Matthew 5, Part Three

What the Law of Moses REALLY meant (5:21-48). God NEVER intended for man to act without purity of heart and motive. And thus, for example, the 10 commandments—“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” What’s involves here? Trust, commitment, honor, purity of mind. The Jewish people weren’t allowed to slobber all over somebody else’s wife, JUST as long as they didn’t commit the physical act. That isn’t the God of the New Testament and it wasn’t the God of the Old, either.

The examples:

Murder and brotherly relationships (vs. 21-26)—“Thou shalt not kill” is not good enough. Avoid hatred in the heart, Jesus says. Cut off hatred, and you’ve cut off murder. It’s as simple at that. Blessed are the pure in heart! Do all you can to get along with others; don’t irritate, aggravate, and repel them. The latter may cost you dearly (vs. 23-26).

Lust and adultery (vs. 27-32)—Again, cure the problem in the heart—lust—and you’ll go a long way to ending adultery. Blessed are the pure in heart! I’ll discuss Jesus’ teaching on marriage and divorce in chapter 19.

Speak the truth (vs. 33-37)—Jesus statement about “perform your oaths to the Lord” is basically a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:13. But the idea here is that we shouldn’t even need oaths. God’s people should be so painfully honest, noble, and pure that they don’t need to back up their statements with oaths and swearing. If we say, “I swear that’s the truth,” then we have, in effect, called into question every other statement we make that we haven’t sworn to. People should know that, when we speak, the truth is coming out of our mouths. Blessed are the pure in heart! One note: Jesus here is not referring to oaths taken in courts of law, though, indeed, a Christian shouldn’t need to take such an oath.

Don’t seek revenge (5:38-42)—The Old Testament statement “an eye for an eye” was meant as a judicial standard, not intended as an excuse for a personal vendetta, which is the way some Jews interpreted it. No, Jesus says—“turn the other cheek,” which simply means, we are not to become so bitter that we want to take vengeance into our own hands. Blessed are the pure in heart! We do have the right to protect ourselves by using lawful means (Romans 13:1-7). But we don’t have the right, as God’s people, to personal retribution (Romans 12:19). And that is further established by Jesus final example…

Love thy enemy and be like God (5:43-48)—There is no “hate thy neighbor” in the Old Testament, but the exclusiveness and clannishness of the Jews led many of them to that kind of understanding. “Love thy enemy” IS in the Old Testament, or at least, “love the stranger that dwelleth with you” (Lev. 19:34; Deuteronomy 5:10). But Jesus’ point is, if you want to be like God, then you are going to have to love everybody—yourself, your neighbor, your nearest and dearest, and your enemy. Doesn’t God love everybody? “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (v. 45). If we only love those who love us, how are we different from the world? (vs. 46-47) This is one of the most sublime, and marvelous ethical and moral teachings ever given. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone practiced this? Jesus is not the only “philosopher” who ever taught love for enemies; but He is the only one who made it the cornerstone of His religion. And then, the clincher in v. 48: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” No one is going to do this, of course, but being less than perfect, as God is perfect, is less than what we ought to be. Jesus establishes here the perfect moral standard; there can be nothing better, above, or beyond this—perfection like God is perfect. And the way to do that? By loving perfectly as God loves perfectly! Folks, if we always do the loving thing, towards God and our fellow man, then we will indeed be perfect as He is perfect. Every act of sin, in some way, is a violation of love: “If you love Me, keep My commandments,” (John 14:15), and “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10). The Lord doesn’t expect us to have the same emotional feelings of “love” for our neighbor or enemy that we do for our nearest and dearest. But He does expect us to treat neighbor and enemy the way we treat those whom we cherish, and more than that, He expects us to treat them the way God does. What a marvelous teaching.

But…none of us do this. If we are to be “perfect” as God is perfect, and all of us fall short, then everything is hopeless! No. Remember, Jesus died on the cross for yours and my imperfections. Let us do the best we can each day, and then when the day is finished, let us get down on our knees and pray, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner,” (Luke 18:13).

“Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.”