Matthew 6
6
Chapter 6
Jesus teaches people how to help poor people
1Jesus then said to them, ‘You should do good things to help people. But be careful! Do not do this so that other people see you. If you want other people to praise you, your Father in heaven will not praise you.
2When you give something to a poor person, do not tell anyone about it. The hypocrites do this in their meeting places. They also do it in the busy streets of the town. They do this so that other people will praise them. I tell you this. They have already received their gift. God will not give them anything more. #6:2 Hypocrites want people to think that they are good. But they are not really good people.
3So when you give something to a poor person, keep it a secret from other people. Do not tell anyone. Your left hand will not even know what your right hand does! 4Nobody else will know about the good thing that you have done. But God sees the things that you do secretly. In return, he will give you good things.’
Jesus teaches people how to pray
5‘Also, you must not pray in the way that the hypocrites pray. They like to stand and pray in their meeting places. They like to do it on the corners of the busy streets. #6:5 The corners of the streets were places where Jews met to pray. They also prayed in the special buildings. In those places there were a lot of people who could see them when they were praying. Then many people will see them and they will praise them. I tell you this. They have already received their gift from people. God will not give them anything more.
6But this is how you should pray. Go to a place in your house where you can be alone. You can shut the door and you can pray to God your Father. He is in that secret place. He sees what you do there. He will give you good things in return. 7When you pray, do not say the same words many times. People who do not believe in God do that. They use many words that mean nothing. They think that when they pray like that, their gods will hear them. 8Do not pray like they do. God your Father already knows what you need. He knows this even before you ask him.
9So this is how you should pray:
“God, our Father who is in heaven,
we want people to give honour to you.
10We want the day when you rule everyone to come soon.
We want everyone to obey you on earth, like everyone in heaven obeys you.
11Please give us the food that we need today.
12We have forgiven people who have done wrong things to us.
In the same way, please forgive us for the wrong things that we have done.
13Do not let us agree to do wrong things.
Keep us safe from Satan.” ’
14Then Jesus said, ‘When other people do wrong things against you, you must forgive them. Then God, your Father in heaven, will also forgive you for the wrong things that you have done. 15But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive you.’
Jesus teaches people about different things
16Jesus then said, ‘You may decide to fast for some time. #6:16 Some people stop eating for hours or days so that they can have more time with God. This causes them to feel nearer to God when they pray. But the hypocrites did it for the wrong reason. But do not look sad so that people know you are doing a special thing. Hypocrites want people to see how good they are. They make their faces dirty. Then other people can see that they are fasting. I tell you this: people have praised them and that is the only gift that they will get. 17But when you fast for some time, you should wash your face. Make your hair look nice. 18Then other people will not know that you are doing a special thing. But God, your Father, will know. You do not see him but he sees what you do secretly. He will give you good things in return.
19Do not want to have many valuable things here in the world. Insects or water can destroy those kinds of things. Or people may come into your house and they can rob you of those things. 20Instead, you should want to have valuable things in heaven. Insects and water cannot destroy anything there. Men cannot rob you of your things there. 21Then you will be thinking a lot about heaven, because that is where you keep your valuable things. #6:21 People think about their valuable things, so it is better to have them stored with God in heaven above. They will be safe there. We will also think about going to be with God.
22Your eyes are like lamps and your body is like a room. Make sure that your eyes are like a clean lamp, then your whole body will have light. 23If your eyes are not good, then your whole body will be in the dark. If the light in you has become dark, you will be living in a very dark place.’ #6:23 Jesus himself is the light that he is talking about. If a person lets Jesus rule his life, there will be nothing dark or hidden. But some people do not believe Jesus' words. They are like a person who is living in the dark.
24Jesus said, ‘Nobody can work as a slave for two masters at the same time. Maybe he will hate one of the masters, but he will love the other one. Or he will work well for one master, but he will think bad things about the other master. God and money are like different masters. You cannot work for both of them.
25So I tell you this. You should not worry about how to stay alive. Do not worry about the food and drink that you need. Do not worry about the clothes that you need to wear. Your life is more important than the food that you eat. Your body is more important than your clothes. 26Think about the wild birds. They do not plant seeds in the ground. They do not cut down plants to eat. They have no buildings to store food. But God, your Father in heaven, gives them food to eat. You are much more valuable than the birds. 27Even if you always worry about your life, you cannot make it as much as one hour longer!
28You should not worry about your clothes. Think about how the wild flowers grow. They do not work or make clothes for themselves. 29But I tell you this. Even one wild flower is more beautiful than King Solomon was. And King Solomon wore the most beautiful clothes. 30It is God that gives beautiful clothes even to the grass. One day the grass is growing in the field, but the next day people will cut it and burn it. #6:30 People burned dry grass and wild flowers on fires to cook their food. God will certainly take care of you, much more than he takes care of the grass. You should trust him more than you do!
31So do not worry about these things. Do not always say, “What will we eat?”, or “What will we drink?”, or “What will we wear?” 32People who do not know God are always trying to get these things. But as for you, your Father in heaven knows that you need them. 33Instead, always think about the things that are important in the kingdom of heaven. Always do what God shows you is right. Then he will also give you the things that you need each day. 34So do not have trouble in your mind about what might happen tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own problems. It is enough for you to be thinking each day about the problems of that day.’
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Matthew 6: EASY
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MissionAssist 2018
Matthew 6
6
The Sermon on the Mount: Charitable Giving
1 “And take care not to practice your righteousness before people to be seen by them; otherwise#Literally “but if not” you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. 2Therefore whenever you practice charitable giving, do not sound a trumpet in front of you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, in order that they may be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full! 3But you, when you#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“practice”) which is understood as temporal practice charitable giving, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4in order that your charitable giving may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Sermon on the Mount: How to Pray
5And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, because they love to stand and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“stand”) has been translated as a finite verb pray in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, in order that they may be seen by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full! 6But whenever you pray, enter into your inner room and shut your door and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“shut”) has been translated as a finite verb pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7“But when you#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“pray”) which is understood as temporal pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard. 8Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need#Literally “of what you have need” before you ask him. 9Therefore you pray in this way:
“Our Father who is in heaven,
may your name be treated as holy.
10May your kingdom come,
may your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread,
12and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And do not bring us into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.#Or “evil”; most later Greek manuscripts add the phrase “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen”
14For if you forgive people their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive people, neither will your Father forgive your sins.
The Sermon on the Mount: How to Fast
16“Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full! 17But when#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“fasting”) which is understood as temporal you are fasting, put olive oil on your head#Literally “anoint your head” and wash your face 18so that you will not be seen by people as fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
The Sermon on the Mount: Treasure in Heaven
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming insect#Traditionally “rust,” but more likely in this context along with “moth” the term refers to “eating” by other types of insects or vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming insect#Traditionally “rust,” but more likely in this context along with “moth” the term refers to “eating” by other types of insects or vermin destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22“The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore if your eye is sincere, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. Therefore if the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24“No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.#Traditionally transliterated from the Greek as “mammon”
The Sermon on the Mount: Anxiety
25“For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat,#Some manuscripts add “or what you will drink”; other later manuscripts add “and what you will drink” and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body more than clothing? 26Consider the birds of the sky, that they do not sow or reap or gather produce into barns, and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth more than they are? 27And who among you, by#*Here “by” is supplied as a component of the participle (“being anxious”) which is understood as means being anxious, is able to add one hour#Or “cubit” to his life span? 28And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe the lilies of the field, how they grow: they do not toil or spin, 29but I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory was dressed like one of these. 30But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, although it#*Here “although” is supplied as a component of the participle (“is”) which is understood as concessive is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not do so much more for you, you of little faith? 31Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?,’ 32for the pagans seek after all these things. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first his kingdom and righteousness,#Some manuscripts have “the kingdom of God and his righteousness” and all these things will be added to you. 34Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.#Literally “sufficient for the day its trouble”
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