The big picture
Matthew 6 asks a recurring question of religious practice: who is the intended audience? Giving, prayer, and fasting can all be directed toward God while quietly seeking human recognition, so Jesus contrasts public performance with the Father who sees in secret. The model prayer then joins the largest concerns, God’s name, kingdom, and will, to ordinary needs for bread, forgiveness, and deliverance. From there the chapter turns toward possession and anxiety. Earthly treasure can be eaten, corrupted, or stolen; the eye and the master images expose divided orientation; and anxious care cannot secure the life it worries over. Birds, flowers, daily need, and daily trouble remain real. The closing command orders concern toward the kingdom without pretending tomorrow contains no difficulty.
Central truth
Jesus teaches a righteousness that reaches the heart, hidden devotion, relationships, and daily trust, and concludes that hearing his words without doing them leaves a life as exposed as a house built on sand.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Matthew 6:1: “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.”
Slow down at the turning point
Matthew 6:17: “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;”
Keep this word trail visible
Father, reward, forgive, secret, thought, body
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Matthew 5:1-12
Blessing comes first
Set the scene from 4:23-5:2: crowds, a mountain, disciples drawing near. Explain that Jesus sat down, the posture of a teacher. Then read the Beatitudes as announcements of blessing, not entrance requirements. Explain “poor in spirit” as those who know they have nothing to bring God, “meek” as gentle and not grasping, citing Psalm 37:11. Show the frame: kingdom of heaven at the start and end. Teach this first because the whole sermon is spoken to people God has already called blessed. The demands that follow are the shape of life in a kingdom already given.
Matthew 5:13-20
Salt, light and the law fulfilled
Explain salt and light as what disciples already are, not what they must become. Salt that has lost its savour is useless; a light under a bushel defeats its purpose. Then read 5:17-20 carefully. Jesus does not abolish the law or the prophets; he fulfils them. Explain jot and tittle as the smallest letter and stroke. Admit that Christian traditions explain differently how the law of Moses applies after Christ, and keep both of Jesus' claims in view. Teach this as the key to the contrasts that follow, introduced by “Ye have heard that it was said” and answered with “But I say unto you”.
Matthew 5:21-30
Anger and lust at the root
Take the first two contrasts together. Explain Raca as an insult, something like empty-head, and hell fire as Gehenna, the valley outside Jerusalem that became a picture of judgment. Then the instruction in 5:23-24: leave the gift at the altar and be reconciled first. Then the look of lust. Explain 5:29-30 as deliberate overstatement: deal radically with whatever leads you into sin, but never harm your body. Say this plainly, especially to young people. Note that the call to reconcile does not require anyone to meet a person who has abused them alone or unsafely.
Matthew 5:31-37
Divorce and the honest word
Read 5:31-32 with care and without hurry. Explain that Deuteronomy 24:1-4 regulated divorce, and that in Jesus' day some teachers allowed it for almost any reason. Jesus protects the wife from being sent away at a husband's whim. The exception for fornication has been read in different ways: as permitting divorce and remarriage after adultery, as allowing separation without remarriage, or as concerning betrothal or unlawful unions. Set these readings out without choosing. Say clearly that this passage does not require anyone to remain where they or their children are in danger. Then the oaths: let your word be simply yes or no.
Matthew 5:38-48
Not revenge, and love for enemies
Explain that “An eye for an eye” (Exodus 21:24) limited punishment in court. Jesus forbids personal revenge. A slap on the right cheek was usually a backhanded insult, so the saying concerns humiliation, not survival. Say plainly that this passage is never to be used to tell someone being abused to stay and endure it. Jesus himself challenged the man who struck him (John 18:22-23), and Paul appealed to his legal rights (Acts 22:25). Seeking safety and justice is not revenge. Then the love of enemies, grounded in the Father who sends rain on just and unjust alike.
Matthew 6:1-18
Done for the Father who sees in secret
Introduce the principle in 6:1, then the three practices: giving, prayer, fasting. Explain alms as gifts to the poor and hypocrites as actors on a stage. Each section ends with the Father “which seeth in secret”. Place the Lord's Prayer at the centre and teach it phrase by phrase: hallowed means treated as holy; trespasses and debts are sins owed to God. Then 6:14-15 on forgiveness. Handle it gently for those who have been deeply wronged: forgiveness releases revenge to God, and it does not mean pretending the wrong did not happen or returning to danger.
Matthew 6:19-7:29
Treasure, trust, judgment and the two foundations
Cover the rest of the sermon in three moves. First 6:19-34: treasure, the single eye, mammon as wealth treated as a master, and the birds and lilies. Explain that anxiety here is distracted worry, and be careful with anyone who has clinical anxiety; the passage invites trust, it does not diagnose. Second 7:1-12: the beam and the mote, the persistent asking, and the golden rule. Third 7:13-27: the narrow gate, fruit, the false profession of “Lord, Lord”, and the two builders. End on authority (7:28-29). Ask the class which words they will actually do.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
“The Sermon on the Mount is a list of rules you must keep to get into heaven.”
The sermon begins with blessing, not demand (5:3-12), and the kingdom is given to the “poor in spirit”, those who know they bring nothing. The prayer at its centre asks for forgiveness (6:12). The commands describe life in the kingdom and are meant to be done (7:24), but they are spoken to disciples already called blessed. Traditions express the relation of grace and obedience differently; the sermon itself holds both.
“Turn the other cheek means I must let someone keep hurting me.”
Jesus forbids personal revenge (5:39), not protection from harm. A slap on the right cheek was an insult, not a threat to life. When an officer struck Jesus, he asked why (John 18:22-23). Paul used Roman law to stop a flogging (Acts 22:25). Reporting abuse, leaving a dangerous home, and seeking help from authorities are not revenge. No one should use this verse to keep a victim in harm's way.
“Jesus said anyone who is divorced is living in sin, so divorced people do not belong in church.”
Jesus speaks in 5:31-32 against putting away a wife casually and leaving her exposed. He gives an exception, which traditions interpret differently, and other passages such as 19:3-9 and 1 Corinthians 7:15 add to the discussion. Many divorced people were abandoned or wronged. The sermon also says the merciful are blessed (5:7). Teach the passage honestly and keep every divorced person fully welcome in the room.
“Judge not means we can never say anything is wrong.”
Read the whole saying. Jesus forbids hypocritical judgment and tells the hypocrite to remove the beam first “and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye” (7:5). Within a few verses he commands discernment: “Beware of false prophets” (7:15) and “by their fruits ye shall know them” (7:20). The issue is a condemning heart that exempts itself, not moral clarity.
“Verses 29-30 mean you should hurt yourself if you are struggling with sin.”
Jesus uses deliberate overstatement to show how seriously sin should be taken. Cutting off a hand cannot remove lust from the heart, which is where Jesus has just located it (5:28). The point is to remove whatever leads you into sin, not to harm your body. If anyone in the group is self-harming, speak with them privately and help them find care.
Learning objectives
- Identify the kingdom promises framing the Beatitudes.
- Explain Jesus’ claim to fulfil the law and prophets.
- Distinguish visible goodness from performance for praise.
- Trace the priorities of the Lord’s Prayer.
- Explain the beam-and-mote warning without abolishing discernment.
- Compare the two builders by their response to Jesus’ words.
Teacher preparation
- Assign Matthew 5–7 beforehand; select classroom anchors rather than rushing aloud through 111 verses.
- Map kingdom character, fulfilled righteousness, hidden devotion, trust, discernment, and response.
- Gloss alms as giving to the needy, closet as a private room, mammon as wealth, mote as a speck, and strait as narrow.
- Plan to explain the eye-and-hand language in 5:29–30 as forceful moral imagery, never an instruction to injure the body.
- Prepare fictional examples for anger, forgiveness, and anxiety; do not request disclosures about marriages, finances, or mental health.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Locate the kingdom promise at both ends of Matthew 5:3–10 and the hearing-and-doing distinction in 7:24–27.
Scripture-supported
Compare Matthew 5:5 with Psalm 37:11; the promise to the meek belongs within Scripture’s account of God’s righteous purposes.
Strong inference
Compare Matthew 5:16 with 6:1–4; infer that the decisive contrast is whom the action honours, not whether anyone can ever see it.
Possible or traditional reading
Acknowledge differing readings of how Matthew 5:17–20 governs later covenant obligations; preserve both Jesus’ refusal to destroy and his claim to fulfil.
Limit
State that Matthew 6:25–34 does not diagnose every cause of anxiety, and 5:38–42 does not provide a complete procedure for responding to abuse.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. Who receives the repeated kingdom promise in the Beatitudes, and what expectations does that unsettle?
What a good answer contains
The poor in spirit and the persecuted for righteousness' sake both receive “the kingdom of heaven” (5:3, 5:10), framing the whole list. Between them are mourners, the meek, the hungry for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers. A good answer sees that Jesus pronounces blessing on people the world overlooks, and that the blessing is God's gift, not a reward earned by suffering. A weak answer turns the list into personality types or praises suffering for its own sake.
Show teacher guidance
Read 5:3–10, especially the poor in spirit and those persecuted for righteousness. Avoid turning the blessings into a personality contest or calling suffering itself a virtue.
2. How does the movement from murder to anger, and from adultery to lust, develop 5:17–20?
What a good answer contains
Jesus says “I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (5:17) and that righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20). Then he shows what that means: anger and contempt are the root of murder (5:21-22), and the lustful look is adultery “in his heart” (5:28). He also commands reconciliation before worship (5:23-24). A strong answer sees God's law reaching inward. A weak answer says actions no longer matter, or reads 5:29-30 as literal self-harm.
Show teacher guidance
Use 5:21–30 to show moral attention reaching inward. Include reconciliation in 5:23–24; reject an interpretation that leaves conduct irrelevant or treats bodily injury as the solution.
3. Why can good works be seen in 5:16 while giving is concealed in 6:1–4?
What a good answer contains
The question is who gets the glory. In 5:16 people see good works and “glorify your Father which is in heaven”. In 6:1 the warning is against doing righteousness “before men, to be seen of them”. Giving, prayer and fasting done for applause have “their reward” already (6:2, 6:5, 6:16). A good answer sees that the motive and the audience differ, not visibility itself. A weak answer drops one teaching to keep the other.
Show teacher guidance
Compare glory given to the Father with praise sought for the giver. Jesus addresses purpose and audience; do not resolve the tension by deleting either instruction.
4. What priorities shape the prayer in 6:9–13 and the discussion of treasure and worry?
What a good answer contains
The prayer begins with God: his name hallowed, his kingdom come, his will done (6:9-10). Then daily bread, forgiveness, and deliverance from evil (6:11-13). The same order runs through 6:19-34: treasure in heaven, one master, and “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (6:33). A strong answer links prayer and freedom from anxiety. A weak answer reads 6:33 as a promise of wealth.
Show teacher guidance
Begin with God’s name, kingdom, and will, then daily provision, forgiveness, and deliverance. Connect 6:19–34 with trust and allegiance, not a promise of luxury or effortless living.
5. Does the beam in 7:3–5 make every judgment forbidden?
What a good answer contains
No. Jesus says “Judge not, that ye be not judged” (7:1), then tells the hypocrite to “first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye” (7:5). The mote still gets removed. Soon after he commands discernment about false prophets: “by their fruits ye shall know them” (7:20). A good answer sees that hypocritical, condemning judgment is forbidden, not all moral discernment. A weak answer says Christians may never call anything wrong.
Show teacher guidance
Notice the instruction to remove the beam before helping with the mote, then the discernment required by 7:15–20. Let the oversized image expose hypocrisy: this eye doctor needs the first appointment.
6. What actually separates the builders in 7:24–27?
What a good answer contains
Both builders hear the words; both houses face rain, floods and winds (7:25, 7:27). The difference is that one “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them” (7:24), and the other “doeth them not” (7:26). A strong answer sees that obedience is the foundation, and that the wise builder is not spared the storm. It also notes the crowd's response: he taught “as one having authority” (7:29). A weak answer makes the difference knowledge or church attendance.
Show teacher guidance
Both hear and both face the storm; doing Jesus’ words is the difference. Do not identify sand merely with having no religious knowledge or promise the obedient builder storm-free weather.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Ask learners to revise a fictional act of generosity designed for applause using Matthew 6:1–4, without exposing anyone’s giving.
Relationships and community
Work through a fictional disagreement using reconciliation in 5:23–24 and self-examination in 7:3–5; do not require unsafe contact.
From hearing to doing
Have the class name an observable response to one selected command, distinguishing practice from admiration of eloquent teaching.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
The blessings
Read 5:1-12 aloud. Take question one.
Fulfilling the law from the heart
Read 5:17-30 in selected parts. Take question two and handle confusion five briefly.
The cheek and the enemy
Read 5:38-48. Address confusion two clearly and briefly.
Secret devotion and the prayer
Read 6:1-18. Take questions three and four.
Judging and building
Read 7:1-5 and 7:24-29. Take questions five and six.
Response and handout
Ask each person to choose one saying to do this week. Read the key verse together and give out the sheet.
90 minutes
Blessed
Read 5:1-12 slowly. Take question one and confusion one.
Salt, light and the law
Read 5:13-20. Explain fulfil and the two claims of 5:17. Take question three's first half from 5:16.
Anger and lust
Read 5:21-30. Take question two and confusion five, with care.
Divorce, oaths, revenge and enemies
Read 5:31-48. Set out the readings of 5:32 without choosing, and take confusions two and three with pastoral care.
In secret
Read 6:1-18. Finish question three and teach the Lord's Prayer phrase by phrase.
Treasure and worry
Read 6:19-34. Take question four, with care for those who live with anxiety.
Judging and asking
Read 7:1-12. Take question five and confusion four.
Two foundations
Read 7:13-29. Take question six and note the crowd's response to his authority.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Draw a house on rock and a house on sand, and pour water over both. Teach a simple version of the Lord's Prayer phrase by phrase with actions. For the Beatitudes, choose two or three and say what each means in a child's words. Leave out divorce, lust and self-harm imagery. Teach that loving enemies means being kind and not hitting back, while also saying that children should always tell a trusted adult if someone hurts them.
Youth
Focus on a few sayings rather than all three chapters: anger and contempt, the online life of being seen by others, worry about the future, and judging. Be direct that 5:29-30 is not an instruction to self-harm and that turning the other cheek does not mean putting up with abuse. Give them the two builders as the closing challenge: which saying will they actually do this week.
Adults
Take the sermon in two sessions if you can. Spend time on 5:17-20 and how traditions relate law and gospel, on the readings of 5:32, and on the Lord's Prayer. Many adults carry divorce, betrayal, debt or anxiety; teach with care and keep your examples fictional. Name clearly that the cheek saying is not a rule for staying in an abusive situation.
One to one
Ask which part of the sermon troubles or attracts them most and begin there. If divorce, abuse or forgiveness is personal, slow down; listen before teaching, and make sure they know where to find safety and help if they need it. Pray the Lord's Prayer together slowly, and choose one saying for them to practise this week.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Matthew 5–7
The passage in brief
Jesus goes up a mountain and teaches his disciples. He begins by calling blessed the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek and the merciful. He says his followers are salt and light, and that he came to fulfil God's law, which reaches to anger, lust and honesty. He teaches love for enemies, giving and prayer done for God alone, the Lord's Prayer, trust instead of worry, and not judging others while ignoring our own faults. He ends with two builders: the wise one hears his words and does them.
A verse to keep
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Matthew 7:24-25 · King James Version
Questions to take home
Which of the blessings in 5:3-12 surprises you most, and why?
What is the order of the requests in the Lord's Prayer in 6:9-13?
What made the wise builder different from the foolish one in 7:24-27?
This week
Choose one saying from Matthew 5 to 7 and do it deliberately every day this week.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
