From: Busy Person’s Guide to Matthew 1 to 14 Return to Home
By
Roland H. Worth, Jr. © 2018
All reproduction of
text in paper, electronic, or computer
form both permitted and encouraged so long as
authorial
credit is given and the text is not altered.
Busy Person’s Guide to the
New Testament:
Quickly Understanding
Matthew
(Volume 1: Chapters 5-7)
Chapter Five
Behaviors and
Attitudes That Receive Divine Blessings (5:1-12): 1 When he saw the crowds, he went
up the mountain. After he sat down his
disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to teach them by saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
4 “Blessed are those who
mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for
they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown
mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are
persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.
11 “Blessed are you when
people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you
falsely on account of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad because
your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in
the same way.” --New English
Translation (for comparison)
5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Choosing a mountain, permitted the listeners to be “below” Jesus physically and better able to see and hear Him. Pulpits are raised in modern worship facilities for much the same reason.
However
note that Jesus did this preaching sitting down, which was the
contemporary norm. I’ve done this a few
times--especially in my old age--but found it far more difficult to do than
standing up . . . a sign, perhaps, of how cultural differences inevitably
affect our thinking.
5:2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying. In one sense we can “teach without words” (by our example and our behavior), but that is “teaching” in a very broad and vague sense. To teach specific ideas requires what we find here: coming out and saying it in explicit words.
In the
previous verse they are described as “disciples.” “The
discourse was therefore spoken, not simply to the multitudes, a chance
audience, but with primary and special reference to those who had already made
some advance in relation to Him.” (Pulpit
Commentary) They both wished and
wanted to learn more and He is going to take advantage of the opportunity to
explain to them the attitudes and behaviors that will keep them pleasing in the
sight of God.
5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, / For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Monetary poverty may or may not be a blessing--my personal experience argues it isn’t--but if you are arrogant and treat others with contempt it won’t do you a bit of long term good either. The poverty that counts is “in the spirit,” in our inner person. The way of thinking that makes us recognize our own limitations as well as admit the strengths of others. If you want one word to sum it up, “humility.”
Sidebar: It is not uncommonly argued that, “Luke omits “in spirit” [Luke
Furthermore, as any preacher knows, one may drastically
modify a sermon theme as it is preached in one place from the language used in
a different one. In fact, it is hard to
believe that Jesus did not preach these same basic points upon a number
of occasions and to varying size audiences, the contents and wording varying
significantly in the process--not contradicting Himself
but reflecting the needs of each particular group He was addressing. One group might need the lesson on humbleness
(“blessed are the poor in spirit”) while another needed to be reminded
of the blessedness of not being well to do.
5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, / For they shall be comforted. Will God count you blessed because you left your “six pack” at the store? Yet it is things like that which many people feel most sorrowful and upset and “mourn” about. The missed opportunities of life go completely unrecognized. The sin and transgression they are either oblivious to or glory in doing.
But real hurt and pain and anguish occur in every age and that is what the Lord refers to. Disease, “being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” being unjustly treated at work or in your neighborhood--the list is endless. You can’t change what has happened but the Lord can give the “comfort” that better days are ahead and that injustice will ultimately be called to account before the royal judicial bar of God.
5:5 Blessed are the meek, / For they shall inherit the earth. “Meek” is one of the most treacherous words because in colloquial English it carries the connotation of weakness and lack of strength. In its Biblical usage, however, it carries the sense of restraint and self-discipline. The kind of person who does not fly out of control at every real and imagined irritant. The kind of person who puts up with annoyance rather than verbally or physically striking out at every opportunity. He may even be “able to beat you to the pulp” but he knows there is no need for those who exercise honorable self-control will be amply rewarded by God. You, however, who cause all the problems face a far “warmer” and unpleasant eternity than you can imagine.
5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, / For they shall be filled. To be “righteous” in God’s sight requires the desire to be such: to “hunger and thirst” after such, according to our text. Some never improve because they are blind to the need. Without perceptive self-examination there can never be the motivation for improvement. And the desire for improvement must be as strong as physical hunger and thirst if we are to have adequate stimulus to overcome our natural lethargy.
5:7 Blessed are the
merciful, / For they shall obtain mercy.
Ultimately we will be treated the way we treat others. If we treat them with respect and courtesy,
most will respond that way. If we treat
them with disrespect and the abuse of our power and influence, why should they
do the least to help us when the situation is reversed? And one of the certainties of life is that
the situation will be reversed and somewhere, sometime we will be
the ones who need to be on the receiving end of moderation and
self-control. And if we haven’t done so
when we could have? In modern
colloquialism, this is called “the chickens come home to roost” phenomena.
5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, / For they shall see God. Modern Christian mythology has virtually every one go to heaven. First of all, if they did they would be miserable in such a place that is the exact opposite of their acquired lifestyle. Second of all, as our text says, it requires inner (“heart”) purity to ever stand in the presence of God. In other words, what we really are and not our public face will determine the matter.
5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, / For they shall be called sons of God. When some one needs a Biblical text to encourage international peace, this is one of the most common choices. Yet Jesus is addressing individuals and not national leaders. He is talking about the kind of “peace” that you and I create with others by what we say to them and how we treat them.
If we can’t summon the inner resources to deal with others in a restrained and respectful kind of manner on a personal basis, how in the world can we ever expect nations to? Yet considerations of personal ego and vanity, the refusal to admit we ourselves are in the wrong no matter how blatant the evidence, the fact that we feel mortally offended if we do not get our way--such are some of the obstacles to ever living in a peaceful and contented relationship with others. With friends, neighbors, and—yes—with spouses.
In other words, what He is saying is not mere theoretical teaching in the “Sermon on the Mount;” it is quite realistic, “this world” forewarning--this will be happening to quite a few of you. It is at this point that many fail. We can recognize a principle/rule of behavior easy enough, but when we get to the point where we have to live by it, that can be quite difficult because of the pain, danger, and consequences we face. Even so, whatever was taught in the abstract was still intended to be applied in individual behavior—our own behavior. Standing on a recognition of its rightness alone does no good at all.
Sidebar: The prophetic precedent--“Zechariah the son of Jehoiada
(2 Chronicles 24:21), Jeremiah (Jeremiah
So Long As
Believers Live Their Faith, They Preserve Their Own Lives and Light Up the
World with Their Demonstration of Good Behavior (5:13-16): 13 “You are the salt of the
earth. But if salt loses its flavor, how
can it be made salty again? It is no
longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by
people. 14 You are the light of the
world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 People do not light a lamp
and put it under a basket but on a lampstand, and it
gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your
light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor
to your Father in heaven.”
--New English
Translation (for comparison)
Sidebar: Although this result was valid everywhere,
those acquainted with the
In a parallel way, when we notice that our light—spirituality and morality--starts to grow dim we need to “turn the electricity up” so to speak. This can be assisted by prayer, regular church attendance, scripture study and other aids to spiritual growth. But if corrective action is not taken, our inner light will simply become dimmer and dimmer. And then go out permanently. The reason we need to do this is not only for our own personal good but to benefit others as well. . . .
To Be Acceptable
to God Means That We Must Both Teach and Obey His
Law (Matthew
19 So anyone who breaks one of
the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in
the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will
be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you, unless your
righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you
will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” --New English Translation (for comparison)
Sidebar: The other way the ancients divided the Old
Testament was into Law, Prophets, and Psalms.
Jesus Himself used this division in Luke 24:44: “These are the
words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be
fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and
the Psalms concerning Me.” David could
therefore, with full justice, be considered a prophet as well as a “mere”
psalmist since he wrote of things that were to be “fulfilled” in and through
the Messiah. In addition, the apostle
Peter applies to David (Acts
Second, it can refer to fulfillment in the narrower, prophetic sense: only when all the Law had spoken about Jesus became past and accomplished history would it pass away as authority. Although the first point is a fine sermonic one to develop, the second approach seems to be the actual point being made.
Sidebar on
the meaning of “jot” and “tittle:” “The ‘jot’
is the Greek iota, the Hebrew yod (’), the smallest of all the letters of the
alphabet. The ‘tittle’
was one of the smaller strokes, or twists of other letters, such, e.g., as distinguished ד (D) from ר (R),
or כ (K) from ב (B). Jewish Rabbis
used to caution their scholars against so writing as to cause one letter to be
mistaken for another, and to give examples of passages from the Law in which
such a mistake would turn a divine truth into nonsense or blasphemy. The yod in
its turn was equally important. It
distinguished Joshua from Hoshea, Sarai
from Sarah.” (Ellicott’s Commentary
for English Readers)
5:19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Whenever a religious code is authoritative, there is no justification in claiming there is an excuse to violate it. We human beings are great advocates of “what if” ethics: why God surely can’t mean that we have to do such-and-such because “what if” such-and-such happens that would make it extremely difficult or inconvenient? You may not stop being a disciple by adopting such a method of exegesis, but Jesus warns that anyone with this attitude will be counted as “least in the kingdom of heaven.” That does not sound like a formula for success does it?
Sidebar: “These commandments” relate to moral matters, as the “but I say” examples that soon follow demonstrate. Although He certainly expected the ceremonial elements of the Old Testament to be followed so long as it was in force, the thrust of His ministry was on uplifting moral behavioral patterns instead.
The fact
that the six “but I say” contrasts come next argues that these are examples
of the kind of twisted logic that the scribes and Pharisees used to undermine
the true intent of Scripture.
It Is Not only the
Act of Murder That Is Wrong, but Also Unjustified Anger and the Behaviors That
Stem from It (5:21-26): 21 “You have heard that it was
said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever
murders will be subjected to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that
anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever
insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’
will be sent to fiery hell.
23 So then, if you bring your
gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against
you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go
and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 25 Reach agreement quickly
with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the
judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into
prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you
will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!” --New English Translation (for comparison)
Jesus’ teaching is nothing unique to His gospel. The Old Testament itself was quite specific on the dangers of uncontrolled language anger. For instance:
Psalm
37:8: “Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret—it
only causes harm.”
Proverbs
15:1: “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs
up anger.”
Proverbs 17:27: “He who
restrains his words has knowledge, And he who has a
cool spirit is a man of understanding.”
–New American Standard Bible
Proverbs
18:6: “A
fool’s lips bring strife, and his mouth invites a flogging.” --Revised Standard Version
Next Jesus provides two illustrations (verses 23-24 and
25-26) of the potential self-destructive results of uncontrolled temper.
5:23-24 Therefore if you bring your gift to the
altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave
your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then
come and offer your gift. This was
an age in which people often went up to
In one sense, delay could be rationalized: The postponement is “so short;” “would do no harm,” etc. On the other hand, we have a very human tendency to multiply excuses (like delaying this kind of corrective action) when its something we know is going to be embarrassing and that we would rather avoid entirely if we can find a way.
This is exactly the kind of reconciling behavior--and repentance--that Leviticus 6:2-6 directly commands: “If a person sins and commits a trespass against the Lord by lying to his neighbor about what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or about a pledge, or about a robbery, or if he has extorted from his neighbor, 3 or if he has found what was lost and lies concerning it, and swears falsely—in any one of these things that a man may do in which he sins: 4 then it shall be, because he has sinned and is guilty, that he shall restore what he has stolen, or the thing which he has extorted, or what was delivered to him for safekeeping, or the lost thing which he found, 5 or all that about which he has sworn falsely. He shall restore its full value, add one-fifth more to it, and give it to whomever it belongs, on the day of his trespass offering. 6 And he shall bring his trespass offering to the Lord, a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering, to the priest.”
Note that the repenting behavior
comes before the sacrificial offering to demonstrate he recognizes his
guilt. Hence the teaching is not unique
to Jesus . . . even though the claim has been common that Jesus--in these
“Antitheses”--is setting out new principles that contrast with what was found
in the Old Testament.
Proverbs
25:8 speaks of the danger of falling into such situations: “Do not go hastily to court; for what will you do in
the end, when your neighbor has put you to shame?”
Proverbs 6:1-5 speaks of such potentially disastrous situations and how one must throw every bit of energy into avoiding what is coming: “My son, if you become surety for your friend, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, 2 you are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth. 3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; for you have come into the hand of your friend: Go and humble yourself; plead with your friend. 4 Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids. 5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.”
The Uncontrolled
Sexual Desire That Leads to Adultery Must Be Brought Under Control (
The Old Testament is not without warning about keeping one’s sensual desires under “visual control” in passages such as these:
Job
31:1: “I
made a covenant with my eyes, how then should I look lustfully at a young
woman?” --World English Bible
Exodus
20:17: ““You
shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s
wife [how can this possibly avoid the connotation of having a sexual
relationship?], nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor
his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Proverbs
6:25: “Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let
her allure you with her eyelids.”
5:30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Jesus next takes the exaggeration and applies it to another area: cutting off one’s hands. For some people this is their area of danger: violence, theft, arson, bookkeeping fraud, false advertising, etc. Such sins are carried out through the use of our hands and those can get us into just as much trouble with God as fantasizing any other evil. The cure is similar: The cause of our evil must be removed not by an external act but an internal excision of the degrading motives and intents. A basic reorientation of our attitudes.
The Wrongness of
Indiscriminate Divorce (
‘Whoever
divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’ 32 But I say to you
that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality,
makes her commit
adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits
adultery.
As to the reason for divorce, Jesus puts the emphasis on the sexual relationship: only if the marital bond of mutual acceptance and commitment has been shattered by sexual misconduct should one even consider divorce and remarriage. He is not saying that other severe provocations may not occur nor is He laying down a rule for what to do if this has happened before conversion. Rather He is trying to fasten their minds on the need to make the relationship last if at all possible. The bottom line is that if you don’t care about a relationship it is going to fall apart. Only the excuse for failure will differ.
Truth be told, even the Old Testament had a prerequisite for divorce and it sure does sound like sexual misconduct! In Deuteronomy 24:1-4 we read: “When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, 2 when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, 4 then her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the Lord, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.”
The major
objection to the sexual immorality interpretation of Deuteronomy 24:1 is,
perhaps, that adultery was punished by death rather than divorce in the Old
Testament (Leviticus 20:10). However
this was to be done if they were found in the act of committing
it: “If a
man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them
shall die” (Deuteronomy 22:22). Cf. “If a man is caught having sexual relations
with a married woman” (NET).
The man in Deuteronomy 24 may not have caught them in the
act and, even if he had, he might not want to admit it in public lest he become
a laughing stock. So in “real world”
terms divorce could easily occur for sexual misbehavior. Shall we even mention that Jesus is
attempting to teach them what was acceptable under existing Jewish
(Biblical) law rather than introducing a contradictory standard (verses 17-20)?
It Should Never
Require an Oath from Us to Assure That We Are Telling the Truth (
But there
is a profound difference between doing both of these and whether there should
be a need to do so. Should not a
person be so obviously of good character that the words are actually redundant
and needless? Encouraging just such a
high moral standard is the level of character Jesus is imploring for (verse 37).
5:37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. The bottom line was they were to give their word and keep it. If they said “yes” they would do something, then they should faithfully proceed and do it; likewise if they said “no” that they would not, they should keep to that commitment as well and not play the hypocrite and betray their commitment.
By undermining and repudiating the concept of finding “holes in an oath,” the point becomes not the rejection of taking an oath in and of itself, but the solemn commitment and obligation to completely fulfill it--both the positive and prohibitory types: If you say “yes” to do something, then you will carry it out; likewise if you decide to deny yourself something as a matter of religious commitment (say “no” to it) you will similarly avoid violating that pledge. There were no “worm holes” to escape solemn personal commitments that are being made.
In other words the underlying
thrust is to live so honorably that oaths are irrelevancies to the commitments
we make. As James
wrote, “But above all, my brethren, do not
swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes’
be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment” (
Restraint under
Provocation (
In other words, the point is self-control when provoked. When we change the subject to pacifism it makes it a lot easier for us to wiggle out of the text’s point: we seldom face the danger to being called to combat, but every one of us faces the dilemma of how to respond when we have been angered.
When Jesus
was treated this way, He protested with a demand of what He had done wrong
(John
We simply
shouldn’t even think about treating our co-religionists in such an
irresponsible manner. The apostle Paul
was well aware that there are “spongers” who will regard a shared religion as
an excuse to take advantage: “Even when we were with you,
we commanded you this: If anyone will
not work, neither shall he eat. 11 For
we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not
working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command and exhort
through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their
own bread” (2 Thessalonians 3:10-13).
To Meet the
Heavenly Ideal, Loving Behavior Must Be Extended Far Beyond Our Circle of
Friends (
In fact,
that hate and the revenge seeking it produces are improper can be seen in the
wording of the Old Testament command itself where the two approaches are
clearly contrasted: “17 ‘You shall not hate
your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor,
and not bear sin because of him. 18 You
shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your
people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 19).
The precedent for such active good will is the Father’s own behavior: He sends both sunshine and rain on both the deserving and the undeserving. The good and the unjust. And the people we deal with fall into both categories as well. Some will be admirable and others little short of fools.
Sidebar on
the reputation of tax collectors: Tax
collectors had bought the right to collect taxes and had to gain all of
that cost back plus a profit--a system called “tax farming.” “It thus
being the interest of every contractor and sub-contractor to squeeze as much as
possible from those under him, the whole system was demoralizing to all engaged
in it. In the case of
Chapter Six
Do Not Live a “Show Off” Religion in Your Charity (Matthew
6:1-4): 1 “Be careful not to display
your righteousness merely to be seen by people.
Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a
trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that
people will praise them. I tell you the
truth, they have their reward. 3 But when you do your giving,
do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your gift may be in
secret. And your Father, who sees in
secret, will reward you.” --New English
Translation (for comparison)
6:1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Some things are right in themselves, but how one does them is what brings discredit. Jesus shows this by singling out charity in particular. This is to be an occasion to help others rather than one to become the center of praise ourselves.
6:2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. We don’t know whether people literally blew a trumpet to announce they were giving money to the poor—perhaps the Lord simply singles this out as being so ludicrous that even these attention grabbers would hesitate to do it! On the other hand, they could certainly have rationalized such “showmanship:” this way the poor would know to hurry and come since gifts were being passed around!
Although precious few today would treat giving individual charity in such a conspicuous manner, we certainly have an obvious parallel when charitable institutions are being funded—think of the “cutting of the ribbon” on the doors, the abundant television cameras and interviewers, the newspaper headlines, etc . . . with the “important person” funding or creating the place basking in the public glory and attention their “charity work” has provided them. Does the motive of doing good drown in the search for personal publicity?
6:3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. In contrast with the ego-serving people in verse 2, when we give charity it is to be in such a way that it does not draw attention to ourselves: it is to be done in such a manner, so to speak, that one of our hands doesn’t know that the other hand has done anything. In other words, it is to be so much a custom or practice that even we don’t pay special attention to it. It is a way of life. A constructive lifestyle that we take for granted.
6:4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly. In “secret” is how the charity is to be given: inconspicuously and not in a manner that seeks out publicity (and praise!) or the inflation of our egos. (Or for the tax deduction either.) In other words, charity designed to help others rather than ourselves. That kind of charity the text tells us God both sees and will reward in a manner obvious to ourselves and others.
Do Not Live a “Show Off” Religion in Your Prayer (Matthew
6:5-15): 5 “Whenever you pray, do not
be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray while standing in synagogues
and on street corners so that people can see them. Truly I say to you, they have their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room, close the
door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you. 7 When you pray, do not babble repetitiously like the
Gentiles, because they think that by their many words they will be heard . 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you
need before you ask him.
9 So pray this way: Our Father in heaven, may
your name be honored,
10 may your kingdom come, may
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily
bread
12 and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our
debtors.
13 And do not lead us into
temptation, but deliver us from the evil
one.
14 “For if you forgive others
their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you. 15 But if you do not forgive
others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.” --New English
Translation (for comparison)
6:5 “And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. A person who prays to “be seen” is defined by Jesus as a “hypocrite.” Prayer is intended as a means of communication with God and not to show off our “spirituality” in front of others. When that occurs, its fundamental purpose has been distorted. Furthermore, when we become preoccupied with the human rather than Divine reaction to our words, we are tempted to give sincerity a lower priority than the manner of speaking that will impress others the most. Instead of being heart-based and heart-felt, prayer becomes superficial and a matter of how it will advance our pious image.
Note that just as the ego-building charity givers in the previous section, these also “have their reward.” In the Greek that means they have their reward now. In other words the praise and recognition they receive from others is all they are going to be benefited. It won’t do a bit of good with God.
6:6 But you, when you pray, go into your
room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in
the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will
reward you openly. This is an
excellent example of how we must not place on a passage an interpretation that
flies in the face of what other passages teach but must look for the central
point being made. Jesus, for
example, prayed in
Hence the point is that mentally our prayer is to be viewed as a private communication with Deity: a one-on-one conversation. Even when we know that others are joining in with us in group prayer it also expresses our genuine internal convictions and emotions. Even in those public contexts, it is not prayed to impress them but to communicate with the heavenly Father in a way both we and others present can understand and say “amen” to.
6:7 And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. “Vain repetitions” are given two characteristics in this verse. They are self-defined as inherently useless, “vain;” in other words they are simply rote repetitions with no real sincerity. They are verbal “repeat buttons.” The problem lies not in the repetition per se but in the fact that they have become emptied of any spiritual significance. They are simply something to be said in a prescribed manner and nothing more. ESV renders it “empty phrases;” NET speaks of “babble repetitiously.”
Secondly, they are defined as containing “many words.” Like a member of Congress trying to filibuster its members into acquiescence with their own legislative purpose. The usefulness of prayer is not determined by its length but by its motive and contents. “Filibustering” God is not going to get anyone anywhere.
Sidebar: The apocryphal book of Sirach
provides a useful version of this point, “Do not prattle in the assembly of the elders, nor
repeat yourself in your prayer” (
6:8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In a very real sense prayer informs God of nothing: our text tells us that He already recognizes the things we truly “have need of” before we say a word. What then is the value of prayer? For one thing, it shows that we recognize that we can’t obtain solutions to many problems and dilemmas without assistance. We can take things so far but beyond that point, Divine help is required. In other words, it is a humble recognition of our own limitations.
6:9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, / Hallowed be Your name. God’s name is to be “hallowed:” reverenced, respected. Here’s something for one to meditate upon: If we use God’s name as part of a curse are we showing respect for it or are we demeaning it? Are we using it to express piety or to express rage? Are we using it in a positive manner or as if we were trying to invoke it as a divine curse--as the ancients did in imploring their gods to strike dead their foes?
And God has revealed those laws
through His Son: “He who rejects Me, and does
not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken
will judge him in the last day. For I
have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a
command, what I should say and what I should speak” (John
If the people of God decline to observe Jesus’ laws and teachings, then how can they claim to be a part of the Divine kingdom and hope to make that kingdom an earthly reality in all its purity and idealism? Especially if they--in their human arrogance--dismiss His teachings as not reflecting the more “mature” and “developed” insights that we have supposedly gained in regard to sexual behavior and other subjects.
If we meet it, we have the promise of Divine forgiveness for our own lapses; if we don’t, well this verse doesn’t actually tell us—directly. But is this not a fine case where necessary inference leaves only one answer? If it’s not “no,” then what special value would be attached to forgiving others since those who don’t would receive the same reward as those who do? As if to wipe out even the possibility of a deluded soul thinking that there could be any other answer, Jesus immediately adds what is in the next verse.
Picture forgiveness as a row
of people holding hands: If you won’t
hold the hand of the person next to you--forgive the individual’s sins whatever
they may be—the person next to you has every reason not to reach out and
embrace your hand and forgive you either.
Except, in this case, the person not reaching out and helping you has no
need of anyone’s forgiveness and is, instead, moral perfection embodied—God the
Father. His “helping hand” is the
most needed of all.
Do Not Live a
“Show Off” Religion in Your Fasting (Matthew
Sidebar: Isaiah vigorously ridiculed similar people in his own day. In that case they were going through impressive external displays of fasting while what they really needed to be doing was engage in spiritual fasting by abstaining from the evils they would normally do . . . and by doing good for the helpless whom they would ordinarily ignore (Isaiah 58:3-10)
Setting the Right
Priorities: Serving God First and Not
Self-Advancement (Matthew
22 “The eye is the lamp of the
body. If then your eye is healthy,
your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is
diseased, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how
great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two
masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be
devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
--New English Translation (for comparison)
When Luke quotes Jesus on this theme, He speaks in particular of how our good works prepare for us future blessings in heaven: “32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12).
And, worst of all, we don’t recognize our true state. In ancient times, Seneca spoke of a deeply intellectually challenged slave on his household staff who had quickly gone blind: “Now, incredible as the story seems, it is really true that she is unconscious of her blindness, and consequently begs her attendant to go elsewhere because the house is dark. But you may be sure that this, at which we laugh in her, happens to us all; no one understands that he is avaricious or covetous. The blind seek for a guide; we wander about without a guide.” (Vincent’s Word Studies)
It is simply impossible to fully serve both God and the interest of getting richer simultaneously. Jesus tells us one of them is going to land up being loved and the other hated. Often it is God for earthly wealth “lets” us do anything without restriction; in contrast, God dares to say “no” to some of those desires and goals. Even ones our culture insists are now quite acceptable even though they were once regarded as the height of depravity.
Anxiety Solves
Nothing—So Trust in God! (Matthew
6:25-34): 25 “Therefore I tell you, do
not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what
you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than
clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the
sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Aren’t you more valuable than they are? 27 And which of you by
worrying can add even one hour to his life?
28 Why do you worry about
clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or
spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not
even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 30 And if this is how God
clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the
fire to heat the oven, won’t he clothe you even more, you people of little
faith?
31 So then, don’t worry
saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we
wear?’ 32 For the unconverted pursue
these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But above all pursue his
kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well. 34 So then, do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Today has enough trouble of its own.”
--New English Translation (for comparison)
Aside: Both Job 38:41 and
Psalms 147:9 refer to how God provides for such creatures. A rabbinic adage that touches on this: “Rabbi
Simeon ben Eliezer used to say,
Hast thou ever seen beast or bird that had a
trade? Yet are they fed without
anxiety.” (Pulpit Commentary)
Sidebar: The underlying Greek can easily be rendered
with a different image that makes the same point and most translations now
prefer it--“And which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour to his span of life?”
6:28-29 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If God makes the flowers so beautiful that they seem to surpass even the glory of wealthy Solomon--who could attire himself in the best clothes money could buy in antiquity--He surely has the capacity to provide for us as well!
You might call this an argument “from least to least.” When we become depressed we look upon ourselves as having “fallen” as low as one can. On the physical level there isn’t much less important than mere lilies. Yet even if our self-evaluation is right, if God cares so much for the least of the physical creation surely He will do the same for the least of His human creation as well!
6:30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Here Jesus shifts his argument to one from the lesser to the greater. If God is so concerned with the seemingly least important things of the temporal world--the grass that would be burned for oven fuel in that ancient society--surely He has far more interest in a human being, who is intended to live on and on. In this life not to mention the next.
Although
Jesus has been directly cautioning against needless anxiety, there is also a
spiritual point that He wants to make crystal clear in the following
verses: Our attitude on this matter
reflects the degree and intensity of our faith.
Preoccupation, obsession with possessions and earthly well being
manifests “little faith,” He insists. We
claim we cherish our faith, but if “in the pinch” it virtually
disappears, we have far too little of it.
He doesn’t deny that in a sense it’s understandable--for some folk: there are many whose resources are far too close to the survival line. Even there God will perpetually be concerned since there are so few humans who will be.
But the despair and frustration Jesus describes is just as likely to happen to those who are surprisingly well off but are horrified that their foreign food delicacy has not arrived (“what shall we eat?”) or that their connoisseur’s rare wine is no available (“what shall we drink?”) or that their prestige designer’s clothes are temporarily unavailable (“what shall we wear?”) If this were true of the prosperous Jew, it was even more so of the presumably prosperous Gentiles that He invokes in the next verse . . . for as polytheists they would not have true spiritual concerns in mind in the first place and have only the things of this world to dwell on.
Sidebar on
“for after all these things the Gentiles seek:” Actually the Greek carries with it the
idea of an obsession with them. Hence we
find such translations as “eagerly seek” (Holman, NASB), “run after” (NIV),
“pursue” (NET).
Sidebar: In different words, the apostle Paul taught
the same thing: “6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to
God; 7 and the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4).
Similarly the apostle Peter urged his readers that they should be “casting all your care [anxiety, NIV; the whole of your
anxiety,
Chapter Seven
Judge Others by the Same Standard You Apply to Yourself (Matthew
7:1-6): 1 “Do not judge so that you
will not be judged. 2 For by the standard you
judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you
receive. 3 Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but
fail to see the beam of wood in your own?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove
the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite!
First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to
remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
6 Do not give what is holy to
dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under
their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.” --New English Translation (for comparison)
7:1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. In other words, the person whose life is characterized by censoriousness, condemning, criticizing, stressing at great length the minutest weakness of others--the person who is going to put the worst possible interpretation on anything and everything. If you are going to “judge” in that sense it is going to come home on you.
Even more
so if you are doing the same things you are condemning: “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are
who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who
judge practice the same things. . . . And do you think this, O man,
you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will
escape the judgment of God?” (Romans 2:1, 3).
Judging in
the sense of making the distinction between “right and wrong” is not
under consideration, but even there one must be sure that the scriptures really
do condemn the behavior and that we aren’t “making a mountain out of a
molehill.” Although it is fully true
that an overworked imagination can turn any evil into a virtue, the reverse is
sadly true as well: mental exaggerations
can turn virtually any and everything that is morally neutral--neither inherently good or bad--into an evil
act. Judge others with the same sternness
and generosity of mind that you wish to be judged yourself.
. . for you will be, as Jesus now warns. . . .
7:2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. That same ruthlessness as you have used upon others. You who would never accept the possibility that there was a totally innocent explanation are going to find yourself in a situation where your own motives and actions are going to be totally misread as well.
7:3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? By citing this example Jesus shows that He does not have in mind just “judging” others in the sense of criticizing or condemning. Jesus Himself criticized others--the scribes and Pharisees in particular. In the previous chapter He had repeatedly “judged” and rejected faulty interpretations of scripture: people had accepted the prohibitions of various texts while embracing behavior that was also bad but did not come under those passages’ direct condemnation. This is “judging,” but a very different qualitative kind of judging.
Here evil “judging” is illustrated by the case of criticizing others for their behavior when ours is actually worse. They may or may not be doing right but what we are doing is far worse. Hence--comparatively-- they have a mere “speck” in their eye; compared to them, we have a “plank” in ours! For example, the preacher who criticizes you for not coming to church regularly while he is spending part of his salary on having an affair. His ability to make moral and spiritual judgments is, to put it kindly, seriously compromised. (And let us not forget about hypocrisy.)
7:4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Jesus appeals to their common sense and the inbuilt logic of moral propriety: there is just something inherently absurd in trying to act as a moral improver of others’ lives when we are actually living far worse than they are. We are acting far more extreme than they, but we have the arrogance to claim that we can improve their conduct by removing that small, troublesome “speck.”
Sidebar on
the terms used: “[Beam:] A log, joist, rafter;
indicating a great fault. . . . The word
mote [KJV; speck, NKJV] . . . suggests dust; whereas the figure is that of a
minute chip or splinter, of the same material with the beam. . . . In explaining the passage it is well to
remember that the obstruction to sight is of the same material in both
cases. The man with a great beam in his
eye, who therefore can see nothing accurately, proposes to remove the little
splinter from his brother's eye, a delicate operation, requiring clear
sight!” (Vincent’s Word Studies)
7:5 Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. If you really want everyone to live right, you must be able to make helpful moral and ethical judgments of yourself as well. That means you must have good spiritual and moral vision—the “cataracts” on your own sight must be removed. And until you get rid of those worst faults, you aren’t in a position to help remove the “obscurities” and “tiny points” of wrong behavior that bother them. Hence if you are violating blatant prohibitions, cut some slack for those whose difficulties are milder and less severe. And before “helping” them, apply your intellect to the solution of your own worse problems.
7:6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces. Some people will simply not listen to anything about Jesus’ moral and religious demands and to seriously endanger yourself by pressing the message on them makes as much sense as throwing pearls to pigs: They will put no value on them and could easily harm you as well.
Example: I once met a lady who decided that she had to go into a bar to “witness” for Jesus. She eventually got out of the hospital. People half or more drunk aren’t in a mind frame to consider what you have to say. She hadn’t been torn to pieces like in the parable, but she did have broken bones that took a good while to heal. Wisdom and prudence is to accompany spiritual dedication.
Sidebar: The Old Testament also recognized the need
for wisdom who you share the truth with and under what circumstances: “He who corrects a scoffer [mocker, NET, NIV; worthless
bragger, CEV] gets shame for himself, and he who
rebukes a wicked man only harms himself” (Proverbs 9:7). “Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will
despise the wisdom of your words” (Proverbs 23:9) “A scoffer does not love one
who corrects him ‘Mockers resent correction, NIV], nor will he go to the wise”
(Proverbs 15:12).
Since God Will
Treat You Generously, You Should Treat Others Fairly
and Justly as Well (Matthew 7:7-12): 7 “Ask and it will be given to
you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives,
and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be
opened.
9 Is there anyone among you
who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish,
will give him a snake? 11 If you then, although you
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
12 In everything, treat others
as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the
prophets.” --New English
Translation (for comparison)
7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Beginning in this verse Jesus shifts to the subject of prayer. One of the fundamental concepts of God presented in the New Testament is His willingness to answer our requests. Perhaps an earthly analogy would be useful: To “answer” the telephone you must first have someone calling you on the phone. Likewise if we expect God to “answer” our prayer we must first “ask” in prayer. Hence the emphasis on this logical beginning point for teaching on the subject.
7:8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. The unavoidable prerequisite of being given something is to ask for it. The unavoidable prerequisite to finding something is to look for it. The unavoidable prerequisite to having the door answered is to knock on it. In a similar vein, if you want any realistic possibility of prayer being answered, you have to “ask”—tell God what you seek, “seek” it through repeated prayer, and “knocking” on the door of heaven (so to speak) by yet further prayer.
Jesus is not dealing here with the exceptions to when prayer will be left “unanswered” (though, strictly speaking, “no” is itself an answer). He is dealing in generalization--the broad rule or pattern. God will answer prayer. If there wasn’t that confidence, why would one pray in the first place?
7:9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? In the ancient world, certain rocks looked like the large round shaped loaf of baked bread that was widely eaten. But no father was going to substitute the look alike rock for the bread itself. If he did we would consider him debased, insane, or drunk. His character would be fatally flawed. He would be acting out of the basest irresponsibility.
He gives what the son both asks for and that which is truly needed. He doesn’t substitute something inferior or even outright dangerous as the Lord mentions next. . . .
Sidebar: The Golden Rule is really an application of
the Torah’s demand that one love one’s neighbor as oneself (Leviticus
Similarly
other commands also lay the groundwork to make the teaching that Jesus
does: to love kindness to others (“to do
justly, to love mercy,” Micah 6:8) and the flip side of that, not do
injustice to others (“has not oppressed anyone;” has only “executed true
judgment between man and man,” Ezekiel 18:7-8).
Salvation Is
Available Only to Those of Good Character and Who Obey the Lord Jesus (
15 “Watch out for false
prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious
wolves. 16 You will recognize them by
their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are
they? 17 In the same way, every good
tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree is not able to
bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will recognize
them by their fruit.
21 “Not everyone who says to
me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven—only the one who does
the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day, many will say
to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out
demons and do many powerful deeds?’ 23 Then I will declare to
them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ ” --New English Translation (for comparison)
Sidebar: Some argue that “destruction” means that in
eternity they are annihilated, i.e., cease to exist. “So far as
they go, the word implies, not annihilation, but waste ([as in its usage of
wine diverted to a perceived inferior usage:] Matthew 26:8; Mark 14:4). . .
. [Furthermore,] ‘life’
is more than mere existence.
‘Destruction,’ by parity of reasoning, should be more than mere
non-existence. On the other hand, the
fact of the waste, the loss, the perdition, does not absolutely exclude the
possibility of deliverance. The lost
sheep was found; the exiled son, perishing with
hunger, was brought back to his father’s house.” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers)
One characteristic such people have, argues Jesus, are the moral weaknesses they have not removed: they are like hungry wolves needing to be fed. That description suggests they are preoccupied with using their position for their own personal benefit. Real or imagined prophetic ability becomes cherished not as a tool to help others but to further one’s own interests--be it financial or egotistic.
Substitute “preachers” and “priests” and “evangelists” and whatever other position of religious leadership you prefer and you easily see the application for today.
How in the world then will we “harvest” good from their doctrine if they have so fundamentally bent their own character? So, Jesus warns, they are the wrong “source” to go to in our search for spiritual truth.
7:17-18 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. In these two verses the idea is that you can not rationalize your way around such behavior. The evil genius of Russian religion before the Bolshevik Revolution was Rasputin. He believed that to be truly full of Divine grace you must first have deeply and thoroughly sinned--and continue to do so. Hence the more sin he did, the more he was forgiven, and the more grace he was blessed by!
People rarely put the concept that crudely, but something along that line is required if one is to knowingly do evil while claiming that one is “truly” good in the heart. Jesus repudiates that kind of thinking: what your behavior is, that represents your true character.
This illustrates the repudiation of the tree--the judgment that it is so worthless that it is not deserving of further preservation. It is not only not preserved, but it is the subject of outright rejection and punishment.
Sidebar: In a similar manner John the Baptist had
warned, “His winnowing fan is in His
hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His
wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire”
(Matthew 3:12).
Sidebar: Jesus presents Himself not as a mere teacher
but also the ultimate judge of the human race as well--“No part of the Sermon on the Mount is more marvelous in its claims
than this; to those who see in Christ only a human Teacher with a higher
morality than Hillel or Seneca, none more utterly
incomprehensible. At the commencement of
His ministry, in a discourse which, though it is spoken in the tone of
authority, gives no prominence to His mission as the Messiah, He yet claims,
with the calmness of assured conviction, to be the Judge before whom the
faithful and the hypocrites will alike have to give an account. In ‘that day’ (the words, though they would
not suggest, as afterwards, the thought of His own advent, would yet carry the
minds of men to the ‘great and dreadful day’ of Malachi 4:5) the words ‘Lord,
Lord,’ would mean more than the expression of human courtesy.” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers) They would suggest Deityship
and the ultimate authority that automatically goes with it.
But it’s actually far worse than even that: “I never knew you.” They have cultivated the delusion that they are His faithful servants when really they never had anything to do with Him in the first place--that is, with the real Jesus and His real teachings. They may well have had loyalty to the imaginary Jesus they reshaped in their minds, altering and mutilating His genuine character and characteristics. They may well have had loyalty to the imaginary teachings of that Jesus which had been changed and reshaped from what He actually said and intended. But that Jesus never existed. The one they face in Divine judgment is the real one.
Because Salvation
Is Available Only Through Faithfulness to the Lord, One Must “Build” One’s Life
on the Solid Rock of His Teaching (
28 When Jesus finished saying
these things, the crowds were amazed by his teaching, 29 because he taught them like
one who had authority, not like their experts in the law. --New English Translation (for comparison)
You can’t play one off against the other. And that is quite natural: “Now they have known that all things which You have given Me are from You. For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me.” (John 17:7-8).
That person is as foolish as one who builds on top of the sand where there is nothing to keep the house firmly rooted in time of bad weather. The building may look impressive and it was surely easier—and less expensive of money and time—to do it that way. But the result is humiliation and disaster when serious difficulties arrive.
Hence Jesus is describing the kind of person who might--at the most generous--be called the “superficial believer.” That individual is there on Sunday (at least sometimes) but nothing that has been heard or seen has been permitted to have the life-altering impact on behavior that it was designed to have.
7:28-29 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. People might be “astonished” (amazed) at a person’s teaching for many reasons, both good and bad. Here (verse 29) it is because Jesus taught them like one who had “authority” and that is contrasted with the teaching of the scribes.
Rabbinical style teaching (and presumably that of the scribes) was that of appealing to past rabbis. Jesus did not do that. He laid out the truth for His listeners and challenged them to evaluate its credibility, its reasonableness, its conformity with what the scriptures had taught. He did not “hide” behind what others had to say. And if He differed with contemporaries, He laid it out directly and to the point.