Matthew 5:21

Ye have heard,.... That is, from the Scriptures being read to them, and the explanations of the ancients, which were called שמעתא, "hearing", being read in the schools, and heard by the scholars (o);

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time , [erreethee-a

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21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: Ver. 21. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old] Antiquity is venerable: and of witnesses, Aristotle witnesseth, that the more ancient they are, the more to be credited, as less corrupt. New things are vain things, saith the Greek proverb. And the historian condemneth his countrymen, as despisers of old customs, and carried after new. But as old age is a crown, if it be found in the way of righteousness, Proverbs 16:31, and not otherwise; so may it be said of these Kadmonim or the old Rabbis, later than Ezra, whom our Saviour here confuteth. Much might have been attributed to their authority, had they not rested upon the bare letter of the law, and wrested it sometimes to another meaning. Antiquity disjoined from verity is but filthy hoariness; and deserveth no more reverence than an old lecher, which is so much the more odious, because old. And as manna, the longer it was kept against the command of God the more it stank; so do errors and enormities. Laban pretendeth antiquity for his God, in his oath to Jacob: The God of Abraham, saith he, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us, Genesis 31:53. But Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac. He riseth not higher than his father, and yet doubts not but he worshipped God aright. εμοιαρχαιαΙησουοΧριστος. (Ignat.) It is no good rule to say, We’ ll be of the same religion with our forefathers, unless we can approve it right by the Holy Scriptures. Plus valet malum inolitum quam bonum insolitum: and that, Tyrannus, trium literatum mos, too often carries it against truth. The image that fell down from Jupiter (for which there was so much ado at Ephesus, τουΔιοπετους, Acts 19:35) is said by the town clerk to be such as could not be spoken against with any reason. And why? because it was wonderfully ancient (as Pliny telleth us). For whereas the temple of Diana had been seven different times rebuilt, this image was never changed; and thence grew the so great superstition, by the covetousness of the priests. As likewise the Ancilia among the Romans; and Pessinuntium among the Asians. But what saith a noble writer, Antiquity must have no more authority than what it can maintain. Did not our predecessors hold the torrid zone uninhabitable? did they not confine the world in the ark of Europe, Asia, and Africa, till Noah’ s dove, Columbus, discovered land? &c. Thou shalt not kill: and whosoever killeth shall be in danger of judgment] That is, it shall be questioned whether it be fit he be put to death or not.

(21) By them of old time.—There is no reasonable doubt that the marginal reading, to them of old time, is right. The construction is identical with that of Rom 9:12; Romans 9:26; Galatians 3:16; Revelation 6:11; Revelation 9:4. Two questions present themselves for answer: (1) Who were “they of old time”? (2) Who was the speaker of the words quoted? (1) The words are very general, and, as interpreted by the use of “old time” in Acts 15:21, seem to point to the time when synagogues began to be established, i.e., after the return from Babylon. (2) The impersonal form, the contrast between “it was said,” and “I say unto you,” the tone of authority imposing a new law for that which it supersedes, seem conclusive against referring the words, even when they are found in the Law, to that Law as given by God through Moses. Stress is laid on the words “Ye heard that it was said.” “This was the report of the Law given you by your teachers in school and synagogue. I give you another and truer report. Not what you so heard, but what I now say unto you is the true completion of the Law and the Prophets, and therefore the abiding law of my kingdom.” Whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.—The fact that these words are not found in the Old Testament confirms the view that our Lord is speaking of the traditional comments on the Law, and not of the Law itself. The phrase “in danger” had a somewhat more technical sense in A.D. 1611 than it has now, and meant “legally liable to.” The “judgment” spoken of was that of the local courts of Deu 16:18. They had the power of capital punishment, but the special form of death by stoning was reserved for the Sanhedrim, or Council.

Verse 21. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time] τοιςαρχαιοις, to or by the ancients. By the ancients, we may understand those who lived before the law, and those who lived under it; for murder was, in the most solemn manner, forbidden before, as well as under, the law, Genesis 9:5-6. But it is very likely that our Lord refers here merely to traditions and glosses relative to the ancient Mosaic ordinance; and such as, by their operation, rendered the primitive command of little or no effect. Murder from the beginning has been punished with death; and it is, probably, the only crime that should be punished with death. There is much reason to doubt, whether the punishment of death, inflicted for any other crime, is not in itself murder, whatever the authority may be that has instituted it. GOD, and the greatest legislators that have ever been in the universe, are of the same opinion. See Montesquieu, Blackstone, and the Marquis Beccaria, and the arguments and testimonies lately produced by Sir Samuel Romilly, in his motion for the amendment of the criminal laws of this kingdom. It is very remarkable, that the criminal code published by Joseph II., late emperor of Germany, though it consists of seventy-one capital crimes, has not death attached to any of them. Even murder, with all intention to rob, is punished only with "imprisonment for thirty years, to lie on the floor, to have no nourishment but bread and water, to be closely chained, and to be publicly whipped once a year, with less than one hundred lashes." See Colquhoun on the Police of the City of London, p. 272.

(a) Instances from the Decalogue, Matthew 5:21-37. (a) Murder, Matthew 5:21-26. 21. Ye have heard] Rather, ye heard either in the service of the synagogue or in the teaching of the scribes. by them of old time] Better, to them of old time. in danger of] Lit. bound by them, liable, exposed to.

Ye have heard - Or, this is the common interpretation among the Jews.

21. Ye — The apostles primarily, the people inferentially. Have heard — Not ye have read in the law, but ye have heard from the elders. Our Saviour is not setting himself up as an opponent, though a superior, of Moses.