaching the famous Sermon on the Mount. Meanwhile, the Gospel of Luke reveals that Jesus “came down” before delivering His message. Furthermore, Matthew notes that Jesus “was seated” before teaching, while Luke states that Jesus “stood on a level place.” How can both accounts be reconciled?

> And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them... (Matthew 5:1–2)

> Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray... And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great multitude of people... Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said... (Luke 6:12–20)

The Harmonization

The ancient Christian exegetes have long observed that these accounts are easily harmonized by looking closely at the movements described.

Luke provides specific details about Christ’s activities the night before the sermon. “He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12). In the morning, Jesus called His followers and came down the mountain to a "level place" on the mountainside to preach.

Matthew provides a broader summary. He simply notes that Jesus “went up on a mountain.” Jesus had gone up to the higher peaks to pray, and then descended to a plateau—a level place on the mountain—to accommodate the large crowds. Therefore, He was still on the mountain (Matthew), but had come down to a level area (Luke).

Regarding His posture: Luke states that Jesus stood while healing the multitude, which may have taken some time (Luke 6:17-19). Following the healings, as was the common practice among Jewish teachers of the day, He sat down to deliver the formal teaching of the sermon, which Matthew accurately records (Matthew 5:1).

The accounts are fully compatible: Jesus ascended the mountain to pray, descended to a level plateau to heal the crowds while standing, and then sat down to teach them the Sermon on the Mount.