Matthew Chapter 5
Memory verses for
this week: 1 Pet 1:25 But the word of
the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel
is preached unto you.
Introduction:
In
last week’s lesson, we saw the temptations that Christ faced there in
the wilderness. Christ was not moved by the temptations, and he
stood strong and did not fall for one trick of Satan. We closed with
the call of Andrew, Simon, James, and John into the ministry. All
four men responded and immediately followed Jesus.
I. The Teaching of
the Beatitudes – The Sermon on the Mount
Mat 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and
when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Christ saw the multitudes in his personal ministry, and he
still sees them today and loves and cares for them. Christ has mercy
for those who will seek after him.
Mat 9:36 But when he
saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they
fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
In verse 2, we see Christ teaching. No man ever taught like
Jesus Christ. He was the master teacher. Some said ‘never spake man
like this man’. His teaching was with authority because not only did
he create the earth and all that is there in, but he was part of the
Godhead that penned the Word of God.
Mat 7:28 And it came
to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were
astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29 For he
taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
John 7:45 Then came
the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto
them, Why have ye not brought him?
John 7:46 The
officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
Mat 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
Mat 5:4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
Mat 5:5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Why are the poor in spirit blessed? It is due to the fact
that they realize their spiritual need. They hunger for spiritual
needs, and all those that come to Jesus seeking mercy and forgiveness
find salvation. Those that do have a guaranteed entrance into heaven
one day. Until we are poor in spirit, Christ will never be real and
precious to us. But oh what he means to the child of God. Those
that mourn are blessed because the mourn for the sin in their lives.
Those that mourn will be comforted God promises. The meek will be
blessed. What makes us a meek person? First and foremost is our
inward calmness and the tranquility of our mind. We don’t seek after
honor or glory, but do things in a loving and compassionate way
without regard for rewards or recognition. A good example of a meek
man was Moses. When God called him to do the work and lead the
people, he tried to tell God to use his brother Aaron who was a
smoother talker whereas he was slow of speech. But God chose Moses to
the lead the people.
Num 12:3 (Now the
man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of
the earth.)
Exo 4:10 And Moses
said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore,
nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech,
and of a slow tongue.
Exo 4:11 And the
LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb,
or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
Exo 4:12 Now
therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou
shalt say.
Exo 4:13 And he
said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt
send.
Exo 4:14 And the
anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron
the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also,
behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will
be glad in his heart.
Exo 4:15 And thou
shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with
thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
Mat 5:6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Mat 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
The people of God should hunger after righteousness. We
should desire above all things to follow Christ’s example and be
obedient to the commandments. When we have that desire, it says we
will be filled. A person who is merciful is one who thinks of others
more than themselves. God says the pure in heart are blessed. Pure
in heart mean we are sincere and totally given to the Lord. We have
one agenda, and that is to serve the Lord will all our heart and
soul. All Christians should be pure in heart. We should be merciful
because we have obtained mercy. “But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people;
that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out
of darkness into his marvelous light: Which in time past were not a
people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy,
but now have obtained mercy” (1 Pet. 2:9–10).
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.
Mat 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness'
sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake.
Mat 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward
in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
There are not many peacemakers today. Lots of troublemakers,
but few that are concerned about bringing people together and keeping
peace in the church and in our families. God is pleased with those
who are peacemakers, and said they shall be called the children of
God. And when persecution comes (and all that will live Godly will
suffer persecution the bible tells us), we have a promise that we will
be blessed. It is important to remember that others who came before
us endured great persecution that we might have the liberty of
preaching the gospel today. When we have persecution come upon us,
he tells us to rejoice and be glad because we have a great reward in
heaven. The apostles did that very thing when they were beaten.
Acts 5:40 And to him
they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them,
they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and
let them go.
Acts 5:41 And they
departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.
Acts 5:42 And daily
in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach
Jesus Christ.
Jesus warned his disciples that tough times would come after
he left them.
John 15:20 Remember
the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his
lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if
they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
II. The Believer is
to be Witness to the World
Mat 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost
his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for
nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
Salt is used to season our food and give it a good taste.
Food without salt seems to be lacking something and just does not have
a perfect taste about it. Christians who are not a witness for the
Lord leave a bad taste for the cause of Christianity.
Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an
hill cannot be hid.
Mat 5:15 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.
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Christians should be a light in a dark place. We should be
a shining spiritual light of hope to the lost in this wicked world.
Matthew uses the example of a city being on a hill. You can’t hide a
city on a hill. This probably indicates that God wants us to stay on
a high plane spiritually and be out where others can see our light.
The term ‘bushel’ relates to making our livelihood. Some people are
so involved in making a living that they have no time for Christ and
the things of God. Absolutely nothing, especially money, should stand
between us and our Lord. We should be a witness first and foremost
in our lives. We have to talk about something when we meet others.
Let’s tell them about what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has done
for us. We can all tell that story. Verse 16 tells us to work and
live in such a way that others will see our good works and give God
the glory for it.
J. Vernon McGee said this about being salt and light in this
world.
God’s people in
any age and under any condition are both salt and light in the world.
The Scots translate “savour” by the more expressive word
tang.
I like their word much better. “If the salt has lost its tang.” The
problem today is that most church members have not only lost their
tang as salt, but as pepper they have lost their pep also. We have
very few salt and pepper Christians in our day. Now salt doesn’t keep
fermentation and that type of thing from taking place, but it will
arrest it. You and I ought to be the salt in the earth and have an
influence for good in the world.
Christians are also the light of the world. Certainly in the
Kingdom the believers are going to be the light of the world. This is
a tremendous principle for us. We need to be a light in our
neighborhood and wherever we go. We have no light within ourselves,
but the Word of God is light. Being a light means giving out the Word
of God in one way or another. This doesn’t mean that you should be
quoting Scripture all the time, but it does mean that you are to share
the light that God has given you. It is very easy to cultivate some
person, then quietly and graciously introduce them to a Bible-teaching
church or radio program. There are many ways in which you can be light
in the world.
[i]
III. Christ’s
Relationship to the Law
Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be
fulfilled.
Many in Christ’s day perceived him to be a trouble maker set
out to destroy all the traditions and commandments of the Lord. He
did bring in a revolutionary new way in serving the Lord, but he did
not come to destroy a single law or the teachings of the prophets.
Jesus came to fulfill the law, and only he could do that. Jesus
lived without sin, something none of us could do. And by living that
perfect life, He became that one perfect sacrifice that would bring
salvations to countless numbers of people through the years. He says
in verse 18 that not even one jot or one tittle would pass from the
law until all had been fulfilled. When Christ died on Calvary, he
fulfilled the ceremonial part of the law. The Mosaic Law (The 10
Commandments) are still in effect today. The purpose of them is to
bring the sinner guilty before God.
Rom 3:19 Now we know
that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under
the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become
guilty before God.
Rom 3:20 Therefore
by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his
sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Matthew Henry said this about the fulfilling the law.
"Verily I say unto you,
I, the Amen,
the faithful Witness, solemnly declare it, that
till heaven and earth
pass, when time shall be no
more, and the unchangeable state of recompences shall supersede all
laws, one jot, or one tittle,
the least and most minute circumstance,
shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled;’’
for what is it that God is doing in all the operations both of
providence and grace, but fulfilling the scripture? Heaven and earth
shall come together, and all the fulness thereof be wrapped up in ruin
and confusion, rather than any word of God shall fall to the ground,
or be in vain.
The word of the Lord
endures for ever, both that of
the law, and that of the gospel. Observe, The care of God concerning
his law extends itself even to those things that seem to be of least
account in it, the iotas and the tittles; for whatever belongs to God,
and bears his stamp, be it ever so little, shall be preserved.
Mat 5:19 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.
Mat 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no
case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
It is certainly wrong to teach that it is permitted to break
the commandments today. We are under grace, but we are not to use
our freedom as an excuse to fulfill the fleshly desires of the
flesh. He says unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness
of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of
heaven. These were very self-righteous people who worshipped God with
their lips, but their hearts were far from God. They appeared
righteous to God, but they were lost. The way we can have greater
righteousness comes from only one way. Know Jesus Christ as our Lord
and Savior. By his imputed righteousness, we can stand before God
justified from our sins.
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou
shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the
judgment:
Mat 5:22 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.
To kill is wrong. It was wrong in Old Testament times, and
it is still wrong today. And we might add that killing innocent
babies is a sin that man will stand before God and answer for one
day. If says in verse 22 that we should not be angry with our
brother. If there are hard feelings, we need to get those things
lined out and make things right. The word Raca means ‘worthless
one.’ To be guilty of some deed concerning your brother would be
worthy of being brought before the councils to be tried. I think wise
counsel would be to get along, and not condemn our fellow brethren or
call them foolish names.
Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Mat 5:25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in
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.
Mat 5:26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out
thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
The bible tells us here that if we come and bring our gift
to the altar, and we remember that we have something against a brother
or sister, we should leave the gift and go and make things right with
the one with whom we have the problem. Verse 25 speaks of how we can
be brought to judgment quickly by an adversary and be quickly placed
in prison. But if we correct the problem quickly, it could be
reckoned like settling out of court. Things could be cleared without
a judge being involved. He tells us to get every minor thing cleared
up before coming back to the altar. God wants Christian brethren to
dwell in unity and harmony, and to all have the mind of Christ.
2 Cor 13:11 Finally,
brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind,
live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
Psa 133:1 A Song of
degrees of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren
to dwell together in unity!
Psa 133:2 It is like
the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard,
even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
Psa 133:3 As the dew
of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion:
for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou
shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to
lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
We are commanded to not commit sexual sins. Verse 28 says
that for us to look upon a woman with lust is to comment adultery in
the heart. Under the law, a person guild of adultery was stoned to
death. I heard a preacher on the radio pointing out that sex within
marriage is God’s perfect plan for our lives. It is built upon trust
and true intimacy. When we break out of those boundaries, we lesson
the value of our love and may eventually lose our ability to truly
love. That is why so many marriages end in divorce today. Not
trusting God and doing things His way. We can’t improve upon God’s
plan. Satan will try and convince you there is a better way. But he
is a liar.
Mat 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, 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.
Mat 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, 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.
We are told that if our eye or hand offends us and causes us
to sin, we would be better off to cut that hand off or pluck out our
eye than to continue as we are and cause the whole body to be sent
into hell. In other words, if something stands between you and
turning your whole life over to Christ for salvation, then do whatever
it takes to come to Jesus. I believe God’s mercy and grace will reach
down and save any man or woman who truly wants to be saved and are
serious with the Lord.
IV. Jesus and His
Teachings on Divorce
Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let
him give her a writing of divorcement:
Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his
wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
adultery.
One of the clear teachings of the bible concerns marriage and
divorce. God has always and shall always intend for a man and woman
to come together as partners for life. Only the sin of fornication
is just cause to seek a divorce. And we are not commanded to divorce,
we are given an exception if we choose. I believe if all possible, we
should try to reconcile all differences and keep our marriages intact
if possible.
V. Things Said of
Old Time
Mat 5:33 Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of
old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the
Lord thine oaths:
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven;
for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by
Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst
not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for
whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Jesus teaches us to not swear. We are just to live honestly
and mean what we say. Say YES and NO, and mean what you say. There
is no ‘gray’ area with the Lord where you can be ‘sort of’ right or
almost wrong. If you are unsure, most likely it is wrong. God wants
men and women of integrity whose words mean something.
Mat 5:38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth:
Mat 5:39 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.
Mat 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away
thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.
Mat 5:41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him
twain.
Mat 5:42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would
borrow of thee turn not thou away.
We are warned that it is not our responsibility to get even
with those who have wronged us. “Vengeance is mine saith the Lord.”
God will take care of all the wrongs committed against us. Those that
say “I will forgive, but I won’t forget” have never really forgiven.
Forgiving means really forgetting it all and putting it behind us.
Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which 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.
Mat 5:46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?
do not even the publicans the same?
Mat 5:47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than
others? do not even the publicans so?
Mat 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect.
We are commanded to love all men. We are not to love their
sins, but we are to love their souls. And we have a responsibility as
a church to tell them about the saving power of Jesus’ blood. The
preaching and spread of gospel is our responsibility.
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Prov
4:18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth
more and more unto the perfect day.
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Practice Random Acts of Kindness. Each act spreads, and many will be
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[i]J.
Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible
commentary [computer file], electronic ed., Logos Library System,
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, c1981 by J. Vernon McGee.