Matthew 5

Matthew 5:1-3
Matt 5:1-2 During the Millennial Kingdom Jesus will teach the nations concerning Torah. This passage is a look at Torah in action (Isaiah 2:2-3). This passage has reached the nations more than the original Jewish audience since it is been one of the most famous passages taught in the Christian church. Why? Part of the reason it is so famous is because the teachings are so ambiguous due to the English language. I am going to be looking at this from the perspective of Torah and demonstrate that one who is interested in receiving God’s word, listening to it, and putting it into action is described in this passage. This passage is Yeshua’s description of Sh’ma, hearing and doing God’s word. What does it take? How can we put this in action? Let’s examine the scriptures closely to see what they really say. Matthew sets the scene of a teacher sitting down to instruct his students.

This section of Matthew is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. Today we are looking at the Beatitudes. Jesus refuted the Pharisee’s idea of righteousness, and returns his pupils to the guideline to which each believer can pattern his life. That guideline is Torah. Before jumping to conclusions, let’s look at the words in the original language. No one will deny that we need to put the Beatitudes into action. Can we say the same about them if they do represent Torah? Let’s take a look.

Matt 5:3 The word “Blessed” is from a Greek word commonly translated as happy, or fortunate, very happy. It is used nine times from verses 3-11. Happy, is rather superficial… “Blessedness is fulness of life; it relates first to earthly blessings, a wife (Sir. 25:8; 26:1), children (Gn. 30:13; 4 Macc. 16:9; 18:9; ψ 126:5; Sir. 25:7), beauty (Cant. 6:9 [8]), earthly well-being, riches, honour, wisdom (Job 29:10, 11, cf. also Is. 32:20).”[1] Compare this to the recent study we did on Deuteronomy 7. Look at what Moses promised “because” people follow Torah:

““He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock, in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. “The Lord will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you.” (Deuteronomy 7:13–15, NASB95)

This is the biblical idea of “blessed”. It is not a giggly idea of one who walks around in a state of euphoria, but rather a state of contentment because God has given His people good success. The idea of blessed actually hinges more around the idea of “honor” or being “honorable”. Hanson notes his thoughts on the word for blessed, (Greek-Markarios):

This structure indicates several things. 1) Their plural 3rd person construction indicates their general (and therefore ideal) character. This offers honor, then, to whomever behaves in like manner. 2) The second parts identify the grant of honor for those who act appropriately. 3) The sequence of the two parts is determined by logic (an act followed by its consequence), and the movement of honor (personal behavior to public validation).[2]

Stern in the Jewish New Testament Commentary makes this note:

According to Elazar (Larry) Brandt, a Messianic Jewish friend, the Beatitudes are actually Tanakh phrases in the form of blessings representing the messianic age. At the end of them, Yeshua says, “How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow me” (v. 11; italics added). By pronouncing this blessing in the context of messianic blessings, he is saying, in code, that he is the Messiah—which must have surprised and shocked his hearers.[3]

Stern went on to remark that this claim was validated when Yeshua claimed that He did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to make them complete (Matt 5:17). To this point in Matthew we have seen that he is establishing that Jesus is not only Torah compliant, but also promoting Torah to its fullest. To this point, it has been critical to understand Torah in order to understand Matthew according to Jewish context. Without a prior knowledge of Torah, as many of us have experienced, understanding Matthew is like a doctor prescribing medicine without ever going to medical school. We have to guess at what it means according to our natural experience.

Being poor in spirit is not meaning that a person is lacking in spiritual riches. The English does a very poor job of translating the concept. The literal translation is “poor in spirit” however, this fails to capture the deeper meaning that comes from the Hebrew background. The New American Standard Bible made a footnote on this noting it is better translated as “those who are not spiritually arrogant”. The New Living Translation tried by translating the concept as: ““God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (Matthew 5:3, NLT). Yet even this is difficult because they noted that the translation of the words is “Greek poor in spirit”.

Since we are looking at Hebrew people, it is necessary to understand the Hebrew equivalent of the word. Look at this note: The Hebrew equivalent “denotes the situation of answering and readiness for this; in the more developed form it then describes the position of inferiority in the face of the one who demands the answer. עָנִי, then, is concretely the hearer, the dependent. Primarily the word expresses a relation rather than a state of social distress.”[4] The Theological Dictionary went on to note “As the man who is really Yahweh’s עָנִו confidently draws near to Him, עָנִי takes on religious significance: “humble” and even “pious” (Ps. 18:27 ταπεινός)” (note: Hebrew words designate poor).[5]

Anyone who has read through the Old Testament cannot dispute the love that God has for the poor. He made special provisions for the poor all through the Torah and the Old Testament.

Biblical examples: When Jesus taught the people about gaining the kingdom of heaven, he spoke to remind them of their great leaders and kings. We will only look at a few. Job is an obvious one because he realized that his spirituality was inadequate so he stood in the gap for his children (Job 1:1-4). Moses said that he was inadequate spiritually to stand and needed a spokesman. Moses felt inadequate to speak the word of the Lord (Exodus 4:10-13). King David wrote constantly about being “afflicted and needy” which is a double use of the word for “poor” in the Hebrew (Ps 35:10; 37:14; 40:17; 70:5; 74:21; 86:1; 109:16,22). Each of these verses demonstrates spiritual bankruptcy on the part of David. David declares over and over that since he was spiritually poor and needy, he depended on the God of Salvation as his deliverer (Compare Ps 70 with Matt 5:3). David cries out to the Lord in spiritual distress as a man who is poor spiritually declaring that God is full of forgiveness, lovingkindness, answers prayers, and no other god is like Him (Ps 86). David declares that God is the one who blesses those who are spiritually bankrupt and will save their souls from judgment (Ps 109:14-31). King Solomon cried out as one who was poor in spirit and inadequate for the task at hand (1 Kings 3:7-14). All of these men were extremely wealthy with worldly riches yet considered themselves to be spiritually poor and inadequate to go forth without the salvation of the Lord. Solomon is the only one that failed in the end by blending worldly religion with God’s instructions.

The point is that this is an example of Torah. To be poor in spirit allows a person to own and have residence in the Kingdom of heaven…This is a recognition by the person that they can do nothing to qualify for the Kingdom of God. Poor, because they bring nothing to the table, yet rich because this is the way God wants us to come to Him. Emptying ourselves of all of our baggage, trusting intently in Him, as a poor man does in the rich.

Contrast this with the Pharisees, who were very spiritually arrogant, they wanted everyone to know that they were making sacrifices, that they were praying, and that they were meeting all the requirements of the law as they interpreted it. It’s almost as if they received merit badges for all of their good works, so that they could parade them before people. These are the phony believers, those who keep the law just so that they look good before man. Look at the reward for spiritual humility, the gain is the kingdom of heaven.

We lose this as we study from the English perspective because we often do not consider the Old Testament ramifications of what it means to be “poor in spirit”. I believe that as we examine the Word, we will see that Jesus was not teaching a new teaching here but rather pointing out a standard that had been a common thread running through the leadership of Israel.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. NASB95
Matt 5:4 On the surface level, we can see that God comforts those who are mourning. Those who mourn, speaks of a grieving, or a despair about a situation. The word for comforted, is not the English word to be made comfortable, but rather it means that they are to be encouraged, called together and exhorted. On the surface level, one can cling to this as a reassurance that when things go bad, it will get better if you are following God.

Messianic implications: Jesus was the Messiah. The Jewish people were aware of the prophesies concerning the Messiah. Isaiah prophesied that the days of mourning will be over. Those who are mourning will be righteous and even the smallest will become a mighty nation. Mourning will be encouraged as the Messiah takes the throne (Isa 60:20-22). Mourning will be comforted as the Messiah frees prisoners in the year of the Lord, praise will replace despair (Isa 61:1-3). God will give to Israel a double portion of blessing as He rebuilds the nation and they will experience everlasting joy (Isa 61:4-7). As Jesus sat on the mount looking over Jerusalem, he reminded them of the prophecy that Jerusalem would be comforted with peace like a river and comforted by the very hand of God as a mother comforts a nursing baby (Isa 66:10-13). Sorrow will be turned to gladness as God judges the nations who are in rebellion against Torah. God will restore Torah and the nations will stream to Jerusalem to bring offerings to the Lord (Isa 66:14-20). Comforting the mourning spoke to the restoration of the nation and of the restoration of Jerusalem. It spoke of restoration of Torah as the standard. At the time that God comforts the mourning Jerusalem, those who eat swine’s flesh will come to an end indicating that Torah keeping will be restored (Isa 66:17).

To understand this further, we must consider that when the Jewish people failed to follow Torah, God turned their joy into mourning. When Israel abandoned Torah and followed the gods of the gentiles, God brought sorrow on the nation that could not be comforted (Jer 16:7-11). When Israel abandoned Torah and no longer considered it as important, He abandoned their festivals and brought sorrow, mouning, famine and judgment on the nation (Amos 8). When Jesus taught that those who mourn will be comforted, he was offering a new concept. He was presenting Himself as the Messiah who will restore Torah to the land.

On the surface, we have a platitude. In context with Torah, we have a huge spiritual blessing that God had promised and this blessing is brought to reality through Jesus the Messiah. The Jewish people who studied Torah on a daily basis would not miss this concept.

Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Matt 5:5 NASB95
Matt 5:5 Jesus quotes from the Old Testament, Psalm 37:11. The meek and the gentle, speaks of those who follow the Messiah. Inheriting the earth looks forward to restoration of the Jewish people as rulers over the land who will live in abundant prosperity. When the Messiah restores Torah, covenant and testimonies, the ones who keep Torah will abide in prosperity (Ps 25:8-13).

The Jewish New Testament Commentary makes the note that Psalm 37:11 can only refer to the Jewish people. Replacement theology tries to apply the blessings of the Jewish people to the Gentile church. [6] Although we have received many of the blessings of the Jews by being grafted in to Judaism through Yeshua, we do not replace them. In the case of Stern’s argument, if the meek or gentle in this passage refers to Israel, then we must concede that he is correct. The Jewish people will be restored in the end days and will inherit the earth as prophesied. Stern also points out that the Hebrew word for “earth” from Psalm 37 is the word “land” which verifies his argument that God promises to restore His people to the Promised Land (Jer 32:35-44). There are many references to this through the Old Testament. Inheriting the land can only refer to the Jewish people. It does not refer to the “grafted in” gentile Christians because this promise is not a spiritual promise but a physical one. The Jewish people who were listening to the sermon bore witness with the truth that Jesus was giving when He promised to restore them to their land.

Hebrew usage of the word gives us an even deeper understanding: The idea from the word translated “gentle” in the Septuagint which is the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, we get some interesting information. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament notes: Gentle in this context refers to a servant who has no property and is in subjection to authority. He earns his bread by serving others. “It then takes on the sense of “humble.” עָנָו, too, means first “the one who is in subjection,” though it then takes on the predominant sense of “one who feels that he is a servant in relation to God and who subjects himself to Him quietly and without resistance.””[7]

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament goes on to note that the word from the Septuagint which was translated as “gentle” is only in reference to Moses (Num 12:13). “(Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth.)” (Numbers 12:3, NASB95 also see Matt 11:9). If we take this view of this verse, then the gentle person that is being spoken of is not the Jewish people at all. It is in direct reference to the Messiah as coming in the spirit of Moses as a gentle leader who inherits the land. I believe that as we examine the context of Matthew 5 to this point we must take the position that the passage is most likely speaking of the Messiah, Jesus. This is a declaration that He is the promised Messiah who has come to reclaim His land. He did not come as a warrior but as a meek and gentle servant of the people.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Matt5:6, NASB95).
Matt 5:6 This passage quotes the idea of Isaiah 55 in its entirety focusing specifically on the first two verses of the chapter. In order to understand the concept in relation to our Messiah, here is an overview of the passage:

Isaiah focused of those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness. What makes it even more interesting is the specific way that it looks forward to the Messiah (anointed one) who comes to feed the people spiritually (Isa 55:1-3). God promises to make a covenant with them just like the one that He made with David, one that hinged on grace and an everlasting covenant (Isa 55:3). Isaiah prophesied that the nations would run to Israel because of the Messiah, since the Messiah glorifies the Hebrew people (Isa 55:5). Isaiah instructed the people to seek YHVH because he is easy to be found and is near (Isa 55:6). The Holy One has come to abundantly pardon the unrighteous and draw them back to the Lord (Isa 55:7). This puzzle is beyond what man can consider because God’s ways are not our ways and His word never returns void (Isa 55:7-11). As the nation of Israel returns to the Lord, even the hills and the foliage will break out with shouts for joy (Isa 55:12-13).

We often quote Isa 55 and do not realize that it is a promise of the Messiah restoring Israel. It is a promise of abundant grace that the Messiah will bring with Him to bestow on those who call on His name. The Jewish People knew their Bible. When he stated that He came to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, you can be sure they understood that He was claiming to be the Holy One predicted in Isaiah 55.

When I was looking at Matt 5:6, the Greek words jumped out at me. The word for righteousness is a Greek word which leans more toward law or character. Hunger and thirst was not for the idea of being forgiven as we would think. It is the idea of character drawn from compliance to instruction or law. In short, this is exactly what happens when we follow God’s instruction for life (Torah). Satisfaction comes from the resulting communion with God as we concede to and follow His instruction for life.

I keep beating this to death because we keep reading into the scriptures our ideas of what it should say rather than what it does say. To prove this point I am going to quote from two renowned and highly respected dictionaries that look critically at word usage in the Bible. I pared the commentaries down so that it would be much briefer. Think about what the commentators are saying about the Greek word translated as righteousness and the idea behind that word:

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament carries the thought of Torah in regard to righteousness out as it describes the relationship between God and His law:

That God posits law, and that He is bound to it as a just God, is a fundamental tenet in the OT knowledge of faith in all its variations. The element of unity in the faith of all the righteous in Israel, whether prophets, priests, lawgivers, or men of a less distinctive sociological type, is the acknowledgment of God’s law ordering all life both great and small and forming a basis for hope. There can be no mistaking the causal connexion between the various ideas of religious law and the historical development of the religion of Yahweh and the form of tribal religion in which God is not merely the Lord of law but also one who is bound by it. Yahweh is the source of all the bodies of law in the OT. …, it is a valuable testimony to the subjection to the divine decision which was customary from the very first in the groups which served Yahweh. The law of Yahweh is an order of life which cannot be challenged or changed. It is against nature to despise it (Jer. 8:7)[8]

Most of the commentaries in my library focus on righteousness as the idea of adhering to God’s laws. Little Kittel makes the following statement (again I will edit for brevity):

“Law is the basis of the OT view of God, and the religious use of legal concepts helps in turn to ethicize the law. Many terms are used to express the relations between God and man, and the conduct governed by these relations.… It is a basic tenet in the OT that God posits law and is bound to it. Recognition of this is a unifying factor in Israel’s faith. All law comes from God, and hence God’s authority extends to all Israel’s historical relationships. God’s law is an order of life that cannot be changed or challenged. It is righteous because he is righteous. His ways are right; they thus give us life and security. He is a righteous ruler and judge, as shown already in the victory celebrated in Judg. 5:11. His righteousness extends to other nations, so that order is seen in the world. The righteous can thus appeal to him with confidence when they are the victims of hostility and oppression (Ps. 5:8)…God’s righteousness is not just static but dynamic. He establishes as righteous those who seek his righteousness…”[9]

I constantly hear people quote the quip that is so common in the church, “Yeah, but we are no longer under the law, we are under grace!” If we are no longer under the teaching of God, then we are faced with a problem because Jesus said that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, referring directly to Torah will be satisfied. Since we are no longer under the “law”, we can give up being “satisfied”.

What does “be Satisfied” mean? The idea almost exclusively across the lexicon’s is that being satisfied means eating so much that a person is no longer hungry. He is gorged to the point that he is completely full, no hunger remains. Wow, we are giving this up when we throw out Torah. It is time that we reconsider our thinking on this idea. Let’s return to Isaiah 55 and look at what it says about being filled up:

““Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance.” (Isaiah 55:2, NASB95)

Satisfaction then comes from the ability to feed on Torah or God’s instructions as laid out in the Bible to the point that we are completely filled up. Jesus said this, He used words that referred directly to the Law (Torah) and endorsed it. As Messiah, Jesus marked following His instructions as being the way to satisfaction. In Isaiah 55, Jesus is described as the Messiah.

We struggle to draw these concepts out of two lines of scriptures because we have not had the Old Testament teaching drilled in us from birth. The Jewish people knew instinctively what Jesus was referring to because He referred directly to the first two verses of Isaiah 55. According to Jewish thinking, if you apply two verses of a passage, then the entire passage is applicable. We are learning to read in context, the Hebrew way of thinking makes it one of the first marks of interpretation.

Jesus claimed to be the Messiah according to Isaiah 55. This was not lost on his audience.

Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. NASB95
Matt 5:7 What does being “merciful” mean? What does it mean to show mercy? This sent me running to the original languages to see what I could find.

In English, it means that a person has the ability to show compassion. They have empathy toward other people, especially people who are less fortunate than themselves. This passage would be seen as sowing the seeds of compassion, which reaps generous quantities of it later in life. On the surface level, this pertains to the Jews as a nation because from the beginning, God gave the Jews a special blessing for taking care of the stranger, the poor, the widow, and the afflicted. Jesus acknowledged this principal of the Torah, and encouraged His instructions to be carried on. But, this has a much deeper meaning, read on.

Mercy according to the original language carries more of the idea that we call “grace”. This is an undeserving favor that is bestowed on someone. The only other place in the New Testament that this exact word is used is in Hebrews 2:17. The writer of Hebrews records that Jesus took on the form of a man and as a “merciful” high priest stood in the gap for us. He was tested in what He suffered and is able to come to our need when we are tested. Jesus took on flesh, suffered and tasted death in order to sanctify his called out ones (believers) resulting in salvation to a people who do not deserve it at all (Hebrews 2:9-18). This is grace.

The Hebrew usage from the Old Testament is rather interesting. It carries the idea of an attitude where God and man have a mutual relationship which is reciprocal in nature. The covenant relationship with God is based upon a willingness of both parties to work together through “a relationship of trust, and faithfulness as the proper attitude”.[10] It is a handshake between two people. The word used in this passage carries with it the idea of “grace” or “lovingkindness” in the Old Testament. The Septuagint used this word in places where the Hebrew is translated as “lovingkindness” (Gen 24:12; 40:14; 2 Sam 3:8; Isa 63:7; Ps 25:6; 89:49).

Our covenant relationship with our God is based on Grace or mercy. Jesus is the Merciful/Grace giving Messiah that was prophesied. It is in His nature to be merciful to His people. The problem to the time Jesus was teaching the people was simple. God was bestowing grace on the people however, the people were not keeping their part of the bargain. They were not keeping Torah or the Instructions that God had given them. So where God extended grace to the people, they did not reciprocate by keeping their part of the bargain: following Torah (John 15:10). This changes with the New Covenant.

God declares that with the New Covenant all the people of Israel will be His people and as He draws them with everlasting grace, they will respond in kind (Jer 31:1-3). God promised as the redeemer of Israel that His grace and covenant will never be shaken (Isa 54:10). Rather He had been refining Israel through the storms so that He would make them like precious stones and they are to have a one on one personal relationship with Him (Isa 54:11-13). God declared that He fashioned Israel as a master designer and will jealously guard his work; no weapon will prosper against them (Isa 54:14-17). This is the covenant of Grace or mercy that Jesus is speaking of. The Messiah will give mercy and will receive a merciful response from His people because they are responding to the designer. The Messiah was prophesied to be abundant in lovingkindness and mercy; He was to be their salvation (Isa 63:7-9).

“Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”” (Exodus 34:6–7, NASB95)

This is the God that prophesied grace to Israel, lovingkindness and mercy. Jeremiah prophesied that God was a gracious God calling for the return of His people. The faithless Israel would return to Him, returning to obedience. At that time God will place teachers who will shepherd them in knowledge and understanding (Jer 3:12-15). God promised with the New Covenant that He would write Torah on the hearts of His people, they will all know him, all their sins will be forgiven and will no longer be remembered (Jer 31:31-34).

As Christians we claim that the New Covenant is the New Testament. This New Covenant took place through the Messiah, which is recorded in the New Testament. It was a covenant with the Jews, we as Gentiles have been privileged to be grafted in to them so that we can benefit salvation and be a part of this new covenant (Ro 11:17-23). Think about it…this is grace that was given our nature is changed to reflect the grace of God, reciprocal in nature because we are infused with new life in Jesus (2 Cor 5:13-21).

When Jesus spoke to the Jewish people about those who give mercy will receive mercy, it was a clear reference to the prophesied Messiah. We miss this because we are looking at the surface meaning of the beatitudes. As Jesus was clicking away hitting each attribute of the prophesied Messiah, you can be certain that the Jewish people were in full attention. They were constantly studying the scriptures and knew prophesies regarding the Messiah very well. When Jesus started clicking them off one by one, you can be certain that the Jewish people were aware that these were not just random truths but they carried much deeper meaning. Jesus was pointing at each prophecy concerning the Messiah.

While considering mercy and grace, I was drawn to consider the mirror opposite of an attitude of lovingkindness. The problem that I am running into is the idea that the God of the Jews should be the same as the God of the Gentile Christians. Yet, somehow, people fight hard against accepting a Jewish God. This would not be so bad except that God not only gave His word to the Jewish people first. When Yeshua was born on earth, He was born a Jew, lived life as a Jew, followed Jewish customs, and died a Jew. We never see any indication that he broke or did away with Torah. Then later when we see the second coming, God returns his people to the original Torah complete with festivals and sacrifices (Zech 14:16-21; Eze 46:1-18). When I see Christians rejecting the Old Testament teaching (Instruction = Torah), it makes me wonder if we are missing something.

As I have wrestled over this concept for the last couple of weeks I realized that the problem was not a “Christian” problem at all. The problem is not a “Jewish” problem. The problem that I see is a problem of a “world view” or a paradigm that we have built our lives around. In America we suffer from extreme narcissism and an attitude of entitlement. Since we, as Christians have determined that Torah has been done away with, our guideline to direct us on the straight and narrow path is greatly hindered.

Jeremiah stated the following concerning the Jewish people that we have been grafted in to:

““Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”” (Jeremiah 31:31–34, NASB95)

Law in this passage is the Hebrew word “Torah”. God wrote His Torah on our hearts and we as Christians say that the “Law” has been done away with. We have tied our hands behind our back and are trying to drink our coffee. It is not going to work. Since we deny Torah, we have created a problem where just like the cup of coffee, we are not going to be able to effectively turn away from narcissism and entitlement. But, this is only part of the problem.

The next biggie is the fact that we have blended paganism with Christianity. By taking on pagan customs that were Christianized into Christmas, Easter, and Sunday worship, we have abandoned the feasts and festivals of the Jews. We have abandoned the instruction that God gave in Leviticus 23 regarding how He desires to be worshipped. Instead we worship God in a very similar manner that the pagans worshipped the false gods in the ancient times. One caveat on this, we do not offer human sacrifice intentionally… However, since we have allowed abortion to pollute our land, we have also given in to that pagan demon, his name was Molech in Old Testament times. My mind is still pondering this problem…

Think about a god who caters to the needs of his subjects. This god serves the sole purpose of serving man. Many Christians look at Jesus as such a god as this. We feel that we are entitled to salvation because we prayed the sinner’s prayer, or perhaps because we attend church on a regular basis. Our entitlement may be because we were “born” into a Christian family. I often hear such statements as God is my buddy, co-pilot, higher power, or the man upstairs. This type of god must serve man because man has manipulated him through religious actions. In this view, the relationship with God is a contractual relationship where He is required to respond when we call on Him. If we tithe, He is required to bless us with financial blessings. If we go to church and fellowship with believers, God is required to bless us. God is our “buddy”, when we call on Him, he is required to listen… This is a very dangerous and very wrong way to view God. But, believe it or not, we take our ideas of narcissism and entitlement and expect God to respond in kind.

What bothered me on this is that our society is a “narcissistic” one where people are taught from the time they are in diapers that the world revolves around them. Our society feels that it is entitled to having the good stuff without having to work for it. Or laws promote this idea to a degree. Bankruptcy was originally created to help those who were hopelessly in debt to have a fresh start. Now in an entitlement society, if the credit card companies will issue credit, many feel they can charge up the cards to the max and will be bailed out by bankruptcy. The attitude is “I want it, and I want it now.” This does not stop at credit cards, it goes for bigger houses that are bought with “creative” financing which by nature cannot ever be paid off. Cars are another thing, now we rent cars through “leasing” programs that allow people to have what they cannot afford because this program is created to allow a person to drive a car that is beyond their means.

This attitude carries on to our churches. Christians often flock to mega-churches that are often built around a dynamic teacher who is able to capture the audience. Spirituality is compromised as people engage in what my wife and I have dubbed “country club churches”. These churches are built with all the amenities of home, some even include built in coffee shops where you can enjoy a “latte” while watching the service on a big screen. Pastors are taught that only a marked percentage will tithe, so the churches are marketed to reach a large enough number of people to meet financial expenses. (Internet search: approximately 20% of people tithe with a much smaller number giving 10%.) Paul described this church attitude that we have in the letter to Timothy:

“I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:1–4, NASB95)

Abandoning Torah has led our churches down a dangerous path. Since we are not holding to the instruction of the Bible and are deferring to a social gospel: We have abandoned the deep teaching of God to buy watered down psycho-babble laced with a healthy dose of humanism and a sprinkling of actual scripture. With what we are learning in this study, we notice that abandonment Torah has caused the myths to exponentially increase as our leaders focus on fictitious stories that are based on pagan traditions. I am afraid that many of us have fallen into the trap of the Jewish people who refused to listen to the truth:

“To whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10, NASB95)

God has called us to return to the ancient paths that He establishe

d as the instruction of His people (Jer 6:16-17). Unfortunately, few will listen to God’s call to consider His Word seriously, just as in the days of Jeremiah. We have assimilated paganism into Christian worship and have changed our view of God as a result of that (Jer 7:1-23 and following). My heart is broken over God’s people who do not want to listen to His truth. I am deeply grieved when the words of Truth fall on deaf ears.

Paul said that God gave salvation to the Gentiles so that we could demonstrate to the Jews a true walk with God. The Jewish people had deviated from following God to follow false gods, which gave them a spirit of stupor which needs to be broken. The Gentiles are commissioned to provoke the Jews to jealousy over the relationship with God (Ro 10:19-11:11). What Jew will ever be jealous over a people who worship a god that does not remotely resemble theirs? What Jew will ever be jealous over a people who regard Torah as trash? I am convinced that as a church we have disappointed Paul.

I believe that if we return to Torah and set our hearts toward earnestly understanding and following God then we will see spiritual growth that is beyond our wildest dreams. This means that we must be willing to throw off our rose colored glasses and view the scriptures as they are written. We must make a determination to reject the social gospel and replace it with truth from the scriptures. We must determine in our hearts not to follow God from a Narcissistic or Entitlement perspective. God is an awesome God, His grace and mercy have always been the foundation of His relationship with man. I sincerely believe that if we return to Him expecting Him to teach us His truth, we will not be disappointed. Our lives will demonstrate the Grace of God in such a way that spiritual power will draw all men around us to God. It is our choice, God will not force us to follow Him.

What is God’s will? His will is that we return to Torah and follow Him in sincerity and truth (John 15:1-11). As we learn to follow His instructions or “commandments”, we will dip into a deep well of power that will result in a spiritual life beyond our comprehension. Do we want God to be in control of our lives? That is up to each person. Perhaps we should reword that according to the social gospel, do we want to be in control of god in our lives? Think about that, it is time that we set the example for our families and churches by turning to God according to His word.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8, NASB95)
“Pure in Heart”. The idea from word usage is a ceremonial clean heart. We have been talking a lot about Torah. This is in direct reference to a Messianic prophecy that David recorded which noted that the earth and all it’s contents belong to the Lord. The only one who can approach the Lord is the one with clean hands and a pure heart, this person shall receive blessings from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation (Psalm 24:1-5). Salvation in that psalm is the word “Yeshua” which is the name of Jesus in the Hebrew language. This is a strong and obvious reference to the saying of Jesus “blessed are the pure in heart”.

Jesus made it possible for all Jews and Gentiles to be pure in heart (Isaiah 1:18). Ceremonial cleanliness is made possible through the God of our salvation (Psalm 24:5). David later cried out to God to create in him a clean heart and to restore the joy of his salvation (Psalm 51:10-12, salvation is again Yeshua). Which is another cross reference to this beatitude. Psalm 73 has a chiasm built into it. The central idea of the psalm contrast the wicked with the pure in heart (Ps 73:11-13). The psalmist cries to God that God is good to Israel, those pure in heart (Ps 73:1). He concludes that being near to God is the refuge as a person marvels in His works (Ps 73:28).

We cannot enter the presence of God without being ceremonially pure of heart. Jesus as the Messiah made it possible for each of us to be pure of heart. His blood sacrifice satisfied the requirement which gives us ceremonial purity that is necessary according to Torah. Yeshua (Jesus – Salvation) acted as our High Priest and entered in to the perfect tabernacle to make blood sacrifice for eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:10-21). Without the shedding of blood there is absolutely no forgiveness from sin, no possibility of ever entering into a place of ceremonial cleanliness (Hebrews 9:22). He made it possible through his once for all blood sacrifice for every believer, Jew and Gentile to enter into the presence of God eternally and temporally (Heb 9:23-28).

As Messiah, He lived a ceremonially pure life. We see examples of this from the scriptures even at the beginning of his life when turtledoves were offered as a sacrifice to comply with Torah (Luke 2:24; Lev 5:11; 12:8). His entire life as chronicled by the Gospels was both the fulfillment of the Jewish festivals and participation in the Jewish festivals as a focal point in His life. I would estimate that over 90% of the Gospels directly relates to Jewish Festivals. Jesus lived a ceremonially pure life, died a perfect sacrifice, and rose to stand for us in the presence of the Father so that each of us can see God (Matt 5:8).

The beatitudes to this point have pointed out the characteristics of the Messiah. Jesus in code has taught that He is the Messiah. As the Jewish listeners followed the Beatitudes, you can be certain that they were clinging to every word because they understood that He was speaking about the Messiah that was promised. It would not be till after his death and resurrection that the full impact of this verse was understood. Yet, for the listeners who observed his daily life, they knew that he lived a ceremonially pure life.

I cannot help but wonder what day that Jesus made this sermon on. Was it on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year? It would be possible since he was giving His coronation speech by teaching and proclaiming resolutions that applied to Him as Messiah. This was the day that the Jewish people were entering ceremonial purity as they entered the “Ten days of Repentance”. It was the day that God was considered to be the awesome King over Israel. This may be the day, or may not be, we will never know. It does seem to fit the context of the passage.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9, NASB95)
While considering this verse, the question begs to be asked, how does a peacemaker make peace? Peacekeepers make peace through enforcing the law by a show and sometimes the use of deadly force. They do not “make” peace, they “keep” it. How do you “make” peace? During New Testament times they had the same problem. The Romans were occupying the land and true peace was not in place.

By definition, a peacemaker must make peace. Think through this with me. If you want to make peace, you have to remove what is causing a state of unrest. It is not a matter of a show of arms where you control peace. This is a matter where you must eliminate the root of the problem that is causing unrest. The peacemaker by definition must find a solution to the problem of unrest. The problem is that on this side of heaven, we cannot remove the sin problem that is the root of unrest. It is virtually impossible to impart lasting peace from a human perspective by changing life, making new laws, or even by placing demands on family members. Those who have tried often bring more unrest in their families than was ever in place before. True peace is beyond human ability to control. With that in mind, let’s look deeper into this beatitude.

The idea of the Greek word used for peacemaker carries with it the idea of the state of legal security of the Roman Empire, “Pax Romana”. The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament stated that the idea carried by this is a state where blessings are flowing for land and people, it is a state of rest or peaceful attitude. It carries with it the desired state of mind of the Stoics, “Yet is not common in Stoic writings”.[xi] In my opinion, this is hilarious since since the Stoics recognized the need for inner peace but was unable to find it through higher levels of intelligence.

Since this was written by Jewish writers, the idea may be better considered as “Shalom”. Pastor Bruce Dowell has insisted over the years that the best idea behind this is “nothing missing, nothing broken in your life”. Shalom is the Hebrew word that carries the idea of a divine peace that is placed over Israel. God promised the Messiah will impart a “covenant of shalom”:

““I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. “My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. “And the nations will know that I am the Lord who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever.” ’ ”” (Ezekiel 37:26–28, NASB95)

Ezekiel prophesied that the “covenant of Shalom” will literally set one shepherd over them (Ezek 34:23). This shepherd will unite the tribe and make a covenant of shalom (Ezek 34:25). The rest of Ezekiel 34:25-31 can be argued to either point to the Messiah, to the Millennial Kingdom, or possibly to the recent restoration of the Nation of Israel (1948). David and his house was designated as those who would carry “shalom” with them forever (1 Ki 2:33). This Messianic prophecy looked forward to the day that the Messiah would bring “Shalom” to the house of Israel. The house of David carries the Messianic promise of the peace of Jerusalem, believers are commanded to pray for that peace (note in following passage all instances of “peace” is Hebrew “Shalom”):

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. “May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces.” For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.” (Psalm 122:6–9, NASB95)

The Messiah will bring shalom (peace) like a river, he will take care of Israel like a nursing child, where they will grow and flourish in complete shalom (Isa 66:12-13). God promise to defeat the nations who are suppressing Israel and bring his fury against them (Isa 66:14-16). Those who worship the sun and eat pork will come to an end all together (Isa 66:17).

The Jewish people knew the context of the Messianic prophecies. They understood the unrest that was in place because of the Roman occupation. They knew first hand that the Romans worshipped the sun god and thrived on pork. You can be certain that when Jesus spoke of the one who brings “shalom” that He was talking about the Messiah.

By the way, we have discussed the way that Christianity has been paganized by adopting pagan festivals which were based on sun worship from the Romans as well as a pork diet. When the Messiah takes his earthly reign, all nations will bring grain offerings, return to the Sabbath and to Torah; those who do not will be an abhorrence to all mankind (Isa 66:18-24). Why not return to Torah now? Just a thought.

Perhaps you are saying, “Yeah Joe, but the peacemakers will be called sons of God. Therefore, your take on Shalom is not accurate.” Think through the results of the Messiah bringing Shalom to the people. Each of us is imparted with a new life that has become a new creation (2 Cor 6:17). Our lives have been crucified with Christ, buried with him and raised to a new life where we carry His life (Ro 6:1-11). Our lives have been regenerated to the point that we have the life of Messiah coursing through our veins (John 15:1-9). If we live our lives with the life of Yeshua coursing through our veins, and we keep His commandments, we will have perfect shalom (John 15;10-11). Jesus promised to give us the Holy Spirit who will bring all things to remembrance along with the promise of perfect shalom/peace (John 14:26-27). Jesus promised that we will have perfect shalom if we abide in Him because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). Those who follow God will have shalom, (peace) that passes all understanding ruling over their lives (Phil 4:4-9). Those who take part in the shalom of God will be called the sons of God because this truth will be evident in their lives…

I encourage the readers of this study to do a personal study on the word “shalom”. It will give you a deeper understanding of the potential of your walk in Messiah (Christ). Your prayer time will grow deeper and your influence on others will grow exponentially as you embrace shalom.

Matt 5:10-12
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:10–12, NASB95)

To this point in the study we have observed the way that the Messiah is pictured in every beatitude. This one is the same. The word studies in this beatitude is different because it gives us a picture of what persecution really is. It is also interesting since we are seeing a definite reference to the Messiah. We are also seeing a practical reference to those who stand firm in times of trouble. In this study I will be looking at both the aspect of the Messiah gaining the kingdom and the aspect of the hope of those who suffer in His name.

As a note, I have struggled with this passage because it did not seem to fit the idea of “blessed” we discussed before regarding being whole or complete. It seems to step beyond that into a new realm pressuring English to give a better word. The idea for the Greek word for “blessed” carries a more complete meaning as “honorable”.

Editing previous thoughts on blessed
This is the biblical idea of “blessed”. It is not a giggly idea of one who walks around in a state of euphoria, but rather a state of contentment because God has given His people good success. The idea of blessed actually hinges more around the idea of “honor” or being “honorable”. Hanson notes his thoughts on the word for blessed, (Greek-Markarios):

Hanson notes is the word “blessed” or more correctly “honorable” in Matt 5:10 is in the present tense.[xiii] This throws a new twist because previously the word “Markios” is in the future tense in Matt 5:4-9. While we note that in Matt 5:3, 10, both usages is in the present tense.

Wider meaning of Beatitudes
Imagine that we have a camera focused on this passage. We have had it focused in to look at the small details. Let’s zoom out for a moment to catch the panoramic view of the passage.

Hebrew truth has determined without a doubt that the Sabbath carries a double blessing. With that in mind, look over Matthew 5:1-12 with me for a moment. You will notice that verses 3, 10-12 are all in the present tense. They are a state of being that is happening in the present. Verses 4-9, six verses, are happening in the future. It is intriguing that Jesus sets the picture of the Messiah in verse 3 with a present tense statement, this sets the stage or is a base or foundational verse for the Beatitudes. Then He gives six future tense statements regarding the Messiah. Lastly he almost gives a Sabbath blessing by adding a two-line statement regarding the Messiah in the present tense (Matt 5:10-12). He clearly states that the one persecuted is doubly honorable. But not only that, the one persecuted carries with him the culmination of the entire six preceding principles. As Jesus indwells the believer, He imparts His nature into His believers.

Jesus flips the entire Messianic thought from focusing on the Messianic prophesies in verses 1-9 to the present tense. The flip is that yes, the Messiah will be persecuted, but, so will you! I believe that this throws a lot of people off. The statement threw me off. As Greek thinkers, we think in a linear way. A + B + C = D. The Hebrew way of thinking is open to considering the foundation in the present tense being Jesus, Messiah. Then the reality in the future tense of the past prophecies of Jesus the Messiah. Blending the two concepts together to reach the undisputable truth that since Jesus is claiming to be the one who is persecuted (Matt 5:11), therefore He must be the Messiah that is the topic of the entire discussion.

Jesus started off by adding up all the Messianic prophesies indicating that He is the fulfillment of those prophesies. Then he threw a different summation at the end. He declared that since He is the Messiah, His followers will suffer the same persecution that He has suffered (Matt 5:11-12). We just stepped from a simple equation to a complex algebraic equation which has and equal sign in the middle! We in our lives will mirror our Messiah and follow in the same footsteps that He has followed.

Suppose there is a different way to look at the beatitudes?
Hebrew construction of arguments and poetry such as a chiastic model are almost beyond the capacity of a linear modern thinker to comprehend. The discussion in this set of verses is a Chiasm. It is a special type of Hebrew poetry that permeates the Old Testament both in historical and poetic books. If we were to consider this passage as a Chiasm, the verses would complement each other. For example, 3 complements 11, 4-10, 5-9, 6-8 with the central idea being verse 7. Verses 3 and 12 act as a sandwich which shows a start and finish of the idea. The central idea being verse 7 since the Messiah is the epitome of Grace. Looking at the passage, and considering that the entire passage is about the Messiah, it is quite possible to develop a very good study just looking at the chiasm.

Hebrew thinkers are used to looking for this type of poetic structure. Study of the Hebrew scriptures causes one to be aware when a Chiastic form to show up. You can be certain that when the listeners were receiving the Beatitudes they picked up on this basic structure. They understood up front that Jesus as the Messiah of promise that was undeserved by the people. They also understood that since He tied together all the ends and the middle with Chiastic structure that the application of the message transcended just learning about the Messiah. It spoke volumes about the followers of Messiah. Jesus made this perfectly clear in the last two verses when He stated that persecution would follow his disciples (Mat 5:11-12).

Following Jesus as the living torah
Following in Yeshua’s footsteps does not just include Matt 5:10-12. They include Matt 5:1-9 as well. A careful look at the Beatitudes demonstrates the essence of Torah. If a person follows Torah, then they can expect to be noticed by the world. Jesus amped up this because He was the living Torah that came to dwell among us (John 1:1-5;

Torah is the essence of Jesus’ teaching. Look at this passage from 1 John:

“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.” (1 John 2:3–7, NASB95)

Truthfully, since Jesus is the Messiah that is prophesied and validated through the first of the beatitudes, then the persecution that is transmitted to believers is a natural result of keeping Torah. This is the Old Commandment that the apostle John was speaking about. Jesus as the actual living Word writes His word on the hearts of men, (note that this prophecy specifically targets the Hebrew people:

Jesus as the Messiah imparts His word on the hearts of men. The end result of this is that we emulate His teaching through our lives. This is the reason that I harp so much on returning to Torah. If we are to understand and follow our Messiah, then we must return to the written Torah so that we can understand His teaching. We cannot ignore the Messianic truth in this passage because to understand the Beatitudes is to understand or rather focus on the Messiah, Jesus.

Scriptural principles are recognized by the world. Unfortunately, just like the world, they ignore the truth of becoming like our Messiah and try to go just for the blessings. Muslim martyrs try to hedge in on this principle by declaring that their reward is 72 virgins and abundant riches in the afterlife. They have the idea right, God will bless those who stand in his stead, yet their application is wrong. Islam is not following the Hebrew God, therefore, trying to hijack His principle will leave the sorely disappointed in the afterlife. In my opinion, air conditioning will not be able to beat the heat where they end up. The point I am making is that this principle is understood to be true by those outside of the Bible. God wove His principles into the fabric of the world. Many of the truths from the Bible are found in world religions since they work. Application of the principles will not reap the same result as following Yeshua the Messiah.

Word study: Persecute
The word for persecute is very interesting. It carries the idea of pursue and to follow zealously. Persecution according to this idea is a zealous act of attacking a person or group of people for their stand on a subject. We have one excellent example of persecution in the Bible. Paul when he was Saul fervently persecuted the church by actively seeking out believers in order to stamp out faith in Yeshua, Jesus dealt with him personally (Acts 9:3-8). Saul made it a mission to seek out and destroy all believers in Yeshua (Acts 8:1-3). In the incident with Stephen, we see a direct example of gaining the Kingdom of heaven through persecution. He was stoned because he saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand (Acts 7:54-56). Saul was actively convicting Christians to death at this time and held the cloaks of those who cast stones, in other words they were stoning Stephen for him (Acts 7:58). Through time as we hear of martyrs we hear of similar stories. Foxes Book of Martyrs is an amazing resource that gives many accounts of people who were persecuted to death and their attitude when they were dying.

The application of the pursuit of a person is specifically for the purpose of targeting the person for religious, moral, or cultural attack.

What does this have to do with Jesus our Messiah?
Jesus suffered persecution at the hand of men so that he could attain the purchase price to allow His people to enter the kingdom of heaven. It is also interesting that Jesus continuously led the religious leaders on to provoke them to watch Him closely. They persecuted Him because they watched him closely to wait for Him to make an error. This constant watch was necessary so that they would eventually crucify Him. I have said many times that Jesus purposely rocked the boat. If He did not rock the boat, chances are, the religious leaders would not have noticed Him.

When Jesus incited the religious leaders of the day, He did it by living out Torah according to the true meaning of Torah. Read through the Gospels, provocation of the leaders was made by constantly healing on the Sabbath or on Holy Days when it was not acceptable to work. Jesus ministered through healing, forgiveness, and exhortation as the genuine article. He kept Torah. Any failure to keep Torah would have been sin and would have disqualified him from being the Messiah.

How does this apply to believers?
Believers in the Messiah are those who have accepted Jesus as Messiah in their lives. These believers have been infused with the living Torah that is written by God on the hearts of men. As we come to know Jesus intimately, we emulate what He taught His disciples. This draws attention from the world as we, just like Him turn from the way of the world to Jesus. As His disciples, we either unwittingly or purposefully realign our lives with Torah. Unwitting people will suffer more because they do not understand what is taking place. Their lives are in constant turmoil as they are provoked by God to eliminate one sinful act after another. Those wittingly following Torah have the blinders removed, so following Torah through Jesus the Messiah is an easy task. What seems to be burdensome to many is a joy of release and life.

Satan hates it when a believer is actually doing what Jesus expects of us. When we step out of the crowd of complacent believers and actually put the Law (Torah) in effect in our lives, we will become noticeable to Satan (John 15:4, 7, 10; Mat 5:10-11). Once you step out from the crowd, and make Jesus your Messiah, he will make you a personal enemy. Satan will open his arsenal to fight against you. We as a nation (United States) and as a body of believers are moving into a new era where persecution is going to become more intense. Previously we were faced with animosity from the world, persecution through inference. We are soon facing the time when we will actually face physical and life threatening opposition. Jesus our Messiah gave His life for Men. We will soon give our lives if we boldly stand and declare that Jesus is our Messiah. Be ready for it.

As an addendum to this study. Nick, a fellow believer from my church was recently executed by the terrorist in San Bernardino as a result of his constant witness for Yeshua his Messiah. Nick was a bold witness for the Messiah. He shared his faith constantly and was singled out as the first to be shot for his faith. As the legal proceedings release the gag order, more on this will be discussed.

My point is that we have stepped beyond the place where we are safe to share the Gospel without realizing that our witness may have life threatening results. We are also entering into an era where religious persecution may become enforced by the Law of the land. We already have in place laws that prohibit being frank and truthful about the truth of Torah. For example, speaking out against homosexuality can get a person in very hot water with the law. Persecution is alive and well. As we near the end times, we can expect to see more persecution. Think about it. Our Messiah suffered persecution. He promised that if we follow Him, we will also suffer persecution. If we are persecuted, we will be following in the footsteps of Jesus and of the prophets (Matt 5:12). I wonder, how serious are people who wear wrist bands WWJD? What would Jesus do? If we are to follow in His footsteps, we may suffer insult, persecution and endure people making up lies about us (Matt 5:11). They certainly did this to our Messiah. In essence, how serious are we about the Lord? How serious are we about our walks with Him? How serious are we truly? Are we willing to devote our lives to Him and return to Torah as the guideline for our lives? With these questions nagging at the back of our minds, we will look further into this subject in the coming studies.

Covenant of Salt or Salt becoming tasteless
Matthew 5:13

Salt is an interesting topic. I have puzzled for years regarding how that salt can lose its properties. How can it become tasteless? Sodium Chloride is an element that does not change. Salt is simply salt, if it has become tasteless, then it was not salt in the beginning. While looking at this passage, I realized that I have been making the same mistake that Nicodemus did when Jesus asked him if he had been born again (John 3:1-13). The Jewish people had an idiom that referred to the beginning of a new month. It was a statement that the new month was “born again”. Religiously speaking, we go through cycles in our lives, as we enter a new cycle we are “born again” for the next cycle of events. Jesus was stating that He had brought a new cycle into play. Those who follow Him must enter into His “month” or cycle of life. Nicodemus was stuck on a baby being born over again. I got stuck on literal salt.

Salt has been used by the Jewish people as a highly significant element. Torah directs salt to be combined with grain offerings (Lev 2:9:13). Salt must be included with every grain offering. When God gave the command regarding offerings devoted to the Lord, specifically the priest’s portion of wave offerings, oil, first born animals, first fruits, basically all edible offerings had to be seasoned with salt as an everlasting covenant of salt before the Lord (Numbers 18:8-19). David’s descendants as perpetual rulers over Israel were under a covenant of salt (2 Chronicles 13:5). The throne that is built forever that comes from David was not the throne of Solomon, but the eternal throne of Yeshua (2 Sam 7:12-16). Jesus, the descendant of David is the prophesied child who under this covenant of salt would reign forever (Isa 9:6-7; Lk1:32-33; 2:10-12).

It is a Jewish custom to dip bread into salt on the Sabbath. The Jewish people hold that the dinner table becomes an altar before the Lord. When we eat our meals, we are giving thanks and effectively offering sacrifice to God. Therefore, the salt is a vital part of the menu. Some sprinkle it on the bread, others dip the bread in the Salt. On the Sabbath, the bread is dipped into the salt during the service to demonstrate that the covenants of God are still in effect. Salt represents the agreement between God and man in the biblical covenants. Today in Messianic churches, the bread is dipped in salt during the communion service as a testimony that Jesus gave us the New Covenant and which was sealed by His blood represented by the wine (Matt 26:27-29). What we are looking at is not a “new” ritual that Jesus started but rather “reworking” or “defining” an older ritual.

If salt represents the covenant with God, then we now see a fuller meaning to the passage where Jesus said that if the salt has lost its flavor, then it is useless. Those under a covenant act as if they are not under a covenant and have lost their saltiness. Here is my original thoughts before becoming Messianic. I was not too far off the mark:

Imagine salt that has lost it’s flavor, or it’s salting properties. Worthless is an understatement, in the Greek, the idea behind this is foolishness. If a Christian walks away from God then he has stepped into foolishness. Another point on this, as Christians, we should be an encouragement to others. Our lives should cause other people to be convicted of their sin, and of their need for God. If we are living lives which mirror the world, meaning that we do everything that the world does, our lifestyles are only different by the fact that we attend church, then how are we salt in the earth? Salt causes thirst, which causes people to search for water to satisfy the thirst.

It is a sad state of affairs today, Christians live and blend so well with the world, that it is rare for them to ever witness in the workplace. In many cases, you would never know they were Christians unless you ask them directly. Where is our saltiness? I work for the railroad, and many who receive this study work there too. I am constantly surprised at the many Christian brothers that I run into who have been running stealth mode. Many times, they look, sound and act just like everyone else, even to the point of the use of profanity, as well as other stuff. I’m not picking on railroaders, it is the same in almost every other trade in America. I will often ask my fellow workers if they attend church anywhere, some of the answers have been interesting.

The main thought here is that if we are so much like the world that we have to be ferreted out, then how are we like salt? How can we make the world thirsty for the word, if it is not even evident in our own lives? One of the main purposes of this Bible study is to get people to dig in the word on a daily basis. If the word is being daily planted in your life, then the saltiness will certainly be evident in your life. The answer to Jesus’ question, the depleted salt must be replaced with new salt. If we have lost our saltiness, then it is time to dig in the Word and replace the salt in our lives.

So then, it is not so much a matter of salt becoming deplete as it is that we have turned away from the Torah of God or “instruction of God”. As “New Testament” believers who claim that we are under the “new covenant” how many of us have lost our saltiness and no longer live as if we are under a covenant with God? Our salt has become ineffective because we are no longer living our lives according to God’s instructions (Torah). When the world looks at us and states that they do not want anything to do with our religion. It is no wonder.

Let’s think back on time briefly. This passage to this point has pointed to the Messiah, Jesus. He is the covenant maker who established the new covenant with His blood and resurrection. The people that He came to were the Jewish people, and a handful of Gentiles who begged for scraps. Now, and since 325AD, we have usurped the Jewish people from their rightful position and replaced them. Since the inception of the catholic church during the Roman Empire, Christianity has killed and slaughtered more Jewish people than anyone else. We, as Christians, are the murderers of God’s chosen people. When you say??? Let’s mention a few big ones: the famous Crusades, Spanish Inquisition, Jewish people were slaughtered by the church as scapegoats for the black death, and during Nazi Germany an untold multitude was slaughtered in the name of Jesus. Today our President has slowly turned his back on the alliance that we have had with the nation of Israel. In my opinion, he is not a Christian, yet as the leader of the greatest “Christian” nation on earth, we bear the responsibility of our leader. What Jew in their right mind would want anything to do with Christianity, the Jew killers? The oxymoron is that as “New Testament” believers we “love” the Jews! The “Christ” that we promote does not sound like the Jewish Messiah to them.

Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, came to the Jewish people as the savior of the world. His name Yeshua literally means in Hebrew “Salvation”. His title (that you never see me use) as the Greek word “Christos” means literally “the anointed one” which translates into “Messiah” (which I always use). The “Covenant of Salt” that we have is with Jesus the Messiah that was made with the Jewish people (Jeremiah 31:31-34). We as Christians have been grafted in to this covenant as wild olive branches drawing our very life from a magnificent Jewish heritage of a relationship with God (Romans 11:17-32). Our saltiness is due to the Yeshua the Messiah, who led His people according to Torah. As we endeavor in this study to look at the truth of the Bible, let’s focus on who Jesus really is and follow Him. Let’s put salt back in to our lives.

Matthew 5:14-16
Light is a theme that runs through the scriptures. Jesus constantly proclaimed that He is the light of the world (John 1:5-9; 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36, 46; 1 Jn 1:5-7; 2:8-10). Let’s take a stroll through the scriptures briefly to see what is said about light and righteousness through the scriptures. In this study we will first look at the Messiah and how light was used in prophecy to refer to Him. Second we will look at His disciples as light bearers.

A look at Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah
Remember, so far in Matthew 5 we have discovered that Jesus is focusing primarily on the Messianic prophesies. He is looking at prophesies that relate directly to the Messiah and are indicative that He is the Messiah. This set of verses is no different. Let’s look at what Isaiah said about the Messiah and His reign:

“For seven women will take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach!” In that day the Branch of the Lord will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and the adornment of the survivors of Israel. It will come about that he who is left in Zion and remains in Jerusalem will be called holy—everyone who is recorded for life in Jerusalem. When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and purged the bloodshed of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning, then the Lord will create over the whole area of Mount Zion and over her assemblies a cloud by day, even smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory will be a canopy. There will be a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and refuge and protection from the storm and the rain.” (Isaiah 4:1–6, NASB95)

Before the Messiah sets up His reign on earth He will purge the land through judgment. Everyone left on Earth during the Millennial reign of Messiah will start out as believers who have survived judgment. The exodus from Egypt was a prototype of the later reign of the Messiah because during the Exodus God used a pillar of smoke during the day and a bright fire at night which continually shed light on the area (Ex 13:21-22; Num 9:15-23). We also see the Shekinah Glory of the Lord as a bright light, as a consuming fire on top of Mount Sinai (Ex 24:16-18). This was how Torah was given to men. God came in the light and delivered Torah as the light of the world.

Jesus the Rabbi Teaches his Disciples
Jesus was speaking to his disciples when He said “You are the light of the world…” He was establishing that since He is their Rabbi, they will follow His lead (John 8:12; 9:5; 12:36). Proverbs tells us that the righteous walk according to the light that is brighter than the light of the full day (Prov 4:18). Therefore, when Jesus stated that they were the light of the world, He was teaching them of the character of the followers of the Messiah.

Let’s return to Matthew with the background of the Messianic prophesies and of a brief study on light. Jesus used simple truths to explain “light”. It is obvious that a city on a hill cannot be hidden. It would be foolish to place a lamp under a basket. The purpose of light at that point would simply be nullified. Light shining out to illuminate the surrounding area carries with it a huge responsibility.

Imagine for a moment that you were to place your light in a front room. Also imagine that this room has a picture window facing the street where everyone that goes by can look in. I would wager that you would not open the curtains to the window if the room was unsightly, covered with trash, cluttered and obviously dirty. First you would clean up the room, make it presentable, and then open the curtains so others could see your good work. The same should be true in our lives.

Jesus stated that we should live our lives so that they bring glory to the Father. I have heard many say that we are no longer under the law (Torah) and that we are not burdened to do good works. Jesus said that since we declare that we are believers in Him, the curtains to the front room have been removed. People know that we follow Jesus and look in to our lives to see if we are living according to God’s instructions (Torah). They are looking to see if we display “good works” in our lives.

Like it or not, we at the moment that we declared that we follow Yeshua (Jesus), the God of our Salvation, we moved into glass houses. Our lives are now illuminated by however much or however little light that we live by. Just like the cloud in the wilderness, our lives are illuminated 24 hours each day. What is the point of having light in your life, and then covering it up, or camouflaging it so that it cannot be seen? Light is interesting, it goes out from the source, and continues forever, or until it is absorbed by a light blocking device. When we become Christians, we are born again, dying to our old lives of sin and darkness, and born into a new life of truth and light. Jesus shows His light through our lives to others (Philippians 2:15).

Epistles on light
Let’s take a stroll through the Epistles to see how light was applied to early Christians. Paul stated that Yeshua will bring light to the things hidden in darkness and disclose the motives of the heart, then God will praise men for their heart intentions (1 Cor 4:5). So, according to this, there is a common fallacy that our hearts are so wicked that all of our heart intentions are evil. Once we have become regenerated through the Messiah, our hearts change and we become new creations through Salvation (Ro 6:4; 2 Cor 5:17). We have become ambassadors of our Messiah and bear witness through our lives to His marvelous work (2 Cor 5:20-21). So then, we have an issue by saying that we are utterly wicked. If we are utterly wicked, then the regeneration of God was pointless and the verses cited above and in the following paragraphs are in error.

Paul stated that as we live our lives, the light shines forth as a witness to the world which displays the glory of the face of the Messiah (2 Cor 4:4-6). Paul encouraged partnerships to be between believers because light and darkness do not mix (2 Cor 6:14), this applies to business as well as marriage. Since we are children of the light, we should walk in such a way that the light of Messiah shines through our lives drawing all people to abandon darkness and embrace things pleasing to the Lord (Eph 5:8-16). Our lives can be and should be above reproach since we appear as “lights” of the world (Philippians 2:15-16). Since we are children of the light, when light is shown on our lives, we have nothing to be ashamed of (1 Thes 5:4-6). Timothy declared that since have immortality through the Gospel our lives should be driven by the light of the Messiah our Savior (2 Tim 1:10-14). Jacob, the brother of Jesus declared that the light that comes from the Father should be evident in our lives as we abandon wickedness to become doers of the Word (James 1:17-22). Peter declared that as believers we have been called out of darkness into light to excellent behavior (1 Pet 2:9-12). John repeated the theme of his gospel declaring that if we follow Jesus we now live in the light and darkness is completely gone from our lives (1 John 1:5, 7; 2:8-10).

Thoughts and application
Light that shines on nothing is invisible. Light displays what is hidden. It drives away darkness to reveal what the darkness has hidden, whether it is good or bad.

In the previous study we looked at salt. Salt does absolutely no good unless it is eaten, then it causes a person to become thirsty. It must be internalized, ingested. Light by the same token, simply shines on a person, illuminating his life. God designed the Christian in order to live the life drew from God, causing the Word of God to be thought about by others, causing them to become thirsty. Our relationship with the living Torah, Jesus the Messiah causes us to live out Torah which is the good news of the Gospel. Jesus filled regenerated us as light bearers. As the Christian lives his life it demonstrates that he is a Christian and following the Lord. This illuminates the lives of everyone, causing them to be faced with truth. Face it, if a person never contacts a person who lives differently than himself, will he ever realize that his lifestyle is wrong? The righteous life will reveal the unrighteousness of the world. Basically, the idea of salt and light is to remind us that we are to affect our circle of influence, those who we interact with on a daily basis.

Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus speaks about the Law, Torah
This passage starts a new section in this chapter. It should have a subheading as “Jesus speaks about the Torah”. However, Christian Bible translators miss the idea and place it under “personal relationship” headings. The New American Standard uses the subheadings of “Disciples and the World” and “Personal Relationships”. They miss the fact that Jesus is speaking specifically about Torah, the Old Testament as a whole, specifically Torah, the writings and the prophets. Why?

““Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17, NASB95)

There has been a lot of bad teaching that has surrounded this verse. Many in the Church teach that the law and prophets have been fulfilled, therefore no longer in effect. Replacement Theology teaches that the New Testament “replaces” or overrides the Old Testament.

Jesus’ own words this state that replacement or the law no longer being in effect, is not true. He stated that He did not come to “ABOLISH”. Therefore, if the Law were to be fulfilled, or done away with, He says one thing but does another. I believe our translators have done a disservice to all of us. The traditional way of translating this verse is to use the word “fulfill” giving the idea in English that the law is finished. The Greek usage of the word in that day carried the idea of “complete, made perfect, made full”.[xiv] Old Testament Septuagint usage indicates the idea of “making full, consecrating as a priest, to set, or mount.[xv] The simple truth is that we have been duped by our teachers.

Think of it like this. Imagine that you are working a jigsaw puzzle and have worked out the entire puzzle, except for one piece. You can get the overall idea of the puzzle, but miss the full picture because that piece that is missing is central to the entire puzzle. Once you find the missing piece, the puzzle is completed or made full. Now you can see what the full picture of the puzzle was intended to be. Perhaps another illustration to this is that you have built a car. You have everything but the transmission. The car looks great! But it lacks the motive ability to get places. Once you put the transmission in the car, you are able to utilize it to reach your desired destination.

The same is true about Torah. Jesus did not come to trash the puzzle or to scrap the car. He came to make it complete so that the full potential of the item could be realized. Jesus clearly stated that He did not come to abolish, (which means to destroy, take down, or demolish). He came to make the law work at its fullest potential.

““For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:18–19, NASB95)

Jesus clearly taught that the Law or more accurately “Torah” and the rest of the Old Testament, are not done away with. It is still in full effect. The difference is that now it is fully functional. Now that God has supplied the missing piece or transmission, anyone who tinkers with the message shall be called “least” in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus brought alive the law, and the prophets. Through His work on the cross, His life on earth, and the Holy Spirit coming to minister to man, He has caused the law and the prophets to take on a whole new meaning to us. Once Jews and Christians recognize Jesus as the Jewish Messiah, the law will be seen in an entirely different light for them.

It is interesting that not a single stroke will pass away. In the Greek, each stroke or accent mark has a distinct meaning or pronunciation. In the Hebrew, the strokes are the vowel markings. The Jewish Teachers of old removed the markings from the name of God, YHVH, or Yahweh. Now, we really don’t know the proper pronunciation of God’s name. It was considered to be so holy that it could not be spoken. Jesus said that no mark, no matter how little will pass away. We know that once He comes again, even His forgotten name will be restored (Rev 19:12).

Jesus warned the disciples not to annul or make any of the commandments to be annulled (Matt 5:19). This means to destroy, release, unfasten or to let loose. The idea is to make the commandment as dissolved or no longer in effect. Jesus warns those who say that Torah, even the very least commandment in Torah, is no longer in effect are teaching false doctrine. They are teaching against His will. So to say that the Law is done away with, or that it belongs to a bygone era is placing ourselves in a position where we are calling Jesus a liar. We are calling Jesus a false prophet because He taught that the Law or Torah is never to be done away with.

Jesus said that those who teach that Torah (Law) is still in effect and teach the full truth as He revealed it will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Note though that Jesus does not just say those who teach the Torah, but rather “whoever keeps (does) and teaches them…” (Matt 5:19). He taught that we need to “do” Torah in order to be considered great in His kingdom. I want to be on the greater side, how about you?

In my opinion, we have a lot of relearning to do. If you choose to rethink the truth in your life, I promise you will not be very popular among Christians. For example, my adult children all think that I have entered into a different religion. They refuse to listen or entertain any idea regarding Torah. Why? As a father, I drilled into them unknowingly the false teaching that we now live totally under sloppy grace and are no longer under God’s Law (Torah). My efforts to get them to think “outside the box” has landed them squarely “in the box” where church doctrine overrules the teachings of Jesus. I am not alone in this. Many who switch to consider the scriptures as they are written are facing the same problem.

Jesus commissions Believers to be doers of Torah
““For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20, NASB95)

Reflect back, any time that you see a “for” or “therefore” look to see what it is there for. This is one of the basic rules of interpretation. Context rules interpretation of Scripture. I can’t drive home this truth hard enough! Context, context, context, keep looking at context, it will unlock biblical understanding.

With that said, Jesus had been teaching his disciples about Torah. He taught them that Torah was still in effect and the one who keeps Torah and teaches it will be declared great in the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:19). Now he expands the thought to impress on his listeners the gravity of what he was teaching. The scribes and Pharisees were the most holy people that his disciples knew. Jesus was saying that their righteousness must surpass the righteousness of these people. I have head in the past that this righteousness is the righteousness that is derived from the blood sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross. That may be true, but, it does not keep with the context of the passage.

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament made this statement regarding the Greek word for righteousness as understood by usage in the Septuagint:

The element of unity in the faith of all the righteous in Israel, whether prophets, priests, lawgivers, or men of a less distinctive sociological type, is the acknowledgment of God’s law ordering all life both great and small and forming a basis for hope. There can be no mistaking the causal connexion between the various ideas of religious law and the historical development of the religion of Yahweh and the form of tribal religion in which God is not merely the Lord of law but also one who is bound by it.[xvi]

Yeshua was teaching on how that those who keep Torah are considered to be great in the kingdom. Torah does not forgive sins! Therefore, He is not speaking about righteousness derived from being forgiven of sin in this passage. He is speaking about practical righteousness derived from right living. It might be better to refer to this type of righteousness as one who follows Torah. This is consistent with the teaching of this passage.

Jesus also stated that those who are not righteous will not enter the kingdom of heaven! If I were in a pulpit now, I would probably be on guard against being stoned. Yet, Jesus taught that our righteousness according to Torah must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. What could he have meant? In the following few studies we will be looking at an exposition that Jesus does on basic Torah. He will go over in the next few verses simple applications of Torah so that we can understand what He is talking about.

I would like to remind you that under the New Covenant according to Jeremiah, God’s torah will be written on our hearts and on our minds so that no man will be without excuse. All of us are hard wired to follow God’s Torah:

In verse 33 the Hebrew word for “law” is the Hebrew word “Torah”. It is safe to say that since Yeshua is teaching the people to be Torah observant, and since He came to put in place the New Covenant, our righteousness can far exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. This is not because we are better than they were. It is because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit and forgiven by our mediator Yeshua. Look at the following verses:

“Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:5–6, NASB95)

“For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.” (Hebrews 9:15–17, NASB95)

Torah being written on the hearts of men is only possible through the New Covenant that Jesus promised the Jews. Torah, is basically the right way of living according God’s instructions. We receive this instruction through a variety of means. First, we have the Spirit of God living in our hearts teaching us and reminding us of the scriptures (John 14:26, Titus 3:5). Second, we have the scriptures that we are admonished to study (John 1:1-14; 2 Tim 3:16-17; 4:1-2; Heb 4:12). Third, we have the fellowship of believers (Prov 27:15; 1 John 1:1-7). The simple truth is that we are following the right way of life, we are effectively following Torah to the fullest extent.

I cannot stress enough the need for Bible reading and Bible study. I highly recommend that each person go on the internet or simply make a plan to read through the Bible at least once each year. This helps to balance your thinking. It builds an overview of the Bible that will help avoid false teachings. It also enables us to impart God’s full word into our lives. If you do not read the Bible, you are not able to quote it, and you are not able to draw from all of it. Dig in and read!

Jesus Teaches on the Sixth Commandment: You shall not commit murder
Yeshua skips the first five commandments because they deal primarily with the relationship between God and man. We observed earlier in this chapter that Jesus claimed to be the Messiah and argued his case from the Jewish understanding of the attributes of the Messiah. He amped up His argument by stating that He came to fulfill Torah and the prophets. Now Jesus looks at the latter half of the Ten Commandments to look at person to person relationship. He twists these by applying the teachings of the Rabbi’s to show a fuller meaning. Jesus does not do away with the Ten Commandments; He embellishes them more.

Matthew 5:21-26 You shall not murder (EX 20:13; Deut 5:17):
Matt 5:21 Jesus quotes this commandment where man is not allowed to murder another man. He then embellishes this by indicating that Torah demands that if a person is found a murderer, he will be tried for his murder. If a person is found to have killed unintentially, Torah makes provision for cities of refuge where a person can live in safety from the blood avenger (Numbers 35:11-34; Deut 19:4-6). The murderer is a blight to the community of Israel and must be dealt with quickly. There are a lot of instructions in Torah regarding how to deal with a murderer in court. It is interesting that the person who kills the murderer is not the court. This responsibility falls on the blood avenger.

Matt 5:22 Jesus added an additional statement to this commandment. The “but” that you see in Matt 5:22 can also be translated as “and”. Contextually speaking this is a better translation because Jesus does not nullify the previous comment, he validates it and adds to the comment. Otherwise, Matt 5:25 does not make sense since it indicates that judgment will follow.

Speaking of Judgment: Jesus speaks more about Judgment than any other writer in the Bible. He stated that if a person commits character assassination, he is guilty of the fire of “gehenna”. Hell or Gehenna (Greek for hell) is a place outside of the city gates where the trash and rubbish are constantly burning. It is a place where the unclean from the city were exiled to. The major part of the book of Job is centered outside the city where Job took a potsherd and scraped his wounds with them while sitting in ashes (Job 2:8). Hell is spoken of figuratively by Jesus as the place of the unclean where they are not allowed to enter the city of God. Torah teaches that the unclean place is outside the city (Lev 14:40-45; 24:14-23; Num 15:32-36; 21:18-21). The place of judgment is outside the city or outside the camp. The implication of this is that the unholy are moved out of the holy place where they will not contaminate the holy ones.

Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees (Matt 5:20). In these two verses, first He gives the example of murder. The murderer will stand judgment before the law. His judgment is just and expected. Murder is seen as particularly horrendous in the Jewish mind because when a person is murdered all of his descendants are also murdered. This was the meaning of the blood crying out from the ground when Cain killed Abel (Gen 4:10).

Jesus said that a person who assassinates the character of his brother is guilty before the court, while the “good for nothing” shall be liable to the “Sanhedrin” in the Greek, Court in English. Fool is the Greek word “Moros” where we get the word “moron”, who is guilty of hell. Why? If you destroy a man’s faith, and cause him to walk away from God, you stand in great danger (Matt 18:6; Mark 9:42; Lk 17:2). Perhaps you are saying, “Yeah Joe, but that is from the New Testament”. Look at what Torah teaches about placing a stumbling block, or committing character assassination. Torah expressedly forbids slandering, injustice, bearing grudges, and hating your brother (Leviticus 19:15-18).

Jesus did not offer a “new” revelation regarding murder. He used murder to help the people understand that all Torah is still in effect: the gravity of breeching Torah carries the judgment of God. Judgment that can condemn a man to hell. Many teach that Jesus “upped the ante” with his revelation on murder. I hold that Jesus helped the people to understand that all Torah carries equal weight before God.

Matt 5:23-24 Jesus continues to expound on interpersonal relationships between brothers. Jesus expounded on the ideas of the Rabbi’s thoughts on the Day of Atonement when he discussed presenting an offering (Matt 5:23). The Babylonian Talmud quoting the Mishnah stated the following regarding the Day of Atonement:

He who says, “I shall sin and repent, sin and repent”—they give him no chance to do repentance … “I will sin and the Day of Atonement will atone,”—the Day of Atonement does not atone. For transgressions done between man and the Omnipresent, the Day of Atonement atones. For transgressions between man and man, the Day of Atonement atones, only if the man will regain the good will of his friend. This exegesis did R. Eleazar b. Azariah state: “From all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord (Lev. 16:30)—for transgressions between man and the Omnipresent does the Day of Atonement atone. For transgressions between man and his fellow, the Day of Atonement atones, only if the man will regain the good will of his friend.” Said R. Aqiba, “Happy are you, O Israel. Before whom are you made clean, and who makes you clean? It is your Father who is in heaven, as it says, And I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean (Ezek. 36:25). And it says, O Lord, the hope [miqweh = immersion pool] of Israel (Jer. 17:13)—Just as the immersion pool cleans the unclean, so the Holy One, blessed be he, cleans Israel.”

Mishnah tractate Yoma 8:9[xvii]

Yeshua validated what the Rabbi’s already said, He said the Rabbi’s “got it right”. He spoke to them about teachings that were already found in the Mishna. This was not new revelation. He discussed oral Torah in this statement by stating that if another person feels that you have offended them, they are not in harmony with you. It is very important to gain the good will of your neighbor. Then come before the Lord and present your offering.

Matt 5:25-26 I believe the last two verses in this section hinge off of taking the discussion of Torah and expanding it to the debtors trial. As far as I can tell, debtors trials were not a part of Torah, so this was probably a cultural issue with the Roman system. Yeshua stated that if a person goes to debtors trial, they can be certain that they will pay the last cent. He built up to this statement by teaching that if a person were to put Torah into practice they would clear the offense before going to trial. It is interesting that the Greek word for “Truly” is the Greek word “Amen” (Matt 5:26).

Speaking of word studies. The word for “Make Friends” only occurs one time in the Bible. It is used three times in the Septuagint (Esther E:23; Dan 2:43; 3 Mac 7:11). It carries the idea of being well disposed, favorably inclined, or friendly with. The idea Jesus is getting across is to put Torah into action, make friends with your opponent by clearing up the problem quickly. Then it is not necessary to go to trial. In short, put Torah into action by being proactive.

Practical Application:
Many try to say that Jesus taught new ideas in this section of scripture. The “but” we discussed indicates that Jesus one upped the murder commandment when in reality He placed an “and” which linked this commandment with Torah. God is concerned with His people keeping Torah. Following Jesus means that we put Torah into action. How? He started with making amends with neighbors. Next study we will look deeper into how Jesus applies Torah to the lives of men.

God cherishes brotherly love. God counts fellowship between believers to be the ultimate of love. As spiritual beings, we are to carefully guard our brothers and protect the fellowship that we have with them. Take the illustration and apply it to sheep, if sheep are biting and kicking each other, the entire flock will probably end up scattered all over the field, out of control. If they huddle together, the shepherd will watch over them and protect them (Psalm 23).

Matthew 5:27 “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14; Deut 5:18)
Jesus now looks at the seventh commandment. We discussed this at length in the Deuteronomy study. I am going to quote from that study because in it I did a serious look at this passage. I will edit the passage to be slightly different than the original.

Deuteronomy 5:18 “You shall not commit adultery” NASB95. This is an interesting commandment because today many are blatantly violating this feeling that it is their right to play the field.

““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matthew 5:27–30, NASB95)

Jesus stretched the meaning of adultery a little to help us understand the spirit behind the command (Matthew 5:27-30). If you even look on a woman with lust in your heart, you have committed adultery. David is a good example of this because when he lusted after Bathsheba, adultery was already in place before he did the act and murdered her husband (2 Sam 11:2-5). In the same manner, Jesus talks about “looking” upon a woman with lust, then adultery is created in the heart (Matt 5:28). Proverbs gives us the admonition to listen to God’s word because in it is life for the heart, both mentally and physically:

“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your sight; Keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body. Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:20–23, NASB95)

Jesus does not leave this alone because He designed men and understands how the emotional centers function. He talks about how that the eye can make you stumble (Matt 5:29). “Looking” with lust with the eye makes you stumble. His advice is to tear it out! The idea is not to literally tear the eye out, but rather to control it or it will control you and break fellowship with God. To get a Hebrew understanding of the eye, let’s visit Proverbs for a moment:

“Keep my commandments and live, And my teaching as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 7:2–3, NASB95)

A better translation of the “apple” is that of the “pupil” of your eye. God says to keep His Commandments, (Hebrew: Mitzvot) and teaching (Hebrew: Torah) as the pupil of your eye. Life is viewed through the pupil of the eye. Our outlook on life should be using Torah as the screen that we view life on. The Pupil of the eye is important to God. He guards His people as the pupil of his eye (Deut 32:10). God says that those who touch His people are touching the pupil of His eye (Zech 2:8). This illustration was very familiar to the Jewish people. They knew when Jesus was teaching about the Eye that he was referring to Torah (living according to God’s instructions). When this focus is switched from focusing on the scriptures to focusing upon adultery, our entire outlook on life switches as well. Looking with lust on the heart is a heart focus where the paradigm of our lives switch our entire perspective. Our lives become centered on adultery. This cripples us spiritually and enslaves us to lust.

The Greek word that is translated as “hell” is “geenna” where we get the word Gehenna. Swanson stated that this was a literal place in “a ravine just SSW of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. A place of trash fires and perpetually burning rubbish, hence the figurative extension of a place of eternal punishment…”[xviii] Following the lust of the eye breaks fellowship with God and makes a person unclean in God’s eyes. (This was discussed in the previous few verses.) I am not talking about security of salvation. What I am talking about is exiting the presence of God and living life as an outcast spiritually. Gehenna for the Christian is a time when they have broken fellowship with God and are living out their lives in the flesh separated from an intimate relationship with God. The eye leads to lust and makes a person unclean.

““If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Matthew 5:30, NASB95)

Jesus did not beat around the bush; I am convinced that in context He spoke of masturbation (Matt 5:30). Physical anatomy has not changed. When a person lust after someone and chooses to utilize his right hand for self-stimulation (masturbation), it puts action into his thoughts, lust turns to mental adultery. Male and female alike, Jesus knows what takes place in secret. He understood that sexual sin of secret lust breaks fellowship with God. Actions that follow confirm broken fellowship and make a person unclean before God. Does the eye or the hand “make you stumble”? We make a conscious decision to violate God’s standards of living. We choose to break fellowship with God and become unclean in His eyes.

Pop psychology teaches that masturbation is OK, everyone does it. The worldly way of thinking removes guilt from breaking fellowship with God. This is completely counter to the truth that Jesus taught regarding sexual purity of thought. This also nullifies His teaching that if we look at a woman with lust in our eyes, we have committed adultery. At this point we have to decide, was Jesus overruled by psychology? Was He misinformed on the nature of man? Can we say that Jesus was wrong and he was being radical? The answer to these questions is simple. We can choose to believe God, or we can choose to believe man. People have argued this point ranging from it is simply ok, to the point that yes, it is ok but it leads to sexual addiction, all points seem to merge on a personal decision if it is ok or not. God said it is adultery. Who do you believe?

The devil is quick to jump on sexual lust in order to draw believers away from God. There are constantly stories of religious leaders who fall to the sin of adultery and are taken out of service. There are countless more stories of individuals who have fallen prey to pornography, internet porn, “sexual addictions” and such which have broken fellowship with God on an individual basis. It is an epidemic in our society. Jesus said that when we move forward with lust, look upon someone with lust and act upon our thoughts, we move into a position of “unclean” or broken fellowship with God. Following God’s commandments are not too difficult for us, but we must recognize that by following them we must make a conscious effort to resist and stand against becoming unclean before God.

The idea of adultery with the physical act is that once a man and woman have sexual intercourse, they become “one” according to God’s standards. Paul stated that when a man joins with a prostitute that the two become one flesh (1 Corinthians 6:16). The idea falls back on a blood covenant. When a man has intercourse with a virgin girl, the hymen is broken and blood is shed. This blood creates an irrevocable bond in God’s eyes between the man and the woman. They have become one flesh before God. The nature of this is carried forward even after initial intercourse according to Paul. Jesus expounded more on this idea by stating that even the thought of adultery violates our relationship with God.

God designed intercourse and marriage to be sacred before His eyes (Heb 13:4). He demands that marriage is holy and that those who enter the covenant are carrying on His work. When adultery takes place, the intended covenant relationship between man and woman is violated. This is a violation of our relationship with God. Therefore, our relationship with God has become broken.

To understand how sacred the marriage vow is, we must understand how God views it. Paul stated that the marriage between Christ and His believers was the same as physical marriage (Eph 5:28-32). The covenant relationship between husband and wife is the same as the covenant relationship between our Messiah and believers.

The theme that runs through the scriptures is that God is the husband of His bride, true believers (Eze 16). Replacement Theology teaches that the “Church” is the bride of Christ. This is a fallacy since Old Testament scriptures constantly refer to the wedding between God and Israel. However, since New Testament believers have been “Grafted in” to Israel, we also share in this marriage relationship with God (Romans 11:17). There is a lot of argument on who the Bride is, I believe that this bride consists of true believers who take the effort to follow God’s standards and become one with Him through fellowship. This starts with recognizing that Jesus is their personal messiah and accepting His work of redemption on the cross. If we as the bride of Christ commit spiritual adultery through lust, we break fellowship with our husband, Jesus. Are all believers the bride? This question is debatable, one thing is for certain, a person has to be a believer before he can be a part of the bride.

In our amoral society we are taught that if our actions do not affect others, then it is ok. We are immersed into sexual material on various media screens as we look at television, internet, mass media and even on the coveted smart phones. Our relationship with God hinges on keeping our covenant with Him as His children and as His bride. The smart way to live is in a life that follows His standards. When believers start down the road toward physical adultery or toward adultery in our mind we break fellowship with God. Is this worth it? Is it worth a life of religion where we hold to a form of godliness or do we desire to live a life of abundance where we fellowship with our God (2 Tim 3:5; 1 Tim 4:7; John 10:10)?

Yeshua’s audience at the time were the Jewish people who were following Torah. Do we follow Torah, or does “grace” remove us from the responsibility? Anyone who has been involved in this study understands that my thinking is that we are all under Torah. Therefore, as a modern application, what happens with pornography, or sleazy movies? The Pharisees were only concerned with the outward actions. Jesus was concerned with the motives of the heart. Perhaps it is time that we switch gears to be concerned with our outlook on life as well.

Divorce
““It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:31–32, NASB95)

The contextual idea of sexual sin is still the topic of discussion. Jesus referred to the teaching on divorce that Moses wrote (Deut 24:1-4). In order to understand His stand on this let’s look at that passage for a moment. The word in Torah says that if a man finds indecency in his wife, he can divorce her. The Hebrew word for “indecency” almost always refers to genitals or external sexual organs; by extension Deuteronomy 24:1 is noted as almost always interpreted as an improper sexual relationship.[xix] We are talking about an extra-marital relationship, or to put it in modern terms, an affair or fling. The Rabbi’s were all over the place on how to interpret this, some said it was for anything found undesirable, such as the husband losing his taste for her.[xx] The Mishna went on to state that one who divorces his wife under these circumstances is the most wicked of all men, one “who sees his wife go out with her head uncovered, spinning in the market, naked at the arms-and bathing with men”.[xxi] Others held to a stricter interpretation and declared that if a woman was found unfaithful, it had to be established by two witnesses (Deut 19:15).[xxii] The implication from the ancient writers was that this violation was sexual in nature.

By the time that Jesus was on the earth, a person could simply write a certificate of divorce and divorce his wife for any reason. This was a misunderstanding of the writings of the Rabbi’s and especially of Torah. Jesus was tested with this misunderstanding by the crafty Pharisees (Matt 19:3-10). The Pharisees and Disciples were stunned at Yeshua’s response to the question. We will cover this later. Divorce was a real problem in that day, some believed that they could divorce a woman for any reason. Men will justify sin and look for loopholes that justify their actions. This was true in Yeshua’s day as well. The divorce rate of that time was equal to and possibly greater than the divorce rate of today.

Commentary: Grace has to come in to play today. There are many involved in this study that are divorced and remarried, some several times. All I can say on this is that God gives grace to us, and He has forgiven all of our sin. Every time someone is divorced, it leaves irreparable scars that remain on both parties forever. Right or wrong, I won’t go there, I’m going to opt out on placing an opinion, and report what I see in the text, then leave it for your discussion. One thing we can do is to instill in our children a respect for marriage, helping them to understand that marriage is forever. This will save them from the heartache that many of us have experienced. I have never been divorced, we came close and the Lord intervened drawing us back together. Praise Him!

Back to Matthew 5:32

“but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 5:32, NASB95)

We discussed translation of the Greek word “de” having the option of being translated as “but” or “and”. In this case, a better translation would probably be “and”. One thing that few people realize is that it was YHVH that spoke to Moses and gave him Torah. No one understands the true meaning of what they have written better than the original author. When God spoke to Moses, the original language carried the idea of sexual sin. Jesus clarified this in this passage. The word for “unchastity” is “porneias”, meaning harlotry or prostitution, adultery, or incest.

The exception clause in this passage is not an exception! Jesus is saying that those who divorce their wives for anything outside of sexual sin on the count of the wife causes their divorced spouse to become involved in the sin of adultery. Why? The woman who is divorced for adultery or sexual sin is covered in Torah. The man does not incur a violation of Torah on the woman because she has already made the decision to have a sexual relationship outside of marriage. The man does not cause his wife to commit adultery because she has already done it! She bears the responsibility for her sin.

Divorce for any other reason places the man in a precarious situation. The common thought of the day was that man could divorce his wife for any reason. In today’s terms, this could easily be translated as “irreconcilable differences”. (Ok, gonna step on a few toes here. Sorry if it hurts.)

Jesus still did not condone divorce, He only made a note that the man is not responsible for the woman’s adultery (see also Matthew 19:8-9), Jesus does not condone divorce. He also does condone re-marriage when divorce takes place because of unfaithfulness or adultery (Mark 10:5-12). Jesus makes an even stronger point that no one is to get divorced (Luke 16:18), there is not much wiggle room. With the divorce rate going out of sight in our country, perhaps it is time for us to take a strong stand on the subject.

When a man divorces his wife for any reason except sexual misconduct on her part, he causes her to become an adulterous woman. He also enters the sin of adultery when and if he ever has sex or remarries. God considers marriage to be forever, no court on earth can undo marriage (Mark 10:9). How plain can it be made?

“And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”” (Mark 10:11–12, NASB95)

Let me summarize: The so-called “exception” clause found in Matthew 5:32 is not an exception. It is a marker of responsibility. If the man divorces his wife for any other reason, he is responsible for making his wife and adulterer, while become an adulterer himself. The only way that a man avoids causing his wife to become an adulterer through divorce is if she has already become one through sexual misconduct.

Just a couple of thoughts before you stone me for telling the truth: Before we come to know Yeshua as our Lord and Savior, many have made the mistake of getting divorced, for any reason. Many have also become remarried. We can’t do anything about the sin of the past. Double divorce will only complicate matters further. I encourage you to repent of the unintentional sin of causing your wife to become an adulterer. I also encourage you to spend time before the Lord repenting of your personal sin. Then throw it before Him. Put your current marriage before Him, praying for forgiveness for unintentional sin of adultery. Second, if you are currently in divorce proceedings, do everything possible to reconcile the relationship. Third, if you are already a divorced single, seriously consider the biblical text before remarrying. Remarriage will place you in the state of adultery. The scriptures are explicit. If you choose to argue with me, argue away. I encourage you to argue with God, and if He gives you a better understanding from the original language; please contact me.

Making vows
Matthew 5:33-37

Remember, context, context, context! Everything stays in context with the passage. Yeshua was talking about sexual sin, divorce and sexual sin, and then marriage. How does vows come into play? The word for “vow” is drawn from a Greek word which carries the idea of not “swearing falsely”. It has to do with oath making and telling the truth. This is linked in Torah with several commands:

“Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the word which the Lord has commanded. “If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” (Numbers 30:1–2, NASB95)

Moses went on to discuss vows made by women, the responsibilities of the father and husband in regard to her vows. Widows and divorced women are bound by their vows since they do not have husbands. Then he discusses the responsibility that the husband has toward the wife regarding vows (Numbers 30). This lengthy passage was very familiar with the Jewish people. In context with the Matthew passage, the vow or the oath that is made is in regard to the marriage and the responsibilities of marriage. The husband is shirking his duty by divorcing the wife and violating not only the oath of marriage, but also that of being a protector for his wife.

“‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:12, NASB95)

““When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for it would be sin in you, and the Lord your God will surely require it of you. “However, if you refrain from vowing, it would not be sin in you. “You shall be careful to perform what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God, what you have promised.” (Deuteronomy 23:21–23, NASB95)

Oath taking was a serious matter. All through the Old Testament there are admonition after admonition to keep vows, and pay them quickly because God takes them very seriously (Judges 11:35 ff; Psalm 22:25; 50:14; 66:13-14; 76:11; Ecclesiastes 5:4-6; Na 1:15; Job 22:27; and many more). The essence of the admonitions is to pay your vows, those who make an oath and do not keep it are considered to be fools before God. That is not a good place to be!

Jesus sticks the “and” in again in this passage. He admonishes the listeners not to make false oaths “and” not to swear by heaven, earth, or any other thing. The Old Testament writings all establish that God owns everything, heaven, earth, and that the city of Jerusalem is His city (1 Ch 28:2; 2 Ch 6:6; Ps 48:2; 87:2; Is 66:1). David’s psalm of praise to the Lord carries the gist of what Jesus is saying; the Lord owns heaven, earth and has appointed Jerusalem as His holy hill (Ps 99). The entire point of the tithe is that we recognize that what we have on earth is borrowed from God:

“‘Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.” (Leviticus 27:30, NASB95)

The point in context is that husband and wife make an agreement with each other. Breaking that agreement is a fatal error. Yet, this idea transcends beyond marriage as Jesus began to discuss general oath making in relation to practical application of Torah. He simply stated that since men have no ownership of earth, no control even over their own bodies, and it is best not to swear but simply to say “Yes” or “No” (Matt 5:36-37).

Truth was a rare commodity then as it is today. Man has flaws, serious flaws that doom him for failure. The best thing is not to swear an oath at all, but rather live in truth and honesty. Making sure that when we say yes or no, it is from the sincerity of the heart. If we establish honor in life, and truthfulness, oaths become unnecessary. Jesus was refuting the false righteousness, and saying that people should not just take oaths, but rather that their lives should be an example of truthfulness. He was also refuting those who thought they were ok in breaking the oath of marriage. God does not advocate divorce. God brings judgement on oath breakers. Anything short of the truth is sin. Truth is simply best.

I realize that it is taking a very long time to get through this passage. Yet I feel that it is critical to look at how Jesus looked at Torah and interpreted it. Many today hold that the “law” aka “torah” has been done away with and now we are under “grace”. Jesus not only endorses Torah, He reasons why it is the best guide for life. During his earthly stay, many false teachers had skewed the thinking of the people to abandon Torah for the traditions of men. Jesus was redirecting them back to the scriptures back to the ancient paths that direct our lives.

Rights – Justice
In America today we hear the constant battle cry, “I want my rights!” I am so sick of rights it makes me want to throw up sometimes. We are concerned with justice because someone said the wrong thing. They did not use the “politically correct” words to describe us. At my workplace we have in place an EEO policy, “Equal Employment Opportunity / Affirmative Action policy”. The main jist of the policy centers on a non-offensive workplace where the rights of the employees are protected. It is taken very seriously; violators are guilty until proven innocent. In my opinion, narcissism has become so predominate in our land that we demand it. Recently our church had to go to membership because then it can set rules for the congregation. Rules to protect the flock. We live in strange times. During the time that Jesus was on the earth, He addressed this problem. He reminded the people of what Torah said and embellished it with more teaching from the Old Testament.

Matthew 5:38-42 This set of verses are a direct hit in the bulls-eye of American philosophy. We in America raise our rights to the point of god-hood. Our rights rule, and anyone who violates our rights are subject for law suits, or extreme ridicule. Think of all the rights that we hold sacred, it would be impossible to list them all, every race has rights, women have their rights, workers have their rights, etc, etc, etc. The list goes on forever. Jesus made the case that these rights get in the way of fellowship! The very thing that they are designed to protect, they destroy. In the effort to protect and preserve one groups rights, you violate another’s rights. It is one of the greatest oxymoron’s of all times.

Torah stated that there was an eye for an eye, and tooth for tooth. These are civil laws written into the Torah to govern relationship between men.

““But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” (Exodus 21:23–25, NASB95)

“‘If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him.” (Leviticus 24:19–20, NASB95)

““A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. “If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. “The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. “The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. “Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” (Deuteronomy 19:15–21, NASB95)

The literal purpose of these teachings was that if man intentionally harmed a neighbor, then that harm was returned to the neighbor in the same manner. The purpose was to discourage anyone from acting maliciously. Torah guarded against evil being allowed to prosper in the community of believers (Deut 19:20). In cases non-physical injury just restitution was to be made in order for the wrong to be righted (Exodus 21:26-36).

The intent of Torah was to get along with your neighbors. The limitation of Torah was to match wrong for wrong so that a person would not be overly punished for his error. The purpose of Torah was to protect the public by discouraging wrong doing, and to protect the guilty party by limiting his judgment. The Rabbi’s developed long and intricate rules that protected the injured party. They were compensated for lost time from work, injury, pain, damage and emotional injury (insult). These were good rules; they are mirrored in our courts to this day.

Yeshua did not leave this alone. He added an “and” at the beginning of verse 39 to verify the intent of Torah (translated as “but” in most bibles):

““You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” (Matthew 5:38–41, NASB95)

Yeshua clarified Torah, it was meant so that love could be shown one man to another man. Torah commanded that God’s people are not to take vengeance, bear grudges and that you are to love your neighbor as yourself (Lev 19:18). Jesus said “don’t resist, turn the other cheek”. We have example after example of this in Torah. Abraham dug new wells when he was ousted from the ones he dug (Gen 26:22). David chose not to kill Saul on several occasions when Saul was seeking to kill him after God had already anointed him as king (1 Sam 24:4-15; 26:8-10). Job saw seeking recompense after being wronged as sin (Job 31:29-31). Solomon warned against resisting the evil person (Prov 20:22; 24:29). God said in Torah that vengeance belongs to Him (Deut 32:35-36)! Yeshua did not add new teaching to the “law”, He clarified Torah by giving practical application of Torah.

Yeshua taught that when sued for your shirt, give your cloak also. This is giving more than is required. It is turning an act of retribution into an act of generosity, joyously giving to God more than is expected. Everything that we have belongs to the Lord; this truth comes from Torah.

Roman Soldiers had the right to force a citizen to go with them for one mile, impressing them into service. People hated this law. By having to serve for one mile was bad enough, Jesus was suggesting that as a servant, they should go two, in order to demonstrate their support for the government, and a servant’s heart. It turned a painful law into an act of worship to God.

Lastly, Jesus taught that we are to be generous givers (Mat 5:42). Loaning money to others can quickly turn friends to enemies. However, if we give the money and never expect it to be returned, the relationship stays intact. It is interesting that Jesus put this thought into the context of offenses. Why not lend what you have available? God has given it, blessings are returned for giving it away. The context of the passage seems to indicate that the one who wants to borrow is probably not credit worthy. Simple solution, give the loan and never expect it to be repaid. Make it a gift to God instead. If they do repay, praise God because He provided for them.

Torah teaches that we get along with our fellow man, love your neighbor as yourself and let God take care of vengeance. Jesus did not add to Torah with new teachings; He clarified the intent of Torah.

Practical application:
In a hostile world it is time that we as believers change the rules. Apply the teachings of Jesus to our lives and love those who choose to wrong us. Allow and accept offenses without demanding that our rights are satisfied, especially among believers:

“Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint them as judges who are of no account in the church? I say this to your shame. Is it so, that there is not among you one wise man who will be able to decide between his brethren, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?” (1 Corinthians 6:1–7, NASB95)

Time to return to Torah. Put the words of Yeshua and the words of Paul into action. Let’s step out of the “rights” game that is centered on narcissism and self-centeredness.

Love your neighbor and your enemy
Matthew 5:43-48
Yeshua quoted from Torah, “Love your neighbor” (Lev 19:18). He added a phrase that must have been common at the time “hate your enemy”. The last phrase must have come from the teachings of men at the time. It does not come from Torah or from the Old Testament at all. God never commanded His people to hate their enemy. On the contrary, every effort was made to reform the enemies whenever possible.

Jesus stated further “AND or BUT”. Notice in the following statement that he refutes the bad teaching of the day:

““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. “For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? “If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43–48, NASB95)

The word for “love” your enemies is the Greek word “agape”. This is the form of Greek love that gives without expecting a return on the investment. It is an unselfish love that loves regardless of the outcome. Eros is sexual love. Phileo is a brotherly love that loves expecting a return. This is like fellowship where two people complement each other. Agape love has sometimes been called “God’s love” because it is unselfish in nature and grants unmerited favor to the recipient.

The Old Testament writings have many examples of God expecting his people to show unmerited favor toward their enemies. First it is a command in Torah, they are to love their neighbor and not take vengeance (get even) when they have been wronged (Lev 19:18, read Lev 19:11-18 for context). Torah commands that if you find a donkey of someone who hates you wandering or helpless under a heavy load, you are to catch the animal, free the burdened one and return it to its master (Ex 23:4-5). The idea focuses upon two things, acting humanely to animals and showing love to your enemy.

In the Old Testament writings, the king of Aram decided to attack Israel because Elisha was receiving revelation from God about the inner strategies that he held. The furious king surrounded the city with chariots and warriors. Elisha prayed to God and struck the entire army with blindness. He then led the captives to the king of Israel. When asked what to do with these enemies that were capture, Elisha ordered a huge feast for them. They were then released to return home. The Arameans were at peace with Israel after that (2 Kings 6:1-15).

There was a civil war between Judah and Israel when Ahaz blended paganism with Torah. God sent judgment on Israel because of his actions. Israel carried away their brethren, 200,000 women and children, as captive. Many of these were poor and naked. A prophet warned them of their error, they dressed the captives, provided for them from the spoil of the war, and released them. (2 Chr 28:1-15).

Probably one of the most fascinating stories is the story of the Gibeonites. They were designated enemies occupying the Promised Land. They craftily deceived the Hebrews into thinking that they traveled from a far country to make an alliance with them. Israel made an alliance and found that their enemies had tricked them. Rather than slaughter them, they were made slaves who provided food and water for the house of God. They were condemned to a life of service to the Lord God of Israel… Grace for those who did not deserve to be alive (Joshua 9). This is fascinating to me due to the fact that the Hebrew nation was unable to fulfill extinction of the people in the Promised Land due to this alliance.

A thought: Look at the attitude that we are to carry. The attitude of a servant is evident, as well as the attitude that we are going to right wrongs, and to make every effort to get along with our fellow man. Even to the point of praying for our enemies, and making sure that they those who persecute us are covered in prayer. God has elected both you and your neighbor, it is time that we changed our focus from our rights, to others. What would happen if we prayed for our enemies, praying that God will bless and prosper them? Can we still hate them if we are praying such a prayer? No, rather we are demonstrating the “agape” love that Jesus is preaching. We are loving them with a love that does not expect, or require any response in return, as a matter of fact, agape love is totally unselfish, we gain absolutely nothing from praying for our enemies, except a heart change. We also gain fellowship with God, an intimacy which we never knew existed. In the end, we may even gain a friend, our enemy.

Back to the study:
God offers a reward for those who love their enemies! “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the Lord will reward you.” (Proverbs 25:21–22, NASB95)

The Old Testament clearly teaches to love your enemy. The Roman occupation of Israel could have given rise to hating the enemy. We really do not know why the Hebrew people decided to abandon Torah on this issue. Yeshua corrected the error by reminding them of what was taught in Torah. He then gave practical ways and reasons for loving your enemy.

Jesus warned that it rains on the righteous and unrighteous alike. The idea is that none of us are any different from our enemies. Our names may be different, but life deals out what it does (Ecclesiastes 9:1-3; Isa 55:9-11). This lesson came home to me when my wife went through brain surgery and many years of recovery. Previous to this, I was not aware of the trouble of catastrophic illness, the effects of cancer, or of being faced with mortality. Now when I talk with someone battling cancer, debilitating illness and such. When I speak with a person addicted to drugs, prescription or illegal, I can empathize because many who deal with catastrophic illness deal with this also. My horizons were expanded by trouble in life. Our enemies, who do not know the Lord, can get to know Him through watching us put God’s truth into action. If we treat our enemies as enemies, they will never know the truth.

Yeshua did a play on words that would have been an obvious ridiculous statement to His listeners. We miss this in the English translation. Jesus said “if you agape those who agape you, what reward do you have?” (Matt 5:46). The ridiculous statement is that agape love by definition does not require agape love back so the agape type of love is nullified by a reward that has been received. Agape love given receives the reward from God, not from other men. The listeners of this and early Greek readers of this document understood that agape love by definition did not expect a return.

Yeshua followed this statement with a series of provocative questions. If agape love is nullified, it is no different than the phileo (brotherly) love that gives expecting return. The world operates in the arena of phileo love. The most horrendous people live expecting others to respond to them with love when it is given out. Jesus said that if they followed the idea of hating their enemies, they were the same as their enemies.

Lastly, being perfect. ““Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48, NASB95)

English is an inadequate language, perfect may be better translated as complete or fulfilled. It is a word that denotes a mark of maturity, a complete man. Jesus was saying that by demonstrating agape love, and everything else in this chapter, you are demonstrating a spiritual maturity, that God loves, because He is complete, and is lacking of nothing. Remember, when you see a therefore, look to see what it is there for.

Yeshua ends the chapter with a remarkable statement. Many today brush over this statement because it simply does not fit into mainline Christian theology. We say that no man can be perfect. Every man is hopelessly depraved according to Calvinism. Yet, Jesus said we are to be perfect, just like God is perfect… How can this be? We have to return to Torah to get the answer. Jesus taught Torah:

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. ‘Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.” (Leviticus 19:1–3, NASB95)

This is not the only place in the scriptures where God demands that we live holy lives (Ex 19:6; Lev 11:44; 20:7, 26; 2 Cor 7:1; Philippians 3:20-21; Col 1:28; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Jude 24-25). The majority of the “perfect” statements are found in the New Testament! Perfect in the Greek means perfect, mature, full-grown, with an idea of reaching a state of completion. We make so many excuses as to why we cannot follow God’s teaching. Reality is that many Christians do not want to go beyond the spiritual state of infancy (1 Cor 3:2-3; Heb 5:12-13). We prefer the milk of the Word and never desire to go deeper. We don’t want to give up our lifestyles and take God seriously. Those that do take Him seriously often never abandon the sins that they previously were taking part in.

An axe to grind: Torah is not “LAW”. Torah is the instruction manual that God gave us so that we can live lives which please Him. Many today, have said that the Old Testament is a history book that is no longer in effect. God did not give the New Covenant in the New Testament, it came from the Old Testament (Jer 31:31-34). Therefore, if the Old Testament has been done away with, so has the New Covenant!

Maturity according to Torah means living a life which observes or puts into action the instructions of God. We cannot put Torah into action if we do not know Torah. If we as a church claim that the “law” or “torah” is done away with, we have thrown out the instruction manual that God gave us and are free-wheeling trying to figure out how to live life on the fly. The New Testament writers obviously felt that Torah was still in effect or they would not have admonished people to seek holiness before God. Yeshua summarized His statement by stating that everyone can be “perfect” and that the model and goal of perfection lies in God. If man were hopelessly depraved, would Jesus have given instructions that were impossible to follow?

This wraps up this chapter. We covered a lot of ground here. The main focus of the study looked at how that Jesus taught Torah. He did not just teach Torah, He demonstrated that He is the Messiah according to Torah. He then proceeded to teach from Torah that it is to be put in action.
[1] Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 365.
[2] K. C. Hanson, “How Honorable! How Shameful! A Cultural Analysis of Matthew’s Makarisms and Reproaches,” ed. Victor H. Matthews and Don C. Benjamin, Semeia 68 (1995): 100.
[3] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament, electronic ed. (Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996), Mt 5:3.
[4] Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 888.
[5] Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 888.
[6] David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament, electronic ed. (Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996), Mt 5:5.
[7] Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 647.
OT Old Testament.
OT Old Testament.
[8] Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 176.
[9] Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1985), 168.
[10] Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 479.
[xi]Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 401.
[xii] K. C. Hanson, “How Honorable! How Shameful! A Cultural Analysis of Matthew’s Makarisms and Reproaches,” ed. Victor H. Matthews and Don C. Benjamin, Semeia 68 (1995): 100.
[xiii] K. C. Hanson, 100.
[xiv] Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 283.
[xv] Logos Bible Software search.
[xvi] Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–), 176.
[xvii] Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 5a (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), vii–viii.
[xviii] Swanson, J. (1997). Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament). Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[xix] James Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains : Hebrew (Old Testament) (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
[xx] Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 11b (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), b. Git. 9:1, 11.4, T. Sot 5:9, p519.
[xxi] Ibid.
[xxii] Jacob Neusner, The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 11a (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 2011), b. Sota 6:1-4 p289.

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