Jesus expands on the topic of prayer and how he wants his disciples to posture and approach prayer. Not as something to gain favor with God, but to approach in trust as beloved children and ask for those things that God desires to give. 

Jesus continues his Sermon on the Mount with the topic of piety. He focuses his last triad on three aspects of righteousness. Giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting. 

His intent is to focus on the motivations for doing good works. He expects his people to do them but how they do them matters. How we do them shows that we are either faithful or self-serving. 

Jesus notes that the Father will work it all out in the end and to spend our time serving him faithfully. 

The 5th petition has us asking God for forgiveness. 

We see that forgiveness with God is also tied with forgiving others. In effect, we ask God for the Gospel to impact how we relate and treat others. 

Forgiveness is not something that humans can generate. It is a gift that God gives. Not because we deserve it, but because our Heavenly Father is gracious to us. So we also extend that gift to others. 

Jesus gives us the attitude and action we should have toward our enemies. To love them and care for them as God our Father does. 

We are called to be perfect, complete. This is rhetorical demand of the law and it is also the gift that Jesus comes to give to us by his life and atonement for us. 

God is our Creator and cares for our daily needs. He gives and we don’t even realize it. But here we pray that we would and that give thanks for it! 

Thy will be done! This is a battle cry as we enter the fray of the enemies of God who would seek to deter God’s kingdom from coming and from us being made holy! 

As Jesus continues the discussion during his Sermon on the Mount, he moves into oaths and retaliation. 

He fights ideas popular in his day about ranking oaths and getting even. Things still popular today . As salt and light Jesus wants to live in a way that doesn’t fit this age but does fit the age to come. 

As we put our lives out in risk, we hope and pray for God’s vindication. 

Jesus continues his authoritative sermon on those who are blessed to be his disciples. 

In this part, Jesus gives us God’s intention for sexual purity and marriage. He pushes back on the legality of divorce in his day and gives God’s will for it. Jesus also shows us that sexual purity is not just something we have with our hands but first in our hearts. 

By this Jesus calls us from the world’s ways and has us trust in him. For Jesus has paid for the sins he calls out here.

We pray for God’s kingdom to come. This means we want God’s kingdom to come to us when God sends his kingdom. And God’s kingdom comes now when we receive God’s Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word and the giving of the Sacraments. 

This leads us to become holy, believe in Christ and to lead holy lives now and forever! 

Jesus gives us God’s intention of the law as he aims at the 5th commandment which says, “you shall not murder.”

While Jesus does not give us case law, he gives us the intention of God’s law which does more than look at our actions but directs us to the sin which is born in our hearts. 

Rather we seek to reconcile and make right, especially before The Day comes.