Be Transformed part 2
Be Transformed part 2
Jesus preached hard to the religiously and socially arrogant, but his words come as comfort to the meek and brokenhearted.
Of course one also needs to read grace in light of the kingdom demands; grace transforms as well as forgives. Jesus is meek and lowly in heart to the broken and heals and restores the needy who seek him; it is the arrogant, the religiously and socially satisfied, against whom Jesus lays the kingdom demands harshly
Kingdom Blessings For True Disciples
Jesus’ ethics specifically address disciples, but Jesus also invites those who are not disciples to become disciples and live according to the values of God’s kingdom.
Matthew explicitly indicates that Jesus taught his disciples (5:1–2) but also that the crowds were present
Kingdom Rewards for the Repentant (5:3–9)* If we truly repent in light of the coming kingdom, we will treat our neighbors rightly.
No one who has humbled himself or herself before God can act with wanton self-interest in relationships. Those with the faith to await the vindication of the righteous in God’s kingdom can afford to be righteous, to relinquish the pursuit of their own rights
Jesus employs a standard Jewish literary form to express this point, a beatitude, which runs like this: “It will go well with the one who … for that one shall receive … ” (“Fortunate” or “it will be well with” may convey the point better than blessed or “happy.”) In this context Jesus’ beatitudes mean that it will ultimately be well with those who seek first God’s kingdom
Jesus lists promises that pertain to the coming kingdom. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven frames most of this section
All the blessings listed are blessings of the kingdom time. In the time of the kingdom God will “comfort all who mourn in Zion” (Is 61:2); he will satisfy the hunger and thirst of his people (Mt 8:11; 22:2; 26:29; Is 25:6) as in the first exodus (Deut 6:11; 8:17). God’s ultimate mercy will be revealed on the day of judgment (1 Enoch 5:5; 12:6; 92:4; Ps. Sol. 16:15). At that time he will ultimately declare the righteous to be his children (Rev 21:7; Jub. 1:24), as he had to a lesser degree at the first exodus (Ex 4:22). God is technically invisible (1QS 11.20; Jos. Apion 2.191), but in the future the righteous will fully see God
The blessings he promises come only by God’s intervention. Because the future kingdom is in some sense present in Jesus, who provides bread (Mt 14:19–20) and comforts the brokenhearted (14:14; compare Lk 4:18), we participate in the spiritual down payment of these blessings in Christ in the present (see Gal 3:14; Eph 1:3). But such blessings come only to the meek—those who wait on God to fight God’s battles.
The blessings of the beatitudes are for a people ready for the kingdom’s coming. This passage shows what kingdom-ready people should be like; hence it shows us prerequisites for the kingdom as well as kingdom promises.
First, kingdom people do not try to force God’s whole will on a world unprepared for it. Many first-century Jews had begun to think that revolutionary violence was the only adequate response to the violence of oppression they experienced. Matthew’s first audience no doubt could recall the bankruptcy of this approach, which led to crushing defeat in the war of A.D. 66–73. But Jesus promises the kingdom not to those who try to force God’s hand in their time but to those who patiently and humbly wait for it
Peacemakers means not only living at peace but bringing harmony among others; this role requires us to work for reconciliation with spouses, neighbors and all people-insofar as the matter is up to us
God favors the humble, who trust in him rather than their own strength
For one thing, the humble are not easily provoked to anger. These are the poor in spirit, … the meek, those who appear in Jewish texts as the lowly and oppressed. Because the oppressed poor become wholly dependent on God
some Jewish people used “poor [in spirit]” as a positive religious as well as economic designation. Thus it refers not merely to the materially poor and oppressed but to those “who have taken that condition to their very heart, by not allowing themselves to be deceived by the attraction of wealth”
Jesus promises the kingdom to the powerless, the oppressed who embrace the poverty of their condition by trusting in God rather than favors from the powerful for their deliverance.
Further, these humble people are also those who yearn for God above all else. Luke emphasizes those who hunger physically
Matthew emphasizes yearning for God’s righteousness more than for food and drink, perhaps also implying that those who hunger physically are in a better position to begin to value God more than food
In this context hungering for righteousness probably includes yearning for God’s justice, for his vindication of the oppressed
the context also implies that it includes yearning to do God’s will
This passage reflects biblical images of passion for God, longing for him more than for daily food or drink
God and his Word should be the ultimate object of our longing
“Mourners” here (5:4) may thus refer especially to the repentant
Given the promise of comfort, however, the term probably also applies more broadly to those who are broken, who suffer or have sustained personal grief and responded humbly (see Fenton 1977:368). God is near the brokenhearted (Ps 51:17) and will comfort those who mourn (Is 61:1–3); the people of the kingdom are the humble, not the arrogant.
The pure in heart (Mt 5:8) in Psalm 73 refers to those who recognize that God alone is their hope.
Likewise, this lifestyle of meekness Jesus teaches challenges not only Jewish revolutionaries but all Christians in our daily lives. If we are to walk in love toward our enemies (Mt 5:43), how much more should we walk in love toward those closest us
Encouragement for Those Persecuted for the Gospel
In his final beatitudes Jesus declares not “Happy are those,” but “Happy are you.” Here Jesus takes his ethic of nonretaliation
not only must we refuse to strike back, but we are to rejoice when persecuted. The persecution itself confirms our trust in God’s promise of reward, because the prophets suffered likewise
When we represent Jesus and his message faithfully and suffer rejection accordingly, we may identify with ancient prophetic leaders like Jeremiah, Isaiah and Ezekiel.
But here Jesus summons us to a greater honor than being prophets; he summons us to bear the name—the honor—of Jesus. The characteristics Jesus lists as belonging to the people of the kingdom are also those Jesus himself exemplifies as the leading servant of the kingdom and Son par excellence of the Father
Jesus is meek and lowly in heart (11:29); he mourns over the unrepentant (11:20–24); he shows mercy (9:13, 27; 12:7; 20:30); he is a peacemaker (5:43–45; 26:52). If he is lowly, how much more must be his disciples, who are to imitate his ways (10:24–25; 23:8–12)—in contrast to worldly paradigms for religious celebrities (23:5–7).
Worthless Disciples (5:13–16) Jesus’ audience at least partly includes “disciples” (5:1–2). Having described the appropriate lifestyle of disciples, Jesus now explains that a professed disciple who does not live this lifestyle of the kingdom is worth about as much as tasteless salt or invisible light—nothing.
Jesus refers here to more than good deeds; he refers to a good character (compare 7:17–20; 12:33–37). Such character comes only by embracing God’s kingship as a gift (as in 10:40; 18:4, 12–14, 27). The images of salt and light evoke consideration less of what we do than of what we are. If only true disciples count before God (5:13–16) and true discipleship means treating both friends and enemies kindly (5:3–12), the salt-and-light paragraph becomes a resounding warning to heed Jesus’ teaching on meekness in the preceding paragraph.
Just as tasteless salt lacks value to the person who uses it, so does a professed disciple without genuine commitment prove valueless for the work of the kingdom.
A disciple whose life reveals none of the Father’s works is like invisible light for vision: useless. Jesus reinforces his point with various images. A disciple should be as obvious as a city set on a hill (as most cities were), and a light in a home should be no easier to hide than a torchlit city at night
Jesus depicts his disciples’ mission in stark biblical terms for the mission of Israel. God called his people to be lights to the nations (for example, Is 42:6; 49:6)—that is, the whole world (compare Mt 18:7). Christians are light because—contrary to some psychoanalytic theories
But Christians cannot be content to remain the world’s light in a merely theoretical sense; they must “be what they are,” letting their light shine for their Father’s honor
Ministers of the Word must equip all other Christians for their ministry as lights in their various neighborhoods and occupations (Eph 4:11–13; Tit 2:1, 5, 8, 10). While Jesus is opposed to our doing good works publicly for our own honor (6:1, “to be seen” by people), he exhorts us to do those good works publicly for God’s honor
This distinction exhorts us to guard the motives of our hearts and consider the effects our public activities and pronouncements have on the spread of the gospel and the honoring of God among all groups of people.
Jesus Applies Principles in God’s Law (5:17–48)
As if Jesus’ words in 5:3–16 were not strong enough, he presents even more stringent demands of the kingdom in these verses
He expected his followers to understand and apply the moral principles already revealed in Scripture.
Christians Must Obey God’s Law (5:17–20) Matthew uses Jesus’ words in 5:17–20 as a thesis statement for the whole of 5:21–48 which follows. Jesus essentially says, “Look, if you thought the law was tough, wait till you see this. If you really want to be my disciples, give me your hearts without reservation” (see 5:17).
This passage seems to suggest that an uncommitted Christian is not a Christian at all
Bible-Believing People Without Transformed Hearts Are Lost
Like John the Baptist in 3:7–12, Jesus savages the false security of the religious establishment. To grasp the full impact in today’s language we might compare the scribes with ministers or religious educators and the Pharisees with the most pious, Bible-believing laypeople (although there was some overlap between the two groups)
It is possible to agree with everything Jesus taught in this sermon yet fail to live accordingly (23:3). That is why Jesus indicates that the best of human piety is inadequate for salvation—whether it be Pharisaic or Christian. Nothing short of a radical transformation, what other early Christian writers called a new birth (Jn 3:3–6; 1 Pet 1:23), can enable one to live as a disciple (compare Mt 18:3).
Pharisaic ethics emphasized “inwardness” as much as Jesus did, but Jesus challenges not their traditional ethics but the actual condition of their hearts
Like other Jewish teachers, Jesus demanded whole obedience to the Scriptures (5:18–19); unlike most of his contemporaries, however, he was not satisfied with the performance of scribes and Pharisees, observing that this law observance fell short even of the demands of salvation (5:20). After grabbing his hearers’ attention with such a statement, Jesus goes on to define God’s law not simply in terms of how people behave but in terms of who they really are (5:21–48).
This paragraph opens the section that runs from verse 21 through verse 48, which requires some introductory comment. Once Jesus has made it clear that he is not opposing the law itself but interpreting it, he shows how the customary practice of the law in his day is inadequate.
In 5:21–48* Jesus explains six legal texts from the Old Testament, interpreting as a good Jewish scholar of his day would
Jesus makes the law more stringent in this passage (building a sort of “fence” around the law, which his contemporaries felt was respectful toward the law).
Other Jewish teachers also offered phrases like You have heard … but I tell you when expounding Scripture. Paul, in fact, uses roughly the same formula when applying one of Jesus’ sayings in this context to a new situation (1 Cor 7:10–12). When Jewish teachers offered statements like this, they saw themselves not as contradicting the law but as explaining it, so we might read the passage thus: “You understand the Bible to mean only this, but I offer a fuller interpretation”
At the same time, Jesus does not speak with merely scribal authority (7:28–29); there is no academic debate or citation of other teachers, but solemn pronouncements. Jesus upholds the law (5:17–19) but is the decisive arbiter of its meaning, not one scholar among many
Matthew 5:21–48 provides concrete examples of the “greater righteousness” of verse 20. Jesus addresses not just how we act but who we are.
The heavenly court will judge all offenses of intention. Earthly courts could not usually judge such offenses as displays of anger
But God’s heavenly court would judge all such offenses
Jesus begins by citing the crime of murder in Exodus 20:13, for which biblical law required a Jewish court to execute the sentence of death
But Jesus presses beyond behavior specifically punished by law to the kind of heart that generates such behavior. Anger that would generate murder if unimpeded is the spiritual equivalent of murder
God has never merely wanted people to obey rules; he wants them to be holy as he is, to value what he values.
Anger, calling someone a fool and calling the person Raca (an “emptyhead”; Mt 5:22) are roughly equivalent offenses. Likewise Jesus probably reads the judgment of verse 21 as the day of God’s judgment, the Sanhedrin (v. 22) as God’s heavenly court
and both as equivalent to the sentence to be decreed there: damnation to eternal hell. Because every word is uttered before the heavenly court, slander of another merits for the accuser the eternal punishment that would have been due the accused
Jesus’ prohibition of acting in anger is a general principle. As in each of his six examples, Jesus graphically portrays a general principle, although some of these principles (like anger and divorce) must be qualified in specific circumstances. Most people understood that such general principles expressed in proverbs and similar sayings sometimes needed to be qualified in specific situations
Thus when debating with those like the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, we must speak responsibly for their correction and accept the personal consequences.
When dealing with those closest to us, such as a spouse, we must humble ourselves and seek the other person’s best interests in love
Our relationship with God is partly contingent on how we treat others. God will not accept our gift at the altar until we reconcile with our neighbor
Again Jesus depicts the situation graphically, since his Galilean hearers might have to travel a considerable distance to leave the Jerusalem temple and then return
Jesus’ following crisis parable shows how urgent the situation is (vv. 25–26). Imprisonment was generally a temporary holding place until punishment; here, however, a longer penalty is envisaged.
The last penny (Greek kodrantēs, Roman quadrans) refers to the second-smallest Roman coin, only a few minutes’ wages for even a day laborer.
Through a variety of terrible images, Jesus indicates that when we damage our relationships with others, we damage our relationship with God, leading to eternal punishment
God sees what we are each made of. We judge by what we can see of a person’s actions; God evaluates the heart’s motivation. Some can act more moral by society’s standards because it is to their advantage to do so, but this behavior does not necessarily imply that their hearts are purer than those with less social incentive to behave morally.
Do Not Covet Others Sexually
Jesus’ warning against lust would have challenged some ancient hearers’ values. Many men in the ancient Mediterranean thought lust healthy and normal
Yet Jesus is not challenging his hearers’ ethics; the scribes and Pharisees may have agreed with his basic premise, but Jesus challenges their hearts, not just their doctrine. Many Christians today similarly profess to agree with Jesus’ doctrine here but do not obey it.
Jesus offers an implicit argument from Scripture, not just a cultural critique. The seventh of the Ten Commandments declares, “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14), while the tenth commandment declares, “You shall not covet [that is, desire] … anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Ex 20:17).
In the popular Greek version of Jesus’ day the tenth commandment began, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,” and used the same word for “covet” that Jesus uses here for “lust.” In other words, Jesus reads the humanly unenforceable tenth commandment as if it matters as much as the other, more humanly enforceable commandments.
If you do not break the letter of the other commandments, but you want to do so in your heart, you are guilty. God judges a sinful heart, and hearts that desire what belongs to others are guilty.
Jesus does, however, go beyond his contemporaries’ customary views on lust. Jewish men expected married Jewish women to wear head coverings to prevent lust. Jewish writers often warned of women as dangerous because they could invite lust (as in Sirach 25:21; Ps. Sol. 16:7–8), but Jesus placed the responsibility for lust on the person doing the lusting
Lust and anger are sins of the heart, and rapists who protest in earthly courts, “She asked for it!” have no defense before God’s court. Jesus says that it is better to suffer corporal punishment in the present—amputating one’s lustful eye or other offending appendages—than to spend eternity in hell after the resurrection of the damned
Lust is antithetical to true love: it dehumanizes another person into an object of passion, leading us to act as if the other were a visual or emotional prostitute for our use. Fueled by selfish passion, adultery violates the sanctity of another person’s being and relationships; love, by contrast, seeks what is best for a person, including strengthening their marriage.
Adultery usually involves considerable rationalization, justifying one’s behavior as necessary or loving; but lust is the mother of adultery, the demonic force that allows human beings to justify exploiting one another sexually, at the same time betraying the most intimate of commitments where trust ought to abide secure even if it can flourish nowhere else.
Lust demands possession; love values, respects and seeks to serve other persons with what is genuinely good for them. Lust is always incompatible with acknowledging God as the supreme desire of our hearts, because it is contrary to his will.
Legalism cannot change the heart and destroy lust or any other sin; only transformation of the heart to view reality in a new way can. Matthew frames Jesus’ commandments in this section with that warning (compare 5:20, 48). Whereas lust distorts relationships, proper relationships in Christ’s family can meet the need that lust pretends to fill.
