Gospel Matthew study

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. ⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!  (Matthew 7:7-11)
Here the Lord Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” What is being asked for here? From verse 11 we can see that they are good gifts. What good gifts are they? From the parallel passage Luke 11:13, we know that the good gifts here refer to the Holy Spirit,  That is the heavenly Father is willing to give Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. But you may not receive it as soon as you ask. You should ask until you receive, seek until you find, and knock until the door is opened. Asking for the Holy Spirit here means asking for the Lord Himself and ask for His presence.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

 ¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. (Matthew 7:1-6)
Here the Lord Jesus teaches people not to judge. If you judge others, you will be judged. in the same way you judge others, you will be judged. You see the speck in the brother’s eye, but I don’t see the log in my own eye. Log in the eye blind people from seeing their own problems.
¹¹ Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11-12)
Here James tells people not to criticize or judge one another. There is only one who can judge, that is God or the Lord Jesus. We cannot stand in God’s place to judge other people .
The Lord Jesus continued to say, do not give your holy things to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine. Holy things are things from God, spiritual things. The Lord Jesus said not to give these things to dogs, and to throw your pearls and precious things to pigs, because they do not know their preciousness. Here the Lord Jesus says not to give holy things or precious things to people who don’t appreciate them.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)
Here the Lord Jesus teaches us not to worry about what we will eat, drink, or wear. God watches over the birds of the air and clothes the flowers of the field, how much more will he take care of us. If we seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be added to us. What does it mean to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness? The kingdom of God is the kingship of God. The words of the Bible are the words of God. The words of God are the words of righteousness. The words of God are the righteousness of God. The words of God are the will of God. If people do the will of God and live under his kingship, God will take care of them, if we put the God’s kingdom and His righteousness first, God will provide for our needs.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23)
The Lord Jesus said, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light.” This refers to spiritual eye, spiritual sight, and spiritual insight. The eyes are healthy means the eyes are single, before this passage it talks about lay treasures in heaven, not on the earth, after this passage it says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Here it says that a person cannot serve both God and money. This passage is sandwiched between the two and connected with them. A person with healthy eyes perceive God and serving God, treasures in heaven, spiritual things are precious. People with healthy eyes, the whole body will be full of light, their spiritual life will shine for the Lord and glorify God, but unhealthy eyes cannot perceive God, the treasures in heaven, spiritual things as precious.
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
Here the Lord Jesus says that He is the light of the world. Those who follow Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life and live in the light.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

Here the Lord Jesus tells us not to store up treasures on earth, because treasures on earth don’t last, they can be eaten by moths, rusted, and stolen by thieves. The Lord Jesus wants us to store up treasures in heaven, where no moths will eat, won’t be rusted, and no thieves will steal. How can we store up treasures in heaven? When we give to the needy and the poor, the Lord will remember us, and we will store up treasures in heaven. The Lord Jesus also said that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. If your treasure is on earth, and your heart is on earth, if your treasure is in heaven, and your heart is in heaven. Let us store up treasures in heaven, for treasures in heaven last forever.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:16 -18)

Here is what the Lord Jesus taught about fasting. The Lord Jesus said that when you fast, do not be like the hypocrites, that is, the Pharisees, who deliberately let others know that they are fasting. The Lord Jesus said that they have received their reward. The Lord Jesus said that when you fast, do not let others know that you are fasting, your heavenly Father, who see in secret, will reward you.
Generally, you do not eat during fasting, but you can drink water or beverages. People who are in poor health can do a partial fast, such as eating only vegetables or fruits, no meat, or just no desserts. Fasting helps you to control the flesh. Fasting and prayer can improve the effectiveness of prayer, some prayers are only answered by fasting. When fasting, you can get closer to God and feel God’s presence. This is a reward from the Heavenly Father.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰ your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. ¹¹ Give us today our daily bread. ¹² And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ ¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6: 9-15)

This is the Lord’s prayer, the Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” hallowed means to make holy, i.e. , to pray that people to believe in the Lord, so that they can make God’s name holy. The kingdom of God is in our hearts, and the kingdom of God is God’s kingship, people do God’s will. Thy kingdom come, and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. On one hand, it refers to what is fulfilled on earth now, and on the other hand, it refers to the Lord Jesus will reign on earth for a thousand years when he returns. We seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and the Lord will give us our daily bread. We must first forgive others’ debts, and ask God to forgive our debts, forgive others first, and ask God to forgive us. There are many temptations in the world, we ask God not to lead us into temptations, and ask God to protect us, deliver us from evil.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:5-8)

Here the Lord Jesus taught us not to pray like the hypocrites, that is, the Pharisees, who loved to pray in public, in order to be seen by others. The Lord Jesus said they had received their reward. The Lord Jesus continued to say: “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” What does inner room mean here? It is our heart, what does it mean to close the door? Close the door of your heart to the outside world, don’t let the outside world to distract us. Of course, we need a quiet place to pray. Sometimes the Lord Jesus left the crowd to pray on a mountain. Here we also see that God is pleased when we pray to him in secret, and he will repay us. How to repay, He will repay us with His presence. Then the Lord Jesus continued to say that when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans. When we pray before God, we do not need to say many words. We should learn to wait quietly before the Lord and seek His presence.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊

¹“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)

Here the Lord Jesus said that when we do good deeds, we should not do it intentionally to be seen by others, to be honored by others, to get praise from others. If we do this, we will not be rewarded by the heavenly Father. Let your giving be done in secret, and the heavenly Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. This is not to say that we cannot be seen by others when we do good deeds, but that our attitude, our motive is not to be seen by others and to get praise from others. We should keep a low profile. When we do good deeds, do not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing, it seems that we don’t do it, then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. This does not contradict with what studied before.
 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)
Let the light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven, not to give glory to ourselves.
May God bless you and your family.

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)
The Lord Jesus said: You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ The Old Testament of the Bible doesn’t say to hate your enemies. The Lord Jesus said here: “You have heard that it was said.” But the Lord Jesus told the disciples to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. The purpose of praying for them is for them to believe in the Lord.  If you love your enemy, you become children of the Father in heaven, who makes the sun shine on all, good and evil, and sends rain on all, righteous and unrighteous. What reward is there for loving those who love you, for tax collectors, i.e. sinners, do the same, and if you greet only your own people, you are not better than others, for the Gentiles, that is, unbelievers, also do the same. The Lord Jesus said that be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, and in the parallel passage, Gospel Luke, it says that be merciful, as your heavenly Father is merciful, because he is merciful to the ungrateful and evildoers. The Lord Jesus asked us to be merciful to the sinners, to love our enemies, and be kind to them, so that we can be called the children of God. 🙏😊

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. ⁴¹ If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42)
The Old Testament said: eye for eye, tooth for tooth. But here the Lord Jesus said that do not resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other cheek also. That is to say, if someone insults you, don’t be hold resentment, don’t take revenge.
¹⁰ When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not go into their house to get what is offered to you as a pledge. ¹¹ Stay outside and let the neighbor to whom you are making the loan bring the pledge out to you. ¹² If the neighbor is poor, do not go to sleep with their pledge in your possession. ¹³ Return their cloak by sunset so that your neighbor may sleep in it. Then they will thank you, and it will be regarded as a righteous act in the sight of the Lord your God. (Deuteronomy 24:10-13)
At that time, even the poorest Israelites had two shirts for change, but only one coat. The coat was a large blanket-like robe that was worn as clothes during the day and as a blanket at night. According to old testament law, you can not keep over night the coat the poor use as a pledge, the poor need it to cover overnight, but the Lord Jesus said that if someone sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well, then you have to put your complete trust in God’s provision.
At that time the Romans had the custom of forcing the Israelites to carry goods or do other services. The Lord Jesus said that if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. The Lord Jesus went on to say, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Here it talks about helping the needy, helping the poor.
May God bless you and your family. 🙏😊