Jesus Teaches on the Mountain ^(A)

5 Jesus saw many people. He went up on the mountain and sat down. His followers came to Him. ² He began to teach them, saying, ³ “Those who know there is nothing good in themselves are happy, because the holy nation of heaven is theirs. ⁴ Those who have sorrow are happy, because they will be comforted. ⁵ Those who have no pride in their hearts are happy, because the earth will be given to them. ⁶ Those who are hungry and thirsty to be right with God are happy, because they will be filled. ⁷ Those who show loving-kindness are happy, because they will have loving-kindness shown to them. ⁸ Those who have a pure heart are happy, because they will see God. ⁹ Those who make peace are happy, because they will be called the sons of God. ¹⁰ Those who have it very hard for doing right are happy, because the holy nation of heaven is theirs. ¹¹ You are happy when people act and talk in a bad way to you and make it very hard for you and tell bad things and lies about you because you trust in Me. ¹² Be glad and full of joy because your reward will be much in heaven. They made it very hard for the early preachers who lived a long time before you.

Jesus Teaches about Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. If salt loses its taste, how can it be made to taste like salt again? It is no good. It is thrown away and people walk on it. ¹⁴ You are the light of the world. You cannot hide a city that is on a mountain. ¹⁵ Men do not light a lamp and put it under a basket. They put it on a table so it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶ Let your light shine in front of men. Then they will see the good things you do and will honor your Father Who is in heaven.

Jesus Teaches about the Law

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law of Moses or the writings of the early preachers. I have not come to do away with them but to complete them. ¹⁸ I tell you, as long as heaven and earth last, not one small mark or part of a word will pass away of the Law of Moses until it has all been done. ¹⁹ Anyone who breaks even the least of the Law of Moses and teaches people not to do what it says, will be called the least in the holy nation of heaven. He who obeys and teaches others to obey what the Law of Moses says, will be called great in the holy nation of heaven. ²⁰ I tell you, unless you are more right with God than the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers, you will never get into the holy nation of heaven.

Jesus Teaches about Anger and Killing

²¹ “You have heard that men were told long ago, ‘You must not kill another person. If someone does kill, he will be guilty and will be punished for his wrong-doing.’ ²² But I tell you that whoever is angry with his brother will be guilty and have to suffer for his wrong-doing. Whoever says to his brother, ‘You have no brains,’ will have to stand in front of the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be sent to the fire of hell. ²³ If you take your gift to the altar and remember your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift on the altar. Go and make right what is wrong between you and him. Then come back and give your gift. ²⁵ Agree with the one who is against you while you are talking together, or he might take you to court. The court will hand you over to the police. You will be put in prison. ²⁶ For sure, I tell you, you will not be let out of prison until you have paid every piece of money of the fine.

Jesus Teaches about Husband and Wife

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said long ago, ‘You must not do sex sins.’ ²⁸ But I tell you, anyone who even looks at a woman with a sinful desire of wanting her has already sinned in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye is the reason you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ If your right hand is the reason you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell.

Jesus Teaches about Marriage

³¹ “It has been said, ‘Whoever wants to divorce his wife should have it put in writing, telling her he is leaving her.’ ³² But I tell you, whoever divorces his wife except if she has not been faithful to him, makes her guilty of a sex sin. Whoever marries a woman who has been divorced is guilty of a sex sin.

Jesus Teaches about What to Say

³³ “You have heard that it was said long ago, ‘You must not make a promise you cannot keep. You must carry out your promises to the Lord.’ ³⁴ I tell you, do not use strong words when you make a promise. Do not promise by heaven. It is the place where God is. ³⁵ Do not promise by earth. It is where He rests His feet. Do not promise by Jerusalem. It is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Do not promise by your head. You are not able to make one hair white or black. ³⁷ Let your yes be YES. Let your no be NO. Anything more than this comes from the devil.

Jesus Teaches about Fighting

³⁸ “You have heard that it has been said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not fight with the man who wants to fight. Whoever hits you on the right side of the face, turn so he can hit the other side also. ⁴⁰ If any person takes you to court to get your shirt, give him your coat also. ⁴¹ Whoever makes you walk a short way, go with him twice as far. ⁴² Give to any person who asks you for something. Do not say no to the man who wants to use something of yours.

Jesus Teaches about Loving Those Who Hate You

⁴³ “You have heard that it has been said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate those who hate you.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love those who hate you. (*Respect and give thanks for those who say bad things to you. Do good to those who hate you.) Pray for those who do bad things to you and who make it hard for you. ⁴⁵ Then you may be the sons of your Father Who is in heaven. His sun shines on bad people and on good people. He sends rain on those who are right with God and on those who are not right with God. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward can you expect from that? Do not even the tax-gatherers do that? ⁴⁷ If you say hello only to the people you like, are you doing any more than others? The people who do not know God do that much. ⁴⁸ You must be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Jesus Teaches on the Mountain about Helping Others

6 “Be sure you do not do good things in front of others just to be seen by them. If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² When you give to the poor, do not be as those who pretend to be someone they are not. They blow a horn in the places of worship and in the streets so people may respect them. For sure, I tell you, they have all the reward they are going to get. ³ When you give, do not let your left hand know what your right hand gives. ⁴ Your giving should be in secret. Then your Father Who sees in secret will reward you.

Jesus Teaches about Prayer

⁵ “When you pray, do not be as those who pretend to be someone they are not. They love to stand and pray in the places of worship or in the streets so people can see them. For sure, I tell you, they have all the reward they are going to get. ⁶ When you pray, go into a room by yourself. After you have shut the door, pray to your Father Who is in secret. Then your Father Who sees in secret will reward you. ⁷ When you pray, do not say the same thing over and over again making long prayers like the people who do not know God. They think they are heard because their prayers are long. ⁸ Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

⁹ “Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, Your name is holy. ¹⁰ May Your holy nation come. What You want done, may it be done on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us the bread we need today. ¹² Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.

¹³ ‘Do not let us be tempted, but keep us from sin. *Your nation is holy. You have power and shining-greatness forever. Let it be so.’

Jesus Teaches about Forgiveness

¹⁴ “If you forgive people their sins, your Father in heaven will forgive your sins also. ¹⁵ If you do not forgive people their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Jesus Teaches about Not Eating So You Can Pray Better

¹⁶ “When you go without food so you can pray better, do not be as those who pretend to be someone they are not. They make themselves look sad so people will see they are going with out food. For sure, I tell you, they have all the reward they are going to get. ¹⁷ When you go without food so you can pray better, put oil on your head and wash your face. ¹⁸ Then nobody knows you are going without food. Then your Father Who sees in secret will reward you.

Jesus Teaches about Having Riches

¹⁹ “Do not gather together for yourself riches of this earth. They will be eaten by bugs and become rusted. Men can break in and steal them. ²⁰ Gather together riches in heaven where they will not be eaten by bugs or become rusted. Men cannot break in and steal them. ²¹ For wherever your riches are, your heart will be there also. ²² The eye is the light of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ If your eye is bad, your whole body will be dark. If the light in you is dark, how dark it will be! ²⁴ No one can have two bosses. He will hate the one and love the other. Or he will listen to the one and work against the other. You cannot have both God and riches as your boss at the same time.

Jesus Teaches about Cares of Life

²⁵ “I tell you this: Do not worry about your life. Do not worry about what you are going to eat and drink. Do not worry about what you are going to wear. Is not life more important than food? Is not the body more important than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds in the sky. They do not plant seeds. They do not gather grain. They do not put grain into a building to keep. Yet your Father in heaven feeds them! Are you not more important than the birds? ²⁷ Which of you can make himself a little taller by worrying? ²⁸ Why should you worry about clothes? Think how the flowers grow. They do not work or make cloth. ²⁹ But I tell you that Solomon in all his greatness was not dressed as well as one of these flowers. ³⁰ God clothes the grass of the field. It lives today and is burned in the stove tomorrow. How much more will He give you clothes? You have so little faith! ³¹ Do not worry. Do not keep saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or, ‘What will we drink?’ or, ‘What will we wear?’ ³² The people who do not know God are looking for all these things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all these things. ³³ First of all, look for the holy nation of God. Be right with Him. All these other things will be given to you also. ³⁴ Do not worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own worries. The troubles we have in a day are enough for one day.

Jesus Teaches on the Mountain about Saying What Is Wrong in Others

7 “Do not say what is wrong in other people’s lives. Then other people will not say what is wrong in your life. ² You will be guilty of the same things you find in others. When you say what is wrong in others, your words will be used to say what is wrong in you. ³ Why do you look at the small piece of wood in your brother’s eye, and do not see the big piece of wood in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take that small piece of wood out of your eye,’ when there is a big piece of wood in your own eye? ⁵ You who pretend to be someone you are not, first take the big piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you can see better to take the small piece of wood out of your brother’s eye.

⁶ “Do not give that which belongs to God to dogs. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs. They will break them under their feet. Then they will turn and tear you to pieces.

Jesus Teaches about Prayer

⁷ “Ask, and what you are asking for will be given to you. Look, and what you are looking for you will find. Knock, and the door you are knocking on will be opened to you. ⁸ Everyone who asks receives what he asks for. Everyone who looks finds what he is looking for. Everyone who knocks has the door opened to him. ⁹ What man among you would give his son a stone if he should ask for bread? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, would he give him a snake? ¹¹ You are bad and you know how to give good things to your children. How much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?

Jesus Teaches about Others

¹² “Do for other people whatever you would like to have them do for you. This is what the Jewish Law and the early preachers said.

Jesus Teaches about Two Roads

¹³ “Go in through the narrow door. The door is wide and the road is easy that leads to hell. Many people are going through that door. ¹⁴ But the door is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life that lasts forever. Few people are finding it.

Jesus Teaches about False Teachers

¹⁵ “Watch out for false teachers. They come to you dressed as if they were sheep. On the inside they are hungry wolves. ¹⁶ You will know them by their fruit. Do men pick grapes from thorns? Do men pick figs from thistles? ¹⁷ It is true, every good tree has good fruit. Every bad tree has bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot have bad fruit. A bad tree cannot have good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not have good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ So you will know them by their fruit. ²¹ Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will go into the holy nation of heaven. The one who does the things My Father in heaven wants him to do will go into the holy nation of heaven. ²² Many people will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not preach in Your Name? Did we not put out demons in Your Name? Did we not do many powerful works in Your Name?’ ²³ Then I will say to them in plain words, ‘I never knew you. Go away from Me, you who do wrong!’

Jesus Teaches about Houses Built on Rock or Sand

²⁴ “Whoever hears these words of Mine and does them, will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain came down. The water came up. The wind blew and hit the house. The house did not fall because it was built on rock. ²⁶ Whoever hears these words of Mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down. The water came up. The wind blew and hit the house. The house fell and broke apart.” ²⁸ Then Jesus finished talking. The people were surprised and wondered about His teaching. ²⁹ He was teaching them as One Who has the right and the power to teach. He did not teach as the teachers of the Law.