But you've just chosen Matthew over Luke, so you're not comparing to harmonize, but simply selecting which verse you prefer...out of context.
In context, both Gospels say Christ was speaking to a multitude of His disciples and they all heard Him.
And those with ears given by God understood Him.
What's the purpose of excluding the multitude from the Beatitudes? Why would Christ ignore the throngs of eager followers who came to hear Him and touch Him, and instead whisper the Sermon on the Mount to only a select few?
Don't you see how that perspective keeps the spoken truth of Christ from men as individuals and instead places it secretly among a small hierarchy of men who then decide to whom and when to reveal it?
Doesn't it just make sense to get the truth from Christ's own lips rather than through more human intermediaries?
In all my life I've never heard anyone, Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox, say the Sermon on the Mount was delivered only to the Apostles.
You're in a minority of one here, Kosta.
Matthew was an eyewitness; Luke wasn't.
In context, both Gospels say Christ was speaking to a multitude of His disciples and they all heard Him
In context, as you describe it, Jesus was calling the curious crowd "the light of the world." I don't think so.
What's the purpose of excluding the multitude from the Beatitudes?
That He calls someone "the light of the world."
Why would Christ ignore the throngs of eager followers who came to hear Him and touch Him, and instead whisper the Sermon on the Mount to only a select few?
For the same reason He spoke in parables. He wasn't there to teach the crowds, but to teach His disciples. For the crowds, Christ provided miracles.
Don't you see how that perspective keeps the spoken truth of Christ from men as individuals and instead places it secretly among a small hierarchy of men who then decide to whom and when to reveal it?
There you go again. I have never heard anyone in the Church talk about this. I have no clue how the Church sees it. I read it and I see it as I read it.
I ask myself "Would Christ call ordinary crowds the light of the world?" Not all are teachers and not all are apostles. He picked His disciples and He taught them the secrets of the Kingdom of God.
When He was among others, He spoke in parables lest they understood Him.
It has nothing to do with the hierarchy of men in the Church as you are hinting (again). I am only doing what every Protestant does every day: read as I see it. If you disagree, show me why would Christ call the crowds "the light of the world." Don't give me a sermon.
In all my life I've never heard anyone, Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox, say the Sermon on the Mount was delivered only to the Apostles
Are you the measure of the world?
You're in a minority of one here, Kosta
And your point is?