‘And it came about that when Jesus had finished all these words, he said to his disciples,'
‘And it came about.' This is Matthew's regular way of immediately following Jesus' main discourses (compare Matthew 7:28; Matthew 11:1; Matthew 13:53; Matthew 19:1). Distinctive, however, here is his reference to ‘ALL these words'. It is as though he were summing up the whole of Jesus' teaching ministry in one phrase. It indicates that now the teaching ministry of Jesus is over, and it is the time for the next phase in His ministry.