Sermon on the Mount: Narrow Gate
In Luke, someone straight-up asks Jesus, “Are only a few people going to be saved?” (Luke 13:23). In his answer, echoed in Matthew, Jesus clearly says, “Yes”: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the […]
Sermon on the Mount: Do Unto Others
Do unto others what you would have them do unto you… So that’s the Sermon on the Mount. At least the meat of it, anyway. Matthew 7:12 is the second bookend, echoing Jesus’ opening discussion of “the law and the prophets” (Matt. 5:17-20). Jesus has given us his definitive expression of life in the Kingdom. […]
Give and It Will Be Given to You?
Jesus once told his disciples, “Give and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38, NIV). Really? I struggle to see how that works at times. Logically, if I give something away, I no longer have what I once had. But the teachings of Jesus are anything but logical—at least the way the world normally […]
Sermon on the Mount: Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged?
Judge not lest ye be judged. In the larger flow of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ command to “Judge not” (Matt. 7:1-6) seems to come out of nowhere. Here are my best guesses for why it’s included at this point in the sermon. First, in the same way that Deuteronomy seems loosely structured around […]
Sermon on the Mount: Don’t Worry
Storing up treasures in heaven makes sense. Serving God and not Mammon is obviously the right choice. But if you follow this train of thought all the way, it brings up a problem. You still need to eat. In fact, you have all kinds of practical, material needs. What about those? “So,” you could ask […]
Sermon on the Mount: Mammon
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matt. 6:24) I like Dave Ramsey’s program. I also get that the title “Financial Peace” is a lot catchier than […]
Sermon on the Mount: The Eye Is the Lamp of the Body
Where is your focus? I think that’s the question Jesus poses in Matt. 6:22-23: “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you […]
Sermon on the Mount: Treasure in Heaven
In English, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21), almost sounds redundant. We use the word “treasure” to mean something we care about (e.g., “Those kids are my treasure”). But talking about our “heart” also points to things we care about. So Jesus would be saying, “The things you care […]
