The Things Jesus Said

Retaliation: Love Your Enemy and Be Generous!

In Matthew 5:38-42 Jesus teaches about retaliation. 
 
I think this passage is about the last line where it says Give to the one who asks you and doesn’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
This passage speaks to the idea of retaliation and radical generosity.
It's about giving more than is expected when it is not expected.
 

Let Your Yes be Yes! The Importance of Honesty

In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus teaches us to quit using God to back up our promises.  When you say something or make an oath simply say it and let your yes be a yes or your no be a no.

Divorce: The Danger of Giving Up

From Matthew 5:31-32 Jesus teaches about divorce.
The religious leaders had declared that the letter of the law was that if you wanted to divorce your wife for whatever reason, all you had to do was to give her a written notice of divorce.
I have read commentators that have said that during Jesus’ time, you could divorce your wife simply for not liking the way she cooked.
You could simply write a notice of divorce and move on to the next wife, and so on.
Think about how messed up that is; the wife had no choice.
 
But Jesus said that everyone who divorces his wife except in a case of sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery.

Adultery: The Danger of Lust

From Matthew 5:27-30 Jesus teaches about adultery.
He says you have heard it said that you must not commit adultery.
Or in other words,  you know people say that if you don’t get caught, then it is not adultery; it is not a sin.
 
But Jesus says if you look at a woman with lust you have committed adultery in your heart.
 

Murder: The Danger of Anger (Murder begins in the Heart)

From Matthew 5:17-21 Jesus teaches us that if we are angry with our brother or sister, we will be subject to judgment; he ramps that statement up by saying if you insult them, you will go to court, and if you call them a fool, you are subject to hellfire.

EP 15 | Fulfilling the Law

Our Scripture for today comes from Matthew 5:17-21.
This is another problematic teaching from Jesus.
And there is still a lot of debate about what it was Jesus meant by this passage.
We know that the word abolish means to end or do away with. So we know that Jesus is saying that he did not come to put an end to or do away with the law of the prophets.
But what does he mean by the word fulfill?  If you look up the definition of the word fulfill, it means to bring to completion or reality, achieve or realize something desired, promised, or predicted.
So we could argue that Jesus completed the law of the prophets as promised or prophesied?

EP 14 | Salt and Light

In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus teaches us about being Salt and Light.
 
This is a passage that is difficult to grasp fully.
Jesus is preaching to a bunch of people on a hill, and he just finished telling them that their lives as followers of Jesus were radically different than the rest of the world.
The idea of salt and light has a community connotation, meaning that salt and light both benefit the community…
 

EP 13 | You are Blessed when You are Insulted

Matthew Chapter 5:11-12 Tells us that we are blessed when we are insulted and persecuted…. when people lie about us and say all kind of evil about us because of our relationship with God.

EP 12 | Blessed are those who are Persecuted for Righteousness

Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:10 that those who are persecuted for righteousness are blessed, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

EP 11 | Blessed are the Peacemakers

Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:9 that those who make peace are blessed!