The Exposition of Matthew 5:43-48

August 11, 2020

  (Sermon on the Mount)

Questions to be answered in this study

1. What was the greatest distortion of the Bible committed by the Pharisees?
2. What is the most significant and most essential characteristic of the Christian faith?
3. What is the most basic test of all for righteousness?
4. When it is all over and all is finished and done with this world, what is all that remains according to the Bible?
5. According to the Bible, what is love?
6. Through what medium does love manifest itself?
7. How is the love, which comes from God, described in Galatians chapter five?
8. What are the two types of love mentioned in the Bible and what is the difference in them
9. How did the Pharisees distort to whom should be loved and who should not?
10. How is true righteousness revealed by loving others?
11. What is the test for true righteousness?
12. What should be our primary goal here on earth?
13. What it the primary danger Christians face today?

Introduction

In our past two studies, Jesus has been refuting the Mishna, which was the basis for the teachings of the Pharisees and still is the Jew’s religious book, though today it is called the Talmud. The Mishna was supposed to help Israel keep God’s commandments. Still, it became a hindrance because of the inclusion of rules that were not following the inspired Word, instead contradicted it.

In essence, the Mishna became more important to the Jews than the inspired Word. So, in Mathew 5, verses 43-48, Jesus is once again trying to set the record straight. In all, Jesus gave six examples to show the distortion of Pharisee’s teaching. The sixth one, which is our topic for today, is the greatest, that is LOVE. The most significant and most essential characteristic of our faith is love. The most potent evidence anyone is a Christian is if they love others; this is emphasized in 1 John 4:20, “If a man say I love God, and hadeeth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

Matthew 5:43-48, “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, 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 maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth 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.”

These verses in Matthew 6:1-4 are all about love. In these verses, Jesus is giving the most basic test of all for righteousness, LOVE. When it is all finished and done, all that remains is faith, hope, love, and the greatest is love. What is love? According to 1 Corinthians 13, we see three things love is and twelve things love is not: Love is Patient, kind, and loyal. Love is not jealous, not envious, not boastful, not arrogant, not selfish, not rude, does not demand its way, not irritable, does not hold grudges, does not judge others, not glad about injustice, rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

According to Galatians 5:22, Love manifest itself when we walk in the Spirit bearing the fruit of the Spirit. The characteristic of love mentioned here is similar to some of the features mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is described here as joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control.

In the Greek language, there are two kinds of love mentioned in Scripture: Phileo love and agape love. The type of love Jesus is talking about is agape, which comes from God; it is a supernatural love. On the other hand, phileo is on a human plane. It is on the horizontal level between humans and is usually conditional and unstable. God’s glory and His love enter in via the Holy Spirit when a person is born again.

So, when we come to Matthew chapter six verse one,once again Jesus quotes the Mishna’s distortion of God’s law on love: He says, “you have heard it said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'” This quote from the Mishna is nowhere found in the Scripture except for the first part, which is located in Leviticus 19:18: “Thou shat love thy neighbor.” The distortion was the last part of the verse, which the Pharisees added, ‘Thou shalt hate thine enemies.”

The Pharisees also included rules as to whom and as to when love was required. For example, even though they were Jews, the Sadducees were excluded and not to be loved; this also included the gentiles and anyone else the Pharisees deemed unworthy to be loved. The Pharisees concluded that the law of God, which commanded to love your neighbor, only applied to loving other Jews. While the commandment was directed to the Jews, Jesus explained it also included everyone else. That was the Spirit of the law, which the Pharisees conveniently ignored.

All along, Jesus has been addressing true righteousness in contrast to that falsely practiced by the hypocritical Pharisees. We may ask then, how is true righteousness revealed by loving others? Jesus answers that question by simply saying that righteousness is loving everyone, including those who oppose you. Jesus defines the inspired version of the commandment to mean loving your neighbor also includes your enemies. That does not only mean that there is no malice; it also included truly caring for that person and praying that God will help them, and bless them, and grant them peace and prosperity, and most important of all that God would send someone to them with the gospel that they might become a believer.

So, the Spirit of the law required placing enemies on the same level as friends and loving them; this is what Jesus required as true righteousness. The test of how we live means measuring up to the standard Jesus places on the treatment of others, even if they are our enemies. Are we willing to follow in the steps of Jesus, who said, “The father and I are one?” A true son follows in the actions and instructions of his Father. The Pharisees rebuke Jesus in John 8:39: “They answered and said to Him, ‘Abraham is our father.'” Jesus said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham.” The test of our righteousness is whether we are willing to do what our Lord did.

Jesus came down from heaven to relate to us on the human level, to become our neighbor in the flesh. In Hebrews 2:9-11, we read, “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.”

Jesus set a good example of righteousness by loving those who hated Him and persecuted Him, even nailing Him on a cross. He was our neighbor who loved us and went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. How can we also refuse to love our neighbors that God has set in our way and show them the love and kindness that Jesus showed each one of us?

Verse 45 shows how God loves not only those who are faithful to Him but also even the sinner by providing their needs. Though we may sometimes take life for granted, God’s grace provides the resources to sustain life. We should thank Him each day for His gift of that new day of life. Even when we are unkind and ungrateful, God still provides for our needs.

As I write this, the whole world is threatened by the monster virus called Covid-19, which has affected the lives of millions and killed tens of thousands in our own country of America; this is a test for you and me: Will we trust God, even when everything seems so dark? Will we accept the fact that God does love us and has a beautiful plan for our lives? Even if the monster does devour us, the best is yet to come for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. This world is not our home; we are only passing through; our destination is a heaven where God will wipe away every tear, and all the tribulations of the past are gone forever.

So, our test here on earth is to show love to our neighbors. It does not matter what kind of neighbor they might be, whether friend or foe, because love is God’s standard for righteousness. If God is indeed our Father, we will reflect His character to those around us. We should obey God’s command to love because it is our nature, and there is a reward for those who do. On the other hand, there will be no reward if we live by our standards and rules. If we only show love for those who love us, what have we accomplished? Jesus says anyone can do that.

The Pharisees set their standard of righteousness, disregarding God’s command to love everyone, so their righteousness missed God’s standard and was worthless. We need to ask ourselves what sort of righteousness does our life reveals. Is it like that of the Pharisees, which denied God’s law and imposed their own, or are we seeking God’s will in our lives? Is it our desire to please Him and glorify His name in all we do? If we want to gain God’s heavenly reward, we must do much better than the Pharisees. That means showing love to those who deserve it the least or the those who wish us harm. Does that sound impossible? It is if you attempt to do it in the flesh. It can only be accomplished through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. That is why we must start each day walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and bearing the fruit of the Spirit. God’s love in us is what has been shed abroad, not our puny attempts at love.

When we become a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven, we are changed. That is what Jesus explained at the beginning of His sermon on the mount when He gave the beatitudes. Jesus began this sermon by defining the character qualities of a citizen of the Kingdom of heaven. These qualities only become possible by spiritual rebirth. According to Jesus, when we place our faith in Him, we are born again; this is what he told Nicodemus when he came to Him: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” John 3:3 (KJV).

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV), “Therefore if any man [be] in Christ, [he is] a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” John says in John 3:16 (KJV), “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Again Paul says in Galatians 2:20 (KJV), “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

As I said earlier, it is impossible to fulfill the requirements of righteousness in the flesh, but when we place our faith in Jesus, God gives us a new spirit in the likeness of Christ. That alone enables us to think and act like Jesus. It is only through the new birth that we can fulfill the qualities Jesus outlines in His sermon. Any works we do in the flesh fall infinitely short. Some may try to mimic those qualities; the Pharisees did, and Jesus called them hypocrites. God is not looking for our good behavior; He expects much more; He expects us to accept the perfect righteousness of His Son, which is the only kind acceptable to Him. The Kingdom of heaven is not based on our good behavior; it is a gift we cannot earn.

In this section, Jesus emphasizes the importance of love. In the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, Paul winds up the chapter by saying those things that remain eternally are faith, hope, love, and the greatest is love. The most critical test of our righteousness is how we love others. Our rewards in heaven will be based in part on how we loved here on earth. It is not difficult to understand that our love is only a reflection of the love that comes into us as the Holy Spirit indwells us at the point of our justification in Christ. The flesh rebels at the thought of loving someone who hates us and wants to do us harm. The flesh screams for retribution, and those who abide in the flesh respond in that fashion. The love Jesus is teaching is not an act we put on to seem to be righteous; Jesus did not say to act like you love others; He said to love others with a genuine love that comes only from the heavenly Father. Remember, when we were enemies of Christ, He gave Himself for us; there is no greater love. Recall these words that Jesus once said to Simon the Pharisee, “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little,” Luke 7:47 (KJV).

When we remember how much God has forgiven us, our many offenses, unkind deeds, and offensive thoughts, it should be an incentive to forgive others their offenses and love them instead of desiring harm to come upon them. If there is any hesitation in your heart to love others, remember the love Jesus has shown unto you. If you are still reluctant to love someone, remember you are the one who will suffer the loss of rewards, not that other person. My friend, your rewards in heaven are on the line.

Finally, Jesus summarizes this chapter with the last verse: Our primary goal in this life should be to be as perfect as the Father in heaven, even though we can never fully obtain that status in this life. It means we are fully committed to God, for Him to do His work of sanctification in our lives, to make us into that person He created us to be. We have seen all through this chapter that perfection is God’s standard for entrance into the Kingdom of heaven; that is Christ’s perfection that comes to us through our faith in Him.

Today, we are not in danger of following the false premises of the Mishna; however, there is a danger of following after unhealthy so-called Christian movements that deny the inspiration of Scripture, follow some tradition, or add their false interpretation of Scripture. But there is also another danger: failing to live by the Spirit of God’s Word that Jesus has been teaching throughout this chapter. It is easy to make up our own rules of life, just as the Pharisees, and miss keeping the Spirit of God’s commandments. We need to examine ourselves to objectively see how committed we are to God and His desire to make us the righteous person He requires us to be.

How are we dealing with the examples Jesus brought before the Pharisees: how we treat others, avoid lustful thoughts, and love others and not just those who love us. We do rely on the righteousness of Christ to enter heaven, but God also assigns us a responsibility of living as Jesus lived and becoming more like Him as we go forward. Some are striving to only commit to the very minimum of service to our Lord. That is like the Pharisees, which Jesus rebuked throughout this chapter. Is that all we desire to be? Is that as far as our love for God will take us? Are we looking for ways to serve less instead of opportunities to serve more? All God is asking us to do is commit ourselves to Him, so He can mold us as a potter does the clay, to make us something beautiful as only He can do. God’s commands are in our interest; He loves us and wants us to live the best life possible. We can never come close to doing what God wants to do in our lives if we fail to commit ourselves to Him.

In this chapter, Jesus has taught us how to be a part of the Kingdom of heaven, live in the Spirit of God’s Word as representatives of His Kingdom, and finally how to love others and obtain the rewards God has prepared for us in heaven.

As we enter chapter 6, we will learn how godliness characterizes our lives contrasted to the righteousness imputed to us by our savior Jesus Christ.