His Teachings

Text: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

Jesus is the Son of God. He walked the face of the earth preaching and teaching the multitudes of people. Many listened to what He had to say, but on the other hand, many who listened did not believe His words.

He taught people how to live the good life here on earth and how to spend eternity with Him in His kingdom. He talked about subjects very common to people. He talked about such things as murder in the heart; adultery in the heart; marriage as being sacred and binding; loving people, including your enemies, and doing good to God and to His people.

He taught people how to pray by giving them a model prayer which we know as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Jesus talked about the eye being the lamp of the body. He taught it impossible to serve two masters. He pointed out that worry was not beneficial, but instead, it was harmful to the person and God the Father did not want harm to come to any of His children.

Judging was not something for us to do because none of us are perfect and judgment could be passed upon us. We are to continuously seek Him for our needs and our wants. We are to ask Him to supply our needs just as we ask our earthly mother or father to provide for our welfare.

He gave us an example of the disaster that would befall a structure not built upon solid ground. The structure He talked about was our very own life. He said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rains descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock” (Matthew 8:24, 25).

Jesus taught using parables or stories. His parables compared two things and were a great way to teach. For example, He talked about the kingdom of heaven and compared it to a mustard seed. The mustard seed is a very small seed, but when planted in the rich ground grows a plant quite large.

He compared the kingdom of heaven to a treasure hidden in a field, “…which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys the field” (Matthew 13:44). This illustrates how important the kingdom of God is to every person. Jesus paid the price so people could have access to the kingdom. People should be willing to give up everything to gain access to the kingdom.

“All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world’” (Matthew 13:34, 35).

Scripture tells us that after Jesus began His ministry multitudes of people started to follow Him. “And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him” (Matthew 5:1, 2).

As Jesus looked out over the multitude of people, He told them about the essential characteristics of people in His kingdom. He began His Sermon on the Mount with 10 very important items called the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes tell people how to be blessed or happy.

Life will not be easy and people will face trials and tribulations. All the issues and circumstances people face will still permit them to experience joy and hope in their life. The joys of life should not be dependent on worldly conditions. Hope should not be reliant on what the world has to offer. True joy and hope will only come to people if they follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus wanted people to know who He was and how important they were to Him. He told them, “You are the salt of the earth…” (Matthew 5:13). It is interesting to note that Jesus would use an item very common to the people. Did you ever stop to think about the use of the word “salt”.

Is there anyone in the room that does not or has never used salt? Why do we use this substance? Is it good for us? Salt makes bland food taste a little better. Using too much salt makes food taste nasty. Some people cannot use salt because it increases their blood pressure while other people are not affected.

Salt has been used as a preservative for many years. Salt is used to preserve meat. Salt pulls the water or moisture out of meat and prevents bacteria from growing and spoiling the meat. Fishing was a common occupation in Jesus’ day and the way to preserve the fish was by using salt.