3155. The Beatitudes

om oA Sermon Published On Thursday, July 29, 1909.

And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was seated his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all kinds of evil Against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be very glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets which were before you.” {Mt 5:1-12} {a}

For other sermons on this text:

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3155, “Beatitudes, The” 3156}

   {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3156, “First Beatitude, The” 3157}

   Exposition on Mt 5:1-12 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3065, “Third Beatitude, The” 3066 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Mt 5:1-30 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3155, “Beatitudes, The” 3156 @@ "Exposition"}

   Exposition on Ps 149 Mt 5:1-12 {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2508, “Beautiful For Ever” 2509 @@ "Exposition"}

   {See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Mt 5:5"}

   {See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Mt 5:6"}

   {See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Mt 5:7"}

   {See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Mt 5:8"}

   {See Spurgeon_SermonTexts "Mt 5:9"}

1. One enjoys a sermon all the better for knowing something about the preacher. It is natural that, like John in Patmos, we should turn to see the voice which spoke to us. Turn here then, and learn that the Christ of God is the Preacher of the Sermon on the mount. He who delivered the Beatitudes was not only the Prince of preachers, but he was beyond all others qualified to discourse on the subject which he had chosen. Jesus the Saviour was best able to answer the question, “Who are the saved?” Being himself the ever-blessed Son of God, and the channel of blessings, he was best able to inform us who are indeed the blessed by the Father. As Judge, it will be his office to separate the blessed from the accursed at the last, and therefore it is most appropriate that in gospel majesty he should declare the principle of that judgment, so that all men may be forewarned.

2. Do not fall into the mistake of supposing that the opening verses of the Sermon on the mount describe how we are to be saved, or you may cause your soul to stumble. You will find the fullest light on that matter in other parts of our Lord’s teaching, but here he discourses on the question, “Who are the saved?” or, “What are the signs and evidences of a work of grace in the soul?” Who should know the saved so well as the Saviour does? The shepherd best discerns his own sheep, and only the Lord himself knows infallibly those who are his. We may regard the characteristics of the blessed ones given here as being the best witness of truth, for they are given by him who cannot err, who cannot be deceived, and who, as their Redeemer, knows his own. The Beatitudes derive much of their weight from the wisdom and glory of him who pronounced them; and, therefore, at the outset your attention is called to it. Lange says that “man is the mouth of creation, and Jesus is the mouth of humanity”; but we prefer, in this place, to think of Jesus as the mouth of Deity, and to receive his every word as clothed with infinite power.

3. The occasion for this sermon is noteworthy; it was delivered when our Lord is described as “seeing the multitudes.” He waited until the congregation around him had reached its largest size, and was most impressed with his miracles, and then he took the tide at its flood, as every wise man should. The sight of a vast concourse of people ought always to move us to pity, for it represents a mass of ignorance, sorrow, sin, and needs far too great for us to estimate. The Saviour looked over the people with an omniscient eye, which saw all their sad condition; he saw the multitudes in an emphatic sense, and his soul was stirred within him at the sight. His was not the transient tear of Xerxes when he thought on the death of his armed myriads, but it was practical sympathy with the hosts of mankind. No one cared for them, they were like sheep without a shepherd, or like over-ripe stocks of wheat ready to drop their kernels for lack of harvest men to gather them in. Jesus therefore rushed to the rescue. He notices, no doubt, with pleasure, the eagerness of the crowd to hear, and this drew him on to speak. A writer quoted in the “Catena Aurea” has well said, “Every man in his own trade or profession rejoices when he sees an opportunity of exercising it; the carpenter, if he sees a good tree, desires to have it felled, so that, he may employ his skill on it; and even so the preacher, when he sees a large congregation, his heart rejoices, and he is glad of the occasion to teach.” If men become negligent of hearing, and our audience dwindles down to a handful, it will be a great distress to us if we have to remember that, when the many were anxious to hear, we were not diligent to preach to them. He who will not reap when the fields are white to the harvest, will have only himself to blame if in other seasons he is unable to fill his arms with sheaves. Opportunities should be promptly used whenever the Lord puts them in our way. It is good fishing where there are plenty of fish, and when the birds flock around the fowler it is time for him to spread his nets.

4. The place from which these blessings were delivered is next worthy of notice: “Seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain.” Whether or not the chosen mount was what is now known as the Horns of Hattim, is not a point which it falls in our way to contest; that he ascended an elevation is enough for our purpose. Of course, this would be mainly because of the accommodation which the open hill-side would afford to the people, and the readiness with which, on some jutting crag, the preacher might sit down, and be both heard and seen; but we believe the chosen place of meeting also had its instruction. Exalted doctrine might well be symbolised by an ascent to the mount; at any rate, let every minister feel that he should ascend in spirit when he is about to expound on the lofty themes of the gospel. A doctrine which could not be hidden, and which would produce a Church comparable to a city built on a hill, appropriately began to be proclaimed from a conspicuous place. A crypt or cavern would have been out of all character for a message which is to be proclaimed on the house-tops, and preached to every creature under heaven.

5. Besides, mountains have always been associated with distinct eras in the history of the people of God; Mount Sinai is sacred to the law, and Mount Zion symbolic of the Church. Calvary was also in due time to be connected with redemption, and the Mount of Olives with the ascension of our risen Lord. It was fitting, therefore, that the opening of the Redeemer’s ministry should be connected with a mount such as “the hill of the Beatitudes.” It was from a mountain that God proclaimed the law, it is on a mountain that Jesus expounds it. Thank God, it was not a mount around which bounds had to be placed; it was not the mount which burned with fire, from which Israel retired in fear. It was, doubtless, a mount all carpeted with grass, and decked out with fair flowers, on whose side the olive and fig trees flourished in abundance, except where the rocks pushed upward through the sod, and eagerly invited their Lord to honour them by making them his pulpit and throne. May I not add that Jesus was in deep sympathy with nature, and therefore delighted in an audience-chamber whose floor was grass, and whose roof was the blue sky? The open space was in keeping with his large heart, the breezes were akin to his free spirit, and the world around was full of symbols and parables, in accordance with the truths he taught. Better than long-drawn aisle, or tier upon tier of crowded gallery, was that grand hill-side meeting-place. Oh, that we heard sermons amid soul-inspiring scenery more often! Surely preacher and hearer would be equally benefited by the change from the house made with hands to the God-made temple of nature.

6. There was instruction in the posture of the preacher: “When he was seated,” he began to speak. We do not think that either weariness or the length of the discourse suggested his sitting down. He frequently stood when he preached at considerable length. We are inclined to believe that, when he became a pleader with the sons of men, he stood with uplifted hands, eloquent from head to foot, entreating, beseeching, and exhorting, with every member of his body, as well as every faculty of his mind; but now that he was, as it were, a Judge awarding the blessings of the kingdom, or a King on his throne, separating his true subjects from aliens and foreigners, he sat down. As an authoritative Teacher, he officially occupied the chair of doctrine, and spoke ex cathedral, as men say, as a Solomon acting as the master of assemblies, or a Daniel come to judgment. He sat as a refiner, and his word was as a fire. His posture is not accounted for by the fact that it was the Oriental custom for the teacher to sit and the pupil to stand, for our Lord was something more than a didactic teacher, he was a Preacher, a Prophet, a Pleader, and consequently he adopted other positions when fulfilling those offices, but on this occasion, he sat in his place as Rabbi of the Church, the authoritative Legislator of the kingdom of heaven, the Monarch in the midst of his people. Come here, then, and listen to the King in Jeshurun, the Divine Lawgiver, delivering not the ten commandments, but the seven, or, if you wish, the nine Beatitudes of his blessed kingdom.

7. It is then added, to indicate the style of his delivery, that “he opened his mouth,” and certain critics of shallow wit have said, “How could he teach without opening his mouth?” to which the reply is that he very frequently taught, and taught much, without saying a word, since his whole life was teaching, and his miracles and deeds of love were the lessons of a master instructor. It is not superfluous to say that “he opened his mouth, and taught them,” for he had taught them often when his mouth was closed. Besides that, teachers are to be frequently found who seldom open their mouths; they hiss the everlasting gospel through their teeth, or mumble it within their mouths, as if they had never been commanded to, “cry aloud, and do not spare.” Jesus Christ spoke like a man in earnest; he enunciated clearly, and spoke loudly. He lifted up his voice like a trumpet, and proclaimed salvation far and wide, like a man who had something to say which he desired his audience to hear and feel. Oh, that the very manner and voice of those who preach the gospel were such as to show their zeal for God and their love for souls! So, it should be, but it is not so in all cases. When a man grows terribly in earnest while speaking, his mouth appears to be enlarged in sympathy with his heart: this characteristic has been observed in vehement political orators, and the messengers of God should blush if no such impeachment can be laid at their door.

8. “He opened his mouth, and taught them,”—have we not here a further hint that, just as he had from the earliest days opened the mouths of his holy prophets, so now he opens his own mouth to inaugurate an even fuller revelation? If Moses spoke, who made Moses’ mouth? If David sang, who opened David’s lips that he might proclaim the praises of God? Who opened the mouths of the prophets? Was it not the Lord by his Spirit? Is it not therefore well said that now he opened his own mouth, and spoke directly as the incarnate God to the children of men? Now, by his own inherent power and inspiration, he began to speak, not through the mouth of Isaiah, or of Jeremiah, but by his own mouth. Now a spring of wisdom was to be unsealed from which all generations should drink rejoicingly; now the most majestic and yet most simple of all discourses would be heard by mankind. The opening of the fount which flowed from the desert rock was not one half so full of joy to men. Let our prayer be, “Lord, as you have opened your mouth, open our hearts”; for when the Redeemer’s mouth is open with blessings, and our hearts are open with desires, a glorious filling with all the fulness of God will be the result, and then also our mouths shall be opened to proclaim our Redeemer’s praise.

9. Let us now consider the Beatitudes themselves, trusting that, by the help of God’s Spirit, we may perceive their wealth of holy meaning. No words in the compass of Sacred Writ are more precious or more loaded with solemn meaning.

10. The first word of our Lord’s great standard sermon is “Blessed.” You have not failed to notice that the last word of the Old Testament is “curse,” and it is suggestive that the opening sermon of our Lord’s ministry begins with the word “Blessed.” Nor did he begin in that way, and then change his strain immediately, for nine times that charming word fell from his lips in rapid succession. It has been well said that Christ’s teaching might be summed up in two words, “Believe” and “Blessed.” Mark tells us that he preached, saying, “Repent, and believe the gospel”; and Matthew in this passage informs us that he came saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” All his teaching was meant to bless the sons of men; for “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”

   His hand no thunder bears,

      No terror clothes his brow,

   No bolts to drive our guilty souls

      To fiercer flames below.

His lips, like a honeycomb, drop sweetness, promises and blessings are the overflowings of his mouth. “Grace is poured into your lips,” said the psalmist, and consequently grace poured from his lips; he was blessed for ever, and he continued to distribute blessings throughout all of his life, until, “as he blessed them, he was taken up into heaven.” The law had two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, one for blessing and another for cursing, but the Lord Jesus blesses for evermore, and does not curse.

11. The Beatitudes before us, which relate to character, are seven; the eighth is a blessing on the people described in the seven Beatitudes when their excellence has provoked the hostility of the wicked; and, therefore, it may be regarded as a confirming and summing up of the seven blessings which precede it. Setting that aside, then, as a summary, we regard the Beatitudes as seven, and will speak of them as such. The whole seven describe a perfect character, and make up a perfect blessing. Each blessing is precious separately, indeed, more precious than much fine gold; but we do well to regard them, as a whole, for as a whole they were spoken, and from that point of view they are a wonderfully perfect chain of seven priceless links, put together with such consummate art as only our heavenly Bezaleel, the Lord Jesus, ever possessed. No such instruction in the art of blessedness can be found anywhere else. The learned have collected two hundred and eighty-eight different opinions of the ancients with regard to happiness, and there is not one which hits the mark; but our Lord has, in a few telling sentences, told us all about it without using a solitary redundant word, or allowing the slightest omission. The seven golden sentences are perfect as a whole, and each one occupies its appropriate place. Together they are a ladder of light, and each one is a step of purest sunshine.

12. Observe carefully, and you will see that each one rises above those which precede it. The first Beatitude is by no means so elevated as the third, nor the third as the seventh. There is a great advance from the poor in spirit to the pure in heart and the peacemaker. I have said that they rise, but it would be quite as correct to say that they descend, for from the human point of view they do so; to mourn is a step below and yet above being poor in spirit, and the peacemaker, while the highest form of Christian, will find himself often called on to take the lowest place for the sake of peace. “The seven Beatitudes denote deepening humiliation and growing exaltation.” In proportion as men rise in the reception of the divine blessing, they sink in their own esteem, and consider it their honour to do the humblest works.

13. Not only do the Beatitudes rise, one above another, but they spring out of each other, as if each one depended on all that went before. Each growth feeds a higher growth, and the seventh is the product of all the other six. The two blessings which we shall have first to consider have this relationship. “Blessed are those who mourn” grows out of “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Why do they mourn? They mourn because they are “poor in spirit.” “Blessed are the meek” is a blessing which no man reaches until he has felt his spiritual poverty, and mourned over it. “Blessed are the merciful” follows on the blessing of the meek, because men do not acquire the forgiving, sympathetic, merciful spirit until they have been made meek by the experience of the first two blessings. This same rising and outgrowth may be seen in the whole seven. The stones are laid one upon the other in fair colours, and polished after the similitude of a palace; they are the natural sequel and completion of each other, even as were the seven days of the world’s first week.

14. Note, also, in this ladder of light, that though each step is above the other, and each step springs out of the other, yet each one is perfect in itself, and contains within itself a priceless and complete blessing. The very lowest of the blessed, namely, the poor in spirit, have their special blessing, and indeed it is one of such an order that it is used in the summing up of all the rest. “Theirs is the kingdom of heaven” is both the first and the eighth blessing. The highest characters, namely, the peacemakers, who are called the children of God, are not said to be more than blessed; they doubtless enjoy more of the blessedness, but they do not in the covenant provision possess more.

15. Note, also, with delight, that the blessing is in the present tense in every case, a happiness to be now enjoyed and delighted in. It is not “Blessed shall be,” but “Blessed are.” There is not one step in the whole divine experience of the believer, not one link in the wonderful chain of grace, in which there is a withdrawal of the divine smile or an absence of real happiness. Blessed is the first moment of the Christian life on earth, and blessed is the last. Blessed is the spark which trembles in the flax, and blessed is the flame which ascends to heaven in a holy ecstasy. Blessed is the bruised reed, and blessed is that tree of the Lord, which is full of sap, the cedar of Lebanon, which the Lord has planted. Blessed is the babe in grace, and blessed is the perfect man in Christ Jesus. Just as the Lord’s mercy endures for ever, even so shall our blessedness.

16. We must not fail to notice that, in the seven Beatitudes, the blessing of each one is appropriate to the character. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” is appropriately connected with enrichment in the possession of a kingdom more glorious than all the thrones of earth. It is also most appropriate that those who mourn should be comforted; that the meek, who renounce all self-aggrandizement, should enjoy life the most, and so should inherit the earth. It is divinely appropriate that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness should be filled, and that those who show mercy to others should obtain it themselves. Who but the pure in heart should see the infinitely pure and holy God? And who but the peacemakers should be called the children of the God of peace?

17. Yet the careful eye perceives that each blessing, though appropriate, is worded paradoxically. Jeremiah Taylor says, “They are so many paradoxes and impossibilities reduced to reason.” This is clearly seen in the first Beatitude, for the poor in spirit are said to possess a kingdom, and is equally vivid in the collection as a whole, for it deals with happiness, and yet poverty leads the vanguard, and persecution brings up the rear; poverty is the opposite of riches, and yet how rich are those who possess a kingdom! and persecution is supposed to destroy enjoyment, and yet it is made a subject of rejoicing here. See the sacred art of him who spoke as never a man spoke, he can at the same time make his words both simple and paradoxical, and by it win our attention and instruct our intellects. Such a preacher deserves the most thoughtful of hearers.

18. All of the seven Beatitudes composing this celestial ascent to the house of the Lord conduct believers to an elevated table-land on which they dwell alone, and are not counted among the people; their holy separation from the world brings on them persecution for righteousness’ sake, but in this they do not lose their happiness, but rather have it increased for them, and confirmed by the double repetition of the blessing. The hatred of man does not deprive the saint of the love of God, even revilers contribute to his blessedness. Who among us will be ashamed of the cross which must accompany such a crown of lovingkindness and tender mercies? Whatever the curses of man may involve, they are so small a drawback to the consciousness of being blessed in a sevenfold manner by the Lord, that they are not worthy to be compared with the grace which is already revealed in us.

19. Here we pause for the present, and shall, by God’s help, consider one of the Beatitudes in our next homily.

{a} In the year 1873, Mr. Spurgeon delivered what he called “a series of sententious homilies” on the Beatitudes. After an introductory discourse upon the Sermon on the mount and the Beatitudes as a whole, he intended to preach upon each one separately; but either illness or some other special reason prevented him from fully carrying out this purpose. There are, however, eight Sermons on the Beatitudes, three of which have already been published in the Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit,—No. 422, “The Peacemaker”; No. 2103, “The Hunger and Thirst who are Blessed”; and No. 3065, “The Third Beatitude”;—the other five will now be issued in successive weeks, and will form the Monthly Sermon Part for August, price Fivepence. Mr. Spurgeon’s Exposition of each of the Beatitudes and of the whole Sermon on the mount also appears in The Gospel of the Kingdom (now sold at 3s. 6d.) the volume on which he was at work at Mentone up to a little while before his “home-call” in 1892.

Exposition By C. H. Spurgeon {Mt 5:1-30}

1, 2. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was seated, his disciples came to him: and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,—

Our Saviour soon gathered a congregation. The multitudes perceived in him a love for them, and a willingness to impart blessings to them, and therefore they gathered around him. He chose the mountain and the open air for the delivery of this great discourse, and we should be glad to find such a place for our assemblies; but in this variable climate we cannot often do so.

“And when he was seated.” The Preacher sat, and the people stood. We might make a helpful change if we were sometimes to adopt a similar plan now. I am afraid that ease of posture may contribute to the creation of slumber of heart in the hearers. There Christ sat, and “his disciples came to him.” They formed the inner circle that was always nearest to him, and he imparted his choicest secrets to them, but he also spoke to the multitude, and therefore it is said that “he opened his mouth,” as well he might when there were such great truths to proceed from it, and so vast a crowd to hear them: “He opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,”—

3. Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This is a gracious beginning to our Saviour’s discourse, “Blessed are the poor.” No one ever considered the poor as Jesus did, but here he is speaking of a poverty of spirit, a lowliness of heart, an absence of self-esteem. Where that kind of spirit is found, it is sweet poverty: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

4. Blessed are those who mourn: for they shall be comforted.

There is a blessing which often goes with mourning itself; but when the sorrow is of a spiritual kind,—mourning for sin,—then it is blest indeed.

   Lord, let me weep for nought but sin,

      And after none but thee;

   And then I would—oh, that I might—

      A constant mourner be!

5. Blessed are the meek:

The quiet-spirited, the gentle, the self-sacrificing,—

5. For they shall inherit the earth.

It looks as if they would be pushed out of the world, but they shall not be, “for they shall inherit the earth.” The wolves devour the sheep, yet there are more sheep in the world than there are wolves, and the sheep continue to multiply, and to feed in green pastures.

6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness:

Pining to be holy, longing to serve God, anxious to spread every righteous principle,—blessed are they.

6, 7. For they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful: Those who are kind, generous, sympathetic, ready to forgive those who have wronged them,—blessed are they.

7, 8. For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart:—

It is a most blessed attainment to have such a longing for purity as to love everything that is chaste and holy, and to abhor everything that is questionable and unhallowed: blessed are the pure in heart:—

8. For they shall see God.

There is a wonderful connection between hearts and eyes. A man who has the stains of filth on his soul cannot see God, but those who are purified in heart are purified in vision too: “they shall see God.”

9. Blessed are the peacemakers:

Those who always end a quarrel if they can, those who lay themselves out to prevent discord,—

9-10. For they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

They share the kingdom of heaven with the poor in spirit. They are often evil spoken of, they sometimes have to suffer the plundering of their goods, many of them have laid down their lives for Christ’s sake, but they are truly blessed, for “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

11. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Note, it must be said falsely, and it must be for Christ’s sake, if you are to be blessed; but there is no blessing in having evil spoken of you truthfully, or in having it spoken of you falsely because of some bitterness in your own spirit.

12. Rejoice, and be very glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

You are in the true prophetic succession, if you cheerfully bear reproach of this kind for Christ’s sake, you prove that you have the stamp and seal of those who are in the service of God.

13. You are the salt of the earth:

Followers of Christ, “you are the salt of the earth.” You help to preserve it, and to subdue the corruption that is in it.

13. But if the salt has lost its flavour, how shall it be seasoned?

A professing Christian with no grace in him,—a religious man whose very religion is dead,—what is the good of him? And he himself is in a hopeless condition. You can salt meat, but you cannot salt salt.

13. It is then good-for-nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot by men.

There are people who believe that you can be children of God today, and children of the devil tomorrow; then again children of God the next day and children of the devil again the day after; but, believe me, it is not so. If the work of grace is really accomplished by God in your soul, it will last through your whole life; and if it does not last, that proves that it is not the work of God. God does not put his hand to this work a second time. There is no regeneration twice over; you can be born again, but you cannot be born again, and again, and again, as some teach. There is no verse in Scripture of that kind. Hence I do rejoice that regeneration once truly accomplished by the Spirit of God, is an incorruptible seed which lives and endures for ever. But beware, professor, lest you should be like salt that has lost its flavour, and that therefore is good-for-nothing.

14. You are the light of the world. {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 1109, “The Light of the World” 1100}

Christ never contemplated the production of secret Christians,—Christians whose virtues would never be displayed,—pilgrims who would travel to heaven by night, and never be seen by their fellow pilgrims or anyone else.

14, 15. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 1594, “The Candle” 1594}

Christians ought to be seen, and they ought to let their light be seen. They should never even attempt to conceal it. If you are a lamp, you have no right to be under a bushel, or under a bed; your place is on the lampstand where your light can be seen.

16. Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Not that they may glorify you, but that they may glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17, 18. Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For truly I say to you, ‘Until heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the law, until all is fulfilled.’ {b}

No cross of a “t” and no dot of an “i” shall be taken from God’s law. Its requirements will always be the same; immutably fixed, and never to be abated by so little as “one jot or one tittle.”

19, 20. Whoever therefore shall break one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, ‘That unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,—

Who seemed to have reached the very highest degree of it; indeed, they themselves thought they went rather over the mark than under it, but Christ says to his disciples, “Unless your righteousness” goes beyond that,—

20. You shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven.’

These are solemn words of warning. May God grant that we may have a righteousness which exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, a righteousness created by the Spirit of God, a righteousness of the heart and of the life!

(Since the foregoing Exposition only goes as far as verse 20, the remainder is taken from The Gospel of the Kingdom, C. H. Spurgeon’s “Popular Exposition of the Gospel according to Matthew.”)

21. You have heard that it was said by those of old time, ‘You shall not kill’; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Antiquity is often pleaded as an authority; but our King makes short work of “those of old time.” He begins with one of their alterations of his Father’s law. They added to the sacred oracles. The first part of the saying which our Lord quoted was divine; but it was dragged down to a low level by the addition about the human court, and the murderer’s liability to appear there. So it became rather a proverb among men than an inspired utterance from the mouth of God. Its meaning, as God spoke it, had a far wider range than when the offence was restrained to actual killing, such as could be brought before a human judgment seat. To narrow a command is measurably to annul it. We may not do this even with antiquity for our warrant. Better the whole truth newly stated than an old falsehood in ancient language.

22. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca’, shall be in danger of the council: but whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

Murder lies within anger, for we wish harm to the object of our wrath, or even wish that he did not exist, and this is to kill him in desire. Anger “without a cause” is forbidden by the command which says, “You shall not kill”; for unjust anger is killing in intent. Such anger without cause brings us under higher judgment than that of Jewish police courts. God takes cognisance of the emotions from which acts of hate may spring, and calls us to account as much for the angry feeling as for the murderous deed. Words also come under the same condemnation: a man shall be judged for what he “shall say to his brother.” To call a man “Raca,” or a worthless fellow, is to kill him in his reputation, and to say to him, “You fool,” is to kill him as for the noblest characteristics of a man. Hence all this comes under such censure as men distribute in their councils; yes, under what is far worse, the punishment awarded by the highest court of the universe, which dooms men to “hell fire.” So our Lord and King restores the law of God to its true force, and warns us that it denounces not only the overt act of killing, but every thought, feeling, and word which would tend to injure a brother, or annihilate him by contempt.

23, 24. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you; leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

The Pharisee would urge as a cover for his malice that he brought a sacrifice to make atonement, but our Lord will have forgiveness rendered to our brother first, and then the offering presented. We ought to worship God thoughtfully; and if in the course of that thought we remember that our brother has anything against us, we must stop. If we have wronged another, we are to pause, cease from the worship, and hurry to seek reconciliation. We easily remember if we have anything against our brother, but now the memory is to be turned the other way. Only when we have remembered our wrong-doing, and made reconciliation, can we hope for acceptance with the Lord. The rule is—first peace with man, and then acceptance with God. The holy must be traversed to reach the Holiest of all. Peace being made with our brother, then let us conclude our service towards our Father, and we shall do so with lighter heart and truer zeal.

I would anxiously desire to be at peace with all men before I attempt to worship God, lest I present to God the sacrifice of fools.

25, 26. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary delivers you to the judge, and the judge delivers you to the officer, and you are cast into prison. Truly I say to you, ‘You shall by no means come out of there, until you have paid the uttermost farthing.’

In all disagreements be eager for peace. Stop strife before you begin.

In lawsuits, seek speedy and peaceful settlements. Often in our Lord’s days, this was the most profitable way, and usually it is so now. Better lose your rights than get into the hands of those who will only fleece you in the name of justice, and hold you firm as long as a semblance of a demand can stand against you, or another penny can be extracted from you. In a country where “justice” meant robbery, it was wisdom to be robbed, and to make no complaint. Even in our own country, a lean settlement is better than a fat lawsuit. Many go into the court to get wool, but come out closely shorn. Carry on no angry suits in courts, but make peace with the utmost promptitude.

27, 28 You have heard that it was said by those of old time, ‘You shall not commit adultery’: but I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

In this case our King again sets aside the glosses of men on the commands of God, and makes the law to be seen in its vast spiritual breadth. Whereas tradition had confined the prohibition to an overt act of unchastity, the King shows that it forbade the unclean desires of the heart. Here the divine law is shown to refer, not only to the act of criminal conduct, but even to the desire, imagination, or passion which would suggest such an infamy. What a King is ours, who stretches his sceptre over the realm of our inward lusts! How sovereignly he puts it: “But, I say to you!” Who but a divine being has authority to speak in this way? His word is law. So it ought to be, since he touches vice at the fountain-head, and forbids uncleanness in the heart. If sin were not allowed in the mind, it would never be revealed in the body; this, therefore, is a very effective way of dealing with the evil. But how searching? how condemning! Irregular looks, unchaste desires and strong passions are of the very essence of adultery; and who can claim a lifelong freedom from them? Yet these are the things which defile a man. Lord, purge them out of my nature, and make me pure within!

29. And if your right eye offends you, pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.

Whatever causes sin is to be given up as well as the sin itself. It is not sinful to have an eye, or to cultivate keen perception; but if the eye of speculative knowledge leads us to offend by intellectual sin, it becomes the cause of evil, and must be mortified. Anything, however harmless, which leads me to do, or think, or feel wrongly, I am to get rid of as much as if it were in itself an evil. Though to be finished with it would involve deprivation, yet it must be dispensed with, since even a serious loss in one direction is far better than the losing of the whole man. Better a blind saint than a keen-sighted sinner. If abstaining from alcohol caused weakness of body, it would be better to be weak, than to be strong and fall into drunkenness. Since vain speculations and reasonings land men in unbelief, we will have none of them. To “be cast into hell” is too great a risk to run, merely to indulge the evil eye of lust or curiosity.

30. And if your right hand offends you, cut it off, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.”

The cause of offence may be rather active as the hand than intellectual as the eye; but we had better be hindered in our work than drawn aside into temptation. The most dexterous hand must not be spared if it encourages us in doing evil. It is not because a certain thing may make us clever and successful that therefore we are to allow it, if it should prove to be the frequent cause of our falling into sin, we must be finished with it, and place ourselves at a disadvantage for our life-work, rather than ruin our whole being by sin. Holiness is to be our first object; everything else must take a very secondary place. Right eyes and right hands are no longer right if they lead us wrong. Even hands and eyes must go, so that we may not offend our God by them. Yet, let no man read this literally, and therefore mutilate his body, as some foolish fanatics have done. The real meaning is clear enough.

{b} There is a very remarkable Sermon by Mr. Spurgeon, on verse 18, which he had reissued in book form for wide-spread circulation:— {See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 1660, “The Perpetuity of the Law of God” 1661} It can still be obtained, price one penny, from Messrs. Passmore & Alabaster, or through any bookseller or colporteur.

Sermons on the Beatitudes:

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3155, “The Beatitudes” 3156}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3156, “The First Beatitude” 3157}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3065, “The Third Beatitude” 3066}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 2103, “The Hunger and Thirst Which Are Blessed” 2104}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3157, “The Fourth Beatitude” 3158}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3158, “The Fifth Beatitude” 3159}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 3159, “The Sixth Beatitude” 3160}

{See Spurgeon_Sermons No. 422, “The Peacemaker” 413}