Troublesome Topic: Mercy/Compassion

Just as the Former Covenant did, the New Covenant teaches us how to treat those around us.

Matthew 5:21

Translation

You have heard that it was said to the ancients, You shall not murder; whoever murders shall be held

for judgment,

Paraphrase

You have been taught the same thing our ancestors were taught: You shall not murder, and anyone who commits murder will be held liable and judged accordingly,

Matthew 5:22

Translation

but I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be held for judgment; whoever says to his brother, “You empty-head!” will be held for judgment by the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, “you fool,”

will be held for the judgment of the fire of hell.

Paraphrase

but I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be held liable and judged; anyone who calls his brother something like, “You empty-headed thing,” will be held liable for judgment by the highest authority in the land, and anyone who considers someone a mental or spiritual idiot when they are not, will be held liable for the judgment of the fire of hell.

It was never about the exact words being spoken but the attitude of the heart. If you use different words that display the same sentiment, God will still hold you responsible. The point here is that God takes it seriously when we treat other people like dirt, look down our noses at them, think ill of them, or accuse them falsely.

Matthew 5:43

Translation

You have heard that it was said, You will love

your neighbor, and you will hate your enemy,

Paraphrase

You know that the following has been passed down for a very long time: this is the way things are folks – you will love your neighbor because it gets ugly if you don’t, but you’re gonna hate your enemy, and that’s OK.

Matthew 5:44

Translation

However, I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Paraphrase

But I don’t accept what was passed down as normal; I will tell you something different: Love your enemies and pray for those who are persecuting you,

Matthew 5:45

Translation

so that you may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens.

Paraphrase

in this way you will prove that you are sons of your Father who is in heaven because you act like your Father.

The next lesson in all three series on Covenants is: Faith

Footnotes

1

The word I have rendered as “held” usually means “to hold,” but by implication it can mean “to be liable.”

2

It was never about the exact words being spoken but about the attitude of the heart.

Since Proverbs often refers to certain people as “fools” I am assuming that the intent here is instances when someone considers someone a fool spiritually or mentally when it is not true. Especially if someone is acting like a fool in a spiritual sense we should consider them one, but we should be careful to not label them as such unless it is true.

3

The verbs in this verse are both future verbs (you will do this because it is normal and predictable), therefore they do not carry the force of a command verb (“you must”). What they had heard from long ago was not a command in this case, but a simple statement of fact.