Matthew 5
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Chapter 5
Chapter 5
The following material is adopted from John MacArthur’s commentary on Matthew and his Study guide. Additional material taken from sources listed at the end
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Introduction
Introduction
MacArthur
Until this point in Matthew, Jesus’ words have been limited and reference to His teachings have been general. Now in one powerful comprehensive yet compact message, the Lord sets forth the foundational truths of the gospel of the kingdom He came to proclaim. This one continuous message of the Lord found in Matthew 5-7 has traditionally been called the Sermon on the Mount. This teaching was delivered at one specific time. As we will see, these were revolutionary truths to the minds of those Jewish religionists who heard them. Christ’s pronouncements have continued to explode with great impact on the minds of readers for over two thousand years.
Here is the manifesto of the new Monarch, who ushers in a new age with a new message about true righteousness. The underlying and overarching theme of Christ’s sermon is that man has no righteousness of his own that can survive the scrutiny of God. On the contrary, salvation and blessing are offered freely by the grace of the King and must be received by faith
Why is the Sermon on the Mount so important? Because it show the absolute necessity of the new birth. God’s perfect standards are much too high and demanding to be met by human power. Only those who partake of God’s own nature through Jesus Christ can fulfill such demands. The sermon drives us to King Jesus as our only hope of meeting God’s standards. Christ’s revolutionary message also shows us God’s pattern for true happiness and success.
Q: A large part of Jesus’ ministry was his preaching and teaching. Think about one of the best sermons or messages you’re ever heard. Why does it stick out in your mind? What made it so powerful and memorable?
Summary so Far
— Chapter 1 - The gospel of Matthew began with the genealogical proofs that Jesus was indeed the promised Son who would reign on the throne of David
— Chapter 2 & 3 - The promised Son & king is visited by the wise men; The early ministry of John the Baptist
— Chapter 4 – Jesus temptation in the wilderness
— Note: Matthew gives a picture of Jesus that is not biographical, nor chronological
Looking Ahead
— Chapter 5 through 7 - Jesus presents the principles of His coming kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount (the King proclaims His manifesto) that emphasizes spiritual and moral principles that govern the kingdom of God:
Especially as these applied to the prophesied kingdom on earth, which the Messiah-King was to bring when He came
The Sermon on the Mount contains timeless truths always applicable, some truths that were immediately applicable to Christ’s day on earth, and some truths that were to have their fulfillment in the millennial kingdom
Jesus, the King of the Kingdom, lays out what it takes to be a citizen of the kingdom
Spirit and truth
Not hypocritical
Empowered from within
Jesus proclaims the highest ethic. Question is “How to attain such a lofty standard?”
Jesus works through the Holy Spirit who He sent into the world to empower His own
Introduction to the Beatitudes
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
It is worth considering that at various times people have interpreted the Sermon on the Mount differently
— There are four errors about the Sermon on the Mount that are widely held by the church
The First Error
— The first is error teaches that all the ethical mandates found in the sermon have no bearing on us today
— Since these ethics are about the Kingdom of God and the kingdom has not come yet, the sermon is irrelevant
— This is the error of the dispensational view
— This is a view popularized in the 1909 Scofield reference bible
— This teaches that this has nothing to do whatsoever with modern Christians
— They say our Lord began to preach about the kingdom of God, and the preaching of the Sermon on the Mount was in connection with the inauguration of the kingdom
— It was meant for the people to whom He was preaching; it will be meant again in the millennial age
— It is the law of that age and of the kingdom of heaven, and has nothing to do with Christians in the meantime
Objection
— This is a serious misunderstanding of the kingdom of God in the NT
— Just because Jesus ascended to heaven as king of kings and His kingdom is still in the future misses one of the key points of the NT
— His earthly kingdom is future but it is here and now in the hearts of all who are Christians
— if this were true, when He spoke that we are “salt of the earth; you are the light of the earth” would not apply to us
— But clearly our Lord was preaching telling us what do in this world, not only while He was here, but after He had gone
— It was preached to people who were meant to practice it at that time and ever afterwards
— But no only that, there is no teaching to be found in the Sermon on the Mount which is not also found in various NT Epistles
— Now all the Epistles are meant for Christians today; so if their teaching is the same as the Sermon on the Mount, clearly its teaching is meant for Christians today
Second Error
— The Sermon on the Mount is merely a new declaration of the law which sets the bar so high that we need the gospel
— There is truth to this but this is also a basic misunderstanding of the sermon
Objection
— The Beatitudes immediately take us into a realm that is beyond the law of Moses completely
— The Sermon on the Mount does expound and explain the law at certain points — but it goes beyond it
Third Error
— The Sermon on the Mount doesn’t teach grace
— Some say, “Surely the Sermon on the Mount teaches that we have our sins forgiven only if we forgive others?
— Doesn’t our Lord say, “If ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses?”
— Is not that law? Where is the grace there?
— To be told that if do not forgive, we shall not be forgiven, is not grace
— Thus they may seem to be able to approve that the Sermon on the Mount does not apply to us
Objection
— Remember that our Lord taught the exact same thing in Matthew 18, of the steward who committed an offense against his master
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt. 28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.” ( Matt 18:23-34 )
— The Lord comments on this in the next verse ( 18:35 ), “ So likewise shall my heavenly father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses”
— That is exactly the same teaching
— But does it teach that I am forgiven only because I have forgiven?
— No, the teaching is this, and we have to take it seriously, that if I do not forgive, I am not forgiven
— The man who has seen himself as a guilty, vile sinner before God knows his only hope of heaven is that God has forgiven him freely
— The man who truly sees and knows and believes this, is one who cannot refuse to forgive another
— So the man who does not forgive another does not know forgiveness himself
— If my heart has been broken in the presence of God I cannot refuse to forgive; and, therefore, I say to any man who is imagining fondly that his sins are to be forgiven by Christ, though he does not forgive anybody else, beware my friend, lest you wake up in eternity and find Him saying to you, “Depart from me; I never knew you”
— The man who is truly forgiven and knows it, is a man who forgives
Fourth Error
RC Sproul
— The worst distortion of the Sermon on the Mount was a result of nineteenth-century liberalism
— It holds that the Sermon on the Mount is about the social gospel and that the ethic of Jesus is not about personal redemption but about teaching the church ethical behavior so that the mission of the church is to be an agency of mere humanitarianism
Objection
— That, of course, scuttles not only the relevance of the Sermon on the Mount but the entire New Testament
— If you look closely at the content of the Sermon on the Mount, in it Jesus sets forth our response to Him as the ultimate test by which we and all men will be judged eternally. Therefore, let us be careful not to get caught in the trap of those erroneous views. The sermon is the Word of God for us today and for Christians in every age
General Outline of the Sermon on the Mount
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— First Jesus speaks about the citizens of heaven ( 5:2-16 ), describing their character and blessedness and their relation to the world ( 13-16 )
— In verses 3-10 you have the character of the Christian
— Then verse 11 and 12 show us the character of the Christian as proved by the reaction of the world to him
— We are told, “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad: for great is reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you
— We are told the kind of character the Christian is and then we are told that, certain things will happen to him
— Then in verses 13-16 are an account of the relationship of the Christian to the world
— These verses are descriptive of the function of the Christian in society
— They are summed up with “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”
— Secondly the Lord sets forth the righteousness of the kingdom, the high standard of life demanded by the King ( 5:17-7:12 )
— If we subdivide verses 5:17-48 we have the Christian facing the law of God and its demand
— A general description of his righteousness is given
— Then we are told of his righteousness towards such masters as murder, adultery and divorce; then how he should speak and then his position with regard to the whole question of retaliation and self-defense, and his attitude toward his neighbor
Thirdly, the whole of chapter 6 relates to the Christian as living his life in the presence of God
— Living in active submission to Him, and in entire dependence upon him
— Take for instance, the first verse
“Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” ( Matt 6:1 )
— It continues like this from beginning to end
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” ( Matt 6:25-26 )
— This is a description of the Christian man who knows he is always in the presence of God
— When he meets problems in his life, food or clothing, his reaction to external events, all are viewed in the light of this relationship which he bears to the Father
— The Christian does not go out of the world; that was the Roman Catholic error of monasticism
— The Sermon on the Mount does not tell you to go out of life in order to live the Christian life
— But it does say that your attitude is entirely different from that of non-Christians because of your utter dependence upon God
Fourthly, chapter 7 can be regarded in general as an account of the Christian and judgment
— We always live under the judgment of God and in the fear of God
— We are told to “Judge not, that ye be not judged”
— We are reminded to “Enter ye in at the strait gate”
— And, “Beware of false prophets”
— Moreover, the Christian is likened to a man who builds a house which he knows is going to be tested
— Our fear of God is not craven fear because 1 John 4 says ( cf Heb 12:28-29 )
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” ( 1 John 4:18 )
— The Christian man is the only man in the world who lives always under this sense of judgment; he knows that his house and life will be judged
— We should always be living and walking, distrustful of the flesh, distrustful of ourselves, knowing that we have to appear before God and be judged by Him
General Characteristics
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
First, All Christians are to be like this
— This is a description of what every Christian should be, this is not a description of some exceptional Christians
— We must all agree of the fatal tendency introduced by every branch of Church to divide Christians into two groups — the religious and the laity, the exceptional Christians and the ordinary Christians, the one who makes a vocation of the Christian life and the man who is engaged in secular activities
— There is no distinction in the bible
— There are distinctions of office — apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, evangelists and so on
— But the Beatitudes are not a description of offices; they are a description of character
Second, all Christians are meant to manifest all of these characteristics
— Not only are they meant for all Christians, but we are manifest them all
— It is not right to say that only some are to be “poor in spirit” and some are meant to “mourn” and some are meant to be “peacemakers” and so on
— Every Christian is to meant to manifest all of them and at the same time
Third, none of these descriptions refers to what we may call a natural tendency
— Each of them is wholly a disposition which is produced by grace alone and the operation of the HS upon us
— We must be careful to draw a sharp distinction between spiritual qualities and material ones that counterfeit these Beatitudes
— We may hear someone say, “I know someone who never reads the bible or goes to church and he is more like a Christian than many people who do”
— This description is that of a man’s natural temperament but that does not determine whether a man is a Christian or not
Fourth, this is the distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian
— This is the thing that should really concern us, this is not just a description of what a man does but what is Christian and what is not
— This is such an important distinction
— There was a time when the distinction was clear cut but today it is blurred as the world has come into the church and the church has become worldly
— We have been told that we have to make the church attractive to the man outside, and the idea is to become as much like him as we can
— The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it
— It should not be our ambition to be like everyone else, but rather to be as different from everybody who is not a Christian
Fifth, the Christian and the non-Christian belong to two entirely different realms
— The first and the last Beatitude promise the same reward, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
— You are not only different in essence, you are living in two absolutely different worlds
— You are among other people, yes, but you are citizens of another kingdom
Vital Questions
The vital questions we must ask ourselves are these
— Are we ruled by Christ?
— Is He our King and Lord?
— Are we manifesting these qualities in our daily lives?
— Is it our ambition to do so?
— Do we see that this is what we are meant to be?
— Are we truly blessed? Are we happy?
— Do we have peace?
My immediate reaction to these Beatitudes proclaims exactly what I am
— If I feel that they are harsh and hard, if I feel that they are against the grain and depict a character type that I dislike, I am afraid it just means that I am not a Christian
— If I do not want to be like this, I must be “dead in trespasses and sins;” I can never have received new life
— But if this is my desire and my ambition, there must be new life in me, I must be a child of God, I must be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven and God’s dear Son
— Let every man examine himself
Going Deeper
Jesus lived in a highly complex religious society
— Pharisees
— believed that right religion consisted in divine laws and religious tradition
— Fastidious observance to Mosaic law and every minute detail of the traditions
— Sadducees
— Focused on the present
— Religious liberals who discounted everything supernatural
— They modified both Scripture and tradition to fit their religious viewpoint
Essenes
— Ascetics who believed right religion meant separation from the rest of society
— They led austere lives in remote barren regions like Qumran
Zealots
— Political fanatical nationalists who thought right religion was radical political activism
— They looked down on fellow Jews who did not take up arms against Rome
The Pharisees said, “Go back”; the Sadducees said , “Go ahead”; the Essenes said, “Go away” and the Zealots said, “Go Against”
The Pharisees were traditionalist; the Sadducees were modernists; the Essenes were separatists; the Zealots were activists
But Jesus’ way was not any of these
— The Pharisees He said true spirituality is internal, not external
— To the Sadducees He said it was God’s way, not man’s way
— To the Essenes he said he said that it was a matter of the heart, not the body
— To the Zealots he said it was a matter of worship not revolution
Q: Could we describe the Sermon on the Mount as expressing the mind of Christ?
The Great Sermon of the Great King ( 5:1-2 )
— Jesus begins what is traditionally called the Sermon on the Mount
— Jesus repeated these truths on other occasions, but chapters 5-7 record one continuous message of the Lord delivered at one specific time
— The content of the Christian Gospel (death, burial and resurrection) is not mentioned in the sermon on the Mount ( cf. 1 Cor 15:1-5 )
— Jesus began by describing the traits he was looking for in his followers
— He said God blesses those who live out these traits
— These were revolutionary truths to the minds of the Jewish elite
— Each trait is almost a direct contradiction of society’s typical way of life
— If our goal is to become like Jesus, applying the beatitudes will change us in a profound way
— Here is the manifesto of the new Monarch
Q: Can the Sermon on the Mount be understood by unregenerate man? Who did Jesus give the sermon to ( 5:1-2 )?
The Setting ( 5:1-2 )
( 5:1 ) And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
— Jesus was always concerned for the multitudes; in chapters 8 and 9 Matthew will show us examples (12 miracles) that highlight Jesus compassion
— whether they were “distressed and downcast” ( 9:36 )
— or, sick ( 14:14; cf. 4:23 )
— or, hungry ( 15:32 )
— or, physically ill, rich or poor, emotionally stable or demon-possessed, oppressed or powerful, ignorant or educated, influential or insignificant
— He taught His disciples but it is not true that this sermon has meaning for only one class of people
— The principles taught here are applicable to everyone
— The unconverted should listen in order that he may recognize his total inability to keep these precepts and may flee to Christ for refuge ( 11:28-30; John 3:16 )
— The believer should take to heart these lessons in order that in the strength of the Lord and by His grace he may begin to obey them “out of gratitude”
— He loved them all
( 5:1 ) He was seated His disciples came to Him
— Rabbis did not stand when they taught
— They sat and their disciples sat at their feet
( 5:1 ) Then He opened His mouth and taught them
— Here is an utterly new way of living
—A standard of living counter to the what the world practices and holds dear
Q: What does the word “Beatitude” mean ( 5:3-12 )?
—Beatitude comes from Latin word beati, which is translated “blessed”
— Some translations have instead “Happy” which is a poor choice because it fails to include the intensely spiritual depth, which is lacking in the English word Happy
— To be sure, happiness is an element of blessedness but by no means an exhaustive one
— This word appears occurs all through scripture
— The book of Psalms begins with a beatitude
“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.” ( Ps 1:1-2 )
RC Sproul
When Gabriel came to Mary and announced that she would be the mother of the Son of God, he said, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28). When the pregnant Mary visited Elizabeth, the child in Elizabeth’s womb, who would be John the Baptist, jumped for joy at the approach of Jesus, and Elizabeth said to Mary, “Blessed are you among women” (Luke 1:42). An integral part of the Roman Catholic rosary is, “Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” “Hail Mary,” or Ave Maria, is a simple greeting, and it is the greeting of Gabriel to Mary that pronounces to her that she is blessed among women. Although Protestants do not embrace the theology that attends the veneration of Mary in the Roman Catholic Church, we certainly agree that the most singularly blessed woman in history was the mother of Jesus. The New Testament was right when Elizabeth said to her, “Blessed are you.” To be “blessed among women” means to experience a singular benefit from the grace of God, and all who receive the visitation of the Holy Spirit experience that state of blessedness.
— They are be-attitudes, not do-attitudes
— Ancient Greek writers ( Homer and Hesiod ) spoke of the Greek gods as being happy ( blessed ) within themselves, because they were unaffected by the world of men - poverty, disease, weakness, misfortune and death
— The fullest meaning of “blessed” has to do with an inward contentedness that is not affected by circumstances
— God desires that we have a inward state of joy and well-being that does not depend on physical or temporal circumstances
— “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 12 I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” ( Phil 4:11-13 )
Happy are the Humble ( 5:3 )
( 5:3 ) “Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— The Beatitudes are not placed here in some haphazard order
— There is a good reason that this Beatitude is first; there is no entry into heaven apart from it
— There is no one in the kingdom of God who is not poor in spirit
Q: Is Jesus saying that it is blessed to be poor? What does that mean? Compare this with Lk 6:20 what conclusion do you draw?
Poor in Spirit
— The world says: "Blessed are the rich”
— Pride and personal independence at any price
Thomas Watson
— The tree of blessedness does not grow in an earthly paradise
— Has not God cursed the ground for sin ( Gen 3:17 )
— Yet many are digging for felicity (happiness) here, as if they would fetch a blessing out of a curse
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— There are always two sides to the gospel; there is a pulling down and a rising up
— It is an essential part of the gospel that conviction must always precede conversion; the gospel of Christ condemns before it releases
— But more than that, especially when we face the entire Sermon on the Mount we realize that it condemns every idea that this is something that we can do ourselves
— The first Beatitude negates that from the very beginning
Men talked about “bringing the kingdom,” and always used as their text the Sermon on the Mount. They thought of the Sermon as something that can be applied. You have to preach it and then men immediately proceed to put it into practice. But this view is not only dangerous, it is an utter denial of the Sermon itself, which starts with this fundamental proposition about being “poor in spirit.” The Sermon on the Mount, in other words, comes to us and says, “There is the mountain that you must scale, the heights you have to climb; and the first thing you must realize, as you look at that mountain which you are told you must ascend, is that you cannot do it, that you are utterly incapable in and of yourself, and that any attempt to do it in your strength is proof positive that you have not understood it.” It condemns at the very outset the view which regards it as a program for man to put into operation immediately, just as he is
— Christ is never precious until we are poor in spirit (Spurgeon)
Material Wealth
— Some people say that this passage teaches that it is blessed to be materially poor ( cf. Lk 6:20 )
— They would prefer to render this verse as “Blessed in spirit are the poor” based on Luke 6:20
Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said: “Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.” ( Lk 6:20 )
RC Sproul
Some have drawn from this the idea that the kingdom of God belongs essentially to poor people, so all one has to do to enter the kingdom of God is to be poor in the material sense. There arose in the Middle Ages something called “poverty mysticism” in which poverty was elevated to a level of virtue that gave merit to those who were in such a state. That idea ignores the broader teaching of the Bible concerning the poor.
— By comparing scripture to scripture, we see that the Matthew account is more explicit
— The Bible no where teaches that poverty is a good thing
— The poor man is no nearer to the kingdom of heaven than the rich man, speaking of them as natural men (Lloyd-Jones)
— Jesus did not teach that being penniless is the path to spiritual prosperity
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
I have to emphasize this point because most of the Roman Catholic commentators and their imitators in Anglicanism are very fond of interpreting this statement in that sense. They regard it as scriptural authority for the assumption of voluntary poverty. Their patron saint is Francis of Assisi and they regard him and his type as those who alone conform to the statement of this Beatitude. They say that it refers to those who have deliberately made themselves poor, and turned their backs upon wealth. You will find that the late Bishop Gore (1853-1932, Church of England) in his book on the Sermon on the Mount definitely teaches that. It is the characteristic “Catholic’ interpretation of this particular statement. But obviously . . . this is to do violence to scripture
Spiritual Poverty
— Jesus is speaking of spiritual poverty ; also spoken of the in the OT ( Is 57:15 )
— Those who recognize their spiritual destitution and their complete dependence on God (i.e. “I have come to those who know they are sick and need help”)
— Does this remind you of the attitude of the Religious Leaders of Jesus day?
— Those who have no spiritual merit
— They are called blessed as being poor in spirit, not in spirituality but “with respect to” their spirit
— Jesus doesn’t call them blessed because they are poor in riches, rather their poverty is in their spiritual condition
— That is, they are the ones who have become convinced of their spiritual poverty; their misery and want:
— Luke 18:13 be merciful to me a me
— Isa 62:2; cf 57:15 a contrite spirit
— Rom 7:24 They expect nothing from self
— Humility is the foundation of all other graces
— Pride has no place in Christ’s kingdom, until a person surrenders pride he cannot enter the kingdom
— We cannot be made worthy until we recognize our unworthiness ( Prov 16:5 )
— We cannot be filled until we are first emptied
How does this Beatitude clash with the World?
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— This Beatitude illustrates an earlier general principle — there is an utter and essential difference between the natural man and the Christian
— There is a clear-cut distinction between the two kingdoms — the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world
— This statement “Blessed are the poor in spirit” clearly underlines and emphasizes that difference
— This is not something that is admired by the world, it is despised by it
— The world emphasizes self-reliance, self-belief, self confidence, self-expression
— This idea is controlling the life of men and controlling the whole of men who are outside the church
And it is in terms of that fundamental belief that men think they can bring in the kingdom; it is the whole basis of the fatal assumption that by Acts of Parliament alone you can produce a perfect society. Everywhere we see displayed this tragic confidence in the power of education and knowledge to save men, to transform them and make them into decent human beings
— When we think of poverty of spirit we are not comparing ourselves to other men, but we are looking face-to-face with God
— And if one feels anything in the presence of God save an utter poverty of spirit, it ultimately means that you have never faced Him
— That is the meaning of this Beatitude
How do we know when we are poor in spirit?
1. When we lose our self-preoccupation. Self is nothing and Christ is everything. When we can say that I have been crucified with Christ ( Gal 2:20 )
2. We will not complain of our situation no matter how hard. We know that we deserve far worse. When our suffering is for Christ’s sake, we will glorify God for it ( 1 Pet 4:16 )
3. We will regard others as more important than ourselves ( Phil 2:3 ) and give preference to one another in honor ( Ro 12:10 )
4. We will spend more time in prayer. We will knock often on heaven’s gate because we are always in need
5. We will take Christ on His terms not on ours
6. When we are poor in spirit we will praise and thank God for His grace. We will be characterized by abounding gratitude
RC Sproul
We must not think that the poor in spirit get in the kingdom by that means and others get in by some other way—by being a peacemaker or being hungry or thirsty, as we see in the other beatitudes. Everyone has to be poor in spirit to receive the supreme blessing of the kingdom of God.
Q: How does this Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn...” clash with the world ( 5:4 )?
Happy are the Sad ( 5:4 )
( 5:4 ) Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted
Clashing Worldly Value
— The world says:
— Happiness at any cost;
— Turn your back on trouble and do everything you can to not face them
— Take drugs, use alcohol or entertainment to forget your problems
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The whole organization of life, the pleasure mania, the money, the energy, and enthusiasm that are expended in entertaining people, are all just an expression of the great aim of the world to get away from the idea of mourning and this spirit of mourning
— But the gospel says, “Blessed are those that mourn”
— Indeed, they are the only ones who are happy
— The comparative passage in Luke says
“Woe to you who laugh now, For you shall mourn and weep.” ( Lk 6:25 )
— This beatitude (like all of the other beatitudes) is paradoxical
— What could be more self-contradictory than the idea that the sad are happy, that the path to happiness is sadness?
Q: What is the meaning of this beatitude: Blessed are those who mourn ( 5:4 )?
— Once more it is clear, that we have something which is entirely spiritual in meaning
— The Lord did not say that those who mourn in a natural sense are happy
— Just as we saw in the “poverty of spirit” it was not financial but spiritual ( Jones )
— This describes those who mourn their spiritual bankruptcy (first beatitude) and are hungering and thirsting for righteousness (fourth beatitude)
— A Godly sorrow that leads to repentance (Contrast with Judas sorrow or Esau’s sorrow)
— The only sorrow that brings spiritual life and growth is godly sorrow over sin that leads to repentance ( 2 Cor 7:10-11 )
Q: How did the Lord and the apostle Paul demonstrate this beatitude? What can we learn from them?
The Lord’s example
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— We have no record anywhere that He ever laughed
— We are told that He was angry; we are told that He suffered from hunger and thirst; but there is no record of laughter
— We remember the prophecy concerning Him in Isaiah
“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” ( Is 53:3 )
— When we look at these account of Him in the NT we see that prophecy was literally fulfilled
— There is an indication in John 8:57, that our Lord was much older than He actually was
Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” ( John 8:57 )
— This was spoken of Him when He was just over thirty
— And then He wept over the grave of Lazarus ( John 11:35 )
— This was not because His friend was dead
— He had come to raise Him from death
— And then He wept over Jerusalem just before His crucifixion ( Luke 19:41-44 )
— That is the picture of our Lord that you find in the Gospels and we are supposed to be like Him
— What a contrast between the brightness and joviality which so many Christians think is the right portrait of the Christian
Paul’s example
— We are told be to like Paul and the other apostles
“Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.” ( Phil 3:17 )
— Remember that the Christian man knows what it is to cry out, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” ( Ro 7:24 )
— Or in 2 Corinthians 5 he says that he groans
“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven” ( 2 Cor 5:2 )
— He writes to Titus and Timothy to tell them how to teach other people
“that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience;” ( Titus 2:2 )
Q: Why did the Lord mourn over Lazarus when He had expressly come to raise him from the dead ( Luke 19:41-44) ?
— He saw the horrid, ugly, foul thing called sin which had come into life and introduced death into life
— How sin had upset life and made life unhappy
— He wept because of that; He groaned in His spirit
—And He saw the city of Jerusalem rejecting Him and bringing upon itself its own damnation
— He mourned over it and so do His true followers, the ones who have received His nature
But they shall be comforted
— The man who truly repents of his sin finds Christ
— No one can truly know Him as his personal Saviour and Redeemer unless he has first of all known what it is to mourn
— If we truly mourn, we shall rejoice, we shall be made happy, we shall be comforted
— Your great sorrow leads to joy, and without the sorrow there is no joy
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Let us, then, try to define this man who mourns. What sort of man is he? He is a sorrowful man, but he is not morose. He is a sorrowful man, but he is not a miserable man. He is a serious man, but he is not a solemn man. He is sober-minded, but he is not a sullen man. He is a grave man, but he is never cold or prohibitive. There is with his gravity a warmth and attraction. This man, in other words, is always serious; but he does not have to affect the seriousness. The true Christian is never a man who has to put on an appearance of either sadness or joviality. No, no; he is a man who looks at life seriously; he contemplates it spiritually, and he sees in it sin and its effects. He is a serious, sober-minded man. His outlook is alway serious, but because of these views which he has, and his understanding of truth, he also has “a joy unspeakable and full of glory.” So he is like the apostle Paul, “groaning within himself,” and yet happy because of his experience with Christ and the glory that is to come. The Christian is not superficial in any sense, but is fundamentally serious and fundamentally happy. You see, the joy of the Christian is a holy joy, it is a serious happiness; so that, though he is grave and sober-minded and serious, he is never cold and prohibitive. Indeed, he is like the Lord Himself, groaning, weeping, and yet, “for the joy that was set before him” enduring the cross, despising the shame
Going Deeper
Wrong Sorrow
— David’s son Amnon grieved because his sister Tamar would not have sex with him ( 2 Sam 13:2 )
— David grieved when his rebellious son Absalom was killed; Joab rebuked the king ( 2 Sam 19:5-6 )
— Esau’s repentance ( Heb 12:16-17)
Legitimate Sorrow
— Sarah’s death caused Abraham to mourn ( Gen 23:2 )
— A familiar poem by Robert Browning Hamilton expresses this truth
I walked a mile with Pleasure,
She chattered all the way
But left me none the wiser
For all she had to say.
I walked a mile with Sorrow,
And ne’er a word said she,
But, oh, the things I learned from her
When Sorrow walked with me ( Cited in William Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew )
Comfort
This “comfort” is beautifully summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism:
Question. What is your only comfort in life and death?
Answer. That I, with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, wherefore by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto him. Add to this 2 Tim 1:12; 4:7, 8: Rev 17;14; 19:7
Q: What do we think when we hear the term meekness ( 5:5 )? Why is meekness a Christian necessity?
Happy are the Meek ( 5:5 )
( 5:5 ) Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth
— The first two beatitudes dealt with ourselves looking inward
— Blessed are the poor in spirit...
— Blessed are those that mourn...
— The third beatitude puts on the spotlight on how we act in relationship to other people and what they do to us
Meekness
πραΰς (praus), gentle; meek; humble
— We have a tendency to think of meekness as a synonym for weakness
— Meekness is not cowardice; it is not a lack of conviction or just being nice
— But its courage, strength and conviction come from God
— The spirit of meekness is the Spirit of Christ
— Meekness is not weakness; Meekness means power under control
— The various groups that expected Messiah to come - none of them expected His coming to be humbly and meekly
— Yet those attitudes were the very attitudes that Jesus taught and practiced
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” ( Matt 11:29, ASV )
— You see it in His reaction to other people, especially in the way He suffered persecution and scorn
— You see it in His reaction to His enemies but also in His submission to His Father shows His meekness
“ The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” ( John 14:10 )
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Look at the portrait of Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Look at the portrait of Him which we find in Philippians 2 where Paul tells us that He did not regard His equality with God as a prerogative at which to clutch or something to hold on to at all costs. No, He decided to live as a Man, and He did. He humbled Himself, became as a servant and even went to the death on the cross. That is meekness; that is lowliness; that is true humility; that is the quality which He Himself is teaching at this point
— The Lord was all-powerful ( He dealt with the Pharisees with strength ) yet it was said of Jesus
— A bruised reed He would not break ( Isa 42:3 )
— When He encountered people who were lowly and broken by their sin, He ministered to them with gentleness
— Meekness is a necessity for only the meek will inherit the earth ( see other examples in Going Deeper )
( 5:5 ) For they shall inherit the earth
— They may possess only a small portion of the this earth
— But a small portion with God’s blessings resting upon it is more than the greatest riches with God’s blessings
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
In a Present Sense
— The meek already inherit the earth, in this way
— A man who is truly meek is a man who is always satisfied
— Paul said it like this, “as having nothing, and yet possessing all things” ( 2 Cor 6:10 )
In a Future Sense
— But obviously it has a future reference as well
“ Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?” ( 1 Cor 6:2-3 )
— In Romans he says it differently,
— We are children, “and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” ( Ro 8:17 )
— That is, we are going to inherit the earth
— The Lord summed it up this way, “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” ( Luke 14:11 )
Going Deeper
Examples of Meekness
— Abraham allowed his nephew Lot to take whatever land he wanted for the sake of harmony; he had both the right and the power to do as he pleased, but in meekness waived his rights ( Gen 13:5-9 )
— Moses vented his anger at those who were involved in an orgy around the golden calf; he vented his anger at those who enslaved his people and rebelled against God, but he did not vent his anger against those who abused him
— Moses would defend God before anyone, but he did not defend himself before God
— Moses was more humble than any man on the face of the earth ( Num 12:3 )
— Paul knew that he could do all things but only “through Him who strengthens me” ( Phil 4:13 )
— Meekness has always been God’s way for man
The Necessity for Meekness
— Meekness is required for salvation; only the meek will inherit the earth
— Meekness is a necessity because it is commanded: “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility ( Zeph 2:3 )
— Meekness is required to witness effectively. Peter says, “Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give account for the hope that is in you, you with gentleness and reverence ( 1 Pet 3:15 )
— Only meekness can glorify God. Pride seeks its own glory, but meekness seeks God’s glory
Happy are the Hungry ( 5:6 )
( 5:6 ) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled
— We can see the progression in the Beatitudes
Poverty of spirit ( first )
— We realize our own inability and our own weakness
— We confront the moral law, the the commandments
— The Lord Himself
— An honest evaluation will lead to a bankruptcy of spirit — poverty of spirit
results in mourning ( second )
— We see our own utter nothingness and come face to face with the demands of the gospel
— if I am honest with myself, I see my sin and the evil that is within me
— I see how sin has marred God’s perfect creation of man and I mourn
Meekness is positive ( third )
— Then we consider the problem of self: the self concern, self-reliance which leads to our own miseries
— We look at our selfishness that horrible thing that is the cause of all unhappiness ultimately
Results in hungering for righteousness ( fourth )
— Our deepest desires ought to be to hunger and thirst for righteousness
—Jesus’ analogy demonstrates that righteousness is required for spiritual life just as food and water
Missler
— A true Christian has an appetite for spiritual things
— Ask people what they desire and you will know what they are like
— Character is what you are when no one is looking
Contrast
— Many thirst after happiness and blessedness but that is what we are told to do
— If your goal is find happiness before righteousness you are doomed to misery
— Like a doctor who relieves a patient of his or her pain, he has not dealt with the root of the problem
— The folly of the world is that it wants to get rid of its pain?
— They are not happy who thirst after happiness and blessedness
—No, only those who “hunger and thirst” after righteousness shall be filled
— The righteousness imputed and imparted by God must be the object of intense desire, earnest yearning, and relentless pursuit ( Ps 42:1; Isa 55:1; Amos 8:11; Jn 4:34; 6:35; 7:37; Rev 22:17 )
Q: What does it mean to thirst after righteousness ?
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— if you look up righteousness in your concordance you will find it associated with justification
— Paul uses it this way in Romans when he writes:
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” ( Ro 1:17 )
— Very often it does mean justification; but here, I suggest it means more
— The very context that we find it insists that righteousness here includes not only justification but sanctification
— In other words, the desire for righteousness, the act of hungering and thirsting for it, means ultimately the desire to be free from sin in all its forms and in its very manifestation
— This man wants to be free from the power of sin
— The man who truly examines himself in light of the Scriptures not only discovers that he is
— in bondage of sin; still more horrible is the fact that he likes it,
— but now the man who hungers after righteousness want to get rid of that desire of sin
— not only outside but inside as well
— This Beatitude is of exceptional value because it provides us with a practical test which we can apply to ourselves
— Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are filled, happy, they have peace with God (not hoping, but have it)
— He knows he is already complete that he is already complete in Christ so that he is no longer hopeless even about his sanctification
Very well then; if that is the meaning of filling, we must surely ask ourselves questions such as these: Are we filled? Have we got this satisfaction? Are we aware of this dealing of God with us? Is the fruit of the Spirit being manifested in our lives? Are we concerned about that? Are we experiencing love to God and to other people, joy and peace? Are we manifesting long-suffering, goodness, gentleness, meekness, faith and temperance? They that do hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled. They are filled, and they are being filled. Are we therefore, I ask, enjoying these things? Do we know that we have received the life of God? Are we enjoying the life of God in our souls? Are we aware of the Holy Spirit and all His mighty working within, forming Christ in us more and more? If we claim to be a Christian, then we should be able to say yes to all these questions
Q: The question that remains is obviously this: How can we tell whether we are hungering and thirsting after righteousness?
Test #1 - if we are still want to pat our ourselves on the back, or to defend ourselves, then we are still holding onto our own righteousness
— As long as we do that, we shall never be blessed
— The first step is to see our self-righteousness as “filthy rags” and as “refuse”
Test #2 - Do we have a deep need awareness of our need of deliverance and our need of a Saviour?
— We see how desperate we are, and realize that unless a Saviour and salvation are provided, we really are entirely without hope
— Balaam, the OT prophet, wanted to die like the righteous but he didn’t want to live like the righteous
— If we want to die like the righteous we must also wan to live like the righteous
Test #3 The person who is truly hungering and thirsting after righteousness avoids everything that is opposed to it
— I can never make myself like Jesus Christ, but I can stop walking in the gutters of life
— Avoid things that are harmless but make you dull to God
Test #4 Are we putting ourselves in the way to get it?
— Bartimaeus was blind but when he heard Jesus was coming, he found a way to get as near as he could
— Are we going to church to be in the presence of saintly men and women?
Test #5 Are we reading the bible and praying?
— Do we spend more time reading the paper, watching movies than we do spending time with God?
Going Deeper
E.M. Blailock, “Water”
During the liberation of Palestine in World War I, a combined force of British, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers was closely pursuing the Turks as they retreated from the desert. As the allied troops moved northward past Beersheba they began to outdistance their water-carrying camel train. When the water ran out, their mouths got dry, their heads ached, and they became dizzy and faint. Eyes became bloodshot, lips swelled and turned purple, and mirages became common. They knew that if they did not make the wells of Sheriah by nightfall, thousands of them would die - as hundreds already had done. Literally fighting for their lives, they managed to drive the Turks from Sheriah.
As water was distributed from the great stone cisterns, the more able-bodied were required to stand at attention and wait for the wounded and those who would take guard duty to drink first. It was four hours before the last man had his drink. During that time the men stood no more than twenty feed from thousands of gallons of water, to drink of which had been their consuming passion for many agonizing days. It is said that one of the officers who was present reported, “I believe that we all learned a real bible lesson on the march from Beersheba to Sheriah Wells. If such were our thirst for God, for righteousness and for His will in our lives, a consuming, all-embracing, preoccupying desire, how rich in the fruit of the Sprit would we be?
Q: Does the fifth Beatitude teach that if we show mercy to men, they will be merciful to us in return ( 5: 7 )?
Q: What does Mercy look like?
Happy are the Merciful ( 5:7 )
( 5:7 ) Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy
Note
— Jesus is not singling out different groups of people and giving them each a particular reward
— Each of us should embrace and manifest all of the virtues contained in the beatitudes
— If we show mercy, because Christ has been merciful to us, then mercy will come back to us ( Lk 16:1–13; James 2:13; Prov 11:17 )
— If we honor God, He will honor us; if we show mercy to others, He will show even more mercy to us
— This attitude is echoed in the Lord’s prayer: “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” ( 6:12 )
— But that is not the world’s way; neither scripture nor experience bears out that idea
— A popular proverb says, “if you don’t look out for yourself, no one else will”
— Men are not naturally inclined to repay mercy with mercy
— The fifth beatitude does not teach that showing mercy to men brings mercy from men
— Nonetheless, we should show mercy towards everyone because Jesus was merciful
— When the Scribes and Pharisees brought the adulteress to Jesus He confronted them with their hypocrisy
— Jesus wept with the sorrowing, gave compassion to the lonely
— He reached out to the blind, the the dumb
— He found prostitutes, tax collectors, the debauched and the drunken, and drew them into His circle of love and forgiveness
— He did what many of us find hard to do!
Mercy
— Mercy is not simply feeling compassion but showing compassion
— Mercy is meeting people’s needs
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Grace is especially associated with men in their sins; mercy is especially associated with men in their misery. In other words, while grace looks down upon sin as a whole, mercy really means a sense of pity plus a desire to relieve suffering. This is the essential meaning of being merciful; it is pity plus action
— Mercy is giving food to the hungry, comfort to the bereaved, love to the rejected, forgiveness to the offender, companionship to the lonely
— Mercy is love for those in misery and a forgiving spirit toward the sinner
— It embraces both the kindly feeling and the kindly act
— We see it exemplified in the parable of the Good Samaritan ( Lk 10 ), and especially in Christ the merciful high priest ( Heb 2:17 )
RC Sproul
This concept is so important in Jesus’ teaching that we find it later on in Matthew’s Gospel in the parable of the unforgiving servant. A servant was unable to repay a debt he owed, so, when he begged for mercy, his master forgave him. Later, however, the servant refused to forgive a fellow servant who was indebted to him, so the master who had forgiven the first servant’s debt withdrew his mercy and turned that servant over to the jailers. Jesus concludes the parable with these words: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Matt. 18:35).
If we refuse to extend mercy to those who ask it, how can we expect it from God
— Stated negatively, this beatitude could read:
— “Cursed are you who are unmerciful, for you will not receive mercy from God”
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— It is a solemn, serious and, in a sense, a terrible thing to say that you cannot be truly forgiven unless there is a forgiving spirit in you
— For the operation of the grace of God is such, that when it comes into our hearts with forgiveness it makes us merciful towards others
— if I am not merciful there is only one explanation: I have never understood grace and the mercy of God; I am outside Christ; I am yet in my sins and I am unforgiving
Going Deeper
The Attributes of God: Mercy — From our recent study
1. God is rich in mercy towards humanity ( 2 Sam 24:14 )
2. God showed mercy towards Israel ( Jer 3:12; Is 54:7 )
3. John showed mercy by sending his son into the world ( Lk 1:77-78 )
4. Mercy is the basis of our salvation ( Titus 3:5; Dan 9:9 ; Ps 32:5 )
5. Mercy is often linked to Grace ( Ep 2:8-9 )
6. God shows His mercy to the church ( 2 Cor 1:3-4 ; Heb 4:16 )
7. Mercy is the basis of our hope ( Ps 52:8 )
8. God gives mercy on those who are afflicted ( Is 41:13 ; Matt 9:27 )
9. Mercy is given according to God’s will ( Ex 33:19; Ro 9:16 )
10. Believers are to imitate God’s mercy ( Matt 5:7 )
Happy are the Holy ( 5:8 )
( 5:8 ) Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God
Q: What is meant by the term heart ( 5:8 )?
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The heart means the center of the personality
— It doesn’t merely mean the seat of affections and emotions
— The beatitude is not teaching that faith primarily emotional and not pertaining intellect or will
— The heart in scripture includes all three ( affections, emotions, intellect )
— It is the center of man’s being and personality
— It includes the mind; it includes the will; it includes the heart
— It is the total man and that is the thing which our lord emphasizes
The seat of trouble
Secondly, it emphasizes that the heart is always the seat of all our trouble
“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” ( Matt 15:19 )
— The tragic fallacy is that man is a product of his environment (cf B.F. Skinner) but in truth, it is nurture not nature
— To change man all you have to do is change his environment
— It overlooks the fact that man fell while in Paradise
We should all be aware that education alone does not make man good; a man maybe highly educated and yet be an utterly wicked person. The problem is in the centre, so that mere schemes for intellectual development cannot put us right. Neither can these efforts to improve the environment do so alone. Our tragic failure to realize this is responsible for the state of the world at this moment. The trouble is in the heart, and the heart is desperately wicked and deceitful. That is the problem.
Single-mindedness
— Being pure in heart, holy, requires single-mindedness, without folds, nothing is hidden ( Ps 86:11 )
— Our deepest desire is holiness although sin often overrides those desires
— A few verses later Jesus said “be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect “ ( 5:48 )
— It is impurity of heart that separates man from God ( Is 59:1-2 )
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— The trouble with us is our divided heart
— One part of me wants to know God and worship God and please God; but another part wants something else
“ For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” ( Ro 7:22-23 )
— To be living with a pure heart means to like Christ, “Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth”; ( 1 Pe 2:22 )
— And it means, that we should live to the glory of God in every respect
— And our Lord states here that only those who are like that shall see God
— Hebrews says that same thing, “holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” ( Heb 12:14 )
Q: How does this Beatitude, “Blessed are those who are pure in heart...” clash with the world ( 5:8 )?
Clashing Worldly Value
— The world says: Deception is acceptable
— Everyone else is doing it!
— Politicians says, “Tell people what they want to hear”
— “All’s fair in love and war”
The Blessing
— The great blessing promised is that they shall see God
— When our hearts are purified at salvation we begin to live in the presence of God
— There is no doubt that sincerity, honesty and the condition of being without guile, is indeed the emphasis here
— But the context makes it clear that something must be added; sincerity or integrity is not sufficient in an by itself
— The prophets of Baal were sincere; it requires worshiping in spirit and in truth ( Jn 4:24 )
Q:Who shall see God ( 5:8 )?
Seeing God
RC Sproul
— Since the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden, seeing God has been prohibited
— We are told that to see God means death
— Moses was denied a glimpse of God’s face ( Ex 33:20-23 )
Q: Why can we not see God?
— It is not a problem with our eyes but with our hearts
— if there is one impurity in our heart we cannot see God
— The promise of heaven is that we will see Him as He is
“ Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” ( 1 John 3:1-2 )
— Johnathan Edwards comments in great detail about this experience of seeing not just outward appearances but the very essence of something
— Such seeing includes an immediate and direct apprehension, one not dependent on physical sensations, and that’s what we can expect in heaven when we see God as He is
— John continues
“And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” ( 1 John 3:3 )
— As stated earlier, we cannot see God is that we are not pure in heart
— When we go to heaven and our salvation is made complete and our hearts are made pure, then we will see God face-to-face
Q: Does this verse mean that we are to broker peace in the world by bringing about peace ( 5:9 )?
Happy are the Peacemakers ( 5:9 )
( 5:9 ) Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God
— This blessing is for peacemakers, not peace keepers
RC Sproul
I was involved many years ago in a group that had been convened to solve a church dispute, which included the minister, the elders, and the congregation. After seeking to know the grievances from all sides, the chairman of our group determined that we needed to find a way to pacify everyone on all sides of the dispute. I objected to that. Our task was to administer justice, not to satisfy every party in the dispute. Our task was not to work out a compromise of the flesh and cry “‘Peace, Peace!’ when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14). We can mistakenly think that peace is more important than truth and righteousness.
When ministers are ordained, they are called to maintain the peace, unity, and purity of the church. If someone comes along teaching rank heresy, a minister must oppose it. The minister will be chastised for disturbing the peace and unity of the church, but to sacrifice purity for the sake of the peace is nothing but carnal peace. It is a false peace.
Hendricksen
— A blessing is pronounced on all who having been reconciled strive to impart this same gift to others
— In a world of peace-breaking this beatitude shows what a thoroughly relevant force Christianity really is
Missler
— This world is at war ( Titus 3:3 )
— Christians have the gospel of peace ( Eph 6:15 )
— The Lord loves peace ( Ro 14:19; 15:33 )
— Things which are not of peace ( Gal 5:19-21 )
Not Your Grandfather’s
— You’ve heard the expression, not your grandfather’s root beer, or Chevy or ____
— This is not your grandfather’s peace
— This is a peace that the world knows nothing about; it has nothing to do with politics, or armies or the United Nations
— This is about an inner peace with God and knowing His righteousness
— Not peace at any price; not a compromise with the truth under the guise of “love”
— A blessing is pronounced on all who, having themselves received reconciliation with God through the cross, now strive by their message and conduct to impart the same gift to others
Q: What is a peacemaker and what is our responsibility? ( 5:9 )?
— The biggest barrier to peace is sin
— The first step in the bridge-building process is often to rebuke others about their sin ( Matt 18:15-17 )
— This is often difficult and controversial
— If we are unwilling to help others confront their sin, we will be unable to help them find peace
— True peace-makers are all those whose Leader is the God of Peace ( 1 Cor 14:33; Eph 6:15; 1 Thess 5:23 ), who aspire after peace with all men ( Ro 12:18; Heb 12:14 ), proclaim the gospel of peace ( Eph 6:15 ), and pattern their lives after the Prince of Peace ( Luke 19:10; Jn 3:12-15; Matt 10:8 )
Going Deeper
The Meaning of Peace
— His peace his more than the absence of conflict ; it is the presence of righteousness
— Only righteousness can produce the relationship that brings two sides together
— Men can stop fighting without righteousness, but they cannot live peaceable with righteousness
— Until unrighteousness is changed to righteousness there cannot be godly peace
— God’s way to peace is through purity - James writes:
— “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable” ( James 3:17; cf Heb 12:14 )
( 5:9b )For they shall be called sons of God
Children of God
Thomas Watson
— This is our great an glorious privilege
— If we have made peace with God, and and strived to make peace with our fellowman, we have the great honor of being called Children of God
— By nature we are not God’s children, we are swine not sons ( 2 Pet 2:22 )
— Will a man settle his estate upon swine? He will give them acorns, bot his jewels
— By nature we have the devil as our father ( John 8:44 ); a wicked man may search the records of hell for his pedigree
Children by adoption
(1) A transition or translation from one family to another
— We are taken out of our old family of the devil and hell ( Eph 2:2,3 ) to which we were heir apparent, and made of the new family of heaven, a noble family ( Eph 2:19 )
— God is our Father, Christ our elder-brother, the saints co-heirs and the angels fellow-servants
(2) Immunity from the laws of the former family
— Forget also they father’s house ( Ps 45:10 )
— He who is spiritually adopted has no more to do with sin
— “Ephraim shall say, what have I do any more with idols” ( Hosea 14:8 )
(3) We are children by faith; the just shall live by faith ( Hab 2:4 )
— Faith makes us Christ’s brothers and sisters ( Heb 2:11 )
— By faith we are united with Christ and akin to God
Let’s prove ourselves to be children of God
— In obedience as obedient children ( 1 Pet 1:14 )
— Obey God out of love, obey Him readily, obey every command
— Hypocrites will obey God in some things which are consistent with their credit or profit, but in other things they desire to be excused
— Like Esau who obeyed his father in bringing him venison but refused to obey him in a business of greater importance, namely, in the choice of his wife
— Let us carry ourselves with humility, be clothed with humility ( 1 Pet 5:5 )
— Let a child of God look at his face every morning in the glass of God’s Word and see his sinful spots
— This will make him walk humbly all the day after
— Let us walk as the children of God in sobriety
—God’s children must not do as others, they must be sober ( 1 Thes 5:8 )
— In our speech, not rash or unseemly
— Our speech should be seasoned with salt ( Col 4:6 )
— Grace must be the salt that seasons our words and makes them savoury
— Many pretend to be God’s children but their speech betrays them
— Their lips do not drop as an honey-comb, but are like the sink, where all the filth of the house is carried out
— The children of God must be sober in their attire
— “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel” ( 1 Pet 3:3 )
— God’s children must not be conformed to the world ( Rom 12:1 )
— It is not for God’s children to do as other, taking up every fashion; walk soberly
— The children of God are diligent
— We must be diligent in our calling
— “Six days shalt thou labor”; God sets all His children to work
— In heaven we will lay aside our working tools, but while we are here, we must labour in a calling
— Let us carry ourselves in cheerfulness
— Why are you, the king’s son, becoming thinner day after day? “ ( 2 Sam 13:4 )
— Why do the children of God walk to so pensively?
— Are they not heirs of heaven?
Happy are the Harassed ( 5:10-12 )
( 5:10-12 ) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— It is interesting to notice that this particular Beatitude follows immediately the reference to the peacemaker
— In a sense it is because the Christian is a peacemaker that he is persecuted
— Another point of interest is that the promise attached to this Beatitude is the same as the promise attached to the first “theirs is the kindgom of heaven”
— This is the last Beatitude; you start with the kindgom and you end with it
Q: Why are we persecuted?
— We are persecuted because we live a certain way: we are peacemakers
— Those who live faithfully to the first seven beatitudes are guaranteed at some point to experience the eighth
— There is no blessing in persecution, only the type that results from persecution for righteousness sake
— And when we do experience this type of persecution, we don’t think of this as a beatitude (blessing)
— Paul said, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” ( 2 Tim 3:12 ; cf. John 1:18-20 )
MacArthur
“Imagine a man who accepted a new job in which he had to work with especially profane people. When at the end of his first day his wife asked him how he had managed, he said, ‘Terrific! They never guessed I was a Christian.’ As long as people have no reason to believe that we are Christians, at least obedient and righteous Christians, we need not worry about persecution.… The way to avoid persecution is obvious and easy. To live like the world or at least ‘live and let live,’ will cost us nothing. To mimic the world’s standards or never criticize them, will cost us nothing To keep quiet about the gospel, especially the truth that apart from its saving power men remain in their sins and are destined for hell, will cost us nothing. To go along with the world, to laugh at its jokes, to enjoy its entertainment, to smile when it mocks God and take His name in vain, and to be ashamed to take a stand for Christ will not bring persecution. Those are the habits of shame Christians.
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— If we are like the Lord we will also suffer persecution
“ Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” ( 2 Tim 3:12 )
— If you try to imitate Christ the world will praise you; if you become like Christ it will hate you
MacArthur
The fact that we are being persecuted proves that we have been faithful; faithless people would go unnoticed
— We have no surer evidence of the Lord’s blessing than to be cursed for His sake
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
—The Christian is unlike everybody who is not a Christian
— The gospel creates a clear-cut division and distinction between the Christian and the non-Christian
— The non-Christian proves that by persecuting the Christian
— Christ said that He brought a sword ( Matt 10:34 ) and the “effect of my ministry is going to be division”
— The Christian, therefore, is not like everybody else with a slight difference; he is essentially different with a different nature
— The condition that is attached here is that persecution must not in any sense be because of what we are as natural men, it is because of what we are as new men in Christ Jesus
Going Deeper
Types of Persecution
( 5:10 ) those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake
— Physical persecution
( 5:11 ) when they revile and persecute you,
— Verbal insults said to our face
— to Mock viciously
( 5:11 ) say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake
— False accusations
— Things said behind our back
Why is the Christian to rejoice like this, and how is it possible for him to do so? (5:12)
The Posture ( 5:12 )
( 5:12 ) Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— This is the heart of the matter; obviously we are not to rejoice at the mere fact of persecution
— First, suffering for Christ’s sake is proof to the Christian of who he is and what he is
— Second, suffering is proof of where we are going: heaven
— Third, we know what awaits us there: our reward
Q: How can we reconcile the truth that Christ is our only merit with our receiving great reward in heaven ( 5:12 ) ?
RC Sproul
— There are at least twenty-five texts in the NT that teach that rewards in heaven will be distributed by Christ according to our works
— We get to heaven by faith alone
— But the reward we experience is based on works that we do in this world
— If you have been slandered in this world for Christ’s sake your reward will be great and you will be numbered with the prophets
— If you experience this you are in the company of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and all the prophets before you
— The blessing is not only future but now because the Lord sees it and encourages us
Q: What is the central message of the Beatitudes ( 5:3-12 )?
— The way down is the way up
— Hunger and thirst lead to satisfaction
— Spiritual poverty leads to spiritual wealth
— Mourning is the way to laughter
— Having nothing is the way to having everything
Final Thoughts about the Beatitudes
Q: How has your understanding of the Beatitudes changed your life?
Q: In my busy lifestyle can I find time and energy to follow Jesus?
Salt of the Earth and Light of the World ( 5:13-16 )
( 5:13-16 ) “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
— There is a subtle shift here in the Sermon on the Mount
— Earlier, Jesus taught the beatitudes and the blessings we can expect when we experience certain things (note that I did not say act in a certain way)
— Now, He moves on to the responsibilities of those living in the church age
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— We are also to avoid the error of monasticism, which taught that living the Christian life meant, of necessity, separating oneself from society and living a life of contemplation
— The Lord taught that we are to be salt in the world
— Peter taught the same thing, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” ( 1 Pet 2:9 )
Q: What does salt imply?
— Salt implies rottenness in the earth
— The Bible has always taught that the world is fallen
— The Bible is full of endless examples
— You see it in the very first book
— God made the world perfect and because sin entered this polluting element began to show itself
— Read Genesis 6 where you find God saying my spirit shall not always strive with man
— The pollution became so terrible that god had to send the flood
— After that there is a new start; but this evil principle still manifests Itself and you come to Sodom and Gomorrah with their almost unthinkable sinfulness
Q: What did Jesus mean when he said that we are the “salt of the earth and light of the world” (5:13-16 )?
Hendrickson
— Salt and Light describe the opposite, namely, the influence of the kingdom upon the world
— This section shows both how totally different from the world and yet how closely related to the world believers are
— Salt is a blessing when it remains truly salt, but salt must be sprinkled over, better still, rubbed into the meat
— Light must be allowed to shine into darkness; it must not be put undercover
— 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 useless
— Christians should not blend in with everyone else
— Instead, we should affect others positively, just as seasoning brings out the best flavor in food
Missler
( 5:13 ) “You are the salt of the earth;
— Salt was used as a preservative; it preserves materials from corruption
— Salt also creates thirst, and introduces flavor
— Salt speaks of inward character that influences a decaying world
— Our task is to keep our lives pure that we might “salt” this earth and hold back corruption so that the Gospel can get out
RC Sproul
— A few decades ago Rebecca Manley Pippert wrote a bestselling book, Out of the Saltshaker
— It captures the idea that salt in a saltshaker cannot add zest to anything; it must come out of the saltshaker
— Christians have made a positive influence in society
— Education: higher education was inaugurated by the Christian church
— Art: Many of the world’s greatest artists have been Christian — Bach, Mendelssohn, Handel, and Vivaldi
— Hospitals and Orphanages: the Christian church began the hospital movement in the West, Christians following the mandate of Jesus started orphanages
Not teaching Activism
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— This is not a call for activism in for the church
— Undoubtedly in many churches, if not the vast majority, that is how this text would be interpreted
— No where in the NT do we see any of the apostles taking on Rome
— The Christian is to act as salt of the earth in a much more individual sense
— Think of William Wilberforce and all that he did with regard to abolition of slavery
— Or, men like the Earl of Shaftesbury and others, who, as private Christians and citizens, worked so hard in connection with the Factory Acts
— Or, George Muller, who founded orphanages in England; or, Clara Barton who started the Red Cross
— Why make such a distinction?
— The moment the Church begins to intervene in these political, social and economic matters, she is hampering and hindering herself in her God-appointed task of evangelism
— Our task is to preach the gospel and bring the message of salvation to all
— And God has put people in our life to whom we are salt and can influence for good
The Problem: The Danger of Failure ( 5:13b )
( 5:13 ) You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men
— The salt found at the Dead Sea is contaminated with gypsum and is repulsive
— Christians can loose their effectiveness when their lives are contaminated by sin
RC Sproul
— The church is trying to be salt to preserve our culture
— The culture is doing everything in its power to remove the influence of the church
— If we were salt like the disciples were salt, if we ventured as boldly into the public square as Paul did in the early church, we would experience jail and beatings and persecutions
— We have been taught to keep the salt in the saltshaker, where it will do no harm
( 5:14 ) “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
Light
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— The real force of the statement is: You and you alone are the light of the world
— This implies that the world is in a state of darkness
— This is always the first statement that the Christian gospel has to make
— There is no point, perhaps, at which we see this striking contrast between the Christian view of life and all the other views more clearly than in this verse
— Since the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th century men began to take a new interest in knowledge
— This was a watershed moment that started our modern civilization
— There was a similar revival in the 18th century called the “Enlightenment,” which was the beginning of the attack upon the authority of the bible
— Our knowledge has been mechanical and scientific in the pure sense, but when you come back to the great basic and fundamental problems of life and living, is it not obvious that our Lord’s statement is still true?
— The world is in a state of terrible darkness!
Q: The Lord said that we are the Light of the World. How can this be true of us?
— Our Lord’s claim was that He had come to bring light into the world
“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ( Jn 9:5 )
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” ( Jn 8:12 )
— Paul told the Ephesians, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” ( Eph 5:8 )
— In other words, it is this extraordinary teaching of the mystical union between the believer and his Lord
— His nature enters us so that we become, in a sense, what He Himself is
Q: What does light do?
— It exposes darkness
— Earlier Matthew said, The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” ( 4:16 )
— The first thing that Christ did was expose the darkness in the world
— We always need something to show us the difference, and the best way of revealing a thing is to provide a contrast
— The Gospel does that and everyone who is a Christian does that
Can you hide a city that is sitting on a hill?
— Its light can be seen for miles
— If we live for Christ, we will glow like lights, showing others what Christ is like
— Our lives should be the first thing to speak, not the other way around
—This is why the Pharisees and scribes hated the Lord; they saw his utter holiness and they saw themselves as they really were
— Now you and I have to be like that in this world: by just living the Christian life we are to have that effect
( 5:15 ) Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
— We hide our light by
Being quite 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
— Be a beacon of truth — don’t shut your light off from the rest of the world
The Purpose: To Glorify God ( 5:16 )
( 5:16 ) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven
— A light hidden is still a light but it is useless
— Allowing our light to shine allows others to see our good works, the beauty that the Lord has worked in us
— But not for the applause of men but that God is glorified
Going Deeper
— The Lord summarizes the function of the believer in this world to one word: influence
— The world need salt because it is corrupt and it needs light because it is dark
— The very ones who are despised by the world persecuted by the world are the world’s only hope
— God has changed us from being part of the corrupted and corrupting world to being salt that can help preserve it
— He has changed us from our own darkness to be His agents of giving light to others
— Salt works secretly, light is obvious
Q: If Jesus did not come to abolish the law, does that mean that the OT laws still apply today ( 5:17 -20)?
Q: What is meant by The Law at this point ( 5:17 )?
Christ and the Law — Part 1: The Preeminence of Scripture ( 5:17 )
( 5:17 ) “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill
—In the OT there were three categories of laws
( 1 ) Ceremonial laws that were related to worship
— These laws pointed to Jesus
— After Jesus’ resurrection these were no longer necessary
( 2 ) Civil laws
— These applied to daily living (dress code, dietary law , agriculture, settlement of disputes, cleanliness )
( 3 ) Moral laws
— The Ten Commandments
— These reflect the nature and will of God and still apply today
The Law brought death
— In the OT immediately after Moses brings the Ten Commandments to the people we see death
— But Christ’s death brought life — graves opened at His death
— The purpose of the law was never intended so that we could perfectly obey it but to be our schoolmaster ( Gal 3:24 )
Q: What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law? ( 5:17 )
( 5:17 ) but to fulfill
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
There has been a great deal of confusion with regard to its meaning, so we so we must point out at once that it does not mean to complete, to finish; it does not mean to add to something that has already been begun. This popular interpretation is an entire misunderstanding of the word. It has been said that the OT began a certain teaching and that it carried on to so far and up to a point. Then our Lord came and carried it a stage further, rounding it off and fulfilling it, as it were. That is not the true interpretation. The real meaning of the word “fulfil” is to carry out, to fulfil in the sense of giving full obedience to it, literally carrying out everything that has been said and stated in the law and in the prophets.
The first proclamation is that God’s law is absolute; it can never be changed, not even modified to the slightest extent. It is absolute and external. Its demands are permanent, and can never be abrogated or reduced ‘till heaven and earth pass.’ That last expression means the end of the age
Then, in light of that, our Lord makes His second statement to the effect that obviously, therefore, He has not come to destroy, or indeed modify even to the slightest extent, the teaching of the law or the prophets. He has come, He tells us, rather to fulfill and carry them out, and to give them perfect obedience. There we see the central claim which is made by our Lord. It is, in other words, that all the law and prophets point to Him and will be fulfilled in him down to the smallest detail. Everything that is in the law and the prophets culminates in Christ, and He is the fulfillment of them. It is the most stupendous claim that He ever made
Fulfilled the Law
— Jesus kept every “dot and title of the OT law
He fulfilled the moral law by keeping it perfectly
He fulfilled the ceremonial law by being the embodiment of everything the laws types and symbols pointed to
He fulfilled the judicial (civil) law by personifying God’s perfect justice ( cf. 12:18,20 )
— Speaking to a friend I said, “I heard so-and-so died” to which he replied, “We don’t know where they went. I guess it all depends on how they lived their life”
— Christianity is distinctive, our hope is not in how we lived our lives, but how Christ lived His
— By living the perfect life and fulfilling the law He imputed to us as if we had lived His perfect life
Hendrickson
Actually the honor which Jesus bestowed on “the law or the prophets” was far higher by far than that in which it was held by scribes and Pharisees
— They buried the divine oracles under a load of tradition and regarded the doing of the law to be the only way to obtain salvation
— Therefore in reality they were the ones who were setting aside the OT
Going Deeper
( 5:17 ) the Law or the Prophets
— The Law and the Prophets represent what we now call the OT, the only written Scripture at the time Jesus preached ( see Matt 7:12; 11:13; 222:40; Lk 16:16; John 1:45; Acts 12:15; 28:23 )
— It is therefore about the OT that Jesus speaks in Matt 5:17-20
—Everything He taught directly in His own ministry, as well as everything He taught through the apostles, ins on the OT
— It is therefore impossible to understand or accept the NT apart from the Old
Jesus Fulfilled the Moral Law
— Jesus fulfilled this by perfect righteousness
— Keeping the Sabbath is part of the ten commandments
— It was a provision to remove the heart from earthly endeavors and turn towards God
— The purpose of Sabbath observance ended at the cross
— All believers have entered into permanent salvation rest ( Heb 4:1-11 ); every day has become holy to the Lord
— Worship on Tuesday, Thursday or any other day of the week is no less biblical or spiritual than worship on the Lord’s Day
Jesus Fulfilled the Judicial Law
— The special holidays, dress codes, dietary laws and ceremonies made it difficult for them to associate with neighboring idolatrous Gentile nations
— Jesus’ crucifixion marked Israel’s ultimate apostasy in the final rejection of the Messiah ( Matt 27:25; John 19:15 )
— The judicial law passed away and Israel no longer served as His chosen nation
Jesus Fulfilled the Ceremonial Law
— The ceremonial law governed the form of Israel’s worship
— Jesus death fulfilled this law; the temple curtain was torn in two ( Mk 15:38 )
The Judicial law and the ceremonial law were fulfilled and set aside
— These ended at the cross
— But the moral law fulfilled by Christ is still being fulfilled through His disciples
The Logical Flow
— Each beatitude logically follows the ones before it and each teaching is related the previous teachings
— ( 5:3-12 ) Depict the character of believers
— (5:13-16 ) Teach the function of believers as salt and light
— (5:17-20 ) Teach the foundation for the inner qualities of the beatitudes for functioning as salt and light and that is God’s word
Q: We constantly hear that times have changed and that the bible does not fit our day. What do you think ( 5:17-20 ) ?
Christ and the Law — Part 2: The Permanence of Scripture ( 5:18 )
( 5:18 ) For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled
— Jesus said that God’s law will never pass away
— God’s basic moral law is centered on the Ten Commandments which is a reflection of God’s character
— His law will still be the law long after heaven and earth have passed away because God’s character will never change
Christ and the Law — Part 3: The Pertinence of Scripture ( 5:19 )
( 5:19 ) Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven
— Some in the crowd were experts in telling others what do but they missed the point of God’s laws themselves
— Jesus made it clear that obeying God’s laws is more important than explaining it
— It is far easier to study God’s laws and teach them than it is to obey them and put them into practice
Going Deeper
Any violation of God’s law makes one least in the kingdom
— Equal to being outside the kingdom and under condemnation ( cf. Gal 3:10-12 )
The one who keeps God’s law is great, which is equal to being in the kingdom
— and in God’s salvation
— Chapter 13 the parables of the tares ( 13:24-30 ) and dragnet (13:47-50 ) indicate that in the visible church there will be those who are outside the kingdom
— Some of God’s laws are more important than others but none are to be disregarded ( 22:37-39 )
— James cautions that not many should become teachers because they will incur a stricter judgment ( James 3:1 )
— It is possible to break God’s laws out of ignorance but teaching others to break them is an even worse offense
— To teach and keep the full Word of God is to be called great in the kingdom of heaven ( 1 Tim 4:11-2; 6:11-12 )
Q: What false teaching does Jesus confront in this verse ( 5:20 )?
Christ and the Law — Part 4: The Purpose of Scripture ( 5:20 )
( 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.
— It was the false teaching of salvation by self-effort that Jesus confronts head-on in this verse
— The Pharisees were exacting and scrupulous in their attempts to follow the laws
— They looked pious but they were far from God
— Jesus made it clear that the righteousness acceptable to God must exceed the hypocritical, works-oriented self-righteousness the scribes and Pharisees advocated and practiced ( Matt 23:3 )
— God judges our hearts as well as our deeds, for it is in the heart that our real allegiance lies
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” ( 1 Cor 6:9-10 )
— It is no use saying “Lord, Lord” unless you do the things that I command you,” says Christ ( Lk 6:46 )
— It comes down to this, that unless my life is a righteous life, I must be very careful before I claim hat I am covered by the grace of God in Jesus Christ
— For to receive the grace of God in Christ means not only that my sins are forgiven because of His death for me on the cross, but also that I have been given a new life and a new nature
— It means that Christ is being formed in me, that I have become a partaker of the divine nature, that old things have passed away and all things have become new
— It means that Christ is dwelling in me, and that the Spirit of God is in me
— The man who has been born again, and who has the divine nature within him, is a man who is righteous and his righteousness does exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees
— He is no longer living for self and his own attainments, he is no longer self-righteous and self-satisfied
— he has become poor in spirit, meek, and merciful; he hungers and thirsts after righteousness; he has become a peacemaker
— His desire is to glorify God and to keep and honour and fulfill His law
Going Deeper
— God not only requires inner righteousness but perfect righteousness
— That impossibility leads the sincere person to wonder how such a holy heart is obtained
— Jesus’ disciples one day asked Him, “Then who can be saved?” ( Matt 19:26 )
— The one who demands perfect righteousness gives perfect righteousness ( Gal 2:16 )
— It cannot be earned or deserved, or accomplished, but only accepted ( Ro 8:4-5 )
— God gave the impossible standard and then Himself provided its fulfillment
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The Letter and the Spirit
— This is the beginning of a new section
— Good to remind ourselves of the general outline of the Sermon on the Mount
— The Lord describes the citizen of the heaven
— The Beatitudes give us a general description of the essential nature of the Christian in this life and this world
— Then our relationship to the Law and He shows the relationship between Himself and the Law
— Now here, He expounds on the relationship of the Christian and the Law and it could be said that this elaboration is the theme of the Sermon on the Mount from here to the end of chapter 7
— Christ gives six examples of heart-righteousness;
— You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder ( 5:21 )
— You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery ( 5:27 )
— Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ( 5:31 )
— Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord ( 5:33 )
— “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ( 5:38 )
— “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. ( 5:43 )
— Before we look at these individually, it is important to point out certain common principles
Principle #1
Principle #1: the Lord introduces each with “You have heard that it was said”
Q: Is the Lord referring to the Law or the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees, when He says, “You have heard that it was said”
— It seems that the Lord is comparing the true teaching of the law over and against the false teaching of the scribes and Pharisees
— One of the great characteristics of their teaching was the importance that they attached to tradition
— The condition of the Jews was no different than people in this country before the Protestant Reformation; before the reformation the bible was in Latin and people could not read it
— The children of Israel during the captivity in Babylon had ceased to know the Hebrew language; their language was now Aramaic
— The result was that they were dependent for any knowledge of the law upon the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees
— The Pharisees and scribes had added their own interpretation to it, and it was impossible at his time which was law and which was interpretation
— The Roman Catholic teaching before the Reformation was a false representation of the gospel of Jesus Christ
— It said that you had to believe in the sacraments to be saved, and that apart from the Church and the priesthood there was no salvation
— And we have to consider this extraordinary statement: I say unto you
— Jesus is not contradicting or correcting the law of Moses
— He is saying, “I am interpreting to you the law of Moses, and it is My interpretation that is true and not that of the Pharisees and scribes”
— Jesus claims to unique authority; He claims to speak for God
— He is not a mere teacher or man; He was God the Son in the flesh presenting the truth of God
Principle #2
Principle #2: It is the spirit of the law that matters primarily, not the letter only
— We should look at all six of these examples of heart righteousness through the lens of this principle
— The whole trouble with the Pharisees and scribes was that they concentrated only on the letter, and they did so to the exclusion of the spirit
— Paul said, “for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” ( 2 Cor 3:6 )
— The whole emphasis in that chapter is that Israel was so constantly thinking of the letter that they lost the spirit
— The purpose of the “letter” is to give body to the spirit
MacArthur
The letter kills in two ways: 1) It results in living death. Before Paul was converted, he thought he was saved by keeping the law, but all it did was kill his peace, joy, and hope; and 2) it results in spiritual death. His inability to truly keep the law sentenced him to an eternal death.
— Take for example, this question of murder
— As long as the Pharisees and scribes did not murder they thought that they had kept the law perfectly
— But they were missing the whole point and spirit of the law which is that my attitude towards other men should be right and loving
Principle #3
Principle #3: Conformity to the law must not be thought of in terms of actions only
— Thoughts, motives and desires are equally important
— The law of God is concerned as much with what leads to the action as it is with the action itself
— The scribes and Pharisees were concerned only about the act of adultery or the act of murder
— But our Lord was at pains to emphasize to them that it is the desire in man’s heart and mind to do these things that is really and ultimately reprehensible in the sight of God ( Lk 16:15 )
Principle #4
Principle #4: The law of God must never be regarded as an end in themselves
— We must never think of them as to which we just have to conform
— The ultimate objective of all this teaching is that you and I might come to know God
— The one test which you must always apply to yourself is this:
— What is my relationship to God? Do I know Him? Am I pleasing to Him?
— Examine yourself in the light of a living Person and not merely in terms of a mechanical code of rules and regulations
— These six examples chosen by our Lord are nothing but illustrations of these principles
— It is the spirit of the law not the letter of the law that matters
— “The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life” ( 2 Cor 3:6 )
Who is a Murderer? ( 5:21-26 )
( 5:21-26 ) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny
— without cause does not appear in the NU (earliest manuscripts)
— Christ gives six examples of heart-righteousness; The first is murder
Q: But, isn’t “Thou shalt not kill” ( Ex 20:13 ) one of the ten commandments?
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— Thou shalt not kill is one of the ten commandments ( Ex 20:13 )
— But the Pharisees had combined it with Numbers 35:30-31 which weakened the whole commandment and made it a matter of just not actually killing
— Second, they reduced the commandment to mere punishment by the local magistrates, or local courts
— They had evacuated it of its truly great content and had reduced it merely to a question of murder
— They also did not mention the judgment of God; they so reduced the law that it no longer was the law of God
— The Pharisees read this law, not having literally murdered anyone, they felt righteous
—Yet, they felt angry enough at Jesus that they plotted his murder, though they did not do the dirty work themselves
— We miss the intent of God’s Word when we read the rules without trying to understand the intent
Anger
— Killing is a terrible sin but anger is a great sin too because it violates God’s command to love
— It is a dangerous emotion that always threatens to leap out of control
— Have you ever been proud that you didn’t strike out and say what was really on your mind?
— Self-control is good but Christ wants us to practice thought-control as well
Worship
( 5:23-24 ) Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way
— As long as there is internal sin, outward acts of worship are not acceptable to God
— This is a positive application of the rule that the heart must at all times be filled with love, not with anger and hatred
— Loving God and therefore bringing him an offering, yet not loving the brother but remaining unreconciled to him, cannot go together ( 1 John 4:20)
— The OT teaches that under certain circumstances offerings are not acceptable to God ( Gen 4:5; 1 Sam 15:22; Is 1:11; Jer 620; Amos 5:22; Mic 6:6 )
— The gift derives its value from the heart of the giver ( Mark 12:41-44; Lk 21:1-4; Heb 11:4; John 3:16 !) (Hendriksen)
— Whenever there is a broken relationship between Christians, both parties have a responsibility to seek reconciliation ( offended: Lk 17:3; offender: Matt 5:23-34 )
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Not only are we not to harbour murder and evil thoughts in our heart against another; but the commandment not to kill really means we should take positive steps to put ourselves right with our brother . . . I must put a guard upon my lips; though the thought is there and I must not say it. . . But our Lord tells us that we must not stop even there, we must not even harbour the thought and the feeling in our heart. . . We must actually take steps to remove the cause of the trouble; we must aim at a positive goal. We gave to reach the stage in which there shall be nothing wrong even in spirit between our brother and ourselves.
There is no value or purpose in praying to God if you know in your own heart that you are not right with your brother. It is impossible for God to have any dealings with sin and iniquity. He is of such pure countenance that He cannot even look upon it. According to our Lord the matter is so vital that you must interrupt your prayer, you must, as it were, even keep God waiting. Go and put it right, He says; you cannot be right with God until you put yourself right with man.
Going Deeper
Anger
— Jesus’ point here in 5:21-48 is that even the best people, in their hearts, are sinful and so are in the same boat with the worst people
— We know from Jesus’ own life that He does not prohibit every form of anger
— In His righteous anger he cleansed the temple ( John 2:14-17; Matt 21:12-13)
— Paul tells us to “be angry and yet do not sin “ ( Eph 4:26 )
— Some things in our communities, schools and even churches need to be confronted with righteous indignation because they attack the kingdom of God and His glory
— God Himself is “angry with the wicked every day “ ( Ps 7:11 )
— But Jesus is not talking about anger over God being dishonored but selfish anger, resentment, holding a grudge against someone
Worship
— It has always been God’s standard to come to Him in worship with a clean heart ( Is 1:11, 16-17; cf 58:5-7 )
— The time for reconciliation, just as the time for salvation, is always now
— We are not to allow bitterness, anger, hatred or any other sin to keep us separated from other people
“You have heard that the ancients were told” or “You have heard that it was said” was frequently used by our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount ( 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43 ) did not refer to the OT but to rabbinical traditions that contradicted and invalidated the OT ( 15:6 )
Who is an Adulterer? ( 5:27-30 )
( 5:27-30 ) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
Hendriksen
— Christ gives a second example of heart-righteousness; adultery and sexual sin in general
— In each case Jesus contradicts the traditional interpretation
— The Pharisees were correct in quoting the seventh commandment
— “You shall not commit adultery. “ ( Ex 20:14 )
— As in the previous case about Murder, it wasn’t the Law that was the problem but the Pharisee’s explanation that was at fault
— The seventh commandment should have been explained in light of the tenth commandment
— “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” ( Ex 20:17; Deut 5:18 )
— It is hardly necessary to add that what holds for the married man applied also to the married women
— Unfaithfulness in the marriage-bond is always wrong
— This implies that any tendency to arouse such unfaithfulness — for example, the attempt by an unmarried person to disrupt a marriage — is equally a sin against the seventh commandment
MacArthur
— The solution to sexual impurity cannot be external because the cause is not external
— The OT said that is wrong to have sex with someone other than his or her spouse ( Ex 20:14 )
— But Jesus said that the desire to have sex with someone other than your spouse is mental adultery and thus sin
— To be faithful to your spouse with your body but not your mind is to break the trust so vital to a strong marriage
— Sin always begins with an evil thought and ends with an evil act
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— There is no true evangelism without the doctrine of sin, and without an understanding of what sin is
— A gospel which says “Come to Jesus,” and offers Him as a Friend, and offers a marvelous new life, without convicting of sin, is not NT evangelism
— The essence of evangelism is to start by preaching the law; and it is because the law has not been preached that we have had so much superficial evangelism
Going Deeper
Hendricksen
— Upon closer examination we notice that there is nothing innocent about the man described here
— He is not one who, happens to see a person of the opposite sex
— He is looking, gazing, staring at a women in order to lust after her
— The expression “anyone looking,” taken by itself, is entirely neutral
— But what we have here is a looking to lust after; there is nothing innocent about that
( 5:29-30 ) If your right eye causes you to sin...And if your right hand causes you to sin
— Jesus is speaking figuratively of those things that cause us to be tempted
— Sin is destructive and must not be pampered; it must be “put to death” ( Col 3:5 )
— Sin must be dealt with radically
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— He talks about the precious things, the eye and the hand, and He singles out in particular the right eye and the right hand
— If the most important thing you have, in a sense, is the cause of sin, get rid of it
— He is saying that, however valuable a thing may be to you in and of itself, if it is going to trap you and cause you to stumble, get rid of it, throw it away
— Such is His way of emphasizing the importance of holiness, and the terrible danger which confronts us as the result of sin
Q: How are we to deal with this problem (5:29-30 )?
— It is not a question of committing certain acts; it is a question of dealing with the pollution of sin in the heart
— Here are Lord indicates a number of points, which we must observer and grasp
Principle #1
Principle #1: Realize the nature of sin and also its consequences
— An inadequate view of sin is the chief cause of lack of holiness and sanctification
— We must realize that sin is a power and leads to guilt but that there is such a thing as the pollution of sin
— We must grasp the ideas of “sin” as distinct from “sins.”
— The most convenient way to think of this is Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday
— Why is Jesus going to that cross and His death?
— There is only one answer to that question: sin
— Sin is something, let me say it with reverence, that has created a problem even in heaven
— For sin is sin; it is not only the act of adultery; it is the thought, and the desire also which is sinful
Principle #2
Principle #2: The importance of the soul and its destiny
— The Lord if your eye is the problem, pluck it out; for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
— Then He says if your hand is the problem, cut it off; for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
— Our Lord shows us that the importance of the soul and its destiny is such that everything must be subservient to it
— Do we all realize that the most important thing we have to do in this world is to prepare ourselves for eternity?
Principle #3
Principle #3: We must hate sin, and do all we can to destroy it at all costs within ourselves
— We must train ourselves to hate sin
— As the Psalmist said, “You who love the Lord, hate evil!” ( Ps 97:10 )
Principle #4
Principle #4: The ideal in this matter is to have a clean and pure hear, a heart that is free from lusts
— Not that we are free from certain external actions but that our hearts are pure
— Our ambition should be to have a heart which never knows bitterness, envy, jealousy, hate or spite, but is ever full of love
Principle #5
Principle #5: The importance of the mortification of sin
— Paul gives us some insight into what this means
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” ( Ro 8:13 )
“But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” ( 1 Cor 9:27 )
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” ( Ro 13:14 )
“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” ( Col 3:5 )
— We are in a battle and we have to be active in putting sin to death
— We must never feed the flesh; Paul says “ make no provision for the flesh”
— There is a fire within you, never bring oil anywhere near it!
Principle #6
Principle #6: We must deliberately restrain the flesh
— We must deal with every suggestion and insinuation of evil
— In other words, we must “watch and pray”
— Paul says, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection”
— If Paul needed to do it; how much more so the rest of us!
Principle #7
Principle #6: The last great principle — we must realize once more the price that had to be paid to deliver us from sin
— Our Lord endured all the shame and suffering of death upon the cross "that He might deliver us from this present evil age” ( Gal 1:4 )
— He suffered and died “that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” ( Titus 2:14 )
— It was all so “that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love” ( Eph 1:4 )
— If His love and suffering mean anything to us, they will inevitably lead us to agree with Isaac Watts that such love “demands my soul, my life, my all”
Going Deeper
Hendriksen
— Temptation must be flung aside immediately
— The surgery must be radical; Dillydallying is deadly; halfway measures work havoc
— Right at this very moment and without any vacillation the obscene book should be burned, the scandalous picture destroyed, the soul-destroying film condemned, the sinister yet very intimate social tie broken
— In the struggle against sin the believer must fight hard; shadow-boxing will never do ( 1 Cor 9:27 )
— Of course, no action on our part will succeed apart from the powerful sanctifying and transforming work of the Spirit
— Jesus emphasizes how incomparably more necessary and far better it is to prepare for eternity than to enjoy (?) the sinful pleasures of this life
Q: Why would Jesus’ interpretation of the Old Testament Scriptures regarding murder and adultery and divorce upset the religious leaders of the day ( 5:31-32 )?
Divorce and Remarriage ( 5:31-32 )
( 5:31-32 ) “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The first thing to notice is that in the old Mosaic dispensation the word adultery is not mentioned in the matter of divorce, for the good reason that under the law of Moses the punishment for adultery was death. Anybody under the old law who was found guilty of adultery was stoned to death, so there was no need to mention it. The marriage had ended; but it was not brought to an end by divorce buy by punishment by death. That is a very important principle to have clearly in our minds.
The whole object of the Mosaic legislation in this matter was simply to control divorce. The position had become entirely chaotic. This is what was happening. In those days, men generally held a very low and poor view of women, and they had come to believe that they had the right to divorce their wives for almost any and every kind of frivolous and unworthy reason. If a man, for any reason whatsoever, was anxious to get rid of his wife, he did so. He brought forward some trumpery excuse and on the basis of that he divorced her. Of course, the ultimate cause of it all was nothing but lust and passion. It is interesting to observe how, in this Sermon on the Mount, our Lord introduces this subject in immediate connection with the subject that went before it, namely, the whole question of lust
— The Mosaic legislation laid down three principles
Principle #1
Principle #1: Divorce was limited to certain causes
— It was only permitted when there was natural, moral or physical defect discovered in the wife
— In order to divorce his wife that man had to establish that there was some very special cause, described under the title of uncleanness
— He had to not only prove it but establish it in the sight of two witnesses
— It dismissed all the frivolous, superficial and unjust reasons, restricting it to one particular matter
Principle #2
Principle #2: The man was required to give a bill of divorcement
— Before the Mosaic law, a man could say he no longer wanted this wife, and could turn her out of the house
— She was at the mercy of the whole world
— She might be charged with unfaithfulness or adultery and so be liable to be stoned
— Therefore, the protect the women, this legislation provided that she should be given a bill of divorcement, which made it clear she was not dismissed because of unfaithfulness
— And the bill was handed to her in the presence of two witnesses on whom she could call in any need or necessity
Principle #3
Principle #3: The man was not allowed to marry her again
— The women was now free to marry again
— But if the second husband gave her a certificate of divorcement, she is free to marry once more but not the first husband
— The intent is make it clear that marriage is not something you can walk in and out of at will
— The passage in Deut 24:1-4 could be summed up as: “Husband, you better think twice before you reject your wife. Remember that once you have put her away and she has become the wife of another you cannot afterward take her back; not even if that other husband should also have rejected her or should have died”
What did the Pharisees and scribes teach?
— They said that the law of Moses commanded, indeed urged, a man to divorce his wife under certain conditions ( Matt 19:3-9 )
— The law of Moses never commanded anybody to divorce his wife
—They took the old Mosaic legislation with regard to this question of uncleanness and they had their own interpretation
— They taught that if a man didn’t like his wife she was in a sense unclean
— The Talmud taught a man could divorce his wife if she burned the toast
— The Talmud commanded that a man divorce his wife under certain circumstances; only the man could initiate divorce
— A man presented their wife with a bill of divorcement
— No reason was stated; that was unnecessary
— What was necessary, legally, was that she was given the bill of divorcement
What did the Lord say about divorce?
— Jesus challenged their authority; He corrected their erroneous teaching of Moses
— Jesus position was “Why a divorce at all?”
— He stresses the fact that the violation of the marriage contact is nothing less than infidelity and adultery
— Jesus goes beyond rabbinical opinions, back to the original intention of the law ( Gen 2:24; 24:67; Exod 20:14; Deut 5:18; Mal 2:14-16 )
— It is helpful to look at Matthew 19:3-9 which is important in considering this passage
— The Pharisees came to Him and asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
— They were actually sanctioning this practice
— The first principle the Lord emphasizes is the sanctity of marriage, He said “the two shall become one flesh...Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate”
— Marriage is not a civil contract, or a sacrament; marriage is something in which these two persons become one flesh
— This aspect of “one flesh” is all-important, it is a principle that runs throughout scripture ( 1 Cor 6:16 )
— It is a most important and solemn teaching and our Lord starts there
— The second principle is that God never commanded divorce
— The Pharisees and scribes were suggesting that it was commanded
— God’s word teaches us the indissolubility of marriage and the law of love and forgiveness
— The third principle is that there is only one legitimate cause and reason for divorce
— Unfaithfulness, fornication
— Our Lord Himself says that this is a cause and a legitimate one for divorce
— It is this question of the “one flesh” again; and the person who is guilty of adultery has broken the bond and has become united to another
— This is not a commandment but grounds for divorce
— The Lord says that if you divorce your wife for any other reason you cause her to commit adultery ( Matt 19:9 )
— The argument is this: There is only one thing that can break this bond
— If you put your wife away for any other reason, you have not broken the bond
— If she marries another man she is committing adultery ( as is the man she marries )
— Even adultery is a pardonable sin
— If you truly repent and realize the enormity of your sin and cast yourself upon the boundless love and mercy and grace of God, you can be forgiven
— But hear the words of the Lord, “Go, and sin no more” ( Jn 8:11 )
Going Deeper
— In many churches the problems of divorce and remarriage are minimized or ignored
— Many church leaders admit having no clear understanding of what the Bible precisely teaches
— God’s permission for divorce was but another accommodation of His grace to human sin ( Matt 19:18 )
— Divorce destroys a union that God Himself has made ( Matt 19:6 )
— Two of the Ten Commandments relate to the sanctity of marriage; not only is the act of adultery forbidden but the intent of it in coveting another man’s wife ( Ex 20;14, 17 )
— This passage is not about if divorce is permitted; it is rather the statement of a very narrow specific law on the matter of adultery; It shows how improper divorce leads to adultery which results in defilement
— Jesus affirms exactly what Moses taught in Deut 24:1-4 — that unjustified divorce inevitably leads to adultery
— The passage in Deuteronomy culminates in the prohibition of a man ever remarrying a women he has divorced if she marries someone else; because her first divorce had no sufficient grounds, her second marriage would be adulterous
— Divorce was never commanded, even for adultery; but it is the only grounds that God will recognize
— The innocent party who has made every effort to maintain the marriage is free to remarry if his or her spouse insists on continued adultery or divorce
— Paul adds one more legitimate ground for divorce, if an unbelieving spouse leaves the marriage ( 1 Cor 7:12-13 )
The Spiritual Credibility Gap ( 5:33-37 )
( 5:33-37 ) “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— This whole section of the Sermon on the on the Mount is framed by our Lord to expose the sham and falseness of the Pharisees’ and scribes’ representation of the law of Moses
— The Lord starts by saying, “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’
— Those exact words are not found anywhere in the OT
— This is proof that the Lord was dealing with the teachings of the Pharisees and scribes
— As was generally true of the teaching of the teaching of the Pharisees and scribes, it was indirectly related to some OT passages:
— Based on the 3rd commandment: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” ( Ex 20:7 )
— And also, “You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.” ( Deut 6:13 )
— And, “And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.” ( Lev 19:12 )
— Our Lord wants to correct this false teaching, and not only correct it, but replace it
— He brings out the real intent and object of the law as given to Moses by God
— The real intent was to place a bridle upon man’s proneness to lie
— Jesus emphasized the importance of telling the truth
— Don’t be the kind of person who has to make an oath for people to believe you
— If we remember that we are called to be holy, than we should also realize that even in our talk and conversation, God is looking upon us
What the Pharisees taught
— The Pharisees taught that some oaths were binding and others were not
— If you took an oath by the temple, that was not binding
— But if you took an oath by the gold of the temple, that was binding
— If you took an oath by the altar that was not binding
— If you took and oath by the gift that was on the altar, that was absolutely binding
— In Matthew 23 the Lord pours His scorn and ridicule, not only on the perversion of the law, but also on the utter dishonesty of it all
What was the Lord’s teaching on oaths
( 5:34-37 ) But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Q: What does this mean? Are we never to take an oath ( 5:34-37 )?
— God laid down rules for taking an oath in the OT; is it conceivable that He would do that if His intention was that we never take an oath?
— When Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for Isaac, he first of all extracted an oath from him
“So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell;” ( Gen 24:2-3 )
— Jacob asks for an oath from Joseph that when he will be carried out of Egypt buried in his burial place
“31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.” ( Gen 47:31 )
— Joseph asked for an oath from his brothers that they would carry his bones out of Egypt when he died
“And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” ( Gen 50:24-25 )
— Jonathan asked an oath from David
“So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “Let the Lord require it at the hand of David’s enemies.” 17 Now Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” ( 1 Sam 20:16-17 )
— You cannot read the OT without seeing that, on certain special occasions, these holiest of men had to take an oath in a most solemn and serious manner
The Apostles
— The apostles were taught by the Lord and frequently took oaths
— Paul says, “I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit” ( Rom 9:1 )
— He also says, “Moreover I call God as witness against my soul, that to spare you I came no more to Corinth.” ( 2 Cor 1:23 )
— But there is a very interesting argument based on Hebrews 6:16
— The argument that the writer of Hebrews is making is that God has taken an oath in this matter
“ For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath” ( Heb 6:13-17 )
— The writer of Hebrews does not say that it is wrong, but that it is practiced by men
The Negative view of the Lord’s teaching
— The conclusion we can come to, based upon Scripture, is that, while oath-taking must be restricted, there are certain solemn, vital occasions when it is right ( like in court )
— It is not only legitimate, but actually adds a solemnity and an authority which nothing else can give
What the Lord does affirm
— First, the Lord forbids the use of the sacred title always in the matter of swearing or cursing
— Don’t use the name of God or Christ to swear an oath
— It is absolutely condemned
— Second, the Lord forbids swearing by any creature, because it all belong to God
— We are not swear by heaven or earth or Jerusalem
— We must not swear by our heads
— Third, the Lord forbids oaths in ordinary conversation
— There is no need to take an oath in a argument
— The Bible condemns making vows or taking oaths casually, giving your word while knowing you will break it ( Ex 20:7; Lev 19:12; Num 30:1,2; Duet 19:;16-20 )
— Let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no ( James 5:12 )
Going Deeper
Hendriksen
What we have here in Matthew 5:33-37 ( cf. James 5:12 ) is the condemnation of the flippant, profane, uncalled for, and often hypocritical oath, used in order to make an impression or to spice daily conversation. Over against that evil Jesus commends simple truthfulness in though, word and deed
Barclay
Here is a great eternal truth. Life cannot be divided into compartments in some of which God is involved and in others of which he is not involved; there cannot be one kind of language in the Church and another kind of language in the shipyard or the factory or the office; there cannot be one kind of conduct in the Church and another kind of conduct in the business world. The fact is that God does not need to be invited into certain departments of life, and kept out of others. He is everywhere, all through life and in every activity of life. he hears not only the words which are spoken in his name; he hears all words; and there cannot be any such things as a form of words which evades bringing God into any transaction. We will regard all promises as sacred if we remember that all promises are made in the presence of God.
And Eye for an Eye ( 5:38-42 )
( 5:38-42 ) “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
— Probably no part of the Sermon on the Mount has been so misinterpreted and misapplied as 5:38-42
— It has been interpreted to mean that Christians are to be sanctimonious doormats
— It has been used to promote pacifism, conscientious objection to military service, lawlessness, and anarchy
— The Russian writer Tolstoy based the War and Peace on this passage
— Tolstoy said that the elimination of police and the military and other forms of authority would bring about a utopian society
— He said that to have soldiers, police or even magistrates was unchristian
— Among the many unrighteous things that the religion of the scribes and Pharisees ( cf. Matt 5:20 ) included was their insistence on personal rights and vengeance
— Jesus shows how this rabbinic tradition has twisted God’s holy law to serve the selfish purposes of unholy men
The Principle of Mosaic Law ( 5:38 )
( 5:38 ) “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
— God’s purpose behind the law was an expression of mercy
— The law was given to judges and in effect, “Make the punishment fit the crime”
— These laws were given to limit vengeance and help the court administer punishment that was not too strict or too lenient
— For the world, and for a nation, and for non-Christians the law still applies
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Principle #1
Principle #1: This teaching is not for the nations or for the world
— This teaching has nothing to do with a man who is not a Christian
— We must be a new men and women and born again before we can live such a life
— Our Lord never asks a man who is but a natural man, the dupe of sin and Satan, to live a life like this, for he cannot
Principle #2
Principle #2: This teaching concerns Christians and no one else
— This applies to his or her personal relationships
— It does not apply to his or her relationship as a citizen of his or her country (cf Ro 13, 1 Pet 2 )
— As Christians we must believe in law and order and our duties as a citizen of the State
— Here we have nothing but the reaction of the Christian as an individual to the things that are done to him personally
Principle #3
Principle #3: This is not speaking about killing
— Killing, taking of a life, capital punishment and war is not addressed in this teaching
— Our Lord is considering this law of the Christians’ personal reaction to the things that happen to him
Q: What is the Lord teaching here ( 5:38-42 )?
— The Lord is concerned about this question of “self” and our attitude towards others
— He is saying that we must be dead to self
— The Lord continues to develop this principle in the following verses
Going Deeper
Hendriksen
— This was a law for civil courts, laid down in order that the practice of seeking private revenge might be discouraged
— The OT passage do not mean “Take personal revenge whenever you are wronged”
— They mean the exact opposite, “Do not avenge yourself but let justice be administered publicly.” ( cf Lev 24:14 )
— The Pharisees, however, appealed to this law to justify personal retribution and revenge (cf. 15:3,6 )
Q: What did Jesus mean when he said, “Do not resist the evil-doer; but to him that slaps you, etc.” ( 5:39-42 )?
The Perspective of Divine Truth ( 5:39-42 )
( 5:39-42 ) But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
( 5:39 ) But I tell you not to resist an evil person
— The Lord is not giving us a complete list of things to do in every situation
— First, He tells us that we are to die to self, and these verses describe what that looks like
MacArthur
— Like 5:38, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, this deals only with matters of personal retaliation, not criminal offenses or acts of military aggression
— he is calling for a full surrender of personal rights
— Jesus applied this principle against
— one’s dignity ( 5:39 )
— lawsuits to gain one’s personal assets ( 5:40 )
— violations of property rights ( 5:52 )
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— What our Lord is says is that I am not to be concerned about myself, my own personal honour and so on
— But that is a very different thing from being unconcerned about the maintenance of law and order, or about the defense of the weak and unprotected
( 5:39 ) But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also
— When we are wronged 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
— Instead of planning vengeance, pray for those who hurt you
( 5:40 ) If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also.
— Our Lord is concerned about our tendency to insist upon our rights, our legal rights
— Now, according to Jewish law a man could never be sued for his outer garment, though it was legitimate to sue for an inner one
— Let, our Lord says instead of resisting him let him have your outer garment as well
— It is important to not take anything out of context but interpret Scripture with Scripture
— Jesus will later teach about church discipline ( Matt 18:15-17 ): that if a brother sins against us we are to go to our brother, then take 2 witnesses and then take it to the church
— And when Jesus was struck by the high priest ( John 18:22-23 ) He did not turn the other cheek but protested
— And when Paul and Silas were thrown in prison they the magistrate to come and release them
— How do we reconcile these things?
These instances are not examples and illustrations of either our Lord or the apostle insisting upon personal rights. What our Lord did was to rebuke the breaking of the law and His protest was made in order to uphold the law. He said to these men, in effect: “You know by striking me like this you are breaking the law.” He did not say: “Why do you insult me?” He did not lose His temper or take it as a personal affront. He did not become angry, or show concern about Himself. But He was concerned to remind these men of the dignity and honor of the law. And the apostle Paul did exactly the same thing. He did not make a great protest about having been thrown into prison. His concern that the magistrates should see that by throwing him into prison like that they were doing something that was illegal and were violating the law that they had been appointed to carry out. So he reminded them of the dignity and honor of that law
( 5:41 ) And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
— The next principle involves the question of going the second mile
— This compelling to go a mile is a reference to a custom which was very common in the ancient world, by means of which a government had a right to commandeer a man in a matter of portage or transport
— A certain amount of baggage had to be moved from one place to another, so the authorities had the right to commandeer a man at any place and they would make him carry the baggage from that stage to the next
— Then they took hold of someone else and made him take it to the next stage, and so on
— The principle is that, not only are we to do what is demanded of us, we are to go beyond it in the spirit of our Lord’s teaching here
— This passage is concerned with a man’s natural resentment at the demands of government upon him
— Take the issue of taxes; we may dislike and resent them, but the principle involved is exactly the same as in being willing to go a second mile
( 5:42 ) Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
— This is a denial of self once more
— Our Lord does not encourage us to help frauds or professional beggars or drunkards
— The Lord does not tell us to encourage or help such a man
— Paul says of such, “If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.” ( 2 Thess 3:10 )
— But, if I see that my brother is in need and I have this world’s goods and am in a position to help him, I must not shut up the bowels of my compassion from him, because, if I do, the love of God is not in me
— The love of God is a love that gives of itself in order to help and strengthen those who are in need
“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.: ( 1 John 3:17-18 )
Love your Enemies ( 5:43-48 )
— Christ gives a sixth example of heart-righteousness; God’s love in contrast to false love
The Perspective of Jesus Christ ( 5:43-48 )
( 5:43-48 ) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Love your Neighbor
— The Pharisees interpreted Lev 19:18 as teaching that they should love their neighbor and hate their enemy
— They interpreted “neighbor” as meaning only an Israelite; and they were taught to regard everyone else as an alien and an enemy
—Satan’s perversions of God’s revelation almost always touch on the truth at some point
— Mark Twain once said, “In all lies there is wheat among the chaff.. “ ( A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court)
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Q: The question is, where did they find that in the OT?
— Nowhere in the OT do we find, love their neighbor and hate their enemy
— But we do find many statements that may have encouraged people to hate their enemies
— When the Jews entered the Promised land of Canaan, they were commanded by God to exterminate the Canaanites
— They were told that the Amorites, the Moabites and the Midianites were not be treated with kindness
— And, we remember that the memory of the Amelekites was to be blotted out and the hacking of Agag to pieces ( 1 Sam 15 )
— And not only this, but if a man murdered another, a relative could track down the man and kill him if he didn’t enter a sanctuary city first
— That was part of the law
— Then, there are the so-called imprecatory Psalms in which curses are called down on certain people
“Oh, that You would slay the wicked, O God! Depart from me, therefore, you bloodthirsty men. 20 For they speak against You wickedly; Your enemies take Your name in vain. 21 Do I not hate them, O Lord, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? 22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.” ( Ps 139:19-22 )
“As for the head of those who surround me, Let the evil of their lips cover them; 10 Let burning coals fall upon them; Let them be cast into the fire, Into deep pits, that they rise not up again. 11 Let not a slanderer be established in the earth; Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.” ( Ps 140:9-11 )
— Perhaps the most famous imprecatory Psalm is Psalm 69:
“Let their table become a snare before them, And their well-being a trap. 23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see; And make their loins shake continually. 24 Pour out Your indignation upon them, And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them. 25 Let their dwelling place be desolate; Let no one live in their tents.” ( Ps 69:22-25 )
— There can be little question that it was OT teaching of that type that seemed to the Pharisees and scribes to justify their teaching
Q: What is the answer to this problem?
— The Psalmist, when speaking of things being done to him is speaking of things done to God’s people and the church
— It is the honor of God that he is concerned about
— It is his zeal for the house of God and for the Church of God that moves him to write these things
— All of these imprecations are judicial in character
— If they are not judicial then you have a problem because the Lord tells us to love our enemies, and in Matthew 23 He thunders woes upon the heads of the Pharisees
— The problem with the Pharisees that they took this judicial principle and put it into operation in their ordinary affairs and in their daily lives
Love your Enemies ( 5:44a )
( 5:44 ) But I say to you, love your enemies
— But Jesus says we are to love our enemies
— Here is the most powerful teaching in scripture about the meaning of Love
— The love that God commands of His people is love so great that it even embraces enemies
— If you love your enemies and treat them well, you will truly show that Jesus is Lord of your life
D Martyn Lloyd-Jones
— When someone has been really spiteful and cruel to us we must not do the same to them
— Rather we must respond with actions of benevolence
— Though the farmer may hate God, and is unjust, and is a sinner, and has rebelled against Him, God causes His sun to shine upon him and sends the rain
Going Deeper
— To love your neighbor is a clear teaching of the OT ( Lev 19:18 ) but rabbinic tradition had perverted it by what was omitted and by what was added
What was omitted
— What was omitted in the tradition was the phrase “as yourself”
— The words of Scripture were fully known but only partially taught and practiced
— They knew they could not live up to God’s standard; they did not want to live up to so they simply removed “as yourself”
What was added
— They added hate your enemy
— Gentiles were not considered neighbors
— It is one thing to defend the honor and glory of God by seeking the defeat of his enemies
— But it is another to hate people as our own enemies
— Our attitude towards the worse pagans and heretics is to love them and pray that they turn to God and be saved
Pray for your Persecutors ( 5:44b )
( 5:44 ) pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
— We must love them for who they are
— Sinners fallen from the image of God and in need of God’s forgiveness and grace
— This is the way in which we should test ourselves
— Do we pray for people who persecute us and use us despitefully?
— Do we ask God to have mercy and pity upon them, and not to punish them?
— Do we ask God to save their souls and open their eyes before it is too late?
Manifest your Sonship ( 5:45 )
( 5:45 ) that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust
— We show that we are sons of God when we love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us
— Loving as God loves gives evidence that we are already His children
Exceed your fellow man ( 5:46-47 )
( 5:46-47 ) For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
— The Pharisees must have been enraged that they were compared to tax collectors and Gentiles
— Christians should be noticed everywhere in society because the love they exhibit is divine love
— “The Master expects from His disciples such conduct as can be explained only in terms of the supernatural” J. Oswald Sanders
Q: What does Jesus mean in 5:48, “be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect?” How are we to interpret this passage?
Be like your Heavenly Father ( 5:48 )
( 5:48 ) Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
— How can we be perfect?
— Character: We can aspire to be as much like Christ as possible
— In Holiness: We can separate ourselves from the world’s sinful values
— In Maturity: We can grow in maturity
— In Love: We can seek to love others as completely as God loves us
Q: What surprises you most about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Why?
Additional Resources
MacArthur, John. Matthew 1-7. Moody Press, 1985.
MacArthur, John. New Testament Commentary. Moody, 1985.
MacArthur, John. The MacArthur Study Bible, Word Publishing, 1997.
Sermons on the beatitudes: https://www.gty.org/library/topical-series-library/201/the-beatitudes
Life Application Study Bible. Zondervan, 2011.
Bluelettterbible.org Matthew Commentaries: https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/mat/1/1/t_comms_930001
Matthew Study: https://bible-studys.org/matthew/
David Guzik, Enduring Word: https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/matthew-1/
Questions: https://www.bible-studys.org/Bible%20Books/Matthew/Matthew%20Chapter%205.html
J. Vernon McGee, Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee.
William Hendriksen. Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973.
William Barclay. The Gospel of Matthew, 2 vols. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975.
Pope says all who live according to Beatitudes will be saved: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-dec-09-me-63282-story.html#:~:text=Tempering%20a%20controversial%20Vatican%20declaration,and%20the%20Roman%20Catholic%20Church.
John MacArthur on Billy Graham, “I Can’t Imagine a More Disastrous Belief Than That” : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6ZiZjdLRRg
Blessed are the poor but why? : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=199zWZSvp4g
Charles Spurgeon: Beatitudes - Blessed are the poor in spirit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JH8jcMBwebI
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount. Grand Rapids:Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1971.
Rebecca Manley Pippert. Out of the Saltshaker and into the World: Evangelism as a Way of Life. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1979