“Now then: (1) Do not be angry, but be at peace with all people; (2) Do not amuse yourself with depravity; (3) Do not take oaths for anyone for any reason; (4) Do not resist evil, do not judge and you will not be judged; (5) Do not make distinctions between different nations and love the foreigner as you would your own people.
“All of these commandments are as one: All that you wish people would do for you, do for them. Do not keep these commandments for the praise of people. If you do it for people, then your reward will also be from people. But if it is not for people, then your reward will be from the heavenly father.
“Therefore, if you do good to people, do not trumpet about it in front of people. That is what the deceivers do, so that people praise them. They get what they desire. But if you do good to people, then do it so that no one sees you, so that your left hand does not know what your right hand is doing. And your father will see this and give you what you need.
“And if you want to pray, then do not pray like the deceivers do. The deceivers love to pray in churches, in the sight of other people. They do this for people and because of people, and they get what they desire. But if you want to pray, go to where no one can see you and pray to your spirit father; and the father will see what is in your soul, and will give you what you desire in spirit. Whoever prays should not babble like a performer. Your father knows what you need before you even open your mouth.
“Pray only like this: Our father, without beginning or end, like heaven! Let only your being be holy. Let all power be yours only, so that your will comes to pass without beginning and without end on earth. Give me the food of life in the present. Repair and wipe away my earlier mistakes just as I will repair and wipe away the mistakes of my brothers, so that I do not fall into temptation but will be spared from evil. Because the power and strength is yours and the judgment is yours.
“If you pray, then first of all do not hold a grudge against anyone. And if you do not forgive people their errors, then your father will not forgive you your errors. If you fast, have patience and don’t show it off to people; that is what the deceivers do, so that people see them and praise them. And people do praise them, so they receive what they desire. But do not do that; if you are suffering from some need, then go about with a joyful face, so that people do not see, but your father will see this and give you what you need.
“Do not store up supplies on earth. On earth, the worm will chew it, and rust will eat it, and thieves will steal it; but you should store up your heavenly riches. Heavenly riches cannot be chewed by worms or eaten by rust, and they cannot be stolen by thieves. Wherever your treasure is, your heart will also be found there. The eye is light for the body, but the heart is light for the soul. If your eye is dark, then your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light of your heart is dark, then your whole soul will be in darkness. It is impossible to serve two masters simultaneously. You can satisfy one, but you will insult the other. It is impossible to serve God and the flesh. You are either working for earthly life or for God.
“Therefore, do not worry about what you will eat and drink and what you will wear. After all, life is more complex than just food and clothing, and God is the one that gave it to you. Take a look at God’s creations, at the birds: they do not sow, they do not reap, they do not gather, and God nourishes them. Before God, man is no worse than a bird. If God gave life to man, then he is capable of keeping man nourished. And after all, you know yourselves that no matter how you exert yourself, you cannot do a thing for yourselves. You cannot lengthen your lives by even one hour.
“And why should you worry about clothing? The flowers of the field do not work and do not spin thread. And they are attired in such a way that even Solomon in all his splendor was never attired. And if God attired this grass that grows today but is cut down tomorrow, then what, will he not dress you too? Do not worry and do not overexert yourself, do not say that we must think about what we’ll eat and what we’ll wear. All people have these needs and God knows about your needs.
“And so, do not worry about the future. Live for the present day. Worry about being within the father’s will. Desire that one important thing and all the rest will come of its own. Just try to be within the father’s will.
“And so, do not worry about the future. When the future arrives, there will be enough to worry about then. There is always enough evil in the present.
“Ask, and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will open up to you.
“Is there such a father that will give his son a stone instead of bread or a snake instead of fish? So then, how could it be that we, evil people, know how to give our children what they need, but your father in heaven would not give you what you truly need when you ask him? Ask, and the heavenly father will give the life of the spirit to those that ask for it. The path to life is narrow, but you should enter by way of this narrow path. There is but one entry into life: it is narrow and tight. And the surrounding field is large and broad, but it leads to ruin. Only the narrow path leads to life; and only a few find it.
“But do not be timid, little flock! The father has reserved the kingdom for us. Only beware of false prophets and teachers; they come to you in sheep skins, but underneath they are predatory wolves. By their fruits, by that which is born from them, you will be able to recognize them. You will never gather grapes from a burdock or apples from an aspen. But a good tree will grow good fruit. And a bad tree will grow bad fruit. And so, by the fruit of their teaching you can recognize them.
“A good man produces only good things from his good heart. But an evil man produces evil things from his evil heart, because the mouth speaks from the heart’s abundance. And therefore, if the teachers teach you to do to other people what would be harmful to do to yourself—if, for example, they teach violence, punishment, or war—know that they are false teachers. Because it is not the one who says ‘Lord, Lord!’ that enters the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of the heavenly father. They will say, ‘Lord! Lord! We taught according to your teaching and we forced out evil by means of your teaching.’
“But I turn away from them and say to them, ‘No, I never claimed you and do not claim you now. Get away from me: you are doing iniquity.’
“And so, whoever may be hearing these commandments of mine—do not be angry, do not philander, do not make oaths, do not resist evil, do not differentiate your people from others—whoever hears them and keeps them is an intelligent person and builds his home on a rock. And his home will withstand all storms. And whoever hears these commandments and does not keep them is like the stupid person who builds his home on sand. As soon as the storm comes, the home will fall and everyone will perish.”
And all the people were amazed at this because Jesus’s teaching was completely different than the teaching of the orthodox legalists. The orthodox legalists taught a law that had to be obeyed; but Jesus taught that all people are free.
And the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in Jesus: That the people who were living in darkness, in the shadow of death, saw the light of life and that he who brought the light of truth would do no harm or violence to people, but that he would be meek and humble. That he, in order to bring light into the world, would not quarrel, would not shout, that no one would ever hear him raise his voice. That he would not break the reed and not blow out the night light. And that all of the people’s hope would hinge on his teaching.