Ways of Christ

Additions to chapters of the main text part 1.

Excerpts from the Sermon on the Mount (from Matthew Chapter 5) : The Beatitude and other teachings of Jesus ... with short comments.

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2: And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 
3: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
4: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
5: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 
6: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 
7: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 
8: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 
9: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 
10: "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
11: "Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 
12: Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13: "You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men. 
14: "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15: Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." 

(Here, in Matthew 5:1-16 Jesus speaks to those who are willing to leave the usual, egotist thoughts - and their entanglement in the contraries of human culture - 5:8.)

...22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca! (empty head)' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of the Gehenna (hell)".

23 If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him in the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. 26 Most assuredly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.

27 "You have heard that it was said,  'You shall not commit adultery;' 28 but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. ...

In 22-28 Jesus stressed, that now besides the deeds, the words, feelings and thoughts are important too. (But in 28 the topic is the -possibly married- woman and "to lust" after her - and not any kind of interest in a woman or man.)

34 But I tell you, don't swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God. ...

38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 But I tell you, don't resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. ... 41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and don't turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same? 47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? ... 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect

(The recommendation to leave the circle of violence and counter-violence does not mean, that the evil is o.k. It is a way to be stronger than the evil, from the viewpoint of the spirit.)

6:4 ...so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. ... 6 But you, when you pray, enter into your inner chamber, and having shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. 7 In praying, don't use vain repetitions, as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking. 8 Therefore don't be like them, for your Father knows what things you need, before you ask him. (The Lord's prayer follows). 
...14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you don't forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.... 
17 But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; 18 so that you are not seen by men to be fasting, but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
19 "Don't lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don't break through and steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ... 24 You can't serve both God and Mammon. ...
26 See the birds of the sky, that they don't sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns. Your heavenly Father feeds them... 31 Therefore don't be anxious, saying, 'What will we eat?', 'What will we drink?' or, 'With what will we be clothed?'  32 ... for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  33 But seek first God's Kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.  34 Therefore don't be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Each day's own evil is sufficient.

(Jesus stressed the priority of the soul and of being in present time).

7:1 "Don't judge, so that you won't be judged.... 5...First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.
6 "Don't give that which is holy to the dogs, neither throw your pearls before the pigs, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces. 
7 "Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened. ... 12 Therefore whatever you desire for men to do to you, you shall also do to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

7:1-2 advices to put aside one's prejudices. This is a prerequisite for finding the truth of the spirit.

7:13 "Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.
15"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. 16 By their fruits you will know them... 17...every good tree produces good fruit; but the corrupt tree produces evil fruit. ... 21 Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
24 "Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock. 25 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn't fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of mine, and doesn't do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell--and great was its fall." 

Other teachings of Jesus: 

The appeal to everyone

Mark 1:14-15 (Matthew 4:17-22; Luke 5:1-11; John 1:35-51) Now after John was taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom of God, 15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! Repent, and believe in the Good News."

(This was a central part of the preaches of Jesus and his disciples. Concerning the prophesied "Kingdom of God" see the "small Apokalypse")

Parables:

Matthew 13:3 He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, "Behold, a farmer went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. 6 When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them: 8 and others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 
10 The disciples came, and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" 11 He answered them, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. 12 For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn't have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don't see, and hearing, they don't hear, neither do they understand. 

24 He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel also among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel appeared also. 27 The servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?' 28 "He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and gather them up?' 29 "But he said, 'No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel, you root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First, gather up the darnel, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" 
31 He set another parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field; 32 which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches." **)

33 He spoke another parable to them. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened." 
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn't speak to them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, 
"I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world."

**) 36 Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the darnel of the field." 
37 He answered them, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel are the children of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 As therefore the darnel is gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 
44 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. 
45 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 
47 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind, 48 which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49 So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth." 51 Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?" 
They answered him, "Yes, Lord." 
52 He said to them, "Therefore, every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things." )

There were also special teachings for the work of the disciples, for instance Mt 10:5-42 and 13:18-23; and later Mark  16:15-20. 
and parables for the pharisees, for instance Matthew 21:33-44 and 22:1-14.