The Narrow Way

Study Series: Drash On the Mountain

The teaching commonly known as the “Sermon on the Mount,” recorded in the Gospel of Matthew chapters 5–7, is one of the most complete and powerful teachings of Yeshua. In it, Messiah lays out what life in the Kingdom of YHVH truly looks like- not just outwardly, but from within the heart.

To understand these words rightly, we must approach them through the lens of the people to whom they were spoken. Yeshua was teaching within a first-century Yisraelite context- speaking to people who knew Torah, lived within it and understood the language and expectations of covenant life. When we read His words with that foundation in mind, His message becomes clearer, deeper and more consistent with Scripture.

In this series, we will break down these teachings and show that they are not a replacement of the Torah, but a fuller revealing of it. Yeshua brings clarity to what obedience has always meant: not merely external actions, but inward transformation, faithfulness, and sincerity before the Father.

Literary and Historical Context

What is often called a “sermon” is, more accurately in Hebrew understanding, a drash– a form of scriptural interpretation. This means Yeshua is not giving a new teaching disconnected from the past, but actively interpreting what already exists.

Matthew presents a clear parallel between Yeshua and Moses: Just as Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Torah and bring it to the people, Yeshua goes up on a mountain- not to receive the instruction, but to teach, interpret and reveal its fullness.

This is not a contradiction, but a continuation. It is also significant that this takes place not at the Temple in Jerusalem as the center of religious authority, but on a mountain among the people. This sets the idea that the Renewed covenant isn’t centered in the rigidity of Jewish ritualism, but in daily the daily lives of people.

Matthew’s structure points to restoration and correction, not replacement- Torah rightly understood and lived out.

1 Having seen then the crowds, He went up on the mountain. And having sat down, disciples of Him came to Him.
2 And opening His mouth, He was teaching them, saying: