Sermon on the Mount: A model prayer and some
perplexing advice
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Matthew 6
Matthew 6:33 “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6, a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount, contains the Lord’s
Prayer, perhaps the most famous prayer of all time. This model prayer by Jesus
captures well the message of the kingdom: “Your kingdom come, your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus seeks to bring the two
worlds together, and the Sermon on the Mount explains how.
At first glance, some of Jesus’ advice may seem downright foolish: Give to
everyone who asks, love your enemies, turn the other cheek, grant
interest-free loans, don’t worry about clothes or food. Can such idealism ever
work in the “real,” or visible, world? That is precisely Jesus’ point: Break
your obsession with safety, security, thriftiness, self-righteousness. Depend
instead on the Father, letting God take care of the personal injustices that
come your way, trusting God to look after your daily needs. In a nutshell, the
message of the kingdom is this: LIVE FOR GOD RATHER THAN FOR YOURSELF.
The message applies to rewards as well. Most of us look to friends and
colleagues for our rewards: a slap on the back, a raise, applause, a generous
compliment. According to Jesus, far more important rewards will come in God’s
heavenly kingdom. Therefore, the most significant acts may be carried out in
secret, seen and rewarded by no one but God.
Future Savings Account
As Jesus explains it, we are accumulating a kind of savings account, storing
up treasures in heaven rather than on Earth—treasures great enough to pay back
any amount of suffering in this life (see Matthew 6:19). The Old Testament has
dropped a few scant hints about an afterlife, but Jesus speaks plainly about a
place where “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their
Father” (Matthew 13:43).
In their quest for a kingdom, the Jews of Jesus’ day have been looking for
signs of God’s approval in this life, primarily through prosperity and
political power. Beginning with this speech, Jesus changes the focus to the
life to come. He discounts success in this visible world. Invest in the future
life, he cautions; for rust, a burglar or even an insect can destroy all the
accumulated things of this present one.
==============================================================
Matthew 6
Matthew 6:33 “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6, a continuation of the Sermon on the Mount, contains the Lord’s
Prayer, perhaps the most famous prayer of all time. This model prayer by Jesus
captures well the message of the kingdom: “Your kingdom come, your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus seeks to bring the two
worlds together, and the Sermon on the Mount explains how.
At first glance, some of Jesus’ advice may seem downright foolish: Give to
everyone who asks, love your enemies, turn the other cheek, grant
interest-free loans, don’t worry about clothes or food. Can such idealism ever
work in the “real,” or visible, world? That is precisely Jesus’ point: Break
your obsession with safety, security, thriftiness, self-righteousness. Depend
instead on the Father, letting God take care of the personal injustices that
come your way, trusting God to look after your daily needs. In a nutshell, the
message of the kingdom is this: LIVE FOR GOD RATHER THAN FOR YOURSELF.
The message applies to rewards as well. Most of us look to friends and
colleagues for our rewards: a slap on the back, a raise, applause, a generous
compliment. According to Jesus, far more important rewards will come in God’s
heavenly kingdom. Therefore, the most significant acts may be carried out in
secret, seen and rewarded by no one but God.
Future Savings Account
As Jesus explains it, we are accumulating a kind of savings account, storing
up treasures in heaven rather than on Earth—treasures great enough to pay back
any amount of suffering in this life (see Matthew 6:19). The Old Testament has
dropped a few scant hints about an afterlife, but Jesus speaks plainly about a
place where “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their
Father” (Matthew 13:43).
In their quest for a kingdom, the Jews of Jesus’ day have been looking for
signs of God’s approval in this life, primarily through prosperity and
political power. Beginning with this speech, Jesus changes the focus to the
life to come. He discounts success in this visible world. Invest in the future
life, he cautions; for rust, a burglar or even an insect can destroy all the
accumulated things of this present one.
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