The “Sermon On The Mount” continues as Jesus teaches the righteousness of the kingdom expected in those who would be citizens of the kingdom.
He discusses righteousness with respect to man’s relation to God, regarding charitable deeds (1-4), prayer (5-15), fasting (16-18),materialism (19-24), and anxiety (25-33).
POINTS TO PONDER
*Performing acts of righteousness in ways that please God
*The danger of materialism and overcoming anxiety about such things
*Making the kingdom of God and His righteousness our number one priority
7) Where are we to lay up treasure?Why?How? (20,24; cf. Mt 19:21;1Ti 6:17-19)
– In heaven; to serve God rather than mammon; by giving to the poor
Matt6:23 Here we have a verse that is consistently misinterpreted. What is this “evil eye?” Note the context of the verses before and after the term. In both cases Yeshua is talking about serving God and not money. Why would He interrupt this discussion about “God and money” to interject something about an “evil eye?”
The answer is that the term “evil eye,” in this context, is a Hebrew figure of speech for being stingy with your material wealth. This verse alone offers evidence that the book of Matthew was originally written in Hebrew as whoever translated it into the Greek, was not aware of what the term “evil eye” meant. They simply copied the phrase, which loses its meaning in the Greek and English.
33. The meaning is, God gives you this Gospel light, that you may repent. Let your eye be singly fixed on him, aim only at pleasing God; and while you do this, your whole soul will be full of wisdom, holiness, and happiness. Matt. v, 15; Mark iv, 21; Luke viii, 16.
34. But when thine eye is evil – When thou aimest at any thing else, thou wilt be full of folly, sin, and misery. On the contrary, Matt. vi, 22.
36. If thy whole body be full of light – If thou art filled with holy wisdom, having no part dark, giving way to no sin or folly, then that heavenly principle will, like the clear flame of a lamp in a room that was dark before, shed its light into all thy powers and faculties.
Luke CHAP. XI.
In this chapter, I. Christ teaches his disciples to pray, and quickens and encourages them to be frequent, instant, and importunate in prayer, ver. 1-13. II. He fully answers the blasphemous imputation of the Pharisees, who charged him with casting out devils by virtue of a compact and confederacy with Beelzebub, the prince of the devils, and shows the absurdity and wickedness of it, ver. 14-26. III. He shows the honour of obedient disciples to be greater than that of his own mother, ver. 27, 28. IV. He upbraids the men of that generation for their infidelity and obstinacy, notwithstanding all the means of conviction offered to them, ver. 29-36. V. He severely reproves the Pharisees and consciences of those that submitted to them, and their hating and persecuting those that witnessed against their wickedness, ver. 37-54.
