마태복음 Chapter 5

Translation: ESV

1

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

Key Message

Jesus sits on the mountain as an authoritative teacher and begins the teaching of the new covenant.

▸The Sermon on the Mount begins as Jesus sees the crowds and goes up the mountain.

The Sermon on the Mount begins as Jesus sees the crowds and goes up the mountain. The mountain is a place of divine revelation in the Old Testament, evoking the giving of the law on Sinai. That Jesus 'sat down' reflects the custom of rabbis who taught with authority while seated. That the disciples 'came to him' suggests this teaching is primarily for the disciple community.

Related Verses

And Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain.And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people.
2

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

Key Message

Jesus' teaching is proclaimed not as human wisdom but as God's authoritative word.

▸The phrase 'he opened his mouth' is a Hebrew literary idiom signaling the beginning of an important and authoritative declaration.

3

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

Key Message

God's kingdom opens to those who acknowledge their spiritual poverty and depend completely on God.

▸This is the first of the Beatitudes.

4

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Key Message

True comfort does not come from turning away from sorrow, but comes to those who mourn deeply before God.

▸The second blessing is given to those who mourn.

5

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Key Message

Unlike the world's logic, in God's kingdom the humble and meek receive the true inheritance.

▸The third blessing is given to the meek.

6

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Key Message

When the longing for God's righteousness is as urgent as a survival instinct, God will certainly fill it.

▸The fourth blessing is the intense longing for righteousness (δικαιοσύνη).

7

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Key Message

Those who have received God's mercy channel that mercy to their neighbors; this is the cycle of God's kingdom.

▸The fifth blessing.

8

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Key Message

Purity of heart — a heart focused on God alone — is the way to encounter God.

▸The sixth blessing.

9

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Key Message

Peacemakers are called children of God because they manifest the character of God the Father.

▸The seventh blessing.

10

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Key Message

Persecution for a righteous life is proof of belonging to the kingdom of heaven, and God transforms that suffering into glory.

▸The eighth and final blessing.

11

Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

Key Message

Suffering endured because of personal identification with Jesus is the mark of a true disciple and the basis of blessing.

▸The eighth beatitude is expanded into a personal second-person direct address.

12

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

Key Message

Persecution for Jesus places disciples in the honored company of the prophets and guarantees great heavenly reward.

▸'Rejoice and be glad' is a command to an active, exuberant joy even in persecution.

13

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Key Message

Disciples are called to preserve their distinctive identity and flavor in the world, not to be assimilated into it.

▸Jesus declares two metaphors for the disciples' identity: salt and light.

14

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

Key Message

Disciples who truly carry Christ's light cannot hide it; their lives are inherently public testimony.

▸The second metaphor: light.

15

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.

Key Message

Just as it is absurd to light a lamp and hide it, so it is absurd to possess God's light and fail to share it.

▸The lamp under a basket is a vivid and absurd image — no one lights a lamp only to hide it.

16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Key Message

The goal of letting our light shine is not self-glory but the glorification of God the Father through our good works.

▸The purpose of shining light is now specified: that others may 'give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

17

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Key Message

Jesus came not to destroy the Old Testament but to bring it to its complete fulfillment, revealing its deepest intention.

▸Jesus addresses potential misunderstanding about his relationship to the Old Testament.

18

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

Key Message

God's word has eternal permanence; not even its smallest detail will fail to be fulfilled.

▸'Truly (ἀμήν)' — Jesus' unique formula for authoritative declaration — introduces a solemn statement about the permanence of Scripture.

19

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Key Message

True greatness in God's kingdom is measured by faithfulness to God's commands in both personal practice and in what one teaches others.

▸Greatness in God's kingdom is defined by faithfulness to God's commands, not by human status or achievement.

20

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Key Message

Kingdom righteousness is not more rules but deeper transformation — a righteousness of the heart, not merely of outward compliance.

▸This is a provocative and astonishing statement.

21

You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'

Key Message

God's commandments address not just the act but the attitude and intention of the heart that gives rise to the act.

▸The first of six antitheses begins.

22

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.

Key Message

Murder begins in the heart with anger and contempt; Jesus calls his disciples to radical respect for every human being.

▸Jesus traces murder back to its root: anger and contemptuous speech.

23

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

Key Message

God values reconciled relationships above religious ritual; worship is incomplete when relationships are broken.

▸Worship and human relationships are inseparably linked.

24

leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Key Message

Before God can receive our worship fully, he calls us first to restore broken relationships with our neighbors.

▸The priority is unambiguous: reconciliation before worship.

25

Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.

Key Message

Urgently resolving conflict while there is still opportunity is wisdom both practically and spiritually.

▸Jesus moves from temple worship to a legal scenario, but the underlying principle is the same: resolve disputes quickly rather than allowing them to escalate.

26

Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Key Message

Every moral debt must be fully resolved; the completeness of divine justice leaves nothing unpaid.

▸The 'last penny (κοδράντης, kodrantes)' was the smallest Roman coin — a quadrans worth a quarter of an as.

27

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'

Key Message

God's moral law addresses not only outward acts but the intentions and desires of the heart.

▸The second antithesis addresses the seventh commandment against adultery.

28

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Key Message

Sin originates in the heart's intention, and Jesus calls his disciples to guard the heart, not only regulate outward behavior.

▸Jesus locates the sin of adultery in the heart's intention, not merely in the body's action.

29

If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.

Key Message

The seriousness of sin demands radical measures; deal with the causes of sin with decisive, painful thoroughness.

▸This is hyperbole — a radical rhetorical device emphasizing the seriousness of the problem of lust.

30

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Key Message

The loss of a part is infinitely preferable to the loss of the whole; deal with sin's causes before it destroys the whole person.

▸The metaphor is extended from the eye to the hand — the organ of action following the organ of perception.

31

It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'

Key Message

Regulations intended to protect the vulnerable can be distorted into permissions for exploitation; Jesus calls us back to God's original intention.

▸The third antithesis addresses divorce, citing Deuteronomy 24:1.

32

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Key Message

God's design for marriage is permanent covenant; Jesus calls his disciples to take marriage vows with the full seriousness God intends.

▸Jesus upholds the permanence of marriage, with one exception: sexual immorality (πορνεία).

33

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.'

Key Message

The problem of oath-taking reveals a deeper problem: ordinary speech that is not fully trustworthy; Jesus calls for radical transparency.

▸The fourth antithesis addresses oaths.

34

But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

Key Message

The goal is not oath reform but character transformation — a truthfulness so complete that oaths are redundant.

▸Jesus does not merely reform oath-taking but calls for the kind of character where oaths are unnecessary.

35

or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

Key Message

No corner of creation is outside God's ownership; therefore all speech is implicitly made before him.

▸The prohibition extends to three common oath formulas.

36

And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

Key Message

Human beings are creatures, not sovereigns; therefore no oath by creation or self can guarantee more than the character of the speaker.

▸Even one's own head is not under one's control.

37

Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil.

Key Message

Disciples of Jesus are called to a radical truthfulness where their simple word is their bond.

▸The positive alternative to oath-taking is simple, reliable speech: 'Yes' meaning yes and 'No' meaning no.

38

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

Key Message

A principle of legal justice was being misapplied as a personal charter for retaliation; Jesus addresses the deeper issue of the heart's response to injury.

▸The fifth antithesis addresses retaliation.

39

But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Key Message

Disciples respond to injury not with counter-violence but with a creative freedom that refuses to be degraded or defined by the insult.

▸Jesus calls for non-retaliation as the disposition of the heart, illustrated by four concrete examples.

40

And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

Key Message

Radical generosity that goes beyond legal compulsion exposes injustice and demonstrates a freedom the world cannot take away.

▸The second example addresses legal compulsion.

41

And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Key Message

Disciples transform coerced compliance into voluntary generosity, denying oppressors the power to define the relationship.

▸The third example of non-retaliation involves compulsory service.

42

Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

Key Message

The orientation of a disciple's heart toward money and possessions is radical generosity, not self-protection.

▸The fourth example is the positive face of non-retaliation: generosity.

43

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

Key Message

The human tendency is to limit the scope of love; Jesus comes to demolish those limits entirely.

▸The sixth and climactic antithesis addresses love.

44

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Key Message

Love of enemies is the most distinctive and transforming mark of disciples who have been loved by God while they were his enemies.

▸This is the most radical command in the Sermon on the Mount: love your enemies.

45

so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Key Message

Enemy-love reflects the character of God who pours out his goodness on all without distinction — evil and good alike.

▸The theological foundation for enemy-love: it reflects the character of God the Father, who provides sunshine and rain for all — both the evil and the good, both the just and the unjust.

46

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

Key Message

Merely reciprocal love does not distinguish disciples from the world; only love that transcends self-interest does.

▸Jesus uses tax collectors — among the most despised members of Jewish society — as the baseline example of merely reciprocal love.

47

And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

Key Message

Kingdom community is marked by a hospitality and warmth that crosses social, ethnic, and religious boundaries.

▸The same principle applied to greeting.

48

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Key Message

The goal of discipleship is nothing less than the complete, whole, mature love of God the Father — the full measure of Christlike character.

▸The Sermon on the Mount's first major section concludes with this striking call to perfection.