Jesus begins this section of the Sermon on the Mount (chapt. 5:21-48) by contrasting what the people have heard. “You have heard that it was said to those of old” implies the people have heard God’s law – sometimes rightly and sometimes wrongly presented and interpreted for them by their teachers. Jesus brings a new authority into the mix – his own – to give the real meaning of the law. Jesus offers us a new depth to the commands, inherent in the law but missed in some cases by the religious tradition. Jesus is not contradicting the law; he is giving a necessary corrective to the tradition that has sprung up around the law.

Jesus first discusses murder, but he gets at the attitude and the center of what drives someone to murder: anger and contempt. Anger towards another person, hate enough to insult him or belittle another – those actions are as liable to judgment as murder. Every thought and word that seeks to destroy is forbidden. We cannot maintain only an external view of the law. It must also inform and pierce into our thoughts and motivations. “Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be.” (James 3:10 NIV) “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Ephesians 4:29 ESV)

Before adding a post about what Jesus says about anger and contempt, I thought I would reference two great links compiled by Todd Bolen, about the “myth” of the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) being used for burning trash in Jesus’ day. Many of the sources I’m using state that Gehenna was a garbage dump, burning day and night. Yet these two posts argue there’s no evidence for that claim.

http://blog.bibleplaces.com/2011/04/myth-of-burning-garbage-dump-of-gehenna.html

http://blog.bibleplaces.com/2011/04/fires-of-gehenna-views-of-scholars.html

It’s very interesting reading – like a mystery almost. After reading some of the primary sources referenced in these blog posts, I was convinced it was a myth. In my book, the images of child sacrifices in the valley and Jeremiah’s reference to the “Valley of Slaughter” make Gehenna worse than any thought of burning trash.

Grant Osborne gives us a picture of the scribes (or “teachers of the law”) and the Pharisees in his commentary on Matthew. The scribes were initially recorders of the law, but later became interpreters and legal experts of the law. The Pharisees were the lay leaders of religious observance, closely connected to the oral tradition. The group arose during the Maccabean period; their name comes from a Hebrew word meaning “separatist.”

If anyone was going to get into the kingdom of heaven, Jesus’ listeners might have pointed to the scribes and Pharisees as sure bets. Yet Jesus spends a lot of time in the Gospels addressing the religion of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus compared their lives to “whitewashed tombs” –“outwardly appear[ing] righteous to others, but within … full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:28 ESV) He also decried their setting aside the law to uphold a tradition. Their religion had been made external in many ways, which leads to hypocrisy and self-sufficiency.

What Jesus demands in verse 20 surpasses anything imagined by the scribes, Pharisees, or the disciples. In the verses that follow (5:21-48), Jesus will illustrate how challenging and demanding this righteousness is. It is a righteousness inside as well as outside; it is a righteousness based on the “heart of faith in Christ.” (Osborne)

Paul illustrates this well in Philippians 3. He pulls out his amazing natural credentials: a Jew by birth, raised as a Hebrew (not a Greek), from the tribe of Benjamin, of the people of Israel. He throws on top of that his moral qualifications: a Pharisee, zealous, and “blameless” under the law. He is at a pinnacle of moral and religious development. But he counts it all as loss for the sake of Christ – as “rubbish” in order that he may gain Christ. Paul wanted the righteousness from God that depended on faith. It was this righteousness from God that drove Paul to press on to attain the resurrection from the dead. Having the righteousness from God didn’t cause Paul to rest, but it spurred him on to greater holiness and sacrifice. Jesus had made Paul his own, and now Paul would not stop till he had made Jesus his own.

Are there laws of God that we rationalize away? Granted, we do believe there are items within the law that have been fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The author of Hebrews teaches us that “when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God…. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:12, 14 ESV) We no longer offer regular sacrifices believing in the one sacrifice of Christ which cover all of our sins.

Yet, the law remains incredibly important for us as Christians. Jesus said that “until heaven and earth pass away” nothing will pass from the law until all of its purposes are finished. This point was so important to Jesus that he included an “amen” at the beginning of verse 18 to highlight it.

We might wonder what the law does for us, here and now. Sinclair Ferguson says the law does three things for us:

1. The law expresses God’s character and his will for people.
2. The law teaches the true character of his people.
3. The law teaches the character of salvation.

Don Carson reminds us that our attitude to the law of God is an index of our attitude to God himself. Seeing that law expresses God’s character and the character of his people, if we relax or ignore those commandments, then we are really ignoring God (in one sense). Jesus is teaching us that obedience and disobedience have their just rewards in the kingdom – we take into eternity what we have done for the Lord here.

Jesus has begun his teachings on the kingdom of God. He focused on our attitudes and actions (vs. 3-12) and on our impact in the world (vs. 13-16). Yet, so far, not once has Jesus mentioned the law, or keeping the law, or even the interpretation of the law.

He wants to be clear that he is not attacking or abolishing what has come before; in fact, he is fulfilling it. Taken together, the “Law” and the “Prophets” represent the whole of the Old Testament. The meaning of the Old Testament is completely fulfilled in Jesus – Scripture has Jesus as its core, pointing to him. Jesus’ teaching deepens the meaning of the law, revealing a deeper ethical standard. Jesus’ actions reveal in a greater way the prophetic teachings.

We must also remember that Jesus’ death on the cross also fulfilled the law. We see in the cross the penalty for breaking the law; we see Jesus bearing the penalty for all who are saved. The law teaches and trains us, but it also points out the worthlessness of our own efforts to gain righteousness before God. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:7 ESV)

Grant Osborne in his commentary on Matthew says one of the applications we learn from Matthew 5:13-16 is that discipleship is always active. Being salt and light is not only witnessing or confronting evil but a lifestyle full of “good works,” always helping, always demonstrating God’s love and concern for the world. Focusing on salt’s ability to flavor, as we act as salt, we let others taste the goodness of God. As a visible city or a lamp on a stand, we let others see the goodness of God.

That’s why Jesus’ words about salt imply a judgment. Jesus does not want a useless disciple, one so diluted or polluted by the world, that our effectiveness as salt is gone. We are only fit for the garbage heap if that’s how we are! True discipleship is distinguished by the number of people affected by it.

Jesus is also calling us to a visible discipleship. The city is not hidden; the lamp is not under a basket; the light shines before others. We cannot follow Jesus in a purely private way and think we are behaving as citizens of the kingdom. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said in his book Discipleship, “Any community of Jesus which wants to be invisible is no longer a community that follows him.” We shine before others so that others may see our good works and give glory to our Father.

“Fulfilling this plan [to be salt and light] will demand that the whole of our lives be whole-heartedly and unceasingly devoted to him and to his service. That devotion will cost us everything.” (Sinclair Ferguson)

I wonder what Jesus’ disciples thought when he told them that they were to be the salt “of the earth” and the light “of the world.” Were they shocked that Jesus told them to begin thinking and acting beyond the borders of Israel? Maybe they thought of God’s conversation with Abram from Genesis 12: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing…. in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Jesus seems to be anticipating their mission into the world (and our mission still).

The disciples may have still been thinking about Jesus’ teaching on suffering. That could have been a big surprise for them! They did not yet grasp that they were following a Messiah who would suffer, who would be crucified.

Jesus is still telling us that we are salt and light. What are we doing to take on the world, to expand our own borders?

Sea of Galilee

Grace is a loving response when love is undeserved, and mercy is a loving response prompted by the misery or hopelessness of the one to be loved. Showing mercy to others is coming to the aid of the needy. What we do to others, God will do to us. The one who is unmerciful is unaware of his own state, of his own need for mercy (Luke 18:10ff).

The pure in heart don’t just conform to outward rules. “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” (Matthew 15:18-20a ESV) The pure in heart ask the awkward questions (as Don Carson puts it): how do I deceive others? what motivates me? am I laughing at crude and irreverent matters? what am I watching on TV? The pure in heart are single-minded in their commitment to God, with whole-hearted service to God. “And everyone who thus hopes in him [God] purifies himself as he is pure.” (1 John 3:3 ESV)

The peacemakers are not the peaceful or those who desire peace; they are people who establish peace within the world. How best do we establish peace in the world? How did Jesus establish peace? Jesus reconciled men and women with God through his perfect life and his sacrifice on the cross. Maybe our act of peacemaking in this world is to proclaim the good news, the gospel. Not only that, but we who have experienced God’s peace which passes all understanding should also help reconcile one person with another. Paul asked the church in Philippi to help Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord (Philippians 4:2-3). We should reflect our heavenly Father’s wonderful peace-making character.

The first four beatitudes turn our minds from ourselves to God. To be “poor in spirit” is to acknowledge our spiritual ruin and our lack of spiritual power, to be finally undeceived at last about how we stand before God. This is humility, a humbleness that throws itself wholly on God. “Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.” (Psalm 130:1 ESV) Our dependence on God, not on ourselves, leads us to the kingdom of heaven. Its power and privilege is available to us now, although it has not yet fully come.

Interior of Church of the Beatitudes

We are all-too familiar with mourning that comes from the death of loved ones. We are often comforted by friends and family, as well as thoughts of meeting again in heaven if the loved one was a Christian. Yet, it seems that Jesus is speaking beyond the comfort provided in those situations. When we turn to God for forgiveness, we are comforted from the heavy load of carrying our sorrow and guilt. As Paul argues in Romans, we cannot achieve purity before God in our own strength. We cry out to God over our own sin, regret that we have disappointed God. Sin is ugly and black, lurking down our street and in other parts of town, causing misery and poverty. We should be prepared to mourn over the sin around us and not always to condemn. Judgment is coming

The meek are also humble and gentle, free from pretension. The meek seek the interests of others ahead of their own. This is in direct contradiction to what our culture tells us – get what you can, how you can, as soon as you can. “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.” (Psalm 37:10-11 ESV)

If we have drawn close to God admitting our spiritual poverty and mourning over our sin, and if we leave everything in the hands of God instead of seeking our own interests, then we’ll be eager to become like this God who forgives. We will long for his righteousness; we will want it as the parched want water and the starving, food. We will be completely satisfied by God, and it will be so wonderful that we will hunger and thirst for more.