Matthew Chapter 5

[truck1500]

I know that I have asked a LOT of questions, some of them simplistic for those who are more learned than I, but I have learned so much from the posts in response to my questions. I sincerely thank you for helping me to understand the things of God- I love learning about my Father, and about Jesus.

My newest question is in regards to Matthew 5:13-20-

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

I have read and re-read this, but I don't quite understand it. If someone wouldn't mind, would you please help shed some light on this piece of scripture?

Again, my heart-felt thanks for everyone's kindness and assistance.

[Guest yod]

What is hard to understand about that? Are you asking about salt (a preservative in that time) or are you confused by what Jesus says about the Law, in contrast to what many christian theologians say?

The Torah is true for eternity. The hebrew concept of "fulfill" means "to do". He came to perform the Torah and show how it is to be interpreted and lived out. There is no law against that...

[PeterH]

My newest question is in regards to Matthew 5:13-20-

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

When reading this you need to keep in mind who Jesus was addressing. Jesus often spoke differently to large crowds than he did to his disciples. His audience here are mostly Jews, God's chosen people. Jesus is warning them not to lose their saltiness or they will be thrown out and trampled. Basically rejecting God lost them their salt and thus they were thrown out and trampled. Jesus wanted them to be like the lampstand that glorified God our Father.

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Jesus is basically refuting what the Jewish leaders where saying and what a lot of people were thinking about him here. He's telling them that he is the fulfillment of the scripture, he is the messiah who was prophesied about and the law is fulfilled in him.

19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

This is probably the hardest verse of this section. You can get into deep debate about different commandments, especially about the sabbath. Only one person has ever and will ever keep the commandments and he is called great in the kingdom of heaven. Others might be able to spread more light on this part.

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

This is a jab at the Pharisees. People of that time thought that the Pharisees were the most holy and righteous people. The Pharisees would always make a big show of how holy they were in public. Jesus is saying that their show of righteousness isn't enough to get into heaven.

[truck1500]

PeterH, I thank you for your explanation, I have more understanding now, and I am grateful to you for taking time out of your day to help me with this. Thank you for not ridiculing me or making me feel like I asked a stupid question.

May God bless you immensely!!

[Guest yod]

PeterH, I thank you for your explanation, I have more understanding now, and I am grateful to you for taking time out of your day to help me with this. Thank you for not ridiculing me or making me feel like I asked a stupid question.

May God bless you immensely!!

I hope that you aren't referring to my attempt at helping you?

If you are referring to my reply, then you've chosen to be offended for no reason. Those verses cover a lot of different issues and it would be helpful if you had explained (and you still can) what specifically you needed clarification on.

If that explanation is enough, then you were asking a lot less than it appeared.

[truck1500]

PeterH, I thank you for your explanation, I have more understanding now, and I am grateful to you for taking time out of your day to help me with this. Thank you for not ridiculing me or making me feel like I asked a stupid question.

May God bless you immensely!!

I hope that you aren't referring to my attempt at helping you?

If you are referring to my reply, then you've chosen to be offended for no reason. Those verses cover a lot of different issues and it would be helpful if you had explained (and you still can) what specifically you needed clarification on.

If that explanation is enough, then you were asking a lot less than it appeared.

Umm, no I wasn't referring to your reply at all. I don't have hidden agendas- that, I think, is disrespectful towards the recipient and to our Father as well. I hope that there is no longer any misunderstanding as to what I meant in my reply.

I needed exactly what PeterH gave me- understanding as to what the verse was saying. Could I have included that in my original post? Absolutely, and this has been a learning experience for me.

In no way were any of my words meant to hurt, degrade, or cause any misunderstanding at all. I meant what I said to PeterH. I am truly grateful to those who take their time to help me understand something.

I thank you for your response as well, and also for seeking understanding as to what I meant in my "thank you" post. I hope that God blesses you in wonderful, great ways!

[mizzdy]

I know that I have asked a LOT of questions, some of them simplistic for those who are more learned than I, but I have learned so much from the posts in response to my questions. I sincerely thank you for helping me to understand the things of God- I love learning about my Father, and about Jesus.

My newest question is in regards to Matthew 5:13-20-

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

I have read and re-read this, but I don't quite understand it. If someone wouldn't mind, would you please help shed some light on this piece of scripture?

Again, my heart-felt thanks for everyone's kindness and assistance.

You would pick one of the most debated chpts! lol Salt in scriptures has a lot of meaning, there is a covenant of salt in Lev. 2 and Numbers 18, it represents the eternal relationship between God and His set apart ones. When salt loses its flavor its not worth a thing you cannot use it for seasonings or anything else other than maybe putting on ice. When we as His servants lose our 'salt' or our desire to serve Him, when we no longer are walking in His ways we lose His light, we lose our flavor so to speak. When we stop proclaiming His name above all elses, when we stop seeking His will in our lives, if we stop being His light to the world what good are we? We are to always keep His ways, His words first and foremost in our hearts and minds when we do this we are shedding His light through us, we are to guard always our hearts and minds against the worlds ways and cling to Him.

Ok verses 17-19 will get you once again different points of view. I can only give you what I have come to understand. Messiah did not come to do away with anything He came to rightly show us how to walk in His commandments, which had been added to and taken away from through the decades mostly done during Judahs captivity by the Babylonians and the temple was destroyed the first time. Abolish means just that He did not come to do away with anything, fulfill means exactly what Yod said as well as to correctly interpret or to fill up with meaning. Messiah did not do away with His own laws but showed us how it is possible to keep them with the help of the Holy Spirit. And as we go into the last verse we see that whoever teaches people that there is no laws to keep, no instructions for righteous behavior teaches wrongly, we are not just to walk around thinking His grace covers us and allows us to sin and theres no consequences to that. Hope that helps a bit.

shalom,

Mizz

[truck1500]

I know that I have asked a LOT of questions, some of them simplistic for those who are more learned than I, but I have learned so much from the posts in response to my questions. I sincerely thank you for helping me to understand the things of God- I love learning about my Father, and about Jesus.

My newest question is in regards to Matthew 5:13-20-

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

I have read and re-read this, but I don't quite understand it. If someone wouldn't mind, would you please help shed some light on this piece of scripture?

Again, my heart-felt thanks for everyone's kindness and assistance.

You would pick one of the most debated chpts! lol Salt in scriptures has a lot of meaning, there is a covenant of salt in Lev. 2 and Numbers 18, it represents the eternal relationship between God and His set apart ones. When salt loses its flavor its not worth a thing you cannot use it for seasonings or anything else other than maybe putting on ice. When we as His servants lose our 'salt' or our desire to serve Him, when we no longer are walking in His ways we lose His light, we lose our flavor so to speak. When we stop proclaiming His name above all elses, when we stop seeking His will in our lives, if we stop being His light to the world what good are we? We are to always keep His ways, His words first and foremost in our hearts and minds when we do this we are shedding His light through us, we are to guard always our hearts and minds against the worlds ways and cling to Him.

Ok verses 17-19 will get you once again different points of view. I can only give you what I have come to understand. Messiah did not come to do away with anything He came to rightly show us how to walk in His commandments, which had been added to and taken away from through the decades mostly done during Judahs captivity by the Babylonians and the temple was destroyed the first time. Abolish means just that He did not come to do away with anything, fulfill means exactly what Yod said as well as to correctly interpret or to fill up with meaning. Messiah did not do away with His own laws but showed us how it is possible to keep them with the help of the Holy Spirit. And as we go into the last verse we see that whoever teaches people that there is no laws to keep, no instructions for righteous behavior teaches wrongly, we are not just to walk around thinking His grace covers us and allows us to sin and theres no consequences to that. Hope that helps a bit.

shalom,

Mizz

Thank you, Mizzdy- that does help. As I gain more knowledge about God and His holy laws, I see more and more that I am incapable of keeping them outside of my relationship with Christ (which, as I have learned, is a gift from God Himself). I see that my "saltiness" also comes from God, from me constantly seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus and the Father, and from rejecting the ways of the world, the sin that it has to offer. Jesus is the only holy one that has ever walked the face of the earth, and therefore shines brighter than the darkness of sin- which is why I am considered a light in the world- because I belong to Jesus and the people living in sin can see Jesus' love by my words and actions that are seasoned with salt (the goodness that comes from Jesus Himself). Romans 2:18-19 "and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness".

Am I getting it here? I'm so excited to be learning more!!!

[Fez]

Truck it might help you to understand the context of salt with a simple explanation.

Salt, we put it in everything we eat (sometimes too much), it is a very common commodity.

However in the times of Jesus it was very valuable and hard to come by for the ordinary man. It was carried across the Saharan Dessert by caravans of camels after having been dug out in the salt mines. Working these mines was a living hell, 50C heat, little water, respiratory problems and death.

In fact, Roman soldiers were often paid in salt. The word salary comes from the Latin world salarium, which means payment in salt.

So you can see, when talking about salt, Jesus knew it's value at the time, and when he says "trampled under the foot of men", he is referring to taking something really valuable, that has been hard worked for, and making it worthless.

Can you see why He used salt as an example?

[mizzdy]

I know that I have asked a LOT of questions, some of them simplistic for those who are more learned than I, but I have learned so much from the posts in response to my questions. I sincerely thank you for helping me to understand the things of God- I love learning about my Father, and about Jesus.

My newest question is in regards to Matthew 5:13-20-

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; 15 nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

I have read and re-read this, but I don't quite understand it. If someone wouldn't mind, would you please help shed some light on this piece of scripture?

Again, my heart-felt thanks for everyone's kindness and assistance.

You would pick one of the most debated chpts! lol Salt in scriptures has a lot of meaning, there is a covenant of salt in Lev. 2 and Numbers 18, it represents the eternal relationship between God and His set apart ones. When salt loses its flavor its not worth a thing you cannot use it for seasonings or anything else other than maybe putting on ice. When we as His servants lose our 'salt' or our desire to serve Him, when we no longer are walking in His ways we lose His light, we lose our flavor so to speak. When we stop proclaiming His name above all elses, when we stop seeking His will in our lives, if we stop being His light to the world what good are we? We are to always keep His ways, His words first and foremost in our hearts and minds when we do this we are shedding His light through us, we are to guard always our hearts and minds against the worlds ways and cling to Him.

Ok verses 17-19 will get you once again different points of view. I can only give you what I have come to understand. Messiah did not come to do away with anything He came to rightly show us how to walk in His commandments, which had been added to and taken away from through the decades mostly done during Judahs captivity by the Babylonians and the temple was destroyed the first time. Abolish means just that He did not come to do away with anything, fulfill means exactly what Yod said as well as to correctly interpret or to fill up with meaning. Messiah did not do away with His own laws but showed us how it is possible to keep them with the help of the Holy Spirit. And as we go into the last verse we see that whoever teaches people that there is no laws to keep, no instructions for righteous behavior teaches wrongly, we are not just to walk around thinking His grace covers us and allows us to sin and theres no consequences to that. Hope that helps a bit.

shalom,

Mizz

Thank you, Mizzdy- that does help. As I gain more knowledge about God and His holy laws, I see more and more that I am incapable of keeping them outside of my relationship with Christ (which, as I have learned, is a gift from God Himself). I see that my "saltiness" also comes from God, from me constantly seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus and the Father, and from rejecting the ways of the world, the sin that it has to offer. Jesus is the only holy one that has ever walked the face of the earth, and therefore shines brighter than the darkness of sin- which is why I am considered a light in the world- because I belong to Jesus and the people living in sin can see Jesus' love by my words and actions that are seasoned with salt (the goodness that comes from Jesus Himself). Romans 2:18-19 "and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness".

Am I getting it here? I'm so excited to be learning more!!!

I do think you are drinking it all in! We are His light, if He dwells within we can only shine Him to the world! Messiah was the only one who walked sinlessly on this earth, and yes giving us the example that it is only by the indwelling of Gods Spirit that we can be righteous before Him. You know it doesn't matter how long one has been studying or walk on His path, we all get excited each day we open His word! I know I do! I think you are doing super!

shalom,

Mizz