Overview: This week we will read Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6, and 7. We read Luke’s version last week. Read carefully through these chapters. They describe what our lives could be like if we follow close to Jesus. Notice that Jesus emphasized what we are to be like on the inside. It is so easy for us to get into a habit of concentrating on our outward appearance. Our society focuses quite a bit on outward looks.
The teachings in the Sermon on the Mount were as difficult for people of that day to understand as they are for us today. They too had learned to focus on outward appearances. The hope of focusing on the life Jesus lived is that we will strive to love God and others the way he did. They appeared religious on the outside, but were ungodly on the inside. This happens today as well.