1514 | Matthew 5:21 Mureder
Murder 5:25,26pp // Lk 12:58,59
21 “ You have heard that it was said to the peo ple long ago , ‘ You shall not murder , a a and any one who mur ders will be sub ject to judg ment .’ 22 But I tell you that any one who is an gry with a broth er or sis ter b , c will be sub ject to judg ment . b Again , any one who says to a broth er or sis ter , ‘ Raca ,’ d is an swer able to the court . c And any one who says , ‘ You fool !’ will be in dan ger of the fire of hell . d
23 “ There fore , if you are of fer ing your gift at the al tar and there re mem ber that your broth er or sis ter has some thing against you , 24 leave your gift there in front of the al tar . First go and be recon ciled to them ; then come and of fer your gift .
25 “ Set tle mat ters quick ly with your adver sary who is tak ing you to court . Do it while you are still to geth er on the way , or your ad ver sary may hand you over to the judge , and the judge may hand you over to the of fi cer , and you may be thrown into pris on . 26 Tru ly I tell you , you will not get out un til you have paid the last pen ny .
Adultery 27 “ You have heard that it was said ,
‘ You shall not com mit adul tery .’ e e 28 But
5:21 a Ex 20:13 ; Dt 5:17
5:22 b 1Jn 3:15 c Mt 26:59
d Jas 3:6
5:27 e Ex 20:14 ; Dt 5:18
5:28 f Pr 6:25
5:29 g Mt 18:6 , 8 , 9 ; Mk 9:42-47
5:31 h Dt 24:1-4 5:32 i Lk 16:18
5:33 j Lev 19:12 k Nu 30:2 ;
Dt 23:21 ; Mt 23:16-22
I tell you that any one who looks at a wom an lust ful ly has al ready com mit ted adul tery with her in his heart . f 29 If your right eye caus es you to stum ble , g gouge it out and throw it away . It is bet ter for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell . 30 And if your right hand caus es you to stum ble , cut it off and throw it away . It is bet ter for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell .
Divorce
31 “ It has been said , ‘ Any one who divorc es his wife must give her a cer tif i cate of di vorce .’ f h 32 But I tell you that any one who di vorc es his wife , ex cept for sex u al im mo ral i ty , makes her the vic tim of adul tery , and any one who mar ries a divorced wom an com mits adul tery . i
Oaths
33 “ Again , you have heard that it was said to the peo ple long ago , ‘ Do not break your oath , j but ful fill to the Lord the vows you have made .’ k 34 But I tell you , do not
a
21 Exodus 20:13 b
22 The Greek word for brother or sister ( adelphos ) refers here to a fellow disciple , whether man or woman ; also in verse 23 . c
22 Some manuscripts brother or sister without cause d
22 An Aramaic term of contempt e
27 Exodus 20:14 f
31 Deut . 24:1 body , and the purifying of social relations so that the disciple says yes to God with his or her entire person . The disciple bears the fruit of the Spirit in a life given to God that is being transformed to be like Jesus .
5:21 – 26 The fact that men and women have been created in the image of God lies behind these teachings . Jesus ’ statement , “ but I tell you ” introduces three ways that a person ’ s life can be taken besides the physical act of murder . In each case , punishment is due . ( 1 ) Anger is the source of murder . ( 2 ) Calling another disciple an Aramaic term implying “ empty- headed .” ( 3 ) Saying “ you fool ” to a disciple . To treat a person with such contempt was to strip away their personal identity .
The expression “ fire of hell ” is the English translation of Gehenna . It is from the Hebrew and means “ valley of the son of Hinnom .” This valley was where Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed their sons to Molech ( 2Ki 23:10 ). Later , the valley was used to burn refuse from Jerusalem . The constant burning made the valley an appropriate reference to fires of punishment . By the time of Jesus , the term was used to indicate the state of final punishment ( cf . Mt 18:9 ). 5:27 – 30 It is not enough for spouses only to main-
UNCORRECTED PROOF
tain physical purity . The purity of marriage includes exclusive devotion to one another in every aspect of their lives .
Jesus does not advocate physical self- mutilation . Through dramatic figures of speech , he indicates the kind of rigorous self- discipline that committed disciples must display . 5:31 – 32 Since divorce was a widespread phenomenon in the ancient world , God instituted a regulation through Moses . Jesus goes back to God ’ s original intention both for marriage and the Mosaic regulation . God intended marriage to be a permanent union of a man and woman in a “ one flesh ” relationship ( see Ge 2:24 ). God hates divorce , because an illicit divorce turns the spouses into adulterers when they remarry .
However , as did Moses , Jesus allows for an exception — namely , when a person has committed any sinful sexual activity that intentionally divides the marital relationship . Jesus allows divorce in this case to protect the nonoffending partner . 5:33 – 37 Jesus goes to the heart of the law ’ s intent regarding oaths when he says that his disciples are not to swear “ at all .” Jesus is telling his disciples they should be people of such integrity and truthfulness that whatever they say is absolutely believable and dependable .