An exposition of The Gospel According to Matthew
by David L. Cooper, Th.M., Ph.D., Litt. D.
Installment five

IN THE PRECEDING INSTALLMENT of this series we saw that the "Sermon on the Mount," Matthew, chapters 5-7, was our Lord's Manifesto, setting forth the great principles for which He stands. These great principles are for the children of God today, but they can be put into practice only by the aid of the Holy Spirit who strengthens the believer. They will, however, be observed perfectly by those who live upon the earth in the Millennial Age. We shall now look more particularly at Matthew, chapter 5, although the comments must of necessity be brief.

A shorter form of the "Sermon on the Mount" is found in Luke 6:20-49. In this account Luke tells of our Lord's having gone up into the mountain, of His having spent the night in prayer, and of His then having selected from among His disciples the twelve Apostles. The next morning He came down to a level place where were a great multitude of His disciples and a large number of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. He then opened His mouth and taught His disciples the message of the "Sermon on the Mount." It seems highly probable that many of the multitude heard Him as He taught His disciples, because from Luke's record it is clear that they were present.

As stated before, our Lord laid the emphasis throughout the sermon upon the condition of the heart rather than upon the overt act. We know that He had already taught the necessity of the new birth as set forth in John 3:1-5. It may here be safely assumed that He presupposed on the part of His disciples a knowledge of the new birth. This assumption is reflected in the Beatitudes, the first of which is regarding the "poor in spirit" who shall inherit the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom which both John the Baptist and Jesus had taught that it had come near. As we have already seen in a former installment, the first phase of the kingdom of heaven is the spiritual aspect which is known as the church of Jesus Christ. But its latter development is that of the great millennial reign of our Lord.

There is, as I have said before, a great difference between being "poor in spirit," and "spiritually poor." This is illustrated by the proud Pharisee, who stood and prayed with himself, and the publican. The one was spiritually poor; the other was poor in spirit.

Those who mourn are blessed for they shall be comforted. The mourning referred to here is not simply ordinary weeping, but rather the mourning over one's spiritual condition. Such a one shall be comforted.

The third blessing is pronounced on the meek, who shall inherit the earth--in the Millennial Age, as we saw in the former installment of this series. The meek man is the one who is non-resistant, who accepts his lot in life as being permitted by the Lord. An excellent illustration of such a character is Moses.

A special blessing is promised those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Everyone who longs for the truth of God and His righteousness is guaranteed the fulfillment of this desire and the satisfaction of his soul. God promises that truth will be given and justification shall be granted to such characters. No matter where a person is, if he really hungers and thirsts after God's righteousness; the Lord will see that truth is given to him in order that He may accept it.

The merciful are blessed, for they shall obtain mercy. The attitude which we take towards others will determine, even upon the basis of grace, the attitude which the Lord is forced to take toward us. (See Psalm 18:24-26.) Our attitude toward others determines the Lord's dealing with us.

The pure in heart are blessed because they shall see God. The pure in heart are those who have honest hearts, who accept the Lord Jesus Christ, and whose hearts are cleansed and purified by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. Those who are thus saved, and who follow after peace with all men and the sanctification without which no man shall see God, shall see the Lord Jehovah in His unveiled glory (Heb. 12:14).

The peacemakers are blessed because they shall be called the sons of God. They shall thus be designated because they are sons of God--demonstrating by their own lives that they are true sons of God and of course they will be heirs of the promises of the Lord.

In verses 10-12 the Lord promised that those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake are blessed and shall be heirs of the kingdom. In verse 11 He made a personal application of this promise to His disciples who should be thus treated. In the event that they are mistreated for the name of Christ, they are to rejoice and be glad, for their reward in heaven shall be great. The prophets took the same attitude and will receive a marvelous reward, commensurate with their labors and sufferings.

When Christ was here upon earth, He was the Light of the world, in a specific and definite manner. In a different sense, however, He is the light of the world, at the present time. The light which streams from Him strikes upon us and we, figuratively speaking, reflect it. We are also the salt of the earth. Salt has preserving power. But if it loses its strength, it is good for nothing. These statements are true but we are not to assume that one who has really been cleansed and saved--who has become a grain of salt--can lose his saving power in the absolute sense of the term. A saved person can follow the Lord afar off and can lose all the influence that he should have for Christ by an ungodly life. So far as affecting others is concerned, the one who has lost his testimony for Christ is like the salt that has lost its saving power.

We Christians are the light of the world. Men do not light a candle or a lamp and put it under a bushel, but upon the lampstand, in order that it might give light to those who are present. In the same manner the Lord has lighted the lamps of our souls by His divine power and He expects us to live in such a way that people will realize that we are saved and are His children. If all the professed children of God were living as they should, their influence for Christ would be tremendous in the world. Men would come flocking to the Lord Jesus Christ and would glorify God.

In order to prepare His hearers against arriving at a wrong conclusion from what He intended to say, the Lord declared that He did not come to destroy the law or the prophets; on the contrary. He said, "I came not to destroy, but to fulfill." He observed the law and kept it perfectly--both the letter and the spirit of it. Jesus put the stamp of His approval upon everything that was contained in the law and the prophets. Moreover, He declared that not the least particle of the law, not one jot or one tittle, would pass away being unfulfilled. In making this assertion He declared that, "Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things are accomplished."

By the statement just quoted, our Lord implied that there would come a time when the heavens and the earth would pass away. This prophecy He affirmed in Matthew 24:35. John in Revelation 20:11 said that these would pass away at the judgment of the great white throne. Every prophecy therefore that refers to anything to come to pass during the existence of the present physical universe will be fulfilled; and God will see that it is fulfilled and will not let the heavens and the earth pass away until all things are accomplished.

After all things have been accomplished and the material heavens and earth which now are pass away, the Lord will create the eternal order referred to in Revelation, chapters 21 and 22.

Our Lord insisted that His disciples must possess and demonstrate a righteousness that is superior to that which the scribes and Pharisees had. Theirs consisted of the outward observance of laws and ceremonials. That which He requires of His children is of a higher type as is illustrated in the rest of the "Sermon on the Mount."

In the paragraph consisting of verses 21-26, our Lord contrasted what had been said by those of old time concerning killing with His own teaching on this point; but He traced the cause of murder to the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The prohibition, "Thou shalt not kill," was spoken at Mount Sinai and is one of the Ten Commandments. Men shall not kill, according to this divine law. When God authorized civil governments, He instituted capital punishment for the murderer (Gen. 9.5,6).

Jesus began tracing murder in its incipiency by calling attention to one's being angry with his brother. The one who became indignant against his brother was likely to be brought into trial in the courts of the land. Should one thus be angry and allow his feelings to vent themselves against another and call his brother "Raca," he, said our Lord, would be in danger of the Sanhedrin--either one of the local courts or the supreme Sanhedrin at Jerusalem. But the one whose anger continued to flame and to get the mastery of him, so that he said to his brother, "Thou fool," would be in danger of the Gehenna of fire, hell-fire. That there is a place of punishment by the name of hell is the universal teaching of the men of God. We may not be able to understand the whys and wherefores of the institution of hell, but all who accept the Word of God as authoritative confess that such is its teaching and that there must be a place where the wicked will be banished from the presence of God and the glory of His might forever.

In view of the grave danger of anger's developing and becoming the master of a person, our Lord urged those who as they were on the way to worship and who remembered that a brother had aught against them to turn back and to be reconciled with such a one. After the reconciliation then the worshiper would be in the right spiritual condition to come and to serve God. This principle holds good today just as much as it did when Jesus spoke it.

The matter of separation and divorce is the subject of the paragraph consisting of verses 27-32. Our Lord called attention to the commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Again Jesus traced the act back to its source, which is the evil desire arising in the heart of a man. He therefore said that everyone who looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his own heart. Such a one is just as guilty as if he had committed the act. The Lord therefore said, "If thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell." The sin is in the heart and not in the physical eye; but, if Satan uses this physical organ to arouse evil passion by looking upon a woman, it would be better for the man if he did not have his sight for Satan to use in stirring his passions. This is the obvious teaching of the passage.

Our Lord then called attention to the law as found in Deuteronomy 24:1f, "Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement." To this Jesus added the words, "But I say unto you, that every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away committeth adultery." This is a passage about which there has been much controversy. Good men are on both sides of the question. There are those who maintain that Jesus allows a man to divorce his wife when it has been proved that she has been unfaithful to the marriage vow and that he is scripturally allowed to marry another woman. Others insist that a man is allowed to divorce his wife only if she is guilty of breaking her marriage vow but that even the innocent husband is not allowed, scripturally, to re-marry. I cannot settle this question. In Mark, chapter 10, we have these words: "Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her: 12 and if she herself shall put away her husband, and marry another, she committeth adultery" (vss. 11,12). Again we find similar words in Luke 16:18: "Every one that putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth one that is put away from a husband committeth adultery." For a further study on this point see Matthew 19:3-12.

The matter of oaths came up for consideration as is indicated in Matthew 5:33-37. Jesus called attention to the fact that His disciples had heard the prohibition, "Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths." To this our Lord added that they were not to swear at all, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by Jerusalem. Heaven is God's throne; earth is His footstool; and Jerusalem is the city of the great King--the Lord Jesus Christ. The Jews at that time had various types of oaths, some of which they considered more binding than others. Jesus brushed aside all oaths and told them not to take any. On the contrary, they were to live in such a way that their words would be accepted at their face value. Said He, "But let your speech be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and whatsoever is more than these is of the evil one." One's life should be such that people will accept any statement which one might make at its face value. But this prohibition against people's taking oaths does not seem to refer to an official oath that is required by the government. There are, however, sincere, devout people who understand it as including such an oath. The government of our country is considerate of such and allows them to affirm. One must be true to his convictions. One must stand for them firmly, but always in a Christ like spirit.

The matter of retaliation comes up for discussion in the paragraph consisting of verses 38-42. Jesus called his disciples' attention to the fact that they had heard it said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." When one looks at the civil code as given by Moses, one finds that this is an exact representation of the case. This is a just and a righteous law. If one man deliberately knocked out the eye of another man, according to the law and justice he should suffer the loss of his own eye. If one should knock a man's tooth out, it would be an equitable, just, and righteous law which would require that his own tooth be knocked out. Such was the pronouncement of Moses and his legislation regarding these matters.

This law was on the statute books of Israel and was to be enforced by the proper officials of the recognized courts of the land. The teachers in Israel of our Lord's day, however, had taken these laws from the civil code and had used them as justification for personal retaliation against some injury that had been done by one person to another.

Jesus condemned this wresting of the Scriptures and such an interpretation of the law. He therefore said that His disciples should not resist the evil one. If, however, one should smite a disciple on one cheek, this one was to turn the other also. Of course he should do it in the spirit of love. Moreover, our Lord said that if a man should force one of the disciples to go to law with him and take away his coat that he should give him his cloak also. If someone should compel another to go one mile, he should gladly go with him the second. Whenever these, instructions are observed in the spirit of Christ and with His meekness, the result upon the inconsiderate, unjust persecutor will be tremendous. The Lord will take care of His servant who thus accepts His instructions and acts upon them in faith, doubting nothing and looking to Him for the blessing.

In the closing paragraph of chapter 5, consisting of verses 43-48, our Lord discussed the law of love. In the current teaching of the leaders of Israel, the people were instructed to love their neighbors but to hate their enemies. This is the way that men, who have never been saved, do. This is the natural inclination of the unregenerated heart. The Lord Jesus corrected this evil and insisted that His disciples should love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, in order that they might demonstrate the fact that they are sons of the Father who is in heaven. God acts in this manner toward all people. He does it every day by making His sun to rise on the evil and the good and by sending His rain upon the just and the unjust. Thus our heavenly Father is showing Himself to be loving, not only to His friends, those who love Him, but to the atheist and the out-and-out sinner. The goodness of God in supplying their needs should lead men to repentance.

But if men simply love those who love them, are they worthy of reward or commendation? The answer is in the negative. Moreover, if people salute only those who salute them, it is evident that they are still in the flesh and dominated by their fallen nature.

Our Lord concluded His teaching on this subject by urging His disciples to be perfect, even as our Father who is in heaven is perfect. Of course He is speaking of the perfection of love, which we are to manifest toward our enemies as well as toward our friends.

In this connection often the question is raised as to whether or not a person can live a perfect life, as is here enjoined. Let me say that God never asks His people to do anything that they cannot do. Of course, in the strength of the flesh one cannot do this. But "God's commandings are His enablings;" and when He insists that His people live this type of life, we may assume that He will supply the necessary strength and power to do so.

Repeatedly the Apostles urged men to live holy, consecrated lives. For instance, in Romans 12:1,2, such a life of purity is enjoined. The Roman Christians were urged to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which was their reasonable or spiritual service. Moreover, they were exhorted not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds that they might prove "what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." From this we learn that it is possible for people, thus yielded to God and trusting Him for strength, to live in such a way as to prove what is the good, the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. Paul urged the church at Philippi to: "Do all things without murmurings and questionings; 15 that ye may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as lights in the world . . ." (Phil. 2:14,15). In other places in the Scripture the same high and lofty type of life of purity and consecration to God is set forth and urged upon us.

As we have rapidly passed over this chapter, we are impressed with the thought that Christ put His words upon an equality with those which were admitted to have been spoken by God through the prophets of the Old Testament. In Christ's doing this is seen the consciousness on His part of His being on an equality with God. He gave His teaching in such a way as to show that He was speaking truth in its finality. Our Lord Jesus Christ was God in human form. He was the God-man. He spoke with authority and power. His words are spirit and they are life. He alone has the power of life and death. May we by His grace follow Him and glorify and honor God through Him!