This spring and summer, we will be working through the Sermon on the Mount. To that end, it’s helpful to look at the structure of the sermon as a whole in order to understand how everything fits together, and to avoid taking individual verses or sections out of context. In my judgment, this sermon is carefully structured using a complex form of Hebrew parallelism which NT scholar Dr. Kenneth Bailey has dubbed “ring composition.” In such a structure, the points of greatest emphasis fall in the center, which is the climax, and in the opening and closing sections, which stand parallel to one another. In this case, that puts the emphasis in the Sermon on the Mount on the Lord’s Prayer and the Beatitudes, and on the closing parable.
The Sermon on the Mount as Ring Composition
A 5:1-10 The way of the disciple: already blessed
B 5:11-16 The way of the disciple: marks of a true disciple
C 5:17-20 Thesis: Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets
D 5:21-37 The true application of the law (correcting misuse)
E 5:38-48 Trust in God (contrast with Gentiles)
F 6:1-6 Reward: earth vs. heaven
G 6:7-8 On prayer: trust
H 6:9-13 Lord’s Prayer
G` 6:14-15 On prayer: forgiveness
F` 6:16-24 Reward: earth vs. heaven
E` 6:25-34 Trust in God (contrast with Gentiles)
D` 7:1-6 The true application of the law (correcting misuse)
G“ 7:7-11 On prayer: trust
C` 7:12 Thesis: Jesus summarizes the Law and the Prophets
B` 7:13-23 Two ways: marks of a false disciple
A` 7:24-29 Two ways: already blessed/already cursed
E: God’s character: justice, longsuffering, ḥesed, including his provision for the world
E:` God’s character: his care for us, illustrated by his provision for the world