Tag: Matthew 6

February 1, read through the Holy Bible in a year in Power-point, with comments.

The chapters chosen for today are a continuation of the sermon of the mount in Matthew and three chapters of Exodus telling of what happened in the desert after the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea.

February 1: Matthew 6, Exodus 17, Exodus 18, Exodus 19 (click on the chapter to begin reading)

Matthew 6 continues the telling of the sermon on the mount. Jesus spoke of doing good, of fasting and prayer, do it without fanfare, in secret if possible and, above all, be sincere. He then instituted what is called “The Lord’s prayer” which really is a pattern prayer for us, short, direct, but covers the essentials. Then he continued by recommending to store up eternal, spiritual treasures, not physical riches, for you cannot serve two masters, you serve either God or money. Then Jesus continued telling how foolish it is to worry about the future, concentrate on what is important, seek first the Kingdom of God, and God will take care of all the other things.

In Exodus 17, lack of water is a recurring theme in the desert. In Rephidim there was no water at all, so God told Moses to strike the rock at the foot of Mount Horeb. Water gushed out and they were all filled. Good it was, for the Amalekites attacked them right afterwards. Joshua and his men fought a good fight, and Moses helped by raising his hands, and as long as he held them high Joshua prevailed. But Moses got tired, so Aaron and Hur held up his hands until sunset, and so the Amalekites were defeated.

Exodus 18 tells of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law when he visited Moses, who now was in a difficult situation trying to lead his people all by himself, and Jethro gave Moses good advice about real leadership, delegation of management, a practice essential for all governing.

In Exodus 19, time had come to visit Mount Sinai. God declared that the Israelites will be a Kingdom of Priests and a holy nation. The chapter deals with the three-day consecration that was to occur before Moses went up to meet with God.

Matthew 6, do good, the Lord’s model prayer, fasting, treasures in heaven, God and Mammon, do not worry.

Pope Francis has called for a rewriting of the Lord’s Prayer, saying the current translation gives God a bad name and, essentially, does not give the devil his due.

Described in the Bible as a prayer taught by Jesus, the Lord’s Prayer is viewed in the catechism of the Roman Catholic Church as “the summary of the whole gospel.”

In a TV interview December 2017, Pope Francis said that the line asking God to “Lead us not into temptation,” or in Italian, “non indurci in tentazione,” should be changed.

Jesus spoke in Aramaic and this prayer in the gospel of Matthew is originally written in Greek, and it says:

και μη εισενεγκης ημας εις     πειρασμον            αλλα ρυσαι ημας απο του πονηρου and not  bring         us   into temptation(or testing), but rescue   us   from   –     evil.

The Roman Catholic church of France has changed the translation of this verse to “and do not let us fall into temptation” and somehow Pope Francis thinks this would improve on what God has said.