Chronological NT Plan

Matthew 5-7

Matthew 5

1When he saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2Then he began to teach them, saying:

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. j

4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

11“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.

12Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty? It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.

14“You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.

15No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.

16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

17“Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished.

19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

21“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.

22But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.

23So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you,

24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

25Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison.

26Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.

27“You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.

28But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

29If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

31“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.

32But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

33“Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors,  You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord.

34But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne;

35or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

36Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black.

37But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.

38“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

39But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

40As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.

41And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

42Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

43“You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

46For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?

47And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 6

1“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

2So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

3But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

4so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

5“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

6But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

7When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words.

8Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.

9“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.

10Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us today our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

14“For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well.

15But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

16“Whenever you fast, don’t be gloomy like the hypocrites. For they make their faces unattractive so that their fasting is obvious to people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward.

17But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face,

18so that your fasting isn’t obvious to others but to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

19“Don’t store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal.

21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

23But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness, how deep is that darkness!

24“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

25“Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?

26Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they?

27Can any of you add one moment to his life-span by worrying?

28And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread.

29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these.

30If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you — you of little faith?

31So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat? ’ or ‘What will we drink? ’ or ‘What will we wear?’

32For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.

34Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 7

1“Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.

2For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.

3Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?

4Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?

5Hypocrite! First take the beam of wood out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s eye.

6Don’t give what is holy to dogs or toss your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, turn, and tear you to pieces.

7“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.

8For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

9Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?

10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

11If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.

12Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it.

14How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

15“Be on your guard against false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravaging wolves.

16You’ll recognize them by their fruit. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes or figs from thistles?

17In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit.

18A good tree can’t produce bad fruit; neither can a bad tree produce good fruit.

19Every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

20So you’ll recognize them by their fruit.

21“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

22On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, and do many miracles in your name?’

23Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you lawbreakers!

24“Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

25The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock.

26But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn’t act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.

27The rain fell, the rivers rose, the winds blew and pounded that house, and it collapsed. It collapsed with a great crash.”

28When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching,

29because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes.