On the mountain, he sat down and taught

The Sermon on the Mount opens by blessing exactly the people no one congratulates: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, the persecuted. Then Jesus takes the commandments and pushes them inward — murder starts as contempt, adultery starts as a look. He tells his listeners to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, which in occupied Judea meant Roman soldiers by name. He tells them not to store up treasure, not to worry, not to judge, to give quietly and pray simply — and he gives them the prayer. He ends with two houses, one on rock and one on sand, and the same storm hitting both. The crowds are astonished, Matthew says, because he taught as one who had authority.