Foreword. To the reader

This discussion of the Sermon on the Mount is meant to present that Sermon in the light of the rest of Jesus' teachings, which show that he did not come to condemn you, but to save you.

The teachings in the Sermon were collected by the early church, with the writer of Matthew compiling them into one address from a mountain.

What I have tried to do is fish out the intentions or probable intentions of Jesus when he uttered these sayings.

For a discussion of issues concerning the writing of the Sermon, please see Appendix A: On the writing of the Sermon.

For another complete e-book, which includes the Sermon's teachings, please see The Secret Path -- A story of Jesus.

A few more points:

¶ The following discussion is by a layman who is not a Bible scholar, though the scholarship of experts is taken into account. Technical points are examined here and there, but we do not dwell on them overly much. Our purpose is to mine the Sermon [1*] for spiritual content.

¶ When you see Matthew, Mark, Luke or John in italic type, that tells you that The Book of Matthew, The Book of Mark, The Book of Luke or The Book of John is meant. If you see, say, Matthew 5:3-12, then you know that a specific passage in Matthew is meant (italics here are unnecessary). I try to avoid the practice of writing "Matthew says thus and such" because the idea that the apostle Matthew must have written the book of that name is only a conjecture of early church scholars. We do not know who wrote the book. Similarly for the other three gospels.

¶ The King James version of chapters 5,6 and 7 of the Sermon appears here:
https://newziondays.blogspot.com/2020/01/sermon-on-mount-mt-chapters-567.html

¶ In the following commentary, I do not give every verse or saying equal time. Rather, I use particular sayings and groups of sayings as stimulants for commentaries – some longer, some shorter, as seems appropriate. On occasion, I let some passages go by without specific remarks, although the commentaries, in my view, tend in general to cover all the sayings.

¶ Apologies for the repetition you will encounter if you read through the chapters consecutively. In order to present Jesus' teachings with clarity, the context must be reiterated rather often.

¶ Within the commentary, I have put Sermon verses, along with some (but not all) non-Sermon verses, into modern American idiomatic form; these interpretations should be regarded as paraphrases. You are encouraged to check the KJV and, as we know that the KJV is hardly the definitive version (though I do believe much of the translation was inspired), you may wish to view online other translations which take into account a wealth of painstaking modern scholarship.

¶ Verses with blue or turquoise background color are specifically from the Sermon.

¶ Verses with gold or yellow background color are supplemental verses from elsewhere in Matthew or other Scripture.

¶ Personal reminiscences have a light purple background.

¶ Miscellaneous blocks of text have a light green background.

¶ Some readers might find it helpful to SKIP the Scriptures and other matter with gold, light purple or pale green backgrounds. This material is meant to supplement the commentary. I would certainly hate to see someone give up a read-through because of too much extra material in the way.

¶ Rectangular braces enclose every footnote, as in [1a*]. The link takes you to the page holding the footnotes for the main page you are reading. Footnotes are not in sequential order but use of Control f (or equivalent) should make access easy.

¶ The reader will find a number of quotations from the late Bible scholar Bruce M. Metzger's writings in this commentary. All Metzger's books are excellent sources of Christian insight.

¶ The reader should feel free to scroll past blocks of supplemental Scriptures rather than let them be an obstacle. It's easy enough to go back and look at the verses with gold/yellow background at another time.

¶ The reader will find he may easily check Bible references by cutting (highlight with mouse stroke, followed by control c) and then pasting (control v) the reference into the browser bar and searching. Use control t or the equivalent to do your searches on a separate page so that you keep your place on these pages.

¶ Consider archiving this page via The Wayback Machine,
https://archive.org/web/

¶ Permission is granted to reproduce any or all of this commentary under the least restrictive of the Creative Commons agreements. Please feel free to invite comments to your site concerning this commentary. It is not necessary that I be kept informed.

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Key to understanding the Sermon

Appendix H. Who am I?

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What follows is a collection of personal anecdotes that are sprinkled throughout this e-book. I have not included many other wonderful experiences that have occurred during my walk with the Lord.

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Bolt from the blue
When I was fairly young and poor, I was driving along Route 22 one sunny day in New Jersey on my way to work. In that time before the global positioning system and smart phones, I was trying to pick out a sign for a particular auto dealer among a large jungle of signs on a stretch of road just outside Newark. I had strained to find the dealer on several previous commutes but my brain could not sort the data fast enough, even though I slowed some, though too much of a slowdown would have been dangerous.

I needed a gas cap for my fuel tank and reasoned that a dealer would be most likely to have one that fit.

Having been frustrated previously, I asked God to please help me find this place.

As my car neared the area:

Boom! A lightning bolt suddenly struck a sign amid the jumble. Yes, it was a sign for the dealer.

I do not know that anyone else saw the bolt or thought much of it.

Wheeling around, I located the establishment, which was hidden from the road behind a screen of buildings and signs for other businesses.

When I went to buy the cap – it wasn't in stock!

And so I wound up getting one the next day from an auto parts store, which is where I should have gone in the first place.

On reflection, I could only think that this was a bit of humor on God's part. After all, he did answer my prayer!

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Poor input
When a newly born-again Christian I read quite a bit of apocryphal NT material. Quickly I saw that a great deal of it was subversive of the good news of salvation. I could see it was poison. Yet, it took me a while to realize that there was a strong correlation between time spent on that material and my mucking about in the Slough of Despond. I did not at first relate my sense of depression and lethargy with the false gospel I was absorbing.

Yes, I suppose there was something to be gained from awareness of the sort of poison the early church was fighting. Yet, I breathed a sigh of relief when I ceased that line of study. Of course, I am not being critical of scholars whose job it is to analyze such materials. But again, the canonical gospels are very clearly much better reading, bringing spiritual refreshment, light and hope, unlike many of their early competitors.

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Hide in plain sight
A few years ago I became friendly with a fellow. A former computer programer in his fifties, he was out of work and on the dole. Though a very cheerful, friendly sort, when the subject of God would come up, he would demur, saying that that subject was something he did not know much about. Yet, his behavior, looked at objectively, was solid-gold Christian: always willing to help, to act the friend. Often he would chat with me about some little project or other that he was doing to help someone, which serendipitously might lead to small money-making gigs. He walked everywhere, often quite a few miles at a clip, and he was always busy, much like the Apostle Paul in the sense that he "redeemed the time." I suppose that what I am getting at is that Christ cannot really hide. He is proclaimed even by those who don't proclaim him!

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Bad side effects
A hard-learned lesson about anger: As a younger man, I could not contain my rage against a particular group of people outside my family. Nevertheless, my boys heard my frequent outbursts and internalized some of that hurt, even though they well knew I loved them dearly. They paid a price for my intemperance in that regard.

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An imprudent donation
Quite a few years ago, when I was the breadwinner of my little family, I gave someone $10 that I actually needed in order to put gas in my car so that the next day I could get to work and back. Somehow I could sense that I did not have the Spirit in this. I was acting on my own, of my own will only. I don't know why, but I brushed past that intuition, thinking, "God will provide." Yes God will provide what I needed to do his will. But he had already provided that ten spot. My casting it aside was folly.

The next day I was very embarrassed. I had to call in sick. I learned a lesson. That lesson does not imply that stinginess is a good idea. Only that we should avoid putting God to the test improperly, even in rather small matters.

Thank God, nothing too terrible came of this lapse. And my little stumble did work for my good, as I obtained a deepening of my walk with God.

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A strong rebuke
I was walking along in Nashville, Tennessee. I had a bit of money, not a lot. And lately, panhandlers had proved an annoyance, so that when a friendly young man approached me for a bit of money for coffee or some such on this fine morning, I demurred. Though remaining friendly, he was clearly disappointed; his need was real.

Just at that point a bearded fellow strolled across the parking lot and declared loudly: "He's done it again!" I think he repeated that assertion once or twice more.

In any case, I got his meaning immediately. God had provided us another day! It was a vast, incomprehensible gift to me and my needful brother and all the rest of us.

And yet, I am embarrassed to say, I did not give that young man any money. It took me quite a while to realize that God was pointing out that I receive so much from him and yet I was being outrageously cheap with my brother.
How to know when to give and when not to? I had the Spirit! That's who I should have relied on, rather than leaning to my own understanding.

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Led astray -- a bit
Some years back, as a born-again Christian who attended a good Bible-studying church, I somehow fell into the error of saying the Hail Mary, often repeatedly. This occurred, I think, because of a misunderstanding of God's leading coupled with my good feeling for people of Roman Catholic tradition. Eventually God specifically told me about my mistake (and one or two others, as well). He did not hold it against me. Had I stayed firmly grounded in Scripture, however, I would not have made that error. Everything should be tested against Scripture.

I also heard that the Roman Catholic Church was "the wrong church," which should not be taken to mean that the Lord cannot reach people there. What he meant, I believe, is that the real church is not that particular organization but is rather the brotherhood and sisterhood of born-again believers, and that those churches that preach the doctrine that I have been conveying are the prime places for seeking the Lord.

But, I add a caution: I am quite sure that God led me to enroll my boys in a neighborhood Roman Catholic school when they were very young -- a decision I have never regretted. As things worked out, they were unable to continue their education there, an outcome that saddened me.

Another blind alley concerned the Shroud of Turin. Had I kept focused on Scripture, it is unlikely I could have accepted that hoax for so long.

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Gifts of the Spirit?
I have never had an experience of the type that is often associated with the Spirit coming in power (in a visible way), such as being slain in the Spirit (made limp by the Spirit's infusion), speaking in tongues, touching people to bring healing, and other things mentioned by Paul and others in the New Testament.

I have from time to time told God that I am completely willing -- as best I am able -- to receive any spiritual gift he wants to give. Yet, I know that the Spirit often comes pouring through me. He does give me a "gift of tongues" in the sense that I sometimes am able to communicate about Jesus to others with a flow of ideas that I would have never thought of on my own.

In fact, even when I am not talking or writing about Jesus, but seemingly about mundane things, the Spirit still illuminates my mind so that I get a lot of help seeing things clearly. I am not here claiming to be some super saint. I mean that, back in my old godless days, my inner light was dark indeed!

So I feel that the main gift is the Spirit himself -- and friendship with the triune God.

And the fruit of the Spirit is love, both in emotion and behavior. God's love is with me always. What's better than that!?

As Paul said (ICor13), various spiritual gifts will eventually vanish (no longer needed), but not love. God's love, which we who have been reborn eternally share, never fades.

Nevertheless, any spiritual gift God might want to give me, I am willing to accept it -- even if such a gift makes me uncomfotable!

After all, God not only gives us gifts of the Spirit, he gives us --  perhaps by deputizing the devil -- problems, hassles, even persecution. We are to pick up our crosses daily and do as he shows. I admit to more than once ducking my cross and laying up in bed all day and night. But, then -- unless I am physically ill -- I am lacking in spirit and dodging Jesus. Instead of hearing, "That's the spirit!" I may hear, "Why are you listening to the wrong spirit?"

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Faith
I recall driving on a lonely stretch of a two-lane Texas highway over rolling, but sparsely vegetated hills, on a very dark night. I could not see past the occasional car in front of me, because any opposing headlights were overwhelmed by the lights of the car in front of me. Texans in that area had a custom, I soon learned, of flashing their lights to signal the car behind that it was safe to pass. I had to absolutely trust the judgment of the driver ahead of me! I had to put faith in that driver's ability.

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Just keep going
On a pleasant day some years ago, I was sitting near the end of a path alongside the stream in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C. Nearby was a place where the stream went under the adjacent road. I had taken a look and knew that around the bend the dirt came to an end. You couldn't reach the bank on the other side without wading through the water, something that would have not been all that easy.

As I sat reading, a fellow came up the path from behind and proceeded forward. I greeted him, but told him, "You can't get through there. It's washed out."

He kept going, however, but paused to say, intently, "I believe I can."

He then went around the bend, under the roadway and all I heard was -- silence. No splashing, or noise from wading. Nothing. I arose and went to take a look. He wasn't there!

I was startled. (See John 6:21.)

Not long after that, I had to make my way from Washington to New Jersey for an important family function. So, being short of funds, I walked from D.C. to Baltimore, but then had the problem of getting across the harbor there. I tried hitchhiking, but was getting nowhere. I suppose my belief faltered and so I gave up and had my mother wire me bus fare. But, as I waited in the station, my wallet was picked from my pocket, with the thief long gone before I realized it was missing. By God's grace, I had enough in another pocket to cover fare back to D.C. and then to Philadelphia, as the fare from Baltimore north cost more than from D.C. north.

I arrived in Philadelphia flat broke, with 60 miles still to go. But I was able to walk up Route 1 as far as Princeton. Once there I was cold and tired, but, led by the Spirit, I mentioned my plight to a kindly woman who was about to board the bus I needed to take. She gave me money for my fare, which permitted me to get the rest of the way home.

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God provides
As a young husband and father during a severe recession, I was having a tough time paying for baby formula, diapers, groceries, rent, etc. But I was confident in God, as he had carried us through some real difficulties.

One day I brought home my meager paycheck only to find that a significant expense had accosted us. I told my wife to pay it. Though she agreed to do so, she was quite worried. She could see we only had enough to last until Tuesday. "How are we going to get through the week?" she fretted.

Yet I was cheerful, telling her that as the expense was an honest one, God would provide. Don't even worry about it, I told her.

As a matter of fact, in the following week I even forgot about the fact that we were just about out of grocery money.

Then, out of the blue, my mother rapped at our door. She gave me a money order that I had sent her years before while in the Army. She had filed it away and forgotten about it. Hence, it was now worth $78 and change. At that time, $78 was more than enough to meet our deficit for the week.

I was jubilant, because God had provided -- without me worrying at all.

I wish I could say I have always been that trusting. Many years later, single now and living in somewhat straitened circumstances, a homeless friend asked to borrow $20. I was better situated than him, driving a car and having a roof over my head. So of course I lent him the twenty. BUT, I was worried about some expense that was coming up on Friday and I admonished him to be sure to return that money by then.

When I ran into him, he was hyped up with anxiety, as he wanted to be sure to return the money, which he did. Yet, later in the day, something came up -- I don't recall exactly what -- that out of the blue put a twenty in my hand! The point? God provided. I never needed to put the arm on my friend to pay me back, and God made sure I got that message.

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Walking with God
I was hitch-hiking across America in 1991, when I arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska, without a penny in my pocket. I was walking along Interstate 80 in 90-degree-plus heat when I noticed that one of my feet was hurting. I took my shoe off and saw a nail peeking through the heel's inner sole. As those old shoes were the only thing between the bottom of my feet and blazing hot gravel and asphalt, I was in quite a bind. But I recalled noticing on the roadside a piece of old automobile carpet and near it an old rusty razor blade. Picking up that little blade, I sat down and cut two pieces from the carpet, using them to line my shoes. Man, were those shoes comfortable! I wore those carpet-lined shoes for another year. Jehovah jireh!

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Muscle men
When my boys were quite young, we were on the boardwalk at the beach. I was amused by the five-year-old and seven-year-old cheerfully showing off their biceps to each other. As I chuckled I could sense God's presence as he let me know that that is how he views many human vanities. Silly pride. Fine for children, but  not really suitable for men. Many things by which people compare each other are just as silly, if not sillier. But, even worse, in our own strength we are all mucking around in the moral pigpen. Thank God that Jesus has cleaned us up.

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Not my hand on the wheel
I recall that a few years back I was practicing a rather mild form of asceticism, following with little variation the same routine over the course of a year. Then one day, I found myself blocked by a rather assertive, but unpleasant, person. There was nothing for it, but to flee. I was compelled by circumstances to break my pattern and do something different. It was at that point that the Lord kindly told me that I had reached the limit of that particular ascetic choice and needed a change. The unpleasant person had been sent by God in order to redirect my steps. God had approved my self-imposed regimen; he likes acts of faith. Yet, he   would not let me go too far and corrected me -- the point of this anecdote being that Christians must beware willfulness even in self-denial (but Jesus saves us from our missteps).

Appendix E. Jesus' purity versus original sin

As we know from the extreme example of abused children themselves becoming abusive to others, sin is contagious. In fact, sin spreads very much like physical disease. The domino effect is so pervasive that no one avoids it during the course of her life.

Yet, I suggest, sin is also transmitted via spirits, and in particular via the spirits of people during the sex act. This theory has had many adherents, from Augustine (354-430), to Ambrose (340-397) to Barth (1886-1968), though it has fallen into disfavor in modern times. Yet I do not mean to say that sex during marriage is not ordained by God. On the other hand, pair-bond marriage is for the fallen, not the risen who are admitted to paradise, as we see from Matthew 22.

Matthew 22: 23-33

23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:
26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
27 And last of all the woman died also.
28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

Notice that Jesus is implying that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were already resurrected. The "day" of resurrection is Jesus himself.

Similarly, when Martha was grieving over her brother Lazarus's death, Jesus says that those who trust him will never die, not that they will die and be resurrected. They already have life, whatever the condition of the body.

John 11::24-26

24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

In order for God to ransom us from our terrible captivity and from the grim fate of death, it was necessary that a deadly injustice be done to a sinless person. Who would God choose for that role other than someone with whom he was on very intimate terms? And yet no man who had Adam's spiritual seed in him could qualify. Why? Because sin is transmitted during the sex act between two people.

Recall that Jesus told us that if a person even looks at another person with lust, the heart is stained by sin. Yes, I realize that such feelings are natural — in this fallen world. During the sex act the male at least is experiencing some sort of intensity, and perhaps the female. At the point of conception, the soul is imparted to the new being. Whatever sin is staining each person may also stamp the new creation.

In fact, in some cases "lower" souls enter humanity this way; or possibly one of the biological parents already has a "lower" soul, thus tending to unconsciously "believe" a lower soul into existence. I am referring here to the souls of the "children of perdition" who, though human, are not truly made after the image of God. These are the tares that will be sifted out and destroyed when the time comes. They were never meant to be.

But even for those not born as tares, the imprint of sin is passed from one generation to the next in the human race.

These observations lead us to realize why the early church thought Jesus must have been born of a virgin. The natural seed of Adam was spiritually tainted. Jesus, as the new Adam, must begin life without taint. His mother Mary, pure in heart, did not experience lust during the act of conception. She was a meek vessel. The Holy Spirit assured that conception was indeed immaculate. Thus, a new beginning for humanity could occur, with a man who was born with no sin becoming a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53:3). In this conception, we have the son of God becoming a son of humanity (son of Man). God mercifully made his utterly innocent son into sin for our sakes. By taking the sin of humanity upon himself, he actually became a cesspool of sin on the cross. The "man of sorrows" was a "man of sin" for our sakes.

Of course, we may wonder: how is it that Mary was not tainted by the sin of Adam? But the point is that Mary experienced no carnal desire during a sex act, because there was no sex act. She did transmit anything impure to her son. Another point is that "God does not look upon sin" (close paraphrase of Habakkuk 1:13 and of Paul's theology), so that whatever problems she may have had were overlooked by God, who declined to see those problems as sinful. All this is speculation. But the point is that it was necessary, for our sakes, that a sinless man come into our fallen world and submit to a total injustice so as to pay off all the debt incurred under God's highest law.

Some scholars see the infancy narratives as pious inventions rather than strict history. They were written, it is thought, in order to hone the theological point that Jesus was and is God the Son and not simply son of God. We notice that, unlike Matthew and Luke, the John writer achieves this theological objective with his prelude, which identifies Jesus as the pre-existent Word.

Not only does John disclose nothing about Jesus' childhood, neither does the apostle Paul, whose conversion occurred only a few years after the crucifixion. Paul, in his voluminous writings, takes no notice of a virgin conception and birth.

Early "heretics" insisted that the spirit of Christ came to Jesus at his baptism and left him just before he was crucified. The church rightly saw this scenario as an attempt to strip the Christ of his true humanity. Some scholars think the infancy stories were written as part of a campaign to refute this doctrine.

An alternative to virgin conception that was overlooked is the idea that God can become one of his creatures, and, on so doing, extend into the past to make any sin into non-sin (in fact, that is what he does do with born-again Christians). So, Jesus could, possibly, have been an ordinary human that God chose to be Messiah. Then, once that divine act had occurred, Jesus' life up to that time would have been made pure, and likewise that of his mother. In any case, Jesus would have to pay for even this transformation, I would assume, on the cross.

That scenario, of course, would have been seen as too complex for simple believers to cope with. And, it would have been virtually impossible to bring about agreement among church elders on such an idea.

But, whatever happened or did not happen with respect to Mary, Christ's sacrifice would have been worthless had he not been utterly blameless. Sin cannot save. Sin cannot heal. Sin can only make you sick and kill you. By suffering the outrageous injustice of judicial murder of an utterly innocent man, Jesus was able to renew and revive humanity.

Yes, he was a man born of the Spirit. But his and the Father's gift to us is that we can also be born of the Spirit with no taint of sin. On account of Jesus, God does not look upon the "old man of sin" — our animalistic or carnal nature. So when the Father and Son send the Holy Spirit to remake our lowly spirits into a new creation, there is no sin during the process of being born again! We are now in with the In Crowd. No worries.

Though a born-again person should put Jesus first in his life, we all know that one may be truly born again and yet unable to tolerate the idea of not marrying. Jesus leaves the believer free to decide. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed (John 8:36).

In I Corinthians 7, we observe that it is Paul's personal opinion that if one partner in a marriage is born again but the other not, the other partner is nevertheless sanctified. God honors the marriage. That doesn't mean the non-believing partner will be saved; maybe not. In any case, we see that if God did not bless the marriage bond on behalf of the born-again partner, the children would be, according to Paul, "unclean." Implicitly, this suggests that children receive the imprint of the sin of parents who have yet to avail themselves of God's gracious forgiveness.

Matthew 19:3-11

3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

1 Corinthians 7:1-16

1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.
9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

We can understand why some Christian thinkers concluded that Mary must have remained a virgin after the birth of Jesus. As the "Mother of God," they thought it inappropriate that she would have ever had carnal relations. And certainly one can point to New Testament references in which Jesus indicates that paradise's pleasures are better than sex, which is why people who have been deprived of sex have nothing to worry about.

Plus, would not any siblings born in the usual way be tainted with sex-transmitted original sin?

But the fact is that the gospels refer to Jesus' brothers and sisters, including James, the brother of Jesus, who led the Jerusalem church after the Resurrection. A standard answer is that these were cousins or close neighbors who had grown up with him. So the conclusion is that we do not know whether Mary gave birth to other children by Joseph. I would say that I do not see a strong theological reason for denying that she bore other children.

And, if one questions the accuracy of the infancy narratives, the question remains open as to whether there was a virgin conception. But, again, God must have found some way to assure that Jesus was sinless as he approached the cross.

Appendix C. Why speak in parables?

Relates to the commentary on Matthew 7:6

The pearls before swine saying fits with Jesus telling the disciples that he teaches in parables -- dark sayings -- so that only some will understand. The parables make sense to the disciples, perhaps with explanation, because they are earnestly seeking the things of God. But others, with no such interest, will blow off such teaching as "crazy talk" and go their way, as we see when many followers turned away from Jesus when he told them he was the bread of life and they should consume him (John 6:44-66).

Not everyone is ready to receive God's kingdom. Some never will be. So a "strong delusion" is sent to them, blinding them to the way out.

Mark doesn't explain why some people must be excluded, but notes it. Matthew seems to have amplified Mark, quoting Isaiah to establish what Jesus was saying. Possibly the additional information attributed to Jesus came from an independent source because the amplification tells the truth about the difference between the born-again believer and the unregenerate disbeliever. The born-again person has everything already, and she is going to get a lot more. The person not born again has nothing, and, if she doesn't turn to God, that person will lose what she has.

According to Matthew, many are not selected to receive the gospel because they are too hard-hearted. God can't get through to them right now, and perhaps does not even try -- although the call still goes out to them, but, again, they cannot really hear it.

It makes sense that metaphorical teaching stories reach only those who are interested. This "hide in plain sight" aspect actually protects those who are not ready to awaken, and allows them to slumber on. The use of "dark sayings" is akin to Moses wearing a veil to shield the people from the shekinah glory radiating from his face (Exodus 34:34-35), a point made by the apostle in 2 Corinthians (see below).

Isaiah 6:9-10

9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.

2 Corinthians 3:12-18

12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:
13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.
15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.
16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The Purpose of Jesus' Parables

Mark 4:10-12

10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

Matthew 13:10-16

10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

John 6:44-66 (with some verses skipped)

44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?

65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

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Draft 6

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Appendix B. Kingdom come?

Relates to commentary on Matthew 6:19-34

D id Jesus make a blunder in predicting the coming of heaven's kingdom? Some people think so. It's been 2,000 years, they say, and where is it? But, I suggest, those who could see, as well as hear, certainly witnessed the son of man coming "on the clouds of heaven" at the feast of Pentecost [ApB.1a], when the church was born. Did not heaven come down to Earth with the Spirit's powerful inrush, with tongues of fire burning on Mary, the apostles and other disciples? Was not a nation, the New Israel, born on that one day? Did not God's kingdom right here on earth begin then in Jerusalem -- in a brand new way that no one could have anticipated?

In an important sense, the apostles saw Jesus sitting at the right hand of Power. That is, when the Spirit struck them they began to speak with "new tongues" in great power, and so they realized that their teacher, Jesus, was the source of this astonishing miracle. Thus, when they realized that it was Jesus who had come, they understood that he had come from heaven at the "right hand" of Power, God the Father in tandem with the the Holy Spirit. "Right hand" as used here is similar to our idiom "right-hand man" -- an indispensable person, such as the boss's son.

Moreover, when Peter and the other apostles began their divine preaching, each was a son of man who was situated at the right hand of Power. Each of these sons of men had been transformed into a son of God who was fulfilling a Messianic role, being "junior partners" in Christ. [ApB.1b]

And even though some of Jesus' accusers had "eyes to see, but could not see." see Yet they saw enough so that one could say that they had seen the son of man arrive on the clouds of heaven at the right hand of Power.

Moreover, as son of man was an Aramaic expression for a man or the man, we can take it to applying to the apostles and others on whom the Spirit fell in power. Witnesses indeed saw mere humans going from the former "kingdom" or dispensation into the New World. We don't exaggerate by saying that, because they received the Spirit, they were sitting at the right hand of Power. Weren't they Jesus' best friends? Did they not come into this New World on "the clouds of heaven"? There is nothing wrong with using the phrase "divine clouds" as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit and his action, particularly in this case.

When Jesus at his trial answered the question as to whether he was the son of God, he replied, "I am. And you will see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of Power, and coming in the clouds of heaven" (Mark 14:16). [ApB.1] We know that the Father was speaking through Jesus, so that the I am may be read as "yes" or it may be read as God asserting his presence. By using the third person "son of man," Jesus avoids testifying about himself, though he certainly was and is the preeminent son of God. In addition, Jesus here is making a strong allusion to Daniel 7:13.

Daniel 7:13

I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him.

As we go along in our Christian walk, we find that God fulfills and interprets Old Testament Scripture in surprising ways. And I think one can safely say that he did so and will do so again with respect to Daniel 7:13. That Scripture was, in my view, fulfilled at the Feast of Pentecost, which is not to say that it cannot be fulfilled again in some other surprising way. People who worry that Mark 14:16 doesn't seem to have been fulfilled should remember Jesus' admonition that what counts is the spirit. If you look with the eyes of flesh, you can't see. You're blind (John 6:63). (We should acknowledge that even some very early Christians probably interpreted this saying too rigidly.)

Also consider

Mark 9:1

And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with Power. (Parallel passages are found at Matthew 16:28 and Luke 9:27.)

That statement is followed in all three synoptic writers -- those who wrote Matthew, Mark and Luke -- by an account of the Transfiguration, which no doubt does fulfill Jesus' prophetic assertion. But, under our line of reasoning, this statement also applies to the Pentecost event.

None of the foregoing should be taken to mean that I deny Paul's prophecy that Jesus will "descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God. And the dead in Christ shall rise first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Many things in Scripture that seem to be mutually exclusive are not really so.

Acts 1:13-14

13 ... they went up into an upper room, where Peter and James were staying, along with John, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew. Also there were James the son of Alphaeus, Simon Zelotes and Judas the brother of James.
14 All of them continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, along with the women -- including Mary the mother of Jesus (and his brothers).

Acts 2:1-8

1 And after dawn on Pentecost day as everyone was sitting together,
2 suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3 There appeared to them pronged fiery tongues that rested on each of them.
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them voice.
5 There were at the time in Jerusalem devout Jews from every nation on earth [many Jews, who spoke a variety of languages, lived outside Judea but visited that city on business and as religious pilgrims, as did various proselytes].
6 Now when people began to hear about this event, a crowd arrived and people were confounded, because everyone heard the men speak in his own language.
7 They were all amazed. To each other they marveled,  "Look here! Aren't all these who are speaking Galilaeans?
8 "So how can we each hear every one of these men in our native tongue?"

Acts 2:22-24

22 "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles, wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know,
23 "was delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.  The one you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain,
24 "God has raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible for death to hold him."
People from all over the world, Jews and proselytes, were astonished and were converted.

Acts 2:41

Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. That day the group of believers grew by about three thousand souls.

In addition, let us consider that the arrival of God's kingdom is something like the dawning of a new day. Even before the dawn, bits of sunlight may reflect off clouds. The glory of the day begins as a crack on the horizon and bursts into magnificence as the world turns. Similarly, God's kingdom was evident in the miracles of Jesus -- indeed in his very presence -- before his crucifixion. At and after his resurrection, God's kingdom was expressed in manifold ways here on earth, as it still is.

Luke 17:20-21

20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Matthew 4:17

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Consider that a born-again person has within him God's Spirit. He is lit up with the kingdom of heaven! And for those truly born again, God's presence shows! The light of God's kingdom shines from their eyes. Similarly, when two or three people are focused on Jesus, he is right there among them. Thus, God's kingdom is present.

Matthew 18:20

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Appendix A. Comparing Matthew to Luke on the Lord's prayer

Some scholars think Matthew's Lord's prayer is an amplified version of the shorter version that is found in Luke. The shorter version, they believe, may be what the Lord actually said.

The best manuscripts of Luke give the model prayer in what to us looks like abbreviated form. The matter in square braces is what appears in Matthew but not in the early Luke manuscripts. The matter in curly braces is my commentary.

Luke 11:2-4

2 He said to them, "When you pray, say:

[Our] Father [in heaven], hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. [Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.]
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us {literally, in Greek, "is indebted to us"}. And lead us not into temptation [but deliver us from the evil one]."

The "doxology" with which many of us are familiar does not appear in the best old manuscripts -- neither for Matthew nor for Luke.

Matthew 6:13 (doxology)

[For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.]

Various ideas have been offered to explain why what seems to be the original Luke version (which is not found in the King James version of Matthew nor in other English translations) is a slimmed down version of what appears in Matthew. Of course, nearly everyone knows that the last verse in Matthew's version of the prayer is very likely a pious addition, perhaps a bit of a hymn.

My take is not that two different versions were known, but that Matthew's author added explanatory matter to make clear the intended meaning. He did not feel obliged to give a verbatim report on what he found in his source materials. He was giving what he considered to be a fair representation of what Jesus told his disciples. Matthew's writer wanted to make sure his account related to first century Jews. But he, or a scribal editor prior to the third century, also thought it important to put Jesus' spare words into context. This is very similar to the way in which a modern newspaper reporter paraphrases someone's words in order to make the meaning clear to the reader. We must remember that there was no convention of placing verbatim words within quotation marks.

Our Father
The compiler of the Matthew's Sermon on the Mount doubtless wanted to make crystal clear to newcomers that Father = God, and not some mortal human. And we have the probability that the prayer was amplified for purposes of group recitation. Whose Father? Our Father. This is a WE church.

Now though it is evident that Jesus was looking forward to the day, not far off, when his disciples would be born again in spirit and in truth and become true sons of God, we should not think un-Jewish those who regarded God as a Father. Consider that Old Testament Scripture calls him a Father to the fatherless.

Indeed the Sermon's compiler may have been thinking of a verse from Psalm 68.

Palms 68:5-6

5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
6 God setteth the solitary in families: he bringeth out those which are bound with chains: but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

Father in heaven
I conjecture that Jesus did not usually qualify "Father" with the modifier "heavenly" or "in heaven." That modifier looks like something the writer or an editor decided on in order to distinguish between God as father and one's earthly father. But, in any case, as John's principal writer would have been quick to note, only those who have been born again (or, possibly, who are destined to be born again) can rightly call God our Father. And once he becomes our Father, that is it! He is the Father. One's earthly father may deserve respect, but he is father of the old, unregenerate man. The new man has only one father, God.

Though many of us were fashioned in the image of God, we soon, as a result of growing up in this world,  died to God. By Christ's sacrifice, the original image of God in us -- hopefully -- has been and is being restored. This is an important point. God chose us in advance for salvation, for restoration. In a sense, we were always sons of God. But that relationship (which tends to elude our memories) was destroyed by sin. Now that relationship is restored, better than ever. By this reasoning, we can draw a parallel with the idea that Jesus was always the son of God, but events in his human life correspond to a renewal of that sonship.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Matthew has added this thought, I suggest, in order to make plain that the unfolding of the divine kingdom implies that God's will is to be done in the here and now. Again, we can see this in the context of the born-again believers. God's kingdom has come into their hearts and minds through trust in Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit. So these folks are much more inclined to do God's will, although most still have battles to fight against the flesh. When the kingdom arrives in its full splendor, those battles against the flesh will presumably be at an end and only the will of God will be done.

But deliver us from the evil one [CML.1]
I suggest these words were included in order to bolster the faith and understanding of new believers. These words are certainly implied by the previous words: "Lead us not into temptation." The Sermon's compiler wished to assure the readers that Jesus really saves.

Matthew 6:9-15: The Lord's prayer

Matthew 6:9-15

9 Pray like this:

Our heavenly Father, may your name be revered.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our portion of bread.
12 Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
(For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.)

14 For if you forgive people their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if you do not forgive their offenses, neither will your Father forgive your offenses.

This prayer is also known as the Model Prayer, because it is meant to teach us how we should pray. Christians (and even some non-Christians) customarily say this prayer communally, repeating verbatim the translation they have received, and this is fine, since such a practice ensures that the basic ideas are remembered. Yet, mere repetition is not enough. Jesus is teaching us a set of personal, as well as group, priorities. In other words, we are to reflect on the meanings in these requests to God.

The Sermon compiler placed verses 14 and 15 after the prayer because he thought it necessary to remind people that the Lord's Prayer won't work if we are in a bad spiritual state.

Luke also has a version of the Lord's prayer. For further discussion, see the appendix Comparing Matthew to Luke on the Lord's prayer.

Our heavenly Father
We, as sons (or children) of God now have a right to call the formerly unknown God by the intimate name "Father." Once having this intimate relationship, we really ought realize how holy God is, how much we should desire to do his will. We are both to pray that God's kingdom come here on earth and realize that it is present already among the born-again Christians. (Granted, Jesus' disciples had not yet been born again when he gave this talk, but some were already chosen for rebirth in the Spirit once Jesus was resurrected.)

If you have never met your dad, thinking of him as your Father is difficult. Without the help of Jesus, we don't know the Father. Yes, he is our father in the sense that he created us. But we don't relate to him as a member of his intimate family. Only when we have put our faith in his son, Jesus, are we treated as true members of the family – as sons of God, in fact.

Jesus is also specifying that God alone is to be our Father, for our human fathers are now not to rule us, assuming we are of age. More importantly, we are to look to our divine Father for guidance more so than we do our human father, and if necessary, to turn away from our human father. [LP.2]

Matthew 23:9

Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.

May your name be revered
(Usually rendered 'Hallowed be your name.')
Whatever name we use to refer to God, we should hold God in very great respect in our thoughts, words and actions. He should be the focus of our being. We should be ever mindful of him. This is not so easy for the natural, unregenerate person. But for those born of the Spirit, the love of God strongly tends to be realized. When Jesus gave his followers this prayer, he no doubt was looking forward to the day, after his Resurrection, when the Spirit would empower people to truly hold God's name in awe and respect.

Your kingdom come
That kingdom is breaking through under Christ's ministry, but is not consummated until the end of the age. While first century Jews tended to look forward to the Messianic kingdom, the readers of Matthew not only look forward, but also perceive that the kingdom has already broken through, as the sun's rays peek over the horizon near dawn, and pray for its extension as well as for its unqualified manifestation. Won't it be wonderful when no one needs to preach about salvation, because everyone knows Christ! In the meantime, there is a big harvest of souls awaiting the few laborers for Christ. Ask God to send more workers! (Matthew 9:37-38)

As the commentator D.A. Carson observed, the typical Jew "looked forward to the kingdom whereas the reader of Matthew's gospel, looking forward to its consummation, perceives that the kingdom has already broken in and prays for its extension as well as its unqualified manifestation."

For further discussion of the divine kingdom, see appendices on From the days of John until now and Concerning the kingdom of heaven.

Give us today our ration of bread
As Jesus points out in other verses, we should not be overly concerned about food and other material needs. Yet, there is value in reminding ourselves of that dependence by asking God to provide our bread for the day.

Bread was up until very recently known as the staff of life. If nothing else was available, healthy, non-processed bread would keep a person going physically. Of course, then as now, "bread" was a metaphor for sustenance.

The poor were really poor in former times as they were right up until the past two or three centuries in the New World. "Jehovah jireh" = the Lord will provide... for the needs of those who put their faith and trust in him. Yet, we should not take God's provision too lightly. There is value in focusing on the fact that he is the one helping us, especially those of us who are disciples (=students).

But, in any case, why think about what we are going to put on the table Friday if today is Monday? With Jesus, we may take one day at a time.

We are to ask Father to meet our basic needs for the day, not because he doesn't already know our needs, but to keep us in a right relationship with him. We are ever-reminded that we do not "earn" our daily strength. God provides that. Consider the Israelites who worked overtime to "earn" more manna for their larders. They labored in vain, because the manna would only keep a short time. God provided for them daily, and they did not work hard to receive that sustenance.

Let us not forget that Jesus is the bread of life. So we need his grace with us one day at a time. Just for today. Tomorrow's troubles are not worth the bother of hashing over. Let them go for now. Let us consume the bread of life: to "eat up" Jesus and everything about him, especially his will, which is the Father's will. We are to live and breathe Jesus, which we will do if we try to avoid quenching the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19). Recall that Jesus' food is to do God's will (John 4:34).

You can do nothing without Jesus, and hence the Father.

John 15:5

I am the vine, you [as sons of God] are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, yields much fruit. For without me you can do nothing.

Even for mundane matters, none of us, whether born again or not, can do anything without Jesus giving consent.

Matthew 28:18

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All power in heaven and earth is given to me.

So even when people are led into temptation, fall and commit criminal acts against their fellow humans and God, Jesus and our Father are involved, one way or another.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive...
Forgiving the debts owed us by others is not the easiest thing for many of us. But the oft-heard assertion, "I will never forgive that," carries a grave danger to the speaker. We want God to hear our prayers, but he wants us first to set aside our resentments and grievances against others. When we cling to that mode of "thinking," it's hard for God to respond because of all the static in our transmissions!

By the way, it may be that your Bible has forgive us our sins as opposed to forgive us our debts. Not to worry. Scholars say that, according to their readings of old manuscripts, these two words are interchangeable.

A person who sins against someone else injures him or her and so, by ancient custom, the injured male (a male could seek redress for an injured female relative) had a right to seek revenge, or at least some kind of payment -- like lawsuits of today. But why should we sue for redress of a grievance? God, through the sacrifice of his son, forgives our sins.

We may reflect on Jesus' story about the oppressive servant who hounded others to pay him back what they could ill afford, despite his having been forgiven all the debt he owed to a king. When the king heard about the servant's cruelty, he reimposed all the debt that that servant had owed him (Matthew 18:23-35). How can we not bask in God's graciousness and release our resentments, forgiving others who have wronged us? Isn't our destiny the wonder of eternal life? How can we complain? So then, should we not also forgive people who owe us money? Why demand repayment? God will provide our true needs. Why not let that supposed debt go? Clinging to the need to get money back is like clinging to Mammon. Wrong direction. Turn around, and get God good.

Temptation
During refining, metal is tested to see what needs yet to be done, to assure that it is purged of nonessential weak material so that only the durable matter is left. When your faith is tested, God is helping you to see where you are in your spiritual progress, so that you learn to cast off the inessential. Its purpose is somewhat like the goal of Marine Corps boot camp or Army basic training.

Further, how can you learn to rely on God without being placed in situations where you have little wiggle room?

If a person indulges in much self-will, perhaps God will lead her to learn a hard lesson, in order that she become more modest and humble toward God, which is for his own good, since those who primarily serve themselves serve Satan, the evil one. For example, observe that the alcoholic or drug addict has followed a path that leads her into the hands of the evil one. If she is fortunate, she turns to God and recovers, perhaps through Alcoholics Anonymous [LP.4], from the disordered condition that has overcome her. Though God did not wish that person to go down that road, even so he ordained that difficult path for that person. She was "led into temptation" on account of the poor choices she made. Of course, this principle doesn't only apply to alcoholics and addicts. It is a consequence of our blindness in this fallen world.

Such a fall certainly doesn't mean that God is angry with that victim of the Devil. After all, God sent his son to deliver us from the evil one. Yet, as long as a person refuses to turn to Jesus, the "wrath of God" rests over him. God is not personally angry. But by refusing to turn to the light, the balky person is keeping the disorderly state of mind, and the pain, of this fallen world.

John 3:36

He that believes on the Son has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.

Yet even a born-again Christian will make mistakes, sometimes major blunders. So a new son of God is wise to ask the Father not to let him go astray, to ask that, should he veer off the right path, that God guide him back to where he belongs. Please don't let me follow a false light, Oh Lord – because, without your help, I am very likely to do just that!

As we have said, a most important part of the Christian walk is to overlook the wrongs done to us by others. Jesus explains this point in Matthew 6:13-14 and in a number of other places in the gospels. But danger is lurking for Christians and even more so for those who are near, but who have not come, to Christ. They need help averting a nasty fall. The phrase but deliver us from evil serves to remind the hearer that a hard test (=temptation) is sent by Hell in order to block the potential believer from coming to Christ as well as to hinder the born-again believer from succeeding in his walk with the Lord. Some of these temptations were indeed very difficult, as when governmental and religious oppressors gave Christians a choice between denying Jesus and death.

Was not Judas led into temptation by Jesus and his Father to carry out the Devil's work? Jesus, at the instance of his Father, at some point chose Judas as a devil (i.e., a tare or weed). When Jesus' final hour arrived, he directed Judas to hurry and do what he had to do (John 13:27). God was not doing evil to Judas. Judas had already worked his way into this role, as he was money-hungry. God authorizes everything, including the works of Satan. (When we are children, we learn to avoid, say, the evil of a hot stove. The stove is fine in Mom's universe, but we are to steer clear of it.)

In addition, there is no "right" to receive God's grace. Grace is unmerited favor from God. We should be mindful of these blessings, and try not to take his grace for granted (though the sons will, to some extent, tend to take the Father's provision for granted). If God withheld his grace from you, you would soon be led astray. In current times, God sends his rain on the just and the unjust, on the saved and the not-yet saved. Though the unsaved benefit much less from God's grace than the saved, at least they get some reflected light, and there is hope for them.

Once the final judgment has occurred, those who have rejected Jesus after many opportunities will finally get their way. No more Jesus at all. No Savior. No light of the world. No sense of God. Hell. Hell is what you get when the Savior is not present.

It is too bad anyone must endure this, as Jesus already endured such a torment when, having taken our place, he cried out in anguish, "My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me!?" (Matthew 27:46)

Why would God lead anyone into temptation and into the hands of the evil one?

Well, consider the instance in which Paul ordered – through spiritual means – the destruction of a man's body.

1 Corinthians 5:1-5

5 It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife.
2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.
3 For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

Paul used his Holy Spirit power from a distance to cause the destruction of the weak believer's body – not for punishment, but for an emergency amputation. The man had to be disconnected, via some harsh physical illness, from the powerful sinning body in order for him to be released and saved. But, because he was born again, the true man was in the spirit and not the body. An unregenerate man who dies in his sin still has a dead spirit after death of the body, as he did during his physical lifetime.

In this particular case, we cannot say that the man was led into temptation, but he was certainly led to Paul, who took drastic spiritual action in order to assure the brother's eternal life, as well as to bolster the young church at Corinth.

The doxology: Kingdom, power and glory
These words appear to have been added to Matthew for liturgical reasons by the early church. One commentator thinks the words are meant to "seal" the prayer, a practice found, he says, among ancient Jews. Certainly it is beneficial to be reminded that God is totally in charge! It is unthinkable that Jesus would have objected to this "comment." In any case, it is certainly possible that Jesus said something close to this during his earthly ministry and that a Matthew editor incorporated that saying. But it is also possible the redactor wanted to underscore the meaning of "your kingdom come." True servants of God will obey God, though learning to do so well is a lifelong process. As we saw from the foregoing discourse, the way God would like for us to act – the "heavenly" way – is what we are to aspire to here on earth.

The unforgiving can't heal
Those who hold onto resentments and grudges remain in a stew of cloudy thinking that prevents them from experiencing the blessings of God's forgiveness. This is why Matthew repeats the warning on forgiveness here. It is so important that your ability to experience the kingdom is at stake!

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Mt. 6:16-18. They have their reward