Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Another well-recognized phrase that we think was first heard in the Sermon on the Mount? Think again.

Here is one of the greatest medieval Jewish sage’s comment on Exodus 4:14: Rashi explains that the import of the word eh-heh-yeh – I Shall Be – is as follows, "I shall be with them in this sorrow as I shall be with them in other sorrows." According to the Midrash, Moshe responds with "An evil in its own time is enough."

Please note that I am not saying that Jesus was laying a false claim to originality in any of these instances. Rather it is that he was reminding his students of precepts they should be recognizing. This, I think, puts it in a perspective that is even more instructive than the traditional Christian one.