The Exposition of Matthew 5:21-30

July 28, 2020

(Sermon on the Mount)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What did Jesus mean by our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees to go to heaven since they seemed to be very righteous?
2. Why is “I think I’m a pretty good person,” not good enough to go to heaven?
3. God’s standard for righteousness goes beyond just keeping a physical law and includes what else?
4. What is God’s standard for reconciling with a person over an offense?
5. What is God’s way for settling differences between believers rather than going to court?
6. Nothing we do makes us good enough to get into a Heaven because that requires perfection. What does get us into heaven?
7. What is the spiritual application of the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery?”
8. Is Jesus telling us to pluck our eyes out or to cut our hands off because of the lust of the eyes or of the flesh? Explain your answer.
9. In today’s Bible study, some may think Jesus is downplaying good works; is He? What is Jesus actually saying concerning good works?
10. What is the only way we can live up to God’s standard of righteousness?

Introduction

For the past several weeks, we have been studying Matthew verse by verse. I hope by now you have a full appreciation of this essential gospel. Recently, our study has focused on the sermon on the mount. Many believe that the perfect sermon is about 20 minutes in length, and that is about how long it took Jesus to preach the most famous sermon of all. It is taking us much longer to delve into the depths of what Jesus meant in this great sermon.  In our last study, Jesus outlined the way to go to heaven. Jesus said our righteousness had to exceed that of the Pharisees.

You might be wondering what Jesus meant by our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees since they seemed to be very righteous. The difference Jesus is making is, the pharisees’ righteousness was artificial and only outward. Jesus is referring to the perfect righteousness required for entry into God’s heaven. Jesus is the only one who ever set the perfect example of God’s standard of righteousness, the only kind of righteousness that meets God’s requirements. We know we can’t live as Jesus did, so how then are we ever going to be able to go to heaven? After all, it takes only one sin to disqualify one from perfect righteousness and from entering heaven. The person who hopes to live a good enough life to go to heaven misses the mark by a mile. Sadly, they are deceiving themselves if that is all they are depending on to go to heaven.

It is easy to invent our standards for righteousness, and many have. “I think I’m a pretty good person,” etc. But that is not God’s standard. The only standard acceptable to God is the standard set by His Son and the only acceptable standard to go to heaven. In other words, the only measure of righteousness God accepts is perfect righteousness. In today’s study, Jesus presents six examples that show God’s standard and what is necessary if we hope to go to heaven.

Matthew 5:21-22, “Ye have heard that it was said of 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, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Jesus starts in these verses to present six examples that clarify God’s standard of righteousness:

Each of the six examples begins with the phrase “Ye have heard it said….” This phrase appears through verse 43. Jesus uses a term here customarily used preceding oral laws and not the often-used phrase “as it is written,” which we read in the inspired Word. In other words, Jesus used their term to quote what was stated in their Mishnah, contrasting with what the inspired Word said. Jesus’ first example is from the Mishnah’s teaching on the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.” In verse 22, Jesus expands the meaning of the sixth commandment beyond the physical act of murder to include the spirit of the law: “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, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Thie verse above is God’s standard for keeping the sixth commandment, keeping both the letter and the spirit of the law. God’s standard goes beyond just maintaining a physical law and includes our attitude and treatment of others in words and deeds. Have we not all broken that commandment at one time or another in our attitude, comments, or actions? Although they fall short of actual murder, we have broken the spirit of the law.

Beginning with verse 23, Jesus gives us two illustrations of how God expects us to act:

Matthew 5:23-26, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest 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.”

What if a person will not reconcile with you? That is not covered here, but it is later on in Mathew’s gospel: Matthew 18:15-20 (KJV), “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every Word may be established. 17And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” 

The above is the procedure we are to go through to reconcile with someone offended, But Few ever do it. In the first of the two illustrations, Jesus shows the concerns of a worshipper who goes to the temple and prepares to give an offering. He remembers that a brother has something against him, and he has never reconciled with that brother. Now he realizes before he can genuinely worship God, he must first rectify the offense that a brother has against him. Our conscience is sometimes enough to convict us of wrongdoing that needs to be corrected.

Now Jesus reveals His second illustration in v.25. This illustration is very common today when one person sues another at the drop of a hat. Is it ever right for a Christian to take another Christian to court? Here is what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:1 (KJV), “When one of you has a dispute with another believer, how dare you file a lawsuit and ask a secular court to decide the matter instead of taking it to other believers!” The Bible doesn’t say there is no exception; most rules do have exceptions. The Apostle Paul, who wrote the book of 1 Corinthians, used the legal system, but that was exceptional.

In this illustration, there is a legal dispute. One person is about to take the other person to court. The thing Jesus recommends to do is settle the disagreement and not argue the point in self-defense, but be flexible and resolve it lest you are taken to court, found guilty, and cast into prison. Can you see Jesus’ point in these illustrations, which goes beyond just a typical civil suit and pertains to our actions about God and others? The first truth we need to understand is what we all are, guilty before God of unrighteousness. Whatever defense we make is not adequate before God. The second truth is to realize our guilt before God and make amends God’s way by confessing our sins and receiving His forgiveness. Our reconciliation is with God. If we refuse to receive God’s forgiveness, we must pay in full for our sins, which is eternal separation from God in Hell. Jesus paid in full the penalty for sin, and now we need to accept Him by faith. According to the Bible, we must repent, confess our sins and receive God’s forgiveness, to be eligible for heaven.

Paul explains it for us: Romans 5:10 (KJV), “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” Nothing we do makes us good enough to get into a Heaven that requires perfection. Isaiah 64:6 says, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’s are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. With all their effort, the pharisees were not good enough for God’s heaven.” God’s standard includes more than works; it provides attitude and perfect thoughts. Who can obtain such heights without Jesus, none, no, not one? Thanks be to God, Jesus met God’s standard for us because God knew that was the only way to rescue us from our unrighteousness.

Now let’s finish our study today with the second example Jesus gives:

Matthew 5:27-28, “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: 28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” Jesus quotes again from the Mishnah, using the phrase, “you have heard….”

The above is the Mishnah’s teaching on the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Once again, the Pharisees only commit to the physical law of adultery. Jesus goes beyond that and includes the spiritual law. The Pharisees were correctly referring to sex outside of marriage as adultery. However, what they omitted was God’s standard for keeping the commandment, which once again went beyond the physical act and included the spirit of the law—according to God’s standard, just looking upon another to lust after them is adultery. Of course, we know that lust is not the same as committing the physical act of adultery, but it equals it in God’s sight. I don’t have to ask you if you have ever broken the seventh commandment; if you are honest, you know you have.

Again, Jesus uses two illustrations to emphasize His point:

Matthew 5:29-30, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

The above begs the question; is this something a person should do? No! Jesus is not telling us to pluck our eyes out. He is demonstrating the seriousness of lusting and its consequences. It is the eye that leads to lust. Likewise, He is not telling us to cut our hands off; once again, He is showing us just how grave this sin is. Even if a person went to such an extreme, it would not give them a free pass into heaven. Jesus is not advocating mutilation of the body; that would do nothing to address the problem. Jesus is concerned with proper righteousness, which cannot be obtained by human action. Jesus explains the absolute necessity of receiving God’s standard of righteousness, which far exceeds anything a man can do, even to the point of self-mutilation and mainly keeping the pharisaical rules. God’s righteousness comes only by faith, faith in His Son Jesus.

We refer to these words of Jesus as hyperbole (exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally). For instance, if I said, “The moon is gold tonight,” that is not to be taken literally. Jesus was talking about making a sacrifice now of not depending on anything other than God’s standard to avoid hell. The problem with these Pharisees that Jesus spoke to on this day is they were not willing to accept the truth that Jesus spoke to reconcile with God. Reconciling with God begins with denying self and humbling ourselves before God, realizing our state of total depravity.

Paul shares his experience reconciling with God: Philippians 3:4-9 (KJV), “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. 8Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my LORD: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

The above verses may sound to some as if Jesus is downplaying good works; is He? No! He is showing that good works alone miss God’s standard of righteousness. Many today are just like the Pharisees who are trusting in their good works to take them to heaven other than trusting in God’s way of salvation: Ephesians 2:8-9(KJV), “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Man’s rules fall way short of God’s demands for righteousness. Like the man at the altar, we should be willing to reconcile with those we have offended before we wind up in God’s court. We should be ready to submit to God’s way to heaven rather than doing our own thing and winding up in hell.

God stands ready to supply righteousness to us through Jesus because He knew we were not sufficient to obtain it on our own. Romans 10:9-10 (KJV) says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the LORD Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”