THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 3
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 3
Jesus commences the next portion of His Sermon on the Mount with a warning to Christians against performing acts of charity for the purpose of being seen by others (CP Mt 6:1-4). It is not the act of charity that Jesus condemns, but the motive. If the motive for doing it is to be seen by others, then that is the only reward that can be expected. When Christians do charitable acts it should be out of their love for God, not to gain notoriety for themselves (CP Mt 5:42; Lu 12:32-34). Jesus is not teaching here that gifts can never be seen by others; that they always have to be anonymous. Jesus simply condemns the blatant display of gift giving. Scriptures throughout teach that every good deed by Christians will be rewarded if done with the right motive (CP Mt 10:41-42; 16:27; Mk 9:41; Lu 6:35; 1Cor 3:8-15; 9:17-18; 2Cor 5:10; Col 3:23-24; He 10:35; Rev 11:18; 22:12).
Next, Jesus warns Christians against hypocrisy when they pray (CP Mt 6:5-8). Again, motive is the issue with Jesus. Christians should not purposely position themselves in public areas so that others will see them and be impressed by their piousness. If their love of prominence is their only motive for praying, then that prominence will be their only reward. Then in V 6 Jesus teaches that the key to answered prayer for Christians is to pray in the privacy of their room with the door shut. He is not teaching however against corporate prayer, prayer meetings or collective prayer in public. The first century church did all these (CP Ac 2:42; 12:5, 12; 13:2-3; 14:23; 20:36). The issue with Jesus is not where one prays, but the reason - to be seen by people, or to be heard by God? Christians must forsake any display of religion that is done only for man's approval.
Prayer should not consist of vain repetitions - much talk without content, speaking the same thing over and over again, useless speaking without distinct expression of purpose as contrasted to succinct, knowledgeable speech. Jesus wants Christians' prayers to be sincere, from the heart, through which Christians develop an intimate relationship with the Father. Jesus went on to say that the Father knows their needs before Christians even ask Him. It is reasonable then to ask, why should Christians pray at all? The answer is that by praying Christians are acknowledging their dependence on God to provide their needs (CP Php 4:6-7 with Jas 4:2). Jas 4:2 teaches that God does things in answer to prayer that He would not have done otherwise. To ensure that Christians know how to pray properly Jesus then gave them a model prayer (CP Mt 6:9-13). This is commonly called "The Lord's Prayer".
In the Lord's Prayer Jesus directs Christians to pray to the Father - not to Himself, nor the Holy Spirit. Whatever Christians ask of the Father in Jesus' name, will be done (CP Jn 15:7-8, 16; 16:23; Php 4:6-7). Christians are to pray for the establishment of God's Kingdom in the earth, not only in the age to come, but in lives and situations now. Jesus defines this as God's will being done on earth as it is in Heaven. Christians are to express their desire to see God's will acknowledged throughout the world. The Lord's Prayer is also found in Luke's gospel. There, immediately after He taught the Lord's Prayer, Jesus told the parable of the friend at midnight to assure His followers of the certainty of their prayers being answered (CP Lu 11:1-10). Although it was midnight the man in the parable got what he asked for because he boldly and unashamedly went to his friend, knocked on his door, and asked for it. There was never any doubt in his mind that he would get what he asked for. In V 9-10 Jesus assures Christians that they can do the same with God. All they have to do is expect God to respond as the householder in the parable responded. The word importunity in V 8 (KJV), means shamelessness, boldness, impudence, audacity. Jesus is teaching here that as the man who shamelessly dared to ask his friend at midnight to meet his needs, and got what he asked for, so too Christians who shamelessly through prayer ask, seek and knock, will also get what they ask for from God (CP Mt 7:7-11; 21:17-22; Mk 11:12-14, 20-24; 2Cor 1:19-20; Php 4:6-7; 1Jn 3:16-22; 5:14-15).
Jesus also told a parable in response to the Pharisees' demand to know when the Kingdom of God should come, to illustrate how Christians need to persevere in prayer for it (CP Lu 17:20 - 18:8). Lu 18:1-8 is called the parable of the unjust judge and the persistent widow. It is a call to Christians to persevere in prayer against the works of the devil until Christ comes again and sets up God's eternal Kingdom in the earth. The widow's adversary in the lawsuit in the parable is the equivalent of Christians' adversary the devil, in the earth. The parable teaches that Christians are not to be passive spectators but to persist in faith and persevere in prayer for God's will to be done on earth, in spite of continued opposition and rejection, which is what the unjust judge portrays in the parable. That is what Jesus means in Lu 18:1 when He says that men ought always to pray and not faint. He wants Christians to pray the Kingdom in and not give up, even though His second coming may not be immediate. That is why He questions whether the Christians then remaining when He does come back will still be faithfully pressing in for the things of the Kingdom and persevering in prayer, as portrayed by the widow in the parable, or will they have given up hope and lost their faith.
Jesus then contrasts the unwilling and uncaring judge's tardiness in vindicating the widow, to God's willingness and readiness to vindicate His children. When Christ comes back God will vindicate His righteous cause and therewith the cause of His children, but they must trust Him and not lose heart in the meantime. They must here and now continue faithfully in the work He has assigned to them. Now let us go back to the Lord's Prayer (CP Mt 6:11). This teaches Christians that they are to totally rely on God's providence each day for both their spiritual and physical sustenance. Jesus also teaches here that Christians' way of life has to be without the desire for more than that which will satisfy their everyday needs (CP He 13:5-6). Christians do not have to set aside reserves for their family's future needs as some teach. That is totally unscriptural, and in fact contradicts what Jesus and Paul both teach (CP Mt 6:19-21, 24-34; Lu 12:15-34; 1Ti 6:6-8). This is not teaching that Christians cannot own a family home and provide the necessities of life for their family (CP Pr 13:11; 21:20; Ecc 5:18-20; 1Ti 5:8). Christians are obliged to provide for their families, but they should only labour to meet their everyday needs, not to accumulate wealth (CP Mt 6:12).