Matthew 5 is the fifth chapter of the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. It contains the first portion of the

Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount ( anglicized from the Matthean Vulgate Latin section title: ) is a collection of sayings spoken by Jesus of Nazareth found in the Gospel of Matthew (chapters 5, 6, and 7). that emphasizes his moral teachings. It is th ...

, the other portions of which are contained in chapters 6 and 7. Portions are similar to the

Sermon on the Plain In Christianity, the Sermon on the Plain refers to a set of teachings by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, in 6:20–49.''The Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: Matthew-Luke, Volume 1'' by Craig A. Evans 2003 ''Sermon on the Plain'': pages 151� ...

in Luke 6, but much of the material is found only in Matthew. It is one of the most discussed and analyzed chapters of the New Testament.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

. This chapter is divided into 48 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

containing text from this chapter are: * Papyrus 64 (Magdalen papyrus) ( AD 200; extant verses 20–22, 25–28) * Papyrus 86 (4th century; extant verses 13–16, 22–25) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Old Testament and the majority of the New Testament. It is designated by siglum B or 03 in the Gregory-Aland numb ...

(4th century) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (; Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), also called the Sinai Bible, is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old Testament, including the deuterocanonica ...

(4th century) *

Codex Washingtonianus Codex Washingtonianus, Codex Washingtonensis, Codex Freerianus, also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', ''The Freer Gospel'' and ''The Freer Codex'', is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, written on parchment. It is de ...

(4–5th century) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis is a bi-lingual Greek and Latin manuscript of the New Testament written in an uncial hand on parchment. It is designated by the siglum D or 05 in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts, and � ...

(5th century) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early ...

(5th century) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) is a manuscript of the Greek Bible, written on parchment. It is designated by the siglum C or 04 in the Biblical manuscript#Gregory-Aland, Gregory-Aland numbering of New ...

(5th century; extant verses 1–14)

Structure

The structure of Matthew 5 can be broken down as follows: * – Setting and

Beatitudes The Beatitudes () are blessings recounted by Jesus in Matthew 5:3–10 within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings. In ...

* – Salt of the earth and light of the world * – Law and the Prophets * – Do not hate * – Do not lust * – Do not divorce except for sexual misconduct * – Do not swear oaths * – Do not retaliate * – Love your enemies

Old Testament references

* :

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

Analysis

In the

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an interpretation was developed that the chapter only applied to a select group, and not to the general populace. Reformer

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

, in a discussion of this chapter, was highly critical of the Catholic view. He wrote that "there have fallen upon this ifthchapter the vulgar hogs and asses, jurists and sophists, the right hand of

the pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

and his

Mamelukes Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

." In

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

's analysis of the Sermon on the Mount, chapter five outlines "the sum of all true religion", allowing chapter 6 to detail "rules for that right intention which we are to preserve in all our outward actions, unmixed with worldly desires or anxious cares for even the necessaries of life" and chapter 7 to provide "cautions against the main hinderances of religion". Matthew 5 contains parallels to the other

Synoptic Gospels The gospels of Gospel of Matthew, Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Mark, and Gospel of Luke, Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical ...

. These include a few parallels to

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

(e.g., Mark 4, 5, 9) and many to Luke, especially to the

(Luke 6), as well as to other materials (e.g., Luke 8, 12, 14, 16). According to the four-source hypothesis, most of Matthew 5 is based on Q and Matthew's unique source or sources ( M). Harvey King McArthur considers the parallels in Luke to be very loose, much further away than most areas they overlap. McArthur thus theorizes that there must have been an extra step between the sources Matthew and Luke used.

Beatitudes

After a brief introduction ( Matthew 5:1–2), the chapter contains the section known as the

, which includes some of

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

' most famous teachings. Robert H. Gundry suggests that the Beatitudes can be divided into two quartets. The first group of four beatitudes describes the ideal righteous behaviour of Jesus' disciples. The second group of four focuses on the persecution that these disciples will likely encounter because of their righteous behaviour. Some scholars feel the ninth Beatitude in Matthew 5:11 is separate from the first eight, as demonstrated by its shift to the second person. However, the use of the second person here may simply be a reflection of the four beatitudes found in Luke 6:20–23 that are all in the second person. In contrast to Matthew's beatitudes with their characteristic spiritual expressions (e.g., "poor in spirit", "hunger and thirst for righteousness", and "persecuted for righteousness sake") and the multiple references to his own term, the "kingdom of heaven", Luke reflects social and economic realities with simple mentions of "you who are poor", "you who are hungry now", and "when people hate you". This understanding is clearly evident in Luke's four parallel "woes", which he inserted after the beatitudes in verses 24–26. Furthermore, Luke uses the common expression "kingdom of God", the only term for the kingdom used in Mark and Luke. All this suggests that the number and versions of the beatitudes found in Luke 6 are closer to the sayings of Jesus than those in Matthew, as well known and beloved as they may be. The English word used to show the positive nature of the Beatitudes is ''blessed''. A number of scholars note that this is not an ideal translation as in modern English, ''blessed'' often means "blessed by God", a meaning not implied by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

William F. Albright William Foxwell Albright (May 24, 1891 – September 19, 1971) was an American archaeologist, biblical scholar, philologist, and expert on ceramics. He is considered "one of the twentieth century's most influential American biblical scholars ...

and C. S. Mann use the more general word ''fortunate'' instead of ''blessed''. R. T. France feels that it should be read as "worthy of congratulation". Lapide supports the

New American Bible The New American Bible (NAB) is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Bible first published in 1970. The 1986 Revised NAB is the basis of the revised Lectionary. In the Catholic Church it is the only translation approved ...

usage of ''happy''; it directly translates the word ''beatus'' in the

Vulgate The Vulgate () is a late-4th-century Bible translations into Latin, Latin translation of the Bible. It is largely the work of Saint Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels used by the Diocese of ...

, and it carries the meaning of the Greek. After the Beatitudes there are a series of metaphors, called Salt and Light, that are often seen as commentaries upon them. These include a number of famous phrases such as

salt of the earth Salt of the earth is a phrase used by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, part of a discourse on salt and light. Salt of the earth may also refer to: Film * Salt of the Earth (1954 film), ''Salt of the Earth'' (1954 film), an American drama film ...

and city on a hill.

Teachings on the law

The role and importance of the law

* Verse 17 – Jesus states that he has not come to "abolish the law" but to "fulfill" it. * Verse 18 – Jesus then declares the law to be valid until "Heaven and Earth pass away" and "all things are accomplished". * Verse 19 – shows a direct correlation between the act of adhering to the Biblical Code, and the righteousness of the individual. * Verse 20 – Jesus identifies Greater Righteousness as a condition for inclusion in the Kingdom of Heaven. The NIV translation entitles "The Fulfillment of the Law", the

NRSV The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is a translation of the Bible in American English. It was first published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches, the NRSV was created by an ecumenical committee of scholars "comprising about thirty ...

translation entitles it "The Law and the Prophets", the

United Bible Societies The United Bible Societies (UBS) is a global fellowship of around 150 Bible societies operating in more than 240 countries and territories. It has working hubs in England, Singapore and Nairobi. The headquarters are located in Swindon, England. ...

' "The Greek New Testament", edited by

Kurt Aland Kurt Aland (28 March 1915 – 13 April 1994) was a German theologian and Biblical studies, biblical scholar who specialized in New Testament textual criticism. He founded the ''Institute for New Testament Textual Research, Institut für neutest ...

Bruce Metzger Bruce Manning Metzger (February 9, 1914 – February 13, 2007) was an American biblical scholar, Bible translator and textual critic who was a longtime professor at Princeton Theological Seminary and Bible editor who served on the board of th ...

and others, entitles it the "Teaching about the Law". This pericope is at the core of the argument about the relationship between the views attributed to Jesus, such as

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

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New Covenant The New Covenant () is a biblical interpretation which was originally derived from a Book of Jeremiah#Sections of the Book, phrase which is contained in the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31–34), in the Hebrew Bible (or the Old Testament of the ...

, New Commandment,

Law of Christ "The law of Christ" () is a New Testament phrase. The related Bible verses are in the Pauline epistles at and parenthetically ( "being under the law to Christ") at . Some Christians hold the belief that the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the in ...

, and those attributed to

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

or the

Mosaic Law The Law of Moses ( ), also called the Mosaic Law, is the law said to have been revealed to Moses by God. The term primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. Terminology The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebr ...

, and hence on the relationship between the

and

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, Christian views on the old covenant,

Law and Gospel Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

, and as a basis of

Christian ethics Christian ethics, also known as moral theology, is a multi-faceted ethical system. It is a Virtue ethics, virtue ethic, which focuses on building moral character, and a Deontological ethics, deontological ethic which emphasizes duty according ...

. The reason for this argument is a disagreement about the proper interpretation of the word "fulfill" (πληρόω). As David Wilber explains, "Depending upon the context, the verb 'to fulfill' (πληρόω) can mean to carry out, to show forth true meaning, or to complete." Wilber goes on to argue that "the sense of 'fully doing' or 'revealing true meaning' fits this context better than the idea of 'completing.'" Other interpreters, like Andy Stanley, suggest that Matthew intends the meaning of "bring to an end." As Stanley writes, "Jesus fulfilled—as in ended—the necessity of the Jewish law." Many modern scholars now consider these four verses to be a prelude to the Antitheses, but this position is not universally accepted, and many continue to interpret Matthew 5:17–20 independent of its textual neighbors.

Antitheses

The sermon then moves to a highly structured discussion ("Ye have heard... But I say unto you") of the "Law and Prophets" or

Old Covenant Abrahamic religions believe in the Mosaic covenant (named after Moses), also known as the Sinaitic covenant (after the biblical Mount Sinai), which refers to a covenant between the Israelite tribes and God, including their proselytes, not lim ...

. This section ( Matthew 5:17 to Matthew 5:48) is traditionally referred to as ''the Antitheses'', or the ''Six Antitheses.'' Gundry disputes this title: "The sayings are traditionally called 'the Antitheses'. But this designation seems to imply that after stoutly affirming the Law in , Jesus contradicts it." Instead Gundry argues that Jesus escalates the Law towards "the goal toward which it was already headed, so that we should stop calling these sayings "the Antitheses" and perhaps start calling them "the Culminations." After the introduction ( 5:17– 20), the next verses are commentaries on six specific topics where Jesus recites a law, starting with two of the

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten ...

, and then comments on it. This generally sees Jesus impose more rigorous standards. The six antitheses are on: # You shall not murder in verses 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 # You shall not commit adultery in verses 27, 28, 29, 30 #

Divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

in verses 31 and 32 #

Oaths Traditionally, an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths is to give an affirmation instead ...

in verses 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 #

Eye for an eye "An eye for an eye" (, ) is a commandment found in the Book of Exodus 21:23–27 expressing the principle of reciprocal justice measure for measure. The earliest known use of the principle appears in the Code of Hammurabi, which predates the wr ...

in verses 38, 39, 40, 41, 42 # Love thy neighbour as thyself in verses 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48 ''

The Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

'' states: Jesus' six antitheses are on six topics. In each of them, Jesus opens the statement with words to the effect: "You have heard it said... but I say to you...". These antitheses appear only in Matthew. At the outset, Jesus made it clear that he greatly respects Old Testament Law in the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

, and fulfilling the Law was one of his purposes for coming to Earth. Daniel J. Harrington believes that Matthew wrote primarily but not exclusively for

Jewish Christians Jewish Christians were the followers of a Jewish religious sect that emerged in Roman Judea during the late Second Temple period, under the Herodian tetrarchy (1st century AD). These Jews believed that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and t ...

. If so, that may explain why Matthew could use Jewish rhetoric and themes without explanation. Harrington says that is not the case for 21st-century Americans and others who read the Gospel today. In the six antitheses Jesus either extends through the Commandment's scope by going to the root of the abuse (avoiding anger and lust to prevent murder and adultery) or going beyond a biblical commandment as in the case of divorce and oaths. Harrington writes that Matthew presents the six antitheses as examples of the principle that Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.Harrington, Daniel J. ''The Gospel of Matthew ''. Liturgical Press, 2007. .

Murder

The first antithesis (verses 21–22) attacks anger as the root of murder. The two loosely connected illustrations (23–24, 25–26) point out the value of reconciling with one's enemy.

Adultery

The second antithesis (verses 27–28) attacks lust as the root of adultery. The sayings about the right eye and the right-hand as causes of scandal (29–30) are further instances of going to the sources of sin.

Divorce

The third antithesis (verses 31–32) not only contains Jesus' rejection of the legal process of divorce stated in but uniquely includes his only justification for divorce, i.e. "sexual unfaithfulness" (cf. Matthew 19:8).In both texts, the unique exception centers on the word πορνεία, an expression used for “various kinds of ‘unsanctioned sexual intercourse’”.

Oaths

The fourth antithesis (verses 33–37) about oaths says to avoid oaths entirely so as never to swear falsely.

An eye for an eye

The fifth antithesis on non-retaliation (verses 38–39a) also urges the followers of Jesus to not seek revenge through violence. The examples not only prohibit violence, but also require that brutality and force be met with goodness.

Love for enemies

The final antithesis (verses 43–48) expands the concept of " neighbor". Here Jesus urges that love include even enemies instead of restricting love only to those who either can benefit us or who already love us. This section concludes with the call to be perfect, "as your heavenly Father is perfect", i.e. be like God, who "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and send rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" – on his friends and his enemies. (verse 45).

Verses

Notes

References

Sources

* Albright, W.F. and C.S. Mann. "Matthew". ''

The Anchor Bible Series The Anchor Bible Series, which consists of a commentary series, a Bible dictionary, and a reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture which was begun in 1956, with the publication of individual volumes in the commentary series. O ...

''. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1971. *Betz, Hans Dieter. ''Essays on the Sermon on the Mount''. Translations by Laurence Welborn. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985. *Clarke, Howard W. ''The Gospel of Matthew and its Readers: A Historical Introduction to the First Gospel''. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003. *France, R.T. ''The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary''. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985. * Gundry, Robert H. ''Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art''. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1982. *Hill, David. ''The Gospel of Matthew''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1981. *Kissinger, Warren S. ''The Sermon on the Mount: A History of Interpretation and Bibliography''. Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1975. * * Lapide, Pinchas. ''The Sermon on the Mount, Utopia or Program for Action?'', translated from the German by Arlene Swidler. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1986. *McArthur, Harvey King. ''Understanding the Sermon on the Mount''. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1978. * Schweizer, Eduard. ''The Good News According to Matthew''. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975.

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Sermon on the Mount Matthew 05