Matthew 05

The Beatitudes

¹ When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. After he sat down his disciples came to him.

Jesus was a celebrity. Everywhere He went, people followed Him. His crowds were so out of control that He had to travel to the seashore and teach from boats.

Another method of crowd control was to teach from the top of a hill. This way the crowds could sit down, see Jesus at the top of the hill, and His voice  traveled down the hill. This was the method Jesus chose in the sermon called "the Sermon of the Mount," but it is only given that name because of the location of the sermon. It should be called "The Messiah's Interpretation of the Mosaic Law compared to that of the Pharisees."

Notice that Jesus "sat down."  Rabbi stood when they read the Word of God, but they sat down when they interpreted it. 

Many people were expecting the Messiah to come to establish a kingdom. Everyone knew that one must be righteous to enter the Kingdom. However, there were disagreements on these requirements of righteousness. For the last 400 years before the Messiah, the Pharisees taught that Abraham would sit at the entrance of Hell and save all Jews from eternal destruction. Therefore, according to rabbinic teaching, all Jews would enter the Messianic Kingdom. Gentiles had to earn their way into heaven by becoming Jewish proselytes and keeping the Mosaic Law.

At the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus was going to inform the Jews of these requirements of righteousness that were needed in order to enter into the Messianic Kingdom.

² Then he began to teach them by saying:

Jesus began to teach the Jews about how to enter the Messianic Kingdom. This sermon was not a constitution of the Messianic Kingdom, as even many dispensationalists with strong Bible doctrine teach.

Neither was this a teaching of salvation. Many liberals claim that the Sermon of the Mount is their religion. According to these liberals, all one has to do to be righteous with God is not to believe in Jesus, but to keep the principles of the Golden Rule within the Sermon of the Mount. However, this Sermon of the Mount was not written to modern Christians in America in the 21st century. It was spoken to Jews who were living under the Mosaic Law in first century Rome. There is application for modern believers today, but it is not the way of salvation. The way of salvation is found in Acts 16:31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

The Sermon of Mount is not to be Christian ethics for this modern age. There are certain specific things mentioned in this sermon for modern Christians, as many of these are repeated as modern church doctrine in Paul's letters. However, not every one of these commands is for the church age. 

The Sermon of the Mount is the true teaching of the righteousness of the Mosaic Law compared to the false teachings of the interpretation of the Jewish leaders’ Oral Law. Jesus is going to give His interpretation on how the Mosaic Law should be kept. This teaching comes after the appointment of the 12 apostles, after the debate over the authority of the Mishnah (Oral Law), and after Jesus has identified Himself as the Messianic-God-man. 

 

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

The Greek word for "blessed" is μακάριος (makarios), meaning happy to be receiving God's grace.  The short definition is "happy."

Being "poor in spirit" means having a right and proper evaluation of oneself before God. This is the opposite of pride. One must see himself as a poor sinner who was headed to the Lake of Fire, but was saved by the kindness of God. Those who see themselves in this position of humility are not only happy, but they will enter the Kingdom of God.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Those who mourn over the sin of their life will be comforted, because this will lead to confession. Therefore, those who confess their sin will be happy.

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Those who are meek have a quiet confidence that leads to submission under God's authority. Meekness is not cowardice, but a quiet confidence that God can bring the believer through any situation. These Jewish believers will not only be happy, but they will inherit the earth. They will co-reign with Christ during the Millennial Kingdom.

 

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.

Jesus was speaking to Jews who were living under the Mosaic Law. The standard of righteousness for these Jewish believers was keeping the Mosaic Law. Those who hungered and thirsted for keeping the Mosaic Law would be happy and satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

The merciful are those who show compassion to others. Those who show compassion to others will be happy and they will receive compassion from God.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

The pure in heart are those who are honest and do good things with proper motivation. Those who do good things do so, because they love God. They will be happy and they will see God. 

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.

This has nothing to do with political peace. Those who make peace with other fellow-believers will be happy. They will also be called the children of God, because they will one day be princes who will inherit their Father's kingdom.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

Whenever a Jewish believer follows God's will by keeping the Mosaic Law, then he will be persecuted by unbelievers. Jewish believers need to expect this kind of lifestyle. Those Jewish believers who are persecuted for keeping the Mosaic Law will be happy. They will enter the kingdom of heaven. 

Notice that Jesus was not speaking to modern Christians in this passage. He was speaking to Jews who were under the Law. Their standard of righteous at this time in history was keeping the Mosaic Law. This verse has similar application for the modern Christians, but the audience was Jews living under the Mosaic Law in 30 A.D.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me.

The believing messianic Jews gained another problem when they believed on Jesus. Many from their own Jewish nation and family would insult them, persecute them, and say evil things about them, just because they had believed in Jesus. Jesus warned these first century Jews that there was a steep price for following Him  as the Messiah.

¹² Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

The prophets predicted the first and second coming of Jesus. They were persecuted and killed for their testimony. The Jewish messianic believers should rejoice and be glad about this persecution,  remembering that they would gain eternal rewards in heaven.

Salt and Light

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.

Jesus was not speaking to modern Christians. He was speaking to believing Jews of the first century. It was the believing Jewish Remnant, not the church, who was the salt of the earth.

Salt was used for two things. It was used for seasoning and preservation. The Jews bring flavor to the world, as they recorded and preserved the Scriptures so that all men could learn of God.

The Jewish Remnant also preserved the world from being destroyed by God. As long as there was a Jewish Remnant on earth, God would preserve the Jews and Gentiles. The Jews must exist to cry out "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." Jesus will not return and establish his Messianic Kingdom until the Jews make this call. Therefore, the Jewish Remnant must exist, or Satan will remain in control of this world. This is why modern Israel continues to have victory over those who want to exterminate them. Modern Israel thinks it is their armed forces that are keeping them from extermination. However, it is Jesus the Messiah (whom they rejected) who is actually preserving them like salt. He is preserving the entire nation of Israel for the sake of the believing Jewish Remnant.

¹⁴ You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden.

The Jewish Remnant was the light of the world. The Jews will point all of the pagan Gentiles to the one true God. The Book of Acts recorded the historical record of this event. 

¹⁵ People do not light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house.

When people light a lamp, they do not put it under a basket. This basket would keep the light from shining in the room.

¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

The light of the Jews should shine out in the darkness of the Gentile world and reveal Jesus as the Messiah.

Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them.

Jesus told the Jewish believing Remnant of 30 A.D. that He did not come to destroy the Mosaic Law. He came to fulfill it. To fulfill this Law, He had to die. Once Jesus died, then the Mosaic Law was dead also.

The Mosaic Law was not just the Ten Commandments, but it was 613 specific laws. Until Jesus died, the Jews had to keep all 613 Laws. They did not have to keep the Mosaic Law for salvation because that would be impossible. The Mosaic Law was a school teacher that showed man that he was a sinner who could never work his way into heaven. The Law kills, but it does not give salvation to anyone. After Jesus died, the Law was completed.  These Jewish Messianic believers simply had to believe in Jesus.

¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place.

The smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet is the yod. It is similar in size and shape to an apostrophe. The smallest stroke is called the tittle. It is the shape and size of a period. Jesus told these Jewish Messianic believers that He Himself will fulfill every single letter and every single stroke of THE WRITTEN LAW. Jesus will not fulfill the rabbinic Oral Law because it was man-made. 

¹⁹ So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

These commandments are not just the Ten Commandments but it is all 613 commandments. If any man breaks just one of these 613 commandments, then he is guilty of breaking every one of them. The only one who kept all 613 commandments was Jesus Himself. The message that Jesus sent to these Jewish Messianic believers was that for them to be righteous enough to enter heaven, they must keep all 613 laws. Therefore, the rabbi were wrong when they were teaching the Jews that Abraham would sit at the gates of death and save them out of Hell.

²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This is the doctrinal truth which is really going to get Jesus in trouble. What He was saying is that the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees were not teaching sound Bible doctrine. He was telling these multitudes of Jewish people that they could not enter the Messianic Kingdom based upon the teachings of their Jewish religious leaders. He was telling the people that if they continued to listen to these Jewish religious leaders and their teachings upon righteousness, then they will never enter the Messianic Kingdom. In this one sentence, Jesus closed the door to Judaism as a false system of salvation.  

Anger and Murder

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’

When Jesus used the terminology "You have heard that it was said," He was speaking about the Mishnah, or the man-made Oral Law. According to the Oral law, one was not guilty of murder until he committed the act. Then, he was to be punished. 

²² But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’ will be sent to fiery hell.

When Jesus used the terminology "But I say to you," He was placing Himself as a divine authority above the Oral Law. Jesus gave His own interpretation of the Mosaic Law. As soon as a person grows angry toward his brother, then he has broken the Mosaic Law. He will be punished. The punishment is eternal death in the Lake of Fire.

Whoever insults a Jewish brother in front of the judicial council will be punished and sent to Hell. The Law is a killer. The Law expects internal as well as external conformity. The Law cannot save anyone. The Law only states the rule and the punishment. 

²³ So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

A gift offering was a voluntary offering that a believer brought to the altar. The motivation of this free-will offering was that one loved God so much, that he was going to give more than just what was required by the Mosaic Law. Jesus told these Jewish believers that this gift offering means nothing to God if they have offended their fellow brother.

²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift.

The Jewish believer was told to leave his voluntary gift offering at the altar and go make things right with his brother.

²⁵ Reach agreement quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison.

Whenever the Jews had a disagreement, they would take their case to the Sanhedrin. Jesus told them not to do this because the Sanhedrin could not be trusted. He told the Jews to make a quick agreement with his accuser before the case gets to the Sanhedrin. If he does not do so, the Sanhedrin will throw him into prison.

²⁶ I tell you the truth, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!

He warned the Jewish believers that it is better to come to an agreement with his accuser rather than to face the Sanhedrin Court. The Sanhedrin Court protected the wealthy. They will make sure that the wealthy get their money.

Adultery

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’

"You have heard" refers to the man-made Oral Law created by the Pharisees. According to the Oral Law, one was not guilty of adultery unit the act was committed. 

²⁸ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

According to Jesus, one commits adultery when he looks at a woman with lust in his eyes.

²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell.

Jesus used a powerful metaphor to remind the Jewish believers that it was better to lose an eye in the current physical world than it was to spend their entire eternal life in hell.

³⁰ If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.

Jesus repeated this same spiritual principle with a second metaphor. Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever lived. Like other great teachers, He used figures of speech to drive home a spiritual concept. One does not take the metaphor literally, but they should take the spiritual concept literally. The spiritual concept was that it is better to lose a member of one's body on earth if it keeps him out of hell.

Divorce

³¹ “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’

"It was said" refers to the man-made Oral Law. There were two views of Pharasaic divorce. One view was that a man could divorce his wife only for adultery or desertion. The other view was that a man could divorce his wife for any reason, including burning the family meal.

³² But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Jesus gave only one condition of divorce. The only reason for divorce was immorality.

Oaths

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not break an oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’

"You have heard" refers to the man-made Oral Law. The Oral Law gave the one who took an oath some different loopholes to get out of it. 

³⁴ But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,

The rabbi taught that if one made an "oath to heaven,"  then it could be broken, since it was not made directly to God. Jesus told the Jewish messianic believers not to make any oaths at all.

There are many Masons today who claim to be a Christian group, but they require their members to take blood oaths and keep all of their masonic teachings secret. Later on, Masonry will teach their members that they can choose their own god, whether it be Jesus, Jehovah, Mohammed, Buddha, Krishna, or any other god in which they choose to serve. In the 7th degree, they give the name of God as Ja-bal-on, a combination of the Jewish God Jehovah, the Canaanite god Baal, and the Egyptian god On.

Masonry is nothing but a gnostic cult. The gnostics claimed that they had a super-spiritual knowledge that no one else possessed. Masons make this same claim. They keep their members in the cult by offering them financial security. Masons in power will promote other Masons to top positions in their businesses. Many of the top businessmen and politicians in the world were placed there by other Masons, or by secret societies that are similar to Masons.

³⁵ not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.

Jews would also make oaths by the earth, by the footstool of God, or by Jerusalem. They would later claim that since this oath was not made directly to God, then it could be broken. Jesus took this "out" away from them.

³⁶ Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black.

God controls the number of hairs, even the gray hairs. 

³⁷ Let your word be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.’ More than this is from the evil one.

A righteous man should have such a solid relationship with those that he knows, that oaths should not be necessary. 

Retaliation

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

"You have heard" is a reference to the man-made Oral Law. The Oral Law taught that this "eye for eye" retribution could be used for individual vengeance instead of just that of a legal court of Law.

 

³⁹ But I say to you, do not resist the evil doer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well.

The one offended was not to retaliate. He was to leave revenge to the Lord. This is why Paul said, ‘Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works’ (2 Tim. 4:14). 

⁴⁰ And if someone wants to sue you and to take your tunic, give him your coat also.

If someone wants to sue a Jewish believer in a legal court, then the believer was to pray about it and let the Lord handle it.

⁴¹ And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

If one forces a Jewish believer on a forced march, the believer is to comply, pray about it, and let the Lord handle it.

⁴² Give to the one who asks you, and do not reject the one who wants to borrow from you.

If one asked the Jewish believer for a loan, then the Jewish believer was not to reject him. 

These verses were for those Jewish believers living under the Mosaic Law during the time of the Roman Empire of 30 A.D. The modern church today is not under this Mosaic Law, so they have Christian liberty in some of these issues. These are applications for the church, but not laws. The modern believer lives under the Law of Christ, which is taught in Paul's epistles. Believers are to keep the Law of Christ not for salvation, but because they love Christ and want to please Him. Some of these principles are listed in the Law of Christ.

Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’

"You have heard" refers to the man-made Oral Law of the Pharisees. The Pharisees taught that there were only two people in the world. There were Pharisees, who were their neighbors. Then, there was everyone else, who were not their neighbors. Pharisees were to love other Pharisees and hate everyone else, because everyone else was their enemy.

⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you,

Jesus told the Jewish believers that they were to love their enemies. They were to pray for those who persecuted them. The Jewish believers were persecuted not only by enemies of the gospel, but also by fellow Jews of their own nation, such as Jewish Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians.

⁴⁵ so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Paul taught that believers were to convert their enemies to Jesus, so that they could be friends. God turns the enemies of Christ into friends of Christ. Everyone born in this world was born physically as an enemy of Christ.

Notice that God still sends the sun to rise and the rain to produce crops for both the good and the evil. Jewish believers were to be like their Father in heaven. They were to bring about good on both the good and the evil.

⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors do the same, don’t they?

Even unbelievers love those who love them.

⁴⁷ And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? Even the Gentiles do the same, don’t they?

Believers were to greet both believers and unbelievers. Even Gentiles greet believers. Jesus is slowly tearing down the wall between Jews and Gentiles.

⁴⁸ So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

God possesses high standards for His elect Jewish nation. God's standard is perfection. To get into heaven, the Jewish believers must be perfect. They were made perfect by believing in messianic claims of Jesus.