Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 5 as we continue our study through the Word of God. And keep in mind that as we started out in Matthew chapter 1 we saw the genealogy of the king. In Matthew chapter 2 we saw the birth and worship of the king. In Matthew chapter 3 we saw the heralding of the king as John the baptist prepared the way for Jesus. In Matthew chapter 4 we saw the temptation by Satan of the king.
And now, as we move into Matthew chapter 5 and continuing on through Matthew chapter 7 we are going to see the manifesto or the constitution of the king for his kingdom. Jesus is going to establish the rules of the kingdom you might say. With that said, let’s dig into Matthew chapter 5, starting in verse 1, and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
VERSES 1-2
1. Please understand that these are not principles for the world to live by, they are not for the multitudes but for His disciples! He is teaching His disciples of what kingdom living is all about. And if Jesus is Lord and Savior of your life, these things should be manifested in your life now! There are some who try to say they are living these principles, but that is meaningless and impossible outside of Christ. And in doing that, they make this manifesto into a law, which it isn’t. You see, the law focused on doing, the Beatitudes focused on BEING! Thus, Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7 are Christ’s instructions to us on what we are to BE!
VERSE 3
1. The word "blessed" speaks of happiness, a inner satisfaction and joy that was not based upon outward circumstances. Now these almost seem to contradict each other. For instance, "Oh how happy are the poor in spirit..." What is that all about? It is about our entrance into the kingdom of God and that will only come as we recognize we are totally bankrupt in working, buying our way into heaven. We can do nothing except receive the gift by faith. But, until you see yourself in the light of Christ, totally helpless and sinful, you will not see your need for a Savior nor will you be poor in spirit! It is as Luke 16:15 says, "...‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.’" You have to let all that go and be broken before God, coming before Him, being poor in spirit, and asking Him to be Lord and Savior of your life!
VERSE 4
1. Not only do you need to see yourself poor in spirit, but you must mourn over your sinful condition and come to the place where you repent of your sin. And as you do, you will be comforted by the Lord and His promises to you. It is as Paul said in II Corinthians 7:10, "For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." Not empty sorrow that does nothing in your life, but true sorrow that leads to repentance, a change in your life, turning towards God, and that leads to salvation!
VERSE 5
1. Next, there should be a meekness in our lives, not being a wimp, but the word carries with it the idea of power under control, like the breaking of a wild horse. You see, now you are not concerned about strutting your stuff, looking out for number one, but that strength is now harnessed and used for the King and His kingdom. A great example of this is Paul before he got saved. He was a wild man, dragging Christians out of their homes and throwing them in prison. He was doing his own thing until the Lord got a hold of him and his life changed. All that passion he had in persecuting Christians was now used for the glory of God, bringing people to Jesus. Power under the control of our Master, the Lord. And we need to do the same, give it to Him, and in the end we will inherit the earth as Jesus sets up His kingdom on this earth in the kingdom age!
VERSE 6
1. Once you come to Christ, there then should be a hunger and thirst to know Him more and to allow His righteousness to flow in us and through us. David said in Psalm 42:1-2, "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?" You need to have that spiritual hunger so you will feed on spiritual food and that will keep you healthy. And God says if you have that hunger and thirst, He will fill you, you will find that satisfaction you are looking for. If you are not hungry or thirsty maybe it is because you have not emptied yourself of SELF! Pride must go before you find yourself hungering and thirsting for righteousness!
VERSE 7
1. The word "mercy" speaks of getting into the skin of someone else, feeling their pain, sorrow, it speaks of having compassion. It is not something that they or we deserve but it is given to us anyway. And I truly believe the more you hunger and thirst for righteousness the more merciful you will be. On the other hand, the opposite is true. If you are not walking with God you are going to fly off the handle over things, you will not be merciful towards others but you will be self-centered and self-consumed. If you want to receive God’s mercy, you need to show mercy towards others. James puts it this way, "For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." James 2:13. Personally, I would rather extend mercy to someone and be wrong, and I have been wrong, and get burned, than to not show mercy to someone and be wrong! Wouldn’t you?
VERSE 8
1. First of all our hearts are clean because of the Lord, but they may not be pure. Let me explain. The word "pure" comes from the Greek word KATHAROS and the basic meaning is to make pure by cleansing from dirt, from filth, from contamination. Have we allowed the things of this world to pollute our hearts, our minds so that we can no longer see God clearly? The only solution is a bath, a bath in the Word of God asking the Spirit of God to transform us, to make us pure. It is as Paul said in Ephesians 5:26, "that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word."
VERSE 9
1. To be able to extend true peace to others you first must make peace with God through Jesus Christ, as Paul said, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1. It is then you can extend that same peace of God that you received to others for you are now a son of God. Also, as Paul said, "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men." Romans 12:18. Try the best you can to live at peace with others, but also understand that not all will want to do that, but we are to try, and leave it up to them to either accept it or reject it.
2. Now what happens when you live like this? It would seem like the world should jump up and down and rejoice, but look at the next several verses and you will see that is not what the world does towards us, in fact it is the exact opposite!
VERSE 10
1. First of all you are being persecuted for righteousness sake, not for being obnoxious or weird! Some like to argue and fight over things just for the sake of arguing and fighting, and that is not what the Lord is speaking of here. You see, when the light of Christ that is in you exposes the darkness and the world does not like that and they will try to extinguish it by attacking you. If they did it to the Lord, they will also do it to us as we stand up for righteousness. It is as Paul said in II Timothy 3:12, "Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution."
VERSES 11-12
1. This is important, notice that it is speaking of persecution, trouble when we stand up for Christ and for righteousness and not for ourselves! I don’t worry about defending myself, I let the Lord do that. My responsibility is doing what is right so when they do accuse me of something, it is a false accusation!
2. Now in verses 3-12 we have seen the ATTITUDE OF THE SAVED, and now from verse 13 on through chapter 7 verse 27 we will see the ACTION OF THE SAVED! It is the influence we are to have, what we are, what we do.
VERSE 13
1. Salt was and is a preserving substance, and Jesus is saying that as we live out our faith, it should have a preserving force for our families, community, and-so-on. It should keep things from rotting away!
VERSES 14-15
1. Our faith should shine brightly and cause the darkness to flee, lighting the way for others to see the Lord. And not only are people drawn to God by it, but look what happens next.
VERSE 16
1. To be or not to be is seen in who gets the glory! You see, God will not share His glory, as Isaiah 42:8 says, "I am the LORD, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images." In fact, our great example is Jesus, and as He worked, the people glorified God and that should also be the case as we go out and serve the Lord!
VERSES 17-19
1. There was the moral law or the 10 commandments. There was the judicial law which were the laws by which the courts ruled, judgments were made. And the ceremonial law which dealt with the worship of God. Now the religious leaders said that Jesus was breaking the laws, and He responds by saying that He came to fulfill or obey them, and He did! You see, they took an internal law and made them external, thinking that by keeping them they were saved, and yet Paul said "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Galatians 3:24. Once you see your condition it does not drive you to the law, which is perfect and condemns us, but to the cross, to Jesus, where there is forgiveness of sins!
2. In the New heavens and the new earth, all this will be done away with, no longer needed, but until that time God’s Word will continue on and there are consequences to not obeying God and/or teaching others not to!
VERSE 20
1. There was a popular Jewish saying in that day that "If only two men make it into heaven, one will be a Scribe, and the other will be a Pharisee." So this must have blown them away! You see, outwardly these religious men looked good, and that is what religion does, it cleanses the surface, but inwardly their hearts were wicked, unchanged. And Jesus is going to use this as a stepping stone to show what these religious leaders taught and what God really intended the law to say, which was very different as you will see.
VERSES 21-22
1. They were taught that murder was wrong and the judgment for murder was death, and the command not to murder is given in Exodus 20:13. And Jesus takes the external and makes it internal, not coming against the Old Testament, but the Rabbinic tradition. You see, they thought they were doing good, but Jesus says it is not a matter of just outward action, but anger in our heart that leads to action! It is as John says "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." I John 3:15. And here in Matthew we move from anger, to Raca or a term meaning calling someone a brainless idiot, to a fool or calling someone stupid and godless. And each one has its own consequences, the last being eternal punishment! Don’t allow those seeds of anger to grow in your heart, for you can murder someone with words and not only weapons.
VERSES 23-24
1. The idea here is that you need to deal with those issues of your heart before you serve the Lord. And the reality is, how can you serve God if you are harboring anger or bitterness towards another person that was created in the image of God? You can’t!
VERSES 25-26
1. In other words, make peace with others. Don’t hold issues against them but settle them before things get out of control and you are brought down.
VERSES 27-28
1. The religious leaders condemned the outward act, Exodus 20:14, but Jesus says it begins in the heart. Sin begins in the heart as James 1:13-16 says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren." And this is speaking of an attitude that leads to action. It is not just a look, but a look, a steadfast look with the intent of arousal, of action! You see, you start to play in your heart with these things and it is only a matter of time until it is fulfilled in our lives, in our actions!
VERSES 29-30
1. Obviously we are not to take this literally, for it would make no sense. People would be going around with no eyes or hands and still sinning! Then what is the point? Jesus was using it for shock value, to awaken people in regards to how we should deal with sin. Do not open your eyes to these things that will bring you down. In Hebrews 12:4 Paul tells us "You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin." Don’t let that sin nature, that flesh resurrect itself, deal with it, put it to death before it puts you to death!
VERSES 31-32
1. Now there were two schools of thought regarding divorce in those days, that came out of Deuteronomy 24:1, "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house." The issue is, what is "uncleanness"?
Those who followed the teachings of Rabbi Shammai were very conservative and he taught the only way a divorce could be granted and should be granted was for sexual immorality or adultery - that is what the word "uncleanness" spoke of. On the other end of the spectrum was Rabbi Hillel who was very liberal in his teaching. If a wife messed up his breakfast, he could divorce her, or if a prettier woman came along, he could divorce her. You see, a very liberal interpretation of what "uncleanness" meant. And, obviously, the more liberal view was the most popular view! And understand that God did not make a command that you should divorce, but it was a condition that you may divorce. And Jesus narrows things down by saying the only exception for divorce is adultery, and again, not a command, but a condition. We will deal with this issue of marriage and divorce more closely as we move on in Matthew.
VERSES 33-37
1. In other words, you shouldn’t have to take an oath to affirm what you are saying is true. Be honest. The religious leaders twisted things, their oaths, so that they could get out of them. William Hendriksen says of this, "What we have here in Matthew 5:33-37 (cf. James 5:12) is the condemnation of the flippant, profane, uncalled for, and often hypocritical oath, used in order to make an impression or to spice daily conversation. Over against that evil Jesus commends simple truthfulness in thought, word and deed." It is as James says, "But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes,’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment." James 5:12. Be honest and you don’t have to take an oath or swear that you are telling the truth!
VERSE 38
1. In Exodus 21:23-25 we are told, "But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life,
eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." And the idea here was equal punishment, that the penalty should not exceed the crime. And this was dealing with civil law, the court system and not on a personal level or revenge as it was being taught.
VERSES 39-42
1. Now some have tuned this into a ridiculous statement, and thus, if it is ridiculous, your interpretation is wrong, for Jesus never said anything that was ridiculous. You are not to let people just beat you up, take advantage of you for the sake of being walked over. The idea here is how important are your possessions, your life? Are you willing to sacrifice all to be a witness of Christ or will you fight every step of the way? Reach out in love even if they don’t love back, for didn’t the Lord do that towards us! Let God do the fighting for you and you go that extra mile that through your witness, they may come to know the Lord! It is as Paul said in Romans 12:19-21, "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Don’t fight back, but love back which leads us into our next section - love, as this one dealt with retaliation!
VERSE 43
1. It seems that there teaching was wrongly taken from Leviticus 19:18, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD." They only loved their fellow Jews, and hated gentiles, feeling they were only created to fuel the fires of Hell! They also took this from Deuteronomy 23:3-6, but that is not what God was saying, but it was the way they interpreted it. Now Jesus was going to clarify, correct it for them and tell them and us what God desires!
VERSES 44-47
1. The difference that Christ should make in our lives is unconditional love should flow from our lives and towards others. In reality, what we do see, is back-biting, anger, hatred, bitterness within the church today! We get upset because this person said this, or that person did this, or I didn’t get that, or I didn’t go there, or whatever. Notice what the solution to this problem is. It has nothing to do with the other person but everything to do with YOU! Love them, bless them, do good to them, pray for them, no matter what they are doing to you! And do you see what God is doing? He is changing your heart and it may be through you the other person will change, but again, that is not the issue, your heart is the issue! It is as Paul said in Ephesians 5:1-2, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma."
2. It is easy to love those who love us back, but you don’t have to be saved to give out that kind of love, for that is conditional love! We are called to love the unloving, those who are nasty to us. It is as Jesus said in John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." As the song goes, "They will know we are Christians by our love!" not by our anger, hatred, bitterness, and-so-on. It truly is the fruit of the Spirit that should flow from our lives and not the ugly works of the flesh!
VERSE 48
1. Here is the clincher, be perfect! Do you think you need God’s help? I hope so. You can’t be perfect without Him and God is not going to lower His standards to accommodate us, for He is holy and righteous and to do so would make Him unholy and unrighteous! Once we come to Christ we are perfect in a positional sense. It is the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed into our lives. But in a practical sense, in our day-by-day living, He is still working in us, making us complete, mature sons of God. As Paul said "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6. That is what God is doing so that we may be like Him. Again, as Paul tells us in II Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." May we be all that God desires of us to be, and with His help we can be!