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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mat_5:1-2
1When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,
Mat_5:1 "When Jesus saw the crowds" People from all areas of society flocked to Jesus. These huge crowds were also present in Mat_4:23-25 and Luk_6:17. Probably the disciples and those who were truly interested, formed an inner circle closest to Jesus with the others in the background (cf. Mat_7:28).
▣ "the mountain" In Luk_6:17 the physical setting is a plain, but the content of the messages is basically the same. Luke's historical setting seems best. Jesus was praying on the mountain about His choice of the Twelve, but He came down onto the plain to receive the crowd and then moved back up the hillside a short distance so all could hear and see. The Greek term in Matthew can refer to the hill country and the term in Luke can refer to a level place in the hill country. So maybe the apparent contradiction is an English translation problem. However the two messages are different in many ways. Matthew may have described a mountain setting to parallel the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. Jesus is the new law-giver (cf. Mat_5:21-48).
The Gospel writer is purposely structuring the life of Jesus in such a way as to mimic the life of Moses (here, Exo_19:3; Exo_24:12). Jesus is the new and greater "law-giver" ! He is the prophet that Moses said would come after him (cf. Deu_18:14-22). Fallen humans (both Jew and Gentile) find their salvation in Him, not in performance-based religion (cf. Jer_31:31-34; Eze_36:22-38, "the new covenant")!
▣ "He sat down" This was a rabbinical idiom for an official teaching session (Mat_26:55; Mar_9:35; Luk_4:20; Luk_5:3; Joh_8:2), as was " He opened His mouth" (Mat_5:2). These phrases, as well as the standardized close at Mat_7:28, "When Jesus had closed this address," imply that this is presented by Matthew as one sermon. This is the first and longest of five sermons by Jesus recorded by Matthew (Matthew 10, 13, 18, , 24-25).
▣ "His disciples came to Him" Some, assuming that Matthew and Luke are different sermons, assert that only disciples were present here. They were the object and recipients of this sermon, but the common people and the religious leaders were standing around listening (cf. Mat_7:28). It is possible that Jesus spoke to one group and then another.
Mat_5:2 "began to teach them" This is an imperfect tense, which can mean (1) He began to teach or (2) he continued to reiterate these things on different occasions. Matthew's Gospel is characterized by combining Jesus' teachings into topics. The content of Matthew 5-7 is scattered throughout many chapters in Luke.