Continuing a study of the Gospels:
(Matthew 5:1) And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain; and when He was seated, His disciples came to Him.
At the end of the last chapter, multitudes of people were following Jesus. When He saw them, He went up on a mountain and seated Himself. His disciples came to Him. At this point in time, His disciples might be any number of ordinary disciples who were choosing to follow Jesus more closely than the multitudes.
(2) And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying, (3) "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Jesus began to teach them, and so began the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes. He stated the poor people in spirit were blessed because theirs was the kingdom of heaven. To be poor in spirit is to have a humble opinion of oneself. The humble realize they have no righteousness of their own and are more willing to be saved by the grace and mercy of God than the vain and prideful are. Thus they are blessed because they don't have the anxiety and even dangers that riches and ambition can bring, especially the danger of losing their souls. It is much easier for the poor in spirit to enter the kingdom of heaven than the vain and proud. The kingdom of heaven was theirs at that present time in the fullness of Christ, as well as in a future home in heaven.
(4) "Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
Jesus said those who mourned were also blessed because they would be comforted with the sense of pardon and peace if they grieved over their sins, and likewise would find comfort and peace in their sorrow and affliction over anything in their lives, as only the true Comforter can give.
(5) "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
Jesus said the meek were blessed. And indeed they are! Those who are patient and not easily provoked to anger, and when they are, quickly forgive and let go; and those who are not resentful or vengeful, but have a mild, gentle spirit that can roll with the flow, so to speak, are much happier than those who let everything that happens to them control their emotions. An impatient, quarrelsome, defensive, or volatile person creates enemies, finds himself very often in disputes, and is often vexed and anxious about "the little things." The meek ones are happy in this world, whereas the unyielding are always fighting and unhappy. The meek are also more willing to quietly submit to God than the angry and defensive.
(6) "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."
Those who earnestly desire not the riches and pleasures of this world, but righteousness, are blessed for they will be filled with that which they desire. Seek the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul, and you will find Him (Deuteronomy 4:29).
(7) "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."
The merciful, the tender-hearted, compassionate, and kind, are blessed because they will obtain mercy. Whoever gives only a drink of cold water to one of His own will be rewarded (Matthew 10:42). When we forgive those who sin against us, our heavenly Father forgives us (Matthew 6:14). When you have mercy on one of the least of these, you have shown mercy to the Lord, and you will have eternal life (Matthew 25:40, 46).
(8) "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
Those who have pure hearts, those whose minds, motives, and principles are pure, will see God. Man looks at the outward appearance of man, but God looks at the heart. The heart of man is naturally unclean; it is only made pure by the blood of Jesus Christ who covers his sin. Therefore the pure in heart will see God.
(9) "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God."
Those with a peaceable temperament who endeavor to promote peace in others, who study to be quiet and mind their own business (1 Thessalonians 4:11), and do all they can to live peaceably with all men (Romans 12:18), are blessed. They will be called the children of God because they endeavor to promote peace as does their Father, the God of peace and not of disorder (1 Corinthians 14:33).
(10) "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Those who are persecuted solely because of their righteous and godly manner are blessed. Because they are righteous and friends of God, they will be brought to heaven.
(11) "Blessed are you when men revile and persecute you, and say all manner 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."
More than just for righteousness's sake, if in an honest effort to specifically follow Jesus and live as Christians, others hate and persecute us, and say false evil things about us, we are to count it as blessing. All who live godly in Jesus Christ will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12). We are to rejoice in this! Regard it as a great privilege to be counted as the prophets before us! Not only will we be brought to heaven, but great reward awaits us there!
(13) "You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its flavor, with what shall it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and to be trodden underfoot by men."
Jesus spoke to His disciples and followers who would go forward to preach His message, and it may be said of people who call themselves Christians today. Salt makes food pleasant and tasty, and it preserves from putrefaction. His disciples were to season the world with knowledge and grace by their lives and doctrines, to preserve it from moral decay. However, if those who were supposed to season others became themselves unsavory and void of spiritual life, they became as salt that had lost its flavor. If salt loses its flavor, there is nothing with which to salt it. Likewise, if the salt of the earth loses the life and witness of Christ in his soul, there is no other means or no other doctrine that can season it again; there is only one salt that can be called the salt of the earth. If it loses its flavor, it is good for nothing profitable, and just as tasteless worthless salt, should be cast out. To be trodden underfoot might be a reference to salt that is thrown on the ground to prevent slipping.
(14) "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden."
Jesus's disciples and Christians after them are to be light to enlighten the world with His doctrine. A city set on a hill could not be hidden from view, just as Jesus's disciples would not be hidden. The eyes of the world would be on them as His followers, and likewise, on Christians today, so their actions must be holy and undefiled.
(15) "Neither do men light a candle and put it under a basket, but on a candlestick, and it gives light to all who are in the house."
Jesus went on to say that men don't light a candle or lantern or anything that gives light just to hide it under a basket. The light was to be put up on a candlestick or lampstand to light the entire house. The light of Christ was not to be hidden, but was to light the world.
(16) "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
The light of the gospel was not given to Jesus's disciples merely for their private use, but was to be shone to the world. Christianity must be active, and our conduct must be in agreement with the doctrine we spread so that God in heaven is glorified. Seeing in the life of a Christian the excellency of Christianity, and the power, peace, and joy it brings, others may be brought to salvation in Christ and praise and worship their Father in heaven.
(17) "Think not that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets; I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill."
With this statement, Jesus both summarized His purpose in coming; and knowing the hearts of men, specifically those scribes and Pharisees who were already prejudiced against Him and His teaching in opposition against them, He made it known that He had no intention of abolishing the Mosaic law nor the prophets who wrote and spoke the law. He had come to fulfill what was predicted in their writings and to accomplish what was intended in them. He did not come to bring any new way of righteousness and salvation to the world, but to fulfill all that was foreshadowed by the Old Testament figures of the law. He came to deliver men from the curse of the law that they could never be good enough to fully obey.
(18) "For verily, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will in no way pass from the law till all is fulfilled."
"Jot" was the smallest of all the Hebrew letters; a "tittle" was an accent mark above a letter. Not only would not a word be eliminated in the law by Jesus, but not so much as a letter or an accent mark above a letter would be eliminated, not until all was accomplished. I love the way Adam Clarke put it in his Commentary on the Bible, "Though all earth and hell should join together to hinder the accomplishment of the great designs of the Most High, yet it shall all be in vain - even the sense of a single letter shall not be lost. The words of God, which point out his designs, are as unchangeable as his nature itself. Every sinner, who perseveres in his iniquity, shall surely be punished with separation from God and the glory of his power; and every soul that turns to God, through Christ, shall as surely be saved..."
(19) "Whoever therefore shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them, shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
Regarding the commandments in the law, it seems the Pharisees made a distinction between weightier and lighter matters in the law. However, Jesus said that whoever broke what they deemed to be a small commandment and taught men thusly would be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. This would be the kingdom of heaven on earth, the kingdom of the Messiah, the Church. Those who broke any commandment and taught men to do likewise would not be regarded as a proper religious teacher; they would be considered the least among Christ's kingdom of heaven on earth. Those who obeyed and taught the whole of God's law would be considered great.
(20) "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter the kingdom of heaven."
Jesus mentioned the scribes because they were the more learned part of the people, who were employed in writing out and expounding on the law; and the Pharisees because they were the strictest sect among the Jews for outward religion and righteousness, and yet, apparent by Jesus's statement, their righteousness was very defective. Theirs was an outward show for men, and did not come from a purified heart toward God. Jesus told the disciples that their righteousness must be greater, or actually more genuine than that empty vain form of righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, or they would not be able to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5 is a long chapter full of important words of Jesus Christ, so I will separate it into two posts. This part of the Sermon on the Mount discussed the Beatitudes, disciples being salt and light to the world, and the fact that Jesus came to fulfill the law. The Sermon on the Mount continues in the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment