Sermon on the Mount Review and Summary

Matthew 6
Matthew 6
Jesus challenges superficial and hypocritical spirituality by addressing three acts of
righteousness well known in Jewish religious life: giving, prayer, and fasting (6:2-18)
The common theme in His teaching on these practices was a warning of the danger of selfpromotion to impress others be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men,
to be seen by them; if you do you will have no reward from your Father in heaven (6:1, 5,
16)
If the goal is to be honored by men, the conspicuous givers may get exactly what they want
but that is all they will receive, for they have received their reward in full (6:2, 5, 16)
The one who gives is to do so secretly, not to win the praise of men but to glorify God (6:4)
The one who fasts is to avoid demonstrative behavior to show men they are fasting (6:16),
but for the Father who sees and will reward what is done in secret (6:18)
The one who prays is to address God not to impress an audience (6:5), nor to display an
ostentatious oration with a multitude of words (6:7), nor to pray with an unforgiving spirit
(6:15)
Jesus teaches us to begin by praising the name of God (6:9), then to welcome Gods
Kingdom and His will on earth as it is in heaven (6:10), to humbly ask for daily provisions
(6:11), to ask for the grace to forgive others just as we are forgiven by God Himself (6:12),
and finally to ask for Gods direction for His righteousness and His deliverance from evil
(6:13)
Jesus reminds us that God knows our needs before we ask Him (6:8), and that our Father
delights in responding to us and giving good gifts to His children (7:9-10)
True prayer is not an attempt to convince God of anything nor coerce Him to do what He does
not want to do rather we are aligning our heart with His and seeking to be involved His
Kingdom and will becoming a reality on earth as it is in heaven (6:10)
Jesus warns of the futility of worldly acquisition storing up treasures on earth and then
encourages eternal investments storing up treasures in heaven (6:19-21)
The shortsightedness of procurement, accumulation, hoarding, and the eventual decay
resulting from misplaced priorities is a consistent theme in both the Old and New Testaments
Jesus teaches that the eye is the lamp of the body (6:22) we are responsible for what our
eyes dwell upon, and if our eye is sound our whole body will be full of light (6:23)
Jesus calls for decisiveness and teaches that the choice between loving God and loving this
world is mutually exclusive we cannot serve two masters: we will hate one and love the
other, for we cannot serve both God and Money (6:24)
Jesus encouraging the disciples not to worry about what they are to eat, drink or the
clothes they wear, and reminds them that even Solomon in all his splendor was not clothed as
beautifully as God clothes the lilies of the field which are here today and gone tomorrow
(6:29)
Instead, we are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (6:33)

 Finally Jesus assures the disciples that they can grow in their faith by living present, trusting
God for today and not worry about tomorrow (6:34)
As Jesus encourages the disciples (and us) to trust God rather than to worry, we consider
Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own
understanding
When we make a deliberate choice to trust God about specific problems, we learn by
experience the truth of what Jesus taught, for faith drives out fear (Philippians 4:6-7)