Matthew Chapter 5 REVIEW

DAY 39

Date: 2-16-25

REVIEW OF MATTHEW CHAPTER 5

* Everything with an asterisk and is italicized and purple is my own added words and thoughts and are not part of the actual verse or quote. 

Pray

Q: 

What one thing, if any, stood out from this study of Matthew 5?

What do you think was the most important verse in Matthew 5?

What was your favorite verse in Matthew 5?

What was the most challenging verse?

Key Verses: (outside of Matthew)

Proverbs 10:12a Hatred stirs up dissension, strife and conflict,
but love covers over all wrongs. (NIV 1984, ESV and NIV; combined)

Luke 9:23-24 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” (NIV 1984)

Key ENCOURAGEMENT Verses: (outside of Matthew)

2 Cor 3:14-18  But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (NIV 1984)

These verses are filled with Hope! And Truth! We have an UNBELIEVABLE future promised to us!!

What does our book say?

Key quote from our book: (Holman Commentary)

(Holman Commentary) “From the Beatitudes we learn that we need to come to grips with who we are and who we are not. Until we accomplish this, we will not be able to relate to others or face persecution the way we should as part of Christ’s kingdom.’

We need to be honest with ourselves about who we are – sinners without ANY HOPE of saving ourselves – and who God is – a Perfect and Holy and completely Righteous all knowing and all powerful and all loving God, who knows infinitely more about us than we know about ourselves, and who loves us infinitely more than we ever will.

In short, He is able to accomplish infinitely more in us and through us and for us than we could ever even hope to imagine to do for ourselves. 

Key verses IN the Sermon on the Mount:

Verses 5:13-14

5:13 “You are the salt of the earth.”

5:14 “You are the light of the world.”

God has made us so, for our good, and for the good of those around us.

Key PRINCIPLES

1. Realizing one’s spiritual bankruptcy is the first step in following Jesus. (*Does this make 5:3 the most important verse?)
2. Jesus did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. 
3. Those in the kingdom will be marked by a number of distinguishing characteristics. 
4. Jesus’ followers are called to an exceedingly high standard. (*This is one of the many things God is able to do in us and for us, that we are NOT able for ourselves ) God cares about our attitudes and motives for behaving as we do. (Holman Commentary)

Q: Why is principle #1 so important?

Q: What are the “distinguishing characteristics?“

Q: Any comments or questions on any of these principles?

Key Applications from our book

1. Ask Jesus to build character (*NOTE: This is something that Jesus does as we trust Him, obey Him and step out in faith. He is AWESOME!! ) within you that will be salt and light to society. 
2. Don’t measure your lives by others. Look to the exacting standards of Jesus. 
3. Ask for God’s grace in meeting the high standards of discipleship. 
4. Be as mindful of motives and attitudes as you are of your public behavior. Ask Jesus for help in making corrections. (Holman Commentary)

Prayer from our book:

Lord, make me (*Again – this is His doing) hunger and thirst after righteousness and after doing your will. Make the principles of your kingdom come alive in my heart, especially your exhortation to “love your neighbor.” (Holman Commentary)

OVERVIEW of Matthew 5 

To be discussed in class.

The MAIN POINT of Matthew 5 

To be discussed in class.

The APPLICATION of Matthew 5

To be discussed in class.

Some of my thoughts on the

APPLICATION of Matthew 5 

1. STAND ON THE TRUTH. Do not bend, waiver, twist or justify. Stand on solid ground. Stand on the Rock.
2. Strive to and pray to understand who we (humans) really are, and who God really is (in reality, there is a huge gap). *(see “Key quote from our book” above)
3. PRAY. Pray like crazy! Pray unceasingly, with passion and fervor and abandon. Give all your pain and hurt questions to Christ!
4. We need trust and obey, whether we fully understand it or not. 
5. We need to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him!
6. Put yourself in their shoes before you judge others. Try to understand the other person’s position, or hurt or pain. Go a mile, no, go two miles, in the other person moccasins. Read the poem “Walk a Mile in His Moccasins.” (Original title: Judge Softly)
7. Do not give in to self-righteousness. 
8. We have all received grace upon grace from our Lord. So BE GRACIOUS 
9. Be slow to speak and quick to listen
10. Forgive. Remember – you were forgiven!
11. Be willing to be wronged for the sake of Christ
12. Proactively search for ways to be a peacemaker
13. LOVE is a VERB, an ACTION WORD
14. BE UNDERSTANDING
15. BE PATIENT
16. BE KIND
17. DO NOT BE RUDE
18. DO NOT ENVY
19. DO NOT BE SELF-SEEKING
20. BE OTHER-CENTERED
21. LOVE NEVER FAILS!
22. Be A BLESSING

RELAVANT VERSES

Isaiah 57:15 
For this is what the high and exalted One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite. (NIV)

Psalm 51:16 
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise. (NIV)

Leviticus 19:18

Do not seek revenge (*like we said last week) or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. (*so – love your enemies!) (NIV)

Matthew 22:37-40

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”(NIV)

Luke 6:32-36

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (*so – love your enemies!) (NIV)

Romans 13:8-10

8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (*so – love your enemies!) (NIV)

Galatians 5:13-15

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (*so – love your enemies!) (NIV)

James 2:8-13

8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.

12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.  (*so – love your enemies!) (NIV)

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Notes:

What kind of trees are poisonous?

Some of the many poisonous trees, including oleander, yew, rhododendron, manchineel, foxglove, strychnine, poison ivy, giant hogweed, and laburnum and others.

 It is said that the Manchineel is the deadliest tree on the planet. Supposedly, one touch from the tree’s sap or bark can causes blisters, and a single bite of its fruit can be fatal.

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NEXT WEEK

We begin Matthew chapter 6, which our book calls 

The KINGSpeaks His Heart, part 2

and begins on page 75 of the Holman Commentary.

Page 76 of our says, in the 

“In A Nutshell” section at the bottom of the page,

Matthew presents several distinctions that support the thesis of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:20). He contrasts religious masquerades and genuine spirituality, those who serve money and those who serve God, and those who worry about providing their own needs and those who trust in God’s provision. (Holman Commentary)

The thesis statement referred to is:

Matthew 5:20 

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. 

(NIV 1984) 

See also Titus 3:4-8, especially verse 5;

4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (NIV 1984)

Think about that this week, and ask yourself what the key phrase “your righteousness” means.

See also The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18:9-14 

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (NIV 1984) 

And …

Romans 1:17

Rom’s 3:21-22

Rom 4:5-6; 11, 13, 22-23

Phil 3:8-9
8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ–the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. (NIV 1984)

Next week we will do a little word study on “righteousness.”