Reflection: Before Matthew lets us hear the greatest sermon ever given (the Sermon on the Mount), he reminds us of Jesus’ extraordinary fame as a preacher of the gospel (the gospel promised in Isaiah 61:1-2) and as a ‘teacher’ of a new law. Large crowds from a vast geographical region flock to him.

About a decade after Matthew wrote, the first-century non-Christian writer Josephus also remarked, “About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks.”
May we never forget the Lord’s greatness as our teacher!

Question: Do we approach the words of our Teacher with the same eagerness and zeal of those who first heard him?