Matthew 5:13-14 (Jesus Teaches about Salt and Light)
If a seasoning has no flavor, it has no value.
If Christians make no effort to affect the world around them, they are of little value to God. If we are too much like the world, we are worthless. Christians should not blend in with everyone else.
Instead, we should affect others positively, just as seasoning brings out the best flavor in food.
Can you hide a city that is sitting on top of a mountain? Its light at night can be seen for miles. If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like.
We hide our light by:
Being quiet when we should speak
Going along with the crowd
Denying the light
Letting sin dim our light
Not explaining our light to others
Ignoring the needs of others
We should be a beacon of truth – we should not shut our light off from the rest of the world.
Jesus Himself is the Light of the World (John 8:12). His followers reflect His Light and Glory.
Good deeds are not to be done in a public way for one’s own honor, but for the glory of God.
The grandest motive that a person can have is that by their actions, others may be constrained to Glorify God.
Matthew 5:17-20 (Jesus Teaches about the Law)
God’s moral and ceremonial laws were given to help people love God with all their hearts and minds. Throughout Israel’s history, however, these laws had often been misquoted and misapplied.
By Jesus’ time, religious leaders had turned the laws into a confusing mass of rules. When Jesus talked about a new way to understand God’s law, he was actually trying to bring people back to its “original” purpose. Jesus did not speak against the law itself but against the abuses and excesses to which it had been subjected (see John 1:17).
If Jesus did not come to abolish the law, does that mean all the OT laws still apply to us today? In the OT, there were three categories of law: ceremonial, civil, and moral.
The “ceremonial law” related specifically to Israel’s worship. Its primary purpose was to point forward to Jesus Christ; these laws, therefore, were no longer necessary after Jesus’ death and resurrection. While we are no longer bound by ceremonial law, the principles behind them – to worship and love a holy God – still apply. Jesus was often accused by the Pharisees of violating ceremonial law.
The “civil law” applied to daily living in Israel. Because modern society and culture are so radically different from that time and setting, all of these guidelines cannot be followed specifically. But the principles behind the commands are timeless and should guide our conduct. Jesus demonstrated these principles by example.
The “moral law” is the direct command of God, and it requires strict obedience. The moral law reveals the nature and will of God, and it still applies today. Jesus obeyed the moral law completely.
Some of those in the crowd were experts at telling others what to do, but they missed the central point of God’s laws themselves. Jesus made it clear, however, that obeying God’s laws is more important than explaining them. It’s much easier to study God’s laws and tell others to obey them than to put them into practice. How are you doing at obeying God yourself?
The Pharisees were exacting and scrupulous in their attempts to follow their laws. So how could Jesus reasonably call us to greater righteousness than theirs? The Pharisees’ weakness was that they were content to obey the laws outwardly without allowing God to change their hearts (or attitudes). They looked pious, but they were far from the Kingdom of Heaven. God judge hearts and deeds, for it is in the heart that our real allegiance lies.
Jesus was saying that his listeners needed a different kind of righteousness altogether (out of love for God), not just a more intense version of the Pharisees’ obedience (which was mere legal compliance). Our righteousness must
(1) come from what God does in us, not what we can do by ourselves,
(2) be God-centered, not self-centered,
(3) be based on reverence for God, not approval from people, and
(4) go beyond keeping the law to living by the principles behind the law.
We should be just as concerned about our attitudes that people don’t see as about our actions that are seen by all.
Jesus came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. There is no contradiction here between Jesus’ Teaching and the Teaching of Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, that we are saved by faith in Christ rather than by Works of the Law.
Jesus’ meaning is that God’s Moral Law is the expression of God’s Own Holiness, and is of Eternal Obligation on God’s People. And that, in reality, He came to give the Law’s former declaration a deeper meaning, and to enforce it, not merely in outward acts, but in the inner depths of the human heart.
Matthew 5:21-26 (Jesus Teaches about Anger)
When Jesus said, “But I say,” he was not doing away with the law. Rather, he was giving a fuller understanding of why God made that law in the first place. For example, in Exodus 20:13 we can read the commandment that tells us not to murder. Jesus taught that we should not even become angry enough to murder, for then we have already committed murder in our heart.
The Pharisees read this law and, not having literally murdered anyone, felt that they had obeyed it. Yet they were angry enough with Jesus that they would soon plot his death, though they would not do the dirty work themselves.
We miss the intent of God’s Word when we read his rules for living without trying to understand why he made them. When do you keep God’s rules but close your eyes to his intent?
Murder is a terrible sin, but anger is a great sin, too, because it also violates God’s command to love. Anger in this case refers to a seething, brooding bitterness against someone. It is a dangerous emotion that always threatens to leap out of control, leading to violence, emotional hurt, increased mental stress, and spiritual damage.
Anger keeps us from developing a spirit pleasing to God. Have you ever been proud that you didn’t strike out sand say what was really on your mind? Self-control is good, but Christ wants us to practice thought-control as well. Jesus said that we will be held accountable even for our attitudes.
Broken relationships can hinder our relationship with God. If we have a problem or grievance with a friend, we should resolve the problem as soon as possible. We are hypocrites if we claim to love God while we hate others. Our attitudes toward others reflect our relation with God (1st John 4:20).
In Jesus’ day, someone who couldn’t pay a debt was thrown into prison until the debt was paid. Unless someone came to pay the debt for the prisoner, he or she would probably die there. It is practical advice to resolve our differences with our enemies before their anger causes more trouble. You may not get into a disagreement that takes you to court, but even small conflicts mend more easily if you try to make peace right away. In a broader sense, these verses advise us to get things right with our brothers and sisters before we have to stand before God.
Matthew 5:27-30 (Jesus Teaches about Lust)
The Old Testament law (Exodus 20:14) said that it is wrong for a person to have sex with someone other than their spouse.
But Jesus said that the desire to have sex with someone other than your spouse is mental adultery and thus sin. Jesus emphasized that if the act is wrong, then so is the intention.
To be faithful to your spouse with your body, but not your mid is to break the trust so vital to a strong marriage. Jesus is condemning not natural interest in the opposite sex or even healthy sexual desire, but the deliberate and repeated filling of one’s mind with fantasies that would be evil if acted out.
Some think that if lustful thoughts are sin, why shouldn’t a person go ahead and do the lustful actions, too? Acting out sinful desires is harmful in several ways:
(1) it causes people to excuse sin rather than to stop sinning;
(2) it destroys marriages;
(3) it is deliberate rebellion against God’s Word; and
(4) it always hurts someone else in addition to the sinner.
Sinful actions are more dangerous than sinful desires, and that is why desires should not be acted out. Nevertheless, sinful desires are just as damaging to obedience. Left unchecked, wrong desires will result in wrong actions and turn people away from God.
When Jesus said to get rid of your hand or your eye, he was speaking figuratively. He didn’t mean literally to gouge out your eye, because even a blind person can lust. But if that were the only choice, it would be better to go into heaven with one eye or hand than to go to hell with two. We sometimes tolerate sins in our life that, left unchecked, could eventually destroy us. It is better to experience the pain of removal 9getting rid of a bad habit or something we treasure, for instance) than to allow the sin to bring judgment and condemnation. Examine your life for anything that causes you to sin, and take every necessary action to remove it.
Matthew 5:31-32 (Jesus Teaches about Divorce)
Divorce is as hurtful and destructive today as in Jesus’ day.
God intends marriage to be a lifetime commitment.
When entering into marriage, people should never consider divorce an option for solving problems or a way out of a relationship that seems dead.
In these verses, Jesus is also attacking those who purposefully abuse the marriage contract, using divorce to satisfy their lustful desire to marry someone else.
Are your actions today helping your marriage grow stronger, or are you tearing it apart?
Jesus said that divorce is not permissible except for unfaithfulness.
Those who discover that their partner has been unfaithful should first make every effort to forgive, reconcile, and restore their relationship.
We are always to look for reasons to restore the marriage relationship rather than for excuses to leave it.
Matthew 5:33-37 (Jesus Teaches about Vows)
Here, Jesus was emphasizing the importance of telling the truth.
People were breaking vows and using sacred language casually and carelessly.
Keeping vows and promises is important; it builds trust and makes committed human relationships possible.
The Bible condemns making vows or taking oaths casually, giving your word while knowing that you won’t keep it, or swearing falsely in God’s name.
Vows are needed in certain situations only because we live in a sinful society that breeds distrust.
Vows were common, but Jesus told his followers not to use them – their word alone should be enough.
Are you known as a person of your word?
Truthfulness seems so rare that we feel we must end our statements with “I promise.”
If we tell the truth all the time, we will have less pressure to back up our words with an oath or promise or even a contract.
Matthew 5:38-48 (Jesus Teaches about Revenge & Loving Enemies)
God’s purpose behind this law was an expression of mercy.
The law was given to judges and said, in effect, “make the punishment fit the crime.”
It was not a guide for personal revenge. These laws were given to limit vengeance and help the court administer punishment that was neither too strict nor too lenient.
Some people, however, were using this phrase to justify their vendettas against others. People still try to excuse their acts of revenge by saying, “I was just doing to him what he did to me.”
When we are wronged, often our first reaction is to get even.
Instead, Jesus said we should do good to those who wrong us!
Our desire should not be to keep score but to love and forgive.
This is not natural – this is supernatural. Only God can give us the strength to love as he does. Instead of planning vengeance, pray for those who hurt you.
To many Jews of Jesus’ day, these statements were offensive. Any Messiah who would turn the other cheek was not the military leader they wanted to lead a revolt against Rome. Since they were under Roman oppression, they wanted retaliation against their enemies, whom they hated. But Jesus suggested a new, radical response to injustice: Instead of demanding rights, give them up freely! According to Jesus, it is more important to give justice and mercy than to receive it.
By telling us not to retaliate, Jesus keeps us from taking the law into our own hands. By loving and praying for our enemies, we can overcome evil with good.
The Pharisees interpreted Leviticus 19:18 as teaching that they should love only those who love in return, and Psalms 139:19-22 and 140:9-11 as meaning that they should hate their enemies. If you love your enemies and treat them well, you will truly show that Jesus is Lord of your life. This is possible only for those who give themselves fully to God, because only he can deliver people from natural selfishness. We must trust the Holy Spirit to help us show love to those for whom we may not feel love.
How can we be perfect?
(1) In character: In this we cannot be flawless, but we can aspire to be as much like Christ as possible.
(2) In holiness: Like the Pharisees, we are to separate ourselves from the world’s sinful values. But unlike the Pharisees, we are to be devoted to God’s desires rather than our own and carry his love and mercy into the world.
(3) In maturity: We can’t achieve Christ-like character and holy living all at once, but we must grow toward maturity and wholeness. Just as we expect differently behavior from a baby, a child, a teenager, and an adult, so God expects different behavior from us, depending on our stage of spiritual development.
(4) In love: We can seek to love others as completely as God loves us.
We can be perfect if our behavior is appropriate for our maturity level – perfect, yet with much room to grow. Our tendency to sin must never deter us from striving to be more like Christ. Christ calls all of his disciples to excel, to rise above mediocrity, and to mature in every area, becoming like him. Those who strive to become perfect will one day be perfect, even as Christ is perfect.
