Life Under the King (Matthew 5-7) - ST ALBAN'S LINDFIELD

Life Under the King (Matthew 5-7)

7 Studies written by Stephen Bell, adapted by Dave Philpott & Shaun McGregor

Introduction Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is one of the most famous speeches ever given – for two thousand years it has been influential in shaping the way that Christians have followed Jesus. In Matthew 4:17, Jesus preaches, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” and begins to call people to follow him. In Matthew 5-7, he sits down on the mountainside and delivers this sermon to explain to his disciples what their lives will be like ‘under the King.’ He sets up kingdom values, kingdom expectations and finishes with a call to put Jesus' words into practice: “everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.” (Matt. 7:26) Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount contrasts the behaviours of his followers with those in the world around us – it gives a picture of distinctive, righteous and counter-cultural living. John Stott argues that this is the unifying theme of all of Jesus' instructions: “There is no single paragraph of the Sermon on the Mount in which this contrast between Christian and non-Christian standards is not drawn.” (John Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount, p19). These studies will therefore focus particularly on application. Each study concludes with us reflecting on how we personally should be putting Jesus' words into practice, and how this will cause us to appear different to the unbelieving world around us.

Study Passage

1 Matthew 5:1-16 2 Matthew 5:17-30


5 Matthew 6:19-34


Study 1 – Matthew 5:1-16

START: What blessings from God do people commonly seek? STUDY: Read Matthew 5:1-2.

1. Who is Jesus is addressing in the Sermon on the Mount?

2. What does it mean to be ‘blessed’? Is Jesus referring to a benefit we receive now or to some sort of future reward, or is there an element of both?

DISCUSS: Why is it important that we understand the Sermon on the Mount as being addressed to those who are already following Jesus, rather than as instructions for how to become Jesus' followers? STUDY: Read Matthew 5:3-12.

3. What patterns do you see in the blessings of verses 3-10?

4. How do verses 11-12 alter the pattern?

DISCUSS: What does this teach us about our expectations of this life if we belong to the kingdom of heaven?

5. What does this teach us about our expectations of the life to come?

6. What qualities do people normally associate with power and influence? How does this compare with what Jesus says in vv3–12?

STUDY: Read Matthew 5:13-16.

7. What do the three illustrations have in common (salt, light, city on a hill)?

8. What temptations do we face that diminish our witness to the world?

9. What should be the ultimate result of our distinctive Christian living?

DISCUSS: How are you already distinctive to those around you? How would you like to be more distinctive? LIVING UNDER THE KING: What will you do this week which will make you more distinctive to those around you?

Study 2 – Matthew 5:17-30 START: How did you go with putting Jesus' words into practice over the last week? STUDY: Read Matthew 5:17-20.

1. What is Jesus' attitude towards the Old Testament law? In what sense has he come to fulfil the law and the prophets?

When we think of “Pharisees” we often remember the times where the Pharisees oppose Jesus and Jesus condemns them and their teachings. However, they were perceived to be good obedient Jewish teachers, so Jesus' statement that our righteousness must exceed theirs is a startling one. The rest of Matthew 5 is a series of comparisons between merely obeying the letter of the Old Testament law, and seeking to understand and apply it to our hearts.

STUDY: Read Matthew 5:21-30. For each of the two laws:

Matthew 5:21-26 “Murder”

Matthew 5:27-30 “Adultery”

What is the minimum requirement of this law?

What loopholes can you imagine people trying to exploit?

How does Jesus demonstrate how the law should function on our hearts?

DISCUSS: Given the enthusiasm of the scribes and Pharisees for keeping the law, how can the Christian’s righteousness exceed theirs?

2. What practical instruction does Jesus give in 5:23–26?

3. Can you think of ways in which this might lead to the restoration of any broken relationships in your life? Is there anything that you should now do in the light of this?

4. What instructions does Jesus give to enable his disciples to maintain sexual purity? What do you think it means to ‘look at a woman lustfully’?

5. ‘If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away.’ Why would this be worth it? In practice, what might Jesus want you to do to avoid stumbling?

LIVING UNDER THE KING: How will you go beyond the minimum requirement of God’s laws on murder and adultery this week?

Study 3 – Matthew 5:31-48 START: How did you go with putting Jesus' words into practice over the last week? Last week we began looking at the ways in which the Pharisees and teachers of the law were teaching people to minimise the law, while Jesus taught his disciples how to apply the law to their hearts so that their righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. This week we continue to think this through. STUDY: Read Matthew 5:31-37.

Matthew 5:31-32 “Divorce”

Matthew 5:33-37 “Oaths”

What is the minimal requirement of this law?



DISCUSS: Compare 5:31-32 with Matthew 19:3-9. Despite there being legitimate reasons for divorce, it is a very serious matter. How do these words help shape the way we help a married couple who have serious issues in their marriage?

1. Compare 5:33-37 with Matthew 23:16-22. How is what Jesus says

here to be reconciled with the fact that God himself uses oaths in Scripture? Does it prohibit Christians from, for example, giving evidence on oath in a court of law?


Matthew 5:38-42 “An eye for an eye”

Matthew 5:43-48 “Love for enemies”

What is the minimal requirement of the law?



DISCUSS: If God punishes his enemies, why can’t we punish ours?

2. Matthew 5:48 sets an extremely high bar for our Christian lives. Which is an appropriate response to this verse and why? a) The standard is perfection, so if I am not perfect in everything that

Jesus says, I have no hope of entering the kingdom of heaven.

b) The standard is perfection, but I have perfect forgiveness through the death of Christ so the standard doesn't apply to me.

c) The standard is perfection, so that will be my goal, knowing that my failures are forgiven by Jesus and that this side of heaven I will never actually attain the goal.

LIVING UNDER THE KING: How will you go beyond the minimum requirement of God’s laws on divorce, oaths and revenge this week?


START: How did you go with putting Jesus' words into practice over the last week? STUDY: Read Matthew 6:1-4.

1. The principle in 6:1 is that “secrecy safeguards sincerity”1. How does Jesus apply this to our giving?

2. What is the great danger involved in religious duties like generous giving? How does Jesus instruct his disciples to avoid this?

DISCUSS: How might we be tempted to 'advertise' our generosity? What safeguards can we have as individuals and as a church against this?

3. How do you explain the apparent contradiction between 6:1 and 5:16?


4. How does Jesus apply “secrecy safeguards sincerity” to our prayers?

5. Why does the hypocrite pray? How does Jesus instruct his disciples to avoid falling into the same trap?

1This phrase was coined by Phillip Jensen.

6. Does this exclude any form of public prayer? (See also John 11:41-42, 17:1, 1 Corinthians 14:15-17)

DISCUSS: How might we be tempted to 'advertise' our personal prayerfulness?

7. This model prayer begins by focusing attention on God—on his name, his kingdom and his will—rather than our own reputation, influence and desires. How much of a priority is this in your own prayers?

8. Can you think of ways in which you ‘heap up empty phrases’ when you pray? What does Jesus give as the main reason why his disciples should not do this?


9. How does Jesus apply “secrecy safeguards sincerity” to fasting? DISCUSS: Fasting (going without food) is associated with repentance and prayerfulness. It was commanded once a year in the Old Testament (Leviticus 23:27-32) on the Day of Atonement, and used along with prayer in times of individual or national grief, distress or repentance. While it occurs occasionally in the New Testament (Acts 13:1-3), it is never commanded.

10. Read Isaiah 58:1-7 – what is the true fast that God desires?

11. Read Mark 2:18-20 – what difference does the coming of Jesus make to our understanding of fasting?

LIVING UNDER THE KING: How will you ensure sincerity in the fruit of your devotion to Jesus this week?


START: How did you go with putting Jesus' words into practice over the last week? If you could be granted one desire of your heart, what would it be? In the first half of chapter 6, Jesus called his disciples to renounce religious hypocrisy and live as children of their heavenly Father. He turns now to the subject of material needs and anxiety. Again the call is the same: be different! STUDY: Read Matthew 6:19-24.

1. What is the foolishness of storing up treasures on earth? What does this look like in our culture?

2. What is the value in storing up treasures in heaven? What does this look like in practical terms?

3. Which comes first – the act of storing or the heart motivation? What is surprising about this?

DISCUSS: The last sentence in v24 could be translated, “You cannot WORSHIP both God and MAMMON” (the Syrian god of prosperity). The apostle Paul also makes the connection between greed and idolatry (Col 3:5).

4. What is it about money/wealth that so easily allows it to take the place of God in our worship?

5. How can we guard against this?

6. Should Christians have savings? Why / Why Not?

7. What difference will it make to our giving if our treasure is in heaven? STUDY: Read Matthew 6:25-34.

8. What examples does Jesus use of God's gracious provision?

9. Why is it fruitless to worry?

10. Why does Jesus link worry to lack of faith here? (See also Romans 8:32. Note – this is not saying that people aren't rich because they don't have enough faith.)

11. What does it mean to ‘seek first His kingdom and His righteousness’? How does this apply to you? In what ways will tomorrow need to be different if you take this seriously?

DISCUSS: Where in our culture do we see non-Christians pursuing the things in verses 31 and 32?

12. When is it hardest to trust God's provision (as promised in verse 33)?

LIVING UNDER THE KING: How will you be different this week because your treasure is in heaven and because you trust your heavenly father?


START: How did you go with putting Jesus' words into practice over the last week? From looking at the way Christians are to live as individuals, Jesus turns now to our relationships, beginning with our attitude to our fellow believers. STUDY: Read Matthew 7:1-6.

1. Is v1 calling us to never judge? Why/Why Not?

2. How do vv 2-6 help us understand the application of verse 1?

3. What is the danger in being quick to criticise a brother or sister in Christ (3-5)?

4. Does this mean that we should simply avoid pointing out others' sins? See also Matthew 18:15-22.

DISCUSS: When have you ever been on the receiving end of a rebuke? How did you respond?

5. What will help us remove judgemental behaviour and maintain graciousness in difficult relationships?


6. How is God's fatherhood of his children similar to our own experience of fatherhood?

7. How is God's fatherhood better than our own? DISCUSS: What could you say to someone who said that prayer was unnecessary because most people get what they want without it?

8. What could you say to someone who has not received from God what they prayed for?

9. 7:12 seems to round off the section from 5:17 with the repetition of the phrase “the Law and the Prophets”. How is 7:12 a good summary of Jesus' instructions for living under the king?

LIVING UNDER THE KING: How will you judge others differently this week? How will you pray differently this week?


START: How did you go with putting Jesus' words into practice over the last week? STUDY: Read Matthew 7:13-23.

1. What do these warnings teach us about who Jesus is?

2. What do these warnings teach us about how we are to assess our own salvation?

3. What do these warnings teach us about how we should be on guard against teachers and prophets?

DISCUSS: How can we reconcile Jesus' statement in 7:21 with Paul's in Ephesians 2:8-9 – or even Jesus' own words in John 3:16?

4. Jesus describes 2 gates. How does he describe each of them? Why is there no 3rd alternative?


5. Ultimately, there are only two responses to this Sermon. What is the key difference between the wise and the foolish person?

6. In the context of the Sermon on the Mount, what could the 'storm' that batters the houses be referring to?

7. The crowds (7:28-29) are amazed at Jesus’ teaching because he spoke with authority. Why are some people today amazed at Jesus’ teaching in this sermon? What would it mean for them to not only hear Jesus words but to really put them into practice?

8. Having heard Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount this term, what might lead to us NOT putting it into practice?

LIVING UNDER THE KING: Look back over Matthew 5-7. Which words of Jesus will you put into practice this week? How will you ensure that you do this?

NOTES:

‘Repent! For the kingdom of heaven has come near’

(4:17)

Study Passage




7 Matthew 7:13-29

Sermon date passage title 31/01 4:12-25 A light has dawned

7/02 5:1-12 Good news! The kingdom has come 14/02 5:13-20 Good news! The kingdom is fulfilled

21/02 5:21-30 But I tell you … murder & adultery

28/02 5:31-48 But I tell you … divorce & revenge 7/03 6:1-18 Secrecy safeguards sincerity

14/03 6:19-34 What will you treasure? Who will you trust? 21/03 7:1-12 How will you judge?

28/03 7:13-29 Will you listen?

Life Under the King (Matthew 5-7) - ST ALBAN'S LINDFIELD

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