Matthew 5, discover intention to perfectly pursue necessary goodness

Matthew 5, discovering intention to perfectly pursue necessary goodness

Updated on 6/9/2025: self-righteousness invites judgement. Also, 6/13/25 re Wolterstorff. Also, 11/23/25 after I dropped out of UBC and Nomads’ class.

Guide: CJB emphasis in bold (CJB online), text I emphasize in green; NIV in magenta; footnotes to CJB in superscript sky blue; Nomads* discussion in yellow; and my comments in gray. I may use endnotes to cite outside literature or extensive comment.  

*Participative Sunday-school-class at UBC led by Ken Tipton. My continually improved statement about Genesis 1:26-28 is at the end of this post.

Word search, CJB:

1.     Blessed (9)

2.     You (81), . . . are (5)

3.     “You have heard”

a.      ‘Do not murder,’

b.     ‘Do not commit adultery.

c.      ‘Do not break your oath,’ and ‘Keep your vows to Adonai.

d.     Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.

e.      ‘Love your neighbor

Chief concerns and possible insights:

1.      Herein seems evidence that Genesis 1’s creation by God transitions to an alternative story of the Lord God at Genesis 2:4. The competition continues throughout the Old Testament and becomes redemption for life versus death in the New Testament. Pivotal evidence is shared in the attached jpg screen shots from http://hebrewoldtestament.com/ .

2.      With 2000 years’ added discovery and 10000 years with grammar, we may and can reject any bad advice the ancient writer offers, such as neither appreciating no-harm non-believers nor annihilating evils such as Jihadists.

a.      Perhaps “the kingdom of The God” is here and now – in each generation

3.      Yeshua’s process for reconciliation of civic/civil dispute is enhanced in V23-26.

4.      Yeshua’s affirmation of Genesis 1:26-28 is evident, especially in V48.

5.      The “eye for eye” references derive from 3700 year old Babylonian law code, not 5500 year old Sumerian law codes.

6.      Writer-biases are exposed in both CJB and NIV.

7.      Judeo-Christianity reports controversies from The God to competitive Lord Gods.

Working considerations:

1.    V3 “poor in spirit” means humble to The God.

2.    V5 “meek” means quiet, or mild. CJB has “land” rather than NIV’s “earth”.

8.      V6 What is “righteousness”? I prefer “goodness”.

a.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdcIkbAMWKA Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff argues that interpreters should be advocating justice or “to righteousness” in humility to The God.

b.     The Messianic Jews responsible for CJB also missed Wolterstorff’s debate.

9.      V9 NIV objects to CJB’s “sons of God”.

10. V11 breaks from encouragement to judgement against dissidents.

11. V17 But beware dissidents against the law

a.      V20 elites are hypocrites.

b.     V20 pursue righteousness or goodness or justice.

c.      Consider some improvements on the law (mitzvot, V19)

                                                 i.      V22 contempt condemns the angry person.

                                               ii.      V23 self-righteousness invites judgement.

                                            iii.      V24 pursue reconciliation, as in Matthew 18:15-17

1.     Matthew 18:18 affirms Genesis 1:26-28.

                                             iv.      V28 adultery is out of the question is Matthew 19:5-6

1.     Note: the Council of Jerusalem concluded gentile believers avoid idolatry, blood-borne pathogens, and fornication

2.     Moses’ law had 613 commandments (mitzvot)

                                               v.      V37 practicing necessary is sufficient

                                             vi.      V39 Jihadist teach us we must annihilate evil people, e.g., in order to give rebels opportunity to reform.

                                          vii.      V40 history informs us that “eye for eye” increases disability and dependency and is therefore not practicable – economical.

                                        viii.      V45 Appreciate that The God sustains erroneous citizens, granting them the opportunity to reform -- collaborate with The God.

1.     It’s a matter of appreciating that reasonable errors are accommodated

2.     Habitual error begs ruin.

12. V18 modern Jews informed that conditions for their Messiah have not yet happened.

13. V48 Instructed by Yeshua to be perfect, we may realize it is possible and pursue our unique perfection from the moment of personal intention.  Update on 3/28/2025; Yeshua may be commenting on Deuteronomy 18:13.

 

^5:1 Seeing the crowds, Yeshua walked up the hill. After he sat down, his talmidim disciples came to him, ² and he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

³ “How blessed are the poor in spirit! [not proud or despairing not meek]
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

⁴ “How blessed are those who mourn! for they will be comforted.

⁵ “How blessed are the meek!
    for they will inherit the Land earth! ^{Psalm 37:11, “But the meek will inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.”}

⁶ “How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness!
    for they will be filled.
⁷ “How blessed are those who show mercy!
    for they will be shown mercy.

⁸ “How blessed are the pure in heart!
    for they will see God.

⁹ “How blessed are those who make peace!
    for they will be called sons of God children of God.

¹⁰ “How blessed are those who are persecuted because they pursue righteousness! [This ends general goodness, perhaps to groom the apostles among disciples, and clears the way to competitive believers. This seems good start for a study of what “image of God” might mean.] for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. [Relating to John 1:1, Ken expressed that Nomads were hearing from “the Word”.]

¹¹ “How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow me! [A segue into divisive attitude – “vicious lies” seems overboard. It seems a quid pro quo based on Matthews’s opinion.] ¹² Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great — they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way. [Yeshua’s goodness may have visited people Matthew calls “prophets”. Matthew may not have known them all, for example, Agathon, quoted by Plato 460 years before Yeshua was born. Agathon’s speech, in “Symposium” seems worthy of a SS lesson. It also reminds me that “Before Abraham was born I am” extends both backward and forward and to both Sarah and Hagar. The person who sincerely considers and shares with willing contemporaries mutual pursuit of goodness, can trust Yeshua-reliability.]

¹³ “You are salt for the Land. But if salt becomes tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except being thrown out for people to trample on. [If you allow aggressive people to oppress you, you cannot share Yeshua’s influence. No one who has discovered goodness that motivates good behavior can be discouraged by produ writers like Matthew.]

¹⁴ “You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don’t cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before people, [Never fear civic integrity: I write blogs to not subjugate myself to “scholarship” and other licensure stonewalling. Obviously, I find it rewarding to claim that independence. And there’s no such thing as religious integrity, because it is founded in mystery.], so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven. [These salt and light metaphors continue the divisive attitude. Ken’s “but” is coming. In V.11, it seems your light should shine because of Yeshua. In reverting to “the Father” is Matthew bemused about who Yeshua is? Does he cite the Father to try to avoid persecution because of Yeshua?] [To the serenely-confident civic-student, goodness overcomes the mysteries accumulated in past pursuits of comprehension, and discovery should be mutually shared.]

¹⁷ “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. ¹⁸ Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud [work] or a stroke will pass from the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened. [Modern Jews hold that not everything required for a Messiah has happened.] ¹⁹ So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot commands and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and P’rushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven! [What is righteousness and how does a person learn it? The catalogue that follows is insufficient. If Jews believe keeping the law merits heaven, this paragraph seems anti-Semitic. If it is, civic-citizens ought to be cautious about judging citizens who do not appreciate the practical Yeshua --- the Yeshua discernable by living people.] [For example, in Matthew 19:3-8 Jesus corrected Moses’ law about divorce.]

 

²¹ “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Do not murder,’ ^{Exodus 20:13, Deuteronomy 5:17} and that anyone who commits murder will be subject to judgment. ²² But I tell you that anyone who nurses anger against his brother or sister will be subject to judgment; that whoever calls his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing!’ will be brought before the Sanhedrin; that whoever says, ‘Fool!’ incurs the penalty of burning in the fire of Gei-Hinnom! Hell ²³ So if you are offering your gift at the Temple altar and you remember there that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift where it is by the altar, and go, make peace be reconciled with your brother. Then come back and offer your gift. [I am suspicious of altar instructions, because elsewhere Yeshua advocates building character rather than materialism. And philanthropy is a way of re-distributing U.S. taxation without legislative oversight; I oppose it. Matthew 6:21 applies to churches as well as to citizens: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Churches are rent-seekers who skim from “caring for the poor”.]²⁵ If someone sues you, come to terms with him quickly, while you and he are on the way to court; or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer of the court, and you may be thrown in jail! ²⁶ Yes indeed! I tell you, you will certainly not get out until you have paid the last penny. [These verses, 22-26, about settling dispute continues explanation of Yeshua’s process in Matthew 18:15-17); private notice and resolution; if not resolved, invite a second person to get involved; if not, take it public; if not, forget that brother. Nomads like the process and consider it difficult. Conflict resolution is not easy. Civic and civil order are to be appreciated.]

²⁷ “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ ^{Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18  28} But I tell you that a man who even looks at a woman with the purpose of lusting after her [My opinion as that intention is the key here. Just as not appreciating a rose is erroneous, not appreciating a woman is wrong. President Jimmy Carter did not understand this, and I perceive his wife forgave his offense.] has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye makes you sin, gouge it out and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom. ³⁰ And if your right hand makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away! Better that you should lose one part of you than have your whole body thrown into Gei-Hinnom. [Suggesting self-disabling is from the writer, not Yeshua’s civic influence. The practical Yeshua is more realistic than Matthew’s seeming adolescence. What’s at stake is objectification of women for sexual fantasy. An authentic man perceives every woman a potential crowd, with up to 400 eggs to produce during her fertile years. By no imagination would he engage the crowd for sexual satisfaction.]

³¹ “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a get.’ ^{Deuteronomy 24:1, “Suppose a man marries a woman and consummates the marriage but later finds her displeasing, because he has found her offensive in some respect. He writes her a divorce document, gives it to her and sends her away from his house.” The footnote reveals CJB infidelity to OT scripture.   32} But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication for sexual immortality, makes her an adulteress; and that anyone who marries a divorcee commits adultery. [This is less motivating than Yeshua’s affirmation of Genesis 1:26-28 in Matthew 19:5-6. And it’s not that simple. If a spouse’s conduct is ruining the children’s future; the offenders hears the complaint without expressing consideration, remorse, repentance, and reform; then resumes the practice, the responsible spouse must take civil action.]

³³ “Again, you have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Do not break your oath,’ and ‘Keep your vows to Adonai. the Lord’ ^{Leviticus 19:12, “Do not swear by my name falsely, which would be profaning the name of your God; I am Adonai.” Number 30:3 (2), “when a man makes a vow to Adonai or formally obligates himself by swearing an oath, he is not to break his word but is to do everything he said he would do.” Deuteronomy 23:22, “When you make a vow to Adonai your God, you are not to delay in fulfilling it, for Adonai your God will certainly demand it of you, and your failure to do so will be your sin. “} [Why are most U.S. Presidents so arrogant? I think it’s because Christians accommodate religious arrogance. I don’t think Yeshua-practitioners would accommodate presidential oaths.] ³⁴ But I tell you not to swear at all — not ‘by heaven,’ because it is God’s throne; ³⁵ not ‘by the earth,’ because it is his footstool; ^{Isaiah 66:1 “Heaven is my throne,” says Adonai, “and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house could you build for me? What sort of place could you devise for my rest? Didn’t I myself make all these things? This is how they all came to be,” says Adonai.}, and not ‘by Yerushalayim,’ because it is the city of the Great King. ^{Psalm 48:3, beautiful in its elevation, the joy of all the earth, Mount Tziyon, in the far north, the city of the great king.}  [I doubt Yeshua spoke “city of the Great King”. Matthew projects Yeshua onto an Old Testament phrase.] ³⁶ And don’t swear by your head, because you can’t make a single hair white or black. ³⁷ Just let your ‘Yes’ be a simple ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ a simple ‘No’; anything more than this has its origin in evil. [Nomads: if you neglect the ought, the error is inevitable despite your claims.]

³⁸ “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ ^{Exodus 21:24, ”eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” Leviticus 24:20, “break for break, eye for eye, tooth for tooth — whatever injury he has caused the other person is to be rendered to him in return. (Maftir)” Deuteronomy 19:21, “Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”} [Does anyone trust Matthew on this report? For example, the moment I realize a person is heavily under narcotics, I leave the scene.] ³⁹ But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you wrong do not resist an evil person. On the contrary, if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left cheek too! ⁴⁰ If someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well! ⁴¹ And if a soldier forces you to carry his pack for one mile, carry it for two! ⁴² When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something from you, lend it to him. [The laws of physics deny this advice. Zoroastrianism featured 2 personal principles. First, goodness begets goodness. Second, choose goodness rather than evil. Today, there are less than 200,000 Zoroastrians -- in India, Iran, and in N. America. The violence of Jihad informs us that a civic people may and can reform dissidents and rebels and must annihilate evils. A wayward citizen needs the chance to reform and therefore must be protected from Jihadists.]

⁴³ “You have heard that our fathers were told, ‘Love your neighbor ^{Leviticus 19:18, ” Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I am Adonai.”} — and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵ Then you will become children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun shine on good and bad people alike, and he sends rain to the righteous and the unrighteous alike. ⁴⁶ What reward [The writer is suggesting quid pro quo thinking. Yeshua simply influences necessary goodness.] do you get if you love only those who love you? Why, even tax-collectors do that! ⁴⁷ And if you are friendly only to your friends, are you doing anything out of the ordinary? Even the Goyim do that! [“Love” is overplayed. Appreciation is more effective.] ⁴⁸ Therefore, be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. [As Ken suggests, I think Yeshua meant it. A person can pursue perfection, once they intend to.] [Update on 3/28/2025: Deuteronomy 18:13, “You must be wholehearted with Adonai your God.” (CJB) and “You must be blameless before the Lord your God.” (NIV)] [This may be the most difficult message attributed to Yeshua. Here’s my take on it.

Human beings face necessity& justice: shared subjectivity to physics& progeny with potential to practice, facilitate, and encourage perfect choices --- mimic the practical Yeshua. Enemies and persecutors are fellow-citizens encouraged to reform. However, evil, which Matthew did not address, must be eradicated.

Love is often inappropriate, e.g., when it is not wanted by the other party. Appreciation is a better goal, dependents seeking to reform are appreciable, and evil cannot be appreciated. Mutual appreciation is a can& may, but love is not practicable without appreciation& fidelity.

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s opinion is that “Jesus” was a man who asserted that a human-being can perfect their unique person. Read “Divinity School Address”, 1838. Emerson’s encouragement to “virtue” or civic-integrity has been repressed, now for 184 years, by churches that otherwise praise Emerson.

Further, V48 seems a refrain of Genesis 1:28’s, provide order& prosperity in the image of God. This is evidence for a possible Yeshua message, “Before Abraham was born I am”. Yeshua may be the author of Genesis 1 and its God. I don’t think so but don’t know the-ineluctable-truth. Ineluctable means “not to be avoided, changed, or resisted” altogether, merriam-webster. com.

The above concerns can& may appeal to most people’s experiences& observations. However, the person who hopes the Bible they believe is the infallible word of the entity that judges the consequences of human choice will find a way to castigate the civically-concerned fellow-citizen along with his/her opinion, just as Emerson was banned from Harvard for 30 years. And surely R. E. Lee in 1856 understood Frederic Douglass’s 1852 statement, “There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven, that does not know that slavery is wrong for him”. We know the fierceness of Bible belief from 2,000 years of divergent chaos, especially in the USA, where Christianity’s European kings, after 15^th century papal bulls, traded with African kings who captured national neighbors as property for sale. No nation may discern the evil Christianity has wrought more than the USA. The practical Yeshua can& may inspire most people to reform.

I agree that Yeshua meant it, if he suggested that human-beings can& may perfect themselves.]