18 For verily I say unto you, Until the heaven and the earth pass away, one iota or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all come to pass.
But it is easier that the heaven and the earth should pass away than that one tittle of the law should fail.
but the word of [the] Lord abides for eternity. But this is the word which in the glad tidings [is] preached to you.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God abideth for ever.
Jesus therefore answered and said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, The Son can do nothing of himself save whatever he sees the Father doing: for whatever things *he* does, these things also the Son does in like manner.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall grow old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner; but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.
From thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever.
*They* shall perish, but *thou* continuest; and all of them shall grow old as a garment: as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed.
And Jesus said to his disciples, Verily I say unto you, A rich man shall with difficulty enter into the kingdom of the heavens;
And groaning in his spirit, he says, Why does this generation seek a sign? Verily I say unto you, A sign shall in no wise be given to this generation.
Verily I say unto you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and all the injurious speeches [with] which they may speak injuriously;
Verily I say to you, Wheresoever these glad tidings may be preached in the whole world, that also which this [woman] has done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. Then one of the twelve, he who was called Judas Iscariote, went to the chief priests
And the King answering shall say to them, Verily, I say to you, Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it to me.
but he answering said, Verily I say unto you, I do not know you.
Verily I say to you, This generation will not have passed away until all these things shall have taken place. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.
And he answering said to them, Do ye not see all these things? Verily I say to you, Not a stone shall be left here upon a stone which shall not be thrown down.
Which of the two did the will of the father? They say [to him], The first. Jesus says to them, Verily I say unto you that the tax-gatherers and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
And Jesus answering said to them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and do not doubt, not only shall ye do what [is done] to the fig-tree, but even if ye should say to this mountain, Be thou taken away and be thou cast into the sea, it shall come to pass.
Verily I say to you, I will no more drink at all of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled, and place was not found for them.
But the day of [the] Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and [the] elements, burning with heat, shall be dissolved, and [the] earth and the works in it shall be burnt up. All these things then being to be dissolved, what ought ye to be in holy conversation and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, by reason of which [the] heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and [the] elements, burning with heat, shall melt? But, according to his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that which we know, and we bear witness of that which we have seen, and ye receive not our witness.
Behold, your house is left unto you; and I say unto you, that ye shall not see me until it come that ye say, Blessed [is] he that comes in the name of [the] Lord.
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the house; yea, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation.
And he said, Verily I say to you, that no prophet is acceptable in his [own] country.
For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in [my] name, because ye are Christ's, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
And as they lay at table and were eating, Jesus said, Verily I say to you, One of you shall deliver me up; he who is eating with me.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall in no wise pass away, till all these things take place.
And having called his disciples to [him] he said to them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow has cast in more than all who have cast into the treasury:
Jesus answering said, Verily I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, [or wife], or children, or lands, for my sake and for the sake of the gospel,
Verily I say to you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, shall in no wise enter into it.
Verily I say to you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on the earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Verily I say to thee, Thou shalt in no wise come out thence till thou hast paid the last farthing.
And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, downcast in countenance; for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear fasting to men: verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
And when Jesus heard it, he wondered, and said to those who followed, Verily I say unto you, Not even in Israel have I found so great faith.
And whosoever shall give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold [water] only, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.
Verily I say to you, that there is not arisen among [the] born of women a greater than John the baptist. But he who is a little one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.
Verily I say unto you, There are some of those standing here that shall not taste of death at all until they shall have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
And he says to them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard [seed], ye shall say to this mountain, Be transported hence there, and it shall transport itself; and nothing shall be impossible to you.
Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say to you, Every one that practises sin is the bondman of sin.
Jesus therefore said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Unless ye shall have eaten the flesh of the Son of man, and drunk his blood, ye have no life in yourselves.
Jesus therefore said to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, [It is] not Moses that has given you the bread out of heaven; but my Father gives you the true bread out of heaven.
Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, Ye seek me not because ye have seen signs, but because ye have eaten of the loaves and been filled.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, that he that hears my word, and believes him that has sent me, has life eternal, and does not come into judgment, but is passed out of death into life. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that have heard shall live.
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except any one be born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Jesus answered and said to him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except any one be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God.
And Jesus said to him, Verily I say to thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall in no wise pass away until all come to pass. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.
Verily I say to you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, If any one shall keep my word, he shall never see death.
Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not in by the door to the fold of the sheep, but mounts up elsewhere, *he* is a thief and a robber;
Jesus therefore said again to them, Verily, verily, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
Verily, verily, I say to you, The bondman is not greater than his lord, nor the sent greater than he who has sent him.
Verily, verily, I say to you, He who receives whomsoever I shall send receives me; and he that receives me receives him who has sent me. Having said these things, Jesus was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, that one of you shall deliver me up.
Verily, verily, I say to you, He that believes on me, the works which I do shall he do also, and he shall do greater than these, because I go to the Father.
Verily, verily, I say to you, that ye shall weep and lament, ye, but the world shall rejoice; and ye will be grieved, but your grief shall be turned to joy.
Verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst where thou desiredst; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and bring thee where thou dost not desire.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Matthew 5
Commentary on Matthew 5 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 5
This chapter, and the two that follow it, are a sermon; a famous sermon; the sermon upon the mount. It is the longest and fullest continued discourse of our Saviour that we have upon record in all the gospels. It is a practical discourse; there is not much of the credenda of Christianity in it-the things to be believed, but it is wholly taken up with the agenda-the things to be done; these Christ began with in his preaching; for if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. The circumstances of the sermon being accounted for (v. 1, 2), the sermon itself follows, the scope of which is, not to fill our heads with notions, but to guide and regulate our practice.
And the scope of the whole is, to show that the law is spiritual.
Mat 5:1-2
We have here a general account of this sermon.
Mat 5:3-12
Christ begins his sermon with blessings, for he came into the world to bless us (Acts 3:26), as the great High Priest of our profession; as the blessed Melchizedec; as He in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed, Gen. 12:3. He came not only to purchase blessings for us, but to pour out and pronounce blessings on us; and here he does it as one having authority, as one that can command the blessing, even life for evermore, and that is the blessing here again and again promised to the good; his pronouncing them happy makes them so; for those whom he blesses, are blessed indeed. The Old Testament ended with a curse (Mal. 4:6), the gospel begins with a blessing; for hereunto are we called, that we should inherit the blessing. Each of the blessings Christ here pronounces has a double intention:
Our Saviour here gives us eight characters of blessed people; which represent to us the principal graces of a Christian. On each of them a present blessing is pronounced; Blessed are they; and to each a future blessing is promised, which is variously expressed, so as to suit the nature of the grace or duty recommended.
Do we ask then who are happy? It is answered,
Now,
Now these gracious mourners,
These meek ones are here represented as happy, even in this world.
Those who hunger and thirst after spiritual blessings, are blessed in those desires, and shall be filled with those blessings.
Now as to the merciful.
Now,
Mat 5:13-16
Christ had lately called his disciples, and told them that they should be fishers of men; here he tells them further what he designed them to be- the salt of the earth, and lights of the world, that they might be indeed what it was expected they should be.
This similitude is here explained in two things:
See here,
Mat 5:17-20
Those to whom Christ preached, and for whose use he gave these instructions to his disciples, were such as in their religion had an eye,
Mat 5:21-26
Christ having laid down these principles, that Moses and the prophets were still to be their rulers, but that the scribes and Pharisees were to be no longer their rulers, proceeds to expound the law in some particular instances, and to vindicate it from the corrupt glosses which those expositors had put upon it. He adds not any thing new, only limits and restrains some permissions which had been abused: and as to the precepts, shows the breadth, strictness, and spiritual nature of them, adding such explanatory statutes as made them more clear, and tended much toward the perfecting of our obedience to them. In these verses, he explains the law of the sixth commandment, according to the true intent and full extent of it.
This is very applicable to the great business of our reconciliation to God through Christ; Agree with him quickly, whilst thou art in the way. Note,
Mat 5:27-32
We have here an exposition of the seventh commandment, given us by the same hand that made the law, and therefore was fittest to be the interpreter of it: it is the law against uncleanness, which fitly follows upon the former; that laid a restraint upon sinful passions, this upon sinful appetites, both which ought always to be under the government of reason and conscience, and if indulged, are equally pernicious.
Mat 5:33-37
We have here an exposition of the third commandment, which we are the more concerned right to understand, because it is particularly said, that God will not hold him guiltless, however he may hold himself, who breaks this commandment, by taking the name of the Lord in vain. Now as to this command,
It is added, from some other scriptures, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths (Num. 30:2); which may be meant, either,
Now the mind of Christ in this matter is,
The reason is observable; For whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil, though it do not amount to the iniquity of an oath. It comes ek tou Diabolou; so an ancient copy has it: it comes from the Devil, the evil one; it comes from the corruption of men's nature, from passion and vehemence; from a reigning vanity in the mind, and a contempt of sacred things: it comes from that deceitfulness which is in men, All men are liars; therefore men use these protestations, because they are distrustful one of another, and think they cannot be believed without them. Note, Christians should, for the credit of their religion, avoid not only that which is in itself evil, but that which cometh of evil, and has the appearance of it. That may be suspected as a bad thing, which comes from a bad cause. An oath is physic, which supposes a disease.
Mat 5:38-42
In these verses the law of retaliation is expounded, and in a manner repealed. Observe,
But some of the Jewish teachers, who were not the most compassionate men in the world, insisted upon it as necessary that such revenge should be taken, even by private persons themselves, and that there was no room left for remission, or the acceptance of satisfaction. Even now, when they were under the government of the Roman magistrates, and consequently the judicial law fell to the ground of course, yet they were still zealous for any thing that looked harsh and severe.
Now, so far this is in force with us, as a direction to magistrates, to use the sword of justice according to the good and wholesome laws of the land, for the terror of evil-doers, and the vindication of the oppressed. That judge neither feared God nor regarded man, who would not avenge the poor widow of her adversary, Lu. 18:2, 3. And it is in force as a rule to lawgivers, to provide accordingly, and wisely to apportion punishments to crimes, for the restraint of rapine and violence, and the protection of innocency.
Two things Christ teaches us here:
Three things our Saviour specifies, to show that Christians must patiently yield to those who bear hard upon them, rather than contend; and these include others.
Mat 5:43-48
We have here, lastly, an exposition of that great fundamental law of the second table, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, which was the fulfilling of the law.
Two reasons are here given to enforce this command (which sounds so harsh) of loving our enemies. We must do it,