The Bible in a Year

New Testament

Matthew 5 to 12
Read this coming week:
Jan 3 Gen 5‐6, Ps 3, Matt 5 Jan 4 Gen 7‐8, Ps 4, Matt 6 Jan 5 Gen 9‐10, Ps
5, Matt 7 Jan 6 Gen 11‐12, Ps 6, Matt 8 Jan 7 Gen 13‐15, Ps 7, Matt 9 Jan
8 Gen 16‐17, Ps 8, Matt 10 Jan 9 Gen 18‐19, Ps 9, Matt 11 Jan 10 Gen 20‐
21, Ps 10, Matt 12

Reading Questions
For next week you’re reading Matthew 5 through 12.
Answer the following:
• If Christians only used Matthew 5 as their guide to
living, what would it mean to be a Christian?
• What is different about the Lord’s Prayer in
Matthew 6 and the one you normally pray?
• Pick one of the subjects of Matthew 7. How would
you explain the value of its teaching to someone
who is not Christian?
• What does Matthew 8 tell us about the nature of
faith in Jesus?
• I think Jesus is showing that He is very dissatisfied
with religious people in His day in Matthew 9.
What do you think fuels that opinion? What would
my evidence be?
• What is the job of an apostle in chapter 10?
 • What is the “Law” (God’s holiness showing us our
sin in contrast) in chapter 11? What is the
“Gospel” (God’s holiness shown to us in His saving
humanity) in 11?
• What is “the sign of Jonah”?
Sermon on the Mount
The most concise and most quoted collection of Jesus’
moral teachings are found in the Sermon on the Mount.
Often, when people say “I like Jesus’ teachings,” they
are alluding to this sermon (although, these same
people are often surprised at some of the teachings
found in the sermon).

It is possible that this sermon was actually collected

snippets of a several day “seminar” held on the Mount
of Olives. In this sermon, Jesus not only gives sound
moral teaching, but He directly contrasts His teaching
with that of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and other
rabbinical scholars of the day.

Jesus begins His sermon with the clear Gospel of the

Beatitudes in chapter 5, but soon moves on to moral
instruction along the lines of the Wisdom tradition in
Hebrew Scriptures. In line with the Wisdom tradition,
Jesus holds out both blessings in curses for those who
choose to follow or not follow God’s will.

While technically not a part of the Sermon on the

Mount, Chapter 7:28-29 gives us an important clue as to
what Jesus is doing in this sermon. He is wrenching
Scriptures out of the hands of those who would abuse it
through the traditional authority of the scribes and
Pharisees and is setting Himself as the very Word of
God made flesh – imparting wisdom and blessings.
Please don’t throw this away. If you’re not going to use it, leave it for
someone else to use.