Matthew 5: The Perspective of Matthew's Editor - Prioritizing the Beatitudes and Interpretation of the Law over Healing and Miracles

Matthew 5: The Perspective of Matthew's Editor - Prioritizing the Beatitudes and Interpretation of the Law over Healing and Miracles

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

18 Truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

39 "But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

48 "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

The editor of the Gospel of Matthew chooses to first present Jesus' ministry of teaching over his healing ministry. Jesus, the interpreter and teacher of the Law, is the fundamental perspective through which the editor remembers him. The editor frequently linked passages from the prophetic books with Jesus, suggesting that Jesus' way of interpreting and explaining the Law and the Prophets was the embodiment of those scriptures for the editor. Therefore, the editor begins the account of Jesus' public ministry not with healings or miraculous events but with the interpretation of the Law, presenting its true meaning. The editor first grasps Jesus' declaration of the Beatitudes. Those who keep the Law with all their heart and soul inevitably become poor in spirit because they will mourn their inability to fully comply with the Law. Jesus offers comfort and the promise of the kingdom of heaven to such people. If you suffer trials and persecution because of your worship of God and your faith, Jesus encourages and uplifts you, saying that this is indeed the path walked by the prophets, your ancestors in faith, and to rejoice for serving God well.

However, Jesus demands an even more stringent observance of various rules. His interpretation that if an enemy strikes your right cheek, you should turn the other cheek as well, can seem cruel to the one being struck. Who among us has never made a mistake or erred? Yet, Jesus insists on cutting off your right hand if it causes you to stumble. His demands are uncompromising. If you believe that keeping the Law with all your body and soul is serving God, then you must serve God alone. Nothing else can interfere with the observance of the Law. If keeping the Law signifies maintaining a relationship with God, then nothing else should replace God. The severity and decisiveness of Jesus' teaching mean "God alone." If this represents a firm resolution from the human side of keeping the Law, there is also a steadfast will on God's side. Can we keep the Law as Jesus required? The words of Paul, a recognized Jewish scholar, are true: "There is no one righteous, not even one." Yet, Jesus still demands thorough observance of the Law, which implies a divine will. The Law was given to maintain the relationship between God and humanity, whether it came down from heaven or was organized and presented by people, it serves as the regulation of that relationship. In the harsh demands for observance of the Law, Jesus proclaims God's will. Even if it means the destruction of relationships to an extreme degree, God's unchanging and eternal will is not to alter the smallest detail of the Law. The editor interprets God's will as completeness and concludes chapter 5 by exhorting us to be perfect, just as our heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus, knowing full well that humans cannot keep the Law, demands its strict interpretation and observance, indicating that even if we fail to keep the Law, we must not replace God with anything else. This represents both the human duty to not substitute God and the divine duty of God's unrelenting constancy.