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Repeat the Beatitudes which are common to both Evangelists.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew v, 3).
“Blessed be ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of God” (Luke vi, 20).
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” (Matthew).
“Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh” (Luke).
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled” (Matthew).
“Blessed are ye which hunger now: for ye shall be filled” (Luke).
“Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Matthew).
“Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil for the Son of man’s sake” (Luke).
“Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew).
“Rejoice ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in heaven: for in like manner did their fathers unto the prophets” (Luke).
The agreements between the two versions of this sermon, of which the foregoing are a part, are ample to prove them to be reports of the same discourse; while the variations are certainly sufficient to disprove the infallibility of the evangelistic reporters.
Whether it be historical or fabricated—whether Jesus delivered the sermon or not—Matthew and Luke have given merely different versions of the same composition. The exordiums are the same; the perorations are the same—both end with the illustration of the men, one of whom built his house on a frail, the other on a firm foundation; the doctrines enunciated are substantially the same; while the words in which they are clothed proclaim a common origin. Matthew’s version is longer than Luke’s; either Matthew has added to, or Luke has taken from the original report of the sermon.