Antithesis of the Law

Matthew 5
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Matthew 5:13-16 on Papyrus 86 (4th century).
Book	Gospel of Matthew
Bible part	New Testament
Order in the Bible part	1
Category	Gospel

Matthew 5 is the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It contains the first portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which will also take up the next chapter and a half. Portions are similar to the Sermon on the Plain in Luke 6, but much is found only in Matthew.

In John Wesley's division of the Sermon chapter five outlines the ethical principles of the truly religious. It is one of the most discussed and analyzed chapters of the New Testament. Kissinger reports that among Early Christians no chapter was more often cited by early scholars. The same is true in modern scholarship. In the Middle Ages an interpretation was developed that the chapter only applied to a select group, and not to the general populace. Martin Luther, in a discussion of this chapter, was highly critical of the Catholic view. He wrote that "this fifth chapter has fallen into the hands of the vulgar pigs and asses, the jurists and sophists, the right hand of that jackass of a pope and of his mamelukes."

The source of Matthew 5 is uncertain. It contains only a handful of parallels with Mark, but does have a number of loose parallels with Luke's Sermon on the Plain. For those who believe in the two source hypothesis it indicates that much of this text likely came from Q. However, Harvey King McArthur notes that the parallels in Luke tend to be very loose, far further away than most areas they overlap. There are also a considerable number of verses that have no parallel in Luke. McArthur thus theorizes that there was an extra step between the sources Matthew and Luke used than usual.

The New King James Version organises this chapter as follows:

After a brief introduction the chapter contains the section known as the Beatitudes, which includes some of Jesus' more famous teachings. Theologian Robert H. Gundry suggests the Beatitudes can be divided into two quartets. The first group outlines the persecuted nature of Jesus' disciples, and the rewards they will receive for enduring this condition. The second four lists their righteous behaviour which can led to their persecution. Most scholars feel the ninth Beatitude at matthew 5:11 is separate from the first eight, as demonstrated by its shift to the second person. Four of the Beatitudes seem to be also in Luke, the rest are only found in Matthew.