S3 96: But I Say Unto You
Murder, Adultery, Divorce, etc. [38:15]
Episode Length: 38:15
Published Date: Thu, 13 Dec 2018 01:00:00 -0800
Session 3
About this episode:
Marty Solomon and Brent Billings finish the fifth chapter of Matthew, surveying the many examples Jesus gives for properly interpreting the Text.
The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw
The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne
Notes
*Note: The following notes are handwritten by me, Adam, and I reserve the right to be wrong.
BEMA Episode 96: But I Say Unto You - Study Notes
Title & Source Summary
Episode: 96 - But I Say Unto You
Hosts: Marty Solomon and Brent Billings
Focus: Matthew 5:21-48 (Sermon on the Mount continued)
This episode completes the journey through Matthew chapter 5, examining Jesus’s radical reinterpretation of Torah through a series of examples. Jesus demonstrates what it means to “fulfill” the law by showing how the commandments were always intended to transform hearts, not just regulate behavior. Through six specific examples—murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and love for enemies—Jesus reveals that Torah was designed to change who we are as people and how we treat others, not merely to create a system of external compliance.
Key Takeaways
- Jesus is not “upping the ante” on God’s expectations but revealing what God always intended through Torah
- The commandments were given to change our hearts and transform us into people who reflect God’s character
- All of Jesus’s teachings in this section center on how we treat people, not on establishing moral codes
- Torah interpretation is about both understanding and living out the commandments through action
- The law was designed to make us different from the world through radical love, not just rule-following
- Jesus challenges both legalistic loophole-seeking and superficial obedience by going to the heart level
- Being “perfect” (Matthew 5:48) actually means being “holy” or “set apart”—becoming different like God is different
- The defining characteristic that sets God’s people apart is the ability to love enemies, not just friends
Main Concepts & Theories
The Nature of Torah Fulfillment
Jesus’s approach to Torah represents a fundamental shift from how it was commonly understood in first-century Judaism. The Jewish worldview typically viewed Torah as 613 commandments meant to control external behavior rather than transform internal character. The rabbis had even built “fences” around the law—the Mishnah’s approximately 3,000 additional commands, later expanding to the 6,000 commands of the Talmud. This fence-building came from their experience in Babylon, where they concluded they hadn’t followed God’s commands well enough.
Jesus, however, teaches that Torah was always designed to change who we are on the inside. This is actually counter to traditional Jewish thought, which maintains that only God can search the mind and know the heart—therefore, commandments cannot be about internal states. Jesus challenges this by demonstrating that each commandment points to heart transformation and relational dynamics.
Murder and Anger (Matthew 5:21-26)
The commandment “do not murder” serves as Jesus’s first example. He teaches that this prohibition was never merely about the physical act of killing but about addressing the anger, hatred, and resentment in our hearts that lead to murder. The commandment teaches us how to interact with people at the deepest level.
Jesus makes this practical by giving proactive expectations: be reconciled with your brother or sister before offering gifts at the temple, settle legal matters before they escalate to court, and resolve disputes quickly before they spiral out of control. The commandment is revealed as being about reconciliation and relationship restoration, not just avoiding homicide.
This represents a fundamental principle of Jesus’s teaching: the commandments are not just prohibitions but invitations to become certain kinds of people who actively pursue peace and reconciliation.
Adultery and Lust (Matthew 5:27-30)
Jesus applies the same interpretive approach to adultery. The commandment was never just about not committing the physical act but about recognizing the full humanity of others and not treating people as objects. Lust reduces a person to something to be used rather than someone to be honored.
The hyperbolic language about gouging out eyes and cutting off hands emphasizes the seriousness of heart-level transformation. Jesus is not advocating self-mutilation but using shocking imagery to communicate that internal transformation is more important than external compliance.
All 613 commandments work together to teach us how to treat people with dignity and honor, seeing them as God sees them rather than as objects for our use.
Divorce (Matthew 5:31-32)
Jesus addresses divorce in the context of how we treat people. While he will elaborate on this teaching later in Matthew’s Gospel (where he engages with a specific rabbinic debate), the point here is consistent with the broader theme: divorce isn’t just about the morality of ending a marriage but about what it does to people and the kind of person you’re becoming.
The tragic irony is that this passage has been weaponized to judge and condemn divorced people, when Jesus’s entire point is about treating people with love and dignity. Using this text to beat up those who have experienced divorce contradicts the very heart of what Jesus is teaching.
Oaths (Matthew 5:33-37)
The Pharisaic world had created an elaborate system of oaths with built-in loopholes. You could swear by the temple, then later swear by the gold of the temple to override your previous promise. This allowed people to make and break promises while technically maintaining adherence to the law.
Jesus cuts through this complexity: let your yes be yes and your no be no. The Torah’s teaching on oaths was never about creating a system to manipulate or find loopholes. It was about becoming people whose word means something, who treat others with integrity by keeping promises. It’s about how your oaths affect relationships and whether you’re building or disrupting shalom with others.
Eye for Eye (Matthew 5:38-42)
The “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” principle in Torah was originally given as a protective measure to prevent the cycle of vengeance from escalating (as seen in the Samson narrative). It was meant to limit retribution, not license it. However, people had turned it from a defensive posture into an offensive one, using it to justify retaliation.
Jesus provides three provocative examples of non-violent resistance:
The Right Cheek: If someone strikes you on the right cheek (which requires a backhanded slap—the way you’d strike a slave or inferior), turn the other cheek. This isn’t passive acceptance but a provocative third option. You’re saying, “If you’re going to hit me, hit me like an equal, like a human being.” You expose the injustice while refusing to respond with violence, creating space for the aggressor to recognize what they’re doing and choose a different path.
The Coat and Shirt: In their world, if someone sued you for your outer garment (cloak), you were destitute—you literally had nothing but the clothes on your back. Jesus says to give them your undergarment too, standing naked before the court to expose the complete injustice of the situation. You’re showing that you won’t play their game of exploitation.
The Second Mile: Roman law allowed soldiers to force civilians to carry their packs for one mile through a practice called “angaria,” but they couldn’t legally compel service beyond that. Jesus says to carry it two miles. This creates an awkward moment when you reach the mile marker and keep walking—the soldier now fears getting in trouble for exceeding the law. You’ve turned the power dynamic on its head without violence.
In all three examples, Jesus advocates for creative non-violent resistance that exposes injustice while refusing to perpetuate the cycle of violence. This is the true fulfillment of “eye for an eye”—pursuing justice without vengeance.
Love Your Enemies (Matthew 5:43-48)
The phrase “love your neighbor and hate your enemy” was not found anywhere until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which revealed this teaching in the Essene community’s code. Jesus directly refutes this sectarian philosophy.
His teaching is stark: if you only love those who love you, you’re no different from anyone else. Even tax collectors and pagans love their friends and family. There’s nothing distinctive about loving people who are like you and who treat you well.
The only thing that truly sets God’s people apart is the capacity to love enemies. This is what makes us like God, who “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” God loves everyone, including his enemies, and our calling as a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19) is to put God on display. We display God’s character by loving as he loves.
Be Perfect/Holy as Your Father is Perfect/Holy
The episode concludes with the quotation “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). This translation is problematic because “perfect” is a Greek philosophical concept (particularly Platonic) that doesn’t exist in Hebrew thought.
Jesus is quoting Leviticus 19:2: “Be holy, because I, the LORD your God, am holy.” The Hebrew word “kadosh” means “set apart” or “different”—not perfect in the sense of flawless. The Septuagint (Greek translation of the Old Testament) doesn’t even use the word translated as “perfect” here, suggesting Matthew was originally written in Hebrew.
The command is not to be flawless but to be different—set apart by how we love. The book of Leviticus invited God’s people to be priest-like, and what sets priests (and God’s people) apart is radical, enemy-encompassing love. This connects back to the center of the Beatitudes: hunger and thirst for righteousness, which looks like mercy.
Examples & Applications
Modern Applications of Non-Violent Resistance
Jesus’s teaching on the right cheek, coat, and second mile provides a framework for creative non-violent resistance that remains relevant today. This isn’t passive acceptance of injustice but active exposure of it while refusing to perpetuate cycles of violence.
In contemporary contexts, this might look like:
- Responding to workplace mistreatment by documenting injustice and appealing to higher authorities rather than retaliating
- When falsely accused, responding with truth and grace rather than counter-accusations
- Addressing systemic injustice through peaceful protest that exposes wrong while maintaining human dignity
- In personal conflicts, choosing responses that break expected patterns and create space for transformation
The Danger of Weaponizing Scripture
The episode highlights how the divorce passage has been tragically misused to judge and condemn people who have experienced divorce. This serves as a cautionary tale about using Scripture to beat people up when the very point of the text is about treating people with love and dignity.
This principle extends to many biblical texts. When we use Scripture as a weapon rather than as a guide to love, we fundamentally misunderstand its purpose. The question should always be: “Is my interpretation leading me to love people better, or am I using this text to justify judgment and exclusion?”
Recognizing Full Humanity
Jesus’s teaching on lust and adultery emphasizes recognizing the full humanity of others. This has broad applications in how we view and treat people:
- Avoiding objectification in any form—sexual, economic, or social
- Seeing people as created in God’s image rather than as means to our ends
- Recognizing the dignity and worth of every person regardless of their status or usefulness to us
- Challenging systems and structures that reduce people to their utility or function
Kingdom of Priests
The episode connects back to Session 1’s teaching on being a “kingdom of priests” (Exodus 19:6). The role of a priest is to put God on display. If God’s defining characteristic is love for enemies, then our distinctiveness as God’s people must be found in the same capacity.
This challenges American Christian culture, which often emphasizes national identity, political alignment, and cultural values as markers of Christian distinctiveness. Jesus says the only thing that truly sets us apart is radical love that extends even to enemies.
Potential Areas for Further Exploration
The Sermon on the Mount in Its Entirety
This episode covers only Matthew 5:21-48, which is one-third of the Sermon on the Mount. The complete sermon (Matthew 5-7) deserves comprehensive study as a unified teaching on kingdom life. How do the Beatitudes, these interpretations of Torah, and the concluding teachings on prayer, worry, judgment, and building on rock form a cohesive vision of discipleship?
Jesus’s Teaching on Divorce in Matthew 19
The episode mentions that Jesus will address divorce again later in Matthew’s Gospel, where he engages with a specific rabbinic debate between the schools of Hillel and Shammai. How does that fuller teaching inform our understanding of this brief reference in the Sermon on the Mount?
Rabbinic Interpretation Methods
Jesus demonstrates what appears to be s’micha authority—the authority to interpret Torah. What were the contemporary methods of rabbinic interpretation in first-century Judaism? How did other rabbis approach similar texts, and how does Jesus’s method compare and contrast?
The Original Language of Matthew’s Gospel
The episode argues that Matthew was likely written originally in Hebrew, not Greek, based on evidence like the “perfect/holy” quotation from Leviticus and other factors. What is the scholarly debate around Matthew’s original language, and how does it affect our interpretation of the text?
Non-Violent Resistance Throughout Scripture and History
Jesus’s teaching on creative non-violent resistance connects to broader biblical themes and has inspired movements throughout history. How do these principles appear in the Old Testament (for example, in Daniel or Esther)? How have they been applied by figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, or other practitioners of non-violent resistance?
Torah Observance and Heart Transformation
The tension between Torah as external commandments versus internal transformation continues in Jewish-Christian dialogue. How do contemporary Jewish scholars approach the relationship between action and intention? What can Christians learn from Jewish practice about the unity of belief and action?
The Essenes and Dead Sea Scrolls
The teaching “love your neighbor and hate your enemy” appears in Essene writings. What else can we learn about first-century Jewish diversity from the Dead Sea Scrolls? How did various Jewish groups (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots) interpret and apply Torah differently?
The Nature of Holiness
If holiness (kadosh) means “set apart” or “different,” what does it mean to be holy in a contemporary context? How do we maintain distinctiveness without becoming sectarian or separatist? How does love for enemies relate to maintaining boundaries and community identity?
Comprehension Questions
-
How does Jesus’s interpretation of “do not murder” differ from simply abstaining from killing someone? What proactive behaviors does he say should flow from proper understanding of this commandment?
-
Explain why someone striking you on the right cheek is significant. What does turning the other cheek mean in this context, and why is it not simply passive acceptance of abuse?
-
What was the original purpose of the “eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” principle in Torah, and how had people misused it by Jesus’s time? How does Jesus reinterpret this commandment?
-
Jesus says, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” What is his point, and how does loving enemies connect to being a “kingdom of priests” who put God on display?
-
The episode argues that “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” is a mistranslation. What should it say, and how does this change our understanding of what Jesus is calling us to?
Summary
In Episode 96, Marty Solomon and Brent Billings work through the second half of Matthew 5, where Jesus provides six concrete examples of what it means to “fulfill” the Torah rather than abolish it. Each example—murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and love for enemies—demonstrates that the commandments were never merely about external behavior but about heart transformation and how we treat people.
Jesus challenges both the legalistic loophole-seeking of the Pharisees and any notion that obedience is simply about avoiding certain actions. Instead, he shows that Torah was designed to make us into certain kinds of people—people who don’t just refrain from murder but actively pursue reconciliation, who don’t just avoid adultery but honor the full humanity of others, who keep their word without elaborate oath systems, who respond to injustice with creative non-violent resistance rather than revenge, and who love not only neighbors and friends but even enemies.
The climactic teaching about loving enemies reveals what truly sets God’s people apart. Anyone can love those who love them back—even tax collectors and pagans do that. But loving enemies is what makes us like God, who sends sun and rain on both the righteous and unrighteous. As a “kingdom of priests” called to put God on display, our distinctiveness must be found in this radical, enemy-encompassing love.
The command to “be perfect” is actually a call to be “holy”—set apart, different—as our heavenly Father is different. This holiness is defined not by flawless adherence to rules but by the quality of our love, especially for those who don’t love us back. This theme of mercy and love will continue throughout the Sermon on the Mount, revealing that at the heart of Jesus’s teaching is the call to become people who look like God in how we treat others.
Edit | Previous | Next