Bible Lesson 12

El Sermón en el Monte, parte 2 – The Sermon on the Mount, part 2

Here Jesus addresses several of the primary reasons we are tempted to sin. Materialism, greed, envy, fear of not having enough, pride in appearance… it really all comes down to two issues.

First, the desire to accumulate wealth on earth is because our hearts are caught up in lesser gods. We worship our stuff, our entertainment, our self-image. Jesus shows us the emptiness of this by showing how temporary it is, and how ultimately unsatisfying.

Also, he addresses our lack of faith. We overwork and overworry because we don’t trust that God will provide. But he has promised to care for us, and that he loves us. To worry about these things is insulting God, implying that we don’t believe in his goodness or his power.

In the end, we can only serve one master. Will we serve ourselves? Or will we seek what will truly satisfy, and the treasure that will last forever: God himself?

How to Use This Page:

1. Listen to the audio as you read along with the Spanish on the left.

2. Open the English translation, and read the two side-by-side, making sure you understand the Spanish.

3. Close the English, and listen to the audio again, reading along in Spanish.

4. Close the Spanish, and listen once more. Maybe shut your eyes, and just try to catch as much as you can.


»No acumulen para sí tesoros en la tierra, donde la polilla y el óxido destruyen, y donde los ladrones se meten a robar. Más bien, acumulen para sí tesoros en el cielo, donde ni la polilla ni el óxido carcomen, ni los ladrones se meten a robar. Porque donde esté tu tesoro, allí estará también tu corazón.

»El ojo es la lámpara del cuerpo. Por tanto, si tu visión es clara, todo tu ser disfrutará de la luz. Pero si tu visión está nublada, todo tu ser estará en oscuridad. Si la luz que hay en ti es oscuridad, ¡qué densa será esa oscuridad!

»Nadie puede servir a dos señores, pues menospreciará a uno y amará al otro, o querrá mucho a uno y despreciará al otro. No se puede servir a la vez a Dios y a las riquezas.

»Por eso les digo: No se preocupen por su vida, qué comerán o beberán; ni por su cuerpo, cómo se vestirán. ¿No tiene la vida más valor que la comida, y el cuerpo más que la ropa? Fíjense en las aves del cielo: no siembran ni cosechan ni almacenan en graneros; sin embargo, el Padre celestial las alimenta. ¿No valen ustedes mucho más que ellas? ¿Quién de ustedes, por mucho que se preocupe, puede añadir una sola hora al curso de su vida?

»¿Y por qué se preocupan por la ropa? Observen cómo crecen los lirios del campo. No trabajan ni hilan; sin embargo, les digo que ni siquiera Salomón, con todo su esplendor, se vestía como uno de ellos. Si así viste Dios a la hierba que hoy está en el campo y mañana es arrojada al horno, ¿no hará mucho más por ustedes, gente de poca fe? Así que no se preocupen diciendo: “¿Qué comeremos?” o “¿Qué beberemos?” o “¿Con qué nos vestiremos?” Porque los paganos andan tras todas estas cosas, y el Padre celestial sabe que ustedes las necesitan. Más bien, busquen primeramente el reino de Dios y su justicia, y todas estas cosas les serán añadidas. Por lo tanto, no se angustien por el mañana, el cual tendrá sus propios afanes. Cada día tiene ya sus problemas.

Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures here on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in to steal. Better, accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither the moth nor rust decay, nor thieves break in to steal. Because where your treasure is, there also will be your heart.

The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your vision is clear, all of your being will enjoy the light. But if your vision is cloudy, all of your being will be in darkness. If the light that there is in you is darkness, how dense will be that darkness!

No one can serve two masters, since he will despise one and love the other, or he will love much the one and despise the other. One cannot serve at once both God and riches.

That’s why I say to you all, don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; nor for your body, what you will wear. Does not life have more value than food, and the body more than clothing? Notice the birds of the air: they don’t plant nor harvest nor store in barns; nevertheless, the heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you all worth much more than they? Who of you, by how much you worry, can add a single hour to the course of his life?

And why do you worry about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They neither work nor sew; nevertheless, I tell you all that not even Solomon, with all of his splendor, dressed himself like one of these. If God thus clothes the grass that today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, won’t he do much more for you all, people of little faith? So do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “With what will we clothe ourselves?” Because the pagans go after all these things, and the heavenly Father knows that you need them. Better, seek primarily the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things to you will be added. Therefore, don’t worry yourselves about tomorrow, which will have its own troubles. Each day already has its problems.

Swallows in Flight, by Ohara Koson (1877-1945), Japan. Woodblock Print.

Swallows in Flight, by Ohara Koson (1877-1945), Japan. Woodblock Print.

Lily and Butterflies, Ohara Koson. c. 1912

Lily and Butterflies, Ohara Koson. c. 1912