18 for, verily I say to you, till that the heaven and the earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle may not pass away from the law, till that all may come to pass.
and it is easier to the heaven and the earth to pass away, than of the law one tittle to fall.
and the saying of the Lord doth remain -- to the age; and this is the saying that was proclaimed good news to you.
Withered hath grass, faded the flower, But a word of our God riseth for ever.
Jesus therefore responded and said to them, `Verily, verily, I say to you, The Son is not able to do anything of himself, if he may not see the Father doing anything; for whatever things He may do, these also the Son in like manner doth;
Lift ye up to the heavens your eyes, And look attentively unto the earth beneath, For the heavens as smoke have vanished, And the earth as a garment weareth out, And its inhabitants as gnats do die, And My salvation is to the age, And My righteousness is not broken.
Of old I have known Thy testimonies, That to the age Thou hast founded them!
They -- They perish, and Thou remainest, And all of them as a garment become old, As clothing Thou changest them, And they are changed.
and Jesus said to his disciples, `Verily I say to you, that hardly shall a rich man enter into the reign of the heavens;
and having sighed deeply in his spirit, he saith, `Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation.'
`Verily I say to you, that all the sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and evil speakings with which they might speak evil,
Verily I say to you, Wherever this good news may be proclaimed in the whole world, what this `one' did shall also be spoken of -- for a memorial of her.' Then one of the twelve, who is called Judas Iscariot, having gone unto the chief priests, said,
`And the king answering, shall say to them, Verily I say to you, Inasmuch as ye did `it' to one of these my brethren -- the least -- to me ye did `it'.
and he answering said, Verily I say to you, I have not known you.
Verily I say to you, this generation may not pass away till all these may come to pass. The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
and Jesus said to them, `Do ye not see all these? verily I say to you, There may not be left here a stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down.'
which of the two did the will of the father?' They say to him, `The first.' Jesus saith to them, `Verily I say to you, that the tax-gatherers and the harlots do go before you into the reign of God,
And Jesus answering said to them, `Verily I say to you, If ye may have faith, and may not doubt, not only this of the fig-tree shall ye do, but even if to this mount ye may say, Be lifted up and be cast into the sea, it shall come to pass;
verily I say to you, that no more may I drink of the produce of the vine till that day when I may drink it new in the reign of God.'
And I saw a great white throne, and Him who is sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven did flee away, and place was not found for them;
and it will come -- the day of the Lord -- as a thief in the night, in which the heavens with a rushing noise will pass away, and the elements with burning heat be dissolved, and earth and the works in it shall be burnt up. All these, then, being dissolved, what kind of persons doth it behove you to be in holy behaviours and pious acts? waiting for and hasting to the presence of the day of God, by which the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements with burning heat shall melt; and for new heavens and a new earth according to His promise we do wait, in which righteousness doth dwell;
`Verily, verily, I say to thee -- What we have known we speak, and what we have seen we testify, and our testimony ye do not receive;
`Lo, your house is being left to you desolate, and verily I say to you -- ye may not see me, till it may come, when ye may say, Blessed `is' he who is coming in the name of the Lord.'
from the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, who perished between the altar and the house; yes, I say to you, It shall be required from this generation.
and he said, `Verily I say to you -- No prophet is accepted in his own country;
for whoever may give you to drink a cup of water in my name, because ye are Christ's, verily I say to you, he may not lose his reward;
and as they are reclining, and eating, Jesus said, `Verily I say to you -- one of you, who is eating with me -- shall deliver me up.'
Verily I say to you, that this generation may not pass away till all these things may come to pass;
And having called near his disciples, he saith to them, `Verily I say to you, that this poor widow hath put in more than all those putting into the treasury;
And Jesus answering said, `Verily I say to you, there is no one who left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or fields, for my sake, and for the good news',
verily I say to you, whoever may not receive the reign of God, as a child -- he may not enter into it;'
`Verily I say to you, Whatever things ye may bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever things ye may loose on the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.
verily I say to thee, thou mayest not come forth thence till that thou mayest pay the last farthing.
`And when ye may fast, be ye not as the hypocrites, of sour countenances, for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men fasting; verily I say to you, that they have their reward.
And Jesus having heard, did wonder, and said to those following, `Verily I say to you, not even in Israel so great faith have I found;
and whoever may give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he may not lose his reward.'
Verily I say to you, there hath not risen, among those born of women, a greater than John the Baptist, but he who is least in the reign of the heavens is greater than he.
Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.'
And Jesus said to them, `Through your want of faith; for verily I say to you, if ye may have faith as a grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mount, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you,
Jesus answered them, `Verily, verily, I say to you -- Every one who is committing sin, is a servant of the sin,
Jesus, therefore, said to them, `Verily, verily, I say to you, If ye may not eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and may not drink his blood, ye have no life in yourselves;
Jesus, therefore, said to them, `Verily, verily, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread out of the heaven; but my Father doth give you the true bread out of the heaven;
Jesus answered them and said, `Verily, verily, I say to you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were satisfied;
`Verily, verily, I say to you -- He who is hearing my word, and is believing Him who sent me, hath life age-during, and to judgment he doth not come, but hath passed out of the death to the life. `Verily, verily, I say to you -- There cometh an hour, and it now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and those having heard shall live;
Jesus answered, `Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born of water, and the Spirit, he is not able to enter into the reign of God;
Jesus answered and said to him, `Verily, verily, I say to thee, If any one may not be born from above, he is not able to see the reign of God;'
and Jesus said to him, `Verily I say to thee, To-day with me thou shalt be in the paradise.'
verily I say to you -- This generation may not pass away till all may have come to pass; the heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words may not pass away.
verily I say to you, Whoever may not receive the reign of God as a little child, may not enter into it.'
verily, verily, I say to you, If any one may keep my word, death he may not see -- to the age.'
`Verily, verily, I say to you, He who is not entering through the door to the fold of the sheep, but is going up from another side, that one is a thief and a robber;
Jesus said therefore again to them, `Verily, verily, I say to you -- I am the door of the sheep;
verily, verily, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his lord, nor an apostle greater than he who sent him;
verily, verily, I say to you, he who is receiving whomsoever I may send, doth receive me; and he who is receiving me, doth receive Him who sent me.' These things having said, Jesus was troubled in the spirit, and did testify, and said, `Verily, verily, I say to you, that one of you will deliver me up;'
`Verily, verily, I say to you, he who is believing in me, the works that I do -- that one also shall do, and greater than these he shall do, because I go on to my Father;
verily, verily, I say to you, that ye shall weep and lament, and the world will rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow joy will become.
verily, verily, I say to thee, When thou wast younger, thou wast girding thyself and wast walking whither thou didst will, but when thou mayest be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another will gird thee, and shall carry `thee' whither thou dost not will;'
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,