13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 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. 30 And 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.
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Read Matthew 5:13-37 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Some people looking at Christianity today might think that the followers of Christ believe that, since Jesus came and died, they no longer need to worry about their actions and/or lifestyle. After all, this sin-filled lifestyle has been “covered by His blood” – which is a pretty disturbing picture if you stop to think about it – and we have been forgiven, once and for all.
While most of these statements are technically true, in this passage, which is tucked within Jesus’ famous mountain top sermon, Jesus does not lower the Jewish law’s standard – He actually raises it to unreachable heights.
Jesus starts by saying in verse 20, “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law [the most “righteous people of their day”], you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven”, and the bar Jesus set only goes up from there.
Being angry with someone is enough to bring judgment and calling others names is enough to lead towards a hot-fiery location (v. 22). These standards simply raise the bar on the relatively clear-cut command to not murder someone. Jesus has taken a very visible and easy to obey commandment and given it a heart-depth that make it much more difficult to keep.
Jesus then shares in verse 23 that our worship towards God can be affected by our relationships with others, and that we are to be in right relationships with one another in order to be ready to offer gifts to God. I’m not sure about you, but this raised bar is very challenging for me. Perhaps I still need to mature in more areas of my life, or maybe the point of this command is just one other almost unreachable place.
In verses 27 and 28, Jesus raises the bar on the adultery-focused commandment. Not only does He take the physical act that the original commandment forbids, He adds a heart level to it that again raises the standard even higher.
Most of this passage is focused on helping us realize that our thoughts are just as important as our actions. While thoughts do not equal actions, our thoughts reveal our focus, and when our focus is on sin, it is only a matter of time before we will act in a sinful way.
I don’t believe that having a thought enter our mind counts as sinning, but the instant we realize its presence and allow it to stay is when the thought moves into the area that Jesus’ heart-commandments are calling us to avoid.
In this passage, Jesus tells us that heart, mind, and thought sins are real sins too, and while Jesus raises the standard on sin, He tells us that His life and death make a way for us to receive a life we don’t deserve, because Jesus faced the death He didn’t deserve.
Jesus tells us in this passage that our thoughts are important because they lead to actions, and our actions are important because they show others what God is like. Our lives are to be like salt and light, elements that improve the environments they are in, and Jesus wants us to live lives that give glory to our Father in Heaven.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
Subscribe to this blog and never miss an insight.