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Chapters 5--7 record the Sermon on the Mount. It is important that we have a total view of this important sermon before we attempt to study the various divisions of the passage. The theme, given in chapter 5:17-20, is true righteousness, as opposed to the false righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. It is important to remember that the people looked to the Scribes and Pharisees as their models and examples in the things of [[God]], since they set the rules and determined what was holy and unholy. One reason the Scribes and Pharisees hated [[Jesus]] was because He exposed their shallowness and deceit in this sermon.

The purpose of the Sermon on the Mount was threefold: (1) To tell His followers the meaning of true righteousness. (2) To describe the laws of His Kingdom, the spiritual principles He uses in governing the lives of men. (3) To relate His message to the [[Old Testament]] Law and the tradition of the Scribes and Pharisees.