Matthew: Chapter 5
Good day to you, dear reader!
Matthew chapters 5-7 contain the "Sermon on the Mount". Which is a collection of sayings and teachings, Jesus Christ delivered from, well, a mount. While these cover a lot of topics, the emphasis is on morality. There is obviously a lot to talk about here, but for the sake of clarity and to keep it crisp, let me summarize a few of the discussions we had on this chapter.
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| The Sermon on the Mount |
The Beatitudes
The chapter starts with comforting blessings. There are nine groups of people, whom Jesus pronounces as blessed. Eight of these verses follows a simple pattern: the group, and the blessing.
Verse 3, goes as such, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The poor in spirit, referred here could represent ones who are humble in heart. The LORD, exalts ones who are humble.
Verse 6, goes as such, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Its natural for humans to feel hunger and thirst for sustenance, but for righteousness? its quite rare. Firstly, what is even this righteousness? We could call it as the quality of being morally right or justifiable. But there is a difference between human righteousness and the LORD's righteousness.
All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6
Our righteousness don't amount to much in comparison to God's righteousness. However, we can be credited with God's righteousness.
Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. Genesis 15:6
This righteousness from God, besides filling us, also protects us. It is like an armor plate for us.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. Ephesians 6:14
Verse 8, goes as such, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." Every single thought, good or bad, stems from the heart. Thus, to see God, we need the heart to be pure.
The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9.
But what exactly does it mean to be pure? It is to be holy and in peace with everyone.
Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the LORD. Hebrews 12:14
Further to support this, very next verse, reads as such, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Thus, to be blessed and closer to God, we need to be holy, humble, and peace loving.
Salt and Light
Salt enhances the flavor of food. It is also used as a preservative. Light, makes everything visible, helps one find their way. Similarly, we have to be useful for others on Earth. If salt loses its saltiness or if the light is kept hidden, it is useless. Thus, strive to be perfect, and let our good deeds glorify God in sight of men.
The heart and its intent
As discussed before, according to the Bible, the heart is the point of origin for good and bad. In verses, 21-30, Jesus addresses this as the root of the problem and states the value of reconciliation.
Just like how a murderer would be subjected to punishment here on Earth, so will a person who is unfairly and unreasonably angry with his brother, be subjected to the danger of the fire of hell. While it seems extreme at first glance, the reasoning here is that, if a person is incapable of showing brotherly love, to his own kin, there is a much lesser chance that s/he will show love to a stranger. Thus, to ensure anger doesn't prevail, Jesus encourages reconciliation with others, and then to go to a place of worship. Again, if its hard for someone to make amends with the brother he can see, how much more harder will it be for him to make amends to God, he can't see?
Further, in a similar manner, Jesus addresses lust as the root of adultery. As before, lustful thoughts start from the heart, and is enhanced by things which encourage it. The solution which Jesus offers here is again simple, to stay away from things which fuel lust, to completely remove those from ones life. Its much better for one to loose something here, than to suffer in hell.
On Oaths
Verses 33-37, has Jesus telling one to avoid oaths, but, just to say "yes" and "no". Oaths in general are binding, and are sacred if made in God's name. It is also a sign of commitment. However, taking oaths for everything is foolish, mainly because one doesn't have much control on the outcome. Thus, swearing on God's name, will cause the person to utter the LORD's name in vain, if he fails. Therefore, its much better to have our "yes" be "yes" and "no" be "no".
An Eye for an Eye
The old testament law, has "eye for eye" and "tooth for tooth". The meaning here is that the person who was hurt by someone has to be given the exact thing as a compensation. While "eye for eye" and "tooth for tooth" might sound rash, equal compensation sounds more than fair. The reason this was in place in the old testament, is because, in the earlier times, if someone hurt someone else's eye, they end up loosing their hand in retaliation. Thus, to preserve order, the law of equal compensation (also called the law of retaliation) was established in the ancient world.
However, Jesus, escalates it further. To be better, just don't fight with the one who is doing something evil against you. This again, does not mean that we should suffer against evil and not defend ourselves. It just means, don't actively plot evil in retaliation and leave the rest to God.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the LORD. Romans 12:17-19.
Also, help one who asks for help with a happy face. Its fine if you can't help because of your predicament, but if it is possible to help, do it happily, expecting nothing in return.
Love for enemies
These last few verses are probably the most well known and most harder to follow. Jesus starts with "love thy neighbor" and extends it to include even one's enemies. Not only that, but to "pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." Ideally, it'll be best to not have enemies, but even if we don't consider someone to be our enemy, there is a chance that they might not feel the same and act out against us. Nevertheless, we need to be kind and show love to even them. This could also make them realize, that their anger is misplaced and lead to a reconciliation. But even if that doesn't happen, its best to show love, because, God similarly, allows the sun to rise and the rains to fall on both the good and bad, the righteous and the unrighteous.
Perfection
This chapter, while being morally sound, could be perceived as unrealistic. The excuse being that, if someone is to actually follow all these, they will be cheated and taken advantage of time and again. However, imagine a world where no one does anything to hurt his fellow humans, wouldn't that be perfect? Nevertheless, as just humans, its hard to be perfect, but God offers his help so that through his strength we can be perfect.
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48
Throughout this chapter, Jesus mentions a lot on morals. It starts with the Beatitudes, then to teachings on the law, where he claims that he has come to fulfil it, then particularly discusses 6 cases of laws, where in he enhances it on the basis of love, which would lead to perfection.
There are still plenty I didn't mention, which you can read. To live a perfect life is not easy, but we'll be rewarded in the end. Let's strive for perfection, and let the LORD help in our efforts.
See you in the next post. Take care of yourself and each other!
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