It was beneath the sheltering trees of the mountainside, but a little distance from the Sea of Galilee, that the twelve were called to the apostolate, and the Sermon on the Mount was given. The fields and hills were the favorite resorts of Jesus, and much of His teaching was given under the open sky, rather than in the temple or the synagogues. No synagogue could have received the throngs that followed Him; but not for this reason only did He choose to teach in the fields and groves. Jesus loved the scenes of nature. To Him each quiet retreat was a sacred temple.

Dette kapitel er bygget op over Mark 3,13-19; Luk 6,12-16
Det var under de skyggefulde træer på bjergskråningen og ikke ret langt fra Genezaret sø, at de tolv blev kaldede til at være apostle, og at Bjergprædikenen blev holdt. Markerne og bjergene var Jesu kæreste opholdssteder, og mange af hans lærdomme blev givet under åben himmel, hellere end i templet eller synagogerne. Ingen synagoge kunne have rummet de skarer, som fulgte efter ham; men dette var ikke den eneste årsag til, at han valgte at lære på markerne og under træerne. Jesus elskede naturens skønhed. For ham var hvert stille tilflugtsted som et helligt tempel.