HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1233
M ATTHEW 5
page 863
7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say,
‘You must not test the Lord your God.’*”
8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very
high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give
it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down
and worship me.”
10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him.
“For the Scriptures say,
‘You must worship the Lord your God
and serve only him.’*”
11 Then the devil went away, and angels came
and took care of Jesus.
The Ministry of Jesus Begins
12 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee.
13 He went first to Naz a reth, then left there
and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of
Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the
prophet Isaiah:
15
16
“In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
the people who sat in darkness
have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where
death casts its shadow,
a light has shined.”*
17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.*”
The First Disciples
18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of
the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon,
also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net
into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus
called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will
show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left
their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two
other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat
with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets.
And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their
father behind.
Crowds Follow Jesus
23 Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And
he healed every kind of disease and illness.
24 News about him spread as far as Syria, and
people soon began bringing to him all who
were sick. And whatever their sickness or
4:7 Deut 6:16. 4:10 Deut 6:13. 4:15-16 Isa 9:1-2 (Greek
version). 4:17 Or has come, or is coming soon. 4:25 Greek
Decapolis. 5:3 Greek poor in spirit.
disease, or if they were demon possessed or
epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all.
25 Large crowds followed him wherever he
went—people from Galilee, the Ten Towns,*
Jerusalem, from all over Judea, and from east
of the Jordan River.
The Sermon on the Mount
One day as he saw the crowds gathering,
Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat
down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and
he began to teach them.
5
The Beatitudes
3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize
their need for him,*
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
• Selfishness
M ATTHE W 4:8-10
It is instructive and even frightening that
Satan (the deceiver) believed he could
tempt Jesus by appealing to his sense of
ambition. How many have sold their souls
to the devil in an attempt to gain worldly
glory? When left unchecked, selfish
ambition becomes the hook Satan uses
to reel us in. If Jesus had been motivated
by selfish ambition rather than the will
and word of God, he would have been
vulnerable to the temptation to possess
the kingdoms and splendor of the world.
If you had to make a list of your five
primary ambitions, what would they be?
If someone else were asked to list your
five main ambitions, would they match
your list? Are your ambitions leading
you toward God or away from him?
• Commitment
M ATTHE W 4:19-20
The simplicity of Jesus’ words belies their
power. The call and promise of Jesus is
striking but remains powerless without a
decision on our part. If Peter and Andrew
had merely listened and said, “That’s a
very interesting invitation. Maybe we can
talk about it again after fishing season,”
they would not have become Jesus’
disciples. Jesus demands a decision:
to follow him or to remain where we
are. A real decision will lead to action;
the disciples left their nets and followed
Jesus. Without decision and action,
commitment is just an interesting idea.