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Why is the sermon on the mount particulary important in the historical time period it was written?

Why is the sermon on the mount significant particulary in the historical time period it was written?

Public Comments

1. The fuller account and the more prominent place given the Beatitudes in St. Matthew are quite in accordance with the scope and the tendency of the First Gospel, in which the spiritual character of the Messianic kingdom -- the paramount idea of the Beatitudes -- is consistently put forward, in sharp contrast with Jewish prejudices. The very peculiar form in which Our Lord proposed His blessings make them, perhaps, the only example of His sayings that may be styled poetical -- the parallelism of thought and expression, which is the most striking feature of Biblical poetry, being unmistakably clear. The text of St. Matthew runs as follows: * Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 3) * Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. (Verse 4) * Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Verse 5) * Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. (Verse 6) * Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Verse 7) * Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. (Verse 8) * Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Verse 9) * Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 10)
2. Many Christians believe that the Sermon on the Mount is a form of commentary on the Ten Commandments. It portrays Christ as the true interpreter of the Mosaic Law. To many, the Sermon on the Mount contains the central tenets of Christian discipleship, and is considered as such by many religious and moral thinkers, such as Tolstoy, Gandhi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Martin Luther King, Jr. It has been one of the main sources of Christian pacifism