The Way - Day 237 (Matthew 5)

Pastor Tom's Journal on Today's Reading:
Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew brings Jesus' ministry alive by documenting some of His sermons and in Matthew 5:1-7:29, Jesus' sermon on the mount is detailed for the reader.  This sermon is one of the most famous in all of Scripture.  The words of Jesus in this passage are an effort to define true righteousness as opposed to the external, works-based righteousness of the Pharisees (so-called religious leaders); in fact, Jesus says in Matthew 5:20, "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."  Jesus taught His disciples that true righteousness begins in the heart and not with the external works of the flesh.  Paul also wrote to the Romans, "But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness" (Romans 4:5); therefore, righteousness stems from God and then flows to the heart of man.  Righteousness cannot be earned or manufactured through good works, as the religious leaders taught, but it is only through faith in God that true righteousness and lasting life change is discovered.

When Jesus saw the multitudes which had gathered to see Him (4:23-25), He went up onto a mountain and called His disciples to Him (5:1).  He first teaches them (5:2) regarding the character of those who have true faith and righteousness.  These characteristics are often referred to as the beatitudes (5:3-12), meaning that they are the attitudes of true faith.  The world finds satisfaction in pleasure and material things, while those with true faith exhibit satisfaction through their character, which is produced by the Holy Spirit.  Here is a brief description of each of the beatitudes:

• Poor in Spirit (5:3) - a recognition of my utter need of God
• Mourn (5:4) - a deep sorrow over my sin
• Meek (5:5) - self-control even in difficult circumstances
• Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness (5:6) - seeking the righteousness of God instead of attempting to earn it
• Merciful (5:7) - not seeking revenge or having compassion on the undeserving
• Pure in Heart (5:8) - an internal cleansing of the heart
• Peacemakers (5:9) - striving for togetherness instead of strife
• Persecuted for Righteousness' Sake (5:10-12) - a willingness to suffer hardship for doing good

These attitudes can only be realized when a person has true faith and righteousness from God, apart from his own works.

Matthew 5:13-20
Matthew documents one of Jesus’ most famous sermons in all of Scripture, the sermon on the mount. Jesus has already taught those gathered regarding the character of those who have true faith and righteousness (Matthew 5:1-12).  These characteristics are known as the beatitudes, meaning that they are the attitudes manifest in the lives of those who have true faith.  The religious culture of Jesus’ day upheld a superficial religion simply based on a person’s outward actions without taking a person’s heart into consideration.  Jesus placed a strong emphasis on the heart, which reveals the true person.

Jesus knew that if the people listening would demonstrate the attitudes of true faith, they would have a major impact on the culture around them.  With this in mind, Jesus taught them that they should be “salt” and “light” to the world.  Salt creates thirst.  In a spiritual sense, Jesus called His followers the salt of the earth because their message and distinct lifestyle would create a thirst in others to walk in the same direction (5:13).  However, if Jesus’ followers failed to demonstrate true faith through their actions and attitudes, they would become useless, something that Jesus obviously warned against.  When Jesus called His followers the “light of the world,” (5:14-15) He was challenging them to allow their actions and attitudes (good works) to bring glory and fame to God (5:16).

Jesus’ message was very distinct from the message of the religious leaders.  The religious leaders prided themselves in their obedience to the Old Testament law and even the man-made laws they had added, but Jesus wanted them to realize that true religion begins with the heart and then moves to the hands and feet.  The religious leaders had confused this.  Jesus had not come to create a competing system with the law, as the religious leaders had accused Him, but His eventual death and resurrection would provide the righteousness necessary for believers to obey God’s commands and enable them to live in the power of the Holy Spirit (5:17-20).

Matthew 5:21-37
In His sermon on the mount, Jesus had been bringing distinction between the teachings of the religious leaders of the day and what God truly expected from His followers.  The religious leaders were teaching a works based righteousness that encouraged people to find value in their outward efforts; however, Jesus taught them that having a pure heart would lead to right actions.  The heart and actions cannot be separated.

To bring clarity to this issue, Jesus illustrated the importance of having a pure heart AND proper actions.  Jesus makes the connection between the heart and actions by looking at a couple issues: murder/hatred (5:21-26), adultery/lust (5:27-30), divorce (5:31-32), and making promises (5:33-37).  The religious leaders viewed murder as sin (5:21), but Jesus took this issue one step further by exposing hatred as the heart condition which leads a person to murder (5:22).  Many people were taking pride in the fact that they had never murdered someone, but hatred or unjustified anger toward another is an internal sin which has the potential to lead to an external, sinful action.  Jesus challenged His followers to confess any areas of anger or hatred before coming to worship God (5:23-26).

Many of the religious leaders thought highly of themselves because they had never committed adultery (5:27), but Jesus equated lust (an internal sin) with adultery, which is the outward manifestation of lust (5:28).  The only way to combat outward sin is by changing the heart (5:29-30).  Jesus also examined another issue being abused by the religious leaders – divorce (5:31-32).  They taught that divorce could take place when a husband felt it was necessary or when a major offense took place; however, Jesus reminded them that a marriage could only be dissolved when sexual immorality has occurred.  Marriage is a serious commitment made before God and should not be taken lightly.  Jesus also exposes the religious leaders’ soft view of making promises in the name of God (5:33-37).  When they could not fulfill a promise or an oath, they would justify it.  Again, this was an issue of the heart.  Jesus wanted His followers to keep their promises, especially if they had used His name to guarantee it.

Guarding our heart is imperative in our relationship with God, but if we focus all our attention on the external, we will not see long-term victory.  The writer of Proverbs says it like this, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).  What a person believes in their heart will eventually be revealed in their actions.

Matthew 5:38-42
Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the importance of their heart and is warning them about the teachings of the so called religious crowd (scribes and Pharisees) of the day. The "religious" people emphasized conformity to rules rather than conformity of the heart; they were simply interested in the outward actions instead of attitudes of the heart, which drive actions. These were the people who said that hatred is permissible as long as you never murder (5:21-26). They also prided themselves in the fact that they had never committed adultery, but Jesus said the standard is not just outward actions, but also the heart, making lust just as wrong as adultery (5:27-30). In this particular passage, Jesus addresses how the scribes and Pharisees had taken the Old Testament law out of context and used it to their own advantage. They knew the Old Testament (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21) designed laws as to how punishment was to be carried out in matters of personal disagreements; however, they were using these laws to condone personal revenge on someone else. This Old Testament law was termed lex talionis and was established in order to make sure the punishment fit the crime, not go beyond it. Jesus tells his followers that the law was never meant to permit people to take matters into their own hands and administer punishment on wrongdoers (5:38-39a); however, Jesus wanted them to give up their rights, not claim them. Jesus desired followers who were humble and not always looking to make sure that everything is fair. He addressed a couple areas where a disciple should give up his rights: matters of personal attack (v.39), matters of lawsuit (v.40), matters of personal gain (v.41), and matters of personal property (v.42). The interesting thing about Jesus asking His followers to give up their rights and be humble is that it is against who we are. Whenever someone does something wrong to us, takes advantage of us, or falsely accuses us we immediately want to get revenge. But, Jesus says that His true disciples are willing to give up their personal feelings in order to make peace.

Matthew 5:43-48
After Jesus has just told His followers to never seek personal retaliation on others, He takes it a little further. You see, Jesus did not bring anything different than what was taught in the Old Testament, He just clarified the standard. He was interested in making sure people understood that it isn't just important to look good on the outside, but also to be certain that a person's heart matched their actions. It is so easy for someone to fool everyone into thinking that they are righteous by their outward actions, but in reality their heart is far from God - the outward is just a show, an act! Jesus wants our hearts more than anything and in these verses He raises the standard of love. Apparently the religious crowd of that day had no problem loving their own friends. Leviticus 19:18 proclaimed that a person should love their neighbor as themselves. Jesus also repeated this as the second great commandment (Matthew 22:39), but the scribes and Pharisees had added their own take on this commandment. In verse 43 Jesus addresses what they had heard from the religious people - love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Jesus begins to unfold the real meaning of loving your neighbor. Loving others is not only about embracing your friends and family, but also those who you would typically push away because of something they've said or done to you. Jesus says it like this..."love your enemies." He defines how we can love our enemies: encourage those who cut you down, do good to those who dislike you, and pray for people who take advantage and mock you. That is a high standard! It comes so natural for me to love those closest to me, but only with God's help can I love those who treat me like dirt. God knows that we need Him to enable us to love even our enemies and we must surrender to Him. Jesus was careful to point out that even the worst people of society love their friends, but only His followers would demonstrate love to those who hated them (vv.46-47). After all, God demonstrated His love to us even when we were undeserving of His forgiveness (Romans 5:8) and He will not accept any less from us. How about the person in your family who has become your enemy? How about the friend at school who stabbed you in the back? How about the fellow employee at work who let you down? How about the person who has differing political views? How about the murderer and the child molester? How about the person who hates you more than anyone else? Jesus says to love your enemy...not just by saying it, but also by blessing them, doing good to them, and praying for them.

Dear God, it comes so easy for me to love those who are my friends but I need your help in embracing those who are my enemies. I realize that You love me even though I continually sin against You. Help me to forgive those who may not deserve it as well as bless, do good, and pray for my enemies.