If I Could Sit on That Mountainside.

If I could go back and witness any historical event, I would sit on a hillside in Galilee and listen to Jesus deliver what we now call the Sermon on the Mount.

Not from the front row of a conference.

Not with a Bible open in my lap.

Not already knowing the words.

I would want to hear them for the first time.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
— Matthew 5:3 (ESV)

Imagine hearing Jesus say those words without knowing what came next.

I wonder what it would have been like to hear Him speak about loving your enemies, praying for those who persecute you, giving without seeking recognition, forgiving others, trusting God instead of worrying, and seeking first the kingdom of God.

Some of those words would have been comforting.

Others would have been deeply challenging.

And I think that is part of why I would want to be there.

I Would Want to Hear His Voice

We can read the Sermon on the Mount today in Matthew 5–7, but those gathered on that hillside weren’t reading a sermon.

They were listening to Jesus.

They could hear His tone.

They could see His face.

They could experience the pauses between His words.

And perhaps most importantly, they had to decide what they were going to do with what they heard.

That is where this becomes more than an interesting historical moment for me.

Because we still face the same decision.

Hearing Has Always Required a Response

Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with a picture of two builders.

One hears His words and does them.

The other hears His words and does not.

The difference isn’t that one heard Jesus and the other didn’t.

They both heard Him.

The difference was response.

One built on rock.

The other built on sand.

That distinction has become increasingly important to me in my own journey with God.

We can hear Scripture.

Study Scripture.

Highlight Scripture.

Discuss Scripture.

Even teach Scripture.

But eventually, what we hear from God requires a response.

Maybe I Don’t Need a Time Machine

There is something incredible about imagining myself sitting on that hillside listening to Jesus.

But there is also something convicting about it.

I already have His words.

I can open Matthew 5 today.

I can hear Him tell me to love my enemies.

To forgive.

To pray.

To trust my Father.

To seek His kingdom first.

To build my life upon what Jesus has said.

Maybe the greater question isn’t whether I would have listened to Jesus on that mountain.

Maybe the question is:

Will I listen to Him now?

Because hearing His voice has never been the finish line.

Faithfulness begins with what we do next.