The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5:1-2 begins what most term the Sermon on the Mount. It extends over many verses and is the longest teaching that was recorded of Christ. I suppose that He knew that if He had caused all of His words to be recorded for posterity, there would be few who would read them in their entirety, and many of those who did would just be trying to pick apart inconsistencies between the various recorded versions of it that survived. Others would be somehow trying to either find loopholes where He didn't cover some subject so they would take the position that there was nothing wrong with it or would be beating people up over everything He said that they were somehow failing to adhere.
The reality is that He gives in these few chapters many principles to live by. He tries to put teeth into what had been rote law. He tries to get people to adhere to the spirit behind the Law and not just the letter of the Law. It was an uphill battle then, and it is an uphill battle now.
Regardless, if you want to read and reread and commit to memory some passage of scripture, you wouldn't go wrong in selecting the Sermon on the Mount. We'd all be better of if we figured out how to put it into practice all the days of our lives.
He knew we were human and would make mistakes. That, and the sin we inherited from Adam's fall, was what He came to be a sacrifice for that we might be right with God through His blood, God's grace, and our faith in His work.
But the Spirit of the Law He teaches in these passages is important. The baptism of the Holy Spirit can help to ensure that you have just as good an understanding of the Spirit behind the law and the words of the Bible as Christ did when He preached this sermon. The Bible won't cover everything that could happen or every situation. It couldn't foresee everything that is an issue today. But the Spirit will take what you have learned about any situation from the Bible and help you to apply it to any situation you face. Seek the Spirit's help and study God's word.
The Blessed
Jesus starts off His sermon with a section detailing attributes by which Christians might be identified [Matthew 5:3-12]. You don't have to be a Christian to have these attributes, but I'd say that to be able to uniformly and consistently exhibit the attributes would be hard unless the Spirit was dwelling in you.
Many times, when this passage is commented on, people concentrate on the blessing. The blessings are good, but it is more important to figure out how you qualify for that blessing than worrying about the blessing itself. If you get the qualifications right, then Jesus says the blessings will take care of themselves.
The Poor in Spirit
So what does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? To me, it means downtrodden or feeling low. Mourning is covered next, so although there can be some overlap with that, I feel that it is a separate feeling here. Many things can make you feel downtrodden. Clearly being poor is a big one. The Jewish people had gone from being a kingdom in their own right to an enslaved people (to Assyria and Babylon), to being under the control of the Romans in their present day. It's easy to feel downtrodden when you don't see any way out of your current circumstances.
You can also begin to feel downtrodden by
- persistent unemployment,
- a lack of retirement funds or a lack of funds to cover your bills on a recurring basis,
- prolonged health issues,
- relationship problems with loved ones,
- employment issues that stay unresolved be it with your boss, coworkers, clients or customers,
- even just the type of job you have,
- or perhaps persistent threats to you or those you love from crime, terrorism, or war, depending on where you live,
- or perhaps just religious or political issues with the people around you.
Clearly, this list isn't exhaustive, and it isn't meant to be. But suffice it to say that there are many individual things we have to live with or that happen to us that can wear us down. When they hit in combination, we can feel even worse.
I don't think there is any honest Christian who is at least on their own who hasn't suffered something that has gotten us poor in Spirit.
For all of these things, the first response is prayer. People doubt the power of prayer, but God is great, and He does care about you. He may not choose to pull you out of a hole you have dug for yourself, especially if you went against His commands or the Spirit's urging to get where you are today. But prayer is still good, even in those circumstances.
Know that He does love you, unconditionally. It's the way any father would love their child. But also realize that just like your parents, your Father will try to figure out what He can actually do to help without breaking His other plans or goals or making something worse for some other Christian. We're very interconnected anymore and there are no zero sum games. God will do what He can do, but you must realize that where human hearts or human will is concerned, He may not be able to force an outcome. Pray.
Sometimes it helps to talk with someone about your problems. You probably know who in your close set of acquaintances and relatives you can trust to talk to. If you don't have someone at that level, perhaps find a Christian counselor or pastor who you can speak with. Not all pastors have training as counselors. If that fails or if being poor in spirit persists for a length of time, you might need to seek professional help. But start with God, and listen to what He says. He knows you better than you know yourself, and He's seen it all over the millennia.
You won't shock Him other than by possibly opening up to Him if you've never had an active prayer life. Remember to listen to the answers and to read His word with an eye to your issues. Pick up a good concordance and look up scriptures about your feelings. That's also always a good starting place.
The plus side for this is that the kingdom of heaven awaits. It might not come as quickly as some would like. Many in that time expected it would be there immediately. But it is coming soon, by some definition of "soon" to God. And for any human, the kingdom of heaven could happen immediately as we never know when we will die.
If you're a Christian and remain true to God, then you can look forward to a kingdom that will blow away anything you've imagined a kingdom to be here on Earth. That's Jesus promise.
Those who Mourn
People usually mourn due to some form of loss. Sometimes that is due to a relationship, perhaps through death or distance. Sometimes people mourn a loss of some thing, perhaps due to natural disaster, theft, or breakage.
Mourning is a natural response to loss. Trying to put on a happy face won't fool anyone who has suffered loss themselves and know you. It will just postpone letting your body and soul and spirit come to terms with your new reality.
But we can know that Jesus gave us the promise of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit who would be our comforter [John 14:16,26,15:26,16:7]. He had been there to comfort the disciples through their problems of life for three years, but when He left, He left the promise that the Holy Spirit would come and would be a comfort to them through all their trials and tribulations. He still wants to do that for each of us. He isn't spread too thin. He will never be spread too thin.
But also realize that we are called to love and comfort one another as well. When you see someone hurting, give comfort. Don't judge... more on that later in Jesus sermon... because only God knows all the details of any situation. Even if a person was responsible for what happened to cause the mourning, they still need comforted. Just be sure to not allow any comfort given to open up any avenues to sin in your life or in the life of the person being comforted.
The Meek
Meekness is the opposite of many attitudes, but primarily it is the opposite of boldness. There are things that we need to be bold about and the Spirit can help us to be bold when we need to be. But we are also called on to be humble and meek.
Anyone can be meek in spirit, but it is interesting how jobs correlate to meekness. I'm not sure if meek people gravitate to particular jobs or bold people gravitate to other jobs, but it is true enough that you rarely think of meekness associated with some jobs and you rarely think of boldness with others.
A meek spirit does invite interaction. You would probably never think of going up to the King of England, for example to interact with him. Meekness just doesn't go along with high offices. Even in the church, that is frequently true. There have been some meek popes in history and some who were not so meek. Generally the church has suffered under the bold.
So it is useful to be meek in making yourself approachable. Likewise, if you are week, you are probably not going to be perceived as a threat to someone. So you might have a better chance of witnessing in those cases. The value of meekness in spreading the Gospel cannot be emphasized. If you aren't meek, you are likely to try to take the glory for anything that God has done for yourself. We can do nothing of ourselves. It is God who prepares the hearts of man to receive anything we try to do.
Being meek doesn't necessarily mean being a door-mat for someone though. You can be strong and meek at the same time. Just be sure to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Growing God's kingdom is so important that Jesus promises the earth as an inheritance for those who are meek. You don't have to worry about the bank either.
Those Seeking a Pure Spirit
Jesus goes on to commend those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. This is one that Christians struggle with sometimes. We may want to be more like God and live a life closer to the life of Christ. But do we really hunger and thirst for that? If we did, how would we spend our days and nights differently? We we watch as much sports? Would we spend as much time streaming or doom scrolling? Would we spend as much time reading non-Christian books? Would we spend as much time playing games?
Pray about what God wants a "hungering and thirsting" life to look like for you. We all have things we could cut back on and have no bad effect at all. Mine is reading. It's easy to lose myself in a book series and let commenting on His word go just a few more days.
But God wants a righteous people. He wants people to eschew evil and to turn from their wicked ways. He wants people to come to Him. The promise given to those who seek to live out every day without failing Him is that He will fill us with the Holy Spirit. Some might say he would provide food and drink, and maybe there is some aspect of that, but I think it more likely that this was an early promise of what was to happen on Pentecost a few years from then.
God can't be present where sin dwells for He is holy. Try your best to be righteous and see if He doesn't make Himself more real in your life. It might not happen immediately. Even the disciples would wait for the full baptism until after Christ's death. But the promise hasn't gone away, and is one that we can benefit from in our life now.
The Merciful
Jesus calls on us to be merciful and promises us mercy in return. That mercy may be seen in this life on earth. It is much easier to be merciful to someone who has wronged you if that person is know to be merciful to others. Likewise, someone who has no mercy frequently finds no mercy given when they need it. Think of various factions of WWII soldiers if you need an example (Russia vs. Germany and the SS in particular, Japan vs. the US or China). There were battles and entire fronts where there was little to no mercy given or expected.
But the main place we can look for mercy is at the judgment that we will all face. Mercy is one of those things that I don't think will be burnt up as wood, hay and stubble. Mercy is something that has worth. God is merciful to us, who deserve no mercy. We should treat others with mercy for this reason, if none other.
Even if you aren't in a position where you need mercy, having a merciful spirit will also help in witnessing to others. People need forgiven by God through the blood of Jesus, but then they need to receive the same mercy from you as they did from Him. If someone wrongs you, you need to adopt a heart of mercy towards them, whether or not they ever ask for forgiveness. It is good for your heart and soul regardless of whether or not you ever see the person again.
Finally if someone asks for forgiveness, give it freely and mean it. Don't hold it over them for days or weeks or months or years. Forgive as you want God to forgive you. Be merciful whenever you can. The church will be stronger for it.
The Pure in Heart
This is one of the tougher ones - to be pure in heart. When you look at the Bible, the people who lived in Jesus day were lucky because they got to see Him in the flesh. As He said, if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.
In the Old Testament, there were few who got lucky enough to have that experience. Adam and Eve certainly did, and so did some of the patriarchs. It took a special level of being pure in heart to qualify then.
Now clearly, everyone is going to see God eventually. For those who have accepted Christ, we will have an eternity with Him. Those who have rejected Him will see Him at the great white throne judgment. We all want to work to be in that first group for ourselves, and everyone we meet and who are far off.
But there is also a sense that we should be trying to be like Christ every moment of the day as well. Can we say if someone has seen and examined our life that they would know God like Christ was able to say? I know that I cannot. But that is a goal that we should all seek. We need to strive for that daily. The church has suffered too many black eyes in its history. Let us all seek a purity that will enable us to eventually see God, perhaps even like the patriarchs. Just because He has sent the Spirit doesn't necessarily mean He can't show up if He wants. Let us all be ready in case He does, or at the very least in case the rapture happens. We definitely want to see Jesus then and not be left behind.
The Peacemakers
Some people are natural peacemakers and some aren't. I'd like to say that mothers are better at it than fathers but that would probably be labeled sexist. Those from big families are certainly more inclined to be peacemakers or to have a peacemaker among them than only child or two child situations.
But it does take a special type of person. Too many people today look at it as being a peacemaker if you put an end to conflict, even if you started the conflict in the first place. This is not being a peacemaker. No Nobel price will be awarded.
But Christians are supposed to be peacemakers. That means lots of things. It means don't start wars. Don't start fights or skirmishes either. Don't seek division. Seek the opposite of those things. Turn the other cheek as Jesus points out later in the sermon.
If you are truly a peacemaker, that means that you not only aren't stirring up trouble, but God has given you wisdom and knowledge about how to solve thorny problems. You can clearly be called a child of God. This is one of the promises that you don't have to wait for.
Realize that sometimes you can't make peace. Hearts have to be willing to change and listen to God for true peace to be established. But a spirit of peacemaking goes a long way. Also realize that the longer conflict and division go on, the harder it is to make peace. That's why it is good to not let the sun go down on your wrath [Ephesians 4:26]. It is much better to live your life with a spirit of peace with those around you so there is never a need for a peacemaker.
The Persecuted
Jesus closes out this section with the beatitude that everyone probably hates the most. Here He declares us blessed when people persecute us and revile us and speak all sorts of false evil things against us for His sake.
Nobody really wants that. But if you think about it, what it really means is that you have made a difference in God's work in bring the unsaved to salvation. Satan isn't going to try to make an ineffective Christian give up. Now he'll try to get you to give up your Christianity in every way he can, but he won't bring out the big guns of society unless you're being successful.
So if you are being persecuted because you are a Christian, you should be happy because someone actually knew you were a Christian. And you should be very glad and rejoice because winning souls for Jesus is what makes God and heaven happy. The rewards in heaven, I suspect, are doled out based on how successful you've been in that endeavor, either directly or indirectly.
Maybe your help was in prayer. Maybe it was financial giving your tithe to your local church and perhaps giving beyond that to help with missions or specific works of your local church or denomination. Maybe you wrote of God online or in print or produced videos Maybe you gave your time helping the sick or recently sick, teaching, working the food pantry or being an usher or singing in the choir or on a worship team or other church function like cleaning, Maybe you got out in the trenches and witnessed on your own. But expanding God's kingdom makes Him happy, especially if He gets the glory.
If you're standing up against evil in low or high places and being persecuted, rejoice, because the prophets of the Old Testament did the same thing. They were usually hated for it, because the people enjoyed their sin. So be exceedingly glad if you are being persecuted for standing up for what the Bible says is true and right. God will be happy. Pray always to God and listen to the Holy Spirit to learn how to speak out in love and not in hate. We always need to remember God loves everyone, but hates sin.
Salt and Light
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus exhorts his followers and disciples declaring that they are the salt and light of the earth.
Salt
Salt is an amazing molecule Na-Cl for those who remember their high school chemistry. It's used as a preservative for foods. It flavors food.
Your body requires a balanced amount of salt. For a healthy adult, the blood sodium range is about 135-145 mmol/L. If levels drop outside that level you can get headaches, get tired or lethargic, have cramps in your muscles and perhaps feel confused. If the drop is severe, it can lead to brain swelling, seizures and possibly even a coma (thanks to Verywell Health via Google AI). Elevated levels can lead to extreme thirst, muscle weakness, and a feeling of being restless. Severe high blood sodium levels can lead to severe confusion again, brain bleeds and muscle twitching (also thanks to Verywell Health).
Now the people of that day didn't have the ability to do chem panels to let them know when the salt levels weren't right, but God knew, and all the common people knew of its importance. They needed the real thing. And Jesus just told His disciples that they were the salt of the earth. Think about that. He declared that they, and those followers listening in, were essential to life.
In just a few years time, He would be gone, and they would realize just how true those words had turned out to be. If they hadn't stepped up, we probably wouldn't have a church today. Praise God that they did. If they had lost their savour or flavoring - if they'd let the crucifixion steal all their saltiness - if they had given up when things got tough - where would we be today?
We are to our generation what they were to their generation. Yes, there are more Christians, but when you think of the proportion of Christians who are out doing something for Christ compared to the total earth population (or even the total Christian population) are things much different than the 120 at the start of Acts and their population then.
You matter. What you do for God matters. Don't let the deceiver cause you to doubt that fact. If you've lost your saltiness, where will those around you experience salt from? God loves everyone, including you, but if you have lost your saltiness, you aren't worth much to God for the accomplishment of His purposes.
Now unlike table salt, God and the Holy Spirit are able to change your saltiness. Look at the difference in Peter's life who went from cowering outside the high priest's dwelling and denying Christ three times to preaching a sermon that saved over 3,000 people. God is able to do great things with anyone who is willing to be used freely by Him for His purposes. It isn't God's desire that any person who has chosen God and been saved by the blood of Jesus be trodden under foot and discarded. He has work for you to do, no matter how great or humble it might be.
But even for those who have been filled with the Spirit and done great things for God it is possible to walk away and stop doing those things. Perhaps it happens at retirement. Perhaps it happens if you win or earn a lot of money. The devil has his ways. Don't let your saltiness dissipate. The world needs it. Your neighbors need it. Your relatives need it.
Light
Turning to light, Jesus declares that the disciples and by extension all who choose Him throughout history are the light of the world. A city hidden in a forest might be hard to find. Cliff dwellers, making a city out of caves would be equally hard to see. But if you put a city up on the top of a hill, the light from it will be seen for miles around.
I know that in those days, cities weren't as bright at night, but I think of cities in my lightly populated state that you see the lights of for miles before you reach them at night. They can't be hid as long as the power is on and the lights are shining. Compare the coasts of North America or Europe as seen from space at night with Africa at night. The differences is literally black and white.
Although we may try to conserve energy to keep the electricity bill down, nobody stumbles around in the dark for very long when there's a light switch you can turn on and keep your toes and shins intact. That's at least a modern day equivalent to what Jesus is saying here. You don't have a light bulb and then put an opaque light shade over it so the light just lights a tiny space. You let the bulb shine and light up the whole room or rooms.
That was again the allusion He was presenting. We all have the light of God in us and as we read and learn about God, the light gets brighter and brighter. God doesn't want us to hide that light away from the world.
Now I'm a firm believer that you need to be led of the Spirit to be effective as a witness. No word returns void, but you might not see the results yourself. I had a Sunday school teacher who said that he wasn't always successful when he witnessed to someone about God. But he was 100% successful when he witnessed to someone the Lord had laid on his heart to witness to.
We need to not only speak but do works that make it plain to one and all that we are Christian. As people see what we are doing for others and hear our testimonies it is my hope that like those disciples, many will come to glorify God because of us. Let your light shine.
The Persistence of the Law
The next sections of the sermon deal with situations and laws and try to get the people to recognize that legalism is dead and that we should live in the spirit of the law instead. In every case in this chapter, the spirit He calls us to adhere to is a higher standard than the letter of the law with which the people were familiar. It is worth knowing that as He taught the people, they were astounded at His teaching. I'm kind of dry as a teacher - probably as a human as well - but Jesus lit up the law for them in a way that they had never experienced before.
But before going into the details, He points out in Matthew 5:17-20 that the law would endure the test of time. God didn't just set out some good thoughts on how a society should run. He really meant what He said. At the judgment seat of Christ, all the laws God laid down will be there to condemn those whose names are no longer found in the book of life.
Jesus purpose wasn't to make the laws of no effect, although it might read like that if you don't think about His purpose in putting teeth in the law. "Ye have heard it said... but I say to you ..." doesn't say to ignore the law. It says that His standard is more exacting for His followers.
The verses that follow are tough on people who teach. That's someone like me, of course. It includes pastors, missionaries, evangelists, deacons, writers. But it also includes parents who fail to try to get their kids involved in church and keep them in church, or get them back to church if they have taken a path away from God. We all have a responsibility to teach and preach what the Bible says, and not what we'd like it to say or wish it said.
And that's a tough thing to consider when you look at some of the comparisons Jesus made. With all the struggles we have over concepts today, don't you just wish Jesus had spared a few verses to make some things clear? Some denominations don't like women pastors, even though there were female judges in the Old Testament and many Spirit filled women were active in the New Testament church. Would it have been nice to have a "You have heard it said" moment there.
With the controversy over abortion, wouldn't it have been nice to have a "You have heard it said" moment about Exodus 21:22-23 clarifying whether that was the rule or if it was now considered murder with its associated accidental or intentional murder penalties?
But regardless of the choices He made in what to include in the sermon, the reality was summed up in verse 20 where he declared that the religious leaders' righteousness wasn't very great in God's eyes. He pointed out that unless the righteousness of those listening (and by extension readers today) exceeded the Pharisees they would in no case make it into heaven. Clearly, some of the Pharisees had whole hearted opposition to Christ. But this was a pretty blanket condemnation. I'm sure that some of them were doing their sacrifices and probably thought they were okay with God.
We all know that our righteousness is as filthy rags in God's sigh [Isaiah 64:6]t. We are saved by God's grace through faith. But it should still give us pause and consider our day to day lives, especially in light of some of the subject matter He does choose to examine in the rest of this chapter. How does our righteousness compare?
On Murder
In Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus deals with the scripture about murder. He agrees that killing is wrong and will be judged. But then He goes on to declare that anger without cause will also be in danger of judgment. Anyone who declared someone a scoundrel or a wicked person (Raca) might be brought before the council for libel. But declaring that someone was a wicked reprobate without any hint of spirituality - a fool - would be in danger of hell fire themselves - an eternal consequences as opposed to a temporal one.
They say that the tongue is the most difficult muscle in your body to control [James 1:26,3:5-8]. How many people in the world do you consciously judge. I can think of several that I am guilty of judging. Now I might not condemn them to the level that is considered here, and I actually do hope that they will all come to Jesus and mend their ways. So perhaps I'm not in danger of hell fire myself for my thoughts. But when they do something particularly vile or self serving, it's easy for my mind to go to places it shouldn't. Do we control our tongue as we should?
Anger is a part of life. But Christ is dealing specifically with anger that does not have a cause in this passage. And even then, as mentioned earlier, God wants us to resolve our issues and not let the sun set with wrath and anger in our hearts and minds.
So what do we do? He says that if you realize that you have issues with someone, you should go to them and be reconciled before offering gifts to God, so that your gifts will be accepted. God knows the heart of a those offering gifts.
If you have an issue with someone, get it resolved fairly between you. Even if you don't think the settlement is fair, compromise and be done with the issue. Don't dwell on it or let it fester. If it goes to court, you never know how things will end. As much as possible, live in peace with all people.
I think that many in the Middle East today, among other places, have completely forgotten Jesus teaching. The whole rest of the chapter would be good for them to revisit as well.
On Adultery
Matthew 5:27-30 deals with adultery. In the Old Testament, adultery was forbidden, but Christ extends this to say that if you look at someone with lust in your heart, it is as bad as actually committing the sin of adultery. Although the man is listed as the instigator here, I think that in our society, the women should give equal consideration for objectifying men.
In our society, the relationships between men and women are somewhat different than in the Jewish society. Clearly, in Rome or Greece before it, there were a host of sexual problems. There were goddesses of love, of war, temple prostitution, slaves with no freedom to not be used by their owners however they saw fit, and a host of other problems. So I don't want to paint the problems of today with relationships as any better or worse than their day. Lust is lust.
But such things never fit into God's plan for His people, and that hasn't changed in modern times. His rules still apply. And this verse should give pause for those who hang out at the beach or go to clubs (of all kinds) where lust is manifest. It should make you think about the videos, shows, plays, and movies you watch. It should give you pause with what websites you visit. It should give you pause with what you read. The hook-up culture needs to change.
Does what I am consuming raise feelings of lust? If it does, you need to stop. Ask for God's help in this or to provide a help, "meet" or acceptable for you. He went on to say that it would be better for you if you were blinded or lost your hand for example if it kept you from sinning, rather than to end up in hell.
I don't think He meant you should maim yourself, but He was trying to get across how important it was to push yourself away from evil and evil influences. Hell vs. heaven should require no serious debate for the desired eternal resting place. But too many people play around with their eternal futures. Lust is just one example that Christ mentioned.
On Divorce
In Matthew 5:31-32 Christ mentions that divorcement was added to the law, but was never God's original intention. It was added due to the hardness of people's hearts [Matthew 19:8-9].
Here, He declares that only fornication should be grounds for divorce, and that if you marry a divorced person who divorced for other reasons, you have entered an adulterous relationship. It seems from the context that the assumption was that the woman had the issue with fornication. But the reverse should be equally considered.
Too many people give up on marriage too easily today, because it has become easy to quit. It was never God's intent. If your marriage is suffering, pray and listen for how to correct the problems before it is too late.
Nobody is perfect. Forgive, as you would have God forgive you. But I can't forgive that? Would you like God to say the same thing to you?
Remember that the problems are rarely one sided. Problems may be hard to resolve. If they weren't, they wouldn't be called problems. But God is able to heal anything if both parties are willing to put Him in control and try. You need to get your adulterous feelings under control, get rid of your feelings of vengeance and getting even, and love as the Father loves. Most of the rest of the chapter really gets down to the nuts and bolts of what will help a relationship survive.
On Oaths
Matthew 5:33-37 deals with people making oaths to affirm what they say. This isn't as common around my parts of the country and world as it evidently was then. But the general precept Christ makes is "Keep it simple stupid" - that old KISS philosophy.
Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no. Follow through with what you say you will do or not do. It used to be that a man's handshake was all that was needed for a bargain. Today, not so much. We need to get back to being people of our word and not letting our mouths run off making fancy oaths to prove that what we are saying will actually happen.
One day, the Bible says we will give an account of every idle word that has come out of our mouths [Matthew 12:36]. I suspect that will include all the written words we have made as well. That should give some people, politicians in particular of all flavors, pause.
On Vengeance
Matthew 5:38-42 deals with revenge. Bill Cosby had a great monologue on that "Revenge... did you ever want... revenge? I remember one time...." or something like that. Revenge seems to go along with anger which I talked a bit about above, but the reality here is that Jesus strongly comes out against vengeance. And beyond that, He makes it clear that we are to offer further help to or give further chances to be hurt to anyone who wrongs us.
The old precept of eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth was not how He wanted Christians to operate. Christ commanded that if someone hit you on your right cheek, you should turn and allow him to strike you on your other cheek. If you're sued and lose your coat, give the person your cloke also. If someone is in a master's position over you and you are ordered to go one mile, go two instead. Give freely and don't turn people away.
These may be hard precepts to follow. They certainly don't come naturally for many, again thinking of the Middle Eastern countries and Russia and the Ukraine for that matter. But think of the witness you will have for Christ if you put them into practice. Where would the world be if Christ had opted for vengeance instead of submitting to Roman authority, knowing it would end in His crucifixion? We wouldn't be around because the angels would have come down and wiped everybody out.
Vengeance needs to be reserved to God [Psalms 94:1; Romans 12:19]. He knows everything that has gone on by as many sides of a conflict as there are. He also knows about all the sides of the conflict that you may not even recognize exist. Let Him judge and deal with situations. Try to be Christlike in all that happens to you.
I'm not a perfect man by any means. And I don't always handle things the right way or say the right things. Sometimes I've even handled things the wrong way or said the wrong things - shocker. But I try to forgive slights the best I can and move on and not remember things against people. Life is too short to be filled with vengeance.
I'm also not going to say that if you go the extra mile, that you'll get some reward from God for doing so. You might, but you may just be out a mile. But I guarantee that the person you walked the extra mile with noticed and if made them think a little more about what Christianity is all about. And that's what it's all about.
On Love
The chapter ends with Matthew 5:43-48 talking about love. It's easy to love someone who loves you back. It's easy to not try to love someone if you don't think they'll love you back or that they'll go on actively hating you. If it isn't going to change things, why should I put myself out? Right?
Jesus actively switched that around for Christians. He told us to love our enemies and those who cursed us just like you would those who were neighbours and who said nice things to or about you. He told us to pray for those who were using us poorly.
He reminded the listeners that the Father provided natural events that affected evil people just the same as upright people. As Christians, people are too often out for rewards. In the area of love, humans tend to think in immediate terms - what's in it for me?
But Christ says that if you want to be set apart as Christians, you need to love everybody, just like God does. You may not love everything about them, but even if you don't like something they do or some aspect of their personality, you need to love them and not seek vengeance. You need to recognize that some of the things you do and some of your personality traits may be just as annoying to someone else. None of use are perfect or mesh perfectly with all types of people.
Everyone finds it easy to love someone who loves them. To show Christians are different, He calls on us to love those who don't love us just the same as those who do.
He ends with a strange verse, which taken out of context might seem to be an impossible command. He calls us to be perfect, just like God is perfect. That is certainly a high calling to live up to, and I think we could all come closer to it with the fullness of the Holy Spirit living in us. But in context, I think He is saying that we need to have a perfect love for our fellow man - Christian or not - friend or foe - just like the Father in heaven shows His love to all of mankind.