Matthew 5 Verses 17 to 32 Nip It in the Bud April 21, 2024

Matthew 5 Verses 17 to 32 Nip It in the Bud April 21, 2024

Kingdom Power/ Sermon on the Mount Lesson 3

Class Presentation Notes AAAAAA

Background Scriptures: I recommend you read these first blessings to you.

Think about what Paul is saying to us.

· Philippians 3:3-14 (NKJV) Paul circa 62A.D/ from prison in Rome or

Ephesus 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which isthrough faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

· Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV) 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

· James 1:13-15 (NKJV) 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

· Philippians 4:8-9 (NKJV)

8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things areof good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. 9 The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

Main Idea:

· The grace Jesus offers leads to a transformed life resulting in an obedience from the heart.

Study Aim:

· Sins of the flesh usually begin as temptations of the mind. We must protect our mind resisting temptation before it has an opportunity to produce evil actions.

Create Interest:

· To the pious Jew the law was perfect and unchangeable. Jesus’ life and teaching appeared to many to indicate a lower view of the law. He healed on the Sabbath, failed to perform ritual duties, and was lax in observing religious feasts. It was necessary, therefore, for Jesus to point out at the beginning of his sermon the relationship of his teaching to the law.[1]

· As we look further into this Kingdom of Heavenmentioned 32 times in Matthew, let’s sit where the multitudes sat and soak on Jesus words, thoughts, intent and grow closer to Him in the process😊. Open your eyes in wonder and enjoy the journey!

Lesson In Historical Context:

· We can imagine people saying to themselves, ‘Well, here’s another new teacher who thinks he’s got the answer! We’ve already got teachers of the law; we’ve already got the Phariseeswho think their interpretation is the proper one. What’s different about this man?’

· Jesus gives his answer, straight from the shoulder. The scribes and the Pharisees do indeed teach a way of being faithful to God, a way of behaving in accordance with God’s covenant. But God’s own sovereign rule, the ‘kingdom of heaven’, is even now breaking in; and those who want to belong to the new world He is opening up must discover a way of covenant behavior that goes far, far beyond anything the scribes and Pharisees ever dreamed of.

· Jesus wasn’t intending to abandon the law and the prophets. Israel’s whole story, commands, promises and all, was going to come true in Him. But, now that He was here, a way was opening up for Israel—and, through that, all the world—to make God’s covenant a reality in their own selves, changing behavior not just by teaching but by a change of heart and mind itself.

· This was truly revolutionary, and at the same time deeply in tune with the ancient stories and promises of the Bible. And the remarkable thing is that Jesus brought it all into reality in his own person. He was the saltof the earth. He was the light of the world: set up on a hill-top, crucified for all the world to see, becoming a beacon of hope and new life for everybody, drawing people to worship his father, embodying the way of self-giving love which is the deepest fulfilment of the law and the prophets.

o That’s why these sayings, originally applied to Israel, now apply to all those who follow Jesus and draw on his life as the source of their own. How does this challenge affect us today? Where does the world need salt and light right now, and how can we, through following Jesus, provide it?[2]

Bible Study:

Matthew 5:17-20 (NKJV) 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 righteousnessof the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

· Two recurring themes run through the Sermon on the Mount and they are encapsulated for us in the words Jesus uses. In 5:17 Jesus says, ‘I have not come to abolish (the Law and the Prophets])’; and in 5:20, 22, 28, 32, 34 and 44 he uses the phrase (‘But I say to you’).

· These parallel themes help us to understand what Jesus is doing in the Sermon on the Mount.

o On the one hand, he is preserving, continuing, and fulfilling what God had previously revealed in the Old Testament. His function was not to ‘abolish’ either the Law or the Prophets; rather, Jesus saw himself as standing in that same stream of revelation, his teachings being of a piece with what the Old Testament had declared.

§ That does not mean that everything was to continue as it was before. By fulfilling the Law, some aspects of Old Testament legislation were to be rendered obsolete.

📷 For example, the sacrifices and ceremonies associated with redemption and atonement were, in fact, to be done away with because Jesus came to fulfil them and to usher in perfect righteousness. Much of the letter to the Hebrews is taken up with precisely that theme.

o On the other hand, extracting the true meaning of Old Testament law meant a break with the received Jewish, rabbinical teaching of the day.

§ So when Jesus says, ‘But I say to you’, he is not setting himself over/against Moses, but over/against those whose interpretations of the Law had turned God’s covenant of grace into a covenant of works. Good discussion point

§ For too many people, righteousness was a matter of obeying all the rules; no, says Jesus, the rules require us to go deeper than the shallow religion of the rabbis might suggest.

o This is what Jesus means when he says that ‘unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven’ (v. 20). Belonging to his kingdom, and living the kingdom life, takes more than external conformity to a set of religious standards. It has to go deeper than that.[3]

Let’s look a little deeper

· Jesus began by denying that He came to destroy the law, or the prophets. To what was He referring?

o The Hebrew Bible has three categories of books: Law, Prophets, and Writings.

§ Their Books of Law are the same as ours.

§ Their Prophets include our Major and Minor Prophets plus some of what we call History.

§ Their Writings include our Poetry books plus Daniel and some of our books of history.

§ Jesus referred to all three divisions in Luke 24:44, using “the Psalms” to stand for Writings.

§ Sometimes the word law referred only to the first five books, the Pentateuch (Luke 2:22).

§ At other times, law referred to all the Scriptures (Matt. 5:18). And at still other times lawwas combined with prophets to indicate that the reference was to more than the Pentateuch, probably to all the whole Old Testament (v. 17).

o Thus, Jesus was denying that He came to destroy any part of Holy Scripture. Major point not to be missed! Discuss!

· Jesus insisted He came to fulfill, not to destroy, the Old Testament. In what ways did Jesus fulfill the Old Testament?

o He fulfilled the predictive Scriptures about the nature and mission of the Savior-King.

o After His resurrection, Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to the many passages that He fulfilled. These passages were from all parts of the Scriptures (Luke 24:44).

o Jesus also fulfilled Scripture by interpreting the meaning of the Old Testament. He went behind the letter of the law to its spirit. Discuss! The Good Samaritan

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. Luke 10:30-37

31 “And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

32 “Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

33 “But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,

34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.

35 “On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’

36 “Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?”

37 And he said, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” [4]

o This is seen in Matthew 5:21–48. And, as the Book of Hebrews points out, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament by bringing to fruition of some aspects of the Old Testament, such as the end of animal sacrifices.

· Verse 18affirms that the purposes of each part of the Scriptures will be fulfilled. The words ‘till heaven and earth pass’ show that some aspects of the kingdom are still future.

o Much was fulfilled in Jesus’ death and resurrection, but we still pray for His coming kingdom.

o And the inspired Scriptures continue until the ultimate fulfillment brings us into God’s presence forever.

· Meanwhile, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Jot stood for “the smallest [Hebrew] letter,” and tittlestood for “the least stroke of a pen” (NIV).

o The closest expression in English is to cross the t and dot the i.

What are some lasting truths in Matthew 5:17–20?

· Because Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament, we should interpret the Bible in light of Him.

· We should be lifetime students and doers of God’s Word.

· Followers of Jesus follow His ways instead of the legalism of Pharisaic types.

· The righteousness of Jesus’ followers is Christ’s righteousness, not their own self-righteousness.[5]

Matthew 5:21 (NKJV) 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.'

· Jesus took the highest wisdom of men and corrected it because He was who He was. He did not need to argue; it was sufficient for him to speak.

o No one can honestly face Jesus and listen to him without feeling that this is God’s last word beside which all other words are inadequate, and all other wisdom out of date.

· Startling as was Jesus’ accent of authority, the standard which he put before men was more startling yet.

o Jesus said that in God’s sight it was not only the man who committed murder who was guilty; the man who was angrywith his brother was also guilty and liable to judgment. Thus, it was not only the man who committed adultery who was guilty; the man who allowed the unclean desire to settle in his heart was also guilty.

· Here was something which was entirely new, something which men have not yet fully grasped. It was Jesus’ teaching that it was not enough not to commit murder; the only thing sufficient was never even to wish to commit murder or adultery.

o It may be that we have never struck a man; but who can say that he never wished to strike a man? It may be that we have never committed adultery; but who can say that he has never experienced the desire for the forbidden thing?

o It was Jesus’ teaching that thoughts are just as important as deeds, and that it is not enough not to commit a sin; the only things that is enough is not to wish to commit it.

· It was Jesus’ teaching that a man is not judged only by his deeds, but is judged even more by the desires which never emerged in deeds. By the world’s standards a man is a good man, if he never does a forbidden thing. The world is not concerned to judge his thoughts.

o By Jesus’ standards a man is not a good man until he never even desires to do a forbidden thing.[6]

Note: A pause to make sure we are not setting your thoughts up for perfection which is not possible by humans:

· 1 John 1:8-10 (NKJV) 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

o This not a license to cover our sinful tracts, but God’s grace is always waiting to get us back on track of sanctification toward the person He desires us to be.

Matthew 5:22-24 (NKJV) 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.

· Thou shalt not kill is the sixth commandment of the Decalogue (Exod. 20:13; Deut. 5:17). Jesus did not annul it. Rather, He gave it a higher interpretation: If you are angry with your brother, you have murder in your heart.

· Vs. 22: Jesus declared that whoever was angry with his brother would be in danger of—a legal term, meaning “liable to”—the judgment. That is, he would be subject to court action. Whoever said to his brother, Raca—“a word of contempt, said to be from a root meaning to ‘spit’ ”—would be liable to action by the council (synedrion), the Great Sanhedrin at Jerusalem.

o Arndt and Gingrich define Raca as “a term of abuse, fool, empty-head.”

· Whoever said, Thou fool (Greek, moron), would be liable to hell fire (literally, “Gehenna of fire”).

o Gehenna was the valley of Hinnom, just south of Jerusalem. The refuse and rubbish of the city were taken out through the Dung Gate (Neh. 3:14; 12:31) and cast onto what would now be called the city dump. As early as the first century b.c.the Jews had used Gehenna in a metaphorical sense to indicate the place of fiery torment.

§ The lurid flames licking constantly at the edge of this dump formed the fitting symbol which Jesus here used for the fires of hell.

· The application of the above warning is made in two spheres—that of worship (23–24) and that of legal suit (25–26). If a Jew brought a gift to the Temple to be offered on the altar—the altar of burnt offering before the sanctuary—and remembered that his brother (23) had anything against him, he was to go and be reconciled to his brother before offering his gift. The Greek word for be reconciled (24) (diallasso) is found only here in the New Testament.

· Paul uses katalasso, and the double compound apoka tallasso, for the unilateral reconciliation that man must have with God.

o That is, man must cease his enmity against the Lord, and be reconciled through Christ. But diallasso denotes “mutual concession after mutual hostility.”

· The significance of this is clear. When one is reconciled to God, he has to meet the divine conditions, because the wrong is all on one side. But when one is reconciled to his brother, both have to make concessions, because there are two sides to every human quarrel. The point Jesus is making, however, is that one’s worship in the house of God is not acceptable as long as there is any bad feeling between the would-be worshiper and a “brother.”

o One’s relationship to God cannot be right when his relationship to his fellowman is wrong.[7]

Matthew 5:25-26 (NKJV) 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.

· The urgency of reconciliation is expressed in these practical verses. In a nutshell, Jesus is telling us to nip problems in the bud quickly. He is telling men to get trouble sorted out in time, before it piles up as more serious trouble for the future. (Good council for all conflicts, don’t you think?)

o The Lord paints a picture of two opponents on their way together to the courthouse. He tells them to get things settled and get matters straightened out before they reach the court, for, if they do not, and the law takes its course, there will be still worse trouble for one of them at least in the days to come.

o The offender should remove the occasion for the other man’s anger and hatred quickly. Otherwise, the judge might make things difficult for both after he hears the case and makes a ruling.

· The reference of going from the judge to officer, to prison pictures the red tape and complications involved in not settling the dispute out of court.

o Likewise, God will make it difficult for haters and those who provoke hate in others if they come before Him with unresolved interpersonal disagreements.

o Jesus is saying, “If you are wrong, be quick to admit it and make things right. If you remain unrepentant, your sin will eventually catch up with you and you will not only have to make full restitution but suffer additional penalties as well.

§ Don’t be in a hurry to go to court. If you do, the law will find you out, and you will pay the last penny.”[8]

Thoughts to soak offered by Jon Courson

· The legal system in Jesus’ day required the plaintiff to personally track down the defendant. In other words, if you had something against someone, it would be your job to find him and bring him in physically before the judge.

· This is why Jesus here says in paraphrase, “If you are on the road with your adversary—if he has captured you—cut a deal with him before you get to court. Apologize! Get it right because once the matter reaches court, you could get cast into prison and remain until you pay the last penny.”

o But how can you pay the last penny when you’re in prison? You have no way to make money. That’s the point.

o If you let the incident become a big deal by not dealing with it immediately, promptly, in humility, and with transparency, you’ll never escape it.

· I think many of us have found this to be true at one point or another. When we had the opportunity to deal with a situation, we chose not to because of pride, and then it grew and grew over the days and months and years, until it became so complicated and confusing that there was no way out.

o Jesus said, “Avoid this. Be wise.

§ When you are on the road, when you’re talking with your adversary, when you’re still communicating, be humble, lest you find yourself imprisoned with no way of escape.”[9]

Matthew 5:27-28 (NKJV) 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.

· As with the one relating to the sin of murder (vv. 21–26), this illustration begins with a quotation of one of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:14). In both of those cases, Jewish tradition was based on the law of Moses, at least superficially.

· The sixth commandment protects the sanctity of life and the seventh the sanctity of marriage.

o Those who rely on external righteousness break both of those commandments, because in their hearts they attack the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage, whether they do so outwardly or not.

o When they are angry or hate, they commit murder. When they lust sexually, they commit adultery.

§ And when they do either of those things, they choose to despise God’s law and God’s name (see Ex. 20:14; Lev. 20:10; Deut. 5:18).

· Anger and sexual lust are two of the most powerful influences on mankind. The person who gives them reign will soon find that he is more controlled than in control. Every person has experienced temptation to anger and to sexual sin, and every person has at some time and to some degree given in to those temptations.

o Because of that fact, every person is guilty before God of murder and of adultery.[10] If something is eating on you, remember 1 John 1:9-10 and sincerely repent before God, to allow Him to cleanse your heart.

Matthew 5:29-30 (NKJV) 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.

· Jesus illustrates this decisive action with two metaphorical illustrations. Eyes and hands are primary offenders in sexual sin, but vv. 29–30 may be applied more broadly as well.

· Literal self-mutilation is notChrist’s objective. It is quite possible to be blind or crippled and still lust.

o Rather, as is characteristic of Jesus’ figurative and hyperbolic style, he commands us to take drastic measures to avoid temptations to sexual sin—to remove from ourselves anyone or anything that could lead us into scandal(“causes you to sin”).

o The Hebrews, like others, were accustomed to representing the affections of the mind by the members or parts of the body, Ro. 7:23; 6:13.

§ the bowelsdenoted compassion.

§ the heart, affection or feeling.

§ the kidneys, understanding, secret purpose.

§ An evil eyedenotes sometimes envy (Mat. 20:15), and sometimes an evil passion, or sin in general. In this place, as in 2 Pe. 2:14, the expression is used to denote strong adulterous passion, unlawful desire, or wicked inclination[11]. Sin that is not dealt with leads inexorably to judgment. Jesus is not implying, however, that sexual sin cannot be forgiven when there is true repentance.

· If translated as in the NIV, these paragraphs do not specifically refer to a woman lusting after a man, only a man after a woman; but given the reciprocity of Jesus’ teaching elsewhere (see, e.g., v. 32 immediately below), it is clearly implied. Nevertheless, men may well sin more often than women in this way because male sexual arousal comes primarily through sight. Jesus’ teaching, like much of the antipornography movement today, is greatly liberating for women.[12]

What are some lasting truths in Matthew 5:27–30?

· Adultery is a serious breach of the 7th Commandment.

· Lust in the heart is also as sinful as the execution of the act of adultery

See Matthew 5:28 for quick review of God’s position on this.

· Drastic and extreme action is necessary to guard our hearts against sin.

· Avoiding sin may be costly, but not as costly as giving in to sin.

Matthew 5:31-32 (NKJV) 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.

· Vs. 31: Furthermore it has been said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce”: In Jesus’ day, many people interpreted the Mosaic permission for divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1) as granting virtually any reason as grounds for divorce. Some rabbis taught this even extended to allowing a man to divorce his wife if she burnt his breakfast.

o “Moses insisted upon ‘a writing of divorcement,’ that angry passions might have time to cool and that the separation, if it must come, might be performed with deliberation and legal formality. The requirement of a writing was to a certain degree a check upon an evil habit, which was so engrained in the people that to refuse it altogether would have been useless and would only have created another crime.” (Spurgeon)

o Yet in Jesus’ day, this permission of Deuteronomy 24:1 had become an instrument of cruelty against wives. “The scribes busied themselves solely about getting the bill of separation into due legal form. They did nothing to restrain the unjust caprice of husbands; they rather opened a wider door to license.” (Bruce)

o In that time, the permissible grounds for divorce were debated:

§ School of Shammai: “Restricted the ‘some indecency’ of Deuteronomy 24:1 to refer only to a sexual misdemeanor authenticated by witnesses.” (France)

§ School of Hillel: “Reputedly took it of any cause of complaint, even including burning the dinner.” (France)

· Vs. 32: is probably the key teaching of Jesus about divorce. It focuses on the action of the husband who divorces his wife. Such drastic action must be taken only when all else fails. Divorce is always a sign of falling short of God’s purpose for marriage.

o It takes two to have a marriage, but it takes only one to destroy the one-flesh union that should have lasted a lifetime. The context and tone of Jesus’ teachings on marriage and divorce should put the fear of God in anyone who causes the breakup of a marriage.[13]

· Whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality: The issue of divorce revolved around a strict or loose interpretation of the word uncleannessin Deuteronomy 24:1. Those who wanted to make divorce easy had a loose interpretation.

o Jesus makes it plain that the idea of uncleanness is sexual immorality, not anything the wife might do to displease the husband.

§ Sexual immorality “translates porneia, the root meaning of which is ‘fornication’, but it is used more widely, so that it could include premarital unchastity, subsequently discovered.” (France)

§ So what does “fornication” or porneia mean in these verses? The context gives the answer. Remember, Matthew is addressed to Jewish readers. The exception clause that is given in the book of Matthew does not show up in the books of Mark and Luke. Why?

📷 Mark and Luke target Gentile readers who would not understand Jewish Law and the Jewish meanings given to the word porneia.

📷 The book of Matthew also makes no mention about “putting the husband away” because no provision was made in Jewish culture to do this. Jewish wives did not do this unlike Greek and Roman wives.

· I believe the “exception clause” in Matthew refers to three key exceptions that the Jews would understand.

o Those exceptions were for unfaithfulness during the Jewish betrothal period, incestuous marriages, and referred to homosexual marriages.[14]

· Causes her to commit adultery: An illegitimate divorce gives place to adultery because God doesn’t recognize the divorce and sees a new relationship as bigamous.

o It is possible for a person to have a divorce that is recognized by the state, but not by God.

§ If that person goes on to marry someone else, God considers that relationship adultery because He sees them as still married.[15]

Thoughts from a pastor about the subject of divorce today:

· Speaking personally as a Christian pastor, whenever somebody asks to speak with me about divorce, I have now for some years steadfastly refused to do so.

· I have made the rule never to speak with anybody about divorce, until I have first spoken with him (or her) about two other subjects, namely marriage and reconciliation.

o Sometimes a discussion on these topics makes a discussion of the other unnecessary.

· At the very least, it is only when a person has understood and accepted God’s view of marriage and God’s call to reconciliation that a possible context has been created within which one may regretfully go on to talk about divorce.

o This principle of pastoral priorities is, I believe, consistent with the teaching of Jesus.[16]

[1]Robert H. Mounce, Matthew, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011), 43. [2]Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 41. [3]Iain D. Campbell, Opening up Matthew, Opening Up Commentary (Leominster: Day One Publications, 2008), 44–46. [4] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 10:30–37. [5]Robert J. Dean, Bible Studies for Life, Fall 2007, Herschel Hobbs Commentary (LifeWay Christian Resources, n.d.), 76-78. [6]William Barclay, ed., The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1, The Daily Study Bible Series (Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster John Knox Press, 1976), 135–136. [7]Ralph Earle, “The Gospel according to Matthew,” in Matthew, Mark, Luke, Beacon Bible Commentary (Beacon Hill Press, 1964), Mt 5:21–26. [8]Rod Mattoon, Treasures from the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 1, Treasures from Scriptures Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2006), 228. [9]Jon Courson, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2003), 28–29. [10]John F. MacArthur Jr., Matthew, vol. 1, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), 300. [11]Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: Matthew & Mark, ed. Robert Frew (London: Blackie & Son, 1884–1885), 55. [12]Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 109–110. [13]Robert J. Dean, Bible Studies for Life, Fall 2007, Herschel Hobbs Commentary (LifeWay Christian Resources, n.d.), 85-86. [14]Rod Mattoon, Treasures from the Sermon on the Mount, vol. 1, Treasures from Scriptures Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2006), 251. [15]David Guzik, Matthew, David Guzik’s Commentaries on the Bible (Santa Barbara, CA: David Guzik, 2013), Mt 5:31–32. [16]John R. W. Stott and John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): Christian Counter-Culture, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 98–99.