Points to Ponder in Matthew 6-7

September 26, 2022

To accompany your Come Follow Me study for February 20-26

In addition to reading the indicated chapters, you may wish to:

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Points to Ponder in Matthew 6-7

1. What significance do you see in the major Joseph Smith Translation changes to the Sermon on the Mount in these two chapters?

2. What passages from these two chapters of the Sermon on the Mount are particularly helpful in teaching uniquely Latter-day Saint concepts?

3. Since the Savior counseled us to avoid “vain repetitions,” why do we use set prayers for the sacrament?

4. Where do you feel we most often violate the instruction against “vain repetitions” in prayers?  What can we do to avoid them?

5. What application does Jesus’ instruction about praying in private have for our blessing the food in a restaurant?

6. Which passage from these chapters would you guess Joseph Smith cited as having prompted him to go into the grove to pray, just as James 1:5 did?

7. What are the primary “treasures in heaven” which come to your mind that you would want to lay up for yourself?  (6:20)

8. Most people, if asked where in the Bible it says “love thy neighbor as thyself,” would probably guess it was somewhere in the New Testament—quite probably in the Sermon on the Mount.  The idea is there (Matthew 7:12), but the simpler and more familiar wording is not.  Where, in fact, can you find it?

9. What is the difference between a “strait and narrow path” and a “straight and narrow” one?  Which one do the scriptures teach us to follow?

10. What does it mean that Jesus “taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”? (7:29.) Did Jesus merely lecture and bear testimony? Can one teach with authority and still make it interesting?

11. What other passages from these two chapters of the Sermon on the Mount did you find particularly inspiring or motivational to you personally?  Why?  

Possible Answers to Points to Ponder in Matthew 6-7

1. What significance do you see in the major Joseph Smith Translation changes to the Sermon on the Mount in these two chapters?

  • Matthew 6:13 changes “debts” to “trespasses,” clarifying that He is talking about far more than financial indebtedness.
  • Matthew 6:14 is more consistent with the nature of God, who will never Himself lead us into temptation but could fail to protect us therefrom if we were unworthy.
  • Matthew 6:22 clarifies what is meant by the eye being “single.”
  • Matthew 6:25 suggests that Jesus is here talking not to a heterogeneous multitude but to selected disciples.  The ensuing instructions concerning taking no thought for one’s material needs would thus have limited rather than general application.
  • Matthew 6:30:  Clarifies that Jesus is not condemning the disciples for their lack of faith but promising them blessings if they are not of little faith.
  • Matthew 6:33:  It is clearer in the JST that it is not enough simply to “seek” the kingdom of God but to be actively involved in building it up. 
  • JST Matthew 7:1 shows again that these are not words which Jesus spoke to a multitude but to a smaller group of disciples, who were then to speak them unto the people generally.  
  • Matthew 7:1 in KJV is amended in JST to “Judge not unrighteously.” Too many have thought Jesus didn’t want us to differentiate between the righteous and the unrighteous.  In fact, it is essential that we do so.  But we are to use righteous and merciful criteria as we do so.
  • JST Matthew 7:6‑7 shows who were the prime examples of the hypocrisy described in the King James Version of Matthew 7:3‑4.
  • JST Matthew 7:9‑11 expands upon the King James Version of Matthew 7:6.
  • JST Matthew 7:33 revises the KJV of 7:23 to read, “And then will I say, ‘Ye never knew me,’” rather than “I never knew you.”

2. What passages from these two chapters of the Sermon on the Mount are particularly helpful in teaching uniquely Latter-day Saint concepts?

My list would include:

  • 7:7:  A testimony comes through prayer.
  • 7:15:  The warning against false prophets presupposes the existence of true ones.
  • 7:16:  The fruits of Mormonism testify to its divinity.
  • 7:21‑23:  Faith without works is dead.

3. Since the Savior counseled us to avoid “vain repetitions,” why do we use set prayers for the sacrament?

The words preceding the sacrament are not so much a prayer as an ordinance, with very specific language which needs to be repeated verbatim, much like the terms of a legal contract would need not to be altered by either party.  In any case, as we say “amen” at the end, we would hope we would be deeply mindful of what we were promising, in which case the repetition certainly would not be “vain.”

4. Where do you feel we most often violate the instruction against “vain repetitions” in prayers?  What can we do to avoid them?

Your choice.  My own opinion is that it may be in our blessings on the food, which roughly translated sometimes simply mean, “Lord, I’m hungry, so let’s get this over with so we can eat.”  Sometimes it has seemed that those asking such blessings were in a competition to see who could recite the standard ritual the fastest.  Nowhere in the scriptures does it prescribe that a prayer must be offered before each meal, as though the food would be poisonous otherwise.  But frequent prayers are certainly in order, provided they are thoughtful and sincere and not a mere repetition of what was said the time before.

5. What application does Jesus’ instruction about praying in private have for our blessing the food in a restaurant?

Your choice.  It could be argued that praying in a restaurant is a good way to set an example for others.  But it could also be argued that this is close to praying “standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets” (Matt. 6:5), which Jesus taught against.  I know of no scripture which says that praying in public is prohibited except in the case of restaurants, which serve unholy food which must be sanctified by a public prayer.  On the other hand, a silent and inconspicuous word of prayer by those so inclined prior to eating would never be out of order. 

6. Which passage from these chapters would you guess Joseph Smith cited as having prompted him to go into the grove to pray, just as James 1:5 did?

It was Matthew 7:7:  “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find, etc.”

7. What are the primary “treasures in heaven” which come to your mind that you would want to lay up for yourself?  (6:20)

Your choice.  My list might include:

  • Faith and other traits of godliness such as outlined in D&C 4
  • Ordinances
  • Knowledge, including testimony of spiritual things
  • Family ties
  • Service rendered for the living and the dead
  • Happy memories

8. Most people, if asked where in the Bible it says “love thy neighbor as thyself,” would probably guess it was somewhere in the New Testament—quite probably in the Sermon on the Mount.  The idea is there (Matthew 7:12), but the simpler and more familiar wording is not.  Where, in fact, can you find it?

Leviticus 19:18

9. What is the difference between a “strait and narrow path” and a “straight and narrow” one?  Which one do the scriptures teach us to follow?

A “straight” path is one which goes without turning, being the shortest distance between two points.  A “strait” one is just another way of saying a “narrow” path.  (E.g, “Straits of Gibralter,” or “strait jacket.”)   I know of no scriptural reference to a “straight and narrow” path, in those words.  There are many references, however, to the “strait” (or narrow) path we are to follow, meaning we should strictly observe to do all the Lord asks of us, without finding excuses to get off the path as our mood may dictate.  However, 2 Nephi 9:41, after telling us that “the way for man is narrow,” adds “but it lieth in a straight course before him.”  So, we shouldn’t object too loudly if someone refers to a “straight and narrow path,” as it appears the path of righteousness is both “strait” and “straight,” though all scriptural references to the path refer to it as a “strait” one. 

10. What does it mean that Jesus “taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes”?  (7:29.)  Did Jesus merely lecture and bear testimony?  Can one teach with authority and still make it interesting? 

There is ample evidence that Jesus didn’t only lecture and testify.  He asked questions.  He encouraged His listeners to ask questions.  He used parables and other stories to illustrate His message.  But He didn’t just have a group discussion with no input of His own, allowing His hearers to take charge of the use of the time.  Jesus clearly took charge, and when it was appropriate, He taught directly and testified, quite unlike the convoluted approach of the scribes. 

11. What other passages from these two chapters of the Sermon on the Mount did you find particularly inspiring or motivational to you personally?  Why?  

My list would include:

  • 6:4:  The importance of doing good secretly rather than to receive praise of men
  • 6:7-9:  Prayers needn’t be long or repetitious to be efficacious.  The “Lord’s Prayer” was given as an example, not as a fixed prayer to be memorized and repeated.
  • 6:14:  Forgiving others is a key to being forgiven ourselves by God.
  • 6:24:  We can’t serve two masters.  Specifically, we can’t be equally subservient to both God and “mammon,” or money. 
  • 6:33:  First things first!  Blessings do come as a result.
  • 7:6:  Don’t share precious and sacred truths of the gospel with those who would ridicule them.  This would have special application to sacred truths taught in the temple.