Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount are foundational to all that it means to be Christian. Here the Sermon is read in the context of its setting in the world of Matthew's Gospel. The continuing impact of the Sermon is traced through the experience of significant groups and individuals such as the Anabaptists, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Clarence Jordan. Central to both lines of study is the overarching question of what the Sermon means for us and how its values may be realized in our world.

In this commentary, Broadhead explores the Gospel of Mark for literary designs which might guide modern readers. He gives special attention to structure, strategy, significance and the appropriation of meaning, and his analysis shows the Gospel as a sequential account which employs a strategy of reciprocity among its episodes. Clear signs are created within this Gospel, the meaning of which is negotiated by the first readers in the aftermath of the Temple's fall. Modern readers are encouraged to connect these signs to their own world and to initiate a new performance of this Gospel

In this commentary, Broadhead explores the Gospel of Mark for literary designs which might guide modern readers. He gives special attention to structure, strategy, significance and the appropriation of meaning, and his analysis shows the Gospel as a sequential account which employs a strategy of reciprocity among its episodes. Clear signs are created within this Gospel, the meaning of which is negotiated by the first readers in the aftermath of the Temple's fall. Modern readers are encouraged to connect these signs to their own world and to initiate a new performance of this Gospel