Dale C. Allison, "The Structure of the Sermon on the Mount." JBL 106 (1987): 423-45.

The Sermon on the Mount is introduced by its framework consisting of a nine-fold blessing (5:3-12) and a three-fold warning (7:13-27). The thrust of the sermon concerns the calling of God's people in the world: summary-frame (5:13-16), Jesus and the Torah (5:17-48), the Christian cult (6:1-18), social issues (6:19-7:12). The sermon sets forth God's grace in the past (4:23-5:2), the present (6:25-34; 7:7-11), and future (5:3-12).