NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIVE

Part III (con’t)

One place in Jewish writings we read where Caesar Nero sent troops to destroy Jerusalem before he sent Vespasian in 67 AD. There they encountered a man who is described as a master of light, and that one of his disciples was “the light of the world.”¹ We can perhaps see a motivational challenge here by our Lord. In other words, the Jews looked up to their teachers and instructors on things related to the Word of God as lights to direct and enlighten them, now Jesus is saying to His disciples, you are going to be the new lights in this world. The Scribes, Pharisees and priests were those lights had gone out, now God needed new lamps to shine the truth in the world. And when our Lord referenced a city built on a hill, He may have been thinking of Sepphoris in Galilee, but to most they took at as a reference to Jerusalem which was built on seven hills. Coming from any direction, the glow of its oil lamps could direct any traveler or pilgrim to its gates.

The Jews also tell us that when the captives returned from Babylon and Persia, they “went up from Babylon.” So the question was asked, “Why do they say, ‘went up?’ The writer concludes that they are being told something in passing. He says, “As it was taught: then you will get going and go up to the place that the Lord your God will choose”;² this teaches that the Temple is higher than the rest of the Land of Israel, and the Land of Israel is higher than all other countries. As for the Temple being higher than the rest of the Land of Israel, that is so, just as it is written.” One Jewish Commentator explains it this way: “The Torah is aware that no person ever qualified as blameless and possessed a solid enough character to be considered a fair judge, who also possessed the required legal training to resolve all the issues that they were called on to decide. Moses therefore provides a system by means of which such unresolved cases are to be presented to a higher tribunal. The ultimate arbiter will be the Sanhedrin whose offices are situated on the Temple Mount adjoining the Temple itself.”³ Then we see that the Jews claimed: “…the Temple was higher than the rest of Palestine, and Palestine is geographically higher than all other countries.”⁴ And in a discussion being held on this same subject, when someone questioned it they turned to the Book of Joshua to prove it.⁵

But could this saying about the disciples being the light of the world and tying it to a city built on a hill not have contained a hidden meaning which would later be revealed when the disciples were praying in the Upper Room when the Holy Spirit lit tongues of fire over their heads. Perhaps this could give Pentecostals a new impetus to be the light of the spiritual world among churches around the world today. But just in case His listeners didn’t get the whole message, Jesus uses a different example of how light should be used not only as a beacon, but for illumination. But being this light was not designed to draw attention to themselves, but to give increased understanding of who God is, what God is, and why God is, so that all attention will be directed to Him. We can now certainly see how proper exegesis of God’s Word will open the eyes of listeners so they can better comprehend what God has done to bring them such a wonderful plan of salvation by grace through the sacrifice and resurrection of His Son. But as John Gill states, “…when the ministration of the Gospel has been blessed, for the illumination of the minds of men, to a thorough conviction of their state; and for their regeneration, conversion, sanctification, and comfort; they may give praise to God, and bless his name for qualifying and sending such Gospel ministers to show unto them the way of salvation; and that the word has been made useful to them for communicating spiritual light, life, joy, and comfort.”⁶

Also, the phrase “our Father in Heaven” was not new. Jewish writers had used it before, as we find where one noted Rabbi said: “Upon whom, can we rely on? Only on our Father in Heaven.”⁷ And we also read: “Fortunate are you O Israel! Before whom do you purify yourselves? And who purifies you? Your Father in Heaven!”⁸ So once again we see that Jesus was using their language and phrases to help them see that He was not some foreigner or alien who did not understand their status and relationship with God. What seemed to upset the leading priests and religious officials the most was that He was not one of them; not a product of their schools and a pupil of their venerated Rabbis. He claimed that all of this came from God the Father Himself. And that was hard for them to swallow.

Verses 17-18: “Don’t think that I have come to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to destroy their teachings but to help you understand them better. I give you My word that nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. The law will not lose even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter until it has all it demands has been carried out.”

To better understand in what context Jesus was referring to the Law of Moses and the Prophets, the Jewish Bible (Tanakh) consist of three sections: The Torah, which are the first five books of Moses, which we Gentiles know as the Pentateuch – Greek and Latin for “Five Books.” Then the Nevi’im, which are the Prophets. The final section is the Kethuvim, which are the Writings. This last section is considered as inspired Scriptures, but not at the level of the first two. Some books included in the Kethuvim that some may find startling are: Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 & II Chronicles. So this helps us understand why Jesus spoke only of the Torah and the Prophets. I can imagine that by now Jesus is sensing that some who were listening to Him started thinking that He was putting Himself and His revelation ahead of what God had already revealed through the writings of Moses and the Prophets. Jesus knew that His Father had sent him. Therefore, it was not necessary for Him to lift Himself up, the Father would do that because it was the Father’s desire to receive praise for sending His Son. Could it be that Jesus was echoing what David said: “Lord, you made me understand this: You don’t really want sacrifices and grain offerings. You don’t want burnt offerings and sin offerings. So I said, ‘Here I am, ready to do what was written about me in the book.’ My God, I am happy to do whatever you want. I never stop thinking about your teachings.”⁹ Isaiah had long ago prophesied that it was God’s will for His people to learn His word and do what it says.¹⁰

But while Jesus was putting emphasis on what God had already said, He wanted His listeners to know that His teachings were equally important because they too had come from the Father.¹¹ This was received by most, but there were, and always will be, those who cannot believe that God in heaven would chose such an insignificant self-appointed prophet from Galilee to carry His message. For instance, a well-known Jewish opponent of the Church comments on this saying of Jesus about fulfilling the law and the prophets: “These words are in direct opposition to the belief and the assertion of the Christians, that the law of Moses has been superseded by the coming of Jesus. Thus, circumcision is replaced by baptism, and the sanctity of the seventh day is deferred to the keeping of the first day of the week. With the same inexcusable freedom, many other Divine laws have been rejected by the Christians, only few having been retained, such as those regarding incest and moral enactments, respect to parents, love to our neighbor, charity to the poor, avoidance of theft, rapine, adultery, murder, shedding of blood, and some other crimes which reason enforces, and which other nations, who were without revelation, had acknowledged before the coming of Jesus.”¹² While we may react negatively to these charges, they certainly are not without merit among some who call themselves Christians today. We also see these same charges in another polemic writing: “He himself caused the Torah of Moses to be truncated by abolishing circumcision, observance of the Shabbath, and many commandments.”¹³ And in the main Jewish Rabbinical text we find an interesting story that relates to this saying of Jesus.¹⁴ It goes:

“Imma Shalom, Rabbi Eliezer’s wife, was the sister of Rabbi Gamaliel. It happened that a certain philosopher¹⁵ lived in their vicinity, and he earned a reputation for not accepting bribes.¹⁶ Rabbi Gamaliel and his sister Imma wanted to destroy this man’s reputation,¹⁷ so she brought him a golden lamp. As she stood before him she said: ‘I want to be given my share of my deceased father’s estate.’ So he ordered that it be divided. But then her husband Rabbi Gamaliel reminded him, ‘It is written in the law, that where there is a son, the daughter does not inherit.’ The Philosopher replied, ‘Since the day that you were exiled from your land the Law of Moses has been superseded, and another book has been given,¹⁸ wherein it is written: ‘A son and a daughter inherit equally.’¹⁹ The next day, Rabbi Gamaliel brought him a Libyan donkey. He said to them, ‘Look at the end of the book where you’ll find it written, I came not to destroy the Law of Moses nor to add to the Law of Moses, and it is also written there, A daughter does not inherit when there is a son.²⁰ Imma said to him, ‘Let your light shine bright like a lamp.’²¹ But Rabbi Gamaliel said to him, ‘A donkey came and knocked the lamp over!’²²

To put this last part of the story into perspective, it’s like someone in the dark asking for a lamp to be brought, but when it arrives tells them to turn it off because it’s too bright. That seems to be the case with our Lord. The Jews were expecting a light to come, after all, that’s what Isaiah spoke of.²³ But when Jesus arrived, His light revealed too many of their flaws and so they quickly set about trying to extinguish it.