33 “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.
it was said (v.33) — Exodus 20:17; Leviticus 19:12; Numbers 30; Deuteronomy 23:21
Many of my commentaries were very brief on this passage, leading me to believe the writers weren’t quite sure of what to make of this section. Others pointed out the fact that the Lord Himself answered, when put on oath before the High Priest, that God confirmed His promise with an oath in Hebrews 6:17 and that Paul made many of his statements with oaths (i.e., Galatians 1:20; 2 Timothy 2:14, etc.). Therefore, they say, the Lord in Matthew 5 was simply pointing out the importance of being a man of your word so that people will trust you and not demand your oath, and that you should only give oaths in important matters, not in casual conversation. Some see it as a contrast with the Pharisees who frequently got carried away with their oaths. Gaebelein makes sense when he applies it to the kingdom, when believers will tell the truth because the law will be written on their hearts. I’m not sure exactly where I fall, although most of what I just wrote seems applicable.
Every oath contained an affirmation of promise of an appeal to God as the omniscient punisher of falsehoods, which made an oath binding. By the time of Christ, the Jews had developed an elaborate system of oath-taking, which often formed the basis of actual lying. For example, one might swear that he had told the truth according to the dome of the Temple, while another might swear by the gold on the dome of the Temple! In other words, there were stages of truth and thus also of falsehood within the system of taking oaths. — King James Bible Commentary, page 1180
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Since Christ allowed Himself to be put under an oath (Matthew 26:63-64), we conclude that He did not forbid His hearers to put themselves under an oath. He was telling them that their character, reputation for honesty, and word should be so true, undefiled, and without duplicity that no one would think it necessary to put them under an oath, for no one would suspect them of deception. When the Pharisees took an oath, they affirmed something that could be understood in more than one way. They had mental reservations about what they were affirming. Christ told His listeners that when they made a statement, they should let their yes be yes and their no be no. Yes cannot mean no, and no cannot mean yes (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:17-20). These words are not open to several interpretations. Believers should affirm only what is true. — Pentecost, page 180
Except that the Lord DOES tell them not to swear oaths and that if they do it is of Satan …
There’s something in what Gaebelein says (below) but I’m not sure what …
Significant here is the description of Jerusalem as the city of the great King. This will be during the millennial reign. When the kingdom has come praise will be heard in the heavens, in the earth and in Jerusalem. Now the earth is full of swearing and wicked words, but in that coming day the offenses will be gathered out of the kingdom. — Gaebelein, page 129
31 “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.
I made some notes on these verses from other commentaries, but everything I wrote down is covered comprehensively by Stam.
Few people are aware of the fact that the subject of marriage, divorce and re-marriage also has a dispensational aspect. God’s original instructions regarding marriage (Genesis 2:24) were amended — by God — as time passed and circumstances changed.
Under the Law
Under the Mosaic Law it was comparatively easy for a man to procure a divorce. In certain cases if he merely did not “delight” in his wife he could dismiss her (Deuteronomy 21:10-14). Indeed, under the Law it was possible for any man to divorce his wife merely because she found “no favor in his eyes” because he had found some “uncleanness” (Lit., something offensive) in her (Deuteronomy 24:1-4). In that case the husband merely had to write “a bill of divorcement” (stating the reasons why he did not wish to keep her) and then “give it unto her hand and send her out of his house.”
It must not be overlooked, however, that the reason for these laws on divorce is clearly given by our Lord in response to the Pharisees’ question, “Why did Moses then command to give her a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?”
“He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8).
Under the Kingdom Program
Under the program of the kingdom there was only one justification recognized for divorce. This was adultery: “And I say unto you. Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery” (Matthew 19:9).
Unquestionably this has a dispensational significance, for Jehovah was about to divorce His wife, Israel, for adultery, and call her “Lo-ammi,” “not My people” (Hosea 1:2, 9). In the light of much Old Testament prophecy and the record of the book of Acts, Jehovah and Israel are now divorced and estranged. But they will be reconciled and reunited when He returns to earth as Israel’s Deliverer at the close of the Great Tribulation (see Isaiah 62:4-5; Zephaniah 3:17; Romans 11:26-27).
Under Grace
Under the present “dispensation of the grace of God,” however, there is no Scriptural ground for obtaining a divorce. The command is: “Let not the wife depart from her husband” (1 Corinthians 7:10), and conversely the husband from his wife (v.11). Realizing the great pressures that sometimes bring on divorces, and recognizing the fact that some will depart from their mates regardless of the Scriptures involved, he continues: “But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And [i.e., and likewise] let not the husband put away his wife” (1 Corinthians 7:11).
Thus the married person who is unhappy and seeking a divorce, should ponder the consequences a thousand times, for the person who obtains a divorce is prohibited by Scripture from ever marrying again.
We realize that there are technicalities involved as to which party did the “departing” (i.e., who was really responsible for the divorce), the matter of contesting the divorce suit, the question of the unsaved mate, etc. 1 Corinthians 7 sensibly answers these and other questions, but the basic imperative for the dispensation of grace is clear: Nowhere in Paul’s epistles do we find any justification for departing from one’s mate or for obtaining a divorce. Grace will forgive the erring partner and show him the love of Christ. — Stam, pages 107-110.
27 “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.
looks at/ lust for (v.28) = keeps looking at/ keeps lusting for
Without exception, my commentaries that have something to say about verses 29 and 30 say that they aren’t to be taken literally, although Morgan goes so far as to say that anyone who lusts can’t be a Christian.
God forbade adultery in the law. The Pharisees saw adultery as an illegal sexual union. But to refrain from the physical act did not fulfill the spiritual demands of the law, for the law demanded not only abstinence from a physical act but from the lustful desire that would produce the act. The law demanded purity of thought as well as abstinence from an act. Christ warned that the one who lusts is guilty of adultery and has thus violated the law.
Christ warned His hearers to remove the cause of the offense. He was not teaching physical mutilation, for a blind man can lust, and a man with no hands can have unlawful desires. Christ taught that one must deal with the sin of lust because this was the root of the problem of adultery. It is not enough to merely abstain from lust’s outward manifestation, that is, adultery. — Pentecost, page 179
I would agree in principle with Pentecost. Obedience to the law has to be inward and not simply an outward show. Lust is as much a sin as adultery, and this is as true in the age of grace as it was under the law. Paul writes: Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness … (Colossians 3:5).
But I’m not sure the verses aren’t to be taken literally. I think what the Lord was saying was, “If you are relying on the law and your own observance of it to save you, you’d be better off chopping off the parts of your body that cause you to sin than to end up in hell.”
Of course, His underlying point was that the law couldn’t save because nobody has ever existed (Himself excepted) that could keep the law. Remember back in verse 20 when He said: unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. He was here explaining what that exceeding righteousness looks like in order to further make His point that He is the only way to be saved.
21 “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.
you shall not murder (v.21) — Exodus 20:13
angry (v.22) — some early manuscripts have “lightly angry” — even remote displeasure is against the law
raca (v.22) = vain fellow, empty head
council — the Sanhedrin (there is probably a progression in this verse from judgment — the law courts — to the council — the Sanhedrin — to hell fire)
you fool (v.22) = stupid, moron
hell (v.22) — The term hell (Greek geenna) is Gehenna, which was the Hellenized form of the name of the Valley of Hinnom at Jerusalem in which fires were constantly burning to consume the refuse of the city. — King James Bible Commentary, page 1177
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It will be so [v.22], no doubt, when the kingdom will be come into the earth; swift judgment will overtake the offender. But the words lay bare the heart and show the impossibility of man to stand before God, who judges the heart, in their own righteousness. — Gaebelein, page 126
Gaebelein has a take on verses 25 and 26 that I didn’t see in any other commentary.
The words [vs. 25-26] contain an allegorical exhortation to Israel. Israel were the adversaries of Him who had come, and treated the royal Person in their midst as an adversary. They did not agree with Him and have been put into the prison (nationally) under punishment till the last farthing is paid. The Lord will perform His whole work (punitive) upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem (Isaiah 10:12), and then it will be “that her warfare is ended” or … (Isaiah 40:2), “her punishment is accepted,” and “her iniquity is pardoned and she hath received of the Lord’s hand double (in blessing) for all her sins.” Thus explained, these words fit in the whole. — Gaebelein, page 128.
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In case after case our Lord quotes the Law of Moses, or the general teaching about the Law and then sets an even higher standard, judging the very motives of the heart.
Clearly, then, “the fullness of the time,” referred to by Paul in Galatians 3:13 and 4:4-5, had not yet come, for rather than redeeming His hearers from what Paul calls “the curse of the law,” our Lord made His precepts and prohibitions even more searching and binding. And this for a very good reason. It was meant to impress further upon men their depraved condition and the impossibility of their rendering perfect obedience to God — hence their deep need of a Savior. As with the Law, the Sermon on the Mount taught its greatest lesson historically, It demonstrated that man needs Christ, not first as a king to reign over him and show him a felicitous way of life, but as a Savior to pay the penalty for his sins and deliver him from the judgment to come.
We freely concede to the preachers of the “social gospel” that the Sermon on the Mount teaches good government, good human relations, and good conduct in general, but it does not deal with the utter impossibility of fallen man achieving this goal, human nature being what it is. The time for this had not yet come.
But will human nature ever change? Will such happy relations as described in the Sermon on the Mount ever actually exist? Yes, they will, when Christ returns to earth to reign.
It is in connection with the coming Messianic kingdom that the “new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” will be fulfilled (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:24-28). According to the terms of this covenant God says to His erring people: “And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments and do them” (Ezekiel 36:27). — Stam, pages 21-23.
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
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.
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.
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.
Do not think (v.17) — emphatic
the Law or the Prophets (v.17) — The Old Testament Scriptures
What is the meaning of “to fulfill”? It means to give the fullness, to make full, to fill out the law and the prophets. The wrong interpretation comes generally from having only the ten Commandments in view, but there is more than that and more than the Lord’s full obedience to the law and fulfilling Himself all that which the law and the prophets had spoken concerning Him. In the true sense of the word, the meaning is, that He came to make good the whole scope of the law and prophets. He is come to reveal the completeness of that which the law and the prophets had but pointed out. All that which the law and the prophets teach and predict, the fullness, is of Him and will be fulfilled in Him who came and who will come again. — Gaebelein, page 122.
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In Matthew 5:17 our Lord clearly stated His objective in preaching the Sermon on the Mount: Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”
It is true that our Lord fulfilled the Law for us law-breakers in a two-fold way: He perfectly obeyed the Law in His life and He died as a law-breaker, paying the penalty of the broken Law for us in His death. However, we do not believe that our Lord had this in mind when He said that He had not come to destroy, but to fulfill the Law and the prophets.
1. It is not until much later, in Matthew 16:21, that we read: “From that time forth, began Jesus to show unto His disciples how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer … and be killed, and be raised again the third day.” Thus, in our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount He could hardly have been speaking of His coming death for sin. Nor should we read Paul’s God-given doctrine of imputed righteousness into the Sermon on the Mount, for we are clearly told that when Jesus began to tell His disciples about His coming death and resurrection, Peter rebuked Him for thinking He would be killed (Matthew 16:22), and none of the twelve understood what He was even talking about (Luke 18:34).
2. Here in Matthew 5:17 our Lord states that He had come to fulfill the Law and the prophets. This corresponds to the message which He and His apostles had been preaching: “The gospel of the Kingdom.” This kingdom, so long prophesied and so graphically described in the Old Testament Scriptures, will be based upon the principles and precepts of the Sermon on the Mount, which in turn was based upon the Mosaic Law.
Thus, when our Lord reigns as King, and His subjects follow the principles of the Sermon on the Mount, the Law and the prophets will be fulfilled. Not only will God have “Put the law within their hearts,” so that they will spontaneously obey it, but the glorious descriptions of Messiah’s reign, called by Peter, “The times of refreshing,” will also be fulfilled.
We repeat, this will take place only when Messiah reigns and the Holy Spirit takes control of His people and causes them to do His will, as we have seen from Ezekiel 36:27. How very erroneous, then, to make the theme of our Lord’s Sermon the theme of our message to mankind today! What folly to suppose that this will be a better world if we just tell people what they ought to do and how they ought to live! — Stam, pages 31-33.
assuredly (v.18) = verily, truly, certainly — “I solemnly declare” — Jesus was proclaiming His authority
one jot or one tittle (v.18) — A jot is the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, called yodh. It functions as a “Y” in English and looks similar to an apostrophe. A tittle is a small projection on the edge of certain Hebrew letters to distinguish them from one another. For example, the Hebrew “D” differs from the “R” only by the use of the tittle. — King James Bible Commentary, pages 1176-1177.
After Christ died, rose again and ascended into heaven; after Peter’s message of repentance at Pentecost was rejected; and not until Paul was given the revelation of the mystery do we find out the purpose of the law.
Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19-20).
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor (Galatians 3:24-25).
The law was given to show us that we are sinners unable to accomplish righteousness on our own and that we can only be right with God through Jesus Christ.
We can use the revelation of the mystery to help us understand how to apply the Sermon to ourselves because we now have the whole of Scripture. But we can’t use the mystery to explain what the Sermon meant to those who were there.
Throughout His ministry on earth, Jesus preached about the kingdom. The Old Testament law and prophets were all pointing to this kingdom, and the Lord was saying that they were, in fact, pointing to Him and that He had come to fulfill everything they said.
A major characteristic of the kingdom will be righteousness, and anyone who wanted to enter the kingdom had to be righteous. But this wasn’t the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, as the Lord proceeded to demonstrate. Entrance into the kingdom demanded a much higher righteousness — the righteousness of God.
We know now that this righteousness is available to us in Christ through faith in His death and resurrection on our behalf. BUT THOSE WHO HEARD THIS SERMON DIDN’T KNOW THIS, and it’s wrong to interpret this as if they did.
So if righteousness was demanded by the Lord but won’t be attainable until the kingdom, how were His hearers to be saved?
By faith, as is the case throughout history since Adam and Eve. By faith in what? By faith in whatever portion of God’s unfolding revelation was available at that time. For Adam and Eve, it was to not eat from the tree. For Abraham, it was to leave his homeland and family and trust in God’s promises about his descendants. For Israel under the law, it was to obey the law and trust that the ceremonial law would cover their transgressions under the moral law. For Israel when Christ was on earth, it was still the law, but with the additional revelation that Christ Himself was the Messiah who had come to fulfill everything promised in the prophetic revelation given until that time. While perfect adherence to the law would save, perfect adherence to the law was impossible. They couldn’t be saved by keeping the law, but they could be saved by keeping the law as best they could and trusting Him to save them. We know that this came by way of His death and resurrection, but they didn’t know this.
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.
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.
you (v.13) — the disciples, saved Israel
salt (v.13) — most commentaries refer to the property of salt that prevents corruption, but Pentecost has a different take.
While salt is used today as a preservative, it does not seem to have been so used in biblical times. It was the function of salt to create a thirst so that the body might retain the proper amount of fluid to maintain its health. Salt created a thirst which, when satisfied, would maintain life. Believers are in the world to create a thirst, both by their life and by their words, for the One in whom they have found their satisfaction. — Pentecost, page 176
Apart from lack of reference to Israel, this take makes sense in the context of verse 16 which shows that salt and light are to “create a thirst” for the Father in heaven.
I include this quote by Morgan only because he makes a distinction between “earth” in verse 13 and “world” in verse 14 (see quote below) that I thought was interesting.
salt of the earth (v.13) — Men and women are of the earth. It is impossible for us to escape from the material, while we are in the material, and of the material; and we need have no desire to escape from it. But Jesus said you are to be the salt of the earth. You are to live in the midst of men and women who live in earthly conditions, and are material, in order to influence that side of things with an aseptic influence. You are to save men, render possible their salvation by hindering corruption on that side of their nature that is distinctly of the earth. — Morgan, page 47
thrown out (v.13) — Some commentaries say that lack of flavor on the part of “salt” means that a person isn’t truly saved. Others state that it only refers to usefulness and influence and not salvation. But if this is referring to Israel — and it is — the nation certainly has been cast aside for now because of the peoples’ rejection of the Messiah and refusal to obey God. And in the Millennial Kingdom, those who resist the empowering of the Holy Spirit will be cast out.
Example is not enough to save a man, but example is a great force in the growth of the man who is saved. It is a great force also in luring a man toward salvation. We are not called upon in any sense to save men. We are called upon to shine on men, revealing to them the truth concerning human life, the possibilities of human life, the principles that underlie human life, giving them to see what life may be; we are called upon to be light.
Now, notice the sphere of its operation — the world. “Ye are the light of the world,” not the age, but the world, the cosmos. A great word, which includes not merely the life, but the whole created order. Here Jesus declares that His people are to illuminate other men as to their relation to the whole order, of which they form a part, and as to the necessary laws which govern it. — Morgan, page 48.
I don’t think any of the commentaries I’m using manage to find more than a passing reference to the meaning of this passage, so I’m going to try.
Matthew is talking about the Kingdom, which God promised would be set up on the earth — with Christ on the throne of Israel in Jerusalem and the other nations blessed through Israel. Jesus made it clear that, with the coming of the Messiah (Him), the Kingdom was at hand.
By “at hand,” He meant that the point in the prophetic program had been reached where events could have led to the establishment of the Kingdom. Of course He knew in His omniscience that Israel would reject the Messiah and the Kingdom would be postponed. In addition, even if Israel had accepted Him, He would still have had to die to pay for humanity’s sin, and the Tribulation (the 70th week of Daniel) would still have occurred to fulfill prophecy.
But at the beginning of His ministry, He was still giving Israel the clear choice to accept Him. In the Sermon on the Mount, He gave a picture of the Kingdom when all nations will be blessed through Israel.
I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3).
Behold, I will bring it [Israel] health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me. Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it (Jeremiah 33:6-9).
Yes, many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord (Zechariah 8:12).
This is why, later in His ministry, Jesus told His disciples, … you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8). But, as Acts clearly shows, that generation of Israel rejected the Holy Spirit as they had rejected the Father and the Son, and so the nation was temporarily set aside (thrown out like salt that has lost its savor), the Kingdom was postponed, and the mystery was given to Paul.
When Christ sets up His Kingdom, He … will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17). When that happens, Israel will definitely be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
None of this is to imply that there is no application in this passage for us. We should live in such a way that people come to glorify the Father through our testimony. But it’s tricky and dangerous to apply a passage to ourselves if we don’t first understand the primary audience and application. In this case, it’s Israel and the Kingdom.
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 sons of God.
10 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.
pure in heart (v.8) — This beatitude, like all the others, is based upon Old Testament Scripture. Indeed it is one of the great Millennial Psalms, Psalm 24, that our Lord seems to be referring to here. The 3rd and 4th verses of this Psalm read: Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart … — Stam, page 57
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We, the members of the Body of Christ, the Church of the present dispensation, have suffered at last some of the expressions of hostility mentioned in the above passage, and for this we too shall receive generous rewards, but it is never said of us that ours is the kingdom of heaven. Ours is rather a present position in the heavenlies in Christ, and the prospect of living and reigning with Him there.
But were not our Lord’s disciples looking forward to reigning with Him in heaven? No, for the kingdom of heaven is to be set up on earth, as the following Scriptures clearly demonstrate:
… a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth (Jeremiah 23:5).
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men (Luke 2:14).
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5)
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).
But does not our Lord promise His hearers, in this last beatitude: “great is your reward in heaven?” This is true, but we must not read into this that He referred to a reward which they were to receive when they reached heaven. In 1 Peter 1:4, Peter, the apostle of the circumcision, declares to his readers that their inheritance is “reserved in heaven” for them. Likewise in Revelation 22:12, a passage having to do directly with the return of Christ to earth to reign, we read His words: “And, behold I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every man according as his work shall be.”
That the apostles did rejoice in their sufferings for Christ is verified by the record of the Acts. In the closing verses of Acts 5 we read how the religious leaders lowered themselves to the level of common bullies as, finding no just reason to condemn the apostles, they had them beaten and further commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus before letting them go.
But the lashes did not bring only suffering and pain, for were not the apostles bearing them for the blessed Messiah, with whom they hoped soon to be reigning? thus the record continues: “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:41-42). — Stam, pages 61-63
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The Sermon and its beatitudes, showed the hearers how to have good human relations, but they did not deal with the impossibility of man’s achieving this in his present sinful condition. Like the Law, the Sermon on the Mount taught its most important lessons historically, for after more than 1900 years it is surely evident that man, in his present state, cannot, surely does not, live up to the Sermon on the Mount. — Stam, page 69
None of the commentaries that teach that the Beatitudes are directly applicable to us today escape without sinking into a form of legalism — that God will only reward those who are merciful, or are pure of heart. Any theology which makes God respond to our actions is works-based.
While, in our new natures, members of the Body of Christ have all the internal attributes listed in the beatitudes — sorrow for sinfulness, a thirst for righteousness, meekness before God, mercy, purity of heart — these are responses to what God has already done for us, not requirements to achieve blessing. Our only requirement in faith.
My understanding is that Christ was preaching that the prophesied Kingdom was at hand. But before it could be ushered in, His death and resurrection had to occur, along with the Tribulation (the 70th week of Daniel). If the generation Christ was ministering to on earth had accepted Him as Messiah, they would have had to face the persecution of the Tribulation. It is for that time (which, because of Israel’s rejection of Christ, is still to come) that He gave them the Beatitudes as preparation.
1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him.
2 Then 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 those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
The purpose of Matthew to present the truth relating Jesus as the King and the message of the kingdom is the guiding principle in placing the Sermon on the Mount here so early in Matthew’s gospel. Many events recorded later in the gospel actually occurred before the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is given priority because it is a comprehensive statement of the moral principles relating to the kingdom which Jesus proclaimed.
Some consider this sermon a collection of various sayings of Jesus delivered on different occasions. This opinion, although common, is mere conjecture. Preferable is the view that Jesus delivered this sermon as Matthew indicated, although probably He repeated many times the truths in the Sermon on the Mount, or delivered the same sermon more than once to different groups (cf. Luke 6:20-49). — Walvoord, page 43
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The first question we must ask in considering the Sermon on the Mount is: To whom was our Lord addressing His remarks? To all men? Most assuredly not, for not only was He sent to none “but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” but He clearly instructed His apostles not to go to the Gentiles, or even to the Samaritans, but only to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24, 10:5-6). But He was not even addressing the people of Israel as such at this time, for we read that “seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain” and that there He addressed “His disciples” (v.1). — Stam, pages 42-43.
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The sermon on the mount [Matthew 5-7] is the proclamation of the King concerning the Kingdom. That Kingdom is not the church, nor is the state of the earth in righteousness, governed and possessed by the meek, brought about by the agency of the church. It is the millennial earth and the Kingdom to come, in which Jerusalem will be the city of a great King. We read in the Old Testament that when the Kingdom comes, for which these Jewish disciples of our Lord were taught to pray, the law will go forth out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. While we have in the Old Testament the outward manifestations of the Kingdom of the heavens as it will be set up in the earth in a future day, we have here the inner manifestation, the principles of it. Yet this never excludes application to us who are His heavenly people, members of His body, who will share the heavenly throne in the heavenly Jerusalem with Him. Israel’s calling is earthly; theirs is an earthly kingdom, ours is is altogether heavenly. In the sermon on the mount we have, then, the principles of the Kingdom of heaven, with very plain references to the millennial earth. — Gaebelein, page 110.
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Actually, this great sermon and especially its Beatitudes, is one of the strongest evidences that the Body of Christ and this entire dispensation of grace was then still a mystery, or secret, “hid in God” as the apostle Paul so often insists (Ephesians 3:1-11; Colossians 1:24-2:2), for our Lord addressed His disciples, the remnant of believers in Israel, as if the prophesied time of tribulation were imminent and the establishment of His kingdom were soon to take place.
The Beatitudes, then, give us the characteristics of those who will be heirs of the kingdom one day to be established on this earth. They have rightly been called, along with the Sermon as a whole, the charter of the kingdom. — Stam, pages 44-45
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It is quite evident that the Jews, while they wanted deliverance from the Romans and fulfillment of the material blessings promised in the millennium, were quite unprepared to accept the view that the millennial kingdom has spiritual implications. It was to be a rule of righteousness as well as a rule of peace. It demanded much of subjects as well as providing much for them. The political character of the kingdom was not seriously questioned by the Jews, who anticipated that their Messiah would bring deliverance to them. Because of their neglect of the spiritual and moral principles involved, Christ necessarily emphasized these in the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon accordingly must be understood in this eschatological context. — Walvoord, page 45
blessed (vs. 3-6) = happy
poor (v.3) = beggar — used to describe Lazarus (in the account with the rich man) in Luke 16:19-22 — to cower or cringe — with no merit of their own
mourn (v.4) — often associated with confession of sin (Psalm 51; Daniel 9:3-5)
There are many Old Testament Scriptures (Zechariah 12:10-14; cf. Matthew 24:30; Revelation 1:7) which indicate that Israel will not be saved until she turns in repentance to her crucified and long-rejected Messiah. This will be the occasion of her “mourning.” Then, and not until then will the prophecies be fulfilled which say: “And in that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness” (Zechariah 13:1).
“Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, even I, am He that comforteth you …” (Isaiah 51:11-12).
“Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortingly to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she hath received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isaiah 40:1-2).
The historical, or dispensational, order of the events discussed above is clearly brought out in one brief passage in Isaiah 61:1-3.
“… the Lord hath anointed Me to preach good tidings unto the meek … To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord … the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them, beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”
From these and other Old Testament prophecies we learn the significance of our Lord’s promise in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” — Stam, pages 48-49.
Meek (v.5) — submissive (to God) — Psalm 37:11
inherit the earth (v.5) — as distinct from the heavenly blessings promised to the Body of Christ
In all these attributes (cowering, mourning, meekness, hunger for righteousness) there is a marked contrast with the attitude of the Pharisees.
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.
24 Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.
25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.
Closely connected with the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom was the healing of every disease not spiritual, but every bodily disease and weakness. The healing of disease is always connected with the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom. The healings were signs that the King is the Jehovah and that the Kingdom had drawn nigh … It is not the gospel of grace which is preached, but that of the Kingdom. The Gospel of Grace needs no sign outwardly by healing of disease to demonstrate that it is God-given. Nowhere in the Epistles have we the promise that Gospel preaching is to be connected with healing of every bodily weakness and disease. — Gaebelein, page 103.
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multitudes (v.25) — [They] came not only from Galilee but from Jerusalem in the south and from the territory of Decapolis and Perea on the east of Jordan. His miracles dealt not simply with trivial diseases but with incurable afflictions, such as epilepsy, palsy, and demon possession. No affliction was beyond His healing touch. The kingdom blessings promised by Isaiah 35:5-6, due for fulfillment in the future kingdom, here became the credentials of the King in His first coming. — Walvoord, page 39
Decapolis (v.25) — a group of ten cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in Judea and Syria. The ten cities were not an official league or political unit, but they were grouped together because of their language, culture, location, and political status, with each possessing a certain degree of autonomy and self-rule. The Decapolis cities were centers of Greek and Roman culture in a region that was otherwise Jewish. With the exception of Scythopolis, all the cities were east of the Jordan River.
18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
19 Then He said to them,“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them,
22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.
Simon … and Andrew (v.18) — They had met Jesus on an earlier occasion in Judea (John 1:40-42) where they had probably gone to be baptized by John the Baptist.
Luke 5:1-11 seems to be an account of a different occasion.
So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.
It could be that … between this first call of Matthew and the call in Luke, the early disciples continued to fish for a time and not until the call in Luke 5 did they forsake all. While Matthew’s gospel indicates that they followed Jesus, there is no clear statement that they left their fishing occupation for good. — Walvoord, page 38.
