Matthew 5

Be perfect? Like, never mess up? It sounds impossible. And if it means that, it is. But the word behind “perfect” isn’t about a test score. It’s a Greek word that means complete, whole, having reached what you were made…

Right after asking what’s special about loving people who love us, Jesus asks the same thing about greeting. Back then, a greeting wasn’t just a wave. It was public. You’d bless someone. Embrace them. You were saying, this person is…

Right after telling us to love our enemies, Jesus tests the easy kind of love. The kind where you love people who already love you. He asks a sharp question. What reward’s in that? Then He answers it. None. Because…

This finishes what Jesus said yesterday. Love your enemies. Here’s why: so you’ll look like your Father in heaven. “Sons” or “children of” someone was an old way of saying you take after them. You act like them. So loving…

People back then said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Half of that was from the Bible. Love your neighbor is real (Lev 19:18). But “hate your enemy” isn’t in the Bible at all. Someone made it up. They…

Jesus keeps it simple here. Someone has a need. They come to you. Give. Lend. Don’t turn away. He leaves it wide open. But He’s after something in us. The quick “no” that fires before we even think. We know…

Here’s what that meant back then. A Roman soldier could stop you on the road. He could make you carry his gear for a mile. You had no choice. The people hated it. It was the enemy’s power, right in…

Someone takes you to court over your shirt. Jesus says give them your coat too. In His day the coat was more than clothing. It was the blanket a poor person slept in. The law said no one could keep…

Context: “Eye for an eye” sounds like a license for revenge. It was the opposite. God gave it to judges to cap punishment. Then people grabbed it to settle their own scores. Look at the wound Jesus picks. Not a…