Matthew 5 has an endless supply of wisdom for us, we have heard plenty of sermons from this chapter. Isn’t God just good to us? To give us His Word that we get to read and hear preached? Have you ever really considered the Bible you are holding? All that happened to give you that precious Book? All of the wisdom and answers we find in Its pages. God chose to preserve It for us. The Bible is not just some of God’s Words or thoughts; It IS His Word. This is one reason we are to be careful with His Word; to use the correct and accurate version and to use verses in context.
Now, on to Matthew 5.
Let’s begin with the context and setting. Jesus is speaking. This begins what we know as the Sermon on the Mount. He is speaking to the multitude. These are the people that are following Him. This message isn’t just for the disciples. So this content applies to all of us. This happens in the beginning of His public ministry.
His sermon begins with the beatitudes. Statements that seem to be in contrast to how we think, but we know that’s how God works. He uses the foolish to confound the wise.
I will begin after that, starting in verse 13.
Jesus says, “Ye are the salt of the earth..” Verse 14, “Ye are the light of the world…” We tend to gloss over these, but look at the verb. Are. That is a state of being verb, it shows a current state or condition. If you are saved, you ARE the salt and light. You can’t change that. However, you can decide on how salty and bright you are. He says that when the salt loses its savor, it’s thrown out. If salt loses its flavor, it’s still salt, it’s just not any good. If a lightbulb burns out, it’s still a light bulb, it just doesn’t work and we throw it out and put in a new one. May I remind you that if you’re saved, you’ve been bought with a price. If you buy something, you expect it to work, perform, taste as it’s supposed to. If it doesn’t, then we return it or contact the manufacturer to fix the problem. Jesus saved us and gave us a purpose, it’s up to us to fulfill that.
Verse 16, “Let your light so shine before men…” this is public. Others should know you love Jesus. I pray people look at my life and see my Saviour; I hope you do too. The verse continues with, “…that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” God doesn’t always give us answers to our ‘whys’, but He does here: that God would be glorified. Isn’t that our purpose and goal as Christians?
Verses 17 and 18: Christ plainly states what He is doing: fulfilling the law and the prophets. Remember after this, the scribes and Pharisees are constantly trying to trip Him up with the law? Before they even come on the scene, He’s made it clear to us that He isn’t here to destroy the law, so we have no reason to get confused later on.
Verse 19 I really like. I never noticed this before. If you break one of the least commandments and teach others that also, you will be the least in the kingdom. He didn’t say you are cast out of the kingdom. I really believe this supports eternal security. Breaking the law of God after salvation does not cause us to lose salvation. We just don’t have as many jewels and crowns to cast at His feet once we get to Heaven compared to someone that lived for Jesus and taught His Truth to others.
Verse 20 Christ speaks of our righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees. Remember later when He told them basically that their outsides were clean but inside they were full of dead men’s bones? He wants REAL righteousness. Rooted in Him. This comes from salvation. That is when His righteousness is placed on us.
Verse 22 He equates the words we say to hatred. Our words matter. A lot.
Verse 28 He speaks of committing adultery in the heart. The thoughts of the heart also matter. These thoughts are not hidden from Him.
Verse 32 we see again that God is not in favor of divorce.
Verse 34 we are not to swear by anything in heaven or earth. Just say what you mean and mean what you say and leave it there.
Verse 44 is pretty clear. Love your enemies, pray for them. This also means not seeking to get even.
Verses 46-48 Christ calls us to the supernatural. Loving those that love us is natural, but the love of Christ in us should exceed that.
I hope this helps you to take something away from this chapter and encourages you to read through God’s Word often.
With Hope in His Service,
Heather
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