Passing the message on
The apostle Paul was initially the partner of Barnabas, cousin of the gospel writer Mark. At times Mark traveled with the pair, until a dispute over his reliability saw them part company. Paul was accompanied by the gospel writer Luke on his journey to Rome, where a reinstated Mark later joined them during Paul’s final imprisonment (2 Tim 4:11, Phil 24). Church tradition holds that Mark, having served in Rome as Peter’s interpreter, went on to document the sayings of Peter, and it was that process which gave us Mark’s Gospel.
As with other important Rabbis of that period, Jesus had an entourage of disciples who accompanied him and learned from his teaching and example. Matthew’s account suggests that the Sermon’s teaching was given primarily for their benefit, although it seems that a crowd of others were also listening in.
As was the practice amongst many ancient cultures, first-century Judaism already had a large body of oral tradition that was routinely preserved and handed on in that manner. These traditions were later documented as the basis for Judaism’s various bodies of teaching and commentary. Disciples were therefore expected to commit such key teaching to memory, then pass it on accurately by word of mouth. This was probably less of a challenge that we might think, for in antiquity individuals were often more adept than us at memorising information and reporting it accurately. This is particularly evident in texts like Matthew’s Gospel, where many of the nuances in the text are only apparent to a reader who has an extraordinary recall of the scriptures (or the benefit of modern electronic aids).
Jesus may have taught this Sermon, or parts of it, on several occasions, as with his saying concerning the use of a lamp (Matt 5:14-15, Luke 8:16, 11:33), or varied it to fit the circumstances, as in the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-49) or Mark 9:36-50. Thus, whilst only Matthew’s Gospel records the Sermon, most of its sayings occur elsewhere amongst the canonical gospels in parallel passages. This has led some to suggest that Jesus’ words survived as a body of short sayings, which were later drawn together into their current Sermon form by an editor. Yet, the Sermon’s component sayings seem to fit together rather too conveniently for that. Moreover, James, traditionally considered to be writing within about thirty years of Jesus death, shows signs of being aware of the key points of the Sermon (e.g. see notes on the Beatitudes).
Initially Jesus relied upon his disciples to perpetuate and spread his message, at times sending out as many as seventy (Luke 10:1). However, after the resurrection, other believers would take up the same task. Paul was prominant amongst these and, whilst he did not leave a gospel himself, two of the gospel writters appear occasionally amongst his entourage.