One of the most famous and beloved passages of Scripture is what is known as the “Beatitudes.” These are a series of statements that Jesus makes to begin the “Sermon on the Mount” in which he pronounces that various people are “blessed” (Matthew 5-7). The reason that these statements are known as the “Beatitudes” is because the Latin word for “blessed” is “beatus,” so when the Bible was read in Latin, these statements begin with the word “beati.” The Latin label for these statements stuck and has continued through church history and into the English language.
Like two other very famous biblical passages – the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer – the Beatitudes come to us in two different places in the Bible: Matthew 5:3-10 and also Luke 6:20-23. (In case you are wondering, you can find the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:1-21, and the Lord’s Prayer is Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4). Like those other key passages, the repetition of Beatitudes points to its significance, as we repeat things that we deem important. However, over the years some people have found the two accounts to be a problem in light of some details that differ, potentially calling into question the accuracy of the biblical accounts and the trustworthiness of the authors. In light of the questions that arise from these differences and the claims that are made about them, I want to explore what is different (but also what is similar) between these two accounts.
Location
An immediate difference between Matthew and Luke concerning these statements is the location in which Jesus spoke them. In Matthew 5:1-2, we read that Jesus sees the crowds, goes up to a mountain and then sits down to teach the disciples that came to him. Meanwhile, Luke 6 notes that Jesus went up to a mountain to pray (and select his disciples) and then comes down, standing on a “level place” (or a plain), where a large crowd gathers around him to hear him and Jesus then looking at the disciples and teaching. Thus, it seems that Matthew has Jesus saying these on a mountain and Luke has him doing so on a plain! Those details have led some over the years to dub Matthew 5-7 as the “Sermon on the Mount” and Luke 6:20-26 as the “Sermon on the Plain.”
What are we to make of this difference in location? They not only are different but seem to be opposites of each other (either high up or low down). Does this mean that Matthew and Luke were just making the location up – and if the location, then what about the words? However, I think there are a number of possible explanations for this difference. One might be that there was a plain in a mountain range, so that from one angle it would appear as if Jesus was still on this mountain when he taught. This means it might be an issue of perspective. In addition, there is also the distinct reality that Jesus could very well have said similar things at different times. Hopefully this does not shock, but at times my blog posts have repeated things that I have written about before – and there are times when I have preached a sermon that I have previously preached but in a new location! We even see in the book of Acts the apostles repeating events that happened to them, retelling the same event for different audiences in different places. If Jesus taught for three years, I am pretty sure he said the same thing in different places and at different items. And based on where he was ministering, there is a high chance that he taught at some point on a mountain and also at some point on a “level place.”
In addition, we should also note that it is not just the physical location that is different but also the location in the sequence of events of Jesus’s life. Jesus pronounces the Beatitudes in Matthew before we hear about him cleansing a leper or healing a paralytic man, calling a tax collector and eating with tax collectors and sinners, talking about fasting, and choosing the two disciples. However, in Luke the “Sermon on the Plain” occurs after these events. At first glance, this may seem to further support the idea that these are different occasions, but we have to remember that ancient history didn’t always tell things in chronological order, so it could be the same speech just placed in a different sequence.
Therefore, these could be two different occasions in which Jesus made similar statements or different ways of framing the same occasion. I would lean slightly towards the view that they are recounting different occasions.
Length
It is not just the location that differs but also the length. There are 8 Beatitudes in Matthew but only 4 in Luke, which are then followed by 4 statements that stand in contrast to them in that they say “Woe” (which is basically like “cursed”) to those whose traits are the example opposite of those who were said to be “Blessed” (poor/rich; hungry/full; weep/laugh; hate/speak well). This detail presents less of a challenge than the previous one, as we know that the accounts of Jesus’s life are by nature selective; the speeches that Jesus gives in the Gospel are likely a lot shorter than the ones that he gave on different occasions. Luke does not say, “Jesus said these four, only these four and no more!” but rather just notes these four. The shorter version in Luke is not surprising, as the version of the Lord’s Prayer is shorter than the one in Matthew and the “Sermon on the Plain” is shorter than the “Sermon on the Mount,” not including some of the statements found in Matthew’s “Sermon on the Mount”. Just as ancient writers didn’t have to tell things in chronological order, they didn’t have to be exhaustive in what they shared. In fact, part of their selectivity was determining what details to include as they sought to tell things in an “orderly sequence” (see Luke 1:4). The four that Luke includes are ones that are also in Matthew, and it could be that Luke selected to highlight these in light of the “woes” that he also wanted to include. This does not mean that he disagreed with the others (saying that the humble, merciful, peacemaker, and pure in heart are not blessed), but that he likely thought the other four statements would be of more help or more relevant to those who were reading it. The fact that Luke likely was a Gentile and that Matthew was writing for a more Jewish audience may also have been a factor in what sayings he recorded.
Labels
Perhaps the most challenging difference between the Beatitudes in Matthew and Luke is found in the wording of these statements, as Jesus uses different “labels” to describe the blessed in the two accounts. One of these differences does not seem overly significant, as Matthew 5:4 says “mourn” while Luke 6:21 speaks of those “weep.” Mourning and weeping are essentially synonymous in this context, and the particular word used could even be tied to the way it might be described in different audiences. If anything, “weep,” is a bit more broad than “mourn,” so it could be said that the statement in Luke expands it beyond just mourning to being in various other troubles as well. Something else to keep in mind in this conversation about the particular words used is that there is a high chance that Jesus spoke these in Aramaic but they are recorded in the gospels in Greek. The act of translation is in many ways more of an art than a science, and good and faithful translations can use different words when translating the same term. Therefore, this difference could stem from different choices made in translating from one language to another, retaining the same idea. Language may stand behind the fact that Matthew’s Beatitudes are in the third person (“Blessed are those”) while Luke’s are in the second person (“Blessed are you”); at times we may say something in the third person but it functions as an invitation or promise to others and thus essentially is in the 2nd person.
More challenging differences, however, appear in a couple of the other statements. The first Beatitude in Matthew is “blessed are the poor in spirit” but the first one in Luke is “blessed are you who are poor.” The fourth Beatitude in Matthew is “blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” and the parallel to this is found in the second statement in Luke, which reads “Blessed are you who are hungry now.” Many have said that Matthew’s statements are “spiritual” while Luke’s seem more physical and economic, referring to those who have no money and no food. Are these statements addressing different people and showing Jesus teaching different things?
Once again, I don’t think we need to see a contradiction here but rather should see the connection. The physically poor and hungry are likely to be the ones who also are “poor in spirit” and “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” The version in Matthew might be a way of clarifying that it is not all the poor or the hungry who are blessed but rather the ones who, from their need, sense their great need of God. The poor and hungry seem more likely to sense that news than the rich and full, who may think they have no need of God. Jesus is showing how blessing comes in ways that differ from what the world thinks; it is not the ones who are independent and have what they need who are blessed, but the ones who utterly depend upon God and who long for his help in their lives and in the world.
The two renderings thus do not seem to be contradictory but perhaps complementary, with Matthew offering a little more precision that Jesus himself may have helped to clarify in terms of his message. In addition, Luke may have been trying to make sure his audience was aware that the physically poor and hungry can be blessed right now, as these groups often thought that they had not been blessed. He has not twisted or changed Jesus’s words but drawn out a particular emphasis that was true in Jesus’s teaching.
Lessons
Hopefully this discussion of the differences in the two Beatitudes helped you think through these sayings but also how to think through differences between the Gospels. When people say there are “contradictions” in the Bible, it is important to examine them closely. Perhaps it does not say what you think it says, or maybe the difference is intentional to help you recognize something. We should also recognize that blessing comes not from knowing or understanding everything or even in having all the answers, but it comes to those who are humble and pure in heart, who look to God and believe His Word even if it leads to suffering for His name. Let us find this blessing and invite others to the good news of the good life found in the Kingdom of God.
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also email to be added to the list that receives weekly emails with our blog posts.
