Matthew 5:17-48

Jesus knew that people were afraid He was going to throw out everything they knew about God as told in the Law (the Torah - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers & Deuteronomy) and the Prophets. He set the record straight though, saying He was going to fulfill it. Surely, He fulfilled prophecies and by living a perfect life would fulfill all of God's law, but at the same time, He wanted to clear up some misconceptions about how God wants us to live.

The religious leaders of the day had focused so much on the letter of the law, that they seldom (if ever) payed any mind to the Spirit of the law. Obeying God became a rigid set of rules that you'd best not break if you wanted to be righteous. To paraphrase, Jesus said, "You're looking at it all wrong!" He then went on to challenge the conventional wisdom about some of the things people thought about living a righteous life before God. He showed that motivation is more important than actions.

Jesus said that being angry with someone is the same as murder. When we let anger fill us and take over us - when we get so mad that we could just "kill that person," we are just as guilty as the person who literally carries out the action. When we have sustained feelings of rage and anger against someone, we cannot be in a right relationship with God. In the Lord's Prayer, we pray, "forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us." How then will we be forgiven if we have not given out forgiveness?

Next, He shows us that adultery is not just a physical act. When we have sexual fantasies about someone who is not our spouse, we are guilty of adultery. Marriage is not simply a physical act, but a joining of two hearts. If we allow our hearts and minds to stray, we have broken the marriage covenant just the same as if a physical affair had happened. This includes "online affairs" which are becoming so commonplace these days.

Continuing with the theme of marriage, Jesus talks about divorce. Men were abusing the divorce laws to cast off their wives for whatever reason they could come up with. Much like no-fault divorce of today, it was just easier to divorce than try to work out whatever problem was there. Jesus said the only reason a divorce is valid in the eyes of God is adultery. Anything else and you are still married in the eyes of God. Further marriage would therefore be considered adultery.

In keeping with vows, Jesus said that we should be plain with our answers. There is no need to say things like, "I swear to God." If you make yourself known to be a truthful person, this will not be necessary. You can give simple yes or no answers and people will accept it.

Turning to how we should act towards those who have hurt us, Jesus says that we should not seek revenge. He takes the phrase, "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" and turns it upside down and tells us to "turn the other cheek." The original intent was not for personal retribution, but a legal guideline that the punishment should fit the crime. People had twisted it around and were using it to justify getting back at people. God says that vengeance belongs to Him. We need to trust that God will ultimately deal with the people who do us wrong.

Jesus then challenges us to love our enemies - and pray for them too. He says it is easy to love those who love us, but the real reward is when we love those who by worldly terms are unlovable. Once again, this is modeling God's love for us that even while we despised Him, He still loved us.


Jesus wasn't content to keep the status quo. The original intent of the law had been lost. He came to refocus our attention on what matters. I often say that most people's barometer for whether they are a good person ultimately comes down to: "I've never killed anyone." Who can say they have never felt anger in their heart toward someone? It's all about perspective.