v1-2: Christ's Sermon on the Mount; a different occasion to Luke 6.17-49. He addresses disciples;

• those who have repented, 4.17;
• those who are called, 4.18-22;
• there is already an element of commitment to Christ.

Jesus is on a mountain;

• separate from unbelieving humanity;
• bringing precious truths despised by unbelievers;
• pearls of grace and wisdom, which are not for dogs and pigs.

Outline:

• 5.3-12 True Happiness
• 5.13-16 True witness
• 5.17-20 True righteousness
• 5.21-48 True holiness
• 6.1-18 True faith
• 6.19-7.14 True focus
• 7.15-29 True fruit

v3-12: The Beatitudes; the development of spiritual character, and the route to real blessing. This is the possession of the kingdom of heaven, as in v3,10; in chapter 13, this refers to the kingdom manifested on earth; and is consistent with the gospel being addressed to Jews. Whilst the burden is of spiritual character, there is necessarily an impact upon earthly events.

"Blessed," GK MAKARIOS, meaning Cyprus, a place of bliss and contentment; once in Cyprus a person would never want to leave.

In describing spiritual character, we see the character of Jesus Christ Himself described, and we also see those things despised by the world;

• the poor in spirit, described as unfulfilled;
• the meek, described as weak;
• those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, described as fanatics;
• the merciful, described as foolish;
• the pure in heart, described as bigoted or fundamentalist;
• the peacemakers, who fail to exercise their rights;
• those who are persecuted, who fail to retaliate.

What is crucial is that Jesus Christ Himself commends these things.

v3: The poor in spirit; spiritual poverty, the realisation of personal spiritual need, seeing ourselves as God sees us, falling short of His standards, coldness of devotion, unfaithful in our obedience, and our service and witness.

In contrast man is naturally proud, independent, a self-sufficient.

This verse links with 6.19-21; those who lay up treasures on earth, who are dedicated to progressing in this world, are those who are spiritually poor.

This is the starting point, yet it is essential; without spiritual poverty, we remain outside the "kingdom of heaven," 8.11-12, Luke 13.28, and excluded from God's presence.

v4: Those who mourn; personal sorrow over personal sin; real repentance. We can sorrow also over the poverty of the church, and of others we expect to be faithful; Neh 1.6.

In contrast, man naturally has no sense of sin, Luke 13.31.33; 19.41-44.

As we mourn, our attention turns from our weakness to Christ's strength, and herein is our comfort, we through Him we find forgiveness and peace.

This verse links with 6.25-34, about faith and worry.

v5: Those who are meek; do not seek personal preferences, nor insisting on their own way, avoiding praise and glory for themselves, pointing away from themselves; pointing particularly towards Christ, but also giving honour to others. They do not judge (7.1-6), but seek blessing from God (7.7-12); see also 18.1-4; John 4.34; Phil 2.5-8. Those who seek nothing for themselves receive much from God's hand, and receive an inheritance from Him.

Man naturally seek authority and power, forcing their own ways upon others.

v6: Hungering and thirsting after righteousness; having realised that we have no righteousness of our own, and that our character falls far short of Christ's, we seek Him, Is 55.1-3; Col 3.1-2. This implies a hatred of sins, and less interest in the things of this world.

Naturally, men are rooted in the world, and their desires are for the things of this world.

This verse speaks of a continuing attitude of spiritual desire evidenced by giving, praying, fasting, 6.1-18. The promise is of filling, for the Lord God honours such spiritual desire; we receive generously from our generous God.

v7: The merciful affect relationships with others; this is essential as we get right our relationship with God. There is forgiveness and caring, 6.14; 18.22-35; 1 Cor 6.7; see also v21-48.

Naturally, man is selfish, and neglects the needs of others.

As we show mercy to others, we receive and experience mercy ourselves.

v8: The pure in heart have unalloyed allegiance, and untainted desire, without guile or deceit. They do not mix God's word with human teaching, 5.17-20.

Man is naturally deceitful, unreliable, and unfaithful; the effects of which devastate our society.

The desires of the pure in heart are rewarded by a deeper experience of God Himself, John 14.21,23.

v9: The peacemakers bring peace to others, especially by drawing them to God, see v13-16. This is a life of testimony, being involved in God's work in God's way. Each one is a son of God, for Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call them His brothers; John 14.27; 16.33; 20.19; James 3.2,6; 4.11-12; 5.9.

Man, being estranged from God, naturally brings strife and discord, disputes, grumbles, and arguments.

v10-12: The reality is that, as we take on the character of Christ, we shall receive persecution from the world; this is proof of our personal salvation from God, Phil 1.28. Such things must not discourage us from seeking Christ and serving Him. We share with many who have gone before.

Man gives us nothing; God gives us His kingdom; if we suffer with Christ we shall also reign with Him.

v13-16: True witness; the impact of a spiritual life; salt and light, no secret discipleship. There is a balance with 6.1-18, which warns us against seeking human approval. Our devotion must be private, but the out-working is public.

As salt we prevent decay, and even delay judgment (for example, Gen 18); as light we demonstrate the perfect character of Christ (Phil 2.15). Of necessity, salt and light must be pure; impure salt loses its taste, and is good for nothing; light must not be hidden.

By the light of our lives, our good works cannot be hidden; and thus there is glory for the Father.

v17-20: True righteousness

v17-18: The law that stands, and that will stand. For the Christian, there is the proper use of the law, Rom 5.20-21; 1 Tim 1.8. Since Christ has fulfilled the law, our approach to it is different from the Jews'. Jesus was faithful to the law, fulfilling it perfectly, and explaining its true meaning. He widens its application, while men tend to narrow it to avoid personal obedience.

v19: Condemnation; for those who break "one of the least" of the commandments, and for those who teach others to break them. But there is also blessing on those who are obedient, and who encourage obedience in others.

v20: The kingdom of heaven is open to the righteous; the implication here is that religious leaders fall short, and will miss out; this is not because they are religious leaders, but because they do not have true righteousness. Rom 3.21-22 indicates that true righteousness is from God only.

v21-48: True holiness, applying the principles of mercy, and of salt and light. Our attitudes to others reveal our real attitude towards God; the series of teachings here address issues related to this.

v21: Applying the sixth commandment, and expanding it to situations apart from literal 'murder.'

v22: "But I tell you;" for Jesus has authority to explain the true meaning of the words. He judges the attitude rather than the action, although a bad action is indicative of a wrong attitude. He thus condemns personal animosity, grudges, insults, evil-speaking, despising, unjust criticism; whether judgment comes by the council or hell fire, such things are condemned. Better to show love and respect, to commend and praise, to edify and encourage; Rom 12.18.

v23-24: Be reconciled before worship; being out of harmony with a brother cannot promote harmony with God. The issue is not who is right or wrong, but dealing with the disagreement. Discipline by the church is a separate, although related, issue.

v25-26: We may see the law as our adversary; we agree with it only by trusting in Christ, who kept the law; otherwise we find ourselves condemned, and there is no mercy.

v27-30: Applying the seventh commandment, again to thoughts as well as actions. The challenge is to personal ruthlessness; if a specific sin is so serious, then we must take adequate steps to break with it. Drastic and decisive action is needed, Rom 13.14; we make no provision for the flesh. We do not just wait for temptation to come along, we avoid those circumstances, as far as we can, where temptation is likely.

Sexual sin is common, and there are many examples in Scripture; it is also serious, 1 Cor 6.18, therefore we must be watchful, so that we do not fall.

v31-32: See 1 Cor 7.10-13; under the law, divorce was permitted, but that was due to their hard hearts, Mark 10.5. In Christ, divorcee is also forbidden, except in a certain circumstance, where there is sexual immorality. The responsibility lies chiefly with the husband; it is his choice to divorce which causes his wife to commit adultery.

The antidote is always to be faithful, exclusive, and jealous.

v33-37: The problem of oaths; the Pharisees had corrupted the OT teaching by having certain oaths that they could break, see 23.16-22, effectively encouraging sins.

Jesus' teaching is 'do not swear at all;' we must be trustworthy, and mean what we say, making oaths unnecessary; 26.63; Eccl 5.4-6; Rom 1.9; Heb 6.17. He also commends a simple "yes" and "no," for in the multitude of words sin is found, Prov 10.19.

v38-42: Personal vengeance forbidden; the OT never allowed this anyway. The Scripture quoted (and frequently misquoted, even in Jesus' day) refers to society's punishment of an offender, not a standard for personal revenge.

Christ's way is different, Is 50.6; 1 Pet 2.20-23; we lay aside our own 'rights' and bear injustice patiently. Personal responsibility is to be put before personal rights.

Michael Green says; 'if someone does you an injury or puts you to inconvenience, show yourself master of the situation by doing something to his advantage.' (The Hard Sayings  of Jesus, p69).

v43-47: The great scripture, the second greatest commandment, part of the foundation for godly living; even this the religious leaders had perverted; Lev 19.17-18, "You shall not hate your brother in your heart..." See Rom 13.9; James 2.8; 1 John 4.20.

The goodness of God is such that there is some blessing on all. The Shilluk people of Sudan say, "God threads good and evil men on a single string."

Prayer expresses love, and increases love, and that love does not insist on a return. God loved us when we were enemies, Rom 5.8,10; Eph 2.12. And Christ prayed for His enemies. Such love depends on the character of the one giving the love, rather than on the recipient.

v48: Concluding the teaching of v17-47; be like "your...Father," a character which is perfect, mature, balanced, true holiness; perfectly demonstrated by Christ Himself. By His grace we can attain to this, see 1 Pet 1.16.

 

A comment about Christ’s use of the OT. He quotes and refers to the OT many times. But study will reveal that:

• He refers to the writers of the OT, such as Moses, David, etc.
• He refers to the characters in the OT, such as Adam & Eve, Noah, Lot, etc.
• He refers to the institutions of the OT, such as marriage, the Sabbath, the law of Moses, the cleansing of lepers, etc.
• He quotes from many books of the OT, as we find elsewhere in the NT.

We conclude that Christ never undermines nor criticises the OT.