From Sinai to the Sermon on the Mount: The Shared Truth of the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments

Lent has a way of slowing us down. It asks us to pause, to look honestly at our lives, and to ask not just what we believe, but how we are living. This year, our Lenten Bible study invites you into a journey that stretches across Scripture—from a trembling mountain in the wilderness to a quiet hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

At first glance, Mount Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount can feel worlds apart. At Sinai, thunder rolls, smoke rises, and God gives the law to a newly freed people trying to learn how to live as a community shaped by grace. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus sits and teaches, offering blessings to the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, and the peacemakers. One scene feels stern and demanding; the other feels gentle and hopeful.

But Scripture rarely works in straight lines—or simple contrasts.

In this Lenten series, From Sinai to the Sermon on the Mount, we will explore how the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes are not rivals or opposites, but companions. In Matthew’s telling, Jesus does not discard the law given through Moses. He fulfills it. He deepens it. He draws out its heart.

The commandments were never meant to be a cold checklist for earning God’s favor. They were given to people already claimed, already freed, already loved. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt”—then come the commandments. Likewise, the Beatitudes do not begin with demands but with blessing. Jesus starts by naming who is already seen, already honored, already held close to God.

As we move through Lent, we will notice how the laws that follow the Decalogue help flesh out what loving God and neighbor actually looks like in daily life. In the same way, the Sermon on the Mount expands the Beatitudes, showing how God’s reign reshapes our relationships, our priorities, and our sense of what truly matters. Both Sinai and the Sermon press us beyond surface-level obedience toward lives rooted in trust, mercy, and faithfulness.

This study is not about choosing between law or grace. It is about discovering how God’s commands and God’s blessings speak together—revealing a way of life grounded in freedom rather than fear, relationship rather than rule-keeping. Especially in a season of repentance and renewal, this conversation matters. Lent is not about proving ourselves to God; it is about being reoriented toward the God who already claims us.

Whether you come with deep familiarity or lingering questions, this series makes room for you. Bring your curiosity. Bring your doubts. Bring your hope that Scripture still has something living and life-giving to say.

From the fire of Sinai to the blessings of the hillside, God continues to call God’s people into a shared truth: a life shaped by love, justice, humility, and grace. Let’s walk that path together this Lent.