Saturday Scripture: Matthew 6-9

The Call to Secret Righteousness, Prayer, Fasting, and Trust in God

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Here is Pastor Gabe reading from the book of Matthew.

Matthew chapter 6. Beware of practicing your righteousness before men, to be noticed by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men.

Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.

But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him. Pray then in this way, Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever.

Amen. For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting.

Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven, Single-Minded Devotion, and Worry

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.

If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.

You cannot serve God and wealth. For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink, nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow, they do not toil nor do they spin. Yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.

But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will he not much more clothe you, you of little faith? Do not worry then, saying, what will we eat, or what will we drink, or what will we wear for clothing?

For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew chapter 7. Do not judge, so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged, and by your standard of measure it will be measured to you.

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, and behold, the log is in your own eye?

You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives, and he who seeks, finds. And to him who knocks, it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask him?

In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.

For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.

Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.

Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house.

And yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house.

And it fell, and great was its fall. When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one having authority and not as their scribes. Matthew chapter 8.

Jesus’ Authority Over Leprosy, the Centurion’s Faith, and Demons

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed him, and a leper came to him and bowed down before him and said, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, I am willing, be cleansed.

And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and present the offering that Moses commanded as a testimony to them. And when Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, imploring him and saying, Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, fearfully tormented.

Jesus said to him, I will come and heal him. But the centurion said, Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to this one, go, and he goes, and to another, come, and he comes, and to my slave, do this, and he does it.

Now, when Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who were following, Truly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. I say to you that many will come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion, Go, it shall be done for you as you have believed.

And the servant was healed that very moment. When Jesus came into Peter's home, he saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and waited on him.

When evening came, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet.

He himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases. Now, when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea. Then a scribe came and said to him, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.

Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Another of the disciples said to him, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.

But Jesus said to him, Follow me, and allow the dead to bury their own dead. When he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being covered with the waves.

But Jesus himself was asleep. And they came to him and woke him, saying, Save us, Lord, we are perishing. He said to them, Why are you afraid, you men of little faith? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

The men were amazed and said, What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him? When he came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met him as they were coming out of the tombs.

They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. And they cried out, saying, What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? Now there was a herd of many swine feeding at a distance from them.

The demons began to entreat him, saying, If you are going to cast us out, send us into the herd of swine. And he said to them, Go. And they came out and went into the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the waters.

The herdsmen ran away and went to the city and reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they implored him to leave their region.

Forgiveness, Mercy, Fasting, and New Wine in Matthew 9

Matthew chapter 9. Getting into a boat, Jesus crossed over the sea and came to his own city, and they brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, Take courage, son, your sins are forgiven.

And some of the scribes said to themselves, This fellow blasphemes. And Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why are you thinking evil in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Get up and walk?

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. Then he said to the paralytic, Get up, pick up your bed, and go home. And he got up and went home. But when the crowd saw this, they were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting in the tax collector's booth, and he said to him, Follow me. And he got up and followed him. Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and his disciples.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why is your teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners? But when Jesus heard this, he said, It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick.

But go and learn what this means. I desire compassion and not sacrifice. For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Then the disciples of John came to him, asking, Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?

And Jesus said to them, The attendants of the bridegroom cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they? But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.

But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined.

But they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved. While he was saying these things to them, a synagogue official came and bowed down before him and said, My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.

Jesus got up and began to follow him, and so did his disciples. And a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, for she was saying to herself, If I only touch his garment, I will get well.

But Jesus turned, and seeing her said, Daughter, take courage, your faith has made you well. At once the woman was made well. When Jesus came into the official's house, and saw the flute players and the crowd in noisy disorder, he said, Leave, for the girl has not died, but is asleep.

And they began laughing at him. But when the crowd had been sent out, he entered and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. This news spread throughout all that land. As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out, Have mercy on us, son of David.

When he entered the house, the blind men came up to him, and Jesus said to them, Do you believe that I am able to do this? They said to him, Yes, Lord. Then he touched their eyes, saying, It shall be done to you according to your faith.

And their eyes were opened, and Jesus sternly warned them, See that no one knows about this. But they went out and spread the news about him throughout all that land. As they were going out, a mute, demon-possessed man was brought to him.

After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke, and the crowds were amazed and were saying, Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel. But the Pharisees were saying, He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.

Jesus’ Compassion and the Harvest of the Kingdom

Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Seeing the people, he felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd.

Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.

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