<P> The Sermon on the Mount is the longest piece of teaching from Jesus in the New Testament, and occupies chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew . The Sermon has been one of the most widely quoted elements of the Canonical Gospels . </P> <P> This is the first of the Five Discourses of Matthew, the other four being Matthew 10, Matthew 13 (1--53), Matthew 18 and the Olivet discourse in Matthew 24 . </P> <P> The Sermon is set early in the Ministry of Jesus, after he has been baptized by John the Baptist in chapter 3 of Matthew's Gospel and gathered his first disciples in chapter 4 . </P> <P> Before this episode, Jesus had been "all about Galilee" preaching, as in Matthew 4: 23, and "great crowds followed him" from all around the area . The setting for the sermon is given in Matthew 5: 1 - 2 . Jesus sees the multitudes, goes up into the mountain, is followed by his disciples, and begins to preach . The sermon is brought to its close by Matthew 8: 1, which reports that Jesus "came down from the mountain followed by great multitudes". </P>

When did the sermon on the mount take place