Matthew 5:2-5:48 – The Citizens and Laws of the Kingdom

After the very important drumrolls of Matthew’s first four chapters, we finally arrive at Jesus’s first recorded teaching of the Kingdom of Heaven, and it’s quite a doozy. There is more depth and breadth and width and height to the wisdom found within this passage than I can uncover. But thankfully, I’m not trying to record the infinite thoughts of God in a relatively short blog post! I am only writing about how this passage helps better inform our prayers when we pray “Your kingdom come.”

But, what I’ve written should only be seen as secondary to the Word of God. I have been and will continue to include the text of scripture, making these posts longer than usual. Many will be tempted to skip the scripture, but I would urge you to avoid that inclination for a couple of reasons. First, any time spent reading the word of God is time well-spent. Secondly, the only way to test the writings of man is by comparison to the word of God; don’t ever read what is written about scripture without first reading the scripture itself. If these posts are read in this way, I hope you are encouraged to seek the depths Jesus intended for us when he told us, individually and corporately, to pray in this way, “Your kingdom come.”

The Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

Matthew 5:2

A business professor at the college I once attended taught the idea of “Christian Tigers.” Christians were not supposed to sit back and let the world happen to them, a Christian (Tiger) was to go into the world-conquering and impose God’s will — his will — upon it. This idea never really sat well with me (In the event you want to enter the Wayback machine, I published a piece in opposition to this idea in Volume 6 of my underground newspaper The Brazilian Manifesto titled “TAKIN’ CARE OF BUSINESS (majors).” You can read it HERE). Jesus, however, taught that the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:3-16) is for the poor in spirit, not the Christian Tiger seeking to ravage and upend the world. It is in this opening to the Sermon on the Mount where we find what is often called the beatitudes. But I would warn you against reading them as merely a collection of random sayings. These verses seem to be organized in a logical sequence beginning with entry into the kingdom and concluding with a picture of an active citizen of the kingdom.

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3

This first blessing immediately confronts the idea that one must find greatness to enter the kingdom. The inheritors of the kingdom are those who are poor in spirit. Paul wrote of this first blessing in this way, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (I Cor. 1:27). The kingdom begins when we realize how weak and foolish we really are; for such a person the door to the kingdom opens.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

Once the door to the kingdom is opened, we find comfort for our mourning. But Jesus is not speaking about the sort of mourning that comes as a result of death or disease; this mourning comes when we see and realize the full extent of our sin. Remember the first word John and Jesus used when they preached the coming of the kingdom. It was “Repent.” The kingdom message begins when we repent and turn from our wicked ways. It begins when we can truly mourn over our sin.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:5

After a night of mourning comes the morning’s comfort, and with that heavy burden loosened from our backs, we feel ready to take on the world! Well, not really. Meekness, on its own means we are submissive, but meekness as a consequence of being comforted means that we have a quiet and gentle spirit. There is peace within the soul of the one who had previously been mourning. Where once we were under the weight of the world, now we are not. We realize, following God’s forgiveness of Jesus’s payment for our sins, that which the Psalmist realized, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1). As children of the Father, the whole of creation is ours.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6

But, as odd as it might seem, nothing in the whole of creation was built to satisfy us. Were the whole realm of creation ours, it still would be small compared to the righteousness of God. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us that God has put eternity in man’s heart — we cannot begin to comprehend God and his ways (Eccl. 3:11). It is of eternity and man’s heart that Pascal wrote, “This infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself” (Penses, 148). The author of Ecclesiastes and Pascal wrote about that which Job discovered when God appeared to him out of the whirlwind; only God and his righteousness can satisfy us (Job 42:1-6). God is our inheritance, and he is the only way in which we are satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Matthew 5:7

When we are satisfied with God, we become more and more like him. And, contrary to what many say about the Old Testament, the closer we get to God the more we realize how merciful he is. As ones who have been satisfied with God’s righteousness, we become merciful as he is merciful. And, much like Jesus teaches regarding forgiveness, as we extend mercy to others we receive mercy from the hand of God.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Matthew 5:8

But try extending mercy to someone who makes your heart writhe with the horrible serpents of envy, anger, lust, and greed; you will find it can’t be done. Mercy only comes from and to those who are pure in heart. And it is only the pure in heart who are able to see God. In his light, of which there is no darkness or shadow (James 1:17), we are able to see the light (Psalm 36:9). God’s purity enables us to see him.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:9

And when we see God, the light of God’s nature transforms us to become like him; we become conduits of God’s love and mercy and peace to mankind — we become peacemakers as God is a peacemaker. The light of God purifies us so we become his children bringing God’s peace to those who have not yet been welcomed into his rest (Hebrews 3:7-19). This is, in large part, what it means to be called a son of God; we do what our father would have us do.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:10

But even as we are called the sons of God — the children of our Father — we can expect to be persecuted. Ouch! Yeah, ouch! You would think that the sons of God would live forever in his kingdom of glory and shining lights and that everyone would look at us and marvel; but that is not the case, at least as regards the kingdom here on earth. The world is not our home. The world is populated with and controlled by enemies of God and enemies of the children of God. Persecution is a foregone conclusion (John 15:20). But, so there is no confusion on this point, Jesus further explains this with, what I believe is, an expansion on the last beatitude. He said,

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:11-12

The sort of persecution of which Jesus spoke is the sort resulting from being a follower of his. Jesus narrows his focus and sharpens our understanding of persecution: it is that which comes as a result of being a follower of Jesus. Persecution is not what happens when we lose a soccer game, break an arm, or have a bad case of shingles. While those might be difficult things to bear, they are not the sort of things about which Jesus spoke when he said persecutions come to followers of Jesus.

But in the midst of this talk of persecution, don’t miss that Jesus states where our great reward is to be found; in heaven. Like the prophets before us, we may not see our reward on earth (Heb. 11:13-16, 39-40), but we will see it at the end of all times (Rev. 21-22).

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:13-16

But wait, there’s more! Jesus continues by describing the nature of those who have inherited the kingdom of heaven. They become lights in the darkness of this present age; they become salt in the blandness of a sin-enveloped world. They shine and bring flavor to an otherwise dull and drab existence. In their mourning, they have become salt and light, not tigers ready to pounce. Salt embeds itself in the fiber of everyday routine. Light pierces the shadows of the night. Both salt and light draw the attention away from what is wrong with the world and toward the only source of hope. Salt and light conquer, not because they tear at the meat of this world but because they enter into the world so those in the world might understand there is hope. It is about this hope that Peter wrote, “Always be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have” (I Peter 3:15). He encouraged the persecuted believer to be able to explain why they had hope; not so they could explain why their beliefs made rational sense. For example, I can tell you about the rationality of electricity without having any sense of hope that electricity will solve my problems. Now, re-read that last sentence and replace the word “electricity” with the word “Christ” or “Christianity.” Hopefully, you will see why Peter is talking about hope, not rationale. Hope, not a well-reasoned belief, is what enables us to wake each morning and face the dull dark world and see life and light. And hope transforms us into salt and light to those whose tastes are dead and eyes are blind.

The kingdom of heaven, as Jesus taught, does not birth a crusade against the fallen world; it begins with us realizing we are poor in spirit and need to mourn for our sin. And furthermore, as far as we are concerned, the kingdom of heaven never culminates with us conquering the world; it flowers in us as we become salt and light. Such are the citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Now, certainly, there will be a day when we conquer the world, but that day is yet sometime in the future and on that day we will be following Jesus when he rides into battle (Psalm 149; Revelation 19:11-16). But, if we wish to be in Jesus’s army on that day, we must, on this day, mourn for our sin and then let God, through our mourning, turn us into salt and light. It is for this that we pray, “Your kingdom come.”

The Laws of the Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:17-48

Once Jesus finished describing entry into the kingdom of heaven, he did not relax the laws by which the kingdom is ruled. Rather, he revealed how stringent they really are. Under the Mosaic law, one had to merely make sure his or her behavior met the regulations; difficult, but theoretically not impossible. But Jesus pushed this a bit further; he taught that the law also applied to the thoughts and intents of the heart. Adultery is bad, but so is lust. Murder is bad, but so is anger. Divorce is restricted to only adultery, no more divorcing your wife if she burnt the matzo. Oaths are irrelevant; just do the right thing. Revenge is off the table; in fact, don’t retaliate when your enemy takes from you and hits you. The command to love now includes that we love our enemies. And, to top it all off, Jesus told his listeners that they must be perfect, just as their Heavenly Father is perfect. If wasn’t bad enough to hear that persecution awaited the citizens of the kingdom, this teaching seems to take it up a notch. Perfection of the sort Jesus taught placed the kingdom far out of reach for even the most religious of people.

Given that we know the rest of the Bible and aren’t waiting on each word, we like to jump ahead and say that Jesus fulfilled the law, thus eliminating the punishment coming to us for our failure to meet the stringent requirements of the law. Of course, we say, we need to watch what we are thinking, we need to keep a handle on our emotions and urges, we need to…But that isn’t what Jesus taught. Jesus taught that the citizens of the kingdom, as described in the Beatitudes, are required to become holy just as their Heavenly Father is holy. But no matter how hard we try we cannot do it. This is the teaching of the kingdom. The law revealed our sinfulness; Jesus’s teaching revealed the full extent of our sinfulness.

I suppose, if we find any consolation in hearing that the children of the Father will be persecuted, then we will most likely find immense consolation in the fact that we must be as perfect as God. Some consolation, eh? Well, now maybe we can see why Jesus’s teaching is quite a kick in the pants. I mean, if I were huddled around the disciples listening to Jesus, I might have stood up and walked away when he said I had to be holy like God is holy. His message doesn’t sound that appealing; I’m worse than I thought I was, but I need to be better than anyone else has ever been. Oddly enough though, Matthew doesn’t record that people walked away; he records that the crowds grew larger (compare Matthew 5:1 to Matthew 7:28-29).

In a previous post (Preaching and Teaching the Kingdom), I discussed why Jesus was different than the Pharisees, but the way in which he was most unlike them comes in the first line of this section: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). Up until the moment Jesus was born, not a single person could claim they met the demands of the law; neither has anyone done so since he left the earth. Jesus is the only one who can make such a claim with integrity. And, whether the people understood this at the time, they saw Jesus as authoritative because, in the face of the Law’s harsh demands, Jesus was the one who could take on the law and win. And, whether the people could put this into words or not, I believe the people saw in Jesus something more than just the rigors of the law: they saw grace. Grace carried his words, grace shone out of his eyes, and grace extended his hand to the broken and the outcast and healed them. When the crowds huddled around Jesus listening to him teach, they saw not only a man who could bear the weight of the law, but they also saw a man who provided a realistic path to holiness for everyone.

I hope you are beginning to see how this section of Matthew’s Gospel reveals the many subtleties and nuances of that simple prayer, “Your kingdom come.” Among other things that have come before, we know that the prayer “Your kingdom come” is a prayer for a kingdom filled with righteous and holy people and a prayer for greater reliance upon the only person who has true authority and power to make us righteous and holy people; Jesus, the son of God and the teacher of the kingdom of heaven.

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