Matthew 7

In the entirety of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) Jesus is presented as a master teacher because He teaches with authority. He has a grasp of the Scriptures, dares to make their commands even more prohibitive, and doesn’t quote other teachers to make His points. He is different than the other teachers of the law!

And what does He teach? He teaches us not to judge others without examining ourselves first. He teaches us not to waste our time trying to help others who don’t want to hear what we have to say. He teaches us that God loves us like children, and we should go to him when we need help. He teaches us that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. He teaches us that it’s difficult to know and follow God, and that most people don’t even try! He teaches us to be careful about who we follow, and that we’ll be able to tell false prophets by their conduct. True believers will follow God completely, not just do some things in His name. And finally, he teaches that the wise follow His teachings and are saved, but the foolish don’t and are destroyed.

Thought for the day: Jesus (and His teaching) is the rock that we must build our lives on!

1 Corinthians 10:1-4 (WEB) “Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.”

1 Peter 2:6 (WEB) “Because it is contained in Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, chosen and precious. He who believes in him will not be disappointed.’ ”