Matthew 5:38 says, Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:  These were really limits on what a person could demand if they had been harmed.  If someone lost an eye or a tooth, that person could not claim a right to kill the other person, or even harm that person more than someone had been harmed himself.  We often view it as a command to claim our right to be demand that the someone who has harmed us pay, but this really isn't the case.  Verse thirty-nine declares, But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  Jesus said that we are to turn the other cheek if we are slapped, which means that we are not to demand that the one who struck us suffers even more than we did.  This is not to say that people are not to be held accountable for their actions, but that we as followers of Christ are to show mercy even to those who may have harmed us.  Verse forty continues, And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.  I know in the world today, if someone takes us to court that we want to give them nothing, and if we take them to court we often demand the maximum that we can get.  I believe that what was being said was that we are to realize that all this deals with material possessions and our physical well being, but Jesus is referring to our spiritual well being.  We are to be guided by the Holy Spirit, and when we are, we will put even those who may have harmed us above ourselves.  Verse forty-one says, And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  I believe that this is simply saying to go beyond what is demanded of us, so that we will never bring dishonor to God.  Verse forty-two states, Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.  We, as followers of Christ, are to help those who ask us for help.  We cannot allow the fear that we are being taken advantage of stop us from helping others.  I cannot say for sure where we should draw the line, but if we rely on the leadership of the Holy Spirit, I am sure we will do what brings glory to God.  Verse forty-three says,  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.  This might even seem like a reasonable idea in the terms of the world.  Still, as we shall see, this is not God's standard.  Verse forty-four states, But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;  Jesus said that those who follow Him are to love their enemies and do good for those who hate them and pray for those who despitefully us them.  We all at one time were enemies of God, but He still loved us.  Jesus set the example for us on the cross when out of love He prayed for those who were crucifying Him.  Verse forty-five states, That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.you;  If we want to be the children of God, then we must follow His instructions, which just said that we shall love our enemies.  Verse forty-six asks, For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?  Jesus tells us that it is easy to love those who love us.  Even those who do not claim to be God's people do this, so why should we feel that doing this makes us any better than them.  Verse forty-seven asks, And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?  I believe that this is asking if we greet only those who we view as friends in a friendly matter, how are we any better than anyone else.  We are to approach even our enemies with an attitude to love.  Verse forty-eight says, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.  I do not believe that we will reach the state of perfection in this world, but if we are true followers of Christ and follow His teachings under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, then we will always strive for perfection.

Matthew 5:31 says, It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:  Divorce was allowed in the Old Testament, and it was very much at the discretion of the husband.  The letter of the law required that he give his wife a writing of divorcement.  This was a legal situation and not a spiritual one.  Under God's law, marriage is intended to be a spiritual union between a man and a woman that would last a lifetime.  We have made it a legal institution that lasts as long as it is convenient.  Verse thirty-two declares, But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.  Unless the divorce was based on adultery, then the spirit of God's law says that if a woman, in this case, is divorced and remarries, both she and her new husbands are guilty of adultery.  The same applies to the wife.  Often today people get divorced simply because they want to get remarried.  I believe that the real problem with marriage today is that it has become simply a legal institution instead of a spiritual one.  Verse thirty-three states, Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:  Matthew Henry says this refers to taking oaths to tell the truth.  We are not to swear by our own merit, but by our faith in and relationship to God.  This is the letter of the law.  Verse thirty-four states, But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:  In this verse we begin to get into the spirit of the law.  This does not mean that we are never to swear an oath, but that the oath is not to be based on material things, but on our relationship with God.  Everything already belongs to God.  Heaven is God's thorn.  Verse thirty-five says, Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.  The earth is God's footstool and Jerusalem is His city, so how can we swear by, or take an oath, based on any of these things.  For our oaths to have any real meaning, they must be based on our relationship with God.  Verse thirty-six states, Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.  Now we might say that we can make our hair white or black or even purple, but we really can't.  We can make it appear that way, but at the root it is still the same color.  That being said, I believe that we are being advised to not swear by our own merit or values.  As followers of Christ, God should be in control of every aspect of our lives.  Verse thirty-seven says, But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.  I believe this means that we should be truthful in what we say.  If we say yes to someone, it should not mean maybe, and the same is true if we say no.

Matthew 5:21 says, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:  These next several verses begin to contrast the letter of the law with the spirit of the law.  The letter of the law is concerned with physical acts, whereas the spirit of the law is concerned with the attitude behind the action.  Verse twenty-two states, But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.  The action, stated in the last verse is killing and its punishment.  I personally believe that this refers to murder, but that may be too narrow of a definition.  In this verse, the spirit of the law says that if we have been angry with our brother without cause, we are just as guilty in the eyes of God as one who has murdered someone.   We are even told that if we call our brother a fool we are in danger of hell fire.  We need to remember also that our brothers or sisters are any fellow believer.  Getting angry at other Christians without a spiritual cause is never acceptable to God.  Verse twenty-three states, Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;  Bringing gifts to the altar of God is a good thing, but gifts must be offered with the right attitude.  Verse twenty-four states, Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.  If we have brought our gift to God and remember that we have a problem with our brother or sister, then we are to leave our gift at the altar and find our brother or sister and make things right.  We are not told to take the offering with us, but to leave it there.  The attitude that I am not giving another penny to that church as long as someone I disagree with is there is not acceptable.  Verse twenty-five says, Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.   If we really did quickly settle disputes with others, even our adversaries, then we might put a lot of lawyers out of work.  This verse seems to indicate that the follower of Christ is at fault and could be thrown into prison if brought to trial.  We should certainly quickly settle disputes where we are at fault, especially since our actions reflect upon God.  Verse twenty-six states, Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.  This simply tells us that if we have wronged another and haven't sought a resolution to the problem with that person, we might find ourselves in imprisoned until the debt is paid.  Verse twenty-seven says, Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:  This is once again the letter of the law, looking at the actual physical act of adultery.  Verse twenty-eight says, But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.  This is the spirit of the law, where our very thoughts and not just our actions are judged.  Former president Carter took a lot of heat for saying he was guilty of looking on another woman with lust, but this is the way God judges us.  Verse twenty-nine says, And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.  Since I do not see a bunch of one eyed Christians, then either nothing we see offends us, or leads us away from our relationship with God, or we don't take this verse literally.  Verse thirty states, And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.  Again, we don't see many one handed Christians who are one handed because they cut their hand off because it led them to sin.  The point is that we should not allow sin to enter our thoughts, then our eyes and our hands will not offend us.  Still, we would be better off spiritually to lose a hand or an eye and remain spiritually pure than to remain physically whole and become spiritually defiled.  God judges not only our actions, but He judges our thoughts as well.

Matthew 5:13 says, Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.  We, as followers of Christ, are called the salt of the earth.  We are to enhance life for those we meet, just as salt enhances the flavor of food.  I also believe that just as salt can help preserve food, we as followers of Christ can spread His word to help others come to a preserving knowledge of God.  Salt is of no use if it is not used, and we are of no use to God if we are unwilling to spread His word.  Just as a little salt can flavor a lot of food, so can a little faith reach a lot of people if we only reach out in the love of God.  Verse fourteen states, Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.  The lost of the world stumble around in spiritual darkness today, and if they are ever to see the light of salvation, we as followers of Christ must shed His light into the world.  We are to be like the light of a city set on a hill.  We should never cower in fear of the world, but should continually shed God's light into the world.   Verse fifteen states, Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.   I believe that this is telling us to never attempt to hide the light of Christ from the world.  People should know by the way that we live that there is something different about us if we are indeed followers of Christ.  We are not called on to hide our faith, but to be a shining light in the world.  Verse sixteen states, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.  When we shine the light of Christ on the world, we should do so that the lost might see the light and God might be glorified.  The light that we shine should never point to us, but must always point to God.  Verse seventeen declares, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.  Jesus came to live up to the law of God that it might be fulfilled.  The things taught by the law of God were not destroyed, but Jesus once more put the emphasis on the relationship one has with God and not on the ritualistic following of the law.  Verse eighteen says, For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.  We are told as long as heaven and earth stand that not even the least point of God's law will pass away.  When the new heaven and earth come, we will not need the law, because we will all be children of God by faith, and sin and death will have been defeated for all time.  Verse nineteen states, Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  If we break the least of God's commandments and teach others to do so, we will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.  We will still be a part of that kingdom, because we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the law.  Still, we will be the least in the kingdom of God.  The opposite is also true.  If we follow God's law and teach others to do so, we will be called great in God's kingdom, though we can never do this simply hoping to be greater.  We must do so because it is what God expects of His people.  Verse twenty declares, For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.  If we are looking to find salvation through the law of God, then our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, who saw themselves as superior to all others in keeping the letter of the law, and yet they did not know the spirit of the law.  Being super religious without a relationship with Christ as Savior and Lord will never bring anyone salvation.

Matthew 5:1 says, And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:  Jesus went up the mountain.  He may have gone to get away from the multitudes who were bringing the sick to Him, or He may have done so to make it easier for people to see and hear Him.  We are told that the disciples came to Him.  We must always seek to be where Jesus is spiritually and listen to His teachings if we are to be obedient followers of Christ.  Verse two states, And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,  Though multitudes were following Jesus because He was healing people, they now would need to be content to simply listen to His teachings.  We cannot follow Jesus simply to see what miracle He will perform, but we must follow Him to learn what He teaches us.  Verse three says, Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus begins to list the people who are blessed.  We too often equate blessings from God with material possessions, but Jesus first said that the poor in spirit were blessed.  Matthew Henry says this refers to those who have emptied themselves of all self pride and are humble before Christ, and I would have to agree.  We cannot be blessed by God if we are full of self pride.  We must come to Christ humbly, recognizing our own inability to save ourselves.  Verse four states, Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.  We don't often equate mourning with being blessed, but Jesus tells us if we are mourning, through our faith in Him we will be comforted.  Verse five declares, Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.  When we begin to be proud of our earthly status and feel superior to others, we may think that God has blessed us more than someone who is a meek or mild person.  Jesus said the the meek will inherit the earth.  We need to remember that all these blessings are based on having a personal relationship with Christ.  Verse six states, Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  If we want to be blessed, we need to hunger and thirst after righteousness.  When we do, we will be filled with God's blessings, which again does not mean material things.  We will be filled with the contentment of knowing that we are in a right relationship with God.  Verse seven declares, Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.  We cannot expect God to have mercy on us if we do not have mercy on others.  God expects His people to be merciful to those around them, even those that may hate them.  Verse eight states, Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.  I believe that the pure in heart are those people who truly are governed by a real relationship with Christ.  If we really follow Christ, then there is no room in our heart for anything that is not pure.  When our hearts are pure, then we can see God.  Verse nine declares, Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.  Peacemakers have a hard time in the world today.  If two countries, or two people, are at war with each other, the one stepping between them may be in danger.  Still, if we are to be called the children of God, then we must always try to bring peace to the world.  Taken with the last verse, this means we cannot allow hatred into our hearts.  Verse ten states, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  I believe that it is safe to say that we are more likely to be persecuted for our faith in Christ than to be made rich.  If we are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, which would come from our relationship with Christ as His followers, then the kingdom of heaven is ours.  Verse eleven states, Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  Again, this is not what we normally think of when we think of being blessed.  To be reviled, or hated, persecuted, and falsely accused of evil things is far from what we think of as being blessed.  Verse twelve declares, Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.  This is the promise that comes with verse eleven.  We are to rejoice and be exceedingly glad when we are reviled, persecuted and spoken evil of, because the same thing happened to God's prophets.  More importantly, it happened to Jesus Christ Himself.  When we proclaim Christianity to be the way to being blessed materially, we ignore what Jesus said about being blessed.

Matthew 4:18 says,  And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. When Jesus began His ministry, the first thing He did was begin to call disciples.  We might have thought that He would have gone to the priests and religious leaders to call His disciples.  Instead, Jesus called two brothers, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew, who were fishermen.  They were not the elite of the world, but were simply fishermen, and likely looked down on by those who were rich and powerful.  Jesus, for whatever reason, saw not what they were, but  what they would become.  However a person is viewed by the world, when that person encounters Christ, He sees not what they are, but what they can become if they answer His call to follow Him.   Verse nineteen says, And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.  Jesus called them to follow Him and He gave them a new occupation.  They were to become fishers of men.  Since they made their living as fishermen, they were basically asked to give up everything they depended on to meet their needs and to simply put their faith in Jesus.  We are called to do the same, and to put following Jesus above all else in this world.  Verse twenty states, And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.  There was no hesitancy on the part of Simon Peter and Andrew.  They straightway, or immediately, left their nets, there source of livelihood and followed Jesus.  If we are to be effective followers of Christ, that means that following Him must come above all else.  This does not mean that when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord that we are to immediately quit our job, but it does mean that if we feel God calling us to do something that requires quitting our job we must be willing to do so.  As followers of Christ, we must be willing to immediately follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  As Christians, we are all called to be fishers of men.  Verse twenty-one says, And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.  James and John, two more brothers who were fishermen, were the next two disciples to follow Jesus.  This does not make them to be under Simon Peter and Andrew in their relationship to Jesus.  No matter when we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, we are no higher in our standing with God than any other Christian, no matter if they have just accepted His gift of salvation.  Verse twenty-two states, And they immediately left the ship and their father, and followed him.  We are not told that Jesus called them verbally to follow Him, but they had to have felt His call.  We are not all called to Christ the same way, but we must answer His call whenever and however it comes.  James and John not only left their job, but they left their father as well.  We cannot allow anything, whether job or family, to come between Christ and us.  Verse twenty-three says, And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.  Jesus began His ministry in Galilee, teaching in synagogues, Jewish places to worship, and preaching the gospel.  Jesus also healed people of physical sickness and disease.  God will always meet our needs if we put our faith in Him.  This does not mean that all physical sickness and disease will be cured, but God does often heal people when even doctors cannot explain the person's recovery.  Whether in this life or not, God will ultimately heal all sickness.  Verse twenty-four states, And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. As Jesus healed people, His fame grew.  Multitudes brought people to Jesus with all kinds of illnesses, from physical to mental.  Still, Jesus did not come simply to heal physical illnesses, and we must not put the emphasis on physical healing.  Jesus came first and foremost to heal people spiritually, and that should be the focus when anyone comes to Christ.  Physical healing is temporary, whereas spiritual healing, or salvation, is everlasting.  Verse twenty-five declares, And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.  Great multitudes followed Jesus, but I believe most followed Him for the wrong reason.  They were following Jesus to see what He would do next to meet physical needs, and not to accept Him as the Messiah, or Savior.  We must accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, Who will meet all our spiritual needs, and not as Someone that we only want material things from.

Matthew 4:12 says, Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee;  John the Baptist had been cast into prison.  Once again, I believe that this should lead us to the understanding that following God's will does not always bring us happiness in terms of material things.  If anyone deserved to be blessed materially because of their relationship to God, then John the Baptist would have certainly qualified.  He was guilty only of calling people to repentance and preparing them for the coming of Christ.  As a result, he was thrown into prison.  This really counteracts the concept that God wants us to be happy so He will bless us materially.  We are to be happy, or content, simply because God has given us salvation through Christ.  As Jesus had just demonstrated through the temptations that Satan tempted Him with, nothing material really matters, but doing the will of God, no matter what, must be our priority.  Verse thirteen states, And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim:  I believe that we can safely say that Jesus was once again being led by the Holy Spirit.  There may be times when we find ourselves in a dangerous situation that we will be led by the Holy Spirit to leave.  Still, like John the Baptist, we may end up imprisoned for our following of God's will.  In either case, God will keep us safe spiritually, if we only continue to follow Him through faith and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit.  Verse fourteen says, That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,  Then verse fifteen continues, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;  Then verse sixteen concludes, The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.  These three verses refer to the fulfillment of a prophecy by Isaiah.  Not only the region mentioned, but really the whole world sat in darkness until Christ came.  The great light that they saw, Jesus Christ, is still the great light of the world today.  Until a person accepts Christ into their life as Savior and Lord, they will still be in a spiritual darkness.  Verse seventeen declares, From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Jesus did not let the fact that John the Baptist was in prison stop Him from beginning to preach Himself.  We today cannot allow the fact that someone else may suffer for their faith keep us from proclaiming Christ as the Savior of the world.  The kingdom of God has been at hand since the coming of Christ.