Down an Unfamiliar Road

I once read this brain teaser that got me to thinking: “Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?” My first thought was to look through the Almanac to see what was the second highest mountain and go with that. But what if that one hadn’t been discovered yet either? Then I guess I’d go to the third highest. You can imagine my surprise when the answer suddenly came to me. It’s like asking, was there a God before we found out about Him or did He only come into existence when we discovered there really was one. The same can be said for love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and hope. So when someone tells you that God can heal, that Jesus can save you, and that the Holy Spirit can live in you to help motivate, guide, teach and guide you, just remember the answer to this brain teaser and it should give you enough reason to go on until all that God has for you becomes yours.

PS: Did you figure out the answer to the brain teaser?

Have you ever heard a pastor or a person say: “In the Bible it says, ‘God helps those who help themselves?’” Then next time you hear someone repeat that axiom, let them know it isn’t in the Bible, unless you call Benjamin Franklin’s 1736 Poor Richard’s Almanac the Bible. Not only that, but even good ole Ben was quoting Algernon Sidney, an English political theorist who originated that saying earlier in 1698 in an article titled Discourses Concerning Government. And it may be that Sir Algernon took his inspiration from one or two of Aesop’s Fables which come from ancient Greece. But in reality, we could say the opposite is true when we look in God’s Word. Here’s how God is described in Isaiah: “You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”¹ Also, the apostle Paul came to the same conclusion when he wrote: “Christ died for us when we were unable to help ourselves. We were living against God, but at just the right time Christ died for us.”² So in other words, when you hear a preacher say: “In the Bible it says, ‘God helps those who cannot help themselves,’” you can loudly say, “Amen!”

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIVE

Part V (con’t)

“But I tell you, don’t be angry with anyone. If you are angry with others, you will be judged.”

The Greek word used here for anger implies letting oneself be provoked or allowing oneself to become so aggravated that you reach the point where you let their anger explode. We see what can happen in such cases when we look at the horrible incident with Cain and Abel,¹ and what took place when Joseph’s brothers could not control their tempers.² Not only that, but had David been intimidated and scared off by his oldest brother Eliab’s unkind words spoken in anger, “Why did you come here? Who did you leave those few sheep with in the desert? I know why you came down here. You didn’t want to do what you were told to do. You just wanted to come down here to watch the battle,”³ Goliath would have never been killed and Israel may have suffered a disgraceful defeat. Not only that, but David’s possibilities of becoming king may have been permanently jeopardized.

But that wasn’t David’s only brush with uncalled for anger, there was Saul’s jealous rage that almost got him killed.⁴ That may have influenced David to pen these words: “Don’t become so angry and upset that you, too, want to do evil”⁵ But anger is only the beginning of how ruthless and insulting a person can become. Jesus goes on to raise the stakes from anger to slander. “And if you insult your neighbor by calling him an idiot, you will be judged by the high court.” According Jewish Law, false and malicious defamation of another person’s reputation and character, tending to disgrace him in the eyes of the community is called slander. The spreading of evil reports in order to injure a reputable name is punishable by a fine and an assessment for damages.⁶ The Rabbis taught that there were different ways of insulting a person, and one of them was through “degradation,”⁷ as well as “indignity.”⁸

In another document the Jews added: “overreaching.”⁹ Today we would call it “verbal abuse.” Tradition says this was sent to a lower court, which usually consisted of 23 members to avoid a tied vote, and they were authorized to punish criminals by stoning. A medieval Jewish Philosopher and wise man made a point on the subject: “Who is a gossiper? One who collects information and goes from person to person, saying: ‘This is what so and so said;’ ‘This is what I heard about so and so.’ Even if the statements are true, they bring about the destruction of the world. There is a much more serious sin than gossip, which is also included in this prohibition: i.e., relating deprecating facts about a colleague, even if they are true. This does not refer to the invention of lies; that is referred to as defamation of character. Rather, one who speaks slander is someone who sits and relates: ‘This is what so and so has done;’ ‘His parents were such and such;’ ‘This is what I have heard about him,’ telling uncomplimentary things. Concerning this transgression, the scripture states: ‘May God cut off all cunning lips, the tongues which speak proud things¹⁰.’”¹¹ So by Jesus saying that a person could go to court for slander, this was already part of the law in His day. We are told that this court could conduct a trial both “within the Land of Israel or outside the Land of Israel.”¹² We are also reminded in Jewish writings that: “The great Sanhedrin consisted of 71 members and the small Sanhedrin of 23.”¹³ We also read that God told Moses to gather 70 men to stand with him, which of course would make 71.¹⁴ Then we are given the duties of the court of 23, as well as smaller courts.¹⁵ But simply standing before the Great Sanhedrin is only the start.

Our Lord then increases the importance by moving from slandering an individual to calling them an outright “fool.” “And if you call someone a fool, you will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.” The KJV takes the Hebrew term Raca and translates it with the English word fool. The Jews considered it the ultimate word of contempt for someone they considered to be absent of any value. It is derived from a root meaning “to spit.” No doubt that is where we get the term, “spit in one’s face,” to show contempt. According to Jewish writings Raca is a noun formed from an adjective meaning empty, and when applied to a person without education and devoid of morals, it labels them as good for nothing.¹⁶ In Ecclesiastes we find this definition of a fool: “Fools show how foolish they are, just walking down the road. Their minds are empty, and everyone knows it.”¹⁷ The Hebrew word used here is, “cakal” which has the connotation of being “stupid or unwise.”¹⁸ But the term Raca occurs several times in Jewish tradition.

For instance, here’s a story about a Rabbi: “He happened to meet an exceedingly ugly man who greeted him, ‘Peace be upon you, Sir’. The Rabbi, however, did not return his salutation but instead said to him ‘Raca,’ you are so ugly.”¹⁹ In another place we read: “Once a man enticed a woman to commit an offense and she said to him: you Raca, you have forty se’ahs²⁰ to bathe in, and he immediately stopped.”²¹ Then in in another story, there was a man who abused a beautiful woman all night and in the morning dressed her like a slave and tried to sell her. A very ugly man came in and wanted to buy her after hearing that she was one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. But first the ugly man wanted to see how beautiful she was, so the abuser called him Raca because with him being so ugly had nothing to lose.²² Also we read this narrative: Once an esteemed Rabbi giving an exposition on how the Holy One, blessed is He, will in time come bringing large precious stones and pearls. One of the students sneered at him and said: “One cannot find jewels the size of a dove’s egg.” But later, this same student sailed out to sea and saw expert jewelers engaged in cutting precious stones and pearls which were the size of dove eggs. So when he came back and sat before this Rabbi once more, this he encouraged him saying, “Keep teaching, O my master, it is a compliment to hear you teach, because I have seen exactly what you were talking about.” But the Rabbi responded: “You Raca, had you not seen, would you have believed anyway? You are only sneering at the words of the Sages!”²³ But Scripture also has definitions to those that might be called Raca.²⁴

The inherent biases and disdain among Jews can be seen in several other stories found in their writings, as we see in the story of a Rabbi who left the house of another Rabbi and met a man along the way who was very deformed. So he said to him, “Raca, how many other deformed sons of Abraham our father are there?”²⁵ Another one is where a pious man was praying by the roadside when an officer came by and greeted him, but the man did not return his greeting. After finishing his prayer, the officer said to him, “Raca! Is it not written in your Law, Only look out for yourself and protect your soul with diligence,²⁶ and is it not also written, Take good care of your soul?²⁷ When I greeted you why did you not return my greeting?” The officer goes on to say that had he cut this pious man’s head off because of his disrespect, no one would have called for justice. The prayerful man then asks the officer for patience as he explained it to him. He says, “Had you been standing before an earthly king and a friend came by and greeted you, would you have returned it?” The officer said, “No.” Then the man asked, “Had you returned his greeting, what would the King’s men done to you?” The officers said, “They would have cut off my head with a sword.” The pious man then finishes his point, “Do we not have here then a fortiori²⁸ argument: If you would have behaved in this manner when standing before an earthly king who is here today and tomorrow in the grave, how much more so when standing before the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who endures for all eternity?” The officer saw his mistake and gave an apology.

So we can see that Jesus was speaking about the Jews considered the ultimate insult, something that His audience was fully aware of. But the significant part of Jesus teaching is the punishment He describes for someone who calls another person an outright fool – hell’s fire. The scribe who wrote Matthew’s Hebrew text into Greek, uses the word “Gehenna of fire.” This then became “hell fire” in the King James Version. This was originally a valley belonging to Hinnom’s son, south of Jerusalem. We find this place described this way: “Topheth was a place in the Valley of Gehinnom where people killed their children and burned them on an altar to honor the false god Molech. Josiah tore down that place so that no one could use it again for sacrifices.”²⁹ It then became a garbage dump where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned. It became a fit symbol of the wicked and their future destruction. Therefore, the ultimate insult was destined to bring the ultimate punishment.

We should not take this to be part of the new covenant theology. Jesus was only making a point by using the judicial system of His people so that He could go on to how important it was to recognize that bad behavior should expect bad consequences. Otherwise, why be obedient when being disobedient has no significance? If serving God does not result in any benefits, then why not serve oneself? In today’s preaching there is too much emphasis on what comes from doing right, but very little on what comes when doing wrong.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIVE

Part V

One esteemed Rabbi was commenting on how using God’s name in a greeting was not violating the commandment to not use God’s name in vain said: because greeting one another was something God wanted His people to do. The Rabbi says to God: “They have made void Your Torah because it is time to do the LORD’S will, that is, to use God’s Name in greeting, even though this may be mistaken for irreverence, still in this case, we have made void Your Torah, since this is the will of God.”¹ And finally, Rabbis say that if a Gentile persuades an Israelite to transgress any of the commandments mentioned in the law, except idolatry, adultery and murder, the Israelite may transgress with impunity, provided it is done privately.² All of this should help any reader see why Jesus had to express Himself the way He did because such diluting and corrupting of the law had become systemic among the Jews, and He refused to permit it among His followers.

In recent years we’ve seen similar cases where words from the Scripture have been interpreted as a valid reason to apply what has become a part of verbal tradition despite what the written Word has to say. For instance: such is the case with those who believe that in water baptism, one must be baptized while the name “Jesus” is being said, in order for it to be genuine. Jesus Himself said it should be done by the authority of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. There are other doctrines such as “predestination,” “once in grace, always in grace,” and so on. The LORD Himself expressed such frustration through the prophet Malachi: “You priests have stopped following me! You have used My teachings to make people do wrong. You have ruined the agreement I made with Levi.’ This is what the Lord All-Powerful said. ‘You don’t live the way I told you. You have not accepted my teachings. So I will cause people to despise you and consider you as worth nothing.’”³ This was the understanding people had in Jesus day concerning the importance of God’s Word being central to their faith. How much more now that the WORD Himself is central to our faith.

In the same light, Jesus echoed what Samuel told Eli about how his sons had corrupted the Word of God. This is what the prophet told the high priest in those days, “The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that your father’s family would serve Him forever. But now the Lord says, ‘That will never be! I will honor people who honor me, but bad things will happen to those who refuse to respect me.’”⁴ If anyone thinks that God sent His Son to the cross and that His Son was willing to die to pay the penalty for our sins, just to give us some guidelines to follow if we think they are worth our time and effort, they are wrong. It is by God’s Word that we live and move and have our being, and it will be by God’s Word that we are judged in the end. Our Lord did not want His followers to develop the same complacency that He saw among His own people concerning the written Word of God. So He has a challenge for His followers.

Verse 20: “I’m telling you, you must do better than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. If you are not more pleasing to God than they are, you will never enter God’s kingdom.”

Because of the way so-called righteous things were being done in His day, this prompted Jesus to add a note to His teaching. We see this clearly spelled out in Chapter 23 where Jesus accuses the religious teachers and Pharisees of being dishonest. A real lesson can be learned here by simply observing the life of a Pharisee. They prayed regularly; attended all services and feasts; read the scriptures incessantly; tithed; gave offerings; obeyed the law; proselyted, were the first to correct those who erred when things weren’t done properly, and had great respect for their elders. These things are not an indictment against them, but it was their motivation and attitude that caused Jesus to point them out. Every believer should attempt to be equally as dedicated to God’s will, but they should be motivated by their love for God and not to heap glory upon themselves. For some this is as equally hard to do as the list of things the Pharisees did.

Then our Lord offers a comparison between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law. To illustrate: once I bought a new computer monitor, and when I got it home and hooked it up, the display on the screen was two inches short on the edges and at the top and bottom. I tried everything I knew to do, and still it did not expand to the full screen. So I called the store where I bought it and they didn’t know what to tell me. I had purchased a USB cable that I didn’t need, so when I returned it I pointed to the monitor I bought and asked for them to demonstrate how I could get a full screen display. Three to four of the sales staff stood around pushing buttons and following the instructions on the menu, but to no avail. They finally told me to bring it back and they’d give me a new one. After I got home I decided to call the manufacturer of the monitor. They put me in touch with their technical support people, and the first young man I talked to was not surprised by my problem, and with a few quick clicks showed me how to fix it. I wanted to run back to the store and show these sales people what I had learned so they would be able to help others when they came in. How easy it would have been had they known what the instructions said. This same principle is what Jesus is implying here. He wanted His disciples and followers to know what they were talking about when they shared the Good News of God’s plan of salvation, so that when difficulties came they could tell their new converts what steps to take in making the proper adjustment.

Verses 21-22: “You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘You must not murder anyone. Any person who commits murder will be taken to court.’”

When a speaker today begins with “you have heard,” it suggests that the audience is familiar with some saying, slogan or quote from the past. But to the Jewish ear it connotes a different resource. As one Jewish linguistic expert pointed out centuries ago: “For the Jew, ‘hearing’ points to the Scriptures being read to them in schools or synagogues by scribes and rabbis with commentary by the ancient writers.”⁵ Since Matthew wrote this in Hebrew, no doubt he followed the traditional form of expression as found in many Jewish teachings: “They have said…”⁶ or “It is written.”⁷ In this way our Lord is pointing out something that His listeners had been taught. I’m sure most in the crowd nodded their head in agreement when Jesus continued saying that if you murder someone you will be taken to court and judged. Here Jesus refers not only to the commandment: “Thou shalt not kill,” but gives the commentary provided by ancient scholars, “Any person who commits murder will be taken to court.” This echos the advice of Job, who was a contemporary of Abram, in telling the people to remember what was taught in the past.⁸ In doing so our Master recalls the sixth commandment as given by Moses,⁹ and the added punishment.¹⁰

But we know from Near East Documents that this law and its punishment was contained in the code of Hammurabi that was written in Abram’s home country of Chaldea some 300 years before the Ten Commandments were given to Moses. But even before Hammurabi, Noah offered the same demand for justice.¹¹ One Jewish commentator explains that even though Abraham established this prohibition against committing murder, that it still need to be part of the Ten Commandments, otherwise: “…we have a rule that unless a warning not to commit a specific offense is spelled out before the punishment for committing that offense, punishment for such a crime cannot be legally valid”.¹² Since Noah’s son Shem settled in this area of Chaldea, no doubt Hammurabi, and Ur-Nammu and those even before him passed it on. A venerable Jewish writer states emphatically that the person who kills another, “should be executed by the court.”¹³ This of course is taken from Jewish writings where it states that it takes 23 members of the Sanhedrin to carry out capital punishment.¹⁴ And it is also stated that there are four methods of execution which are listed in order of their severity: Stoning, burning, slaying by the sword and strangulation [by hanging].

We know that the judicial system for the people of Israel came into existence through the suggestion of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses¹⁵.¹⁶ And the Rabbis also taught that the origin of capital punishment commenced with the hanging of the chiefs as outlined in this Scripture: “Adonai said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them facing the sun before Adonai, so that the raging fury of Adonai will turn away from Isra’el¹⁷.”¹⁸ In other words, by sentencing those guilty of crimes deserving capital punishment, the Jews were preventing the anger of God from punishing everyone for one person’s crime. Such judicial execution should resemble the taking of life by God: as the body remains externally unchanged when God takes the life, so in judicial executions the body should not be destroyed or mutilated. And during a discussion about how Korah’s sons were devoured by fire because of their profaning of the altar, Rabbi’s say that such death is “the carrying out of God’s command.”¹⁹ One commentary made on this subject reads: “Aaron’s sons and the assembly of Korah were destroyed by God Himself personally.”²⁰ As far as Jesus was concerned, the principle involved when being judged for wrong doing, as in the case of murder, also applied to other wrong doings such as being angry for whatever reason.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIVE

Part IV (con’t)

Verse 19: “The same is true with obeying every command in the law, even one that does not seem important. Whoever refuses to obey just one command and teaches others not to obey it will be the least important in God’s kingdom. But whoever obeys the whole law and teaches others to obey it will be great in God’s kingdom.”

Practice what you Preach is the theme here. Christ Jesus places extreme emphasis on the equal application of the two. Our status in the kingdom of God is gauged by our adhering to this principle even though we are no longer under the Law but under Grace. As a born again believer in Christ we must still practice what we preach. Jesus knew He was talking to people who experienced daily what verbal teachings said about being not only aware of the circumstances that require obedience to the law, but every detail of that obligation. We see this discussed in the Jewish literature about obeying the laws of the Sabbath.¹ Not only is one liable if they forget that the Sabbath is holy, but they are further penalized if they forget each detail of their liability which could end up requiring many more sacrifices to cover their sins. One Rabbi commented²: “If a man performs but a single commandment things will go well with him and he will have a long life and will inherit the Land; but if he neglects a single commandment things will go bad for him and he will not have a long life or inherit the Land. He who is well versed in Bible, Mishnah and good manners will not easily sin, for it is said: ‘A threefold cord is not quickly broken.’³”⁴

This verse also strikes to the very core of hypocrisy. How many teachers advocate open-mindedness for others but restrict themselves from being likewise? How many point to the highway of holiness and yet fail to walk on it themselves? In the eyes of God, both are guilty of hypocrisy and will suffer the consequences. Jesus is now reminding His Jewish listeners what they were taught so they would apply the same principle to His teachings. They all knew that Moses told the people of Israel that after they crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, the Levites would keep reminding them of what they had been taught. And one of the things the Levites would chant was, “Let a curse be on the one who does not support this law and agree to obey it.”⁵ Laws are not given to be looked at and then randomly chosen to obey. What if everyone driving on our highways drove with the same attitude! One Psalmist held this same view.⁶ But Moses added a warning: “You must be careful to do everything I command you. Don’t add anything to what I tell you, and don’t take anything away.”⁷ This is especially true today of theologians and ministers who feel free to reinterpret what God’s Word says to meet their expectations, not God’s will. Jesus’ teaching was important for the disciples to remember because He often had to show them where God’s word had been misunderstood.

We must keep in mind that most of these people in Jesus’ day had never read a scroll containing God’s Word, they had only heard it read by the Scribes and Rabbis. This gave rise to an oral tradition of the Word, which when compared to the Word itself showed its flaws. Even in our day, many oral traditions have been taken as the Word of God, when in fact it is in conflict with God’s written Word. I’ve even heard ministers say that the Bible says: “God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform.” In fact, this was said by hymn writer William Cowper in 1773, one hundred and sixty-two years after the King James Version was printed.

To the western ear what Jesus is saying here does not pick up on the subliminal message that is being conveyed by Jesus to the leading priests and Jewish religious hierarchy. What was part of the verbal teaching of the Rabbis even before Jesus’ day became written down in the Jewish Mishnah and later commented on in the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds. But there were many who were still committed to keeping God’s word pure. Said one Rabbi: “It is better that one letter be rooted out of the Torah than to speak publicly against God’s will.”⁸ Today we would call this “Situation Ethics.” In other words, the Jewish leaders were teaching that it is okay to change the law to meet the situation, even though it may violate the letter of the law. That way they would keep God from looking bad in spite of what He had written to the contrary. Unfortunately, we are seeing this done today despite what God’s word says about marriage, adultery, capital punishment, etc. In the same document we read that one Rabbi sent this inquiry to another: “Cannot the Rabbinical Court lay down a condition which would cause the annulment of a law of the Torah?”⁹ In other words, if the law in the Written Word does not fit the situation, then rules can be made up that are more in harmony with current social norms than those existing when the law was written.

We have seen this in our own court system where a judge will repeal or rescind or vacate a law passed by the State Legislature because they felt it violated the spirit of his or her interpretation of the Constitution. And then one Rabbi objected to what another well-known Rabbi was saying about how certain laws could be ignored by saying: “…you taught us that abstention from the performance of an act is not regarded as an annulment of the law, I have nothing to say since all these are also cases of self-denial.”¹⁰ In other words, if you don’t violate the law yourself but someone else does it for you, you have not broken the law. To put it this way, a man gets into his limousine and tells his driver to step on it and get to the next destination as fast as possible, if the limo is stopped for speeding, the driver gets the ticket but not the passenger because he wasn’t actually driving. To bring this into the purview of God’s laws, If a father sends his son to the store to steal a hammer or measuring tape and the son gets caught for shoplifting, then the father is not charged because he did not actually steal the item. Those were some of the decisions that the Rabbinical Courts were making in Jesus’ day. One venerable teacher confirms this by saying:

“A court may suspend the application of such decrees temporarily, even if it is of lesser stature than the original court. The rationale is that these decrees should not be considered as more severe than the words of the Torah itself, and any court has the authority to abrogate the words of the Torah as a temporary measure. What is implied? If a court sees that it is necessary to strengthen the faith and create a safeguard so that the people will not violate Torah law, they may apply beatings and punishments that are not sanctioned by Torah. They may not, however, establish the matter for posterity and say that this is the law based on the Talmud. Similarly, if they saw that temporarily it was necessary to nullify a positive commandment or violate a negative commandment in order to bring people at large back to the Jewish faith or to prevent many Jews from transgressing in other matters, they may do what is necessary at that time. To explain by analogy: Just like a doctor may amputate a person’s hand or foot so that the person as a whole will live; so, too, at times, the court may rule to temporarily violate some of the commandments so that they will later keep all of them. In this vein, the Sages of the previous generations said: ‘Desecrate one Sabbath for a person’s sake so that he will keep many Sabbaths.’”¹¹ In another place, the same Rabbi exhorts more on the same subject:

“A prophet who violates his own prophetic instructions, and one who refrains from prophesying, are liable for death at the hand of God, since concerning the three of them, it is said, “I will seek retribution from him.” When a prophet – who has already proven himself to be a prophet – instructs us to violate one of the commandments of the Torah or many laws whether they be severe or light in nature, for a limited amount of time, it is the law listen to him. The Sages of the early generation taught as part of the spoken tradition: If a prophet tells you to violate the precepts of the Torah as Elijah did on Mount Carmel, listen to him with regard to all things except the worship of false gods. This applies when his command is temporary in nature. For example, on Mount Carmel, Elijah offered a sacrifice outside the Temple’s premises, even though Jerusalem was chosen for such service, and one who offers a sacrifice outside the Temple’s premises is liable for excommunication. Since he was already established as a prophet, it was the law to listen to him. The commandment, “Listen to him,” applies in these circumstances as well. If they would have asked Elijah: How can we violate the Torah’s command: “Be careful…so you don’t offer your burnt offerings everywhere’?,¹² he would have told them: We should not say anything, but anyone who offers a sacrifice outside the Temple premises is liable for excommunication, as Moses said. The present instance, however, is an exception. I am offering a sacrifice today outside the Temple at God’s command in order to disprove the prophets of Ba’al. Similarly, if any other prophet commands us to transgress for a limited time, it is the law to listen to him. If, however, he says that the law has been nullified forever, he is liable for execution by hanging, for the Torah has told us: “It is for us and our children forever.”¹³

As we can see, this pick and choose as it relates to the Law was already being practiced, and the time will come when Jesus will confront these scribes and teachers on this practice. But for now He wants them to know that His teachings and explanation of the law under the new covenant would not tolerate such manipulation. They all knew the accepted tradition of interpreting the law for convenience so as to avoid breaking it. No wonder Jesus came to fulfill all that the law required, so that our trust in Him does not require us to meet the same demands. Nevertheless, obedience to the new covenant brought by Christ is still mandatory if we are to enjoy the blessings that are promised for such obedience.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIVE

Part IV

While the story you just read may sound somewhat cryptic, the point is that apparently the Philosopher was referring to a copy of Matthew’s Gospel, and this Rabbi couple wanted to prove him wrong. Even back then, a donkey was considered an animal of lesser intelligence than others. So when the Rabbi’s wife complimented this Jewish Christian for his wisdom, her Rabbi husband wanted him to know that even a donkey was smarter than he was. But one reason I included this was to show that by the time this Jewish verbal tradition document containing this story was written, there already existed the fact that the writings of the Gospels were being read by the Jews of that day. No wonder Jesus was confident enough to say God’s Word would not pass away until every part was fulfilled according to His plan for mankind. The ingenious writer of Psalm 119 also expresses this belief: “Lord, your word continues forever in heaven. You are loyal forever and ever. You made the earth, and it still stands…”Long ago, I learned from your rules that you made them to last forever. ”¹

Our Lord’s favorite writer, Isaiah, said it best: “Grass dies and flowers fall, but the word of our God lasts forever.”² Not only would the demands of the law concerning the payment for sin be carried out through our Lord’s sacrifice, death, resurrection, and ascension back into heaven, but His promise to return and eventually set up His kingdom here on earth to rule and reign a thousand years. But what changes the whole picture here is that Jesus puts His own imprimatur by the way He says: “I give you My word.”³ The KJV has: “For verily I say unto you.” The NIV puts it: “I tell you the truth.” But the original Greek has it, “For amen I say to you.” The Aramaic Version reads: “For truly say I to you” the oldest Hebrew text Gospel of Matthew has: “Truly I say to you.”⁴ English translators decided to render “amen” as “verily” or “truly” when it appears at the beginning of a sentence, and “amen” when it is put at the end. The prophet Jeremiah uses “amen” this way: “Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people standing in Adonai’s house — the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May ADONAI do it! May ADONAI fulfill the words you have prophesied and bring back from Babylon to this place the articles from ADONAI’S house and all the people who were carried away captive!”⁵

It is interesting to see how the Jews used it in their writings. For instance, in the oldest Palestinian Talmud we read where a woman accused of infidelity answers: “Amen, she says, I have not committed adultery with this particular man, and Amen, I have not committed adultery with any other man.”⁶ Also in another case of unfaithfulness, the accused says: “Amen, I have not gone aside while engaged, married, awaiting levirate marriage, or wholly taken in levirate marriage.”⁷ Then in the Mishnah we have this example concerning the misappropriation of a bank deposit: “Amen – if witnesses testify against him that he himself had misused it, he pays only the principal.”⁸ This is repeated when it is a question of whether or not the deposit was stolen, when the guardian replies: “Amen – if witnesses testify against him that he himself had stolen it, he has to repay double.”⁹ Also, we read that: “Rabbi Jose ben Hanina said: ‘Amen’ implies taking an oath.”¹⁰ From this then we see that when “Amen” is used it implies making a promise, accepting a promise, or confirming a promise. So in Jesus’ case, He was making a promise. This teaching is upheld by a venerable Rabbi who says: “Whether one takes an oath falsely on his own initiative or is placed under oath by another person and answers Amen to his statements, he is held accountable.”¹¹ With this understanding we may take Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 1:20 to read: “Amen to all God’s promises in Christ, and through Christ to the glory of God we say, Amen!”

By having this background on the use of the term “Amen,” we can better understand how serious Jesus was in making this statement about the infallibility and longevity of His words and how it impacted His Jewish listeners. Also in this rendering of verse 18 we have phrases from the King James Version in 1611 AD that remain part and parcel of our modern day English. They are: “jot” and “tittle.” It was borrowed from William Tyndale’s translation of the New Testament in 1526 AD, which reads: “One iott or one tytle of the lawe shall not scape.” But since Matthew wrote his journal in Hebrew, it’s best to look at that language for a better understanding. The “Jot” is the English equivalent of the Hebrew “Yodh”, which is the 10th letter of the Hebrew alphabet [י]. It is also the smallest letter. The English pronunciation is like the letter “Y” in the English term Yahweh. The Greeks translated it as “iota”, from which we get our English transliteration. The term “tittle” is the small decorative spur or point on the upper edge of the yodh, somewhat like our dot over the “i”. “Tittle” is used by Greek grammarians as accents over letters, such as in á or è. It denotes a change in pronunciation. In English we can see this represented in how an I is changed to an L with the mark at the bottom. We also use phrases in English such as: “the dotting of the i, and the crossing of the t,” and “every iota.”

It is interesting that the Jewish scribes who copied the Massoretic Greek Text of the Hebrew Bible scrolls paid the greatest attention to the minutest of details and to each mark attached to the consonants throughout the entire text. They even numbered every letter, word, sentence, paragraph, chapter, section, and scroll to insure that the total equaled that of the text being copied before allowing it to enter the holy synagogue. So now the meaning of this passage is very clear. Not even the smallest letter or even its decorative spur will ever disappear from the “God Breathed” Word until all is fulfilled. In fact when heaven and earth are replaced by a new heaven and earth, the Word of the Lord will have accomplished its purpose and will be fulfilled in every detail even to the dot over each i. Any educated Jew, especially the scribes who heard this spoken by Jesus were aware of its special meaning. It was an integral part of their thinking and validation of the Scripture. We see this clearly in the Talmud where it says: “The law had to be taught with respect to each tittle on the letter yod.”¹²

This was so important that we find the following in a major Jewish journal that Rabbi Meir in 1305, which is a very influential document: “…containing a minute treatment of every letter, nay, of every jot and tittle, in the sacred Scroll.”¹³ This may sound like quibbling over minuscule dots and dashes to the average English reader, but to a Jew it was critical. In other words, Jesus was declaring, more than indicating, that every “i” would not lose its dot, nor would every “t” lose its “cros” before the Word of God would be declared invalid, but that He would make sure that even if the written word would become invalid due to a copiers error, His word will never be made outdated or irrelevant because of what others may miscommunicate by interpretations of what He said.

Let me illustrate this concept: During WWII, an engagement between American and Japanese naval forces in the Surigao Strait during the battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines produced a simple tactic that helped win the war. Both sides were trying to out maneuver each other to gain an advantage. Battleships of that era had large guns mounted on turrets both in the bow section and stern section of the ship. If a ship was heading straight for another ship, it could only use its forward guns because those in the rear were rendered useless since they could not fire above the main section of the ship. American reconnaissance aircraft spotted a line of Japanese ships sailing in single file like the letter I. A message was sent to the American ships to confront this line of Japanese battleships by positioning themselves ahead of them in a perpendicular line, so that the Japanese formation and the American formation created the letter T on the ocean surface. That way the American vessels could use both their forward and rear cannons firing sideways on the Japanese convoy. After they were in position, they began firing. The Japanese were caught with only the forward most ship being able to return fire straight ahead. Had the messenger to the American fleet not crossed his T, it would have become an I, and the American warships would have been at the same disadvantage as the Japanese.

How clearly this points out the critical need for getting things right so that the message going out is clear and correct. That’s how much importance the Jews gave to correctly writing each letter of the Law. In Jewish writings there is a story about Solomon’s downfall. The writer says that Solomon wanted to change one small letter in the book of Deuteronomy. So the book itself appealed to God, and the Lord answered: “Solomon and a thousand like him will be null, but not one word of yours will be nullified.’”¹⁴ As a matter of fact, one Rabbi told that God changed Sara’s name to Sarah, and Abram’s name to Abraham by simply adding an “h”, but what a difference that letter made in the meaning of their names.¹⁵ How important this is to all of us who are assigned the joy and opportunity of sharing God’s Word with others who do not know it well, that we get it right. This idea is now carried over in the next verse by Jesus to illustrate the proper obedience of the Word of God.

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.

Here’s another brain teaser I read: “A clerk at a butcher shop stands six feet two inches tall, with a 46 inch waist, and wears size 13 boots. What do you think this butcher weighs?” I’m sure you got that one right away. But you must admit, although it wasn’t hard, it was subtle. We know the dictionary defines “subtle” as a change so delicate or precise as to be difficult to quickly analyze or describe. Another way of putting it is that subtle things are hard to notice because they are not so obvious. That’s why subtle ways are often used by people because it is clever, not revealing the real purpose.

Subtle hints or suggestions are often used as a way of achieving something in an indirect way as opposed to coming out and saying it as it is. This is what Satan did to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The real danger is that at first the idea looks so innocent. It’s almost like a small dare. But what happens is that once the first step is taken, then the perpetrator is not satisfied and hints that another little step won’t hurt us. That’s how many people have become desperate alcoholics and drug addicts.

But it works the same way with sin, which is best described as “lawless behavior”. A little white lie can often steer one on the path of lying in order to cover up lies. An unauthorized sampling in a candy store or slipping a small item in the pocket in a toy store or drug store can lead to embarrassing shoplifting. The same goes for cheating, dishonesty, immorality, irresponsibility, temptation, pride, anger, on and on. The most simple and unsubtle way of dealing with this is clear. Just take each one of these, look at the opposite, and do it.

Most Bible readers know the sad story of Samson and Delilah in the Old Testament which ends in tragedy for a son born to parents who were told ahead of time by an angel of his coming. The common understanding is that Delilah was the one who gave him the new haircut because she was paid to do so. But this is a misconception often caused by the way the tale is told, not by the way rendering is read. Here’s what the Scriptures really tell us: “Delilah got Samson to go to sleep with his head lying in her lap. Then she called in a man to shave off the seven braids of Samson’s hair.”¹

How many times have you heard someone quote the Scriptures and really didn’t know they were saying it incorrectly? This should be reason enough for us to do what the Messianic Jews did in the city of Berea² in northern Greece when Paul came to preach the Gospel to them. Listen to what Luke tells us: “The people in Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. They were so glad to hear the message Paul told them. They studied the Scriptures every day to make sure that what they heard was really true.”³ Why is this important? Let the intelligent young man in King David’s day tell you why: “I study Your teachings very carefully so that I will not do something wrong against You.”⁴ That way, you won’t be one of those who gets it wrong or goes wrong.

NEW TESTAMENT CONTEXTUAL COMMENTARY

by Dr. Robert R. Seyda

GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

CHAPTER FIVE

Part III

Verse 13: “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its taste, it cannot be made salty again. Salt is useless if it loses its salty taste. It will be thrown out where people will just walk on it.”

When reading this verse it is quite easy for most Christians to think that Jesus was automatically applying it to them. But we must remember that He was speaking to an exclusively Jewish crowd. So how did they understand His reference to their being the salt of the earth? We find our first clue in what God said to His people through Moses: “You are to season every grain offering of yours with salt — do not omit from your grain offering the salt of the covenant with your God, but offer salt with all your offerings.”¹ Then what the LORD said to the children of Israel through Aaron: “All the contributions of holy things which the people of Isra’el offer to Adonai I have given to you, your sons and your daughters with you; this is a perpetual law, an eternal covenant of salt before Adonai for you and your descendants with you.”² And Abijah, the new king of Israel reminded his people while standing on Mount Zemaraim: “Don’t you know that Adonai, the God of Isra’el, gave rulership over Isra’el to David forever, to him and his descendants, by a covenant of salt which is unbreakable?”³ The Jews understood this very well. They were God’s chosen people. They were part of the covenant in the same way salt was to the grain offering. Thereafter, salt became a metaphor of their part in God’s covenant.

We read where they lamented the passing of great teachers such as Rabbi Meir, Rabbi ben Zoma, Rabbi Yehoshua; Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel and others, and how their absence left everyone in limbo so that there were no more tellers of parables, no expositors, and no goodness.⁴ This was their way of saying that like salt that loses it savor, so the Jewish spiritual community had lost its savor. But to comprehend it as a figure of speech, we must also understand it in its literal sense. Also, another Rabbi is quoted as saying: “All dishes require salt, but not all dishes require spices.”⁵ Commentators add that this is why salt should be pounded with a pestle and mortar and be ready before the Festival. But while on the same subject, another Rabbi states: “All spices lose their flavor, but salt never loses its flavor.”⁶ Jesus was trying to tell His listeners that they were the salt that preserved the covenant between them and God. But if that salt becomes tasteless and has no affect, how can it ever be rejuvenated. And what does that do to the covenant? If it does not recover its saltiness, then it will be thrown out and replaced. So what Jesus was trying to get them to understand is that He came to them first, but if they reject Him, then they are of no use.

In light of all this we might say that Jesus was also referring to His new believers as the salt represented in God’s new covenant. Taken this way, it certainly gives what Jesus goes on to say new meaning. For if we who are the salt of the new covenant lose our flavoring or purifying power by becoming lukewarm and indifferent, how then can we be re-flavored or re-purified? For instance, if the human body loses it’s life essence, it cannot be reanimated simply by stuffing it with feathers or embalming it with fluid. Therefore, the only thing left to do is either bury or cremate the corpse. But Christ is more explanatory than that. As a parallel, we could say, “If a flame loses it’s heat, how can it be made hot again.” Heat is the very substance and essence of the flame, just as saltiness is to salt. When it loses its saltiness, it becomes nondescript, worthless and useless. When a Christian stops being Christ-like, they become worthless and useless in the world. Just like salt brings out the best flavor in the food, so we Christians are supposed to bring out the best in society. Throughout this portion, Jesus does some excellent preaching using the O.T. Scriptures for His text with an up-to-date exegesis. Let’s see how His outline conforms to the original Ten Commandments:

1^st Commandment – Remember your covenant with God (v.13).

2^nd Commandment – You are the upholders of the Law. (vv.14-20)

3^rd Commandment – Loveless use of sacred things devalues the gift. (vv.33-37)

Christian principles acted out in Christ’s life. (vv.38-42)

Christ’s life which is stated as a Christian principle. (vv.43-47)

A hypothesis which can only become a reality in Jesus. (v.48)

6^th Commandment – Murder is first committed in the heart before carried out in the flesh.  (vv.21-26)

7^th Commandment – Lust enters the mind through the eye then into the heart before being performed by the body. (vv.27-32)

Verses 14-16: “You are the light that shines for the nations to see. You are like a city built on a hill that cannot be hidden. People don’t hide a lamp under a bowl. They put it on a lampstand. Then the light shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and give praise to your Father in heaven.”

Now our Lord turns from salt to light. In the Jewish mind of that day, they saw themselves in the role as salt, seasoning and preserving the land God had given to them. But they also saw themselves as a light to the rest of the world, as spoken to the prophet Isaiah: “I will also make you a light to the nations, so my salvation can spread to the ends of the earth.”¹ In fact, Rabbi Gamaliel and others were discussing the rights of inheritance, and Rabbi Gamaliel said: “Look at the end of the book, wherein it is written, I came not to destroy the Law of Moses nor to add to the Law of Moses,² and it is written therein, A daughter does not inherit where there is a son.” Those listening to Gamaliel were so impressed, that one of them said: “Let your light shine forth like a lamp.”³

Using light in this manner may also be our Master’s inference to what the Psalmist said, “A light shines in the dark for those who are good, for those who are merciful, kind, and fair.”¹⁰ In that sense, God’s glory is the source, Jesus is the conduit, and we are the light bulb. Solomon understood the importance of light: “Don’t take the path of the wicked; don’t follow those who do evil. Stay away from that path; don’t even go near it. Turn around and go another way…The path of those who live right is like the early morning light. It gets brighter and brighter until the full light of day. But the path of the wicked is like a dark night. They trip and fall over what they cannot see.”¹¹

To further illustrate His point, Jesus mentions the effect of a city built on top of a hill, especially at night when all the oil lamps are lit. Even though the traveler may only have moon light or star light on their path, the illuminated city serves as a beacon to guide them. Therefore, it’s not only important to know where you are at, but know where you are going and the direction you are headed in. As such, we can easily imagine believers as lights for others to follow and as beacons so that those who are lost can find their way to Him who is the way, the truth and the life.

Then Jesus segues from lit city to lit lamp. In His day, this would be either a candle or oil lamp. Such light sources were lit to provide illumination in the house for everyone, not just the person who lit it. Likewise, says Jesus, this light is not just for you, it’s for all those around you. This was the theme of what Isaiah said: “If you do these things, your light will begin to shine like the light of dawn. Then your wounds will heal. Your ‘Goodness’ will walk in front of you, and the Glory of the Lord will come following behind you.”¹² And Jesus seems to be giving the same encouragement here to His followers that we find expressed in Isaiah’s clarion call, “Get up and shine! Your Light is coming! The Glory of the Lord will shine on you. Darkness now covers the earth, and the people are in darkness. But the Lord will shine on you, and his Glory will appear over you. Then the nations will come to your light. Kings will come to your bright sunrise”¹³ In other words, let the glory of God shine in your words and deeds; don’t try to hide it. I’m sending you out as lights in the world so they can see the truth and come to salvation. Just in case someone thought Jesus was making these things up or inventing new ideas, He assures them that all of this has been said before.

In Daniel we read: “The wise people will shine as bright as the sky. Those who teach others to live right will shine like stars forever and ever.”¹⁴ So Jesus was echoing what Daniel had said about those who live right and teach what is right. This was something He expected His disciples to do from now on, so that they could be a light to those in spiritual darkness, just as He had been to them. John Gill quotes from one of the Jewish paraphrases of the Song of Solomon where it says: “How beautiful are the great ones of the congregation, and the wise men, who sit in the Sanhedrin! for they are those ‘that enlighten the world’, the people of the house of Israel.”¹⁵ This idea of those who spread insight and wisdom from God’s Word serve as lights in the world was not foreign to Jewish thinkers.

Taken altogether, in our Lord’s teaching there is a message for all believers. The way we live, work, act, and speak as motivated and anointed by the Holy Spirit serves as God’s flavoring in the society were we live. If we stop being God-like and Christ-like in our attitudes and actions, then God’s influence loses it savoring. In the same manner, as lights that shine forth the truth of what Jesus came to teach and do, we are not to hide this light for the sake of blending in with those around us who walk in the darkness that comes from not knowing God or what Jesus the Christ came to do in providing a path to salvation. So when we neglect God’s Word and have little interest in studying what He came to say, then that light grows dimmer and dimmer. God help us all to tap into His Word each day to renew our light so that it may shine for His glory, honor and praise!