All through the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus established the standard for those in His Kingdom as higher than the culture around them. He revealed that the hearts of disciples must be right, not merely their external actions. With this section, Jesus confronts judgments people make toward one another. He does not prohibit disciples from judging others, only He directs them to look at their own hearts first. When they do confront people about wrongs done, they should assess if that person is ready to hear the truth. Jesus teaches the principle that Christians should judge only when they have done the necessary reflection on their own sin and before God.

Jesus addresses the question, 'who or what is worthy of our trust?' The Resurrection answers that Jesus is the only lasting treasure worthy of our trust. Everything else will fade away and come to ruin. Possessions, money, people will all fail us, but because Christ rose from the dead, He proved that He will not fail us when we base our lives on Him.

In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus unpacks an important principle: disciple's in the King's Kingdom seek God's praise, not people's praise. He uses three examples to teach this principle: giving, praying, fasting. When disciples do these things, they do them because of their connection to God, not to perform on a stage. Jesus teaches that all righteousness is to be done this way, even those things he had addressed before. Disciples in Jesus' Kingdom thrive on the reward that comes from faithfulness to God.