Introductory remarks:
The Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5-7) is one of the most misunderstood, misapplied, and terribly abused portions of Scripture. The liberal wing of religion love to apply the sermon as a way of life, and the right wing (hyper dispensationalists) teach it doesn't apply to us today, and that it is useless as far as grace is concerned. I personally don't agree with either the right or the left; of course I seldom agree with anything that is left of center, and occasionally disagree with the right.
The important thing to remember as we study Matthew is that, he is a Jew speaking to Jews. This is very important in order to keep everything in its proper context. The Law was given to Moses in order to show the perfection of God, and that the children of Israel needed a Savior. Paul wrote to the Galatians: Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith (3:24). You see, God cannot accept anyone that falls short of His own perfection, that is why He sent Christ to come into the world and fulfill the Law with His perfect life, and then die physically and spiritually for the whole world, in order that God might impute (accredit to our account, that is, make us perfect in His sight) the righteousness of Christ. The Law, therefore, is our teacher, to show us that we need the Savior.
Now in verse 20 we read, For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. The Jewish religious leaders were claiming the Law of Moses as their savior, and that they were able to keep it, and that by keeping it they were righteous. Now Christ has a purpose in the Sermon, and that is to show the Jews they couldn't keep the Law even in their own minds. Two points come to the front regarding the Law that Jesus brings to their minds if they think they could possibly keep the Law for their justification:1) In the Law it says, Thou shall not commit murder. In the Sermon on the Mount Christ says, If you hate your brother, you have committed murder in God's sight, and 2) In the Law it says, Thou shall not commit adultery. In the Sermon on the Mount Christ says, If you so much as look at a woman and lust after her, you have committed adultery already, in your heart. Now for those who say they can keep the Law, they need to study the Sermon on the Mount, and for those who say it doesn't apply to grace age believers, they need to study the Sermon on the Mount; have I left anyone out? We all need to study the entire Word of God. The Sermon on the Mount is covered in chapters 5-7. The Sermon on the Mount is the Law that will be in force during Christ's millennial reign.
The Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5-7)
Verse 1, "And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:"
LGT "But seeing the crowds, He went up into the mountain, and He, having sat down, His disciples came to Him:"
"And seeing the multitude, he went up into a mountain:"
The multitude that was gathering is the same that had "followed from Galilee, Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan" (4:25).
In the Greek NT 'a mountain' has the article and should read the mountain. The article particularizes this mountain, however, it is impossible to determine what mountain Matthew is referring. "Delitzsch calls the Mount of Beatitudes 'The Sinai of the New Testament' (Vincent). The reason he calls this the Sinai of the NT will become obvious as we study on, but for the time being, it is obvious because Christ expands on the Law of Moses, making the Sermon on the Mount even more impossible to keep. The Law of Moses is from the human viewpoint, while the Sermon of the Mount is from the divine viewpoint. Edersheim describes this Mountain:
"It was probably on one of those mountain-ranges, which stretch to the north of Capernaum, that Jesus had spent the night of lonely prayer, which preceded the designation of the twelve to the Apostolate. As the soft spring morning broke, He called up those who had learned to follow Him, and from among them chose the twelve, who were to be His Ambassadors and Representatives (Luke 6:13). But already the early light had guided the eager multitude, which, from all parts, had come to the broad level plateau beneath to bring to Him their need of soul and body. To them He now descended with words of comfort and power of healing. But better yet had He to say, and to do for them, and for us all. As they pressed around Him for the touch which brought virtue of healing to all, He retired again to the mountain-height, and through the clear air of the bright spring day spake, what has ever since been known as the 'Sermon on the Mount,' from the place where He sat, or as that 'in the plain' (Luke 6:17), from the place where He had first met the multitude, and which so many have continued to occupy while He taught" (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah).
"And when he was set, his disciples came unto him."
The term 'disciple' means a learner; so what we have here is, those who followed Jesus and were taught by Him; it does not infer that they were all believers. Jesus set Himself down, as was the custom of the Rabbis, and began to teach.
Verse 2, "And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,"
LGT "And having opened His mouth, He began to teach them, saying,"
The word 'taught' in the Greek is in the imperfect tense, and it presents the full impact of what Jesus did on this occasion, that is, He began to teach, and continued to teach as long as He had followers. Some think that He first taught His disciples and then the disciples taught the multitudes, however, this seems to me a little too forced from the context; I believe, along with Pentecost, that Jesus spoke directly to the crowd, that is why He chose a flat plateau where He could be seen and heard from a distance. The first 12 verses of the Sermon on the Mount are called the 'Beatitudes.'
The Beatitudes
(Luke 6:20-23)
Verse 3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
LGT "Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens."
"Blessed"
The word 'blessed' in Greek is makarioi, meaning to be happy. I don't think the English word happy gives the proper connotation of the Greek word 'blessed.' I believe that in these first 12 verses that this word 'blessed' is used (9-times) that happy gives the best meaning. As I have studied this word in depth, it would take too long and too much space to give it in detail; so I will state the bottom line what I believe the best definition. The meaning of the word in this context, coupled with the fact that believers are 'poor in spirit' would be 'utter contentment' and a 'relaxed mental attitude.'
"Are the poor in spirit:"
The term 'poor in spirit' does not mean 'spiritually deficient', quite the opposite; it means to be humble, unassuming, and gentle. Some believers are aware that it is because of God's grace and Christ's supreme sacrifice on the cross that they are His child and the recipient of God's Divine Riches of Grace. Barnes has a good paragraph on being 'poor in spirit' as follows:
"To be poor in spirit is to have a humble opinion of ourselves; to be sensible that we are sinners, and have no righteousness of our own; to be willing to be saved only by the rich grace and mercy of God; to be willing to be where God places us, to go where He bids us; . . . to be willing to be in His hands, and to feel that we deserve no favor from Him. It is opposed to pride, and vanity, and ambition. Such are happy:1st because there is more real enjoyment in thinking of ourselves as we are, than in being filled with pride and vanity. 2nd because such Jesus chooses to bless, and on them He confers His favors here, 3rd because theirs will be the kingdom of heaven hereafter. It is remarkable that Jesus began His ministry in this manner, so unlike all others. Other teachers had taught that happiness was to be found in honor, or riches, or splendor, or sensual pleasure. Jesus overlooked all those things, and fixed His eye on the poor and the humble, and said that happiness was to be found in the lowly vale of poverty more than in pomp and splendors of life."
"For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
The kingdom of heaven is spiritual, that is, every believer enters the kingdom of heaven the moment he or she first puts their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior; and it is also physical, that is, the kingdom of heaven will be set up on earth, when Jesus Christ returns at the end of the Seven Years Tribulation to end Satan's world domination; it is here that Christ will wrest the scepter from Satan's hand and cast him into the 'abyss' for one thousand years (see the exposition on the Revelation). I believe Christ has both the spiritual and physical in view here.
Verse 4, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."
LGT "Blessed are the ones who mourn, because they will be encouraged, comforted, and calmed in spirit."
"Blessed are they that mourn:"
All believers must pass through times of sorrow or great suffering; if they know the Word of God sufficiently, mourning, can and will turn into blessing: And we know that all things work [blend] together for good to those who love the Lord, and are the called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). All things that happen to a believer, whether good or evil, are for God's divine purpose, and it is left to us to search the Scriptures, and rest in His grace, and He may reveal His purpose to us here on this planet, or He will let us wait to find out His purpose in Glory.
"For they shall be comforted."
We studied in John 14 how that Jesus comforted His disciples with the promise of His Spirit; we have also the same comfort of the Holy Spirit, and He is revealed to us in The Word of God: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). "There is no comfort, where there is no sorrow" (Expositor's Greek New Testament). The deeper one's suffering, the stronger one finds comfort in the Word of God. Even in confessing sin, when one is truly sorry for sin, the greater the comfort in knowing we have been forgiven. Sin can ruin a life, but only if we let it; we should confess our sin and move forward in the Word, or we will be defeated. I know a young man going through a tremendous test, and he is unable to find the comfort, for he doesn't even own a copy of the Word of God; so it becomes a great burden upon me to try and give him the comfort from God's Word he needs. God desires that we be not like the Pharisees who did not accept the fact that they had anything to confess; I personally find great comfort in believing 1 John 1:9.
Verse 5, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
LGT "Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth."
"Blessed are the meek:"
What Jesus means by 'meek' is not what the world regards as meek; Jesus is speaking of mildness in a believer that comes from self-examination and a believer's humility before his Creator, realizing that all his strength comes from God. The believer is self abased, realizing that the righteousness that he possess is imputed on him by Christ, in other words, it is faith alone in Christ alone, that produces meekness in a believer, that is, the gentleness in a man that only the Holy Spirit can produce. The world considers meekness a mild manner, a sort of effeminacy, and I believe that is why so many of the men today wear women's hair styles and jewelry; we have around us today male figures that have the souls of women. A.T. Robertson notes:
"The ancients used the word for outward conduct and towards men. They did not rank it as a virtue anyhow. It was a mild equanimity [composure] that was sometimes negative and sometimes positively kind. But Jesus lifted the word to a nobility never attained before. In fact, the Beatitudes assume a new heart, for the natural man does not find in happiness the qualities mentioned here by Christ. The English word 'meek' has already lost the fine blend of spiritual poise and strength meant by the Master. He calls Himself meek and lowly in heart (Matt. 11:29) and Moses is also called meek. It is the gentleness of strength, not mere effeminacy."
McGee adds:
"How do you become meek? Our Lord was meek and lowly, and He will inherit all things; we are the heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, We are told that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, temperance, and meekness. Only the Spirit of God can break you and make you meek. If you could produce meekness by your own effort, you would be proud of yourself, wouldn't you? And out goes your meekness! Meekness is not produced by self-effort but by Spirit effort. Only the Holy Spirit can produce meekness in the heart of a yielded Christian. The Christian who has learned the secret of producing the fruit of the Holy Spirit can turn here to the Beatitudes and read, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth, and see that the rewards of meekness are still in the future. Paul asked the Corinthian believers, Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world,"
"For they shall inherit the earth."
This can only be referring to Christ's Millennial reign; the Jews were promised [the Palestinian Covenant] the land of Canaan, and when Joshua led the children of Israel into Palestine, they could not follow instructions, and it was taken away from them, and will only be returned to them when they turn to Christ during the Tribulation Period, and then they will go into the Kingdom of God with Christ ruling with a rod of iron for a thousand years.
Verse 6, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled."
LGT "Blessed [are] the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied."
"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness;"
Happy are the ones who lack wisdom and ask of God, Who gives to them liberally. The natural man does not seek after God's righteousness, for they cannot understand spiritual wisdom. The more we walk in the light, the more we hunger and thirst for the Word of God, and the only way we can walk in the Light is to keep short accounts with the Father, that is, confess sin and keep moving forward. As a matter of fact, the believer cannot be truly happy unless he or she is studying the Word daily.
"For they shall be filled."
This phrase is better; They will be satisfied. The Word of God is all that can satisfy the righteous appetite. There are countless books out in the world about the Bible, but it is only the Bible that can truly satisfy the hungry believer; all other books will absolutely come up wanting; they may make one feel good about themselves; they may satisfy the ego; they may give one an emotional euphoric feeling; but they all miss the reason the Bible speaks of man as deceitful and desperately wicked; the Bible presents man in need of a Savior and in need of the Holy Spirit to produce divine good in their lives; these books try and have man produce divine good, but they all come short of the glory of God; God must receive the glory, because only God can produce divine good in the believers life; that is why Paul called them the fruit of the Spirit.
Verse 7, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."
LGT "Blessed [are] the merciful: for they will find mercy."
"Blessed are the merciful:"
The merciful are the ones who have been born again, because the natural man is by nature selfish and unmerciful.
"For they shall obtain mercy."
As far as believers are concerned, there is a principle to be observed; if we show mercy to our brothers and sisters, it will be because God has shown us mercy; but if we don't show mercy, it will be because we have neglected the truth from the Father of mercy; the final point is, that it is because of God's mercy that we are able to show mercy to other family members.
Pentecost has a note on the Pharisees inability to show mercy:
"The Pharisees considered themselves to have no responsibility to the poor, the sick, the infirm, and the lonely, supposing these to be signs of divine displeasure. They felt no obligation to those whom they deemed to be under divine punishment. But Christ taught that true righteousness will produce a loving response to the needs of others."
Verse 8, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
LGT "Blessed [are] the ones who are pure in heart: for they will see God."
"Blessed are the pure in heart:"
No man can claim purity of heart; what Christ is answering with this statement is those who had asked Him: How pure must we be? The Lord has always demanded complete purity. It is the same as those who claim to be spiritual. A believer is never part spiritual and part carnal; one is either one hundred percent spiritual or one hundred percent carnal; When we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You see, Christ has imputed to us His righteousness, and 'positionally' we are as pure as He is pure. The only way anyone can claim to be righteous is by claiming Christ as Savior; then and only then are we made righteous: For God had made Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him [Christ] 2 Cor. 5:21).
"For they shall see God."
No man has seen God at any time. The only way we are able to see God is to see His Son; once we become children of God, we are assured that we will see our Father; But as many as received Him [Christ] to them gave He the authority to become children of God, even to them who believe on His name (John 1:12).
Verse 9, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God."
LGT "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called sons of God."
"Blessed are the peacemakers:"
Peace makers are not just the ones who try and keep peace, but are the ones who live the Christian life, and bring peace along with them, that is, these are the ones who have matured and love peace; and I certainly don't intend to infer that those pretenders that call themselves 'peaceniks' would be included in this title; those sixties hippies that were strung out on drugs and were self drug-induced to act the part of the peacemakers, but were actually cowards afraid to go to war to protect their nation.
"For they shall be called the children of God."
Christ taught that we become children of God by the 'new birth' not by being a child of Abraham (John 1:12). A person is not a peacemaker in order to become a child of God, but a peacemaker because he or she is a child of God.
Pentecost writes:
"Peacemakers are themselves at peace with God. They bring a message of peace so that people might be brought into harmony with God from whom they have been alienated. In order to become a peacemaker, one must find peace with God. Those to whom Christ spoke this message could have experienced this peace if they accepted His word. Those who come to be at peace with God will then become messengers of the good news that Christ Himself preached. Those who trust Christ's word and evidence their faith in the word by proclaiming the word will be called children of God. It is not the act of the proclaiming the word that they will be called the children of God. It is not the act of the proclamation that constitutes them as God's children, but their proclamation does demonstrate the fact that they have that status [even the proclaiming the Gospel is not a pre-requisite to being a child of God - some will, and some won't]. The Pharisees taught that one was a son of God by virtue of birth in Abraham's line. But Christ declared that one became a child of God by faith in His word."
Verse 10, "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
LGT "Blessed are the ones who have been pursued after, on account of righteousness: for theirs is the kingdom of God."
The word 'persecuted' is dediogmenoi, a perfect passive participle and is literally 'the ones who have been pursued after', because of their position in Christ.
Many of the commentators make the same mistake of saying that those who are persecuted for Christ's sake are the ones who will enter the kingdom of God; however, it must be remembered that they are persecuted because they are born again, not born again because they are persecuted. Many in the Apostolic age, between the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost and the completion of the Scriptures, and many during this 'Age of Grace' have suffered persecution because of their born again status, but none will be saved nor enter God's kingdom based on their being persecuted, only on the fact they are born again.
Barnes notes:
"To persecute means literally to pursue, follow after, as one does a flying enemy. Here it means to vex, or oppress one, on account of his religion. They persecute others who injure their names, reputation, property, or who endanger or take their life, on account of their religious opinions. For righteousness' sake, because they are righteous, or are the friends of God [this should read and are the friends of God, not or are the friends of God]. We are not to seek persecution. We are not to provoke it by strange sentiments or conduct; by violating the laws of civil society [unless of course these laws are contrary to God's laws], or by modes of speech that are unnecessarily offensive to others. But if, in the honest effort to be Christians, and to live the life of Christians, others persecute and revile [insult] us, we are to consider this as a blessing. It is an evidence that we are the children of God, and that He will defend us. All that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12)."
Verse 11, "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake."
LGT "Blessed are you, when they will abuse [exploit] you and persecute [discriminate against] and say all evil against you [lying] on account of Me."
"Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you,"
The Greek word for 'revile' is oneidisomin, meaning they would be abused or exploited, that is, they would be taken advantage of.
"And persecute you,"
In verse ten Christ gave the reason they would be persecuted, but here He just says that they would be persecuted; it seems important that they understand that they would be persecuted, or Christ would not have said it twice; not that Christ has to repeat Himself.
"And shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my name sake."
Here in this phrase the Lord warns them that the world would be speaking all types of lying calumny [slander and insulting lies] against them, but that they should understand that it was because of Him that they will be taking this abuse; and that if they would live for Him, they could expect the same treatment He received; and many of them did.
Verse 12, "Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad; for great is your reward in heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you."
LGT "Rejoice and celebrate with praise; because your reward [is] great in the heavens; for thus they persecuted the prophets before you."
"Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad:"
The Lord says that there is no reason for despair over all the persecution that is ahead for His disciples; He says 'Rejoice, and celebrate with praise:"
"For great is your reward in heaven;"
I have repeated over and over to you all that it does matter whether or not we receive rewards; I can remember a Christian brother said to me, "It doesn't matter to him whether he receives a reward in heaven; it is enough that he is going there." This sounds rather pious, however it is the height of stupidity. If it were not important, Christ would not have stressed it, and the Apostle Paul would not have put such importance on rewards; It is so important that Christ uses it as a comfort to His disciples that even though they will pass through many tribulations, they have a great reward waiting for them in heaven.
"For so persecuted they the prophets who were before you."
The disciples were well aware of the Old Testament, and they had read how that the prophets of Old were not welcome in their own country, but were martyred for their stand for God. Christ asked them to take courage in His Word.
Salt and Light
(Mark 9:50; Luke 14:34-35)
Verse 13, "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."
LGT "You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has become insipid [bland], with what will it be salted? For nothing has its strength any longer, except to be cast out and trampled upon of men."
"Ye are the salt of the earth:"
Salt brings out the flavor in foods, and the disciples were to bring out the best in the world, that is. Believers are the only part of this world that is pleasant, for the world, as a whole would make one vomit.
Barnes notes:
"Salt renders food pleasant and palatable, and preserves from putrification. So Christians, by their lives and instructions, are to keep the world from entire moral corruption. By bringing down the blessing of God in answer to their prayers, and by their influence and example, they save the world from universal vice and crime."
"But if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?"
The Greek word for 'savor' is morantha from moros, from which we get our word 'moron.' As it is applied here to salt it simply means that it is useless.
"It is thence forth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."
Vincent comments about the word 'savor:'
"Moros means dull, sluggish; applied to the mind, stupid or silly; applied to the taste, insipid, flat. The verb here used to salt, to become insipid, also means to play the fool. Our Lord refers here to the familiar fact of salt losing its pungency and becoming useless. Dr. Thompson ("the Land and the Book") cites the following case: 'A merchant of Sidon, having farmed of the government of the revenue from the importation of salt, brought over a great quantity from the marshes of Cyprus - enough, in fact, to supply the whole province for many years. This he had transferred to the mountains, to cheat the government out of some small percentage of duty. Sixty-five houses were rented and filled with salt. Such houses have merely earthen floors, and salt next the ground was in a few years entirely spoiled. I saw large quantities of it literally thrown into the road to be trodden under foot of men and beasts. It was good for nothing.'"
Verse 14, "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid."
LGT "You are the light of the world. A city is not able to be hidden, situated on a mountain."
Christ said in John 8:12, I am the Light of the world. Now that we are born again and Christ becomes our Elder Brother, we now are the light of the world; we have no choice in the matter of being the light; we have become the light by our new birth; the choice we have now is whether or not we will let our light shine in this world, or hide it under the bushel of self-interest.
McGee writes:
"Christians are the light of the world. Certainly in the kingdom the believers are going to be the light of the world. This is a tremendous principle for us. We need to be a light in our neighborhood and wherever we go. We have no light within ourselves, but the Word of God is light. Being a light means giving out the Word of God in one way or another. This doesn't mean that you should be quoting Scripture all the time, but it does mean that you are to share the light that God has given you. It is very easy to cultivate some person, then quietly and graciously introduce them to a Bible-teaching church [or a good Bible study, for the church may be far and few between] or radio program. There are many ways in which you can be light in the world."
Verse 15, "Neither do men light a [lamp], and put it under a bushel, but on a lamp stand, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house."
LGT "Neither do they light a lamp and place it under the corn measure, but upon the lamp stand, and shines for all the ones in the house."
The 'bushel' was a 'grain-measure' found in every house. "The figure is taken from lowly cottage life. There was a projecting stone in the wall in which the lamp was set. The house consisted of a single room, so that the tiny light sufficed for all. It was not put under the bushel (the only one in the room) save to put it out or to hide it. The bushel was an earthenware grain measure. The stand (en luchnian), not 'candlestick.' It is 'lamp-stand' in each of the twelve examples in the Bible. There was one lamp-stand for the single room" (A.T. Robertson).
Verse 16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
LGT "Thus shine your light before men, so that they may see your good works and may glorify your Father who is in the heavens."
The life a believer lives can either be light that brings glory to God, which is considered 'good works', or 'human good' which brings dishonor to God. This verse can consider both if one reads the word 'may' in both clauses. We either bring glory to God or glory to self; the purpose of the 'light' is to draw attention away from self, and towards our Heavenly Father.
Teaching about the Law
Verse 17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."
LGT "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the prophets: I came not to destroy but to fulfill."
Christ was the Anti-type of every type [symbol] of the Old Testament. The Law and the Prophets all pointed to Christ; the Law was a 'schoolmaster to bring the world to Christ.' Christ is the fulfillment of every sacrifice taught in the Old Testament; in this way He not only fulfilled the Old Testament, but He also put an end to the sacrificial system of the Old Economy by offering Himself as the Supreme Sacrifice for sin on the Cross. When we study the Old Testament we must always keep this fact in the forefront of our minds, that is, if you want to be accurate in you exegesis.
Verse 18, "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
LGT "For verily I say to you: Until heaven and earth pass away, one iota or one tittle will in no way pass away from the law, until all come to pass."
The iota is the smallest vowel in the Greek alphabet, and the tittle represents the smallest particle. Christ is saying that the 'Law of God' will never be extinguished. It is not that the Law has any reign over us, because we have fulfilled the Law in accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, the only one who did fulfill the Law. The Law has and always will be the standard of God's holiness. It is because of this holiness of God that men are able to see that they cannot measure up, and that they need a Savior. The demands that the Law put on Christ's followers were such that it drove them to the Savior as Paul taught the Galatians: "A schoolmaster to bring them to Christ."
Verse 19, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
LGT "Whoever then will break one of the least of these commandments and shall thus teach men, he will be called least in the kingdom of the heavens: but whoever will practice and teach [them], this [one] will be called great in the kingdom of the heavens."
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments."
There are commandments that are more serious to break than others, that is, even from the human view point, it is more sinful to murder than to lie; however, as James pointed out: If you offend in one point, you have offended the entire law. Christ is making a point to the multitudes that it is a serious offense to break God's Laws. I have already pointed out in this Sermon on the Mount that we all fulfill the Law in Christ; however, if we are to walk in the Light of fellowship with the Father and the Son, we cannot break His laws and remain in fellowship; this is only common sense; the truth remains that we have been released from the judgment of the Law, because of Christ "being made a curse for us."
"And shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:"
This is a big problem in the 'organized church.' There are men who are teaching that because of grace we are no longer under the Law; this is true, but we must keep everything in its context. We have been redeemed from the curse of the Law by Christ being made a curse for us; it is not that God's Laws are not holy and immutable, and ever showing His Divine character, it is simply that we are not under the penalty of the law; we are now under grace, and it is because of His grace that we are able have fellowship with Him, and when we sin we can go to Him and confess that sin and be restored to fellowship. Whenever a believer teaches that we are not under the Law so it is all right to break God's Laws is trifling with the Word of God.
"But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of Heaven."
The man who teaches correct Bible doctrine will receive his reward in heaven; it is enough of a promise to keep men on the straight edge of Scripture. "Jesus puts the practice before the preaching. The teacher must apply the doctrine to himself before he is qualified to teach others. The scribes and Pharisees were men who 'say and do not' (Matt. 23:3), who preach but do not perform. This is Christ's test of greatness" (Robertson).
Verse 20, "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
LGT "For I say to you that unless your righteousness is over and above the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will in no way enter into the kingdom of the heavens."
Christ is very definite when He describes the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, which is no righteousness at all; it is human good versus divine good. Man cannot produce righteousness; it must be imputed to him from Christ; righteousness can only be produced through the believer in fellowship with the Lord; it is only as we are walking in the Light as He is in the Light, that is, in the Word of God, that righteousness is produced through us; He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Pentecost notes:
Positions in the kingdom will be determined by one's attitude toward the law and by one's practice of the law. But Christ did categorically state that one needs a righteousness that surpassed the righteousness of the Pharisees if he was to enter the kingdom of heaven. He recognized that the Pharisees were concerned about righteousness. However, they had a misconception of what the law actually intended and demanded, and this misconception made it impossible for them to receive the righteousness which is acceptable to God."
Teaching About Anger
Verse 21, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:"
LGT "You have heard that it was said to the people of ancient times, Thou shall not commit murder; and whosoever commits murder, he will be accountable to the judgment."
"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,"
This phrase is literally it was said to the people of old; this is, it was said to people of the Old Testament; the majority of the people was illiterate and had to be instructed by types and symbols, and they had to rely later on the teaching of the Rabbis in the synagogues. Christ carefully gives illustrations to the multitudes that the Pharisees did not understand the full purpose of the Law, and begins each discourse with "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago" (Matt. 5:21, 27, 31, 38, 43).
"Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:"
The word 'kill' in the Greek NT is phoneuseis, and it means to commit murder, not simply to kill; liberals have picked up on the language of the KJV and get all sanctimonious saying that we are breaking the Ten Commandments when we go to war and kill the enemy; this is so far from the intent of the word kill as you can see from the meaning of the word 'kill' in the original; the people of the NT knew exactly what our Lord was saying when He said You should not commit murder, that is, shed innocent blood. Christ continues that anyone who commits murder will be in danger of the judgment, which is literally, will be accountable to the judgment. God's judgment is that anyone who commits murder will be put to death; this used to be the law of our land here in the U.S., but the liberals have worked for centuries to overturn God's Law; God gave to us many divine institutions for the welfare of our country, and the perpetuation of the human race and forbidding murder was one of them; sanctity of marriage is another, but we will consider these others as we come to them.
Barnes notes:
"This judgment was the tribunal that had cognizance [awareness] of cases of murder, &c. It was a court that sat in each city or town, and consisted commonly of seven members. It was the lowest court of appeal among the Jews, and from it an appeal might be taken to the Sanhedrim."
Verse 22, "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
LGT "But I say to you that every one who is angry with his brother will be liable [legally responsible] to the judgment: but whoever will say to his brother Raca, will be liable to the Sanhedrim: but whoever will say, Moron, will be liable to the gehenna of the fire."
"But I say unto you,"
Here Jesus claims authority over the Law of Moses, as they understood it; He is the Author of the Law, so He could not claim to be superior to Himself; it is just as the Pharisees interpreted the Law, that He claimed superiority.
"That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:"
Remember that Christ has given us two commands in this regard; 1) to love God with all our hearts and minds and spirit, and 2) to love our brothers as we love ourselves. Anger will, if left unchecked, eventually produce murder. So our Lord is saying that it is wrong to be angry with your brother without a cause.
Barnes adds:
"Anger, or that feeling which we have when we are injured, and which prompts us to defend ourselves when in danger, is a natural feeling, given to us - 1) as a proper expression of our disapprobation [disgust] of a course of evil conduct; and 2) that we may defend ourselves when suddenly attacked. When excited against sin, it is lawful. God is angry with the wicked, Psalm 7:11. Jesus looked on the hypocritical Pharisees with anger, Mark 3:5. So it is said Be ye angry, and sin not, Eph. 4:26. This anger, or indignation against sin, is not what our Savior speaks of here. What He condemns here is anger without a cause; that is, unjustly, rashly, hastily, where no offence has been given or intended. In that case it is evil; and it is a violation of the sixth commandment, because he that hateth his brother is a murderer, 1 John 3:15. He has a feeling which would lead to commit murder, if it were fully acted out."
The end of this phrase is the one who is angry without a cause will be in danger of the judgment: "That anger is liable to the judgment court. The judgment court is the local village council, which dispensed justice. That court was composed of the local village elders, and varied in number from three in villages of fewer than 150 inhabitants, to seven in larger towns and twenty-three in still bigger cities" (William Barclay).
"And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council:"
Raca is an Aramaic word meaning empty or brainless and stupid
"First of all, the person who calls another Raca is condemned. Raca is an almost untranslatable word, because it describes a tone of voice more than anything else [as in English we might say yuk, when we see something disgusting]. Its whole accent is the accent of contempt. To call a man Raca was to call him a brainless idiot, a silly fool, an empty-headed blunderer. It is the word of one who despises another with an arrogant contempt.
There is a Rabbinic tale of a certain Rabbi, Simon Ben Eleazar. He was coming from his teacher's house, and he was feeling uplifted at the thought of his own scholarship and erudition [sophistication] and goodness. A very ill-favored passer-by gave him a greeting. The Rabbi did not return the greeting, but said, 'You Raca! How ugly you are! Are all the men of your town as ugly as you?' 'That', said the passer-by, 'I do not know. Go and tell the maker who created me how ugly is the creature He has made.' So, there the sin of contempt was rebuked" (Barclay).
"But whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
The term 'thou fool' is from the Greek word moros, meaning senseless wickedness. The term 'hell fire' is literally, the Gehenna of the fire.
Vincent writes:
"The word Gehenna, rendered hell, occurs outside the Gospels only at James 3:6. It is the Greek representative of the Hebrew Ge-Hinnom, or valley of Hinnom, a deep, narrow glen to the south of Jerusalem, where, after the introduction of the worship of the fire-gods by Ahaz, the idolatrous Jews sacrificed their children to Molech. Josiah formally desecrated it, 'that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech' (2 Kings 23:10). After this it became the common refuse-place of the city, into which the bodies of criminals, carcasses of animals, and all sorts of filth were cast, From its depth and narrowness, and its fire and ascending smoke, it became the symbol of the place of the future punishment of the wicked. So Milton:
'The pleasant valley of Hinnom, Tophet thence
And black Gehenna called, the type of hell.'
As fire was the characteristic of the place, it was called the Gehenna of fire. It should be carefully distinguished from Hades, which is never used for the place of punishment, but for the place of departed spirits, without reference to their moral condition. This distinction is ignored by the KJV."
The thought here brought out by our Lord is not that if you call your brother a 'fool' you are in danger of 'hell-fire.' We all know that we are saved for eternity and 'nothing can separate us from the love of God.' I believe that what Christ is stressing here is the degrees of punishment in the future world for those who do not believe in Him. He goes from a person going before the Sanhedrim Council to the Valley of Hinnom. It is obvious by the context that the term 'Raca' is not as bad as 'Thou Fool.' So the punishment will fit the crime; there is a progression seen here in the sin, and there will be degrees of punishment to fit the crime. The language is 'figurative' but the passage is literally understood. Our Lord often uses a 'Parable' or 'metaphor' that is symbolic language in order for the people to understand better what He is speaking of. Jesus is actually warning the people of the final judgment for sin that has not been forgiven.
Verse 23, 24, "Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath anything against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
LGT "If therefore you shall offer your gift upon the altar, and there, remember that your brother has something against you, leave there your gift before the altar and go away, first be reconciled to your brother, and then having come offer your gift."
"Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar,"
The daily sacrifice was for individual sins committed by the Jew. The 'Day of Atonement' was a yearly sacrifice for the sins of the entire nation. The sacrifice alone did not atone for sin; what the sacrifice stood for, there lies the forgiveness; all sacrifices were types of Christ's atonement on Calvary; today in our age of grace, we have 1 John 1:9, that is, if we confess our sins [to the Father], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Christ was giving them an illustration from their own Jewish practices. When a Jew was bringing his sacrifice to the altar he had to make confession, however, he could not have an un-confessed sin lying at his door.
"And there rememberest that thy brother hath against thee,"
He that comes to the altar cannot be at war with his brother Jew.
"Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way;"
Jesus says, that a Jew who is at war with his brother cannot offer his sacrifice at this time, because his heart is not right with God; you see, it is not the sacrifice that atones for sins; it is not the sacrifice that cleanses the soul; it is not the sacrifice that restores one to fellowship, it is the condition of the heart, and the only thing that can cleanse the heart is the blood of Jesus Christ; and the mechanics of this cleansing is 'true confession' and 'true repentance', that is, a change of mind. Jesus goes on to instruct:
"First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
As I said earlier, as long as we are harboring sin in our hearts, we are out of fellowship, and we are walking in darkness. The Psalmist wrote: If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Psalm 66:18).
William Barclay writes:
"If any sacrifice was to be valid, confession and restoration were involved. The picture, which Jesus is painting, is very vivid. The worshipper, of course, did not make his own sacrifice; he brought it to the priest, who offered it on his behalf. The worshipper has entered the temple; he has passed through its series of courts, the Court of the Gentiles, the Court of the Women and the Court of the Men. Beyond that, there laid the Court of the Priests, into which the laymen could not go. The worshipper is standing at the rail, ready to hand over his victim to the priest; his hands are on it to confess; and then he remembers his breach with his friend [brother], the wrong done to his neighbor [brother]. If his sacrifice is to no avail, he must go back and mend that breach and undo that wrong, or nothing can happen.
Jesus is quite clear about this basic fact - we cannot be right with God until we are right with one another; we cannot hope for forgiveness until we have confessed our sin, not only to God, but also to one another, and until we have done our best to remove the practical consequences of it. We sometimes wonder why there is a barrier between God and us; we sometimes wonder why our prayers seem unavailing. The reason may well be that we ourselves have erected that barrier, through being at variance with our neighbors, or because we have wronged someone and have done nothing to put things right."
Verse 25, "Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison."
LGT "Be agreeing with your opponent in a lawsuit quickly, while you are in the way with him, lest the opponent deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be cast into prison:"
This whole verse by the original definition of adversary, sounds like a settlement out of court; I am well aware of how this lawsuit thing goes; I have been sued twice, and my lawyer has settled out of court both times; by the way, I was innocent both times; I know, I know, that's what they all say.
"Agree with thine adversary quickly,"
"This is still an illustration of the sixth commandment. To be in hostility, to go to law, to be litigious, is a violation always, on one side or the other, of the law requiring us to love our neighbor, [our brother], and our Savior regards it as a violation of the sixth commandment." (Barnes).
"While thou art in the way with him,"
"This means, while you are going to the court, before the trial has taken place, it is our duty, if possible, to come to an agreement. It is wrong to carry the contention to a court of law (See 1 Cor. 6: 6, 7)" (Barnes).
"Lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison:"
"The consequence of not being reconciled, He expresses in the language of courts. The adversary shall deliver you to the judge, and he to the executioner, and he shall throw you into prison. He did not mean to say that this would literally be the way with God, but that His dealings with those that harbored these feelings, and would not be reconciled with their brethren, were represented by the punishment inflicted by human tribunals. That is, he would hold all such violators of the sixth commandment, and would punish them accordingly" (Barnes).
We must ever keep in mind that Jesus is speaking of true believers and their treatment of one another, and can never be misconstrued as meaning in all our dealings with the world. Besides, Jesus is speaking to Jews who were under the Law, and has not yet taught them about the free Grace that He was about to accomplish for them on their behalf.
Verse 26, "Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."
LGT "Verily I say to you, you will in no way come out from there, until you have paid the last kodrantes."
I believe that Jesus is telling the Jews that if they want happiness in time, and rewards in eternity, they will live by the law of love. The kodrantes was equal to two mites, equal to half a farthing, English money (Barnes). There are commentators who spiritualize this passage to mean eternal punishment, but after reading some of them, I think they are too forced to make any sense.
Teaching about Adultery
Verse 27, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:"
LGT "You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery."
This is a quotation from Exodus 20, and is the seventh commandment. This is exactly what the Law given to Moses says.
Verse 28, " But I say you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
LGT "But I say to you that everyone that looks upon a woman to lust after her, has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
This has to include every normal red-blooded man who ever lived. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only man who ever lived that is not guilty of breaking any of the Law, and that is because He is the God Man. A brother of mine and I were discussing what is required of us if we are to be considered righteous before God, and we both agreed that we would have to be completely righteous, for there is no such thing that half righteous and half carnal. It is a wonderful thing to know that in our 'Age of Grace' Christ has made us righteous, for it is impossible to be righteous on our own. Thank God for His word: For God had made Christ to be sin for us, the One who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ (My free translation of 2 Cor. 5:21).
"With her already in his heart."
Robertson notes:
"Not just the center of the blood circulation though it means that. Not just the emotional part of man's nature, but here the inner man including the intellect, the affections, and the will. This word 'heart' (kardiai) is exceedingly common in the New Testament and repays careful study always. It is from a root that means to quiver or palpitate. Jesus locates adultery in the eye and heart before the outward act. Wunsche (Beitrage) quotes two pertinent rabbinical sayings as translated by Bruce: 'The eye and the heart are two brokers of sin.' 'Passions lodge only in him who sees.' Hence the peril of lewd pictures and plays to the pure."
Some of us men can claim that we have never committed adultery; but how many of us can claim that we have never lusted after another woman; or how many women are able to claim that they have never lusted after another man. It is not a sin to look at the opposite sex, but it is a sin to mentally decide to pursue what we look at; once we have made a decision to go after what we see in the opposite sex, that is, we have made a conscious plan to make something concrete out of our mental conception, it becomes a sin. The Pharisees looked at adultery, the seventh commandment, strictly from the human act of illegal sexual intercourse with the opposite sex; however, Jesus, who is God, gives the divine viewpoint that the sin begins in the heart.
Barnes explains in his notes:
"It is probable that the Pharisees had explained this commandment, as they had the sixth, as extending only to the external act; and that they regarded evil thoughts and a wanton [reckless] imagination as of little consequences, or as not forbidden by the law. Our Savior assures them that the commandment did not regard the external act merely, but the secrets of the heart, and the movements of the eye. He declares that they who indulge a wanton desire, that they who look on a woman to danger of indulging in evil desires, and in the rovings of a wanton eye. See 2 Sam. 11; Ps. 51; 2 Pet. 2:14. So exceeding strict and broad is the Law of God! And so heinous in His sight are thoughts and feelings which may be for ever concealed from the world!"
Verse 29, "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
LGT "And if your right eye is causing you to stumble [morally], tear it out and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you, that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body be cast into Gehenna.
"And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee:"
Of course the Lord is not proposing physical mutilation; He is simply making a comparison of the spiritual over the physical. The physical eye is for a short time, while the spiritual eye is for eternity. What our Lord is saying is that it would be better to be blind than to succumb to physical lusts that cause us to commit sin. The Greek word for 'offend' is scandalizei, an imperfect active verb from scandalizo, meaning a 'trigger stick' which closes like a trap, and thus we get the understanding, to cause to stumble, which I believe gives the better meaning than to 'offend.'
Vincent remarks on the word 'offend':
"The word offend carries to the English reader the sense of giving offense, provoking. Hence the Revised Version, by restoring the word, restores its true meaning, causes to stumble. The kindred noun is skandalon, a later form of skandalathron, the stick in a trap on which the bait is placed, and which springs up and shuts the trap at the touch of an animal. Hence, generally, a snare, a stumbling-block. Christ's meaning here is: 'If your eye or hand serve as an obstacle or trap to ensnare or make you fall in your moral walk.' How the eye might do this may be seen in the previous verse. Bengal observes: 'He who, when his eye proves a stumbling-block, takes care not to see, does in reality blind himself.' The words scandal and slander are both derived from scandalon."
"For it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
This is where most people have trouble with their interpretation of our Lord's words. Christ is not saying that a person will go to hell for the sin of adultery, or any other sin of the body; He is saying that we must abandon our lusts in order to be able to have the fulfillment of our fellowship with Him. The term 'cast into hell' is literally, cast into Gehenna, (see the notes on verse 22). Christ is not referring to the eternal 'Lake of Fire' at the end of the ages, where all unbelievers will go, but the Valley of Hinnom where all useless things were burned, in the Gehenna of fire.
Verse 30, "And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
LGT "And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not your whole body go away into the Gehenna."
There is not anything more to be said on this verse that was not said on the last about the eye. The 'right hand' is significant only in that it is the most important hand, unless of course, you are left handed, and then it would be, 'If thy left hand offend thee, cut it off.' The whole purpose of this illustration by the Lord is that we realize that we must keep our members under control of the Holy Spirit, through the Word of God.
Teaching about Divorce
(Mt.19:9; MK. 10:11-12; Lk. 16:18)
Verse 31, "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:"
LGT "It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a deed of divorce."
The term 'writing of divorcement' in the Greek is apostasion, meaning a repudiation [disclaimer] and a deed of divorce. This deed of divorce was "a protection to the wife against an angry husband who might send her away with no paper to show for it" (Robertson).
This an abbreviation of Deuteronomy 24:1-2: When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her; then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife.
Verse 32, "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced commitheth adultery."
LGT "But I say to you that whoever shall put away his wife except on account of fornication causes her to commit adultery, and whoever shall marry her who has been put away, commits adultery."
Today it seems that this principle is completely ignored, even in Christian circles. I attended a Christian Congregation that the preacher even bragged about the fact that his congregation was made up of at least 50 % divorced people. I thought this was a strange thing until I found out that he himself had been divorced. I might add, that, no court in the land has the right to grant a divorce to any couple except for the grounds of adultery; today we have judges granting divorce for 'irreconcilable differences', and that they are 'incompatible', and just about anything that a lawyer might dream up for his or her client. I believe that a Christian couple should work out all differences, including fornication, if at all possible; I am not saying I could forgive, I am only saying believers should make a life-long commitment.
Teaching about Oaths
Verse 33, "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:"
LGT "Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, You shall not break an oath [perjure yourself], but you should discharge your oaths to the Lord."
God gave, through Moses, the instructions regarding oaths, to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 23:21-25. As I mentioned before, the entire Law was given, to drive the people to Christ, but it also had a human viewpoint of the 'perpetuation of the human race'. Here Christ says that it was unlawful for a person to swear falsely, that is, to perjure himself or herself.
Barnes notes:
"It appears, however, from this passage, as well as from ancient writings of the Jewish rabbins, that while the Jews professedly adhered to the law, they had introduced a number of oaths in common conversation, and oaths which they by no means considered to be binding. For example, they would swear by the temple, by the head, by heaven, by earth. So long as they kept from swearing by the name Jehovah, and so long as they observed the oaths publicly taken, they seemed to consider all others as allowable, and allowedly broken. This is the abuse which Christ wished to correct."
Verse 34, 35, 36, "But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King, neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black."
LGT "But I say to you, not to swear at all: neither by the heaven, because it is [the] throne of God, nor by the earth, because it is [the] footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, because it is [the] city of the Great King, neither by your head shall you swear, because you are not able to make one hair white or black."
"But I say unto you, Swear not at all;"
Jesus is not making a reference here to taking an oath before a civil court, but that we should live a truthful consistent life that an oath is not necessary to sustain our veracity. He goes on to detail His meaning.
"Neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:"
Making an oath by heaven is forbidden; it was a customary way of promising at that time, saying: As sure as there is a heaven, this is true. Jesus says that when a person swears by heaven, they are swearing by God Himself, because He sits on the throne.
"Nor by earth; for it is His footstool:"
"Swearing by that, [the earth] therefore, is really swearing by God. Or perhaps it means, 1st. We must have no right to pledge, or swear by, what belongs to God; and, 2nd. That oaths by inanimate objects are unmeaning and wicked. If they are real oaths, they are by a living Being, who has power to take vengeance. A footstool is that on which the feet rest when sitting. The term is applied to the earth to denote how lowly and humble an object it is when compared with God" (Barnes).
"Neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King."
"Jerusalem was a place for which the Jews had such veneration [reverence], that they could not speak of any thing more sacred to swear by; but beside the common reference Jerusalem has to God, as part of the earth, it is in special relation to Him, for it is the city of the great King. He is therefore interested in it, and in every oath taken by it" (Matthew Henry).
"Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black."
"This was a common oath. The Gentiles also used this oath. To swear by the head was the same as to swear by the life; or to say, I will forfeit my life if what I say is not true. God is the Author of the life, and to swear by that, therefore, is the same as to swear by Him, You have no control or right over your own life. You cannot even change one single hair. God has all that control; and it is therefore improper and profane to pledge what is God's gift and God's property; and it is the same as swearing by God Himself" (Barnes).
Verse 37, "But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
LGT "Let your word be, Yea, yea; nay, nay: but what [is] more than these is out from evil."
Of course our Lord is making reference only to taking oaths. A good example for all is His trial before Pilate, and how He answered Pilate. The whole idea behind being required to take an oath in a court of law is that men are such contemptible liars, that they are required to swear on a Bible in order to get at some of the truth. The Christian should not have to swear on anything but his word should be enough. I recently have been involved in a lawsuit that named my company as partially liable; as I was being coached by my lawyer he told me don't try too hard to tell the truth, just answer the questions with as few words as possible. I believe he was afraid I was going to get myself in trouble if I used too many words. Thank God they settled out of court and I didn't have to go to trial. There is an old saying, if you tell the truth you don't have to have a good memory. I suppose, as we get older the best policy is always tell the truth, because we all start losing our memory eventually. McGee says, "When a man says to me, I'd swear on a stack of Bibles a mile high, that is the fellow I do not believe because I think the lie he's telling is a mile high."
Teaching about Retaliation
Verse 38, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
LGT "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."
The Jews understood Deuteronomy 19:21, And thine eye shall not pity, but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, as giving them the right for retribution. Robertson notes that the law of retribution still exists in Arabia today. It is not that God's Law is unjust, it is just that God had given this law to regulate the decisions of the magistrates; the Jews took the law and interpreted it as justifiable to take vengeance out for themselves.
Verse 39, "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."
LGT "But I say to you not to resist evil: but whoever shall strike you on the right cheek turn to him also the other."
Of course the Lord is not saying that we should not defend ourselves against evildoers; He is not saying that we should not defend our families; He is not saying we should not defend our country; He is saying that we should not pursue the evil with evil. We must always keep in mind that whatever evil is done to us; we have a heavenly Father who will have the last word. Robertson notes that "Professional pacifism may be mere cowardice." I for one am too quick to strike back, without weighing the consequences. It is a good thing to look at the situation from the divine viewpoint, and then hit the jerk. Of course in the Millennium we will be able to turn the other cheek. I must explain on this point of the Sermon on the Mount being not only an extension of the Law of Moses, but also a divine interpretation of the Law. If the children of Israel were unable to keep the law, how much more would it be impossible to live according to the Sermon on the Mount? The Law was given by God to drive the children of Israel to Christ, looking towards Christ's death on the cross. The Sermon on the Mount is looking back at the finished work of Christ on the cross, and will be a divine standard in effect during the Millennium.
Verse 40, "And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also."
LGT "And to the one who would go to law with you and to take your tunic, give to him also the coat."
Matthew Henry comments on this verse:
"It is common for legal processes to be made use of for the doing of greatest injuries. Though judges be just and circumspect [cautious], yet it is possible for bad men who make no conscience of oaths and forgeries, by course of law to force off the coat from a man's back. Marvel not at the matter (Eccl. 5:8), but, in such a case, rather than go to the law by way of revenge, rather than exhibit a cross bill, or stand out to the utmost, in defense of that which is thy undoubted right, let him even take thy cloak also. If the matter be small, which we may lose without an considerable damage to our families, it is good to submit to it for peace' sake. It will not cost thee so much to buy another cloak, as it will cost thee by course of law to recover that; and therefore, unless thou canst get it again by fair means, it is better to let him take it."
Verse 41, "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain."
LGT "And whoever shall force you to go one mile, go with him two."
The word 'compel' in the Greek is aggareusei, and means to 'compel' which means to force. "The word is of Persian origin and means public couriers or mounted messengers (aggeroi) who were stationed by the King of Persia at fixed localities, with horses ready for use, to send royal messages from one to another. So if a man is passing such a post-station, and official may rush out and compel him to go back to another station to do an errand for the king. This was called impressments into service. This very thing was done to Simon of Cyrene who was compelled to carry the cross for Christ (Matt. 27:32)" (Robertson).
Barnes expands:
"Post offices were then unknown. In order that the royal commands might be delivered with safety and dispatched in different parts of the empire, Cyrus stationed horseman at proper intervals on all the great public highways. One of those delivered the message to another, and intelligence was thus rapidly and safely communicated. These heralds were permitted to compel any person, or to press any horse, boat, ship, or other vehicle that they might need for the quick transmission of the king's commandments. It was to this custom that our Savior refers. Rather, says He, than resist a public authority requiring your attendance and aid for a certain distance, go peaceably twice the distance. A mile. A Roman mile was a thousand paces."
Verse 42, "Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away."
LGT "To him who asks of you give, and the one who wishes to borrow from you, do not turn away.
Jesus does not intend for us to give to every worthless homeless bum; our giving should be consistent with our reasonable inspection; for the Bible even teaches that if a man will not work, he will not eat. Within the family it is not only the responsibility of the one giving to know the case, it is also necessary for the one who is asking for a loan not to take advantage of the giver, for we know by experience, that it is more blessed to give than to receive; it takes more grace to accept charity, than it does to give it.
Love for Enemies
(Lk. 6:27-28, 32-36)
Verse 43, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy."
LGT "You have heard that it has been said, You should love your friendly neighbor, and hate your enemy."
The reason I added friendly 'neighbor' is that according to my Greek Lexicon, that is how they interpret the nearness of the neighbor; we all know that our neighbors are not always friendly. The phrase, and hate your enemy is not in the Old Testament (See Lev.19:18), but was a rabbinical inference that was bluntly repudiated by the Lord here (Robertson).
Pentecost adds:
"However, Christ showed that true righteousness exceeds what the law demanded, and true righteousness causes the believer to love enemies. Love will cause the believer to pray for persecutors. If the believer loves only those who return love, the believer is selfish and is not fulfilling the demands of the holiness of God. The Pharisees entertained in order to receive hospitality in return. They loved the elaborate greetings in the marketplace in which one sought to outdo the other in heaping accolades on the one being greeted. But this did not fulfill the demands of the holiness of God. Christ showed that the Pharisees interpretation of the law was erroneous because it dealt only with the external act and not the internal attitudes. Christ revealed that God is concerned, above all, with the attitude of the heart and mind that ultimately produces the actions."
Verse 44, "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
LGT "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray on behalf of those who persecute you."
Here again I say that Christ is giving the rules that will be enforced by Him personally during His Kingdom reign. In our age we are commanded to love the brotherhood, and the only way we can show love to the unbeliever, our enemy, is to give them the 'Good News.'
Verse 45, "That ye may be the [sons] of your Father, who is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
LGT "So that you may be sons of your Father, who [is] in [the] heavens, because He causes His sun to rise upon the evil and good and sends rain upon the righteous and unrighteous."
This verse does not mean that those who love their enemies will become 'sons' or 'children of God', but that they will show to the world that they are already sons of the heavenly Father. When we are imitators of Christ we display the fact that we are His children indeed. In John 1:12 we read, But as many as received Him, to them gave He the power [authority] to become the children [sons] of God, even to them who believe on His name. In John we are given the way to become God's sons; here we are given the way of life for a son.
Verse 46, "For if ye love them who love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the [tax collectors] the same?"
LGT "For if you love the ones who love you, What reward have you? Do not also the publicans [tax gatherers] do the same?
We must keep in our minds the fact that Christ is giving His divine viewpoint on the law, and that this will be in force during His reign on earth. That does not negate the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, for the word 'reward' is used in the sense of praise; for Christ is saying if you love only those who show love to you, you are not doing anything different than what even the hated tax gatherers are doing; so why do you seek praise for that; now if you love even those who don't or can't return your love, that's divine. Again, we know that it is only possible to love a fellow believer, but we are to display our love to all, for it is impossible for us to know who is a believer and who is not, unless of course they say they don't believe; and then again, they could be lying, for we can't see the heart.
Verse 47, "And if ye [greet] your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the [heathen] so?"
LGT "For if you salute your brothers only, what extraordinary [thing] are you doing? Do not also the Gentiles do the same?"
It is impossible to live such an exclusive life; when we get to heaven we will spend an eternity greeting the brethren. Now in time we are to live in such a matter that we show that we are children indeed. We must live our lives to show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous Light.
Verse 48, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."
LGT "Therefore you shall be perfect even as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect."
The Greek word for 'perfect' is telios, and it means complete or finished, that is, fulfilled. It is a word that means the end, that is a finished product. All the righteousness that we have is imputed to us by Christ, because of His finished work at Calvary, and we are perfect in Him. We cannot attain the righteousness of Christ by our own efforts. We must accept Christ by faith and then we are born again into His Royal family, and we receive all the Divine Riches of His Grace; For God had made Christ to become sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. All the Books on the market today, showing us how we are to live successful Christian lives are only blue-prints to self effort; there is only one Book we can depend on, the Living Word of God. Unless we submit to the principles of God's Holy Word, we will be utter failures, and live lives with the sound of tinkling symbols and sounding brass. At the 'Bema-Seat' of Christ our works will go up in smoke. We must submit to His will by studying His Word, loving Him, and loving one another. Perfection is demanded for entrance into The Kingdom of God. The only way a person can be perfect is to be 'Born Again;' except a man is born again, he will never enter the Kingdom of God.
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