Giving to the needy is a good thing but can be practiced in wrong ways. In this short passage, Jesus shows two wrong ways to give and one key strategy to help us practice giving in a way that pleases God.

The life and teachings of Jesus challenge us to reconsider the nature of power and the way to pursue it. Running after entertainment, pleasure, wealth, success, popularity, self-actualization or other things, our world pursues power with “me” as the ultimate goal. Jesus, motivated by love, flips these power-trips by living in a different way, putting others before himself and actively serving others.

God's desires that his people would stand out as distinct in this world. Loving others in a way that reflects the character of our Father is one key distinguishing marks that's meant to set his people apart from the patterns of this world. In this passage, Jesus challenges our tendency to justify the prejudices and perspectives that keep us from loving those we find difficult to love. He invites us, as those who have been loved with an extraordinary love, to be truly loving toward our neighbours--even those we're not fond of.

Christ's call to love our enemies really begins with a willingness to embrace our own identity as God's children. We are all God's children and are all recipients of His love, whether or not we acknowledge it. Jesus teaches us that we are not called to stand against others, but rather to stand for the arrival God's love, grace, and truth in their lives.

How do you respond when you are hurt by another person? Jesus continues to call us deeper towards greater righteousness as he discusses revenge. He invites us to leave retribution in the hands of God and instead to seek a better world by meeting hate with love.

Responding to questions about divorce, Jesus chooses instead to talk about marriage. He reminds his listeners to the original intent and design for marriage, and raises the bar up high for what this commitment means. Yes, Jesus’ concedes, there are some limited situations where divorce is permissible, but it is never God’s best for marriages to end in this way.

Do you speak the plain truth without minimizing or exaggerating? And do you follow through on your word? In Jesus’ time, the religious leaders had developed a complex system related to taking oaths that allowed them to posture their words to their advantage. Each of us are tempted to do the same in our own way, so Jesus teaches us to say yes and mean it.

After addressing murder and anger, Jesus moves on in his sermon to adultery. He identifies the truth that lust is as sinful as adultery, and continues to help us understand that sinful actions begin on the inside in our thoughts and motives and intentions. In light of this, Jesus instructs us to become radically defensive against letting lust fester, so that it will not become something more damaging.

Jesus reveals the way for us to break out of sinful patterns and live transformed lives. He shows us the way of deliverance from anger, insults and even murder, to become peacemakers.

Jesus' teaching in this first antithetical section of the Sermon on the Mount traces murder to its dark lair deeper within the human heart. "Set the bar here," Jesus says, "and you'll not only fulfill all the requirements of the law, but you'll be the salt and light that this world so desperately needs as well. You'll stand out. In a way that matters to me."