Yesterday we read about Jesus healing a young man whom He did not see or touch. Jesus was perhaps several hundred yards away from the centurion’s young servant when He spoke His healing word. But today’s story even tops yesterday’s, because Jesus was about ten miles away from the governmental official’s son when He healed him! Distance does not limit God’s healing power. He can heal people from as far away as heaven!

This governmental official received the blessing he desired because he “believed Jesus’ word” (John 4:50). Notice that he believed his son was healed before he had any evidence of it, other than Jesus’ promise. It wasn’t until the next day that he learned from his servants that his son had recovered. The Bible says that “faith…is the evidence of things we cannot yet see ” (Hebrews 11:1, emphasis added). When we have a promise from God, that’s all the evidence we need, because it’s impossible for God to lie. We don’t need to see something to believe it.

For example, although we can’t see, feel, or hear them, we can be certain that there are TV waves in the air all around us, otherwise our TV sets wouldn’t work. We can also be sure that there are angels all around us even though we’ve never seen them, because God’s Word says, “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them” (Psalm 34:7, NASB).

When we read this story closely, the faith of this governmental official becomes even more evident. His son was dying in Capernaum, but hearing that Jesus was back in Judea, he had to travel about ten miles to track Him down in Cana. Jesus pronounced his son healed around one o’clock in the afternoon (see John 4:52-53), so the man could have journeyed the ten miles back to Capernaum that same day. But it wasn’t until the next day, before he arrived home, that he met some of his own servants who told him the good news about his son. So obviously, the governmental official trusted Jesus enough that he didn’t rush home to see if His promise had actually come to pass! Resting in Jesus’ promise, he apparently stayed overnight in Cana, and departed the next day for his home in Capernaum.

This is a good lesson for us to learn as well. People who trust God don’t worry. They know the outcome of their present problems in advance, so they can rest in God’s promises. God doesn’t want us to be worrywarts!

Q. Is there anything you are worried about? If so, is there a promise in the Bible that you can believe so you can stop your worrying?

Q. Yesterday we read about Jesus healing a servant who belonged to a man who had several servants (see Matthew 8:9; Luke 7:8), which tells us that the man was wealthy enough to have servants. Today we read about Jesus healing the son of a man who was also wealthy enough to have several servants (see John 4:51). Why do you think Jesus helped people who had so much money?

A. Because God loves everyone, rich and poor. Additionally, we shouldn’t assume that God is holding something against a person just because he’s rich. There are many rich people in the Bible of whom God approved. They obeyed God with their money by blessing others. The centurion we read about yesterday apparently used some of his money to help the Jews build a synagogue.

Application: The final outcome of this healing miracle was that the official “and his entire household believed in Jesus” (John 4:53). Naturally, all of them were convinced that Jesus was the Son of God after witnessing the official’s son being suddenly healed at the exact time when Jesus, ten miles away, said he would live. That ought to be enough to convince anyone!

Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever lived, and what we’ve read today adds proof. He illustrated the truths He taught with examples His hearers could relate to easily. Today we’ve read about narrow gates and broad highways, wolves pretending to be sheep, trees producing good and bad fruit, houses built upon rock and sand, and winds and floods. All these things make it easy for us to remember what Jesus wants us to do.

The easiest way to remember how God expects us to treat other people is to recall what is called The Golden Rule : “Do for others what you would like them to do for you” (Matthew 7:12). Jesus said that one rule summarizes the teaching of the Old Testament. How would you like other people to treat you? That’s how you should treat them. Let’s apply this to you and your brothers and sisters. Do you want your sister to share a favorite music CD? Share what you have with her. Do you want your brother to remember you before he eats the last piece of pizza, saving some for you? When you have the opportunity, save some pizza for him. One of the nicest things about following the Golden Rule is that when you treat others nicely, they will probably treat you nicely in return. It’s hard being mean to someone who’s nice to you!

Jesus told His followers early in this sermon that they had to obey God better than the religious teachers and the Pharisees did, otherwise they wouldn’t get into heaven. Just like today, there were many religious people in Jesus’ day who weren’t really saved. The majority of people are on “the highway to hell,” and it’s the minority who are on the true narrow path to heaven. Jesus wanted those who were following Him to make sure they were His true disciples, and that they were following leaders who were also on the right path. The way they could tell if they or a religious leader were on the narrow path was by looking at how they lived their lives.

Jesus first talked about phony religious teachers by calling them false prophets and wolves in sheep’s clothing. Outwardly they look harmless, but their inward motivation is selfish. They want to take advantage of those they lead. The way to identify them is to look at their “fruit,” or their actions. Good people act good. Bad people act bad.

Also, we should be careful not to follow someone just because he does miraculous things. Jesus said many people would stand before His judgment seat, listing the miracles they did and hoping to convince Him to let them into Heaven. If they lived sinful lifestyles, however, they would be refused entrance. Jesus said that those who don’t produce good fruit will be “chopped down and thrown into the fire” (Matthew 7:20). That means they will be cast into hell.

Jesus was not saying that we can earn our way into heaven by doing good things. Our salvation is a gift from God’s grace, offered to anyone who will believe in Jesus. However, those who truly do believe in Jesus will produce good fruit, just as a good, healthy apple tree naturally produces good apples.

Q. When Jesus finished His sermon on the mountainside, the people were amazed at His teaching, because He taught as one who had real authority. That means Jesus spoke knowing exactly what He was saying, and no one had a right to disagree with Him. What does this tell us about Jesus?

A. It either indicates that He was a very proud, opinionated, bold and self-centered human being, or else He was God, pure and holy, telling the truth.

Application: Have you ever built a sand castle close to the water along the seashore? If you have, you know what can happen to a house built upon sand when a big wave comes in. Anyone who is not doing what Jesus said is just like a person building his house on sand—he’s heading for a big disaster. That’s why we should take very seriously all that Jesus had to say, including everything He said in this sermon on the mountainside. Are you building your house on a rock, doing what Jesus said?

This portion of Jesus’ sermon on the mountainside is commonly considered teaching about prayer. However, I think Jesus had more in mind than prayer in what we’ve just read. I think He was also talking about laziness and persistence.

Jesus first talked about asking for things, which could certainly apply to prayer. However, He then mentioned looking and knocking . Do those terms also refer to prayer? Perhaps, yet as we continue to read, we have to wonder. Jesus went on to say that everyone who asks, receives, everyone who seeks, finds, and to everyone who knocks, the door is opened. We know that is not always true concerning prayer. Although there are scores of examples of answered prayer in the Bible, there are also examples of unanswered requests, and certainly it is not true that everyone , non-Christians included, receives what he asks for in prayer.

For this reason, I wonder if Jesus was simply encouraging His followers to be askers, seekers and knockers in every area of their lives. It is true that the only people who receive their requests are those who make requests, the only people who find are those who seek, and the only people who have doors opened to them are those who knock. Those who wait around for things to happen or improve without any effort on their part are usually disappointed. As one Chinese proverb says, “Man stand for long time with mouth open before roast duck fly in.”

Many people are lazy. Even Christians sometimes try to make excuses for their laziness by saying things such as, “Well, if God wants me to have a certain thing, He’ll just get it to me.” But that isn’t true according to what Jesus said. People who get jobs are those who seek for employment, asking employers. People who go to college are those who knock on doors and fill out applications. People who get married are those who seek for a potential mate. If you want things to improve, you have to work at it and be persistent, never giving up. Everyone who puts forth that kind of effort is rewarded. But lazy people who refuse to ask, seek and knock never make any progress in life.

This concept also applies to prayer. Christians who assume that God will automatically give them whatever He wants them to have are wrong. According to Jesus, our heavenly Father wants to give us good gifts, but we must ask (see Matthew 7:11). Furthermore, we shouldn’t be satisfied, as many Christians often are, with receiving something other than what we’ve requested. Jesus said that if a child asks his parents for bread, they won’t give him a stone. And if he asks for a fish, they won’t give him a snake! Our heavenly Father loves us even more than any parents love their children. We should expect that He is not going to give us something other than what we request, and when it appears as if He has, we should not be discouraged, but continue to persevere in faith until we possess what we desire. Strong faith never quits!

Q. Have you ever become discouraged and given up on reaching a goal? What do you think Jesus would say about that?

A. If your goal is a good one, He would encourage you to keep asking, looking and knocking. With God on our side to help us, there is always good reason to persevere.

Q. Proverbs 22:13 says, “The lazy person is full of excuses, saying, ‘If I go outside, I might meet a lion in the street and be killed!'” Can you think of any other funny excuses that lazy people use to avoid work? Are there any excuses that you use to avoid work?

Application: Proverbs 26:14 says, ” As a door turns back and forth on its hinges, so the lazy person turns over in bed.”

Yesterday we learned one reason why God’s Son became a human being: to teach us about God. But there was a second reason that is even more important. Jesus became a human being so our sins could be forgiven, as we just read: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15).

Why did Jesus have to come into the world in order for sinners to be saved? If God wanted to forgive sinners, why didn’t He just do it from heaven? Why did God have to become a human being?

To answer those questions, we first have to understand something about God. He is perfect. He always does the right thing, and it wouldn’t be right for God to simply forgive people who continually do bad and evil things. What would you think of your parents if they never punished a brother or sister who beat you up every day? You would think that they didn’t love you and weren’t fair.

If God didn’t punish people when they did bad things, He would be unloving toward people who were hurt by other people’s sins. And He would be acting unfairly. So God couldn’t just decide not to punish people for their sins, or He would become a sinner Himself!

However, God loves the people He’s created, and He needed a way to forgive them without becoming a bad person Himself. So God decided to become a human being who would face every temptation that anyone ever faced. He, however, would never sin. Then, as a substitute, He would take the punishment for everyone’s sins! As an example: Perhaps you were about to be spanked for disobeying your mother or father, and your sister or brother volunteered to be spanked in your place! (Pretty slim chance of that happening, right?)

That is why God had to become a human being. God, of course, can’t die, but humans can. So God became a human being in order to die. And His painful death was the payment for our sins. Jesus Himself said, “I…came here…to give my life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). A ransom is a payment to set free someone who is a prisoner. Jesus gave His life as a payment to God’s justice so He could set us free from our sins.

Q. Why couldn’t some other human being have died for our sins instead of Jesus?

A. Because all of us have sinned, we all deserve to be punished. So none of us could serve as a substitute to die for the sins of others. It would be like two convicted murderers who become friends in prison. If both were sentenced to die in the electric chair, it would be silly for one to say to the prison warden, “I will sacrificially volunteer to die in place of my friend.” The warden would reply, “You can’t die for him because you are going to die for your own crime.”

We needed someone who was sinless, who didn’t deserve any punishment for his own sins, to be punished in our place. Jesus was the only person who has ever lived without sin.

Q. How could the painful death of only one person be enough payment for the many sins of everyone who has ever lived?

A. It was not the amount of suffering that made Jesus’ death sufficient payment for everyone’s sins; it was the fact of who did the suffering. Let’s say, for example, that your dog attacked and killed your neighbor’s dog. Your neighbor might demand that your dog be killed so that your dog suffers just as much as his did. That could be considered fair. But what if he demanded that you die for what your dog did? That would be unfair, because you are worth a lot more than a dog. You have more value than an animal!

In the same way, God has much more value than all the human beings put together. If Jesus had been just a man, His sufferings would have been sufficient payment for only one other person who deserved to die. But because God’s value is infinitely higher than all human beings combined, His painful suffering was more than sufficient to be able to pay fairly for everyone’s sins.

Application: Since God loved us enough to die as our substitute, we should show Him love in return by doing what He says. Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments” (John 14:15).

For many people, money is their god. Just like a god, money controls their lives, consuming all their energy, thoughts and time. Money is the main source of their joy, and they’re never satisfied with how much they have but are always wanting more. This is often true for rich and poor people, and Jesus addressed both groups among His followers during His sermon on the mountainside. He explained how God expects His children to view money and material things, making it very clear that we can’t serve both God and money. It’s one or the other, but not both.

Wealthy people often reveal that money is their god by hoarding their riches, continually accumulating more and more for themselves, amassing much more than they really need. Jesus said, however, that we shouldn’t store up treasures on earth. It’s foolish to do so, because everything on this earth is destined to perish ultimately. In fact, most of it is slowly perishing right before our eyes. This was even more obvious to the people in Jesus’ day, who didn’t have the benefits of moth balls, rust-proofing paint or padlocks! But what Jesus said then is still true today.

For those of us who are saved, hoarding riches on earth is even more foolish, because there’s a way we can convert our temporary riches into eternal riches. Jesus said that we should lay up our treasures in heaven. How can we do that? Jesus once told a very wealthy young man that if he sold his possessions and gave the money to the poor, he would then have treasure in heaven (see Matthew 19:21). We can do the same thing. When we give money on earth, it’s like making a deposit into our bank accounts in heaven.

Rich people aren’t the only people who often make money their god. Poor people frequently become just as consumed with material things. Their concern, however, is not with hoarding more and more riches, but with the simple necessities of life. They become worried about whether or not they are going to have enough food and clothing. Just like many wealthy people, their focus is on material things.

But God expects His children, even those who are poor, to be focused on Him and His kingdom. Jesus promised that if we will live for Him and make the kingdom of God our primary concern, then God will supply all our daily needs. He cares about us, so there’s no need for us to worry. Look how well God takes care of all the birds, providing them with food. If you ever see the birds gathered in your yard having a prayer meeting for food, then you might begin to worry about God supplying your needs!

Q. Today we read something that is difficult to understand, when Jesus said, “Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness. If the light you think you have is really darkness, how deep that darkness will be!” (Matthew 6:22-23). What do you think He was talking about? Hint: Look at the context of those statements.

A. Jesus was talking about two kinds of people, the saved and unsaved. People whose god is money are not saved, because Jesus said it is impossible to serve both God and money. His comments about the eye allowing light into the soul or shutting it out also describe the saved and unsaved. A person with a “pure eye” is a person who is looking for the truth (often symbolized by light), and when he finds it, he lets it into his soul. He then has God’s truth within him. A person with an “evil eye” is a person who does not want God’s truth, and when the light of God’s truth shines in his face, he shuts his eyes because he doesn’t want it to get inside him. Many people shut their eyes to God’s truth because they think they already have the truth, but really they’ve believed only lies. Consequently, they are full of darkness even when they think they have light inside them. That kind of darkness is the worst kind.

Q. Can we rightly conclude from what we read today that it is wrong for us to work hard to make money, or save some of the money we earn?

A. Certainly not. We can’t give any money away unless we first have some ourselves. Jesus was warning us that money cannot be our main priority in life if we are going to be His followers. Our primary concern should be with His kingdom and living for Him. We should guard ourselves against greed, and shouldn’t worry about having enough, but rather, should trust in our heavenly Father’s care.

Application: Many kids don’t have a lot of money, but nevertheless, like poor people, money can become their god. Is there evidence in your life that God is your god and not money? Do you give away a portion of what you do receive?

As Jesus continued teaching about God’s standards of holiness, He told His followers to stop judging other people. What did He mean? A judge is someone who looks for faults in people who are brought to court. That’s his job, and there is nothing wrong about what he does, as long as he judges according to proven facts. Judges are supposed to judge people, measuring them by the standard of the law of the land. If there were no judges, criminals would never go to jail.

However, many people seem to think that they have been appointed as judges, and thus they are always looking for faults in others. That is wrong. Furthermore, they often judge people without considering all the facts, jumping to wrong conclusions. For example, they see a mother spank her child in the grocery store and conclude she must be a child abuser. They don’t stop and think that perhaps the child deserved a spanking!

To make matters worse, these self-appointed judges usually measure other people by standards that they themselves fall short of, making themselves hypocrites. Jesus’ funny illustration about trying to remove a speck from someone else’s eye while you have a log in your own eye is a perfect example of this. Imagine trying to help someone get a little speck out of his eye with a big log sticking out of yours!

What would you think if you saw two little children sitting in a mud puddle, covered with mud, and one pointing his finger at the other and saying, “You are filthy!” That is how we look to God when we criticize others.

What right do imperfect people have to find faults in others? Absolutely none. As followers of Jesus, we should be more concerned with correcting our own faults.

Q. When brothers and sisters are constantly “telling” on each other, that makes them “tattletales.” Do Jesus’ words about judging others have any application to tattletales?

A. Occasionally telling your parents about a sin of a brother or sister can be OK, if it is done out of love and concern for that brother or sister. For example, telling your parents that your brother is not wearing his seat belt in the car is a good thing. But when you tell on your brother just because you want to see him get in trouble, that is wrong, especially if you are guilty of the same sin. Then you are a hypocrite. When brothers and sisters are always telling on one another, constantly getting revenge for being told on, they demonstrate exactly what Jesus said about others treating you as you treat them. Like Jesus said, others will judge you by the same standard you use to judge them. People who are always finding fault aren’t liked by the people with whom they find fault. Consequently, those people look for faults in the people who find fault with them!

Q. What if you see a fault in another person of which you are not personally guilty? You see the speck in his eye but don’t have a log in your own eye. Should you speak to him about his fault?

A. Only if you know that the person is open to receive your constructive criticism. Otherwise, you would be giving your “pearls to a pig” (see Matthew 7:6). That is, he won’t appreciate or receive what you have to tell him. A proverb says, “Don’t bother rebuking mockers; they will only hate you. But the wise, when rebuked, will love you all the more” (Proverbs 9:8).

Constructive criticism offered by one who has a right to offer it is a holy thing. Jesus said we shouldn’t give what is holy to unholy people.

Application: Are people always finding fault with me? Could it be because I’m always finding faults with others, and thus I’m being measured by the same standard by which I measure others? If so, I determine to be less critical and more merciful. As a result, people will be less critical and more merciful with me.

During the first part of His mountainside sermon, Jesus told His disciples that they had to obey God better than the Pharisees and religious teachers, or else they wouldn’t enter the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 5:20). After that, He began explaining the difference between what God expects and what the Pharisees and religious teachers practiced. One of the many faults that Jesus found with them is that they did their good deeds to be admired by other people. When they gave money to the poor, they announced what they were doing with trumpets! When they prayed, they did so on the street corners and in the synagogues where everyone could see them. When they fasted, they adjusted their appearance so everyone would know they were fasting and admire them. Their good deeds were really evil deeds because their motives were selfish . Jesus said that the only reward they would ever receive would be the praise of people.

God expects more from His children than that. When we give, we should be motivated by love for the person we’re helping. As much as possible, we should give and serve in secret. If we will, Jesus promises that God will reward us. The same is true for our secret praying and fasting. Although our salvation is received purely through God’s grace (undeserved mercy), many of God’s blessings are bestowed because we earn them through our obedience.

In this part of His sermon, Jesus gave further instruction about prayer. He said that people of other religions pray the same thing over and over again, continually repeating the same requests. They think their god will hear them if they just pray long enough. But we are praying to a God who knows everything! He knows what we need before we ask Him, so it would be foolish for us to think we need to keep saying the same things over and over again! Continually repeating the identical prayer is insulting to God. We should converse with Him as we would with our most respected and trusted friend. He’s listening to us, not ignoring us, and we don’t need to pray long prayers to be heard.

Jesus gave us an example of a model prayer we could pray. Notice that it isn’t a long prayer. Don’t think that short prayers are a waste of time or that you don’t have enough time to pray. You can pray short prayers all the time and any time!

We should begin by realizing that we are praying to our heavenly Father, which means we have a special relationship with the One we’re addressing. We’re not talking to a stranger! We’re talking to someone who loves us dearly!

Beginning our prayers with worship is appropriate. “May your name be honored” (Matthew 6:9) is an example of a worshipful statement we could make, but there are many others.

After worship, we can begin with our requests, and the first ones should be for things that concern God. We should want, more than anything else, for God’s kingdom to expand and for His will to be done on the earth. Many people want their desires to become God’s desires, and they try to change His will by their prayers. But God wants His desires to become everyone’s desires, because His desires are best. More than anything, He wants people to hear the gospel and be saved. So we should pray first for things that relate to the spread of the good news of Jesus. We should pray for missionaries, the people of our church, and for opportunities to spread the gospel ourselves.

Next, we can pray for our own needs. Later in this same sermon, Jesus assured us that God will take care of our need for food, clothing and other material things, but only if we are living for Him and making the Kingdom of God our primary concern (see Matthew 6:33). If our prayers are only for our own needs, that’s a good indication that God’s kingdom is not our primary concern.

One of our foremost needs is for forgiveness when we’ve sinned. Jesus said we can be assured that our requests for forgiveness will be answered as long as we forgive people who have sinned against us. Of course, God doesn’t expect more of us than He does of Himself, and we know that He doesn’t forgive people unless they admit their sin and ask for forgiveness. When people request our forgiveness, admitting their wrongs against us, then we must forgive them, or else God will not forgive our sins when we ask. This does not give us the right, however, to hate people who sin against us but who never ask our forgiveness. Jesus still expects us to be merciful and kind to such people, loving them and praying for them, as we have already learned from this sermon (see Matthew 5:43-47), and to even confront them if they are Christians. But forgiveness is impossible to give unless it’s first requested.

Finally, we should pray that God will help us during times we are tempted to do the wrong thing, delivering us from giving in to the devil. This prayer request also indicates that our primary concern should be with pleasing God. We need His help to be obedient, and He will help us when we’re tempted if we’ll ask Him to help us.

Q. We read today what is commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Many people have memorized this exact prayer and pray it, word for word, all the time, without even thinking about what they are saying. Do you think that is what Jesus had in mind when He first taught this prayer?

A. No, because Jesus said in the verses preceding the prayer that our prayers shouldn’t be meaninglessly repetitious. Of course, we can pray the Lord’s prayer with meaning if we concentrate, and we are not limited to just praying this one prayer! It is a wonderful model for all prayers, however.

Q. If you had to summarize with one word what we’ve read so far of Jesus’ sermon on the mountainside, what one word would you choose? Does this tell us anything about what is most important to Jesus?

A. I would choose the word “holiness.” What is most important to Jesus is how we live our lives. Obedience to God is what should be most important to all Christians.

Application: Do I act differently when I’m in public than when I’m alone? If I do, what does that reveal about me? What should I do about it?

As people listened to Jesus’ new and authoritative teaching and heard Him frequently debate the Pharisees and religious teachers, some may have thought He had come to introduce a brand new religion, abolishing the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets. But nothing could be further from the truth. God was the author of the Old Testament, and Jesus, being God, certainly wouldn’t invalidate even one small part of it. There was no contradiction between Jesus’ teaching and the teaching found in the Old Testament. He wanted everyone to know that obeying God’s commandments was still of utmost importance and therefore said, “If you break the smallest commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19).

Jesus wants our complete obedience, but from what we just read, He obviously wants us to know that we don’t have to be perfect to get into heaven. He said that people who break small commandments and even teach others to do the same can still make it into heaven. However, Jesus made it clear that our degree of obedience in this life will affect our standing in the next life. There will be people in heaven who are lesser and greater than others who are there. And, lest anyone thinks Jesus was saying that it doesn’t make any difference how people live their lives, He went on to say, “But I warn you—unless you obey God better than the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees do, you can’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven at all!” (Matthew 5:20).

Jesus disagreed very much with the way the Pharisees and religious teachers had interpreted and twisted what God had said in the Old Testament. Many of their interpretations of God’s laws allowed them to sin. They thought, for example, that they could be filled with hatred, anger and bitterness, and be embroiled in cursing, name-calling, strife and lawsuits with one another, but as long as they didn’t murder any of the people they hated, they figured they were OK. But Jesus explained that those kinds of people are going to hell just as much as any murderer! God expects much more of us than that, and all true heaven-bound Christians will do better than that. Jesus taught that if our relationships with others aren’t right, our relationship with God is not right . God expects us to love others, to be patient and kind, and to work toward reconciliation when we do have disagreements.

(Note: Parents should preview this paragraph before reading it to their children.) The Pharisees and religious teachers thought that as long as they kept clear of committing adultery, they were OK in God’s eyes, even if they were full of lust or sexually involved, short of adultery, with a person to whom they were not married. God, however, expects much more than that! Jesus explained that a person who imagines having a sexual relationship with a person to whom he is not married has sinned in God’s eyes. The one who continually dwells upon impure sexual thoughts or is involved sexually with someone with whom he is not married is in danger of hell—just as much as the person who constantly commits adultery.

This is serious stuff, and Jesus wanted to make His point unforgettable since it involved eternal consequences—heaven or hell. So He used a figure of speech we call a hyperbole , which is exaggerating to make a strong point. When your mother says, “I must have called you a thousand times to come home for dinner,” that’s a hyperbole.

Jesus said that if our eye or hand causes us to sin, we should cut them from our bodies, because it would be better to lose one part of our bodies than spend eternity in hell. We know, of course, that Jesus doesn’t actually want us to cut off any parts of our bodies to keep from sinning. What He meant was that we should remove from our lives whatever is causing us to stumble into sin. Of course, cutting off a hand or gouging out an eye will not stop a person from lusting or committing acts of immorality. The problem is with people’s hearts. However, once they repent of their sins, believe in Jesus and are born again, they will want to obey God from the inside. They will still be tempted to sin, but they will have the power not to give in to sin through the Holy Spirit within them.

Q. Was the point of Jesus’ sermon saying that people could earn their way to heaven if they are holy enough?

A. No. Jesus clearly taught at other times that people are saved by believing in Him and being born again. In the sermon we’ve begun reading, Jesus was speaking to people who already were His disciples (see Matthew 5:1), and was revealing the standards of holiness He has set for them. He didn’t want anyone who only held to the standards of the Pharisees to think they were actually saved. Jesus concluded this sermon by saying, “Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to me as ‘Lord,’ but they still won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). True believers in Jesus live obedient lives according to God’s standards.

Q. (For teens only) Regarding sex, people often ask, “How far can I go sexually with someone I’m not married to before I’m sinning?” Based on what we’ve read today, how do you think Jesus would respond to that question?

A. He might first ask us why we are asking such a question. Does our question reveal that we are like the Pharisees, looking for an excuse to gratify our sexual desires by using a person to whom we are not committed as a lifetime partner? Sex is a sacred experience designed by God to be enjoyed only within the marriage relationship. God also designed that sex would be a progressive thing, one thing leading to another. It begins with thinking about it, which leads to physical contact. Even when a man and woman are just kissing, their bodies are preparing for intercourse. If, according to Jesus, thinking about sex with a person with whom you are not married is a sin, then it is safe to say that doing the things that lead to more intimate sex is also a sin. Additionally, when you are kissing someone to whom you are not married, you are kissing someone who may well be someone else’s future husband or wife! For these reasons and others, most Bible-believing pastors strongly recommend to the single people that they avoid any and all sexual involvement with anyone to whom they are not engaged. Engagement, unlike marriage, is not a license for sex.

Application: God’s standards for holiness are high when compared to what human beings normally expect from themselves. But, thanks to God, it is possible for us to attain His standards once we are born again. Then the Holy Spirit changes us, and we are no longer captive to sinful living.

During His sermon on the mountainside, Jesus continued to explain the difference between God’s standard of holiness and the Pharisees’ and religious teachers’ standard of holiness. Today the first subject in our reading is divorce. Many of the religious teachers of Jesus’ day misinterpreted, for their own convenience, what Moses had said about divorce. The Law of Moses made provision for divorce only in cases when adultery had been committed. However, the divorce had to be done legally, and it was required that an official divorce certificate be given by the husband to his wife. Many of the religious teachers, however, twisted what the Law actually said, teaching that a man could divorce his wife for any reason, as long as he gave his wife a certificate. As a result, men were divorcing their wives for reasons other than adultery and thinking that they were OK in God’s eyes.

Jesus, however, said they were very guilty before God. In fact, they were triply guilty, because they were not only responsible for their own sin of divorcing their wives, but they were held accountable by God for the “adultery” of their divorced wives (who often had to remarry to survive) and the “adultery” of the men whom their divorced wives married! (I’ve put quotation marks around the word adultery because it was adultery only because the first man had no right to divorce his wife. Thus it was equivalent to his forcing her to have a sexual relationship with another man while he was still married to her.)

Next in His sermon on God’s standards of holiness was the subject of making vows, something else the Law of Moses spoke about which had been conveniently altered by the religious teachers of the day. They taught that if a person swore by the temple, the altar, or by heaven, he was not obligated to keep his vow, but if he swore by the gold of the temple, the offering on the altar, or God in heaven, he was obligated (see Matthew 23:16-22). Apparently there were other items by which a person could vow and not be obligated as well, such as the earth, Jerusalem and his own head (see Matthew 5:35-36). In short, the religious teachers had devised a way by which they could lie, supposedly without being guilty of sin.

Jesus said that God’s standard is much higher than that. People should say what they mean and mean what they say. When someone says, “I swear to God that I’m telling the truth,” he’s admitting that he’s usually a liar. Jesus said His followers should have no need to swear or make vows because they should always tell the truth. Their “yes” and “no” should be trustworthier than anyone else’s most convincing vow.

Next was the subject of revenge. The Law of Moses said that when a person is found guilty in court of injuring another person, his punishment should be equivalent to the harm he caused. If he knocked out someone’s tooth, in fairness and justice, his tooth should be knocked out. This was a commandment to insure that justice would be served in court cases.

However, once again, the religious teachers had twisted this scripture, making it into a commandment for getting personal revenge, something God’s Word forbids (see Deuteronomy 32:35). Obtaining due justice in court is one thing, but getting revenge is another. Additionally, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had conveniently overlooked the fact that the Old Testament taught they should show kindness to their enemies (see Exodus 23:4-5; Proverbs 25:21-22). That was God’s standard of holiness, and Jesus endorsed it further by telling us to turn the other cheek and go the extra mile when we are dealing with evil people. God wants us to be merciful, not revengeful, when we are wronged.

Finally, we read one more God-given commandment that the religious teachers of Jesus’ day had changed to accommodate their hateful hearts. In the Old Testament, God had said, “Love your neighbor,” but the religious teachers had conveniently assumed that if God wanted them to love their neighbors, then He must have meant for them to hate their enemies. But, according to Jesus, that is not at all what God meant! Jesus would later teach in the story of the Good Samaritan that we should consider every person to be our neighbor. God wants us to love everyone , which includes our enemies. That is God’s standard for His children, a standard to which He Himself lives. He sends crop-growing sun and rain not only on good people, but also on evil people. We should follow His example, showing kindness to undeserving people. As Jesus said, if we only love people who love us, we are doing no more than wicked unbelievers. God’s standard of holiness is perfection, and that is what we should be striving for in our lives.

Q. When Jesus commanded us to turn the other cheek and go the second mile when dealing with evil people, does that mean He wants us to allow people to take advantage of us, allowing them to ruin our lives if they desire?

A. No. Notice that Jesus did not say that we should kill ourselves when someone slaps us on the cheek, give someone our house and furniture when they sue us for our shirt, or walk a thousand miles with a soldier who demands that we carry his gear for a mile. Jesus was simply telling us to be merciful, not revengeful, when dealing with selfish, evil people.

Q. Under Roman law, a Roman soldier could demand that any person carry his gear for one mile, and the Roman soldiers took advantage of that law whenever they could. What did that reveal about the average Roman soldier? What kind of effect do you think it had on a soldier when he forced a Christian to carry his gear, and that Christian gladly accepted and then carried his gear two miles?

Application: Too often, Christians are known for their snobbery or their doctrine. God wants us to be known for our love and servanthood. What do unbelievers think of when they think of you?

Many people came to Jesus seeking to be blessed, wanting to see a miracle or receive healing or deliverance. But Jesus didn’t come to earth simply to attract large crowds of curiosity seekers or provide temporary blessings. He came to “call sinners to turn from their sins” (Luke 5:32), so people would be eternally blessed. Although it’s certainly a blessing to see a miracle or be healed of a sickness, people who are blessed by God only to that degree will still spend eternity in hell when they die. Truly blessed people are those who are eternally blessed.

One day as the curious and blessing seekers were gathering, Jesus took the opportunity to explain what kind of people are eternally blessed of God. In short, they are people who have repented of their sins and have been born again. They are those who have made Jesus their Lord and are destined to spend eternity in God’s kingdom. They can be recognized by how they live their lives, and Jesus described them in the first portion of His sermon on the mountainside. These are the people who are eternally blessed. Let’s consider how Jesus described them.

First, Jesus said that the person who is eternally blessed of God is one who realizes his spiritual poverty apart from God (see Matthew 5:3). Before anyone can be saved, he must see his need for salvation and the impossibility of saving himself.

Second, Jesus said the person who is eternally blessed of God is one who mourns. What did He mean? Possibly Jesus was referring to the mourning a person experiences during the first stages of his repentance, when he realizes how he has offended God. Jesus taught that unless a person is sorrowful for his sins and repents, he would not get into heaven.

Perhaps Jesus was speaking of the sadness that all true Christians feel when they view the world around them, a world that is in rebellion against God and is so far from His original plan. One day those of us who mourn will be comforted, when God creates a new heaven and earth, a place where everyone will do God’s will.

Third, people who are truly and eternally blessed by God are those who are gentle and lowly. One version of the Bible uses the word humble to describe these blessed people. In order to be saved, a person has to humble himself, admitting his helplessness to save himself and depending solely on God’s mercy for salvation. True followers of Jesus continue on the path of humility throughout their lives, recognizing their own inadequacy and complete dependence upon God for everything. As Jesus said, one day “the whole earth will belong to them” (Matthew 5:5). Those humble followers of Jesus will one day be the only people who live on the earth, eternally blessed, because God will have condemned everyone who is proud.

Fourth, truly blessed people are those who long for everyone to be obedient to Jesus. True followers of Jesus hate all the disobedience that exists in the world, but they can look forward to the time, according to Jesus’ promise, when worldwide righteousness will be a reality. That will happen when Jesus rules the world.

Fifth, truly blessed people are merciful. Born-again people can’t help but show mercy to others, because they realize how much mercy God has shown them. They will one day experience the fullness of God’s mercy when they enter into God’s heavenly kingdom, knowing how unworthy they are of such blessings.

Sixth, truly blessed people have pure hearts. Jesus promised that they would one day see God! All true Christians will experience that indescribable blessing, so Jesus must have been describing another characteristic of all His true followers. They have repented in their hearts of wickedness and evil, and now their hearts’ desire is to obey their Lord. People who aren’t born again have impure hearts and are motivated by selfishness.

Seventh, people who are truly blessed of God are “peacemakers.” Jesus must have been describing another characteristic of all true believers, because He promised that the peacemakers would be called children of God, something that all true believers are. True Christians love people with the love God has deposited within them, and thus they hate discord and strife. They work to maintain harmony in their relationships. People who are full of hatred and are always involved in strife are not really saved. Paul wrote that people whose lifestyles are characterized by hostilities, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, divisions and envy will definitely not inherit the Kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:20-21).

Eighth, the truly blessed person is one who is persecuted because he lives for God. Once again, it’s clear Jesus must have been describing another characteristic of all His true followers, because He promised them that the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. Anyone who truly believes in Jesus will be persecuted. That doesn’t mean he will be put in jail or tortured, but it at least means that he will be hated and talked about by others. Jesus once said, “Woe to you when all men speak well of you” (Luke 6:26, NASB). When we are persecuted, Jesus said we should be happy about it, because it indicates we’re among the blessed group of people who are going to heaven. Peter wrote, “If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed , because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you” (1 Peter 4:14, NASB, emphasis added).

Finally, Jesus described His true followers as being the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world.” In Jesus’ time, salt was used primarily as a preservative—to keep foods from going rotten. If it weren’t for the followers of Jesus, the world would surely become completely rotten and everything about it would be evil. However, our job is not only to keep the world from going completely rotten, but to work to improve the world by letting our lights shine. We should bring the light of God’s truth to people who are living in the lies of darkness so that they can join us and be eternally blessed as well!

Q. Did you notice that most, if not all, of the blessings Jesus promised in today’s list are future blessings? And that those who will enjoy those future blessings might suffer some in this life? What does that tell you about God’s perspective of our present lives?

A. It tells us that this life is not as important as our future lives. Our present lives are temporary and will end someday, but our future lives will be eternal. Therefore, it is very wise to make temporary sacrifices in this life to enjoy eternal blessings in the next life. A well-known missionary once wrote, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

Q. As you read through Jesus’ description of a truly blessed person, did you think about your own life? Was Jesus describing you?

Application: Although people who are not saved might think we’re foolish for following Christ, and even though we might suffer temporarily because of it, we know we’re truly blessed by God, because we will be citizens of God’s kingdom forever.