Searching for the sermon on the mount location
The sermon on the mount is like every other location where the Messiah was while on earth. As you can imagine, every denomination has a place in the land of Israel that they claim is the actual location of an event in the Messiah’s ministry and the sermon on the mount is no different. A simple Google search yield about 288,000 results on the key words “where was the sermon on the mount located”
Description of the history at this location
The sermon on the mount is also called the Mount of Beatitudes as well. Matthew chapters 5-7 and Luke 6 is the scripture location of the clues given to possible places where this teaching was delivered by Yeshua (Jesus) our Messiah. We know that in one location, the Byzantine’s built a church on what they claim as the location, but another location has been put forth on the trail called the “Jesus Walk.” Still, Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts show even a third location.
An interesting side note about the Sermon on the Mount
Jesus (Yeshua) giving a “Cliff Notes” review of the instructions (Torah) given to Moses is a shadow picture of what happened in the book of Exodus, Chapter 19where Moses went up the mountain to receive what God had for him and God came down to meet with Moses to give him his instructions personally.
So here as we shall see, Jesus came down the mountain and the people came up to receive the instructions (Torah) that Yeshua was given from His Father in Heaven. Thus Jesus gave a more easily understood version of the instructions found in the Torah.
What clues does the Bible give
Sign at the site
The so-called “sermon on the mount” can be found in 2 locations, Matthew 5 and Luke 6. Mark eludes to it by mentioning the choosing of the inner circle of disciples in chapter 3, but no location is really given. So we have 2 witnesses, which meets the requirements to establish truth.
Although to say definitively that I or anyone else can pin-point a location would be rather foolish and arrogant, so this is just my opinion from being in the land. Keith Johnson and a few others have done extensive research into this subject.
Matthew chapter 5 give us this clue:
NAB Matthew 5:1 When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
NIV Matthew 5:1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
So it would seem that Jesus went up on/into a/the mountain/mountainside when he saw the large crowds. How ever when we take a look into Luke, there seems to be a conflict with this from Matthew. Luke 6 says:
NAB Luke 6:12 In those days he departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.
KJV Luke 6:12 And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.
NIV Luke 6:12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
And then in Luke 6, verse 17:
NAB Luke 6:17 And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon 18 came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
KJV Luke 6:17 And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and the company of his disciples, and a great multitude of people out of all Judaea and Jerusalem, and from the sea-coast of Tyre and Sidon, which came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases;
NIV Luke 6:17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured,
What we found that in Matthew Yeshua was up on a mountain and the people (disciples) came to him, thus the people had to go up the mountain. Then we read in Luke 6:17 that Jesus went down with them and stood in a level place.
So the clue we have are a mountain in an area with a large level place with a great amount of people could assemble. The mountain would have to be shaped with an upper mount descending to a lower level place and then continue downward. One other thing item necessary would be that people came to hear the words of Yeshua, so they would have to be able to hear him… No microphones and speakers in those days.
We found this place where the Sermon on the Mount may be given
While touring with Keith Johnson and the 3T Tour in the land of Israel to discover God’s Torah, Time and Tetragrammaton, we came to this mountain.
Notice the two levels called ‘horns’ on this mountain
This mountain seems to match the clues within the scripture.
View up the mountain towards level outcropping.
View from level area where Jesus may have taught the Sermon on the Mount
Notice the level ground. The area before this outcropping is very large as shown by the people in the background. These people were staged at intervals as a test to see if Keith Johnson could be heard from different distances away. Jono Vandor from Truth2You out of Australia, was furthest away with a microphone to record the words spoken in test.
View standing from a great location to overlook the people below and that they could be heard.
So as we can plainly see, this is a high percentage location that meets the requirements and matches the clues we have found in the scriptures. Upon testing the theory with actual voices and subjects, we found that even the farthest away could still hear the voice spoken. The area could contain easily 10,000 people comfortably (not say there was 10,000 in attendance) in the hearing of a speaker. Therefore we believe this is where the sermon on the mount was given.
