“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.”

The people had been taught that the commandment forbidding murder was limited in its scope to the actual shedding of blood. But now the Lord taught them that it equally forbids the seeds of murder, such as anger, mockery and abuse. I may not have committed murder, but murder is in me – I am a murderer who has not yet shed blood, but a murderer nonetheless.

What then? Am I lost without hope? I cannot make my heart pure. How am I to live?

The question about how a sinner can be justified will be answered in due course, but now the Lord is teaching His disciples how they must live.

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Your brother has something against you. Put it right! Learn to live with a clear conscience and as a peacemaker, the natural outworking of the humility and meekness that characterises a true disciple. That is far more important than a merely outward demonstration of piety.

“Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

You have done wrong, and your accuser wants justice. Be reconciled. Admit your fault and put it right. Act quickly, honestly, sacrificially. Here again, we see how the character of a true disciple as it is to be lived out in action.

 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

If this is the truth of God’s law, who is pure? We are all condemned. If it were only our eye or our hand that caused us to sin, we might be rid of it for the sake of purity, but it is our heart, our deepest nature, that is fallen and defiled. The Lord showed His disciples the gravity of sin and how they must not make excuses for it.

Take action! Deal with sin, don’t just shrug it off!

There was a time when divorce was permitted because of the hardness of men’s hearts (Matthew 19:8). But that high-handed attitude to God’s provision of marriage, and to our responsibility in it, is not how disciples of Jesus are to live.

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all…. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”

Why did people take an oath, swearing by heaven or the earth or Jerusalem? It was because their ‘Yes’ was not always ‘Yes’, and their ‘No’ was not always ‘No’, and everyone knew it. To walk honestly requires humility and a watch on our tongues, but isn’t this exactly what you would expect in a disciple of the Lord Jesus?

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

Where the law had required the punishment to fit the offence, the people had taken that provision to justify their revenge on those who injured them, and in so doing they became no different from the person who mistreated them. That self-centred attitude was turned right around as the Lord taught His disciples to live in a manner that glorifies God, even if it meant the loss of their dignity or possessions. In this we see the character of God Himself.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”

Woe to us if our God was like us! Where could we flee if He did not love His enemies? He is merciful, gracious and ready to forgive, and He daily shows us His love and mercy in the sunshine and the rain.

“Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

The Lord told His disciples plainly what He requires of them. Is it moral perfection? No, He knew that in their fallen state perfection was unattainable. What He requires of His disciples is that they do not make excuses for their sin, that they are not careless about their moral failures, and that they earnestly embrace all that He has taught them. Who dares ignore His words?