A Guide to the Commands of Jesus the Messiah(according to Matthew)
Chris Maynard 2015-09 to 2015-12.
           This is an extract that Iintend to circulate to a few people to get their opinion and critique before Icontinue to write the rest. I have completed the first of the four sectionsthat I plan. I have included the headings for the other three.Â
           I am aware that the sixstudies that I have completed do not have a uniform style. Is this a goodthing or should I aim for more consistency? If I should be more consistent,which studies read better than the others?
           Is this really likely tohelp anyone, or should I try something completely different?
           Is it OK to stick withMatthew (excluding the other gospels)? Bear in mind that if I include theother gospels I would have pretty much the same headings, but the volume ofexamples would double.
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The target audience for this version issomeone whose first language is English, who wants to follow Jesus, and who isNOT interested in being comprehensive or learning about New Testament Greek. So it follows that there are no tables or any Greek (except possibly in anappendix).Â
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There are some candidate ?side bars?that are not part of any one study, but seem to be important issues for anyonestudying the commands to consider. Here is my current list of them:
           3rd personcommands and their significance
           Jesus? approach to the lawof Moses (this is the only one I have written out and it is currently insection 4).
           The significance (weight) ofdifferent commands ? and implied commands
           The danger of takingcommands literally AND the danger of reasoning them away.
           What about grace andcommands?
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Table of Contents
1 Jesus commands us to listen to him
2 Jesus commands us to choose the kingdom of heaven
3 Jesus commands us to follow him
4 Jesus commands us to love and fear God
5 Jesus commands us about families and children
6 Jesus commands us to help people in need
Jesus Commands His Disciples About Their Relationship with God
to pray
about our relationship with him
about ourselves
how to deal with material things
to believe and trust him
to be alert
Jesus Commands His Disciples to Do Good
to love people and tell them of the kingdom
how to go, tell and heal
to love his disciples
how to care for his disciples
to learn and be wise
not to show off or pretend
Jesus Commands His Disciples to Deal with Trouble
how to deal with aggression
to be careful of deception
to deal with our own sin
to deal with our enemies
to deal with the world
To deal with other people?s sin
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This is a simple guide to the commands ofJesus. It is designed for all people who want to follow Jesus Christ. It may also be useful if you haven?t decided yet, but you want to know what itwould be like to follow Jesus.  It is not like an ?instruction manual? or a?quick start guide?.  This guide does not have ?the answers? to your questions. But it has many of the ?questions? that Jesus wants to ask you.  You must beready to listen to Jesus? commands for yourself. You should be ready to prayand meditate on (think deeply about) what you read. If you don?t, then theseeds may be lost. And you must be ready to change what you do. If you arenot ready, save yourself some time and stop reading this guide now.
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I have arranged the commands into twenty-fourchapters. Each chapter has a different topic. You may disagree with myarrangement and with what I write about the commands. That?s OK! My hope isthat you read the commands themselves and listen to what Jesus saysto you today. Don?t let what I say put you off listening to whatJesus says.
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You don?t have to begin at the beginning. You can read the chapter titles and see what commands you need to learn about. Maybe you need to listen to Jesus? commands on a particular topic right now.
There is a lot more to Jesus Christ thanhis commands. The ancient prophecies about him, his birth, his stories, hisquestions, his miracles, his prayer life, his attitude, his death, hisresurrection, the Holy Spirit that he promised, his early followers, thehistorical context ? these (and more) are all important to get a good pictureof the man. Yet his commands have a special significance that we should not tooverlook.
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Matthew records the words of a Romancenturion. In Matthew 8:8-9 the centurion says to Jesus, ?Lord, I am notworthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servantwill be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. AndI say to one, ?Go,? and he goes, and to another, ?Come,? and he comes, and tomy servant, ?Do this,? and he does it.?
Why did the centurion speak of commanding(?Go?, ?Come?, ?Do this?)? Had he been watching Jesus? Maybe his soldiers or hisservants had told him what Jesus said and did. Perhaps the centurion saw forhimself these three things about Jesus:
1. Jesus gave many commands. These are recorded in every gospel. If we count only strong,direct commands, then we find more than 500. If we are more generous in ourcounting and we include more soft and indirect commands, then we can easilycount over 900 records in the New Testament of Jesus giving a command.Â
2. Jesus gave many different commands. ?Go? was one of Jesus most frequent commands. He spoke it in many differentsituations and for many different reasons. ?Come? and ?Do? are also commandsthat Jesus used. Through this guide your will find that Jesus used manydifferent commands. He used more than 200 different verbs in his commands. ?Go?, ?Come? and ?Do? are just three of the many verbs that he used.
3. People usually obeyed Jesus? commands. In his lifetime, when he gave a specific command to someone orsomething, they usually obeyed him. The Roman centurion knew that his own soldiersobeyed him because there was a strong military authority behind his commands ?the strength of the Roman Empire. He knew that there was no army behindJesus. So he decided there must be a strong spiritual authority behind Jesus?commands. Will you listen to the spiritual authority of Jesus? commands? Good! But listening is not enough.
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In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus said: ?Everyonethen who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man whobuilt his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and thewinds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had beenfounded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does notdo them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And therain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house,and it fell, and great was the fall of it.?
Jesus says that it is safer to hear hiswords and actually do them. Which of his words should we most consider ?doing?? Can we ?do? Jesus? questions? That is difficult. Can we ?do? his stories? Maybe some of them. But Jesus? commands are ready and waiting to be ?done?! Inthis study you will ?hear? the commands of Jesus. Will you consider from thebeginning how to put them into practice in your life? You can decide. Your?house? will look just as beautiful if you don?t put them into practice. Andit will be much easier to build because it doesn?t need foundations. So thechoice is yours. Do you want to put in the extra work to dig the foundations? What does Jesus say you will gain from doing his words?
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Matthew 28: 16-20 tells us that afterJesus? resurrection the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountainwhere Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; butsome doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ?All authority in heaven and onearth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am withyou always, to the very end of the age.?
At the end of his time on earth Jesus gavethese four commands to his disciples. We will look at them in more detail insome of the coming sessions, but for now consider what Jesus commands hisdisciples to teach. Why do you think that would be so important to Jesus?
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Why are we looking at Matthew? gospel?  Eachgospel writer gives a different view of Jesus and his life. God says thateverything should be established by the mouth of two or three witnesses. Godis so good to give us not two, not three, but four witnesses to Jesus? life andwords.  If you are interested in the commands that Jesus gave to non-humans (todemons, to the waves, to a fig tree?) then make sure you read Mark. Markrecords more of these than the other gospel writers.  And if you want to lookat commands addressed to a single disciple (such as Peter or John), then John?sgospel will give you the most. If you want to study the commands that Jesusgave to other individuals (such as people who came to him for healing) you willneed to read the gospel of Luke.Â
But I want to take us through the commandsthat are most relevant to us as followers of Jesus in the 21stcentury. I think that the most important ones for us are the commands thatJesus gave to all his disciples. More of those are recorded in Matthew than inthe other gospels. And in fact nearly half of all the records we have ofJesus? commands (to anyone or anything) are found in Matthew?s gospel. On astrict count, Matthew contains about 200 commands. On a generous count thereare more than 400. These are the commands we will look at in this study.Â
Sometimes Jesus speaks to his ?disciples?and sometimes to ?the crowd?. His disciples were committed to follow him. Inthe crowd there were many different people. Some were just interested to hearwhat was going on. They might soon need to return to their daily work. Jesusgives many more commands to his disciples than he does to the crowd. And whenhe does give commands to the crowd, they are often different from the ones hegives to his disciples.
So imagine that we are beginning ourapproach to Jesus as a member of the crowd. We are interested, but we are notyet committed to following him. What are his commands to us? This firstsection contains six studies of commands that are relevant to all people ? notjust to disciples of Jesus.
1 Jesus commands us to listen tohim
Jesus commanded the crowds to pay attentionto him.Â
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In Matthew 11:15 Jesus says, ?The onewho has ears must hear?. This is a command to everyone who hasears. Do you have ears? He has been talking about John the Baptist. He wantseveryone to understand that John
In Matthew 13 Jesus repeatedly tells thecrowd to hear. After telling the parable of the sower he tells the crowd, ?Theone who has ears must hear?. Then the disciples ask him, ?Why doyou speak to them in parables?? His reply (from verse 11 to 17) includes a lotabout ?seeing?, ?hearing? and ?understanding?. It seems on the one hand thathe doesn?t want to make it easy for people, and on the other that he does wantto make knowledge available to anyone who will make an effort to understand. Read those verses and see what you think.
Then Jesus says to his disciples (verse18), ?Hear the parable of the sower.? This is the same commandhe gave to all those who have ears. But this time he gives it specifically tohis disciples, and what he asks them to hear turns out to be not the parable itselfbut an interpretation of it.  And the interpretation shows us that the parableis also about hearing and understanding! The commands, the parable and itsinterpretation all come together to teach us the importance and the nature ofreally ?hearing?.
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Verses 19 to 23: Everyone hearingthe word of the kingdom and not understanding it, the evil one comes andsnatches away what was sown in their heart.  This is what is sown along thepath. The seed sown on rocky ground, this is the one hearing the wordand at once receiving it with joy.  And it doesn?t have a root in itself, butis short lived.  Trouble or persecution happening because of the word ? they tripup immediately.  The seed falling among the thorns, this is the one hearingthe word, and the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth chokethe word, and it becomes unfruitful.  And the one falling on good soil, this isthe one hearing the word also understands it.  This is the onewho produces a crop, making either a hundred or sixty or thirty.
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Then Jesus tells several other parablesabout the kingdom, ending his final explanation to the disciples with ? ?Thenthe righteous will shine out like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Theone who has ears must hear.? (Verse 43.)
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If we don?t hear Jesus, we have no chanceof learning from him, following him or obeying him. That is why he commandsall people to hear what he has to say. Do you hear him? Do you read or listento his words regularly? He also commands his disciples to hear.
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Here is a checklist of Jesus? commands topay attention. I have put the three that seem to be the most important for us atthe top of the list.
Matt 13:9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hear
Matt 13:18Â Â Â Â Hear
Matt 13:43Â Â Â Â Hear
Matt 7:24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Hear
Matt 24:25Â Â Â Â See
Matt 13:23Â Â Â Â Hear
Matt 21:33Â Â Â Â Hear
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2 Jesus commands us to choose thekingdom of heaven
Matthew in chapter 6 recorded that Jesussaid to his disciples in the hearing of a large crowd, ??Do not store upfor yourselves treasures on the earth, where moths and vermin destroy, andwhere thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures inheaven, where neither moths nor vermin destroy, and where thieves do notbreak in and do not steal. For where your treasure is now, there your heartwill come to be.? ? ?No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the oneand love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and think nothing of theother. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.? ? ?So do not worry,saying, ?What shall we eat?? or ?What shall we drink?? or ?What shall wewear?? For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Fatherknows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,and all these things will be given to you as well.?
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Is Jesus arguing for a balance in yourlife? Does he say, ?Do not get carried away with your devotion to your heavenlyFather?? Does he not tell us rather that we have a choice? If we try to avoidthat choice, what does he say will happen?
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In the parable of the sower, there werefour different results, yet Jesus often says that there are really only twoways to choose. What things does he command or encourage us to choose? Listthem on one side, and list the things he wants or commands us to choose againston the other side. Which do you want? Which do you want to want?
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At another time the authorities try to traphim with a question about taxes. He asks to see a coin used for paying thetax. ?They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ?Whose image is this?And whose inscription?? ?Caesar?s,? they replied. Then he said to them, ?Sogive back to Caesar what is Caesar?s, and to God what is God?s.??
To fully understand that second command: ?Giveback to God what is God?s?. We need to remember that in the beginning Godcreated us male and female in his image, just as the coin bears the image ofCaesar, and now he has put a mark of ownership on us ? the Holy Spirit, just asthe coin bears Caesar?s inscription. Our money may rightfully belong to thegovernment, but we our selves rightfully belong to God.
Enterthrough the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the road is broad thatleads to destruction, and many are those who enter it. For narrow is the gateand narrow the way that leads into life and few are the finders.
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What do these things really mean?
Notice that Jesus gives reasons why weshould obey some of these commands:Â
           What does Jesus say will happenif we seek the Father?s kingdom?
           What makes treasure in heavenbetter than treasure on earth?
           Why does he say that the narrowgate is better?
Jesus often does this. Look for thesereasons in each study. I will not always draw attention to them.
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Here is a list of Jesus? commands to aboutchoosing the Kingdom of Heaven. As usual, the ones that seem to be the mostimportant are at the top of the list.
Matt 6:33Â Â Â Â Â Â seek your heavenly Father’skingdom
Matt 6:33Â Â Â Â Â Â seek your heavenly Father’srighteousness
Matt 7:13Â Â Â Â Â Â enter through the narrowgate
Matt 22:21Â Â Â give to Caesar what isCaesar’s
Matt 22:21Â Â Â give to God what is God’s
Matt 6:19Â Â Â Â Â Â don’t store up foryourselves treasure on earth
Matt 6:20Â Â Â Â Â Â store up for yourselvestreasure in heaven
Matt 4:4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â a person will not liveonly on bread
Matt 4:4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â a person will live onevery word that comes from the mouth of God
Matt 18:3Â Â Â Â Â Â turn
Matt 18:3Â Â Â Â Â Â become like the littlechildren
Matt 23:13Â Â Â enter the kingdom of heaven
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3 Jesus commands us to follow him
Jesus frequently asked people to followhim. What things does Jesus ask people to give lower priority than himself? What does he expect from a follower? Read some or all of the commands listedbelow.  Usually it helps to read a bit before and after the verse itself. Ithelps to see the context and understand what Jesus is talking about. Do youreally want to follow Jesus now?
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(I have not written much here but there aremany commands to look at.)
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Matt 11:28Â Â Â cometo me
Matt 16:24Â Â Â theone who wants to come after me must deny himself
Matt 16:24Â Â Â theone who wants to come after me must take up his cross
Matt 16:24Â Â Â theone who wants to come after me must follow me
Matt 8:22Â Â Â Â Â followme
Matt 8:22Â Â Â Â Â letthe dead bury their own dead
Matt 9:9Â Â Â Â Â Â Â followme
Matt 19:21Â Â Â come,follow me
Matt 19:21Â Â Â followme
Matt 16:23Â Â Â gobehind me
Matt 10:37Â Â Â lovinga father more than me
Matt 10:37Â Â Â lovinga mother more than me
Matt 10:37Â Â Â lovinga son more that me
Matt 10:37Â Â Â lovinga daughter more than me
Matt 10:38Â Â Â whodoesn’t take their cross
Matt 10:38Â Â Â whodoesn’t follow after me
Matt 19:29Â Â Â whohas left houses for my sake
Matt 19:29Â Â Â whohas left brothers for my sake
Matt 19:29Â Â Â whohas left sisters for my sake
Matt 19:29Â Â Â whohas left father for my sake
Matt 19:29Â Â Â whohas left mother for my sake
Matt 19:29Â Â Â whohas left wife for my sake
Matt 19:29Â Â Â whohas left children for my sake
Matt 19:29Â Â Â whohas left fields for my sake
Matt 4:21Â Â Â Â Â hecalled them to come
Matt 4:19Â Â Â Â Â comeafter me
Matt 14:29Â Â Â cometo me over the water
Matt 26:46Â Â Â getup
Matt 26:46Â Â Â let’sgo
Matt 28:10Â Â Â goto Galilee
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4 Jesus commands us to love andfear God
Love and fear are not opposites. Hate isthe opposite of love. Fear in the bible is very often linked to obedience. Sothe opposite of the fear Jesus that talks about here is not loving God, butrather ignoring or despising him. He doesn?t want us to treat God withdisrespect, but to submit to him. What is your attitude to God?
Matt 10:28Â Â Â Â fear the one who can destroyboth soul and body in hell
Matt 22:37Â Â Â Â you will love the Lord yourGod with all your heart
Matt 22:37Â Â Â Â you will love the Lord yourGod with all your soul
Matt 22:37Â Â Â Â you will love the Lord yourGod with all your mind
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I have included various different commandsin this study that I believe are related to this theme of respect for God. Â Thereare commands not to swear ? not to use the name of God or the things he hascreated just to emphasise what we say.
Matt 5:34Â Â Â Â Â Â Â don’t swear at all
Matt 5:34Â Â Â Â Â Â Â don’t swear by heaven
Matt 5:35Â Â Â Â Â Â Â don’t swear by the earth
Matt 5:35Â Â Â Â Â Â Â don’t swear by Jerusalem
Matt 5:36Â Â Â Â Â Â Â don’t swear on your head
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Jesus commands to obedience to the laws of Mosesand the directions of religious authorities.
Matt 23:23Â Â Â Â do the weightier things ofthe law – justice, mercy and faith.
Matt 19:17Â Â Â Â obey the commandments
Matt 23:3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â do everything the scribesand Pharisees say to you
Matt 23:3Â Â Â Â Â Â Â obey everything thescribes and Pharisees say to you
Matt 23:23Â Â Â Â don’t let the lighter thingsof the law go
Matt 5:19Â Â Â Â Â Â Â whoever breaks one of theleast of these commandments ?
Matt 5:19Â Â Â Â Â Â Â whoever practices thesecommands ?
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We should note at this point that Jesusdoes not seem to treat every part of the laws of Moses in the same way. Eventhe list above starts with a command about ?the weightier things of thelaw?, which tells us that he considers some parts are more significant thanothers. It also hints at the possibility that we can draw principles from thelaw which may be more important than any individual command of the law. Atother times Jesus ?declared all foods clean? (Mark 7:19), that ?manwas not made for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for man? (Mark 2:27) and that?the Son of Man [Jesus] is Lord of the Sabbath? (Matt 12:8 and see Mark2:28).  These suggest that in some areas there are more important or moreuniversal principles than those embedded in certain laws. Some parts of thelaw he treats as permission because of our hard hearts. (See his commandsabout divorce in the study on family). They do not represent God?s perfectplan for us but rather God?s tolerance of our hard hearts. And in a similarvein he treats many laws as a merely a starting point for conduct that shouldfar exceed those laws themselves. (Matthew 5 has many examples of this.)
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There are implied commands to specificallyobey Jesus? words.Â
Matt 7:24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â everyone who does thesewords of mine ?
Matt 28:20Â Â Â Â obey everything I havecommanded the disciples
Matt 11:29Â Â Â Â take my yoke upon you
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There are implied commands to worship Godand work for him.
Matt 5:24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â offer your gift
Matt 5:24Â Â Â Â Â Â Â come to the altar
Matt 20:4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â go into the vineyard
Matt 20:7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â go into the vineyard
Matt 4:10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â you will worship the Lordyour God
Matt 4:10Â Â Â Â Â Â Â you will serve the Lordyour God alone
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And finally there are these two statements againstspecific ways that we can show disrespect for God.
Matt 12:32Â Â Â Â don’t speak against the HolySpirit
Matt 4:7Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â you will not put the LordGod to the test
5 Jesus commands us about familiesand children
Jesus gives us a wide range of commandsabout marriage, fathers, mothers, wives and children. Some are spoken toreligious leaders, some to his disciples, but most of them are in the hearingof large crowds of people. The family must be important to Jesus. What dothese commands tell you? As with all his commands, these are for our good.
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Many of these commands are about marriageand divorce. Let?s start with those. In Matthew 19:4-12 Jesus is speaking toPharisees (some of the most carefully religious people of the day) in thepresence of ?large crowds?.Â
And answering he said, ?Haven?t you readthat the Creator from the beginning made them male and female and said, ?Forthis reason a person will leave his father and mother and be united to hiswife, and the two will become one flesh??
There are two implied commands that aperson should leave his father and mother and should be united to his wife. Upto this point Jesus has been quoting from the beginning of the book of Genesis,but now he adds a new conclusion with a very definite and broad command.
So they are no longer two, but oneflesh. Â Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.?
The Pharisees were confused because the lawof Moses makes provision for divorce.
They said to him, ?Why therefore didMoses command to give a divorce paper and to release her?? He said to themthat ?Moses allowed you to release your wives because of your hardheartedness,but from the beginning it didn?t happen like that. I tell you that whoeverreleases his wife (except for sexual immorality) and marries another commitsadultery.?
The disciples said to him, ?If thesituation of a husband and wife is like this, it doesn?t seem a good idea to marry.?
And Jesus said to them, ?Not everyonehas room for this concept, but those to whom it has been given. Â For there areeunuchs who have ben like this from their mother?s womb, and there are eunuchswho have been made eunuchs by people ? and there are eunuchs who makethemselves eunuchs because of the kingdom of heaven. Â The one who is able tohave room for it must have room for it.
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Most commentators suggest that Jesus is nottalking so much about the physical cutting off of the genitals, but more of thedecision not to marry, which is what the disciples have suggested immediatelybefore. In fact, it may be that they said, ?It doesn?t seem a good idea tomarry? as a sort of joke. Maybe they hoped that Jesus would soften his commandagainst divorce, but instead he takes this as an opportunity to say that thereare people, for various reasons, for whom it is indeed ?not a good idea tomarry?.
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In Matthew 5:31-32 Jesus says, ?It hasbeen said, ?Anyone releasing his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.? But I tell you that anyone releasing his wife, except for sexual immorality,makes her commit adultery, and anyone who marries a released womancommits adultery.?
These are not direct commands, but byimplication of the results, I believe that Jesus is clearly telling hisdisciples not to do either of these things. How do you understand it?
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Jesus gives his disciples direct commands aboutchildren. In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, ?Release the little children,and do not hinder them from coming to me, for the kingdom of heavenbelongs to one like these.? And in Matthew 18:5-6 Jesus gives furtherimplied commands to welcome them and not to make them stumble. He says, ?whoeverwelcomes one child like this in my name is welcoming me. If anyonecauses one of these little believers in me to stumble, it would be betterfor them to have a large millstone hung round their neck and to be drowned inthe depths of the sea.? So what should be our attitude to children? Thedisciples thought that children were not important.
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Several times Jesus repeats the commandfrom Moses? law ?do not commit adultery? in ways that shows he approvesof the command. And in Matthew 5:27-28 he goes further: ?You have heardthat it was said, ?You shall not commit adultery.? But I tell you that anyonewho looks at a woman to stir up lust has already committed adultery withher in his heart.?
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And Jesus also explicitly approves of thecommands from Moses? law to respect our parents. Jesus replied to somePharisees and teachers of the law, ?And why do you break the command of God forthe sake of your tradition? For God said, ?Honour your father and mother?and ?Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.?? (Matthew15:3-4) In the context (and elsewhere in the New Testament) ?honour? seems toinclude giving money.
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Matt 19:6Â Â Â Â aperson must not separate what God has joined together
Matt 19:12Â Â whocan accept it must accept being a eunuch
Matt 19:14Â Â allowthe little children to come to me
Matt 19:14Â Â don’thinder the little children from coming to me
Matt 19:18Â Â youwill not commit adultery
Matt 5:27Â Â Â Â youwill not commit adultery
Matt 5:28Â Â Â Â don’tlook at a woman to stir up lust
Matt 5:32Â Â Â Â whoeverdivorces his wife except for marital unfaithfulness ?
Matt 5:32Â Â Â Â whoevermarries a divorced woman ?
Matt 15:4Â Â Â Â honouryour father and mother
Matt 18:5Â Â Â Â whoeverwelcomes this sort of child in my name
Matt 18:6Â Â Â Â ifanyone causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin
Matt 19:19Â Â honouryour father
Matt 19:19Â Â honouryour mother
Matt 19:5Â Â Â Â hemust leave his father and mother
Matt 19:5Â Â Â Â hemust hold fast his wife
Matt 19:9Â Â Â Â whoeverdivorces his wife
Matt 19:9Â Â Â Â whoevermarries another
Matt 15:4Â Â Â Â anyonecursing their father or mother must die
6 Jesus commands us to help peoplein need
I will leave you to read these passages foryourself. Let me just note that Jesus? most direct commands on this topic arein Matthew 5:42, which I why I have put them at the top of the list. But Ibelieve that him most comprehensive teaching on this subject is in the parableof the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25. It seems to me quite clear from thatpassage what he wants us to do.
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* possible place of a side-bar aboutspiritualizing parables *
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Matt 5:42Â Â Â Â giveto the one who asks you
Matt 5:42Â Â Â Â don?tturn away from the one who wants to borrow from you
Matt 6:3Â Â Â Â Â Â yourleft hand must not know what your right is doing
Matt 10:8Â Â Â Â givefreely
Matt 19:21Â Â giveto the poor
Matt 6:3Â Â Â Â Â Â domercy
Matt 25:35Â Â givethe least of these hungry brothers of mine something to eat
Matt 25:35Â Â givethe least of these thirsty brothers of mine a drink
Matt 25:35Â Â gatherthe least of these foreign brothers of mine
Matt 25:36Â Â clothethe least of these naked brothers of mine
Matt 25:36Â Â lookafter the least of these sick brothers of mine
Matt 25:36Â Â cometo the least of these brothers of mine in prison
Matt 25:42Â Â givethe least of these hungry brothers of mine something to eat
Matt 25:42Â Â givethe least of these thirsty brothers of mine a drink
Matt 25:43Â Â gatherthe least of these foreign brothers of mine
Matt 25:43Â Â clothethe least of these naked brothers of mine
Matt 25:43Â Â lookafter the least of these sick and imprisoned brothers of mine
Matt 14:16Â Â givethem something to eat
Matt 14:18Â Â bringthe bread and fish here to me
Matt 14:19Â Â reclineon the grass
Matt 15:35Â Â reclineon the ground
Matt 17:17Â Â bringthe boy here to me
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* Following thisthere will be three more sections about the same length giving a total ofaround 50 pages*
 Jesus Commands His Disciples About Their Relationship withGod
The commands in this section, and the twofollowing sections, seem to be directed more towards those who are alreadyfollowing Jesus.
to pray
about our relationship with him
about ourselves
how to deal with material things
to believe and trust him
to be alert
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Jesus Commands His Disciples to DoGood
to love people and tell them ofthe kingdom
how to go, tell and heal
to love his disciples
how to care for his disciples
to learn and be wise
not to show off or pretend
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Jesus Commands His Disciples toDeal with Trouble
how to deal with aggression
to be careful of deception
to deal with our own sin
to deal with our enemies
to deal with the world
To deal with other people?s sin
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