The Sermon on the Mount and the Plain
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Day 5: Seek First the Kingdom

Reading: Matthew 6:33-34

33But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:33–34 (ESV)

What They Had Heard

TODO — what a first-century hearer already had in their head when Jesus said this: the commandment itself, and the tradition of the elders built on top of it. What ruling was this teaching aimed at?

The Other Witness

31Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Luke 12:31 (ESV)

TODO — where Luke has this saying, and what is different in his wording, his placement, or his audience. Quote both and let the difference stand.

The Older Word

TODO — the Old Testament text underneath the teaching. Not a proof text: the passage Jesus is reaching back to, and what the Law actually said before the case law grew over it.

He Did It

TODO — where Jesus personally demonstrated this, usually later in the Gospels. If there is no scene — only a claim — say that instead of forcing one.

They Did It

TODO — the apostles, both halves. Where they taught this in the letters, and where they lived it in Acts.

Now Us

TODO — the payoff. Not “try harder”: what this looks like on an ordinary Tuesday, for a reader who has just watched three generations do it.

Reflection Questions

  1. TODO

Prayer

TODO