On the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus exposes what I like to think of as the “sin iceberg.” The visible tip is external obedience to the “letter of the law” (2 Corinthians 3:6). That’s the only part man typically sees. But beneath the surface lies the greater mass: the “Spirit of the law,” or what Jesus calls the “weightier matters of the law.” God sees both the visible behavior and the hidden heart, and He weighs our intentions (Proverbs 16:2).
This is why Jesus declares:
Matthew 5:20 “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
The scribes and Pharisees were experts in focusing on the tip of the iceberg. They prayed loudly on street corners (Matthew 6:5) and tithed their spice rack (Matthew 23:23) but missed the point of the Spirit of the law. Below are a few examples of how moral laws were twisted and misunderstood in Jewish interpretation during Jesus’ day. Jesus carefully corrects those misunderstandings and gives practical applications. Notice how He repeatedly uses the phrase “You have heard that it was said.” In doing so, He exposes superficial righteousness of the oral rabbinic tradition and reveals true Kingdom identity.
Abort Anger
Matthew 5:21-26 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 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. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 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. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Many Jews thought “As long as I don’t actually kill anyone, I’m fine. I can harbor hate in my heart and insult my brother.” Jesus raises the standard of holiness. Anger and hostility count too. If many could get away with murder, many would. The penalty of the consequences is usually the only thing stopping us.
Murderous intent almost always starts with anger. No one except mentally ill psychopaths commit murder with a smile on their face but with the furrowed brow of anger, contempt, and resentment.
Sinful anger says, “I don’t like you. I wish you didn’t exist.” The man who quietly despises others is murderous in heart. The godly Christian needs to support James 1 type abortion:
James 1:14-15 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Examine any murder on the news and the backstory will involved anger and hatred; the recent Brown University shooter in December 2025 was characterized as being an “angry loner”.
Seek reconciliation and kill your sin of anger before it kills you and others. Literally.
Blind Men Can Lust Too
Matthew 5:27-30 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
Many Jews thought “As long as I don’t have sex with another man’s wife, I’m fine with God.” Jesus raises the standard of holiness. The red-pilled alpha-male who sleeps around women is an adulterer. The socially awkward incel who consumes porn all day is an adulterer. The religious preacher in a suit who secretly gazes longingly at the women in his congregation is an adulterer. This is fundamentally a heart issue.
Jesus speaks in hyperbole here with the eye-plucking and hand-cutting. He is saying to take radical measures in your striving for purity. Blind men can lust too. I once met a blind man who salivated at women’s voices and imagined their bodies by how “sexy” their voice sounded. Though he couldn’t physically see, the eye of his imagination fueled his lust. Jesus’ point stands: adultery begins long before the bedroom.
Burnt Toast? Divorce!
Matthew 5:31-32 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 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.
Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 24:1 (“…if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her…”) and references the debate between two major rabbinic schools. The liberal Hillel interpretation eventually allowed divorce for trivial reasons (like “your wife burning your toast” level excuses), while the more conservative Shammai interpretation restricted it to serious indecency. Jesus aligns more closely with Shammai and raises the standard of holiness for the Hillelians.
One of the clearest “hates” God expresses in Scripture is His hatred of divorce (Malachi 2:16). The only reason it’s even permitted is because of the hardness of the human heart (Matthew 19:8-9). Jesus pushes beyond legal loopholes to confront heart-level covenant hardness.
I Promise…I Swear on my Mother’s Grave!
Matthew 5:33-37 “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.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
When I was a child, I was often very dishonest. And like the boy who cried wolf, I quickly lost all credibility from my brother and friends. But there were times, when I REALLY wanted to be believed, so what did I do? I started to invoke “sacred things” to boost the truthfulness of my words: “I swear on my life…on my mother’s grave…” The Jews did something similar to 10 year old Harin. They swore by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, etc., believing these oaths were not binding, but they didn’t dare to swear an oath to YHWH. They thought “As long as I swear properly or technically phrase my vow right, I’m fine even if I’m being deceptive. Just don’t swear falsely before God, but I can manipulate truth in other ways.”
This created a culture where truthfulness became negotiable and Jesus demolishes that system. Verbal loopholes and rhetorical gymnastics are unnecessary. Speak plainly. Say what you mean and mean what you say, like God Himself does.
The Eighth Amendment is Biblical
Matthew 5:38-42 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’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. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Many Jews believed personal revenge was justified as long as it was “fair” and proportional. But “eye for eye” in the Law was meant for civil courts, not personal vendettas.
Romans 12 says, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves… Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” Then Romans 13 follows by saying God uses governing authorities who “do not bear the sword in vain.” Remember: there were no chapter divisions originally. So one of the clear ways God enacts “vengeance” is through civil authority. So yes, call the police when needed.
The context for “An eye for an eye” was a civil court where proportionate, retributive justice needed to be enacted. Let the punishment fit the crime. No excessive, cruel, or unusual punishments much like the Eight Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Taking matters into your own hands is actually faithless and pride-driven. Kingdom people should exhibit generosity and a willingness to absorb insult. Christians should even sometimes be willing to be wronged or defrauded by other brothers (1 Corinthians 6:7).
In context, Jesus addresses personal retaliation rooted in pride, honor, and vengeance, not battlefield ethics or “stop a murderer” scenarios. A slap was an insult in honor-culture, not an attempted murder.
This is where blanket pacifist statements like “Loving enemies means never doing them harm” go too far. Enabling evil isn’t loving. Allowing men to continue sinning does them harm. Sometimes love restrains evil so repentance can occur. Jesus is not teaching civil policy here.
Love your (only Jewish?) neighbor
Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The Jewish people were historically oppressed. Whether it was the Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Haman, Herod, Hitler, Hamas, their history is filled with exile, attempted genocide, infanticide, slavery, and persecution. Emotive (but not descriptive or prescriptive) texts like Psalm 137:9 where Jews want to dash the heads of their enemy’s children against rocks reflected their raw anguish against enemies. Naturally, “Love your neighbor” often came to mean “Love your fellow Jew”. There is no OT verse saying “hate your enemy” even though the attitude was common.
But Jesus elevates love to a God-shaped level. There are three kinds of love people naturally understand:
- loving friends (easy)
- loving the neutral (moderate e.g. philanthropy, charity)
- loving enemies (unnatural, divine). This mirrors the Father’s love.
Romans 5:10 “or if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”
What a high and holy calling.