Gospel Truth Trivia Quiz

Answer:

In Matthew 4, Jesus begins his ministry upon hearing of John the Baptist's imprisonment, using the same message in his preaching (v. 17) - "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Jesus gathered his first disciples (Simon (Peter), Andrew, James and John) and began to minister to everyone in words and deed (v. 23) - "And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people."

Large crowds would gather wherever Jesus was, and thus came the setting for the Sermon on the Mount, which took place (according to tradition) on a hill in northern Israel, in the Korazim Plateau. Having begun his ministry by declaring the Kingdom of God, the Beatitudes provided a strong opening to the Sermon on the Mount with the foundations and character of life in that kingdom.

In the book of Luke, a similar beginning to Jesus' ministry is outlined, but Luke also includes more stories of miracles performed by Jesus. In chapter six, after spending the night praying on the mountain, he officially names his twelve disciples. And then (vv 17, 18) - "And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured."

It seems in the passage in Luke 6 that Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples as he speaks the shorter list of Beatitudes, but this time he also follows up with related Woes. Where the Beatitudes spoke to those who were poor, hungry, weeping, and persecuted, the Woes looked at the other end of the spectrum:

Luke 6:24-26
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.
Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you, for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets."