The Sermon on the Mount.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter
into the kingdom of heaven.
Those to whom Christ preached, and for whose use he gave these instructions
to his disciples, were such as in their religion had an eye, 1. To the
scriptures of the Old Testament as their rule, and therein Christ here
shows them they were in the right: 2. To the scribes and the Pharisees
as their example, and therein Christ here shows them they were in the wrong;
for,...
II. The righteousness which Christ came to establish by this rule, must
exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, v. 20. This was strange doctrine
to those who looked upon the scribes and Pharisees as having arrived at
the highest pitch of religion. The scribes were the most noted teachers
of the law, and the Pharisees the most celebrated professors of it, and
they both sat in Moses' chair (ch. xxiii. 2), and had such a reputation
among the people, that they were looked upon as super-conformable to the
law, and people did not think themselves obliged to be as good as they;
it was therefore a great surprise to them, to hear that they must be better
than they, or they should not go to heaven; and therefore Christ here avers
it with solemnity; I say unto you, It is so. The scribes and Pharisees
were enemies to Christ and his doctrine, and were great oppressors; and
yet it must be owned, that there was something commendable in them. They
were much in fasting and prayer, and giving of alms; they were punctual
in observing the ceremonial appointments, and made it their business to
teach others; they had such an interest in the people that they ought,
if but two men went to heaven, one would be a Pharisee; and yet our Lord
Jesus here tells his disciples, that the religion he came to establish,
did not only exclude the badness, but excel the goodness, of the scribes
and Pharisees. We must do more than they, and better than they, or we shall
come short of heaven. They were partial in the law, and laid most stress
upon the ritual part of it; but we must be universal, and not think it
enough to give the priest his tithe, but must give God our hearts. They
minded only the outside, but we must make conscience of inside godliness.
They aimed at the praise and applause of men, but we must aim at acceptance
with God: they were proud of what they did in religion, and trusted to
it as a righteousness; but we, when we have done all, must deny ourselves,
and say, We are unprofitable servants, and trust only to the righteousness
of Christ; and thus we may go beyond the scribes and Pharisees.
The Sermon on the Mount.
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt
not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without
a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to
his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall
say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if thou bring
thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought
against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way;
first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25
Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him;
lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge
deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I
say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid
the uttermost farthing.
Christ having laid down these principles, that Moses and the prophets
were still to be their rulers, but that the scribes and Pharisees were
to be no longer their rulers, proceeds to expound the law in some particular
instances, and to vindicate it from the corrupt glosses which those expositors
had put upon it. He adds not any thing new, only limits and restrains some
permissions which had been abused: and as to the precepts, shows the breadth,
strictness, and spiritual nature of them, adding such explanatory statutes
as made them more clear, and tended much toward the perfecting of our obedience
to them. In these verses, he explains the law of the sixth commandment,
according to the true intent and full extent of it.
I. Here is the command itself laid down (v. 12); We have heard it, and
remember it; he speaks to them who know the law, who had Moses read to
them in their synagogues every sabbath-day; you have heard that it was
said by them, or rather as it is in the margin, to them of old time, to
your forefathers the Jews, Thou shalt not kill. Note, The laws of God are
not novel, upstart laws, but were delivered to them of old time; they are
ancient laws, but of that nature as never to be antiquated nor grow obsolete.
The moral law agrees with the law of nature, and the eternal rules and
reasons of good and evil, that is, the rectitude of the eternal Mind. Killing
is here forbidden, killing ourselves, killing any other, directly or indirectly,
or being any way accessory to it. The law of God, the God of life, is a
hedge of protection about our lives. It was one of the precepts of Noah,
Gen. ix. 5, 6.
II. The exposition of this command which the Jewish teachers contended
themselves with; their comment upon it was, Whosoever shall kill, shall
be in danger of the judgment. This was all they had to say upon it, that
wilful murderers were liable to the sword of justice, and casual ones to
the judgment of the city of refuge. The courts of judgment sat in the gate
of their principal cities; the judges, ordinarily, were in number twenty-three;
these tried, condemned, and executed murderers; so that whoever killed,
was in danger of their judgment. Now this gloss of theirs upon this commandment
was faulty, for it intimated, 1. That the law of the sixth commandment
was only external, and forbade no more than the act of murder, and laid
to restraint upon the inward lusts, from which wars and fightings come.
This was indeed the proton pseudos--the fundamental error of the Jewish
teachers, that the divine law prohibited only the sinful act, not the sinful
thought; they were disposed hærere in cortice--to rest in the letter
of the law, and they never enquired into the spiritual meaning of it. Paul,
while a Pharisee, did not, till, by the key of the tenth commandment, divine
grace let him into the knowledge of the spiritual nature of all the rest,
Rom. vii. 7, 14. 2. Another mistake of theirs was, that this law was merely
political and municipal, given for them, and intended as a directory for
their courts, and no more; as if they only were the people, and the wisdom
of the law must die with them.
III. The exposition which Christ gave of this commandment; and we are
sure that according to his exposition of it we must be judged hereafter,
and therefore ought to be ruled now. The commandment is exceeding broad,
and not to be limited by the will of the flesh, or the will of men.
1. Christ tells them that rash anger is heart-murder (v. 22); Whosoever
is angry with his brother without a cause, breaks the sixth commandment.
By our brother here, we are to understand any person, though ever so much
our inferior, as a child, a servant, for we are all made of one blood.
Anger is a natural passion; there are cases in which it is lawful and laudable;
but it is then sinful, when we are angry without cause. The word is eike,
which signifies, sine causâ, sine effectu, et sine modo--without
cause, without any good effect, without moderation; so that the anger is
then sinful, (1.) When it is without any just provocation given; either
for no cause, or no good cause, or no great and proportionable cause; when
we are angry at children or servants for that which could not be helped,
which was only a piece of forgetfulness or mistake, that we ourselves might
easily have been guilty of, and for which we should not have been angry
at ourselves; when we are angry upon groundless surmises, or for trivial
affronts not worth speaking of. (2.) When it is without any good end aimed
at, merely to show our authority, to gratify a brutish passion, to let
people know our resentments, and excite ourselves to revenge, then it is
in vain, it is to do hurt; whereas if we are at any time angry, it should
be to awaken the offender to repentance, and prevent his doing so again;
to clear ourselves (2 Cor. vii. 11), and to give warning to others. (3.)
When it exceeds due bounds; when we are hardy and headstrong in our anger,
violent and vehement, outrageous and mischievous, and when we seek the
hurt of those we are displeased at. This is a breach of the sixth commandment,
for he that is thus angry, would kill if he could and durst; he has taken
the first step toward it; Cain's killing his brother began in anger; he
is a murderer in the account of God, who knows his heart, whence murder
proceeds, ch. xv. 19.
2. He tells them, that given opprobrious language to our brother is
tongue-murder, calling him, Raca, and, Thou fool. When this is done with
mildness and for a good end, to convince others of their vanity and folly,
it is not sinful. Thus James says, O vain man; and Paul, Thou fool; and
Christ himself, O fools, and slow of heart. But when it proceeds from anger
and malice within, it is the smoke of that fire which is kindled from hell,
and falls under the same character. (1.) Raca is a scornful word, and comes
from pride, "Thou empty fellow;" it is the language of that which Solomon
calls proud wrath (Prov. xxi. 24), which tramples upon our brother-disdains
to set him even with the dogs of our flock. This people who knoweth not
the law, is cursed, is such language, John vii. 49. (2.) Thou fool, is
a spiteful word, and comes from hatred; looking upon him, not only as mean
and not to be honoured, but as vile and not to be loved; "Thou wicked man,
thou reprobate." The former speaks a man without sense, this (in scripture
language) speaks a man without grace; the more the reproach touches his
spiritual condition, the worse it is; the former is a haughty taunting
of our brother, this is a malicious censuring and condemning of him, as
abandoned of God. Now this is a breach of the sixth commandment; malicious
slanders and censures are poison under the tongue, that kills secretly
and slowly; bitter words are as arrows that would suddenly (Ps. lxiv. 3),
or as a sword in the bones. The good name of our neighbour, which is better
than life, is thereby stabbed and murdered; and it is an evidence of such
an ill-will to our neighbour as would strike at his life, if it were in
our power.
3. He tells them, that how light soever they made of these sins, they
would certainly be reckoned for; he that is angry with is brother shall
be in danger of the judgment and anger of God; he that calls him Raca,
shall be in danger of the council, of being punished by the Sanhedrim for
reviling an Israelite; but whosoever saith, Thou fool, thou profane person,
thou child of hell, shall be in danger of hell-fire, to which he condemns
his brother; so the learned Dr. Whitby. Some think, in allusion to the
penalties used in the several courts of judgment among the Jews, Christ
shows that the sin of rash anger exposes men to lower or higher punishments,
according to the degrees of its proceeding. The Jews had three capital
punishments, each worse than the other; beheading, which was inflicted
by the judgment; stoning, by the council or chief Sanhedrim; and burning
in the valley of the son of Hinnom, which was used only in extraordinary
cases: it signifies, therefore, that rash anger and reproachful language
are damning sins; but some are more sinful than others, and accordingly
there is a greater damnation, and a sorer punishment reserved for them:
Christ would thus show which sin was most sinful, by showing which it was
the punishment whereof was most dreadful.
IV. From all this it is here inferred, that we ought carefully to preserve
Christian love and peace with our brethren, and that if at any time a breach
happens, we should labour for a reconciliation, by confessing our fault,
humbling ourselves to our brother, begging his pardon, and making restitution,
or offering satisfaction for wrong done in word or deed, according as the
nature of the thing is; and that we should do this quickly for two reasons:
1. Because, till this be done, we are utterly unfit for communion with
God in holy ordinances, v. 23, 24. The case supposed is, "That thy brother
have somewhat against thee," that thou has injured and offended him, either
really or in his apprehension; if thou are the party offended, there needs
not this delay; if thou have aught against thy brother, make short work
of it; no more is to be done but to forgive him (Mark xi. 25), and forgive
the injury; but if the quarrel began on thy side, and the fault was either
at first or afterwards thine, so that thy brother has a controversy with
thee, go and be reconciled to him before thou offer thy gift at the altar,
before thou approach solemnly to God in the gospel-services of prayer and
praise, hearing the word or the sacraments. Note, (1.) When we are addressing
ourselves to any religious exercises, it is good for us to take that occasion
of serious reflection and self-examination: there are many things to be
remembered, when we bring our gift to the altar, and this among the rest,
whether our brother hath aught against us; then, if ever, we are disposed
to be serious, and therefore should then call ourselves to an account.
(2.) Religious exercises are not acceptable to God, if they are performed
when we are in wrath; envy, malice, and uncharitableness, are sins so displeasing
to God, that nothing pleases him which comes from a heart wherein they
are predominant, 1 Tim. ii. 8. Prayers made in wrath are written in gall,
Isa. i. 15; lviii. 4. (3.) Love or charity is so much better than all burnt-offerings
and sacrifice, that God will have reconciliation made with an offended
brother before the gift be offered; he is content to stay for the gift,
rather than have it offered while we are under guilt and engaged in a quarrel.
(4.) Though we are unfitted for communion with God, by a continual quarrel
with a brother, yet that can be no excuse for the omission or neglect of
our duty: "Leave there thy gift before the altar, lest otherwise, when
thou has gone away, thou be tempted not to come again." Many give this
as a reason why they do not come to church or to the communion, because
they are at variance with some neighbour; and whose fault is that? One
sin will never excuse another, but will rather double the guilt. Want of
charity cannot justify the want of piety. The difficulty is easily got
over; those who have wronged us, we must forgive; and those whom we have
wronged, we must make satisfaction to, or at least make a tender of it,
and desire a renewal of the friendship, so that if reconciliation be not
made, it may not be our fault; and then come, come and welcome, come and
offer thy gift, and it shall be accepted. Therefore we must not let the
sun go down upon our wrath any day, because we must go to prayer before
we go to sleep; much less let the sun rise upon our wrath on a sabbath-day,
because it is a day of prayer.
2. Because, till this be done, we lie exposed to much danger, v. 25,
26. It is at our peril if we do not labour after an agreement, and that
quickly, upon two accounts:
(1.) Upon a temporal account. If the offence we have done to our brother,
in his body, goods, or reputation, be such as will bear action, in which
he may recover considerable damages, it is our wisdom, and it is our duty
to our family, to prevent that by a humble submission and a just and peaceable
satisfaction; lest otherwise he recover it by law, and put us to the extremity
of a prison. In such a case it is better to compound and make the best
terms we can, than to stand it out; for it is in vain to contend with the
law, and there is danger of our being crushed by it. Many ruin their estates
by an obstinate persisting in the offences they have given, which would
soon have been pacified by a little yielding at first. Solomon's advice
in case of suretyship is, Go, humble thyself, and so secure and deliver
thyself, Prov. vi. 1-5. It is good to agree, for the law is costly. Though
we must be merciful to those we have advantage against, yet we must be
just to those that have advantage against us, as far as we are able. "Agree,
and compound with thine adversary quickly, lest he be exasperated by thy
stubbornness, and provoked to insist upon the utmost demand, and will not
make thee the abatement which at first he would have made." A prison is
an uncomfortable place to those who are brought to it by their own pride
and prodigality, their own wilfulness and folly.
(2.) Upon a spiritual account. "Go, and be reconciled to thy brother,
be just to him, be friendly with him, because while the quarrel continues,
as thou art unfit to bring thy gift to the altar, unfit to come to the
table of the Lord, so thou art unfit to die: if thou persist in this sin,
there is danger lest thou be suddenly snatched away by the wrath of God,
whose judgment thou canst not escape nor except against; and if that iniquity
be laid to thy charge, thou art undone for ever." Hell is a prison for
all that live and die in malice and uncharitableness, for all that are
contentious (Rom. ii. 8), and out of that prison there is no rescue, no
redemption, no escape, to eternity.
This is very applicable to the great business of our reconciliation
to God through Christ; Agree with him quickly, whilst thou art in the way.
Note, [1.] The great God is an Adversary to all sinners, Antidikos--a law-adversary;
he has a controversy with them, an action against them. [2.] It is our
concern to agree with him, to acquaint ourselves with him, that we may
be at peace, Job xxii. 21; 2 Cor. v. 20. [3.] It is our wisdom to do this
quickly, while we are in the way. While we are alive, we are in the way;
after death, it will be too late to do it; therefore give not sleep to
thine eyes till it be done. [4.] They who continue in a state of enmity
to God, are continually exposed to the arrests of his justice, and the
most dreadful instances of his wrath. Christ is the Judge, to whom impenitent
sinners will be delivered; for all judgment is committed to the Son; he
that was rejected as a Saviour, cannot be escaped as a Judge, Rev. vi.
16, 17. It is a fearful thing to be thus turned over to the Lord Jesus,
when the Lamb shall become the Lion. Angels are the officers to whom Christ
will deliver them (ch. xiii. 41, 42); devils are so too, having the power
of death as executioners to all unbelievers, Heb. ii. 14. Hell is the prison,
into which those will be cast that continue in a state of enmity to God,
2 Pet. ii. 4. [5.] Damned sinners must remain in it to eternity; they shall
not depart till they have paid the uttermost farthing, and that will not
be to the utmost ages of eternity: divine justice will be for ever in the
satisfying, but never satisfied.
