Matthew Refresher (Ch. 6)
Matthew 6 continues Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Here Christ moves from His explanation of the Law to a series of ethical commands. Chapter 6 is a series of contrasts, the first three drawing a strong distinction between righteous deeds which are done for men and righteous deeds which are done for God. As in Matthew 5, the emphasis is not primarily on a person’s behavior, but instead on his intentions. Jesus cares about the heart. Anyone, He claims, can demonstrate outward signs of righteousness. The true mark of a “Christ-follower” (forgive my use of a term usually relegated...
Read MoreMatthew Refresher (Ch. 5)
Matthew 5 marks the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, the first of five “discourses” in the book of Matthew. The Sermon is also the beginning of a section of Matthew where we are offered a comprehensive view of Jesus’ ministry. He is teacher in the Sermon and then turns his focus to demonstrating how His teaching radically informs our behavior and should motivate us to follow Him. If you will remember from our earlier treatment of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus ascends a mountain in order to teach, demonstrating His authority and provoking images of Moses, whom the Israelites...
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