01.03 - Section 03. Mat_5:1-48; Mat_6:1-34; Mat_7:1-29.
Section 03. Matthew 5:1-48; Matthew 6:1-34; Matthew 7:1-29. The Laws of the Kingdom An Outline of the Interpretation and Application of Matthew 5:1-12
Text.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."
Poor = humble. Derivation from beggarly — in the sense of having nothing. The Believer has nothing in this world.
Parallels.
Isaiah 57:15. "The High and holy One . . . I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a poor and contrite spirit."
Isaiah 66:1-24. "To this man will I look . . . that is of a poor and contrite spirit."
Promises.
"Theirs is the Kingdom."
Inheritance WHEN the wicked — the proud have been cut off.
Malachi 3:15. "NOW we call the proud happy."
Malachi 4:2. "BUT unto you that fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings."
Warnings.
Malachi 4:1. "BUT the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the PROUD . . . shall be as stubble."
Isaiah 2:1-22 "The DAY of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon every one that is PROUD." The Great Example — Christ.
2 Corinthians 8:9. "HE who was RICH, for your sakes became POOR, that ye through His poverty might be RICH."
Php 2:1-30. "He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a SERVANT." In Matthew 4:1-25 we saw the King triumphing over all the powers of Satan. The devil is defeated, and his works — disease and death — flee before the Divine Healer. The fame of the Lord Jesus being thus spread abroad, He now (Matthew 5:1-48, Matthew 6:1-34, Matthew 7:1-29) announces the Laws of His Kingdom and begins to unfold the great moral principles upon which it is founded.
We have to keep in mind that the Kingdom of Heaven is not Heaven, nor, properly speaking, in Heaven. It is the rule of Heaven on this earth ( Deuteronomy 7:13-14). As we have seen, both John and the Lord Jesus announced that happy time as at hand, but, alas! the nation of Israel rejected both the King and the Kingdom. Hence the Kingdom in power was deferred, and we have now the Kingdom in mystery. We shall find the teaching as to this fully developed in Matthew 13:1-58. But here, at the very outset, the Lord begins by describing the characteristics of those who belong to the Kingdom. It is the exact opposite of what men upon the earth manifest. Indeed, it is the opposite of what they either look for or expect. To be meek, merciful, or pure in heart necessitates a regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and this is assumed to have already taken place in His hearers, for He is teaching disciples. The pronouns "they" and "ye" in Matthew 5:1-12 may indicate the time to which the promises apply. Taking the list of "Blesseds" in their order, the promises in Matthew 5:1-10 will be literally fulfilled to those who find their lot in the latter day when "transgressors are come to the full" (Daniel 8:1-27). In that day the men of pride will be exalted, and the poor in spirit — the godly remnant of the nation, who wait for Jehovah — will be counted as the offscourings of all things. But the Lord will hearken and hear, and in His Book of Remembrance their names shall be written, and they shall be His when He makes up His jewels. Then, "the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be as stubble. . . . But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings" (Malachi 4:1-6). And the meek — they shall inherit the land (of Israel) when the wicked have been destroyed out of it. The Reign of Righteousness will satisfy those that hunger and thirst after righteousness; and the pure in heart — they shall see God. The rewards and promises in this section are connected with the coming Kingdom, but, of course, while this is true historically, nevertheless, in its application, every believer, in every dispensation, should manifest every trait of the beautiful life of blessing outlined by the Lord, and by so doing, prove to all that they are indeed the children of the Kingdom. In Matthew 5:11-12 we read, "Blessed are ye and great is your reward in Heaven." Here the Lord addresses His disciples there present. This would be true of them, and of every true disciple through all time. Later on, in His teaching, He gives them the principles that would mark them out as heavenly men upon the earth, and also make manifest the secret of the world’s hatred. "If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." . . . "If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me" (John 15:19-21). So we have the double result of being true to Christ in the day of His rejection, and that is, persecution here and great reward in Heaven. It is the heavenly side of the Kingdom. But it is well to note that He who spoke these words was the only One who ever became the perfect Examplar, in all things, and has left us His example that we should follow in His steps. This will be better seen if we arrange any one of the "Blesseds" in tabular form, as on page 25. It is a most helpful and profitable study. Every longing after the rule of God in righteousness will be found fully expressed in both Prophets and Psalms. It was that to which the godly of that dispensation looked forward, just as the coming of Christ is the hope of the Church to-day. Coupled with the promises there are also, as ever, the warnings of Jehovah against those who oppose His power and despise His grace. But believers are also the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world." There is a twofold meaning in this. Salt is used in Scripture as a figure of God’s rights, or the righteous principles of God’s dealings with the earth. It is this we see expressed in the judgment on Lot’s wife and the Vale of Sodom which became the valley of salt. Disciples "salt" the earth by maintaining these righteous principles and standing for the rights of God in a world that refuses to recognise either God or His rights. The other figure used is "light." They were "the light of the world." As the first conveys the thought of righteousness, the second speaks of grace. Light shines for others and before others. It may be a guiding light or a warning light, but it is there for the good of others, and so should believers be in this world. But coupled with the figure there is also the warning. The salt may lose its savour, and the light may get hidden. In both cases they become useless for the purpose for which they were intended. It was a warning to those whom He addressed, and to disciples of every age, and we do well to remember that we can only be "kept by the power of God unto salvation."
Then we come to something that probes the inner man. The Lord brings the light of Heaven to bear upon the motives of the heart, for "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). Violence and corruption marked the ways of man from the fall (Genesis 6:1-22); but every trace of either in the child of the Kingdom must be dealt with in unsparing self-judgment.
Under the old economy we find that the law laid down the principle, in righteousness, "An eye for an eye" (Exodus 21:24), thereby restraining the wrath of man. Otherwise he would have demanded two eyes for one, in vengeance. But here an entirely new principle is introduced. "I say unto you that ye resist not evil." It is the very opposite of nature, which loves to avenge itself. It is different from righteousness, which measures out even-handed justice. It is the beautiful spirit of grace, manifested in all perfection in Him who "when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not." Even so the disciple should be more than righteous: he should be gracious, and while walking through this world, it is better to lose his "cloke" than give up those lovely principles of grace that mark him out as one who belongs to Christ. But again the Lord introduces something higher still — indeed the highest standard possible. The standard for the new dispensation is nothing short of that of the character of the Father Himself. His ways are to be our ways. To review our chapter shortly: It begins by showing what kind of people enter the Kingdom.
What the actions and character should be of those who take part with a rejected Saviour now.
Then the law is brought to bear upon the motives of men, showing that corruption and violence are the two principles of evil that govern the natural heart. That salvation from the consequences of sin must be had at all costs. If eye, hand, or foot hinder, it must be "cut off." That the righteousness needed must be more (i.e., of a different kind) than that of the Scribes and Pharisees; and that when this salvation is known, it so moulds the heart that the believer is passive under all kinds of reproach and injustice. That tribulation and injustice only open the way for the activities of love seen in returning good for evil — the marks of the new dispensation, and of the children of the Kingdom.
Matthew 6:1-34 opens with the great principles of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting — right relationships with our fellow-men, with God, and with self. These are the righteousnesses of saints — the positive outcome of a life which has all the springs of its moral being in God Himself.
God is revealed to us as the giving God. He gave His Son (John 3:16). Christ gave Himself (Ephesians 5:25). God loveth a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). We do well to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35); and believers are instructed to "labour that they may have to give to him that needeth" (Ephesians 4:28). The importance of this cannot be over-estimated. We are in a world of need, both material and spiritual, and the heart that knows the grace of Christ will be a heart that has learned the secret and the joy of giving. "The liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand" (Isaiah 32:8). There is ever the danger that through unfaithfulness in "that which is another man’s" (Luke 16:1-31) we may lose "that which is our own." In other words, we lose the enjoyment of those heavenly blessings which are properly ours in proportion as we are unfaithful stewards of the bounty God has entrusted us with here.
Next we come to "the prayer that teaches to pray" — when and how it was to be used. Unlike the vain repetitions of the heathen, or the ostentatious display of the hypocrite at the street corner, the disciple is to seek the secret place and deal with his Father there.
Doubtless the form of words here given was intended to guide disciples before the Holy Spirit was given, but every word of the Lord was necessarily perfect; and these various petitions express the need of disciples in a way that only the Lord Himself could teach. No doubt fuller development was given when further truth was made known, and the time was coming when, instructed by the Holy Spirit, they would ask "in the name of Jesus" and receive that their joy might be full (John 14:13). This knowledge of their new standing in Him they could not have before the cross, and therefore could not pray "in His name." But in the meantime they were brought into all the conscious and enjoyed knowledge of relationship with a Father who loved, cared for, and watched over them day by day.
After the acknowledgment of the relationship into which they were brought, and which is expressed in the words, "Our Father," there are six petitions setting forth in order: —
Reverence. Rule. Obedience.
Dependence. Restoration. Preservation.
It will be noticed that the first three are Godward, and the second three are manward. Also that the last three deal with the present, the past, and the future. No greater compass of truth could possibly be brought within the bounds of so few words. Then our Lord goes back to the fifth petition to enforce the principle of Christian forgiveness. We shall meet with an even fuller development of it later, but here it is laid down as the basis on which God deals with His children in government. We may be smitten (Matthew 5:39), wronged (Matthew 5:40), sinned against (Matthew 5:41), despised (Matthew 5:44), hated or persecuted (Matthew 5:44). How are we to meet it? By asserting our rights and demanding apology and reparation? The world would do so, and it would be considered right in the eyes of the world. But, "No," says the Lord, "forgive men their trespasses." And more, it is not that the Christian walks through this world a merely passive or impassive sufferer. The very suffering he may be brought into only brings out the spirit of Christ, who was Himself, the perfect exponent in His own history of His divine teaching, and who is our perfect Example. So the Apostle could say, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves" — the first thing nature thinks of. But here is the divine way, "If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head." "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
Fasting involves the setting aside of self. And not only self looked upon as connected with the evil within; but it is the setting aside of the claims of nature itself in order to have to do with God. It is a recognition that there are spiritual things on hand of deeper importance than even rightful claims of the body. And then there is a wider sense in which the believer goes through this world abstaining from everything in it. He is "anointed" and "washed." His heart is right and his life is right. He does not appear "of a sad countenance," for the joy of Heaven fills his heart while upon the earth, and the Father who seeth in secret rewards him. The more we value the things of earth, the more care and anxiety we create for ourselves in acquiring and retaining them. And if these things become our "treasure" — that on which the heart is set — alas! for us, for our hearts will be earthward instead of heavenward. We may procure locks and bars sufficient to defy the modern burglar, but the thief, Time, will ultimately steal ALL. He will steal them from us, and us from them.
If, on the other hand, Christ in glory has become the hope and object of the heart, then both the treasure and the heart will be above, and we shall be known as heavenly men upon the earth. By and by we shall reach our native land, enter the eternal home, and dwell in the Father’s House, to go no more out. Even here we have a foretaste of it all — forgiveness, sonship, and everlasting life. Thus, in whatever circumstances we may be, our hearts can be in perfect rest. God has chosen us out of the world. He is carrying us through the world, and His object is to conform us to the image of His Son. Meantime we rest in the sense of His knowledge and of His love, that knows and provides for our every need.
If Matthew 6:1-34 gives us, principally, right relationships with God our Father, Matthew 7:1-29 begins with what should be the relationships of believers among themselves. Having been brought into the Kingdom and into relationship with the Father, we are to manifest righteousness by consistency of walk (verses 1-6). We must judge ourselves, but we may not judge each other. The judgment of others here spoken of, is that censorious criticism which "sets at nought" our brother (Romans 14:10), and is really closely allied to evil speaking. We have an outstanding instance in the Old Testament how God regards it, in the case of Aaron and Miriam who "spake against Moses." And Jehovah rebuked them in words pregnant with meaning" Were ye not afraid to speak against my servant" The very fact that any one slips into this only shows that they "have a beam" in their own eye.
Confidence in the Father is next seen — expressed in genuine asking, earnest seeking, and urgent knocking. This is coupled with the certain answer of grace, and illustrated by the response of even the natural man to the requests of his children. When the subject of supplication is introduced there is an increasing urgency in the instructions, marking out the one who is in earnest, and there is a need-be for it; for there is no aspect of the spiritual life which Satan is more opposed to than the hidden life of prayer. We have all the power of Satan out to hinder and prevent our dependence upon and communion with God, and we do well to remember it. The Lord recognises it. Do we? It would seem as if promise (John 15:7), and precept (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and illustration (2 Kings 4:33), and example (Daniel 6:10), and exhortation (Ephesians 6:18), and warning (Matthew 26:41), were all enlisted to enforce and press home the important truth that "men ought always to pray and not to faint." We are in an enemy’s country and must keep the communications open with headquarters. We are in an element which is fatal to spiritual life, and must therefore draw all our supplies from above. "I will therefore," said the inspired apostle, "that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting" (1 Timothy 2:8). But Christianity is marked not only by what men are to believe. The true outward test of it will be what they do; and the practical results flowing from a true knowledge of the Father will reflect His character among men; and thus we shall carry out the golden rule, and do as we would be done by. The entrance to the Kingdom is next spoken of under the figure of a "strait gate." There must be purpose of heart to separate from the crowd, and take an individual path at all costs. David had it (Psalms 17:3), Daniel had it (Daniel 1:1-21), and Barnabas exhorted the young believers of Antioch to seek after it if they would make progress in the new life. There is no middle path here, and no middle place hereafter. The issues are simple, if inexpressibly solemn. A good start — the strait gate entered, the narrow way trodden the end, everlasting life. Conversion and Regeneration are the doors of entrance. Holiness marks out the pathway that leads from the strait gate to the gate of pearl. And few there be that find it. But for grace no one would. On the other hand, wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. Everything agreeable to the flesh and pleasing to the eye may be carried through the wide gate and taken along the broad way, but the pleasures of Sin are but for a season, and the end is — Hell. But the devil has many devices, and a very favourite one of hoary antiquity is the "false prophet." The first false prophet we read about in Scripture was Satan himself, and his first effort — in which he was very successful — was to challenge the truth of God’s Word. This is still his strong point, and there are many men in Christendom to-day doing his work. "Wolves in sheeps’ clothing." Unconverted men, with a profession of Christianity and a show of learning, using their abilities to endeavour to throw doubts upon the inspiration, authenticity, and authority of God’s Holy Word. Short and simple is the test given to detect them. "By their fruits ye shall know them." The world may admire and applaud. The disciple turns away. From such he gets neither joy for his heart nor food for his soul. "Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?" What the thorns and thistles are in the natural world, these are in the spiritual. And the Lord, in closing, sums up the whole field of profession, by showing that the truly wise man hears, obeys, brings forth good fruit, and continues; while the mere professor, building his house on the sand, sees his house and his hopes swept away together. Many hear the sayings and do them not — a proof of their indifference and insincerity. But here, doing the sayings of Jesus is likened to building on a rock, and proves that the inward springs that govern the moral nature have been reached by the truth.