Jesus on Judging others

Here's a link to the great site "Enduring Word Media" and David Guzik's commentary on Matthew 7
He quotes some pretty profound classic commentaries, and adds some thoughts of his own.

Enduring Word Media, Matthew 7

(Guzik is my favorite background source)

Jesus on Worry

Jesus on Worry

too much worry, or just wrong priorities?

Matthew 6:25-34

1. Therefore... because you can’t serve God and Mammon and you have chosen God...
2. do not worry... pretty much as it sounds. God does not want us to worry. Worry and anxiety come from a clouded view of God and his love and providence for us.
3. Philippians 4:6-7, Psalm 34:4, Luke 12:22-26, Matthew 14:22-27 and MANY more
4. What is worry, what is Jesus talking about here?
1. concern/planning/preparing for tomorrow?
2. Worry is based in fear and creates paralysis- concern is based on a belief that we can/should affect the future and it motivates us to action.
5. Look at the birds of the air... God provides for lowly birds, He cares about you a whole lot more. Our worry may be rooted in a feeling of worthlessness before God. NO, God values us greatly!  (Note: birds don’t worry, but they do work!)
6. See how the lilies of the field grow... God is an ABUNDANT provider, supplying beyond the simple needs. We were made for more than mere survival! We are children of the King, and he will provide our needs accordingly. (note: lilies grow where they are planted.)
7. 7 Reasons not to worry:
1. v25: the same God who created life in you can be trusted with the details of your life
2. v26: Worrying about the future hampers your efforts for today
3. v27: worrying is more harmful than helpful
4. v28-30 God does not ignore those who depend on him
5. v31-12: worry shows a lack of faith in, and understanding of God
6. V33: there are real challenges God wants us to pursue, and worrying keeps us from them
7. V34 living one day at a time keeps us from being consumed with worry
8. So... “Rah-Rah-Ree! Don’t you Worry! Rah-Rah-Ranxious! Don’t be anxious!”  but unfortunately anxiety and worry are NOT so simple.  How do you beat Anxiety?

First, we need to expose some of Satan’s lies about worry. Worry is NOT just something you have to live with. It is NOT “just the way you are”. It is NOT how God made you. It is contrary to the instruction of Jesus. It is SIN.

It is NOT merely a physical or psychological problem, there is a SPIRITUAL component to it as well.

1. Treating the physical: doctors either tell you to quit coffee, and stimulants, and drugs, or they tell you to take a pill. Good advice also includes getting enough sleep, exercise, whole foods.
2. Treating the psychological with action: do something fun, talk it out with someone, listen to some soothing music, take some action against your worry, etc.
1. But none of these conventional bits of wisdom is what Jesus focuses on as God’s way to defeat worry. What did Jesus say is the cure for worry?  v33
   

   
   

   “Seek”

   
   
2. How do you do that? Seeking first (before other concerns) his Kingdom... we should make it our primary “worry” that God is king of our life in all areas and in all ways. We should seek that we are drawing closer and closer to Christ’s pattern of righteousness. (remember The Beattitudes: the undivided, “pure heart”; the “hunger and thirst for righteousness”)

Jesus is telling us that if we focus our attention on HIM and on being obedient to the Kingship of God in our lives, our worries will fade out and we can live a life of trust, free from anxiety, the way were created to live! WOW! What a temporal blessing!

Instead of fighting the symptoms of worry, we must strike at it’s root: lack of faith. We get more faith by getting to know God more. We know him more by spending more time with him and DOING what he tells us to do.

We learn a lot about God when we follow Him into a few tight spots. We come out with less worry and more faith.

11. Jesus didn’t just tell them to stop worrying; He told them to replace worry with a concern for the kingdom of God
12. our physical well-being is not a worthy object to devote our lives unto. If you think it is worthy, then your god is mammon, your life is cursed with worry
13. How do I know if I am “seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness”? It is a question of my FIRST priority:
1. How do I spend my time?
2. How do I spend my money?
3. What are my goals/dreams?
4. What is the thing you don’t want God to ask you to give up?

The Promise: “All these things will be given to you as well”

14. God has promised to provide for His own, supplying every need (Philippians 4:19), but His idea of what we need is often different from ours, and His timing will only occasionally meet our expectations.
15. We may see our need as riches or advancement, but perhaps God knows that what truly we need is a time of poverty, loss or solitude.
1. God loved Job and Elijah, but He allowed Satan to absolutely pound Job, and He let that evil woman, Jezebel, break the spirit of His own prophet Elijah (Job 1–2; 1 Kings 18–19). In both cases, God followed these trials with restoration and sustenance.(Michael Houdmann)

I have experienced times of want and have been pretty broke. At the time, I wondered how this verse could be true. God supplies “All these things”? He clothes the lilies, but I am buying second-hand shoes? Looking back, I would not trade that time for anything. God taught me so much about being content, His provision, christian community, being industrious and humility.

He knows what I need, and His goals for my life are not always the ones I would chose.

But when my desires are not aligned with God’s desires, worry is the “Check Engine Light”.

Jesus on Money

Jesus on Money

Matthew 6:19-24

• if we really believe what we say we believe, that we will live with God eternally, then it will shape our relationship with money.
• Our attitudes toward money will reveal where our priorities lie.
  

1. This passage is a warning against covetousness: a sin of discontentment. Among other lessons we will see, Jesus is saying that the heart he desires for us is content and focused on things above, not things here on earth.
2. Don’t lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...
1. for yourselves...  our wealth on earth should be laid up for God’s use, not ours.

To lay up for yourselves treasure on earth is also to doom yourself to a life of frustration and emptiness. Regarding material things, the secret to happiness is not more, it is contentment. In a 1992 survey, people were asked how much money they would have to make to have “the American dream.” Those who earn $25,000 or less a year thought they would need around $54,000. Those in the $100,000 annual income bracket said that they could buy the dream for an average of $192,000 a year. These figures indicate that we typically think we would have to have double our income in order to find the good life. But the Apostle Paul had the right idea in 1 Timothy 6:6: Now godliness with contentment is great gain. (Guizik)

2. Is it wrong to to save money and amass wealth? What does the Bible say?
   Prov 10:22, 13:11, 14:23, 21:20, 23:4-5, Matthew 25:29
3. ...where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal.”  Earthly goods are subject to decay and loss (there’s the curse of entropy again). If our attention is on earthly treasure, we lose peace over the state of our accounts, because they are subject to loss here on earth.
2. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. NEWS FLASH: We can do works here, NOW, in this life, and “bank” them as good deeds in heaven. How Cool is that???
1. what do you think we will do with these riches in heaven? I mean, the streets are paved with gold...?  (See crowns: Rev4:10-11)
2. How do we store up treasure in heaven? What do we do?

1cor 3:11-15

4. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Don’t you just love how Jesus states the problem so clearly and simply? He has a laser-like focus on the real issue: our hearts. Who will see God? the “pure in heart” (James 4:8)
5. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also: Jesus drew the conclusion that you can only have your treasure (and your heart) in one place; we can’t store up treasure on earth and on heaven at the same time. (Guizik)

“It is not so much the disciple’s wealth that Jesus is concerned with as his loyalty. As Matthew 6:24 will make explicit, materialism is in direct conflict with loyalty to God.” (france)

Choice between two visions:

6. V21: Jesus talks about spiritual vision: it is easily clouded and blocked by distractions (self-serving desires, interests, goals, worldly wealth, wrong priorities). Our ability to see life as God wants us to can easily be blocked. Then we become dark.
7. Jesus is making a double-meaning here: he uses a phrase like “Evil eye” which to his listeners implied stinginess, greed, covetousness of a neighbor's goods. Literally “Greedy eye”. Greed in our eyes will block our vision of God.
8. How do these verses connect with the rest of the passage?

Choice between two masters:

10. Jesus states it a a plain, self-evident fact: you can only serve one master. We can start to think of the christian life as a “second job” to our daily life. It is not like having two jobs, it is like having two OWNERS! A slave is OWNED by his master. You can’t be owned by two masters!!!
11. I find it enlightening that Jesus speaks of being owned/mastered by your possessions... my dad used to say “the more you own, the more it owns you.” And I find it interesting that we use the same term for marking cattle ownership (branding) that we use for t-shirts with big logos on them (branding)... hmmmm. Who owns what?
12. What do we call it when we try to serve God and something else? what happens?
13. You can’t serve both God and Mammon (money). What is mammon?
14. Certainly, Jesus is talking about the heart here. Many people would say they love God, but their service of money shows that in fact they do not. How can we tell who or what we are serving? One way is by remembering this principle: you will sacrifice for your God. If you will sacrifice for the sake of money, but will not sacrifice for the sake of Jesus, don’t deceive yourself: money is your God.
15. What do we sacrifice for Mammon?
16. Is money “the root of all evil”?  (hint: did Adam have money?)
17. We must remember that we don’t have to be rich to serve mammon (money and material things); the poor can be just as greedy and covetous as the rich can be
18. Why do you think Jesus spent so much time talking about money? Does the he just want us to give money to church?
19. Our relationship with money is a crux of our relationship with God. Money represents our life-energy, stored for future use. We must each decide if we will be the master of that life-energy, or will God.
20. Fear and Greed: The two biggest problems people have with money. What is the opposite of fear? what is the opposite of greed?

Jesus on Prayer and Fasting

Jesus on Prayer and Fasting

Matthew 6:5-18

1. Don’t be like the Hypocrites. In Greek, “don’t be an actor/pretender” it’s a stage word. One who acts a part or isn’t really authentic. Is this talking about all public prayer?
2. The daily times of prayer were at 9:00 and 3:00, so these “holy men” would time it so they were in the most public place during those times. They wanted to be seen/heard by men, to enhance their status as “righteous”. Why do you think they did that?
3. Jesus’ message: Prayer is between You and God, not others. We should not try to preach through prayer. He also indicates that we receive a “reward” for prayer.
4. Go into your room, close the door: literally “Closet” or “Storage-room”... get off by yourself, and away from distractions, where you can be REAL with God.
5. Do not keep on babbling (1 Kings 18:26, Acts 19:34) like the pagans. God cares about our genuine heart. In fact, it’s not the mouth at all that prays, but the heart! (Rom 8:26)
1. Rabbit Trail Alert:
1. How does this verse apply to the “Hail Mary”?
2. How does this verse apply to the Tongues?
3. How does this apply to saying “the Lord’s Prayer” and “meal prayers”?
6. This, then, is how you should pray: Jesus here gave His disciples a model for prayer, prayer marked by close relationship, reverence, submission, and trust and dependence.
7. Our Father in heaven : have the relationship of child to loving father . Close, Intimate. This is the first recorded prayer (ever!) to address God as “Father”. Jesus is bringing a new covenant, a new relationship to God.
8. hallowed be your name Your kingdom come your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
1. But we must resist the tendency to protect and promote ourselves first and instead put God’s name, kingdom and will first.
2. Jesus wanted us to pray with the desire that the will of God would be done on earth as it is in heaven. In heaven there is no disobedience and no obstacles to God’s will; on earth there is disobedience and at least apparent obstacles to His will. The citizens of Jesus’ kingdom will want to see His will done as freely on earth as it is in heaven. (Luke 22:42)
3. Say it with a heart of perfect love and trust: “Do Your will, because I know it is the best. Change me where I don’t understand or accept Your will.”How would this attitude change my prayers away from “personal peace and prosperity” prayers?
4. One might rightly wonder why God wants us to pray that His will would be done, as if He were not able to accomplish it Himself. God is more than able to do His will without our prayer or cooperation; yet He invites the participation of our prayers, our heart, and actions in seeing His will done on earth as it is in heaven.
9. give us today our daily bread  (a prayer for our Needs, not our Greeds) Why did Jesus not tell us to pray for “A lifetime supply of bread”?
10. forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors  He illuminates this one with verses 14-15. If you don’t forgive others, you aren’t forgiven, because you haven’t really reached “bankruptcy of spirit” you are not “poor in spirit” and you don’t have the KoH
11. lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one  We are weak. We should pray that God will deliver us from temptation, trial, and persecution... and we should trust that God will deliver us from those temptations. And don’t go searching for temptation!
12. (verse present in later manuscripts, but probably not written by Matthew or actually said by Jesus) for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen.
13. If you forgive... your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not... Forgiveness is REQUIRED of the forgiven. If my mind remembers the enormity of my sin-debt towards God, how can I get all bent about someone else’s sin-debt towards me? Mt18:21-35

Fasting

14. “When you give” When you pray” “When you fast” Jesus thought these actions were natural and assumed them for his disciples.
15. Why fast?
1. It reinforces in my mind, and my will that “I want Jesus more than food”, my spiritual needs are as important as my physical ones.
2. It exercises the “self-control” muscle to become stronger. A fruit of the spirit.
3. It creates an “alarm system” for prayer time... ie. when fasting, what should you do with the times you would normally be eating? Praying, that’s what!
4. Fasting brings us closer to God. Clears the ears, so to speak
5. God designed our bodies to be made healthier through occasional fasting.
16. How to fast?
1. Abstain from food (or something: internet, tv, caffeine, etc) for a period of time. BTW, the idea of a “Fast from sin” is ridiculous. As is a “fast” that isn’t hard to keep (ie. fasting from meat, during lent, on Friday(except fish) good-grief!)  Just like exercise, if it isn’t hard, it isn’t at all.
2. the Pharisees fasted 2x week. They had sad faces and didn’t comb their hair, or bathe, so people would know they were holy... because you can’t exercise spiritual and legal control unless you are apparently righteous!
3. Jesus said, “put oil on your head and wash your face so it won’t be obvious to people that you are fasting”  This means, go about your normal daily washing and have a normal face. Fasting should be sort of a secret... at least it is a very private thing... not to be shared among others.
4. It should come from a pure heart... a heart desiring “your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven”“ and starting in one’s own life.

You have heard, but I tell you

You have heard... but I tell you...

Jesus teaches on: Divorce, Vows, Retaliation, and Loving Enemies

Matthew 5:31-48

1. Back in V20, Jesus introduces a righteousness that surpasses that of the pharisees and sadducees. He then launches into this pattern of “you have heard... but I tell you...” to explain what that looks like. He talked about Anger and Lust, and now moves on to talk about Divorce, keeping your Vows, Retaliation, and Loving Enemies.

Jesus on Divorce

2. It has been said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce”: In Jesus’ day, many people interpreted the Mosaic permission for divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1) as granting virtually any reason as grounds for divorce. Some rabbis taught this even extended to allowing a man to divorce his wife if she burnt his breakfast.
3. “Moses insisted upon ‘a writing of divorcement,’ that angry passions might have time to cool and that the separation, if it must come, might be performed with deliberation and legal formality. The requirement of a writing was to a certain degree a check upon an evil habit, which was so ingrained in the people that to refuse it altogether would have been useless, and would only have created another crime.”
• Jesus explains this further in Matt 19:8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
4. In that time, the permissible grounds for divorce were debated:  School of Shammai: “Restricted the ‘some indecency’ of Deuteronomy 24:1 to refer only to a sexual misdemeanour authenticated by witnesses.” School of Hillel: “Reputedly took it of any cause of complaint, even including burning the dinner.”
5. Whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality: Jesus plainly picks a winner in this argument. This emphasis of Jesus on the permanency of marriage and the wrong of unjustified divorce went against the thinking of many in both the Jewish and the Gentile cultures (and American too!).
6. Causes her to commit adultery: An illegitimate divorce gives place to adultery because God doesn’t recognize the divorce, and sees a new relationship as bigamous. It is possible for a person to have a divorce that is recognized by the state, but not by God. If that person goes on to marry someone else, God considers that relationship adultery because He sees them as still married.

What does the culture say about divorce? What does the church say?

What about abuse? or abuse of kids? Is that an ok exception? (see attached)

How should we (as believers) support the marriages of our brothers/sisters?

Jesus on Keeping Vows

7. You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely”: The scribes and Pharisees had twisted the law You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain (Exodus 20:7) to permit taking virtually every other name in a false oath
8. Do not swear at all: Jesus reminds us that God is part of every oath anyway; if you swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or even your head, you swear by God - and your oath must be honored.
• “Again an unqualified statement, to be taken not in the letter as a new law, but in the spirit as inculcating such a love of truth that so far as we are concerned there shall be no need of oaths.” (Bruce)
9. But let your “Yes” be “Yes”: Having to swear or make oaths betrays the weakness of your word. It demonstrates that there is not enough weight in your own character to confirm your words.
10. Some have taken this word of Jesus to be more than an emphasis on truth-telling and honesty to be an absolute prohibition of all oaths. This is misguided, because oaths are permitted under certain circumstances, as long as they are not abused and used as a cover for deception. God Himself swears oaths: Hebrews 6:13 and Luke 1:73. Jesus spoke under oath in a court: Matthew 26:63-64.

What forms of lying are socially acceptable?

What ways do we compromise our honest reputation?

What should we do about that?

Jesus on Retaliation

11. You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”: The Mosaic law did teach an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Exodus 21:24). But over time religious teachers moved this command out of its proper sphere (a principle limiting retribution for the civil government) and put it in the wrong sphere (as an obligation in personal relationships).
12. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also: Here, Jesus presents the fullness of the eye for an eye law, and how its idea of limiting revenge extends into the principle of accepting certain evils against one’s self.
13. When a person insults us (slaps you on the right cheek) we want to give them back what they gave to us, plus more. Jesus said we should patiently bear such insults and offences, and not resist an evil person who insults us this way. Instead, we trust God to defend us. Ancient Jewish writings say that striking someone with the back of the hand – a severe insult – was punishable by a very heavy fine. (it’s related to the cultural left-hand cleanup after elimination. Ewww!)
14. It is wrong to think Jesus means evil should never be resisted. Jesus demonstrated with His life that evil should and must be resisted, such as when He turned tables in the temple.
• “Jesus is here saying that the true Christian has learned to resent no insult and to seek retaliation for no slight.” (Barclay) Remember what we learned about the Meekness of Moses.
• It is wrong to think that Jesus means a physical attack cannot be resisted or defended. When Jesus speaks of a slap on your right cheek, it was culturally understood as a deep insult, not a physical attack. Jesus does not mean that if someone hits across the right side of our head with a baseball bat, we should allow them to then hit the left side.
15. It is also wrong to think Jesus means that there is no place for punishment or retribution in society. Jesus here speaks to personal relationships, and not to the proper functions of government in restraining evil (Romans 13:1-4). I must turn my cheek when I am personally insulted, but the government has a responsibility to restrain the evil man from physical assault.
16. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also: Under the Law of Moses, the outer cloak was something that could not be taken from someone(lest they freeze to death). (Exodus 22:26; Deuteronomy 24:13)
17. “Yet even in a country where justice can be had, We are not to resort to law for every personal wrong. We should rather endure to be put upon than be forever crying out, ‘I’ll bring an action.’” (Spurgeon)
18. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two: Positively, we are told to take command of evil impositions by making a deliberate choice to give more than we are required.
• At that time, Judea was under Roman military occupation. Under military law, any Roman soldier might command a Jew to carry his soldier’s pack for one mile - but only one mile. Jesus here says, “go beyond the one mile required by law and give another mile out of a free choice of love.” This is how we transform an attempt to manipulate us into a free act of love.
19. Give to him who asks of you: The only limit to this kind of sacrifice is the limit that love itself will impose. It isn’t loving to give into someone’s manipulation without our transforming it into a free act of love. It isn’t always loving to give or to not resist.
20. We might say that Paul repeated this idea of Jesus: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

What forms of retaliation are socially acceptable?

In which areas are you most tempted to retaliate?

How can we resist retaliating when others treat us badly?

Jesus on Loving Enemies

1. The Mosaic Law commanded you shall love your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18). teachers in the days of Jesus had added an opposite: an equal obligation to hate your enemy.

• Bonus Question: How did Jesus define Neighbors? (Luke 10:29)

2. Instead, Jesus reminds that in the sense God means it, all people are our neighbors, even our enemies. To truly fulfill this law, we must love, bless, do good and pray for our enemies - not only our friends.
3. We are to respond to them in love, trusting that God will protect our cause and destroy our enemies (meekness) in the best way possible, by transforming them into our friends.
4. Sons of your Father in heaven: In doing this, we are imitating God, who shows love towards His enemies, by sending rain on the just and on the unjust. (again, God revealing his character through creation, so we are without excuse)
• Why does God do this? Why doesn’t he just bless the deserving (like ME)?

5. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
• The world says someone is “good” if they return good for good. (love friends and hate enemies). Following Jesus’ call to love enemies will shine as a strong contrast; a light in the darkness (if you will).
6. More should be expected from Christians than others:

• They claim to be renewed, repentant, and redeemed by Jesus Christ.
• They have a power that others do not have; they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them. They have the Spirit of God dwelling within them.

Some Questions:

Who are our enemies? for real?

How do we show hate for them?

What can we do to show love to them?

“Be Perfect as your heavenly father is perfect”

1. How is this even possible? There is only one man who has lived like this: Jesus Christ. What about the rest of us? Are we left out of the Kingdom of God?
2. We see that in this section Jesus was not primarily seeking to show what God requires of the Christian in his daily life. True, Jesus has revealed God’s ultimate standard, and we must take it to heart. But His primary intent was to say, “If you want to be righteous by the law, you must keep the whole law, internal and external - that is, you must be perfect.”
3. What did Paul say in Romans 3:21-22

What is our current relation to the law?

4. Focusing on the command to love God and our neighbor, Jesus explained the law (Matthew 22:37-40). What did Paul write in 1 Timothy 1:5?

What does Jesus mean by be perfect? How is that possible?