LIFE OF CHRIST
A Harmony of the Gospels

LESSON EIGHT

Being a master Teacher,  our Lord did not begin this important sermon with a negative criticism of the scribes and Pharisees.
He began with a positive emphasis on

The Pharisees taught that

In the Beatitudes and the pictures of the believer, Jesus described Christian character that  flowed from within.
Imagine how the crowd's attention was riveted on Jesus when He uttered His first word:  "Blessed."

This was a powerful word to those who heard Jesus that day.  To them it meant "divine joy and perfect happiness."  The word was not used for humans; it described the land of joy experienced only by the gods or the dead. 

Beatitude Attitudes

The Beatitudes describe the attitudes that ought to be in our lives today. Four attitudes are described here.

As we read the Beatitudes, we find that they represent an outlook radically different from that of the world.

We must expect to be persecuted if we are living as God wants us to live.
But we must be sure that our suffering is not due to our own foolishness or disobedience.
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright (c) 1989 by SP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)

The sermon began with the word “blessed,” and with an octave of beatitudes.
But it was a NEW revelation of blessing.

But Christ reveals to them another King, another happiness.

Here Jesus offers True Happiness  (the Amplified translates this word:  “happy, to be envied, spiritually prosperous, blithesome, joyous, fortunate, regardless of outward circumstances”):

The "Un-beatitudes"
We can understand the Beatitudes by looking at them from their opposites.   Some,  Jesus implied,  will
not be blessed.  Their condition could be described this way:

Key Lessons from the Beatitudes

Verse	Beatitude	Old Testament Anticipation	Opposite Worldly Values	God's Reward	How to Develop this Attitude
(5:3)	Poor In Spirit	Isaiah 57:15	Pride & Personal Independence	Kingdom of Heaven	James 4:7-10
(5:4)	Mourning	Isaiah 61:1,2	Happiness at any cost	Comfort	Psalm 51 James 4:7-10
(5:5)	Meekness	Psalm 37:5-11	Power	Inherit the Earth	Matthew 11:27-30
(5:6)	Righteousness	Isaiah 11:4,5 Isaiah 42:1-4	Pursuing Natural Things	Shall be Filled	John 16:5-11 Philippians 3:7-11
(5:7)	Mercy	Psalm 41:1	Strength Without Feeling	Be Shown Mercy	Ephesians 5:1,2
(5:8)	Pure in Heart	Psalm 24:3,4 Psalm 51:10	Deception is Acceptable	See God	1 John 3:1-3
(5:9)	Peacemaker	Isaiah 57:18, 19 Isaiah 60:17	Personal peace without concern for others	Be call Sons of God	Romans 12:9-21 Hebrews 12:10, 11
(5:10)	Persecuted	Isaiah 52:13 Isaiah 53:12	Weak Commitments	Inherit the Kingdom of Heaven	2 Timothy 3:12

Life Application Study Bible, Tyndale House Publishers Inc & Zondervan Publishing House

Salt and Light

There are two pictures of the Christian: salt and the light.

YOU are the Salt of the Earth

Salt produced by the evaporation of seawater in hot countries is said sometimes to lose its saline properties.
The same result is also sometimes seen in impure rock salt that has long been exposed to the air.
When such is the case there can nothing be done with it but to throw it out.
Dr. Thomson tells of some salt that was brought from the marshes of Cyprus by a merchant of Sidon, and stored in small houses with earthen floors. “The salt next to the ground in a few years entirely spoiled.  I saw large quantities of it literally thrown into the street to be trodden under foot of men and beasts. It was good for nothing.”

Schottgen supposes the reference is here made to the bituminous salt from the Dead Sea, which, he says, was strewn over the sacrifices in the temple to neutralize the smell of the burning flesh, and when it became spoiled by exposure it was cast out upon the walks to prevent slipping in wet weather, and was thus literally  “trodden under foot of men.”

Salt may sometimes “look” like salt, but lacks the “properties” of salt.
When we, as Christians,  retain the outward form of religion, but fail to retain the inward workings of the Spirit of God, we find ourselves in the condition of  “savor-less salt.”

YOU are the light of the world - let your light so shine

As the sun is lighted up in the firmament of heaven to diffuse its light and heat freely to every inhabitant of the earth; and as the lamp is not set under the bushel,  but placed upon the lamp stand that it may give light to all in the house; THUS let every follower of Christ diffuse the light of heavenly knowledge, and the warmth of Divine love through the whole circle of their acquaintance.

This place may receive light from the following passage in Maundrell's Travels.
"A few points toward the north (of Tabor) appears that which they call the Mount of Beatitudes,  a small rising,  from which our blessed Savior delivered his sermon in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of Matthew.  Not far from this little hill is the city Saphet, supposed to be the ancient Bethulia.  It stands upon a very eminent and conspicuous mountain,  and is  SEEN FAR and NEAR.  May we not suppose that Christ alludes to this city,  in these words of his, A city set on a hill cannot be hid?"
(from Adam Clarke's Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1996 by Biblesoft)

Emphasis on Motive -

THE KINGDOM - ITS LAWS

They fulfill the Law and the Prophets

One Jot of one Tittle

There may be allusion here to the great care taken by the copyists of the law to secure accuracy even to the smallest letters, or curves or points of letters:

Sometimes curved extensions resembling horns (called “taagim”) are attached to the letters by the copyists for ornamentation.  Some express the opinion that the  “tittle”  refers to these small ornaments,  though they formed no special part of the letters,  either in pronunciation or in meaning.

Till all be fulfilled

Though all earth and hell should join together to hinder the accomplishment of the great designs of the Most High, yet it shall all be in vain – even the sense of a single letter shall not be lost.

Whosoever shall break one of the least of these

The Pharisees were remarkable for making a distinction between weightier and lighter matters in the law.
There is no such thing as a  “small sin”  or a  “big sin” – as far as God is concerned,  sin is sin,  whether great or small.

Unless your Righteousness EXCEEDS ... the Scribes & Pharisees

Three aspects to true righteousness:

Shall exceed = perisseuo (per-is-syoo'-o)
Strong's NT:4052 - to superabound (in quantity or quality),  be in excess,  be superfluous;  also (transitively) to cause to superabound or excel

(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary. Copyright (c) 1994, Biblesoft and International Bible Translators, Inc.)
 

This was strange doctrine to those who looked upon the scribes and Pharisees as having arrived at the highest pitch of religion.

The Scribes and Pharisees conformed precisely to the "Letter" of the Law.
But their Motives and Attitudes fell short.

You Fool
"Raca" - you are empty, you are worthless

The Council
The word translated  "council"  is in the original Sanhedrin
This was instituted in the time of the Maccabees, probably about 200 years before Christ.
It was composed of 72 judges: the high priest was the president of this tribunal.
The 72 members were made up of the chief priests and elders of the people and the scribes.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

Hell fire

Divorce
Mosaic regulation (Deut 24:1) protected woman from man's caprice by insisting on the certificate of divorce. Divorce was,  however,  a concession to human sin (Matt 19:8).  The Mosaic grounds of  "uncleanness"  had been variously explained,  from adultery (Rabbi Shammai) to the most trivial dislike by the husband (Rabbi Hillel). In Jewish custom only men could obtain divorces.
(from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press)

There was considerable difference of opinion among the Jews for what causes the husband was permitted to do this. One of their famous schools maintained that it might be done for any cause,  however trivial.
The other maintained that adultery only could justify it.
The truth was, however, that the husband exercised this right at pleasure;  that he was judge in the case,  and dismissed his wife when and for what cause he chose.

Our Savior in  Mark 10:1-12,  says that this was permitted on account of the hardness of their hearts,  but that in the beginning it was not so.
God made a single pair,  and ordained marriage for life.
Our Savior brought marriage back to its original intention, and declared that whosoever put away his wife henceforward, except for one offence, should be guilty of adultery.
(from Barnes' Notes, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft)

Sons of  your Father
Matt 5:45
To show that you are the children of your Father  (AMP)

Matt 5:48
You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrity], as your heavenly Father is perfect.   (AMP)

Eph 5:1-2  (NKJV)
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

Eph 5:1-2  (AMP)
Therefore be imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].
And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.

In these verses we find a comparison of the new Law of Mercy with the old Law of Threatening:

So Henceforth

In other words,  as children of the kingdom we are to aim at nothing less than this –
to be PERFECT,  AS OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT.

What a believer must strive to be:

And all this is possible through:

As to Almsgiving

The new life that was to issue from this new Law was to be contrasted in all respects with that routine of exaggerated scruples and Pharisaic formalism that had hitherto been regarded as the highest type of a religious conversation:

All these acts of devotion

The service, to be sincere,

The God to whom it was directed

He who ever feeds the fowls of the air, which neither sow nor reap, and clothes in their more than regal loveliness the flowers of the field,

As to Prayer

23 Elements in the Lord's Prayer

As to Fasting

Christ here speaks especially of private fasts,  such as particular persons prescribe to themselves,  as free-will offerings,  commonly used among the pious Jews.
Some fasted one day, some two, every week; others more seldom, as they saw cause.
On those days they did not eat till sun-set, and then very sparingly.

They proclaimed their fasting, and managed it so that all who saw them might take notice that it was a fasting-day with them.  Even on these days they appeared in the streets,  whereas they should have been in their closets;  and the affected a downcast look,  a melancholy countenance,  a slow and solemn pace;  and perfectly disfigured themselves,  that men might see how often they fasted,  and might extol them as devout,  mortified men.

It was not the Pharisee's fasting twice in the week,  but his boasting of it, that Christ condemned, Luke 18:12.
(from Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible: New Modern Edition, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)

The only fast that God actually required of the Jewish people was on the annual Day of Atonement (Lev 23:27). The Pharisees fasted each Monday and Thursday (Luke 18:12) and did so in such a way that people knew they were fasting. Their purpose, of course, was to win the praise of men. As a result, the Pharisees lost God's blessing.

It is not wrong to fast,  if we do it in the right way and with the right motive.

Fasting helps to .

But fasting must never become an opportunity for temptation (1 Cor 7:7).
Simply to deprive ourselves of a natural benefit (such as food or sleep) is not of itself fasting.
We must devote ourselves to God and worship Him.
Unless there is the devotion of the heart (see Zech 7)  there is no lasting spiritual benefit.
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright (c) 1989 by SP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)

From Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Going without food or drink voluntarily,  generally for religious purposes.  Fasting, however,  could also be done for other reasons.  It was sometimes done as a sign of distress,  grief,  or repentance.

In the Old Testament

In the New Testament

(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

As to Riches

We are accustomed to dividing life into the it  "spiritual"  and the  "material";  but Jesus made no such division.

Nowhere did Jesus magnify poverty or criticize the legitimate getting of wealth.

It is not wrong to possess things,
but it is wrong for things to possess us.
The sin of idolatry is as dangerous as the sin of hypocrisy!
There are many warnings in the Bible against covetousness
(Ex 20:17; Ps 119:36; Mark 7:22; Luke 12:15 ff; Eph 5:5; Col 3:5).
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright (c) 1989 by SP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Worry
The Greek word translated worry literally means "to be drawn in different directions."
Worry pulls us apart.
Until man interferes, everything in nature works together, because all of nature trusts God.
Man, however, is pulled apart because he tries to live his own life by depending on material wealth.
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright (c) 1989 by SP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Christ's  "therefore"  suggests that now He is going to apply this principle to our lives.
He shows that worrying about material things is foolish because it accomplishes nothing!
He reminds us to have our values straight - life consists of far more than food and clothing.
Jesus was poor,  yet how happy and peaceful He was!
Paul said he was  "poor, yet making many rich" (2 Cor 6:10).
Luke 12:13-21 tells us to distinguish between the true riches (spiritual) and uncertain riches (the material).
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright (c) 1992 by SP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)

8 reasons why we should not worry:

The alternative to worry:
Philippians 4:8
For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].    (AMP)

Judge 
krino - primarily denotes  "to separate, select, choose"; hence,  "to determine,"  and so  "to judge, pronounce judgment." 
The uses of this verb in the NT may be analyzed as follows:

The tense of the verb  judged  signifies a once-for-all final judgment.
(from The Bible Exposition Commentary. Copyright (c) 1989 by SP Publications, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Have we considered that the speck we see in our brother's life might be nothing more than the reflection of the plank in our own life?

The three imperatives ( Ask ... seek ... knock)  are probably intended to be emphatic.
In Greek they are present imperatives: 

Ask implies want
Seek implies loss
Knock implies need

To ask for with urgency, even to the point of demanding - 'to ask for, to demand, to plead for.'
(from Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domain. Copyright (c) 1988 United Bible Societies, New York. Used by permission.)

It means "to ask,"  "to implore," and presents the petitioner as an inferior asking from a superior
(Matt 6:8; 7:7-8; Mark 10:35; John 14:13, and in many other places). 
It is not,  however,  asking in the sense of the word beg,  but rather that of a child making request of its father. The petitioner asks both because of his need and of the assurance that he is welcome.
He is assured before he asks that the petition will be granted,  if he asks in accordance with God's will
(1 John 3:22; 5:15).
Moreover the Spirit leads us to such asking in that He reveals our need and the goodness of God to us.
(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)

Matt 7:7 - Amplified Bible
Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.

This must be tempered with "according to His will"

1 John 5:14-15
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.    (NKJV)

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you   (NKJV)

Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.   (NKJV)

Men are so wedded to their own passions,  and so determined to follow the imaginations of their own hearts,  that still it may be said:

Deuteronomy 30:19
“…I have set before you life and death,  the blessing and the curse;  therefore choose life, That you…..may live.”

Jeremiah 21:8
 “…Thus says the Lord:  Behold,  I set before you the way of life and the way of death.”

Beware of their:

Let us also be aware of  the fruit we produce.

Two ways and two trees

The wise man was wise because

There are three general kinds of trials to which the followers of Jesus are exposed:

He alone,  whose soul is built on the Rock of ages,  stands all these shocks;  and not only STANDS in, but also PROFITS by them.

Jesus and the Old Testament Law