Jesus was preaching to His disciples as well as to the multitudes (Luke 6:27-47), for even the Twelve had to unlearn many things before they could effectively serve Him. Also, they had left everything to follow Jesus (Luke 5:11, 28), and no doubt were asking themselves, "What is in store for us?" The Lord explained, that the truly blessed life comes not from getting, or from doing, but from being. The emphasis is on godly character!
This sermon is not "the Gospel" and nobody goes to heaven by "following the Sermon on the Mount." Dead sinners cannot obey the living God; they must first be born again and receive God's life (John 3:1-7, 36). Nor is this sermon a "constitution" for the kingdom God will one day establish on earth (Matthew 20:21; Luke 22:30). The Sermon on the Mount applies to life today and describes the kind of godly character we should have as believers in this world. Certainly our Lord describes a life situation quite unlike that of the glorious kingdom, including hunger, tears, persecution, and false teachers. What Jesus did was to focus on attitudes:
(1) our attitude toward circumstances (Luke 6:20-26)
(2) our attitude toward people (Luke 6:27-38)
(3) our attitude toward ourselves (Luke 6:39-45)
(4) our attitude toward God (Luke 6:46-49).
He emphasized four essentials for true happiness:
(1) faith in God
(2) love toward others
(3) honesty with ourselves
(4) obedience to God
Here are some of the mandates He gave:
1) Love your enemies.
2) Be good to everyone, even those that hate you.
3) Ask God to bless anyone who curses you.
4) Pray for everyone who is mean (cruel) to you.
5) Learn to live without offense.
6) Give to everyone who asks of you.
7) Don't ask people to return what they have borrowed from you.
8) Treat others just as you want to be treated.
9) Love everyone, even those that hate you.
10) Be kind to everyone, not just those who are kind to you.
11) Give what you can to help others without concern for repayment.
12) Have mercy on others, just as your Father (God) has mercy on you.
13) Don't judge others, and God won't judge you.
14) Don't be hard on others, and God won't be hard on you.
15) Forgive others, and God will forgive you.
