Matthew 7:13-14 - Jesus teaches his followers about two different paths in life that we can take, one is wide and leads to destruction but many enter through it, and the other is narrow and leads to life but few can find it. Here he is referring to his way and teachings as the narrow path, a challenging road to follow but which leads us to fullness of life.

Matthew 7:1-5 - Jesus taught his followers not to judge others or they would be judged by the same standard. He taught that they should focus on removing the plank in their own eyes before pointing out the speck of sawdust in someone else’s eyes, thus highlighting the hypocrisy of judging others when we ourselves are not perfect. 

Matthew 6:25-34 - Jesus teaches his followers not to worry about things like food or clothing, since life is more than these things and since God takes care of our needs. He gives the examples of birds who do not store food in barns but are fed by God, as well as flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow and yet are clothed in beauty. Rather than worrying, we should seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness and everything else will be provided. We shouldn’t worry about the future but should let the future worry about itself.

Matthew 6:19-24 - Jesus taught his followers to focus on storing up heavenly treasures rather than earthly ones, since earthly treasures do not last but heavenly treasures last forever. He also taught that whatever we treasure and value is what will be in our hearts. He then says that having healthy eyes (that focus on things of the spirit) fills us with light, while having unhealthy eyes (that focus on worldly things) fills us with darkness. Finally, Jesus says that we cannot serve both God and money.

Matthew 6:1-4 - Jesus taught his followers to be careful not to do their good deeds publicly, in order to be seen and praised by others. When giving to the needy, they shouldn’t do so like hypocrites who just want recognition, or else they will get no reward from God and their only reward will be the admiration of others. Instead of showing off their good deeds, they should do them secretly, without any fanfare. If they do so, then God, who sees what’s done in secret, will reward them.

Matthew 5:38-42 - Jesus taught his followers that although the Law of Moses says that the punishment for an offense should match the crime (ie. an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth), the way his followers should take is the path of non-violence and turning the other cheek. Jesus then said that if someone were to sue them for their shirt, they should give them their coat as well, and if someone were to force them to walk with them one mile, they should go with them two. He ended by telling his followers to give to everyone who asks and to not refuse the one who wants to borrow from them.

Matthew 5:33-37 - Jesus taught that although the Law taught us not to break oaths, but to fulfill our vows, his teaching is that we shouldn’t take oaths at all. We should not swear by anything—not heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or our own heads. Instead we should simply be honest and truthful, letting our ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and our ‘no’ be ‘no’.

Matthew 5:13-16 - During his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that we are the salt of the earth. If salt loses it’s saltiness, it is no longer good for anything but is thrown out. He also taught that we are the light of the world. Nobody takes a lamp and hides it under a bowl, but rather, they put it on a stand so it can give light to everyone. Likewise, we are to let our light shine so that others will see God’s goodness through us.

Matthew 18:1-4 - When asked by his disciples who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus called a little child to him and told them that in order to enter the kingdom, they must become like a little child. Furthermore, anyone who wishes to be great in the kingdom should take on the lowly position of a child.

Matthew 16:13-20 - One day, Jesus asked his disciples to tell him who people say that he is. They answered that some say he is John the Baptist, others say that he is Elijah, and still others say that he is Jeremiah or one of the prophets. Jesus then asks who they think he is, and Peter responds that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. Jesus blesses Peter for this answer, because he learned it from God and not from people, and then gives him the “keys” to the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 26:47-56 - After Jesus spent the night praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas arrived with a crowd armed with swords and clubs to take Jesus under arrest. Judas walked over to Jesus and greeted him with a kiss. This was the signal that he used to show the people who to arrest. When the men stepped forward to arrest Jesus, Peter took our his sword and struck the servant of the high priest in the ear. Jesus instructed Peter to put his sword away and spoke to the crowd saying that he is not leading a rebellion and that there was no need for them to come at him swords and clubs. After this, Jesus is taken under arrest and the disciples run away in fear.

Matthew 26:36-46 - Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane, and Jesus asked them to sit nearby while he prayed. He took Peter, James, and John and asked them to stay with him because he was overwhelmed with sorrow. He prayed to God to take away the cup of suffering away from him, but only as God wills. Returning to his friends, he saw that they had fallen asleep. He asked if they could stay up with him for just one hour. He continued to pray and then a second time found his friends sleeping. After the third time, he told them to get up because the time had come for him to be betrayed.

Matthew 26:17-28 - Jesus and his disciples came together to celebrate a meal during the Passover Festival. During this meal, Jesus announced at the table that one of them was going to betray him. The group of disciples were very sad and one at a time said to Jesus, “Surely you don’t mean me?” When it came to Judas, Jesus replied, “You have said so.” Then Jesus took break, broke it, and gave it to his disciples to eat, saying that it is his body. He did the same with a cup of wine, which he said is his blood, poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

Matthew 16:21-26 - Jesus explains to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, where he will suffer many things before being killed and on the third day raising back to life again. Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him, saying that this would never happen to him. Jesus responds by calling Peter a stumbling block to him, and that Peter has in mind human concerns rather than God’s concerns. Jesus goes on to explain to his disciples they too must deny themselves and take up their own crosses in order to follow him, but that in being willing to lose their life for his sake, they will in fact find it.

Matthew 15:1-20 - Once Jesus was approached by some Pharisees and religious teachers, who accused his followers of breaking the traditions of the elders by not washing their hands before they ate. Jesus turned the accusation around on them, saying that they were the ones who were breaking the commands of God in order to uphold their traditions and human rules. Jesus cites the example of those who dismiss God’s command to honor one’s parents in order to devote to God that which would have been used to help their parents. Jesus concludes by saying that a person is not defiled by eating with unwashed hands but by the wicked thoughts that come from inside their hearts.

Matthew 16:5-12 - One day Jesus was crossing a lake with his disciples, and they had forgotten to take bread with them. Jesus said to them, “be careful of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The disciples didn’t understand what he meant at first and thought he was talking about bread. Jesus corrected them and said that he was actually talking about teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees which spread like yeast, and which they must be careful about.

Matthew 17:24-27 - Once when Jesus and his disciples were traveling in Capernaum, the temple tax collectors came up to Peter and tried to ask him a trick question, whether Jesus paid temple taxes or not. Peter said that he does, and went to Jesus to tell him what happened. While Jesus stated that it wasn’t right to make the children of God pay taxes to the temple, he told Peter to go and catch a fish and look inside its mouth. When Peter did this, he found two coins inside, just enough to pay for his and Jesus’ temple tax.

Matthew 20:1-16 - There was a man who owned a vineyard and he went out in the town to search for workers for the day. Early in the morning he found a group of people who agreed to work for one denarius. Throughout the day he found more workers to join the first group. At the very end of the day, he gathered them together to give them their pay, beginning with the last ones hired and on to the first. He paid each one the same amount — one denarius each. The workers who had been their since early morning felt that this was unfair and they complained. The owner responded that they had been paid the amount agreed upon, and that he was simply choosing to be generous to the others too. In this way, Jesus taught that in the Kingdom of God, the last would be first and the first would be last.

Matthew 18:21-35 - When Peter asked Jesus if he should forgive someone who wrongs him seven times, Jesus answers that he should not forgive only seven times, but seventy-seven. Jesus then tells a story about a servant who owed the king a large sum of money. When the servant was unable to pay the king back and begged for extra time, the king took pity on him and completely forgave the servant’s debt. However, the servant immediately went and found a fellow servant who owed him a smaller amount of money, and demanded payment. When that servant couldn’t pay and begged for extra time, the first servant did not take pity on him but threw his fellow servant in jail until he could pay back what he owed. When the king heard of this he was indignant. He called the first servant to him, and told him that he had changed his mind and would throw the servant in jail until he could pay back everything he owed.

Matthew 21:28-32 - Jesus told this story to the chief priests and elders who were questioning him on his authority. He said to them, there was a man who had two sons, each of whom he asked to go and work in the vineyard. The first son said no, but ended up changing his mind and going. The second son said yes, but he didn’t go. Jesus asked the chief priests and enders which son did what the father wanted, to which they answered, the first son. Jesus then reveals the meaning of the parable: that those considered “sinners” were actually entering the kingdom of God ahead of the religious folk, because when they heard Jesus’ message they repented and believed.