Synoptic Gospels Bible Study Lesson 6

Synoptic Gospels Bible Study Lesson 6Questions

1.Read Mt 5:3-12. These verses are called what? What is the central theme?

Mt5:3-12 Our Saviour here gives eight characters of blessed people, which represent to us the principal graces of a Christian. 1. The poor in spirit are happy. These bring their minds to their condition, when it is a low condition. They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. They see their want, bewail their guilt, and thirst after a Redeemer. The kingdom of grace is of such; the kingdom of glory is for them. 2. Those that mourn are happy. That godly sorrow which worketh true repentance, watchfulness, a humble mind, and continual dependence for acceptance on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, with constant seeking the Holy Spirit, to cleanse away the remaining evil, seems here to be intended. Heaven is the joy of our Lord; a mountain of joy, to which our way is through a vale of tears. Such mourners shall be comforted by their God. 3. The meek are happy. The meek are those who quietly submit to God; who can bear insult; are silent, or return a soft answer; who, in their patience, keep possession of their own souls, when they can scarcely keep possession of anything else. These meek ones are happy, even in this world. Meekness promotes wealth, comfort, and safety, even in this world. 4. Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are happy. Righteousness is here put for all spiritual blessings. These are purchased for us by the righteousness of Christ, confirmed by the faithfulness of God. Our desires of spiritual blessings must be earnest. Though all desires for grace are not grace, yet such a desire as this, is a desire of God's own raising, and he will not forsake the work of his own hands. 5. The merciful are happy. We must not only bear our own afflictions patiently, but we must do all we can to help those who are in misery. We must have compassion on the souls of others, and help them; pity those who are in sin, and seek to snatch them as brands out of the burning. 6. The pure in heart are happy; for they shall see God. Here holiness and happiness are fully described and put together. The heart must be purified by faith, and kept for God. Create in me such a clean heart, O God. None but the pure are capable of seeing God, nor would heaven be happiness to the impure. As God cannot endure to look upon their iniquity, so they cannot look upon his purity. 7. The peace-makers are happy. They love, and desire, and delight in peace; and study to be quiet. They keep the peace that it be not broken, and recover it when it is broken. If the peace-makers are blessed, woe to the peace-breakers! 8. Those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake are happy. This saying is peculiar to Christianity; and it is more largely insisted upon than any of the rest. Yet there is nothing in our sufferings that can merit of God; but God will provide that those who lose for him, though life itself, shall not lose by him in the end. Blessed Jesus! how different are thy maxims from those of men of this world! They call the proud happy, and admire the gay, the rich, the powerful, and the victorious. May we find mercy from the Lord; may we be owned as his children, and inherit his kingdom. With these enjoyments and hopes, we may cheerfully welcome low or painful circumstances.

 2.Read Mt 5:13-16. What does the reference of being salt and light mean? What is your opinion of Mt 5:13?

Ye are the salt of the earth - Our Lord shows here what the preachers of the Gospel, and what all who profess to follow him, should be; the salt of the earth, to preserve the world from putrefaction and destruction.

Jesus wanted to make it abundantly clear that every believer is a representative of the kingdom. Jesus emphatically declared that His followers are to be (1) salt and (2) light to the world. Believers have a duty to the world.

“Salt” creates thirst when it comes to eating. Its saline quality seasons and makes food tasty.

No believer can live in separation from the world. We are not of the world, but we are in it. The purpose of a salty Christian is to make an effect on others. Many individuals and churches have lost their appeal to non-Christians. The church has lost its pungency to the non-Christian world, for God designed them to touch society. Christians cannot live in isolation, cocooned from society. God designed them to reach out and touch.

3.What is your opinion of Mt 5:14-16?

Mt5:13-16 Ye are the salt of the earth. Mankind, lying in ignorance and wickedness, were as a vast heap, ready to putrify; but Christ sent forth his disciples, by their lives and doctrines to season it with knowledge and grace. If they are not such as they should be, they are as salt that has lost its savour. If a man can take up the profession of Christ, and yet remain graceless, no other doctrine, no other means, can make him profitable. Our light must shine, by doing such good works as men may see. What is between God and our souls, must be kept to ourselves; but that which is of itself open to the sight of men, we must study to make suitable to our profession, and praiseworthy. We must aim at the glory of God.

4.Read Mt 5:17-18. What do these verses mean? Are they still in effect?

Mt 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. The preceding verses were so opposed to the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees that some might assert that he was a destroyer of the law. He replies that he has not come to destroy it, but to fulfill. He does not say that he has come to perpetuate it.

Mt 5:18 the law never would be destroyed until it should be all fulfilled. It is the same as saying everything else may change; the very earth and heaven may pass away, but the law of God shall not be destroyed until its whole design has been accomplished.

5.Explain Mt 5:20. Mt 5:20 Your righteousness shall exceed. The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees has just been referred to. (Mt 3:7). They claimed to be the teachers and examples of righteousness, but they lacked the humble spirit of true obedience.

6.Read 5:21-48. This contrast is the improper interpretations of the Pharisees (they say) with the proper interpretation of Christ (but I say). What were some of the misinterpretations of the Pharisees?

The reinterpretation by Jesus then illustrates what it means for him to fulfill the Law and what it means for our righteousness to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. The general pattern of Jesus’ teaching in the great antitheses is to move beyond the letter of the Law to the spirit. He drives to the original intention of the Law in the mind of God. In this sense Christ restores the Law to its God-intended purpose. For this reason we need to give careful attention to the way Jesus works with the Law in these verses.

The first subject that Jesus addresses is anger. The portion of Old Testament Law that he quotes is the prohibition of murder. However, Jesus proclaims the same punishment for a person who is angry with his brother or sister. The King James Version spoke of being angry with one’s brother "without a cause." However, the oldest and best manuscripts of the New Testament do not contain these words. It is fairly clear that they were added by a scribe who wished to justify his own anger with certain people.

Jesus’ point is difficult for most of us to understand let alone accept. The heart issue in murder is much more than just the death of another individual. It begins with an attitude that disregards the value of that other person, making his or her life of no importance. Likewise anger disregards the value of another person. It is important for us to recognize that Jesus was not speaking of natural angry reactions that we all have when our sense of space and worth is violated. What Jesus was dealing with was the accepting, nurturing, and continuing of anger against another person after our momentary reaction. When we value others as much as we value ourselves we will find explanations for their invasions of our space and dignity in the same way we find explanations for our own behavior that inadvertently hurts other people.

Verses 23-24 show how important this issue is. Jesus places the resolution of our human conflicts above our worship of God. That is, worship of God is meaningless as long as we live with broken human relationships. Persons matter so much to God that he requires that we mend our relationships with other people before bringing our gifts to him.

Verses 27-30 deal with the issue of adultery. Here we find the clearest example of the way Jesus moves to the heart purpose of the Old Testament commandment. The Old Testament quotation was of the seventh commandment prohibiting adultery. Jesus extended the application of the commandment past bed-hopping. To look at another person in order to lust after them is to commit adultery in one’s heart. Even in the Old Testament adultery was understood to be much more than the violation of another man’s property rights over his wife. Idolatry and the worship of Baal was often described as adultery by the Old Testament prophets. The underlying assumption is that marriage was to be a covenant relationship like that between God and Israel. Such covenanting calls for mutual love, fidelity, and valuing.

Adultery is the violation of covenant love, covenant faithfulness, and covenant valuing. So is lust and so are any of the variety of pornographic entertainments available now (and then). To desire (sexually or otherwise) someone other than your covenant partner violates the mutual valuing implied by the covenant itself. Pornography undermines covenant mutuality. Our culture has so perverted human sexuality into the self-indulgent pursuit of orgasm that hardly a trace of the biblical view remains. Biblical sexuality is intensely personal. Genesis 2 portrays sexuality as the means by which our humanity in the image of God is created. Sexual union creates a mutual valuing of the two partners that is violated by every sexual perversion or sin. Though research and human experience deny it our popular culture still promotes the delusion that sexuality is a genital activity rather than the heart of personal relationship. We cannot have it both ways and the sooner the church declares that reality, the better off we will be.

The third issue Jesus addressed in the great antitheses was divorce. The Old Testament quotation is from Deuteronomy 24:1, which was part of the Old Testament divorce regulations. The scenario described in Deuteronomy 24:1 is that of a wife who does not find favor from her husband because of something objectionable about her. The rabbis of Jesus’ time discussed intensely what "objectionable" things might be sufficient cause for a divorce. Some of the suggestions included such trivial matters as being a poor cook or not being as physically attractive as another woman the husband might meet.

Here in Matthew 5 Jesus clearly states that adultery is the only thing sufficiently objectionable so that a divorce might be permitted. Matthew 19 will contain a fuller treatment of the question of marriage and divorce. However, we should note here that Jesus does not command divorce in the case of adultery. He also states that a man who divorces his wife for any reason other than adultery is responsible for placing his wife in a position where adultery may be her only recourse. In an astounding move beyond the Old Testament Jesus made adultery an issue for which both men and women are responsible rather than it simply being a woman’s problem.

The fourth main subject in this section is that of oaths. This is difficult for most modern believers to understand for two reasons. First, we tend to take Scriptural teaching on oaths as a prohibition of any profane use of God’s name. In the biblical context oaths referred to the use of God’s name to affirm the truthfulness of what one had said. It did not include other profanity or vulgar language. The second issue we fail to understand is the pattern of deceitfulness prevalent in Jewish society at Jesus’ time. At least in some circles habits had developed in which people felt free not to tell the truth unless they swore by God’s name that they were telling the truth. Judaism had several mechanisms by which they could refer to God without actually mentioning his name. Use of the passive voice was one of those mechanisms. Mention of heaven or God’s throne was another. Jesus’ point here in Matthew 5:33-37 is that kingdom people’s word is reliable. Yes means yes, no means no, and no oaths should be necessary to convince others of the integrity of our words. Though our culture has different ways of justifying lying the principle is still true for believers today. There should never be a question of the integrity of our words.

Verses 38-42 deal with the subject of retaliation. Jesus quotes a common Old Testament dictum, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This saying can be found in Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; and Deuteronomy 19:21. Though Christian history has normally taken these words to speak of the right for revenge, in their original context they had a very different thrust. In a world in which the death of one demanded vengeance killing of several in response the eye for eye teaching was a restriction of retaliation. Jesus extends that limitation of retaliation by urging our generous and gracious response to everyone who hurts us or places some demand upon us. This leads very naturally to the final antithesis. Instead of loving our family and friends and hating our enemies Christ calls on us to also love our enemies. Our example in this is God himself who demonstrates equal love to saints and sinners alike. Both receive the blessings of sunshine and rain indiscriminately. Kingdom people likewise will love indiscriminately. That love without expecting a return is the meaning of being perfect like our heavenly Father is perfect.

Mt5:45 That ye may be the children - That is, that ye may continue and appear such before men and angels. For he maketh his sun to rise - He gives them such blessings as they will receive at his hands. Spiritual blessings they will not receive.

Mt5:43

Now we come to the final model of the higher standards of Christ’s kingdom (5:43-48).

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

The word “neighbor” conveys the idea of one near. It is a person in proximity to us. The neighbor could be an adversary.

The Mosaic Law contains the first phrase “love your neighbor” (Le 19:18), but the scribes and Pharisees added the second phrase “hate your enemy.” This was a limited form of love.

Mt5:44

But I say to you,

Jesus operated on a higher standard than the Law, and rejected the “hate your enemy” mentality. This is love without limits.

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Love in Jesus’ kingdom extends to one’s enemies. Loving one’s enemy was not commanded in the Old Testament. “Love” in the Greek is in continuous action. We set up a precedence of love for our enemies.

PRINCIPLE: The Christian loves on the principle of grace and not on the merit of the person loved.

Jesus’ love here is more than romantic love; it is agape love—love that sacrifices for others. Love for an enemy is love for someone who does not deserve our love. People do not have to merit love from us. We love enemies on the principle of grace. This love does not depend on the nature of the enemy. This love depends on us, not them! We do not treat people on the basis of what they are.

Mt5:46

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?

It is no big deal if we love those who love us. Non-Christians do that. There is no distinction of love here. Love is more than sentiment.

Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Tax collectors had a very bad reputation in Israel. If a low-life like a tax collector can love, what distinction is there in reciprocal love? That is tit-for-tat love. If people have a low view of tax collectors today, it was worse in Jesus’ time. Loving like tax collectors is not saying much.

Mt5:47

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?

Friendship with one’s personal friends is nothing exceptional. Everyone does that.

Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

This is the standard of non-Christians or non-believers. The believer should do more than those who do not know God.

Mt5:48

You therefore

The words “therefore” with the emphatic “you” embrace one final, over-arching principle.

must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

The standard of Christ’s kingdom is perfection. The word “perfect” means mature, complete, whole. Retaliation does not characterize God, for He does not lower who He is to accommodate how humans act. Perfection here does not convey the idea of sinlessness but rather full maturity according to the character of God. The context of this is mature love, as God’s love is mature.

PRINCIPLE: Believers should love with the distinctive love of God.

Our lives should wholly commit to God’s character. God’s love is complete, so the child of God should have complete love. God’s love is indiscriminate, so our love should not discriminate towards the objects of our love.

7.Explain Mt 6 :1-18.

Mt 6:1-18. Further Illustration of the Righteousness of the Kingdom-Its Unostentatiousness.

General Caution against Ostentation in Religious Duties (Mt 6:1).

1. Take heed that ye do not your alms-But the true reading seems clearly to be "your righteousness." The external authority for both readings is pretty nearly equal; but internal evidence is decidedly in favor of "righteousness." The subject of the second verse being "almsgiving" that word-so like the other in Greek-might easily be substituted for it by the copyist: whereas the opposite would not be so likely. But it is still more in favor of "righteousness," that if we so read the first verse, it then becomes a general heading for this whole section of the discourse, inculcating unostentatiousness in all deeds of righteousness-Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting being, in that case, but selected examples of this righteousness; whereas, if we read, "Do not your alms," &c., this first verse will have no reference but to that one point. By "righteousness," in this case, we are to understand that same righteousness of the kingdom of heaven, whose leading features-in opposition to traditional perversions of it-it is the great object of this discourse to open up: that righteousness of which the Lord says, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5:20). To "do" this righteousness, was an old and well-understood expression. Thus, "Blessed is he that doeth righteousness at all times" (Ps 106:3). It refers to the actings of righteousness in the life-the outgoings of the gracious nature-of which our Lord afterwards said to His disciples, "Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples" (Joh 15:8).

before men, to be seen of them-with the view or intention of being beheld of them. See the same expression in Mt 5:28. True, He had required them to let their light so shine before men that they might see their good works, and glorify their Father which is in heaven (Mt 5:16). But this is quite consistent with not making a display of our righteousness for self-glorification. In fact, the doing of the former necessarily implies our not doing the latter.

otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven-When all duty is done to God-as primarily enjoining and finally judging of it-He will take care that it be duly recognized; but when done purely for ostentation, God cannot own it, nor is His judgment of it even thought of-God accepts only what is done to Himself. So much for the general principle. Now follow three illustrations of it.

8.Explain Mt 6:19-21.

Mt6:19

Jesus next spoke about our attitude towards wealth as a gauge of our spirituality.

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,

The idea behind “laying up” is to store up; it puts emphasis on hording for oneself. If our essential scale of values is based on things of earth, we will miss eternal orientation. Jesus was not making an absolute prohibition against gathering wealth to oneself, but rather teaching that money is to be used for eternity rather than time. This is an issue of personal policy.

where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;

Treasures on earth are subject to decomposition. Moths eat through clothes, a value of considerable importance in the ancient world. “Rust” comes from the word eats. The idea is to corrode. Rust consumes and causes items to disappear. Earthly treasures ultimately disappear.

To “break in” is literally to dig through. Walls in Palestine were often made of dried mud. A burglar could dig through a wall to steal one’s possessions. Again this emphasizes the transient nature of earthly possessions.

Mt6:20

but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

When we use all our possessions for God, we lay up treasures in heaven. Jesus says in effect, “Focus on things of eternal consequence.”

where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

Treasures on earth are temporal. They only last in time, not eternity.

Mt6:21

For where your treasure is,

Our treasure is what we value most.

there your heart will be also.

What we love is where we place our priorities. What we love most is our god. Our hearts are right when we devote time and possessions to eternal things.

PRINCIPLE: Our best investment is in eternal things.

We cannot divide life into spiritual and material, because Jesus made no such division. A proper attitude towards wealth is to use all that we have for eternity.

It is not wrong to possess things, but it is wrong for things to possess us. When things possess us, it is spiritual slavery. Temporal possessions will enslave our hearts. Putting all our efforts into earthly pursuits will distort eternal values.

And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 1 Ti 6:8-10

9.Explain Mt 7:21. Mt7:21

Jesus continues his thought on false teaching of the previous verses by showing that religious profession does not mean biblical reality or authenticity.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven,

The repetition of the word “Lord” indicates robust religious zeal. Religious profession is not equivalent to biblical authenticity. There are many religious fakers out there. Religious zealots will not enter the kingdom simply because of religion.

but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

The Greek word for “but” denotes sharp contrast. The central thesis rests on doing “the will of My Father.” All true belief revolves around the will of God’s thinking and purpose represented in Scripture.

10.Explain Mt 7:24-27.

Mt7:24

Jesus now turned to the last contrast, a contrast of foundations of what we believe. Jesus concluded the Sermon on the Mount with the parable of two foundations.

“Therefore

The “therefore” connects this parable to His preceding thought. Not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom.

whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them,

There are two elements in this statement: (1) positive volition about hearing Jesus’ teaching and (2) application of what is heard. Faith is the root and application is the fruit of faith.

When Jesus referred to “the “sayings of Mine,” He was drawing emphatic attention to the teaching on the Mount.

I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

The words “I will liken him” set up an illustration of a contrast between a haphazard foundation and a firm foundation. The “house” here is the solidity of belief in Christ’s teaching and willingness to apply that belief to experience.

Mt7:25

and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

A solid foundation stands in the face of adversity.

Mt7:26

“But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:

“Sand” is a shifty, unstable foundation. This foundation cannot stand against adversity because it is vacuous of rock-solid material on which to rest.

Mt7:27

and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

The Sermon on the Mount concludes with a warning about building on the strong foundation of Jesus’ teachings. Those with weak conviction about Christ’s teaching will have a terrible fall.

PRINCIPLE: Test of faith will reveal the reality of our faith.

Jesus closed the Sermon on the Mount with the idea of principle and application. If we do not form solid biblical principles, we cannot apply them to experience. If we form solid principles but do not apply them, then we are left with a weak faith.

There are only two courses that we can take in living for Christ—either know and apply what He teaches, or treat His teaching lightly, with disregard.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. Jas 1:22-25

When the test comes, those with a solid foundation move forward. There is no doubt that the test will come.