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| Chapter 5 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ And seeing the multitudes, He went up onto a mountain; and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him. 2 And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, 3 ¶ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they that are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 11 Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in Heaven; for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you. 13 ¶ "Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. 17 ¶ "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I say unto you that unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. 21 ¶ "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ and ‘Whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, ‘Thou fool,’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, 24 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way. First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 "Agree with thine adversary quickly while thou art on the way with him, lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 27 ¶ "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 29 And if thy right eye cause thee to fall, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 30 And if thy right hand cause thee to fall, cut it off and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 31 "It hath been said, ‘Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement.’ 32 But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery. 33 ¶ "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old times, ‘Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths.’ 34 But I say unto you, swear not at all: neither by Heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be ‘yea, yea’ or ‘nay, nay’; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil. 38 ¶ "Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say unto you that ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him that asketh thee; and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away. 43 ¶ "Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy.’ 44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that ye may be the children of your Father who is in Heaven. For He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father who is in Heaven is perfect. |
The Sermon on the Mount Matt 5:1 - 7:29. The event must have happened sometime after the start of the ministry as Jesus now has a "multitude" of followers. The "mountain" was probably near Capernaum, probably a flat area on a hill side, suitable for speaking to a large number of people. In Luke 6:12-20 we are told that the Twelve Disciples have recently been chosen and most of the material was meant for them but the position allowed many others to also hear. Jesus tells the disciple that they are to be the "light of the world." The Sermon on the Mount starts with twelve verses which we call "the Beatitudes," These verses are a description of the blessed life which is available through Jesus. Having announced that the "Kingdom of heaven is at hand" the King now informs His disciples the principles of this kingdom. It is based upon the Mosaic Law of the Old Testament and Jesus states that the attitude of Men towards this law will affect their place in the kingdom, v19. As with the Mosaic Law the characteristics, as describe by Jesus, are not attainable (reachable) by self-effort, only by the action of the Holy Spirit. The word "Blessed" means "Happy" a condition of the believer’s spiritual, inner life. The statements made in the Beatitudes are not really promises to the believer but a description of what it means to be part of the Family of God, those who are "born again " in Christ. How wonderful to be ‘blessed’ by God. v3 This verse is not talking about the money poor, riches will in fact produce the opposite attitude that Jesus is talking about, a rich person may feel they have no need of God. Jesus is talking about the persons spiritual attitude. Once a person has realized their sinful nature and need of a Saviour then the attitude of "poor in spirit," a full submission to God, will result in that person having their needs meet by Christ as heirs to His kingdom. v4 "Mourn:" A sadness in the heart of a person when they realize their sinful state. As Christ took all our sins on Him we have great comfort available. 1 John 1:9. v4 "Meek:" Quite, gentle, obedient, humble, patient. This is only mentioned by Matthew. Christ is the source of all meekness Matt 11:28,29; See 2 Cor 10:1. "Inherit the earth," the Messianic kingdom of the future. v6 "Hunger and thirst after righteousness:" A deep desire for personally being right with God, such a desire shows that the present spiritual situation makes the person unhappy. Read and consider the parable of Luke 18:9-14. v7 "Merciful:" If we live our lives showing mercy for others then God will show mercy to us. The Pharisees were very religious, claiming their ‘legalistic’ righteousness, but this was just external, they were judgmental, preferring their way of life than beg for undeserved mercy from God. v8 "Pure in Heart:" Purity is not a common condition in todays world, from ‘behaviour’ to ‘thoughts’ we can be contaminated, made un pure, in so many ways. God is absolutely pure and as a sinner there is no way we can come to Him in our sinful condition, but Jesus has made it possible. See Luke 5:8. On the return of Christ His people will obtain this pure nature of God. 1 Cor 13:12; 1 John 3:2. v9 "Peacemakers:" God is the source of all peace, Heb 13:20. Christ is the "Prince of Peace, " Isaiah 9:6. Peacemakers will take on this Godly nature as He takes control of a believers life. In God’s kingdom there will be no conflict of any sort, with people or nations. v10-12 "Persecuted for righteousness sake:" During the 1000 year Messianic Kingdom, such wrongs will be put right, however in that 1000 years period there will still be men with sinful natures and so evil is possible. Though it will be judged by Christ immediately, Acts 5:41; Acts 8:1; Acts 9:16; Heb 11:36. The Old Testament prophets, who foretold of the coming kingdom, met with the same opposition. v13-16 Behaviour of Kingdom citizens. v13 Salt, a chemical used for food preservation, often used as a symbol of ‘good’ controlling ‘evil.’ Believers are a controlling force in the world’s corruption. "Lost its savour." This is not referring to a chemical change, but due to impurities like sand, so reducing the effect of the salt as a preservative. If the impurity is large salt will not be worth having. v14 "Ye are the light of the world." Believers function as a ‘light to lighten the darkness of the world’. John 8:12. A city on a hill, full of lights, cannot be hidden in the dark. v15 The personal "light" should also be on show, so that the world can see Jesus in the person, this should make the world turn to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and give the glory to God. v17-48 Kingdom standards compared with Mosaics Law. The Jewish leaders were challenging Jesus, that He was destroying the Old Testament Law of Moses, Jesus answers the objection by stating that He was here to fulfil the Law not destroy it. He obeyed the Law perfectly, finally paying the full penalty as a substitute, (replacement) for sinners. See Rom 3:20-26. v18 "For verily I say unto you." An indication that what is being said is very important. "Till heaven and earth pass away," suggests "never," but Matt 24:25-35; Rev 21:1 indicate that there is a time limit. "Jot" the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet. "Tittle" A tiny amount or part of some Hebrew letters. v19 A disciples attitude to the law, a person who avoids doing the small requirements of the Old Law will have a lesser reward in the kingdom. v20 "Your righteousness." Comparing the ‘righteousness’ of the Scribes and Pharisees, who obeyed the Mosaics Law but only outwardly, their hearts were very evil. Without the righteousness of Christ being imputed (put or given to us) by faith we cannot enter this new Kingdom of Christ. v21-26 The Law in action. Jesus gives an example - murder, developing Ex 20:13. A physical murder does not need to happen, just being angry with a person for no cause can be considered to have murdered the person. Jesus said that if one person calls the other person "Raca" or empty headed, then they should expect judgement by the Jewish court only. However, by calling the person "a fool " you are involving and considering the persons character. We call this ‘libel’ and even under our rules can expect a more severe punishment. "Hell fire." Jesus could have been referring to the Gehenna of fire, a place outside Jerusalem where all the rubbish was burnt, but more likely a place of eternal torment. Jesus is saying that the route desire of the heart of an angry man will not be accepted in His kingdom, and will be dealt with. v23-24 Jesus points out that God will not be able to accept any offering if there is evil in the heart of a person, get your relationship right with each other before worshipping God. v25 "Adversary." A person who wants to take you before the court of law, to get judgement over some disagreement with you, as a result of not settling the problem out of the law courts, you could end up in prison. v26 Prison cannot represent hell as payment can allow release, once you are in hell there is no escape, Matt 25:41,46, the debt cannot be paid. v27-28 Second example, Adultery. Again Jesus states that the sin of Exodus 20:14 has a deeper level, "just looking" can involve lust for the person, the ‘looker’ would commit adultery if the opportunity existed. v29-30 Jesus now talks about a person who blames parts of their body for their behaviour, Jesus points out the obvious action, to remove the eye. We amputate a diseased hand or leg to save a life, so an eye, or the hand, v30, needs a dramatic action for salvation, however the eye or hand is controlled by the mind of the person, that is the source of the sin, not the eye or hand. v31,32 Third example, divorce: God never expected or planned the act of divorce, it was allowed under the Mosaic Law as a concession, permission allowed under the certain conditions of fornication (a person has a sexual act with someone who they are not married to.) Matt 19:3-10. Over the years the Jewish religious leaders had expanded the meaning of fornication, the Mosaic Law for "uncleanness" could now include from the act of fornication to the husband having a dislike of his wife. Some people feel fornication only applies before marriage, Matt 1:18,19. Others see "fornication" is the same as "adultery" at any time and say this situation is one cause for divorce which is allowed. v33-37 Fourth example: Making an oath. "Forswear" swear falsely, perjury. The Jews were often misusing the oath, including ‘by heaven, by earth, Jerusalem, by your own head’ for which they did not control, they are all under the control of God, so Jesus said not to use the oath as proof of a statement. A Believer should only need to say "Yes" or "No" and the answer should be trustworthy. v38-42 Fifth example: retaliation, to attack, return in kind. Ex 21:24. A common result of the courts, the punishment fits the crime. v43-48 Love your neighbour. Lev 19:18,34. "Hate thine enemy" was not in the original Law, but must have been a popular understanding based on people creating opposites to the Law. But Jesus reveals the true love of God the Father, He loves all people with an agape love, not expecting love in return. Having this love shows a true understanding of the Father. Jesus also reminds them that the publicans, Roman Tax collectors, are happy to "love" those who "love" them or greet them. Not a common occurrence!!! "Be therefore perfect" is applying to loving others, our love should be for all, just as God the Father. "Perfect" cannot apply to our sinful nature as that is not possible until we are with Jesus. |
Easy English Translation
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