Matthew · chapter 5 of 28
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Matthew 5 opens the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus goes up a mountain and teaches his disciples the Beatitudes, calls his people the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and declares that he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. He then deepens what the law asks about anger, lust, divorce, oaths, revenge and love for enemies, and closes by calling them to be perfect as the Father is perfect.
Matthew 4 ended with crowds following Jesus. Now, in the first of Matthew's five great discourses, Jesus teaches his disciples how those who belong to the kingdom of heaven live. The Sermon on the Mount, which fills chapters 5 to 7, is the best-known description of the righteousness God expects of his people.
Seeing the crowds, Jesus goes up on the mountain, sits down, and his disciples come to him; there he begins to teach. He pronounces the Beatitudes: blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven and they will be comforted, inherit the earth, be satisfied, receive mercy, see God and be called children of God. He adds that they are blessed when people insult and persecute them because of him, and that they should rejoice because their reward in heaven is great.
Jesus tells his disciples that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and that a city set on a hill cannot be hidden; they must let their light shine so that others see their good works and glorify the Father. He declares that he did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill them, and that his disciples' righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.
He then sets six times what was said to the ancients against what he says. It is not enough not to murder: one must be reconciled and not nurse anger or insults. It is not enough not to commit adultery: a lustful look is already a sin of the heart. On divorce, only sexual immorality justifies it. Oaths are unnecessary; yes should be yes and no should be no. Evil is not to be answered with revenge but with generosity: turning the other cheek, giving the cloak, going the second mile. Finally he commands loving enemies and praying for persecutors, imitating the Father, who makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and concludes: be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This describes people who recognize they have nothing to offer God and depend entirely on his grace.
Jesus calls his disciples the light of the world and asks them not to hide their light but to let it shine through good works, so that others glorify the Father. The aim is not the believer's fame but that others see God.
Jesus declares that he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets but to fulfill them. In him the promises, pictures and demands of Israel's Scripture reach their goal, so his teaching does not contradict the law but reveals its deeper meaning.
Jesus commands loving enemies and praying for those who persecute. It is one of the hardest demands of the sermon, and the reason he gives is to be children of the Father, who shows kindness to everyone.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: On a mountain, where he sat down and his disciples came to him. — Matthew 5:1-2
Answer: That theirs is the kingdom of heaven. — Matthew 5:3
Answer: The salt of the earth and the light of the world. — Matthew 5:13-14
Answer: That he did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. — Matthew 5:17
Answer: That anyone who looks to lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. — Matthew 5:27-28
Answer: To love them and pray for those who persecute you. — Matthew 5:43-44
The Beatitudes are not a list of requirements for earning God's favor but a portrait of those who already live under his reign and of the blessing awaiting them. In a class or small group you can ask which of them is hardest for us and how Jesus himself lives it out.
The rest of the chapter moves us from behavior to the heart. We often settle for not doing the worst, but Jesus speaks about anger, about the glance, about the word we give and about how we treat those who wrong us. Choose one area, perhaps a difficult relationship, and ask the Lord for concrete help to love in it this week.
Matthew 5 shows the righteousness of the kingdom: a life of humility, light, integrity and love that reaches even enemies. Chapter 6 continues the sermon with how to give, pray and fast before the Father, and with the trust that ends anxiety.
It means acknowledging one's need before God and not depending on one's own merits. The phrase is not about material poverty but spiritual humility: those who have it receive the kingdom as a gift, not as an achievement.
That in his life, teaching and work the purpose toward which the law pointed is reached. Christians understand it in several ways, but they agree that Jesus does not discard the law but brings it to fullness, and that his teaching shows the intention God had from the beginning.
The word points to maturity or completeness in love, not an absolute absence of failure. In context, the Father loves even his enemies, and Jesus asks his children to imitate that complete love. The New Testament also teaches that this righteousness comes to believers through the grace of Christ.