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Day 7 Matthew 5:19-48 Matthew 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. 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. 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: 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 (worthless), shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remember that thy brother hath ought against thee; 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. 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. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. 27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 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. 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. 31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced commits adultery. 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: 34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: 35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. 36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. 37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these comes of evil. 38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 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. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asks thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. 43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. 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; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Man interprets things their own way, so they aren’t offended by what was said. Ever since the Constitution of the United States was adopted, people have put their own interpretation on it, and even gone as far as the Supreme Court to make their interpretation law. Jesus cited the scribes and Pharisees when he made his point regarding the law, and especially the commandments. Not because they interpreted the law correctly, but they kept the law in the manner they interpreted it to the letter, even if it wasn’t a correct rendering of the law. He said unless the people’s righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees, they wouldn’t get into heaven. That is a pretty bold statement Jesus made, and probably gave the scribes and Pharisees a swelled head for a moment or two, until he started taking apart the law as God gave it to Moses and told the people exactly what God meant and how the people should live. Jesus started each idea of the commandment he cited, with, “Ye have heard it said by them of old time.” It wasn’t just the current scribes and Pharisees who interpreted the law, but all those who came before them, to the first person who put a spin on what God meant when he gave the laws to Moses. Jesus then went on to tell the people exactly what God meant when he gave the commandment to Moses. Jesus started out simple, with reconciliation between brothers, or peers. God wants everyone to get along with each other, not find fault with everything they don’t like about the person. He then moved to adultery, a crime punishable by death, stoning. He told the people adultery started with a look, not a touch. James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. First, come thoughts about the sin, looking at it and finding it attractive, those thoughts are followed up with the act, and the act is what brings death. Jesus said, don’t look, then you won’t be tempted to act. Jesus then told the people they were to keep their word, their oaths, and they were not to swear when they gave their oaths, but a simple yes or no, was all that was necessary. To go beyond, by swearing by anything else was evil. Today, people swear all the time. It’s common to hear foul language shooting forth out of a person’s mouth, but even more than that, they usually preclude their foul language by taking Jesus’ or God’s name in vain. Exodus 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that takes his name in vain. Therefore, you need to stop swearing with every word that comes to mind, and simply agree or disagree with the person. Jesus then taught the people regarding the eye for an eye law. He told them to forgive those who wronged them, and instead of suing them for everything they had, give the person what they needed. Proverbs 25:21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22 For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the LORD shall reward thee. (KJV) Heaping coals on a person’s head was common when Solomon gave this example. People would put hot coals in a basket and take them to light their fires in the morning. They carried those baskets on their heads. So then, when you forgive someone who wronged you, you are doing them a kindness, giving them what they need, instead of taking away from them, even the little they had. Jesus then told them they were to love everyone, even their enemies, and there wasn’t a greater enemy to the people than Rome. Jesus’ message to the people was a simple one. He told them to reconcile, keep their thoughts pure, keep their word, forgive, and love. When you do the same, instead of looking for every reason to find a grievance against someone, your life will be better, and you will have more peace in your life. James 4:17 Therefore to him that knows to do good, and does it not, to him it is sin. Let’s pray: Father, I know I am a sinner. I know my thoughts often lead me to trouble. Give me a pure mind and heart, so I will not sin against any of the laws and commandments but treat all people as you treat them. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 25 April 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay