Chapter V
HANDBOOK TO THE GOSPELS


CHAPTER V
THE SERMON CONCLUDED


Here are the passages from Matthew and Luke which constitute the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, following the exhortations given in the previous chapter:



37b. Teachings on piety
38a. Teachings on wealth and anxiety
            (continued)
            (continued)
            (continued)
38b. Teachings on righteousness
        Parable of the two houses
Matthew

6:1-18
6:19-21
6:22-23
6:24
6:25-34
7:1-7:23
7:24-27
Luke
(Document G)





6:37-46
6:47-49
Luke
(Document P)

(12:33-34)
(11:34-35)
(16:13)
(12:22-32)



Note especially that Matthew appears to have drawn his material on wealth and anxiety from different parts of document Q, all from that part of Luke which Professor Burton called document P. Matthew apparently selected passages from it and edited them into other discourses attributed to Jesus.

TEACHINGS ON PIETY

Matthew includes next some teachings regarding piety and hypocrisy at this point, probably from document M, since they don't occur in either Mark or Luke.
(Matt.6:1-8)
        Take heed that ye do not your righteousness before men; else ye will have no reward with God your Father.
        When you are giving alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do, that they may be seen of men. I tell you, that is all their reward. But when you do alms, do not even let your right hand know what your left hand is doing, so that your almsgiving may be in secret; and God your Father who sees in secret will recompense you.
        And when you pray, you shall not do as the hypocrites do; for they love to stand and pray in public so that they may be seen of men. I tell you, that is all their reward. But you, when you pray, go into your closet, and having shut the door, then you may pray; and God the Father who sees in secret will recompense you.
        And in praying, do not use vain repetitions, as the hypocrites do; for they think they will be heard for their much speaking. Don't be like them; for God your Father knows what you need, even before you ask.

Here Matthew inserts a prayer which is found in document P, as reported by Luke:
(Matt.6:9-13;Luke 11:2-4)
        When you pray, say: God, even your name is holy to us.
        May your kingdom come to us.
        Give us day by day what we need.
        And forgive us our wrongs; as we forgive those who have wronged us.
        And may we not fall into the temptations of the world.

This passage inserted from document P above is known the world over as the Lord's Prayer, where "Lord" refers to Jesus, not to God; so that title for the prayer can only have come into use after Jesus was dead and had come to be referred to as "the Lord" by those who considered him the "son of God". In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus never calls himself that. The prayer could very well be absolutely authentic, but was probably spoken spontaneously by Jesus at some gathering of his followers; and was remembered and passed on by word of mouth and finally found its way into document P in Luke and thence into the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. But Jesus could not have spoken it at this point in the Sermon, because he has just exhorted his followers to pray IN SECRET, so he could NOT have immediately told them to pray by saying, "OUR father", and "Give US" and "forgive US". This seems so blatantly evident that I don't know how it has been overlooked for 2,000 years; therefore I have named it "Jesus' public prayer". Matthew continues:
(Matt.6:14-18)
        For if you forgive men their wrongs to you, God the Father will forgive you your wrongs to men. But if you do not forgive men their wrongs to you, neither will God the Father forgive you.
        And I say more to you, When you fast, be not of a sad countenance, as the hypocrites do; for they disfigure their faces, so that men will see that they are fasting. Again I tell you, that is their reward.
        But you, when you are fasting, anoint your head, and wash your face, so that men will NOT see that you are fasting; but God will, and God the Father who sees everything will recompense you.

which must also be from document M. So Jesus not only counselled his followers to PRAY in secret, but also to do alms and to fast in secret. These injunctions are also found in the gospel of Thomas.

TEACHINGS ABOUT WEALTH AND ANXIETY

But Jesus is not done. Matthew here inserts some teachings from document P, followed by an edited version of document G which Luke has reported as he found it in document P:
(Matt.6:20-21)
        Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroys it, and thieves dig through and steal.
(Luke 12:33-34)
        Sell all that you have, and give alms; make for yourselves purses which do not wear out, a treasure in heaven which does not waste away, nor can it be stolen nor eaten by moths. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
(Luke 12:35;Matt.6:22-23)
        The lamp of your body is your eye; eye; when your eye is single, then is your whole body full of light; but when it is evil, then your body is full of darkness. Look and see whether the light that is in you be not actually darkness.
(Luke 16:33;Matt.6:24)
        No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth.
(Luke 12:22-32;Matt.6:25-33)
        Therefore I say unto you, Do not be anxious for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, or what you shall put on. For the life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes.
        See the ravens; they do not sow seed, neither do they reap; they have no storehouse for food; and God the Father feeds them; and are you not just as important as the birds?
        And which of you by being anxious can add even one inch to your height? If then you are not able to do that which is least, why should you worry about the rest?
        And also see the anemones; how they grow; they do not toil, nor do they spin; yet I tell you, Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like they are. But if God clothes the grass in the fields like this, which grows today, and is gone tomorrow, how much more shall he clothe you all, you anxious persons?
        So do not worry what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, and do not be full of worry or fear. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after; but God knows that you need all these things.
        But you should rather seek the kingdom of God, and these things will come to you. So do not fear, all of you; it is God your Father's pleasure that you attain his kingdom.
(Matt.6:34)
        So therefore do not be anxious for the morrow; let the morrow be anxious for itself. Sufficient for today is the evil that happens today.

How much inner peace and calmness is shining in these words! and yet how little attention all of us pay to them! There can be no doubt that it was messages like these that stirred crowds from one end of Palestine to the other to flock to Jesus.

TEACHINGS ON RIGHTEOUSNESS

Now Jesus begins his concluding words, with an exhortation to non-judgmentalness:
(Luke 6:37-38;Matt.7:1-2)
        Judge not, and you shall not be judged; condemn not, and you shall not be condemned; release, and you shall be released; give, and you shall be given unto; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom; for with what measure you measure out it shall be measured to you also.
(Luke 6:39;Matt.15:14)
        And he spoke these words to them: Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into a pit?
(Luke 6:40;Matt.10:24-25)
        The disciple is not above his teacher; but everyone when they are fully trained shall be as his teacher.
(Luke 6:41-42;Matt.7:3-5)
        And why do you point out the mote that is in your brother's eye, and do not see the beam that is in your own?
        Or how can you say to your brother, Let me cast out the mote from your eye, when you do not see the beam that is in your own eye?
        If you would not be a hypocrite, first cast out the beam that is in your own eye, and then you shall then see clearly how to cast out the mote that is in your brother's eye.

The teaching about the mote and the beam is also found in the gospel of Thomas. Then Matthew includes two statements about holy things, dogs, pearls, and swine, which sayings are also found in the gospel of Thomas. But they cannot be accepted as from Jesus, since they are out of keeping with his teaching about not judging. They are probably some old Jewish proverbs which Matthew had heard.

Matthew inserts yet another passage from document P at this point, regarding asking, seeking, and knocking:
(Luke 11:9-13;Matt.7:7-11)
        Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For he that asks shall receive; and he that seeks shall find; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.
        And of which of you that is a father shall have a son who asks for a loaf, and will give him a stone? Or if he ask for an egg, will he give him a serpent?
        If you then, being human, know how to give good things unto your children, how much more shall God your Father give good things to them that shall ask them!

(Luke 6:31;Matt.7:12)
        And as ye would that men should do unto you, do ye also to them likewise.

Matthew inserts the Golden Rule at this point, verse 7:12, whereas Luke reports it earlier in the Sermon, at verse 6:31. But Matthew probably got his version from a saying attributed to the great rabbi Hillel, because Matthew says that it is the law and the prophets, which was the way Hillel described it too.

        Matthew next reports a saying about the broad and the narrow way, for which a slightly different version is reported by Luke. Both Luke and Matthew are shown below, since Matthew's explanation is more complete, and was probably taken by him from document M.

(Matt.7:13-15)
        Enter you in by the narrow gate;
for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leads to descruction; and many
there be that enter in thereby. For
narrow is the gate, and constricted the
way, that leadeth unto life, and few
there be that find it.
(Luke 13:14)
        Strive to enter in by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able.





CLOSING REMARKS

Now the Sermon winds to its close, with remarks about good fruit and bad fruit, good words and bad words, good actions and bad actions, and the well-known parable of the house built on the rock and the house built on the sand.
(Matt.7:15)
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
(Matt.7:16-21;Luke 6:43-44,46)
        For there is no good tree that brings forth rotten fruit; nor is there a rotten tree that brings forth good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush do they gather grapes.
        Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by your fruits you shall know them.
(Luke 6:45;Matt.12:34-35)
        The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
        And why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not follow my teachings?

Matthew inserts two paragraphs above which seem to be from document M, about false prophets, but they do not seem to be part of Jesus' thought, because of the line about fire. The short verse above about calling Jesus Lord, Lord, appears to have been expanded by Matthew into verse 21 below:
(Matt.7:21-23;Luke 13:26-27)
        Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of God, but those that does the will of God.
        Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy, and cast out devils, and do many great works in your name?
        And then will I say to them, I never knew you; depart from me, you evil-doers.

However, verse 23 above is doubtful as being from Jesus, because it is the first time he refers to himself as "I" in any of his teachings.

The Sermon closes with a parable about two men, one who built his house upon the sand, and one who built his house on the rock, something like the story of the three little pigs:
(Luke 6:47-49;Matt.7:24-27)
        Every one that comes to me, and hears my words, and does them, is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid his foundation upon a rock; and when a flood came, the storm struck the house, but could not shake it, because it had been well builded.
        But he that hears me, and does not what I teach, he is like a man who built his house upon the sand, without a foundation; against which the stream crashed, and the house fell in; and the ruin of that house was very great.


And Matthew concludes by saying that after he finished, the crowds were astonished, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Thus we have seen how Matthew has compiled the Great Sermon from the shorter Sermon on the Plain found in document G, passages from document P as we believe it has been faithfully included in Luke, and passages from the document which Matthew alone had, known as document M. It is as superb a job of editing as has ever been seen in the history of the world, showing a fidelity to his original sources and a disinterestedness in his own recognition, since no one knows who the author of the gospel of Matthew really was.

But it is appalling to see that NONE of these teachings, which appear at many other points in the Synoptic gospels, found their way into the gospel according to John, in which Jesus constantly tells people that he is the son of God and they'd better believe it or they will be kicked out of the kingdom of heaven, and never once mentions goodness or loving enemies or even mercy and forgiveness.