You know by now that Jesus was a baby. Then a boy. Then a grown man. If you’ve heard other parts of the story to come, you know he died and rose again. You may know that he did miracles and walked on water and upset a lot of people. You know that he loved the lost and offered salvation to sinners. Jesus was a good shepherd, a disciple maker, and a miracle worker.

But did you also know he was a preacher?

He never wore a suit and tie. No one called him Reverend or Pastor. He never talked to people sitting in pews. But still, Jesus was definitely a preacher.

In fact, Jesus said the whole reason he came out to do ministry was so he could preach. Jesus healed a lot of people. He cast out demons too. But if Jesus had one job he was most passionate about, it was preaching. (Remember that the next time you wonder why your parents make you sit through so many sermons!)

The most famous sermon in the Bible—and the most famous sermon in the history of the world—is a sermon Jesus preached called the Sermon on the Mount. Now that’s not what Jesus called it. He didn’t have Sunday bulletins or sermon titles to worry about. But that’s what we call it, because it was a sermon Jesus preached from up on a mountain. Just like Moses gave God’s law from Mount Sinai, so Jesus gave a new kind of law from the top of a mountain in Galilee.

The Sermon on the Mount was about a lot of things: blessing, love, prayer, and shining the light of God’s glory (those are all good). It was also about anger, pride, worry, and ignoring the wisdom of God’s word (those are all bad). Jesus gave a lot of commands as a preacher, and we need to follow those commands.

But don’t think the Sermon on the Mount was simply a list of do’s and don’ts (or do’s and donuts, which would be nice too). Unlike all of our sermons, the point of this preaching was actually the preacher.

“You will have blessing because of me.”

“You will be judged by me.”

“You must build your life on me.”

When Jesus preached, the sermons were most of all about Jesus.

You know what impressed people most about Jesus the preacher? Not his stories. Not his smarts. Not his smile. It was his authority. He spoke like he was from God. Or actually, like he was God.

And so people listened. Sometimes to roll their eyes. Sometimes to believe. But always they heard about Jesus. He was the center of the sermon. Just like he should be today.