Please read Chapters 1-14 of the Gospel of Matthew. Concentrate especially on Chapters 5-7, the Sermon on the Mount. Please pick a key verse from the assigned chapters and do one of the following:1. Explain why you think this verse the key to understanding what the selection is about.
2. Explain why you think this verse is the best/most memorable in the assigned reading.
3. Explain why you think this verse is the most difficult/hard to understand in the assigned chapters.
4. Reply to any other student comment on this post.
After reading over the Chapters assigned, I thought that question 2 is the one I would answer. One of my favorite passages is within these Chapters and it is Matthew 6:34, "So don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
ReplyDeleteMaking this verse the most memorable from the Sermon on the Mount might not be everyones first answer, but it certainly is one I like a lot because when you don't worry about tomorrow and realize God has your next step, you are trusting His process and His will. Jesus teaches so many great things up on the mountaintop though that it is honestly a very hard question to answer which part of this is the best. Its all very good!
Great verse! This is a very helpful verse I would say for someone trying to get motivated and get their life on the right track. Needing to know every day will not be perfect and tomorrow may not be, but don't let the possiblilty of tomorrows failure ruin your present
DeleteI wanted to share this one and talk about it but I didn't want to copy you. This was also one of my favorite verses because this is how i live my life everyday because i want to live each day the best i can. You explained it really well with how God will guide you and help you.
DeleteAfter reading Matthew 1-7 I decided to go with Question 2 for my response.
ReplyDeleteMy personal favorite or believed to be the best quote from this section would be the line of Matthew 5:44, it states "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you"
This is a powerful message from Christ as he is letting the people know in his Sermon that regardless of feeling, class, or hatred, you must learn to love, regardless of the situation. This needs to be applied in todays world more than ever. We need to see everyone as what they are which is a child of god, so we are all equal.
And not only love them, but bless and pray for them. I've found that praying for those people I have struggled to love, actually helps me love them more. I can't change them, but my heart can change as I pray for them, and I start to want good things to happen to them, including that they have a better relationship with God.
DeleteWhen reading the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:17 stood out to me as a verse that is a key part of understanding the passage. Jesus states, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law of the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
ReplyDeleteIt might not seem so important to us today, but at the time it was extremely important that any Jew who was listening to him knew Jesus was not inventing a new doctrine.
Jesus made a series of "new" statements, statements that might leave Jews wondering "why should we listen to you?" Was it because Jesus came to start a new religious cult that could contradict all the old laws and do away with Judaism? No, he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He was the one prophesied to come. And Matthew showed that the entire Law and Prophets pointed to an anticipation of his arrival, where he would finally complete the law, and be revealed as the Messiah they had all been waiting for.
This is an important piece to bring up, it bridges the gap between the covenants and honestly brings unity to the scriptures as a whole.
DeleteWhile reading the chapters of Mathew, one verse really stuck out to me: "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Mathew 6:26).
ReplyDeleteThis one was one of my favorites from the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus is explaining to the crowd that they should not worry about the future because God always has a plan for them, so they should not worry for what is to come. Later in the chapter, he says that being anxious is useless and will not contribute to anything in your life. Jesus tells people to have faith in God even when they are hopeless and anxious.
I agree, it is certainly easy to get nervous or anxious about things that don't matter. This verse reminds us that we truly get scared over very small things sometimes and that we should trust Gods will.
DeleteCollin DeLeeuw
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Matthew i found the verse of Matthew 11 and 12. 11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
This is a memorable verse to me because it shows you that the earthly ideas in this earth mean nothing to God. I think this is memorable to me is because it shows that the earthly ideals that. are present in this world don't line up with god all the time.
After reading the assigned chapters I found Mathew 5:38-39 to be the most memorable. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also." Responding to hatred with more hatred creates a viscous cycle. I believe it is meant to resist anger or violence instead of bringing more of it. It is not meant to just accept evil but create less of it through forgiveness and love for those who have wronged us.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this might be the most memorable passage in this reading. Many people know and say this, probably thinking it's an old saying and not realizing it even comes from the Bible. Jesus basically goes the extra step beyond this proverb and says to turn the other cheek, hand over your coat as well, and go 2 miles when they ask 1 of you. Kill them with kindness might be a modern summation I'd give to my 3rd grade Wednesday night group.
DeleteMatthew 6:28
ReplyDelete28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,
In a generation where anxiety is rampant, Jesus seems to simplify the solution by having us consider his creation. We can miss it if we read too fast, but his point is that he is sovereign over all things and that no problem or unknown is out of his control. This whole section I tend to run back to in times of stress and angst, it gives profound peace knowing that God will provide and there is no point to worry.
This is such a fantastic verse to look to in times of struggle. I look to it often as well, and specifically as someone who loves to observe creation. Considering God's creation is my ultimate inspiration for my artistic practice, and as I paint the world around me, just as Christ said, it allows me to stop and be reminded of God's control and peace in everything. This verse is also key in Christ's doctrine, as he calls his believers to put their worries on him and simply trust in his saving grace.
DeleteTo answer question one, I would say that Matthew 6:21 is an extremely important verse in understanding what Christ is saying in his Sermon on the Mount. "21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be."
ReplyDeleteWhen considering all Jesus is saying, everything comes back to the inward posture of one's heart. Fasting should not be done for outside approval, but done for God, "who is in secret." Retaliation, anger, and Christ's statement on those who will enter the kingdom of heaven exhibit this perspective as well. It is about where one's heart is that determines what a person values, their morals, and what they pursue in life. If their heart believes and has understanding, their treasure will be God, but a person who, to quote Proverbs, is foolish, their treasures will be in anything else.
Matthew 3:17 - "And a voice came from the heavens, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." This quote from Matthew's gospel stood out to me in particular because it is so blunt in meaning. Through my eyes, the entirety of this book is trying to convince the Jews that, although unconventionally, the Messiah has come. He does this through scripture fulfillment. The start of Matthew is to show how David's kingdom has been fulfilled by Christ. It is for this reason that I find 3:17 sticks out. Matthew blatantly observes that God himself calls Jesus Son. Instead of making a connection to the past, he also gives witness to the present. I find this type of writing to be most persuasive.
ReplyDelete- Grace
I really liked this quote too! In modern society, we often lose track of humanity. The strife between neighbors we see today, especially in our political climate, could truly be transcended if we could only see the humanity of those around us and refrain from judgment. Treat others how you wish to be treated!
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During my reading, this section confused me the most: (Matthew 12:46–50) While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” I understand that Jesus is saying that he considers his disciples his brothers and that anyone who does what God wants is basically his honorary family, which makes sense, but why did he want to ignore his mother? Was it not actually Mary and his family asking for him and rather some group trying to start trouble? If it was Mary, why would he ignore her after probably traveling a long way to see him? Sure, she could have waited till he was done with his teaching to find him privately saying that she was there and not make a huge spectacle having someone else announce her presence. Personally, I understand that he used to the interruption to his advantage with the honorary family stuff, but I wished he could have gone around it in a different way, I don't know how important family honor or elder respect is over in that area but I think it would be rather considerate to say something like: "Yes please join us mother and brothers for I wish to introduce my other brothers for those who follow my fathers will shall be considered my brother and mother as well."
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was symbolic and probably to show that his ministry was above an earthly level. I do agree that it sounds disrespectful to Mary, but I'm wondering if there is some context we aren't given or maybe how it was delivered. It could also be that they were there to collect him because they thought he was acting crazy. I would at least think my sibling had lost it if they suddenly started preaching out of nowhere. That's my guess though.
DeleteI think one of the best verses to summarize what this section of the reading is about, and perhaps what the majority of the Gospel is about, is 7:25: "The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." This is the parable of the wise and foolish builders, which Jesus ends his sermon on the Mount with. I believe this parable is where the lyrics to the Bridge on Cody Carnes' song Firm Foundation came from, which is one of my favorite songs to listen and play to. The entire sermon on the mount is a mountain of moral and spiritual tasks, so much so that it kind of seems impossible to follow everything that's said. Jesus practically doubles down on already difficult teachings (murder -> anger, love your neighbor -> love your enemy, physical adultery -> looking with lust), probably shocking many of those listening. It seems wise to end the sermon with an analogy of placing your foundation on a solid rock. Doubts will invade the believer's mind and Satan will poke and prod at every chance he gets, but a solid foundation with Jesus as the cornerstone makes it possible to survive and overcome. This parable makes me think of John 15:18; in both of these passages, Jesus is telling people that winds will come, rain will pour, and people will hate you, so be prepared and take proactive action to withstand it.
ReplyDeleteSome verses that were memorable to me was 7:7-11. I like that how it rephrases the relationship between God and man as a child with a loving parent. Many religions have a distance between man and the deity and either a transactional or fearful relationship. Even the Pharisees seem to have a transactional view of God with a "check-the-boxes relationship".
ReplyDeleteMy favorite verse from the chapters was Matthew 7:12, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." I feel like this is the most memorable verse, or at least one of them, because this is the "golden rule." This is the standard that I think everybody, including nonbelievers, should follow. If people would just treat others like they want to be treated, we would have a whole lot less problems in the world. I like how Jesus says that this is the Law and the Prophets, basically I think this is Jesus very loosely summarizing the Old Testament. The very summarized laws that God gave the Israelites to stand out from the Pagans on Mount Sinai was just to love God and love your neighbor. Treating your neighbor the way you want to be treated could definitely be seen as loving them, in the phileo way.
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