Matthew 5

Matthew 5:1

Matthew’s Gospel presents Jesus as King, King of the Jews specifically, although not exclusively. In chapter 1, Matthew outlined Jesus’ heritage. As a descendant of David, Jesus was the rightful Heir to the throne of Israel. In chapter 2, we saw homage paid the King by wise men who came from the East to worship Him. Also in chapter 2, we saw hostility toward the King when Herod, feeling intimidated by the Babe of Bethlehem, sought to destroy Him. In chapter 3, we saw the heralding of the King as John the Baptist came on the scene, wearing camel skins, eating honey-coated locusts and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” In chapter 4, we saw a challenge to the King when Satan tempted Him in the wilderness, a challenge that our King met head-on and from which He emerged victorious. Also in chapter 4, we saw the establishing of the headquarters of the King as Jesus taught and healed throughout Galilee. Here in chapter 5, as we continue seeing Jesus as King, we come to the constitution of His kingdom. As the multitudes began hearing of Jesus, the last verse in chapter 4 says they came from one hundred miles or more to be with Him. Jesus, seeing the multitudes, climbed a hill, sat down, and prepared to teach. In Jewish culture, if you were preaching, you would stand. But if you were teaching or explaining, you would sit. That is why even today when a university wants to establish a certain teacher or course, it will call that position “the Chair,” as in “the Chair of Philosophy” or “the Chair of Psychology.” So, too, when the Pope speaks on doctrinal matters, he is always seated when he makes his proclamation. He is speaking “ex-cathedra,” which literally means “from the chair.” So here, we see Jesus seated, ready to give an authoritative, important, significant teaching.

Matthew 5:3

Verse Mat_5:3 introduces a well-known portion of Scripture called the Beatitudes. “Beatitude,” literally beatus in Latin, means “happy,” and every one of the following nine verses begins with the word “blessed” or “happy.” Our United States Constitution guarantees the pursuit of happiness, but Jesus’ constitution points out the pathway to happiness as He delineates the attitudes that lead to happiness. The Scriptures declare, “Blessed, or happy, is the people whose God is the Lord” (Psa_33:12). David said, “Blessed, or happy, is the man whose sins are forgiven” (Psa_32:1). I believe the Bible knows nothing of a dour, heavy Christianity. I believe Scripture indicates that the people of God should be the happiest, most joyful people on earth. The world says, “The first step to happiness is to be self-assertive and confident, to highly esteem yourself and feel good about who you are.” That’s not what Jesus said. He said, “Blessed, or happy, are those who are poor in spiritwho realize their own spiritual poverty.” Anyone who truly sees the Lord will inevitably feel poor in spirit. In the first five chapters of his book, Isaiah indicts the people of Judah and the surrounding nations, saying, “Woe unto you and you and you.” But in chapter 6, when he saw the Lord high and lifted up, he said, “Woe is me!” When Peter realized who Jesus was on a boat in the Sea of Galilee, he said, “Depart from me; for I am a sinful man” (Luk_5:8). When John the revelator saw Jesus, he fell down as though he were dead (Rev_1:17).

Matthew 5:4

When you realize you’re a sinner and when you mourn over your sin, the Lord will come to you and say, “I don’t condemn you. Go your way and sin no more.” That’s what the woman caught in the act of adultery heard, as did the prostitute who fell at the feet of Jesus weeping. “Leave her alone, Pharisees,” Jesus said. “The one who is forgiven much loves much.” In the state of realizing our poverty and in our mourning, we truly enter into the kingdom and are comforted.

Matthew 5:5

When you realize you’re a sinner and when you mourn over your sin, the Lord will say to you, “I don’t condemn you. Go your way and sin no more. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is strength under control. Praus, the Greek word translated “meek,” is a term used to describe a powerful stallion broken and able to be ridden. Moses was known for his meekness in the Old Testament. Num_12:3 declares him to be the meekest man on the face of the earth. Jesus was known for His meekness in the New Testament. In the only autobiographical description of His personality, Jesus said, “I am meek and lowly in heart” (Mat_11:29). So too, after a person realizing he is poor in spirit and begins mourning, he finds himself meek with his strength harnessed for the purposes of the King and for Him alone.

Matthew 5:6

Notice the order: First you’re poor in spirit, then you’re mourning over your sin, then you find yourself meek. Now that you’ve gotten rid of all that self-grandeur and self-glory, you find yourself hungering and thirsting because you’re emptied of all that junk. I am personally convinced the reason many people are not filled is because they have not been emptied. They are still full of themselves. Pride must go before you find yourself hungering and thirsting for righteousness. My wife fixes me excellent meals, but if I stop off and score a couple of burgers before I head home (as I have been known to do on occasion), even though there’s a wonderful meal spread on the table, I don’t have an appetite for it because I’m full of burgers and shakes. Some people have lost their appetite for the Word of God. They no longer desire to worship; they no longer crave rightness. They are no longer meek, or mourning, or poor in spirit because they are full of the burgers and shakes of self-importance. When you empty yourself of self, happy are you because you’re going to hunger once more for righteousness.

Matthew 5:7

After you have gone through the emptying process and you’re filled with God’s love, you’ll be merciful toward othersno longer judgmental, critical, or analytical. Truly, the more righteous a man is, the more merciful he will be. The more sinful a man is, the more harsh and critical he will be.

Matthew 5:8

There is a difference between having a clean heart and a pure heart. All of us who have embraced the Lord have clean hearts. But a pure heart is one not distracted by the things of the world. Think of it this way: All soap is clean. But only one Isaiah 99.44 percent pure. Ivory soap doesn’t have deodorants, perfumes, additives, or colorings. Ivory is nothing but soap. Other soaps are clean, but they’re not pure. The pure in heart shall see God. “Why don’t I see God?” people ask. Could it be because you’re no longer pure in heart? “Are you saying I’m lost?” No. But has your vision been obscured by a bunch of perfumes and additives, still clean, but no longer Ivory, deodorized and perfumed, but no longer pure?

Matthew 5:9

Being a peacemaker doesn’t mean wearing a peace symbol, marching against nukes, or marching for whales. I suggest to you that the finest peacemaking activity in which you can engage is introducing people to the Prince of PeaceJesus Christ. What happiness is there that can compare to the joy of seeing a friend, relative, or neighbor open his heart to Jesus? Truly, it is then that we are blessed indeed.

Matthew 5:10

What? Persecution? Maybe you thought if a person possessed a “beatitude mentality"if he was aware of his own poverty, if he mourned over his sin, if he was meek, if he hungered and thirsted after righteousness, if he had a pure heart, if he showed mercyhe would be popular. But such is not the case, for if the attitudes of meekness and mercy, poverty of spirit and righteousness of heart are being worked out in you, you will encounter persecution. You will have enemies. You will be slandered and misunderstood because in 2Ti_3:12, Paul says this, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” That’s a promise. Jesus said, “Happy is the one who is persecuted. You’re joining a great company, the company of the prophets. And, indeed, you will have profit in heavenexceedingly great reward.” “Be happy,” Jesus said, “because your reward in heaven is going to be great when men persecute youand they will!” Notice one more thing before we leave these verses. It says, “and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” Many times Christians are being persecuted not because they’re living righteously, but because they’re weird. Weirdness doesn’t count! These are the attitudes that will lead to happiness and fulfillment: poverty of spirit, mourning over sin, meekness that no longer struts, but submits, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, persecutionthis is the pathway to happiness.

Matthew 5:13

Salt promotes thirst, and as the salt of the earth, we should be making those around us thirsty for the living water of Jesus Christ. People should say, “There’s something about you that creates in me a thirst for what you’re enjoying.” Salt also preserves and heals. Therefore, if our culture is putrefying and decaying, we then, as the church, should hold back from indicting our society or critiquing our political leaders and begin preserving by repenting. “Lord, have we lost our saltiness? Have we lost our flavor and our effectiveness?” 2Ch_7:14 declares, “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” It begins with us, gang. We are the salt.

Matthew 5:14

Whenever Jesus did a miracle, people didn’t ask Him to pose for a picture or to embark on a speaking tour. They simply glorified the Father. How I respect and admire Jesus for being able to work in such a way that He didn’t draw attention or glory to Himself, but only to His Father.

Matthew 5:17

“I am not coming to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. I am not seeking to weaken it, but to establish it.” Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.Gal_3:24-26 People think, “Well, I’m pretty good.” “Oh?” says the Law. “Here’s your standard.” And suddenly, as they read through the Law, they realize they’re sinners in need of a Savior.

Matthew 5:20

This statement would have shocked those who heard it because, according to a popular Jewish saying of the time, “If only two men made it into heaven, one would be a scribe, and the other a Pharisee.” The scribes were scholars who studied, interpreted, and commented endlessly upon the Law. The word “pharisee” literally means “separated one.” Numbering seven thousand, this company of men kept the minutest details of the Law. We look at the scribes and Pharisees rather humorously today, but no one did then. They were the Billy Grahams, Chuck Swindolls, and Jack Hayfordsthe spiritual giants of their day. And Jesus said even their righteousness wasn’t good enough. This is the key to the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is saying, “If you think you can make it into the kingdom without Me as your Savior, you’d better be awfully good. In fact, you’d better be perfect.” So when people say, “I live by the Sermon on the Mount,” I say, “Oh? Good luck, because Jesus told us in that sermon to be perfect, that unless our righteousness exceeds that of even the most holy men, we will never enter the kingdom.” The Sermon on the Mount, perhaps the most misunderstood passage in all Scripture, is meant to bring us to the realization that there is no way anyone can keep its lofty standards. It is meant to make everyone equally guilty. It is meant to drive us to Jesus. And once it has driven us to Christ, the Sermon on the Mount directs us in Christ, causing us to pray, “Lord, I thank You that Your blood has cleansed me when I have failed. But the standard is now before me. Help me to live in Your kingdom mentalityin poverty of spirit and purity of heart; in mourning and meekness and mercythrough Your strength, for I have a long way to go.” Our tendency is to compare ourselves with each other. That’s what the Pharisees did. Compared to everyone else, they might have thought they looked pretty good. One day after a wedding, I walked out to greet some of the people, and there was a guy who was over seven feet tall. He was huge! I had forgotten how big a seven-footer really is! When I’m around toddlers, I’m pretty big. But when I was around this guy, I was a runt! So, too, compared to the standards Jesus presented, the Pharisees were spiritual runts just like everyone else. That is why this sermon would have been so shocking.

Matthew 5:21

“Anger” is only one letter short of “danger” because danger always lurks beneath anger. You might be able to disguise it temporarily, but if anger is brewing inside you, it will lead to danger, for murder begins in the heart. Is anger ever right? Yes. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.Eph_4:26 There is a place for righteous anger, but there is only one appropriate way to vent it. What did David say concerning his enemies? He said, “Lord, may their bones be broken and their skull cracked open. May their teeth be kicked in” (see Psa_58:6). Since everything in the Old Testament physically is a picture of things in the New Testament spiritually, we are to wage war with violence, but not against flesh and blood. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.Eph_6:12 There is a place, indeed, to get angry and wage war against the demons. With fasting and prayer, we should come against the forces that pollute, pervert, and destroy. Watch out, though, for unrighteous anger, when you call people idiots and fools. Jesus said that’s equivalent to murder, for when you speak angrily or judgmentally of people, you murder a part of them.

Matthew 5:23

Does this mean we should track down every person who has something against us? For some of us, that would be a full-time job! I believe the key to understanding this is found in the phrase, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest…” When you are at the altar and there, in the place of prayer, the Lord says, “This man or that woman has something against you, go get it right,” then you must do as the Spirit leads.

Matthew 5:25

The legal system in Jesus’ day required the plaintiff to personally track down the defendant. In other words, if you had something against someone, it would be your job to find him and bring him in physically before the judge. This is why Jesus here says, “If you are on the road with your adversaryif he has captured youcut a deal with him before you get to court. Apologize! Get it right because once the matter reaches court, you could get cast into prison and remain until you pay the last penny.” But how can you pay the last penny when you’re in prison? You have no way to make money. That’s the point. If you let the incident become a big deal by not dealing with it immediately, promptly, in humility, and with transparency, you’ll never escape it. I think many of us have found this to be true at one point or another. When we had the opportunity to deal with a situation, we chose not to because of pride, and then it grew and grew over the days and months and years, until it became so complicated and confusing that there was no way out. Jesus said, “Avoid this. Be wise. When you are on the road, when you’re talking with your adversary, when you’re still communicating, be humble, lest you find yourself imprisoned with no way of escape.”

Matthew 5:27

The issue isn’t only what you’re doing outwardly; it’s what’s going on in your heart internally. We have all been angry at some time or another, thus we’re all murderers. We have all looked with lust in our heart, thus we’re all adulterers. Truly, there is none righteous, no not one.

Matthew 5:29

One of my friends, a wonderful Christian brother, is a blind man. Yet, his number one problem is lust. Therefore, Jesus is not talking about physically poking out an eye or chopping off a hand. Rather, He’s saying, “Deal violently and directly with any part of your beingyour activities, your hobbies, your schedulethat is leading you to sin. It’s destructive, so deal with it decisively.”

Matthew 5:31

The Pharisees were basically divided into two camps: the school of Shammai and the school of Hillel. Those who followed Shammai were very conservative, saying that on the basis of Deuteronomy 24, divorce could be granted only in the case of uncleanness, which they interpreted to be sexual immorality or adultery. The followers of Hillel were very liberal, saying uncleanness is much broader than simply adultery or immorality. If a woman, for example, put too much salt and pepper on her husband’s eggs, which made him lose his temper, she had made him sin, and therefore was uncleana legitimate reason for divorce. Or, if a man saw a woman who was more righteous or virtuous than his wife, he had the right to divorce her because she was now unclean by comparison. The followers of Shammai said a written bill of divorce must be given.

The followers of Hillel said all that was required was for the husband to look at his wife and say, “I divorce you,” three times. Consequently, not unlike today, divorce was occurring for the most frivolous reasons.

Matthew 5:32

Based on the original text, I strongly believe this verse means that, although God’s plan is that two people remain married until death separates them, those who divorce and remarry, in effect, do commit adultery. However, they don’t live in adultery. Therefore, God forbid that we should say, “All manner of sin is forgiven all man except for one: divorce.” That’s not what Jesus said. He said, “All manner of sin is forgiven all men except the blasphemy of the Holy Spiritthe rejection of Jesus Christ” (see Mat_12:31). We’re all sinners, gang. We’ve all missed the mark. Look around you and you’ll see a murderer sitting next to you and a bunch of adulterers in front and behind you. We’re all sinners. We all need a Savior.

Matthew 5:33

Your words should be so solid that a simple yes or no should be sufficient. The minute you have to say, “I swear!” they’re not.

Matthew 5:38

If you lived in Jesus’ day, a Roman soldier could come to you at any time and tap you on the shoulder with his spear. You then would be required by law to carry his armor or baggage for up to one mile. Here, Jesus says, “Blow his mind. Go with him two miles. And if someone wants your coat, give him your undercoat as well. If they hit you on the cheek, turn the other cheek.” There have been those throughout history who have found that what Jesus was saying was potent and dynamicthat turning the other cheek actually puts one in control. The entire subcontinent of India was freed from the powerful British rule because Ghandi read this verse, and although he was not a believer, he believed in what Jesus said. He inspired an entire nation to turn the other cheek, and it blew the Brits away. After all, what can you do if someone won’t fight back? You can beat them with clubs, you can fire guns on them, but the morale of your own army is destroyed in the process. So eventually, the British got on their ships and sailed home. Martin Luther King, Jr. found the same thing to be true when he mobilized the Blacks in Alabama. If the protesters had fought back, the U.S. Marshals would have felt justified in firing their guns indiscriminately, and the Civil Rights movement would have died. But peaceful resistance won out, and an entire people experienced liberation. In your family, at work, in your neighborhoodwherever you might betake the words of Jesus literally. Don’t fight back, for he who doesn’t fight back controls the situation.

Matthew 5:43

If you’ve ever lashed out at someone who refused to fight back, you know how small it made you feel. Don’t fight back. Love back. Nothing will disarm your enemy so easily. But you say, “She has hurt me or has trampled on me. I can’t love back.” In the next verse, Jesus tells you how. Bless them! When the person who bugs you the most comes down on you, look at him and say, “The Lord bless you. The Lord be with you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.” Pronounce blessing upon him; do good to him; pray for him. I’ll tell you a secret: If you pray for your enemiesfor the people who bug you the mostyou will experience power in your life and an ability to love them that will blow you away. Why? When you pray for your enemies, two things happen: They change and you change. It might take some time, but slowly yet surely, you’ll see a change. If I’m praying every day for the guy I can’t stand, something amazing happens. I become involved with him and interested in him. As I pray for him, there is a linkage established through prayer.

Matthew 5:45

“Be ye perfect? You mean never be angry because that’s equivalent to murder? Never say anything more than yes or no without defending or explaining? Turn the other cheek when people are attacking me? Bless those who hurt me? Be perfect? “Rabbi, if what You say is true, if this is what was meant in the Old Testament Law, then no matter how I come across outwardly with my robes, my pious postures, and my religious activities, I’m lost. No wonder You said righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. I’m a Phariseeand I’m a sinner.” “Great!” Jesus would answer. “That’s right where I want you. I will now help you live the way of the kingdom constitution as I, the King, take up residence within you.” Soon we’ll see Jesus face-to-face. He’s coming back. And when we see Him, the Bible says we shall be like Him (1Jn_3:2). We shall indeed be perfect. And what a day that will be!