Episode 11 · Matthew 5:37
The I'll Pray About It No
A church sign-up sheet comes round, and suddenly we are extremely spiritual. Three asks, the same reflexive dodge, and a very specific feeling of relief.
Pundayschool · Passage · New Testament
Matthew: devotionals and study guides
The first Gospel of the New Testament, written to show Jesus as the promised Messiah, and packed with his own teaching. Pundayschool has landed in Matthew twice: once in the Sermon on the Mount, once in his invitation to the weary.
In short
Matthew is the first Gospel of the New Testament, written to show Jesus as the promised Messiah, and much of it records his own teaching. Pundayschool has covered two passages from Matthew so far: Matthew 5:37, on letting your yes be yes, in The I'll Pray About It No, and Matthew 11:28, Jesus's invitation to the weary, in The Invisible Load. Both come with a free devotional and small group study guide.
The passages
Episode 25 · Matthew 6:1-4
The Breakroom Hero
A secretly cleaned kitchen, a very visible sigh, and a wet floor sign guarding a floor that was never wet. Turns out the good deed was real - the PR campaign about it was the part we made up.
Episode 35 · Matthew 6:5-6
The Aesthetic Quiet Time
Coffee at the perfect angle. Bible turned to a verse that photographs well. Even the highlighter color gets picked for the photo, not the verse. Enough shots that we forget to actually read it. Matthew 6:5-6: the people who pray to be seen have already received their reward in full - but the Father who sees what is done in secret is the one who rewards what's real. So today: no photo. Just close the door.
Episode 12 · Matthew 11:28
The Invisible Load
Ask how we're doing, and there's one answer that survives every crisis: fine. Every time we say it, we quietly pick up another bag, until we're hauling a tower nobody else can see.
One verse to hold
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28, NIV
Questions people ask
What is the Gospel of Matthew about?
Matthew tells the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Jesus, written especially to show that he is the Messiah promised in the Old Testament. It contains the Sermon on the Mount, where Matthew 5:37 comes from, and some of Jesus's most quoted invitations, including Matthew 11:28.
What does Matthew 5:37 mean?
Jesus teaches that our word should be trustworthy on its own: let your yes be yes and your no be no, without oaths or spiritual packaging to prop it up. The I'll Pray About It No applies it to the sign-up sheet dodge, where 'I'll pray about it' quietly stands in for an honest no.
What does Matthew 11:28 mean?
Jesus invites everyone who is weary and burdened to come to him for rest, with no requirement to get sorted out first. The Invisible Load builds its whole episode on that verse: rest begins with one honest answer instead of another 'fine.'
Are there study guides for these passages?
Yes, both are free: a Matthew 5:37 study guide on oaths and honest speech, and a Matthew 11:28 study guide on Jesus's invitation to the weary, each with background, discussion questions, and cross references.