“Not To Abolish But To Fulfill”
“NOT TO ABOLISH BUT TO FULFILL”
MATTHEW 5:13-26
As salt must be rubbed into food to preserve it from going bad, so as Christians we are to be involved in the life of the world.
The followers of Jesus must be like salt, preserving their environment from corruption (5:13); they must be “the light of the world,” dispelling the surrounding darkness (5:14). Salt that has lost its essential quality of “saltness” is useless for any other purpose, and what is the good of an invisible light? “If the New Testament is to decide what is meant by a true Christian, then to be a true Christian in all secrecy, comfortably and enjoyably, is as impossible as firing a cannon in all secrecy” (S. Kierkegaard). “Our Lord,” remarked George Tyrrell, “had only one thing to say about making proselytes, and it was not complimentary (cf. Matthew 23:15); he did say ‘Let your light so shine before men’.” The teaching of 5:16 is echoed in the New Testament epistles—eg Philippians 2:15f.; 1 Peter 3:1f.,13ff.
The Sermon on the Mount does not abrogate the ethical demands of the Old Testament law; it completes and sharpens them. The assertion that “all” that the world needs is the putting into practice of the Sermon on the Mount is naively idealistic in a society which finds the Ten Commandments beyond its capacity. According to Paul (who shows himself well acquainted with the ethical teaching of Jesus), it is in those who “walk by the Spirit” that “the law of Christ” is fulfilled (Galatians 5:16; 6:2). But while the standard is higher, no disciple of Jesus can be content with anything lower. The Pharisees’ standard was lofty enough, but it was not unattainable (cf. Matthew 19:20; Philippians 3:6). But who can perfectly keep the sixth commandment as interpreted here (5:21ff.)? Not only the murderous act but the angry thought, the contemptuous word or the denial of a man’s integrity expose one to judgment in the heavenly court (5:22).
Two corollaries to this interpretation are appended: one insisting that God cannot be acceptably worshiped by those who are not in charity with their neighbors (5:23f.) and another reminding the listeners that, since they are all on the way to the heavenly court to give an account of their lives, they should come to terms by means of repentance while there is time (5:25f.).
Notes 5:22: “everyone who is angry with his brother”: the later addition “without a cause” KJV is an eloquent commentary on the tendency of Christians to soften their Lord’s “hard sayings.” 5:22: “whoever insults his brother”: literally, “calls his brother ‘Raca’”—probably an Aramaic word meaning “vain” or “empty fellow.” 5:22: “You fool!”: Greek mõre, which may here be the transcription of Hebrew mõreh (“rebel”), the fateful word used by Moses in Numbers 20:10 which excluded him from the Promised Land. The “hell (Gehenna) of fire” is an expression for the place of retribution in the world to come, drawn from the Valley of the son of Hinnom south of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 19:2), which served the city as its refuse dump and incinerator in the post-exilic age.