Giving to the Neeedy Matthew 6:4 | 1515
swear an oath at all : l ei ther by heav en , for it is God ’ s throne ; m 35 or by the earth , for it is his foot stool ; or by Je ru sa lem , for it is the city of the Great King . n 36 And do not swear by your head , for you can not make even one hair white or black . 37 All you need to say is sim ply ‘ Yes ’ or ‘ No ’; o any thing be yond this comes from the evil one . a p
Eye for Eye
38 “ You have heard that it was said , ‘ Eye for eye , and tooth for tooth .’ b q 39 But I tell you , do not re sist an evil per son . If anyone slaps you on the right cheek , turn to them the oth er cheek also . r 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt , hand over your coat as well . 41 If any one forc es you to go one mile , go with them two miles . 42 Give to the one who asks you , and do not turn away from the one who wants to bor row from you . s
5:34 l Jas 5:12 m Isa 66:1 ;
Mt 23:22 5:35 n Ps 48:2
5:37 o Jas 5:12 p Mt 6:13 ; 13:19 ,
38 ; Jn 17:15 ; 2Th 3:3 ; 1Jn 2:13 , 14 ; 3:12 ; 5:18 , 19
5:38 q Ex 21:24 ; Lev 24:20 ; Dt 19:21
5:39 r Lk 6:29 ; Ro 12:17 , 19 ; 1Co 6:7 ; 1Pe 3:9
5:42 s Dt 15:8 ; Lk 6:30
5:43 t Lev 19:18 u Dt 23:6
5:44 v Lk 6:27 , 28 ; 23:34 ; Ac 7:60 ; Ro 12:14 ; 1Co 4:12 ; 1Pe 2:23
5:45 w ver 9
x Job 25:3 5:46 y Lk 6:32
5:48 z Lev 19:2 ; 1Pe 1:16
6:1 a Mt 23:5
6:4 b ver 6 , 18 ; Col 3:23 , 24 ther in heav en . He caus es his sun to rise on the evil and the good , and sends rain on the righ teous and the un righ teous . x 46 If you love those who love you , what re ward will you get ? y Are not even the tax col lec tors do ing that ? 47 And if you greet only your own peo ple , what are you do ing more than oth ers ? Do not even pa gans do that ? 48 Be per fect , there fore , as your heav en ly Fa ther is per fect . z
Giving to the Needy
6
“ Be care ful not to prac tice your righteous ness in front of oth ers to be seen by them . a If you do , you will have no re ward from your Fa ther in heav en .
2 “ So when you give to the needy , do not an nounce it with trum pets , as the hyp o crites do in the syn a gogues and on the streets , to be hon ored by oth ers . Tru ly I tell you , they have re ceived their re ward in full . 3 But when you give to the needy , do not let your left hand know what your right hand is do ing , 4 so that your giv ing may be in se cret . Then your Fa ther , who sees what is done in se cret , will re ward you . b
Love for Enemies
43 “ You have heard that it was said , ‘ Love your neigh bor c t and hate your ene my .’ u 44 But I tell you , love your en e mies and pray for those who per se cute you , v 45 that you may be chil dren w of your Faa
37 Or from evil b
38 Exodus 21:24 ; Lev . 24:20 ;
Deut . 19:21 c
43 Lev . 19:18
5:38 – 42 The common person was at the mercy of the Romans everywhere . Within this oppressive atmosphere , Jesus points to the motivation of the individual disciple who has been taken advantage of and wronged . Even when they are being abused , they must think of ways to advance the kingdom of heaven and spread its influence on this earth . Jesus himself lived out this radical principle and became a vivid example for his followers . 5:43 – 47 Jesus takes the competing attitudes of love for neighbor and hate for enemy and brings them together in a way contrary to human nature , and contrary to what was occurring in many areas in Israel . This teaching actually represents the love that God has for all humans . God loves all people and wants all to come to repentance . Jesus ’ disciples are to look at people in this world as God does and to love them enough to reach out to them with the message of reconciliation , even to the point that they “ pray for those who persecute ” ( v . 44 ) them as Jesus ’ disciples . This kind of love demonstrates a right relationship between God the Father and Jesus ’ disciples . 5:48 Jesus is the ultimate example for his disciples to follow as they hear the command , “ Be perfect , as your heavenly Father is perfect .” That statement implies a goal that Jesus ’ disciples are to pursue with restful dissatisfaction until they reach eternity .
UNCORRECTED PROOF
5:21 – 48 Respecting the purity of marriage also allows Jesus ’ disciples to understand God ’ s original design for marriage and to be committed to its purity . We should also be careful not to read into Jesus ’ statement what he did not imply . He did not declare the exception of sexual infidelity to require divorce ; reconciliation and forgiveness are always the goal . Jesus also did not state that remarriage in the case of a legitimate divorce is invalid . Further , he did not state that illegitimate divorce and even illegitimate remarriage are unpardonable sins . While there are always consequences for going contrary to Jesus ’ intentions for us , we must be careful not to create oppressive burdens that cancel out God ’ s grace and restoration .
6:1 The term for “ reward ” can indicate payment of “ wages ” ( 20:8 ) or the compensation of a person ’ s good deeds with a good prize . 6:2 – 4 The term translated “ hypocrite ” was originally used for actors on a Greek stage who put on various masks to play different roles . Jesus here criticizes the religious leaders for a particular form of hypocrisy : performing external acts of righteousness that mask , even from themselves , their own inner corruption . Jesus ’ disciples are to go to the opposite extreme and keep secret the work they do for Jesus . Human praise cannot be compared to the value of being recognized by God .