Matthew 5
5
You’re Blessed
1-2When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
3“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
4“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
6“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
7“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
8“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.
10“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
11-12“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
Salt and Light
13“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
14-16“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Completing God’s Law
17-18“Don’t suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures—either God’s Law or the Prophets. I’m not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God’s Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God’s Law will be alive and working.
19-20“Trivialize even the smallest item in God’s Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won’t know the first thing about entering the kingdom.
Murder
21-22“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
23-24“This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
25-26“Or say you’re out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don’t lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you’re likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won’t get out without a stiff fine.
Adultery and Divorce
27-28“You know the next commandment pretty well, too: ‘Don’t go to bed with another’s spouse.’ But don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those ogling looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.
29-30“Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
31-32“Remember the Scripture that says, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’ Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you’re responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you’re automatically an adulterer yourself. You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure.
Empty Promises
33-37“And don’t say anything you don’t mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, ‘I’ll pray for you,’ and never doing it, or saying, ‘God be with you,’ and not meaning it. You don’t make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say ‘yes’ and ‘no.’ When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.
Love Your Enemies
38-42“Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
43-47“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the supple moves of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
48“In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
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Matthew 5: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Matthew 5
5
The Sermon on the Mount: The Beatitudes
1 Now when he#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“saw”) which is understood as temporal saw the crowds, he went up the mountain and after he#*Here “after” is supplied as a component of the participle (“sat down”) which is understood as temporal sat down, his disciples approached him. 2And opening his mouth he began to teach them, saying,
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are the ones who mourn,
because they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
because they will inherit the earth.
6Blessed are the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
because they will be satisfied.
7Blessed are the merciful,
because they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
because they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
because they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are you
when they insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things against you, lying on account of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.
The Sermon on the Mount: Salt and Light
13“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It is good for nothing any longer except to be thrown outside and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“thrown”) has been translated as a finite verb trampled under foot by people. 14You are the light of the world. A city located on top of a hill cannot be hidden, 15nor do they light a lamp and place it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it shines on all those in the house. 16In the same way let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
The Sermon on the Mount: The Law and the Prophets Fulfilled
17“Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have not come to destroy them but to fulfill them. 18For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all takes place. 19Therefore whoever abolishes one of the least of these commandments and teaches people to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps them and teaches them, this person will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.
The Sermon on the Mount: Anger Toward Others
21“You have heard that it was said to the people of old,#Literally “ancients” ‘Do not commit murder,’#A quotation from Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17 and ‘whoever commits murder will be subject to judgment.’ 22But I say to you that everyone who is angry at his brother will be subject to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Stupid fool!’#Greek “Raca,” a term of verbal abuse involving lack of intelligence will be subject to the council, and whoever says, ‘Obstinate fool!’#Perhaps with the idea of obstinate, godless foolishness; some take the word to be a Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word for “rebel” (Deut 21:18, 20) will be subject to fiery hell. 23Therefore if you present your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and first go be reconciled to your brother, and then come and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“come”) has been translated as a finite verb present your gift. 25Settle the case quickly with your accuser#Literally “be making friends quickly with your accuser” while you are with him on the way, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26Truly I say to you, you will never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!
The Sermon on the Mount: Adultery and Lust
27“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’#A quotation from Exod 20:14; Deut 5:17 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.
The Sermon on the Mount: Divorce
31“And it was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’#A quotation from Deut 24:1 32But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for a matter of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
The Sermon on the Mount: Taking Oaths
33“Again you have heard that it was said to the people of old,#Literally “ancients” ‘Do not swear falsely,#Or “do not break your oath” but fulfill your oaths to the Lord.’#A quotation from Lev 19:12 34But I say to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, because it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, because it is the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king. 36And do not swear by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black. 37But let your statement be ‘Yes, yes; no, no,’ and anything beyond these is from the evil one.#Or “is of evil”
The Sermon on the Mount: Retaliation
38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’#A quotation from Exod 21:24; Lev 24:20 39But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer, but whoever strikes you on the right cheek,#Some manuscripts have “your right cheek” turn the other to him also. 40And the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, let him have#Literally “leave to him” your outer garment also. 41And whoever forces you to go one mile,#A Roman mile was originally a thousand paces, but was later fixed at eight stades (1,478.5 meters) go with him two. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
The Sermon on the Mount: Love for Enemies
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’#A quotation from Lev 19:18 and ‘Hate your enemy.’#An allusion to Deut 23:3–6 44But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is remarkable? Do not the Gentiles also do the same? 48Therefore you be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
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