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Be Filled with Light and Store Up Treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-23)

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. 22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be. Jesus teaches his disciples to look carefully at what they treasure. Earthly treasures can be useful, but they cannot provide lasting security. Clothing can be eaten by moths, stored goods can decay, and possessions can be stolen. Jesus is not speaking only about ancient wealth. He is speaking about anything we treat as our final source of safety, happiness, or identity. Everything earthly is temporary, and anything temporary can be lost. Jesus gives the same warning in the par...

Jesus Teaches Us How to Pray (Matthew 6:7-15)

In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 “This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread; 12 and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; 13 and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. 14 If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions. Jesus teaches his disciples to pray with simplicity, trust, and sincerity. He first warns them not to “ babble like the pagans ” (v. 7). This does not forbid repeated prayer or long prayer when it comes from faith and love. Jesus himself prayed at length, and the Church continues to pray with repeated words in the Psalms, litanies,...

Serve God Without Seeking Attention (Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)

Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. 16 “When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting....

Love Your Enemies and Pray for Those Who Persecute You (Matthew 5:43-48)

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? 48 So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus brings the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount to one of its most demanding points. The command to love one’s neighbor was already given in the Law: “ Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your own people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself ” (Leviticus 19:18). In the time of Jesus, some understood “ neighbor ” mainly as a fellow Israelite or as someone within one’s own community. Jesus expa...

Jesus Teaches Mercy Instead of Revenge (Matthew 5:38-42)

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on [your] right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. 40 If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. 41 Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow. Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount by teaching His disciples how to respond when they are wronged. He begins with the familiar words, “ An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth ” (v. 38). This teaching came from the Law of Moses and appears in Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. Its purpose was to limit revenge. Punishment was not to grow beyond the injury that had been done. In its original setting, this rule restrained violence and prevented personal revenge from becoming a wider spiral of...

Jesus Has Compassion on the Crowds and Sends the Twelve to the Lost Sheep of Israel (Matthew 9:36—10:8)

At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; 38 so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” 1 Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; 4 Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. 5 Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at han...

Jesus Teaches Fidelity in Marriage and Honesty in Speech (Matthew 5:31-37)

It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 33 “Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one. Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount by teaching His disciples that righteousness must reach the whole person. In the verses just before this passage, He taught that adultery begins in the heart when a person looks with lust (vv. 27-30). He now continues that teac...

Jesus Teaches About Purity of Heart and the Seriousness of Sin (Matthew 5:27-30)

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. Jesus continues His Sermon on the Mount by showing the fuller and deeper meaning of God’s commandments. The commandment says, “ You shall not commit adultery ” (v. 27). This commandment comes from the Ten Commandments and protects the covenant of marriage (Ex. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). Adultery is a grave offense because it wounds fidelity, damages relationships, and treats another person in a way contrary to God’s design. Jesus now teaches that the commandment reaches beyond the ...

Jesus Teaches About Anger, Judgment, and Reconciliation (Matthew 5:20-26)

I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. 23 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last p...

Jesus Fulfills the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17-19)

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. After calling His disciples to be salt of the earth and light of the world, Jesus now explains His relationship to “ the law or the prophets ” (v. 17). This expression refers to the whole Old Testament, especially God’s covenant instruction given through Moses and the message spoken through the prophets. Jesus says, “ I have come not to abolish but to fulfill ” (v. 17). To fulfill means to bring to completion. Jesus fulfills the Law because He obeys the Father perfectly, ...

Called to Be Salt and Light for the World (Matthew 5:13-16)

You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. 14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. 16 Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. After teaching the Beatitudes, Jesus speaks directly to His disciples. Those who follow Him are called to live in a way that blesses the world. Their lives are to influence others for good, not by force or display, but by faithful deeds that make God’s goodness visible. Jesus first says, “ You are the salt of the earth ” (v. 13). In the ancient world, salt was useful and valuable. It gave flavor to food and helped preserve it from decay. In the Old Testament, salt was also connected with covenant...

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