Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People calls believers to move beyond outward religion into inward righteousness. Jesus contrasts Pharisee thinking with kingdom thinking by addressing anger, lust, motives, and the condition of the heart. Kingdom righteousness is not about appearances but transformation. It flows from repentance, renewed thinking, and obedience. True righteousness restores relationships, resists inward sin, and reflects the mind of Christ in everyday life.
Matthew 5 Part 3
Audio
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Scriptures used in this lesson:
Matthew 23:33, Matthew 23:36, Hebrews 12:22–24, Matthew 24:34, Hebrews 12:18–21, Matthew 5:17-20, Matthew 4:17, Luke 17:20–21, Matthew 4:23-24, 2 Corinthians 5:8, Romans 14:17, Matthew 16:18, Matthew 23:14, Philippians 2:5, Matthew 23:15, Matthew 23:5, 1 John 4:20, Matthew 5:16, Matthew 5:21–26, Exodus 20:13, 1 Samuel 15:22–23, Jeremiah 6:20, Amos 5:22, Matthew 5:27-30, Exodus 20:14, Matthew 5:29, Matthew 18:7-9,
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Introduction to Matthew 5:17–48 and Kingdom Righteousness
Today’s lesson covers Matthew 5:17-48, which we were scheduled to address last week. These verses address the righteousness of the kingdom and its contrast with two things: first, the thinking and values of the world, and second, the religious systems of the day, represented by the Pharisees. Jesus Christ, the King of the kingdom, stands in direct contrast to both.
We will review themes such as the fulfillment of the law and the passing of heaven and earth, which we discussed last week. We also examine the demand of righteousness in the kingdom, including anger, purity, faithfulness, truthfulness, action, and reaction, and finally, what it means to be God-beloved and how Jesus defines love. The goal is to complete Chapter 5 today.
I want to reference one Scripture from last week that helps frame this discussion: Matthew 24. Over the past year in our study of Matthew, particularly chapters 22-25, we have observed Jesus strongly admonishing the scribes and Pharisees. He repeatedly confronts them as hypocrites and exposes the religious system of the day.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
This confrontation reaches a climax in Matthew chapter 23:33, where Jesus concludes His discourse against them by saying, “You serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell?” This sets the tone for understanding the seriousness of His teaching on righteousness in the kingdom.
Matthew 23:33
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
He goes on through what is called the Olivet Discourse, and in verse 36, he says,
Matthew 23:36
36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Was Jerusalem desolate at that time? No. In AD 33, it was the world’s glamour spot. Herod’s temple stood in full glory, built of massive white stones and trimmed with gold on every side. Yet Jesus said it was left desolate.
He then declared, “You shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Matthew 23:39). What I am pointing out is that Jesus repeatedly emphasized that this generation would suffer judgment. He states clearly in Matthew 23:36 that all these things would come upon this generation.
From there, He moves directly into chapter 24 and begins speaking about the temple itself. When the disciples draw His attention to its beauty, Jesus responds by saying that not one stone would be left upon another. Every stone would be thrown down, showing the certainty and completeness of what He had just declared (Matthew 24:2). Did that happen? Yes. It happened in AD 70.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Everything described in Matthew 24 occurred in AD 70. That does not remove the possibility of future occurrences, but history clearly shows that these events literally happened to the city of Jerusalem and to the nation of Israel. Historical records, including Josephus and standard histories, corroborate what Jesus recorded in Matthew 24.
Heaven and Earth Passing Away: Literal and Spiritual Meaning
We also examined verse 29 concerning heaven and earth, and I will pass over that for now. What I want to point out is verse 35. In the context of chapter 24, these statements are tied to what actually happened to Jerusalem.
Matthew 24:35 says that heaven and earth shall pass away, but the words of Jesus will not pass away. We examined this and found that, in both spiritual and literal senses. The heavens and the earth have not physically/literally passed away. I do not believe they will ever do so in a literal sense. However, when we consider the spiritual meaning in Matthew 24, we see something different.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Jesus also speaks in Matthew 5 about how long the law would remain in effect. He says it would last until heaven and earth pass away. We know we are no longer under the law. Because of that, heaven and earth have passed away in a spiritual sense, even though they have not literally disappeared.
What I want you to see is that what Jesus said has already taken place spiritually. We are no longer under the law, which confirms the fulfillment of what He was describing. We also see in Matthew 24 that these events occurred to the nation of Israel.
Then Jesus says again,
Matthew 24:34
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
What generation is He talking about? Jesus answers this by saying that heaven and earth will pass away, but His words will not. I wanted to return to that point because I moved through it quickly last week, yet it strongly reinforces what we were already examining.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
The New Heaven, New Earth, and New Covenant Reality
We saw that in a natural and literal sense, not one jot or tittle of the law would pass until heaven and earth passed. Spiritually, however, heaven and earth did pass, and we now live in a new heaven and a new earth. If we are in the new covenant, then we are in that new heaven and new earth. We examined this in our last lesson.
That raises an important question. Are we already in the new Jerusalem, or is the new Jerusalem still future? Have we already come to Mount Zion? These are spiritual realities the Bible addresses, and we need to see what Scripture says about them.
To do so, we briefly examine Hebrews 12, then return to Matthew 5. Hebrews 11 discusses Old Testament faith and lists the heroes of that era, yet it omits Jesus. Jesus appears in Hebrews 12, marking the transition from Old Testament faith to New Testament faith.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
As Hebrews 12 continues, beginning in verse 18, it explains that we have not come to a mount that can be touched, one that burned with fire, darkness, and tempest. It contrasts the old covenant experience with what we now have under the new covenant.
Hebrews 12:18–21
18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
What mount is he talking about? Mount Sinai, where the law was given. That’s not where we come. That’s what verse 18 says. You have not come to this mountain. But verse 22 tells us which mount we are come to. The NIV Bible says we have come. The amplified Bible says we have already approached it.
Hebrews 12:22–24
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
We’ve already come to those things. I said all of that to say that we are not under the things of the old, but we are under the things of the new, the old has passed, the newest present, and it’s time now to walk in the new.
Returning to Matthew 5 and the Message of the Kingdom
Now let us return to Matthew 5.
Matthew 5:17-20
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
To finish verse 18, I want to point out the word “verily.” In Greek, that word is amen. It means “so be it,” or that what is being said is trustworthy and certain. Jesus is saying that heaven and earth will not pass away until everything is fulfilled, but that they will pass away.
We must move beyond a purely natural way of thinking and begin to think as Jesus did. We must think in the realm of the Spirit. What I showed you last week is that in every dispensation, an old heaven and an old earth passed away, and a new heaven and a new earth came.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
At the close of the old covenant and the entrance into the new, there is a new way of walking. There is a new covenant, a new heaven, and a new earth. The emphasis is that until that present age passed away, not one jot or one tittle of the law could be missed.
The Kingdom of Heaven: Its Nature and Message
Now let’s move on to this next point, because this is important. What is the message of Jesus, and what is the kingdom of heaven? In Matthew 4:17, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Then again, in verse 23, this same message is emphasized.
Matthew 4:17
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Matthew 4:23-24
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
24 And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
I would like to pose some critical questions about the kingdom. Is the kingdom of heaven, which is also called the kingdom of God, the same thing? I am saying that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are identical.
The next question is whether the kingdom of heaven is the same as the heaven we enter when our spirit and soul leave the body. Is it the same heaven Paul speaks about in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, where he says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?
2 Corinthians 5:8
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Is it the same thing? That is the question I am asking. Are we really talking about the same reality?
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Most of the church world believes that the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven, is simply heaven, the place we go to be with the Lord when we leave this body. The question is whether that understanding can actually be explained and supported.
I want us to examine that carefully. Let’s see if we can explain it. To do that, we need to look at Luke chapter 17. We seek to determine whether the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God corresponds to Paul’s description of being absent from the body and present with the Lord.
In Luke 17:20-21, the Pharisees and scribes, the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, came to him and asked when the kingdom of God would come.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Luke 17:20–21
20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.
If I were to pass away, would I go into that heavenly abode? If so, then it could not be the same thing as the kingdom Jesus preached. That distinction matters. It is the same kingdom in purpose, but it is not the same heaven.
The heaven we enter when we are absent from the body and present with the Lord is not the same kingdom Jesus was teaching about. It is also not the same kingdom that the church is called to preach. The kingdom the church must proclaim is the same kingdom Jesus proclaimed, not a distant or mystical place somewhere in heaven.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Defining the Kingdom of God
There is a place in heaven where the saints abide, and that is real. However, it is not the same thing as the kingdom Jesus preached. If the kingdom of God is within you, then what exactly is it? To answer that, we need to look at Romans 14:17.
Romans 14:17
17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
The kingdom of God is not about food and drink. It is first righteousness. It is living in the right relationship with people and with the Lord. The kingdom is about being right with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The kingdom of God begins with a righteous heart.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Second, the kingdom of God is peace. Third, it is joy. The kingdom does not come through outward observation or physical senses. You cannot taste, touch, see, or smell it. The kingdom of God is within you. You know you are living in it when righteousness, peace, and joy are present in your life.
Jesus taught how to live in righteousness, peace, joy, and the Holy Ghost. That is the kingdom of God. This kingdom is not the same as the place we go when we are absent from the body and present with the Lord. Those are not the same things. We have established this and can proceed.
A primary focus of today’s study is the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees.
The Righteousness of the Kingdom vs. the Righteousness of the Pharisees
Beginning in verse 20 and continuing through the rest of Matthew chapter 5, Jesus contrasts their righteousness with the righteousness of a kingdom person. This contrast is central to what He is teaching.
He is teaching on the kingdom of heaven, defined by righteousness, peace, and joy. The righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes is not the same as kingdom righteousness. Kingdom righteousness flows from a different mindset and a different heart.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
At this point in His ministry, Jesus is speaking primarily to the Jews and to His disciples. That is important to understand. While this teaching applies to the church, the church itself has not yet been introduced. The first mention of the church appears later, in Matthew 16, when Jesus tells Peter that He will build His church and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
At this point in Jesus’ ministry, the kingdom people were Jewish. He admonished them about how to think and what the Scriptures were truly saying. His message included repentance, a call to think differently. They would not repent, nor would they turn from the way of the law to the way of the kingdom. They refused to change their thinking.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
As a result of that refusal, sudden destruction occurred in AD 70. Jerusalem was destroyed, and the nation of Israel ceased to exist as it had been for centuries. That marked the passing of an old order and the coming of a new heaven and a new earth. Jesus sought to guide them through that transition.
The same call applies to us. God wants to move us out of programmed religious thinking and into a kingdom mentality. He wants us to see what the Scriptures really say and what they truly mean. The call is still repent, think differently, and understand righteousness from a kingdom perspective.
The focus shifts to the contrast between your righteousness and theirs. This is the righteousness of a kingdom citizen compared to the righteousness of the Pharisees. The scribes were professionals. They were the official teachers and interpreters of the old covenant. It was their occupation.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Professional Religion Versus True Shepherding
I want to connect that to today. Some ministers function as professionals rather than true shepherds. I am not talking about genuine pastors who love God with all their hearts. I am talking about those who serve for gain, take what they can from the sheep, and move on when a better offer comes. Scripture describes them as hirelings.
The Pharisees were a religious sect. They worked hard to appear spiritual and religious externally. They visited religious sites and performed religious rites. Yet they were not lovers of God. Jesus said they were not children of the kingdom but children of the devil. Outwardly, they looked righteous. Inwardly, they were corrupt.
The same condition exists today in much of the religious world. We can look righteous while being full of uncleanness. Judgment begins in the house of God. The message Jesus preached then is the same message needed now: repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Kingdom Righteousness Versus Religious Performance
Jesus said our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. This is not about denominations. You can be non-denominational and still be sectarian. This is about a way of thinking. It is about the righteousness produced by a kingdom mindset, not religious performance.
The message of the kingdom causes you to think differently. It declares that Jesus is Lord. If Jesus is Lord of your life, you will not think like religious people think or like the world thinks. You will think with the mind of Christ.
In Matthew 23, Jesus explains this clearly. The scribes and Pharisees were experts in the law of Moses. They knew it well. Yet Jesus said to do what they taught from the law, but not to follow their example. They said the right things, but they did not live them (Matthew 23:1-3).
You can know the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. You can talk it, teach it, and preach it. But if you are not living it, then you have the righteousness of a Pharisee. That is the issue. It is not enough to speak truth. You must walk in it.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Another mark of their righteousness was long prayers. Jesus addresses this directly in Matthew 23:14. He says the scribes and Pharisees made long prayers as a pretense while devouring widows’ houses. Because of that, He says they would receive greater damnation, not just judgment, but greater judgment.
Matthew 23:14
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
He warns us to be careful about aspiring to be teachers, because that role entails greater judgment. I believe this speaks to intimacy and motive. We clearly see the kind of righteousness practiced by the scribes and Pharisees, and the question is: why did they do what they did? Their long prayers were not about relationships but about pretense.
They also fasted twice a week, as Scripture records in Matthew 6:16–18 and Luke 18:11–12. That sounds impressive, but the issue was never the act itself. The problem was the heart behind it. Jesus makes it clear that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, not in outward practice, but in inward reality.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
What I am showing you is that these men said the right things, but they did not live them. They were focused on doing outward acts, but they were not being who God called them to be. It did not matter how much they fasted, because what truly mattered was who they were on the inside.
They fasted twice a week, and they were meticulous in their tithing. They tithed down to the smallest detail, even to the grain. Jesus acknowledged that these things should be done, as He stated in Matthew 23:23. Luke 18:11-12 also shows how seriously they took tithing, yet their righteousness still fell short.
Religious Zeal Without Kingdom Life
They were tireless workers and soul winners.
Matthew 23:15
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Their problem was rooted in who their father really was, the devil, and Jesus wanted people to think differently. He was calling for a change of mind, not just a change of behavior.
Doing Righteous Acts to Be Seen by Men
They were champions of the Scriptures, as seen in Matthew 23:1-3, which we have already covered. They enlarged the borders of their garments to appear spiritual. There is nothing wrong with dressing appropriately or identifying as a Christian outwardly.
Wearing a collar, a Jesus lapel button, or a Christian bumper sticker is not the issue. Those things are fine. The problem arises when they are completed only to be seen by others. When that is the motive, it reflects the righteousness of a Pharisee, not the righteousness of the kingdom.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Look at that. 23, 5.
Matthew 23:5
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
If I put on priestly clothing, wore a white collar or a robe, added Jesus lapel buttons, and covered my car with Christian bumper stickers, then went and sat on Main Street so everyone could see me, what kind of righteousness would that be? It would not be kingdom righteousness. It would be Pharisee righteousness, because it would be done to be seen by men.
That kind of righteousness is not what Jesus seeks. The Pharisees dressed in a way that made everyone immediately recognize who they were. There is nothing wrong with that in itself. The problem, as Jesus pointed out, was the motive. They did it so people would notice them.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Don and I were at the hospital one day, visiting people. While we were there, a priest walked by. I knew immediately he was a priest because of how he was dressed. There was nothing wrong with that. He was carrying his Word and had come to pray for someone and to help someone.
But if that same priest went and stood out on Main Street so everyone would know he was a priest, then there would be something wrong. That would cross the line into doing it to be seen of men.
The Righteousness That Must Be Exceeded
Pharisees can prophesy (John 11:51). They believe in the coming of the Lord (John 1:9-10). They are fundamentalists (Acts 23:8). Religious people condemn the fathers for persecuting the prophets (Matthew 23:29-31). They are very strict and disciplined (Acts 26:5).
Jesus says our righteousness must exceed that kind of righteousness. The question is not whether we should fast, tithe, dress appropriately, understand Scripture, teach it, or pray. All of those things are right and good, and they belong in the life of a kingdom person.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
The issue is why those things are done. The Pharisees did righteous acts to be seen by men. Jesus is not calling us merely to do righteousness. He is calling us to be righteous in Him.
Kingdom righteousness exceeds Pharisee righteousness because it flows from who we are, not from what we perform. We do not do righteousness to become righteous. We live righteously because we already are righteous in Him. Our good works are not a show for people. They are the natural outflow of a righteous life.
You cannot work your way into heaven. Entry comes only through the blood of the Lamb, the word of your testimony, and loving not your life unto death. That is how you overcome the devil. That is how you enter the kingdom.
Good Works as the Fruit of Kingdom Life
At the same time, kingdom people do work. Jesus says in Matthew 5:16 that our light is to shine before men so they may see our good works. Those good works are our life being lived out. There is a difference between dead works and good works that flow from righteousness.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Matthew 5:16
16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
There is a clear difference between the works of the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees and the works of a Kingdom person. Kingdom works flow out of gratitude for salvation. They are the fruit of what God has already done within you. Good works are not the cause of salvation; they are the product of it. As James says, faith is shown by works.
Jesus teaches that Kingdom righteousness is not something we do but something we are. We do not perform righteousness to become righteous. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. That is the distinction between Kingdom righteousness and Pharisaical righteousness.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Six Kingdom Contrasts of the Heart
From this point in Matthew 5, Jesus begins a major contrast. It is a contrast of heart conditions. He presents six contrasts where He says, “You have heard it said … but I say unto you.” In each one, He contrasts the outward, religious way of thinking with the inward, Kingdom way of thinking. This principle governs the rest of the chapter.
False righteousness focuses on outward behavior. True righteousness begins in the heart. Jesus is far more concerned with who you are on the inside than what you appear to do on the outside. The Pharisees did religious acts, but Kingdom people live from a transformed heart.
The first contrast concerns anger versus love, as found in verses 21-26. Jesus shows that righteousness is not merely the avoidance of murder. It concerns anger in the heart. Harboring anger, contempt, or insult brings judgment just as surely as outward violence. Kingdom righteousness seeks reconciliation, values restored relationships, and acts quickly to make peace. Jesus teaches that the heart condition matters more than the external act.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Matthew 5:21–26
21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.
26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
I want to get here is thou shalt not kill. You heard it said that thou shalt not kill. Jesus was drawing from Exodus 20:13.
Exodus 20:13
13 Thou shalt not kill.
What was happening is that the scribes and Pharisees were teaching that it was acceptable to be angry with your brother, as long as you did not kill him or physically harm him. They even taught that it was permissible to have enemies. I do not know where they got that idea, because it is not found in the Scriptures.
Matthew 5:43 says, “You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” The Pharisees’ saying/teaching that we can be angry with someone as long as we don’t kill them is not in Scripture. It was something the Pharisees added, just as religious people still add ideas today that are not found in the Word. They taught that you could be angry and you could hate, as long as you stopped short of murder.
Jesus corrects this by saying, “But I say unto you,” and He reveals three levels of anger. I do not want to get bogged down in them, because each one could be a sermon by itself, but I want you to see the progression.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
The first level is anger without cause. This shows up as a critical spirit. A person becomes critical for no apparent reason. Everything the other person does is wrong, and nothing pleases them. That is the beginning stage of anger, and it is rooted in the heart.
The Progression of Anger in the Heart
The next stage of anger is when it becomes verbal. The word Raca means empty, worthless, or empty-headed. At this point, a critical spirit turns vocal. We begin saying things like “you dummy” or “you empty-headed idiot.” What started inside now comes out through words.
The third stage is when anger boils over into rage. It wells up inside until we are ready to strike. That is uncontrolled anger moving toward violence. Jesus clearly shows these three stages, which build on one another.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
I remember an incident years ago when I was driving, and a car pulled out directly in front of me. I became critical right away. When the driver stayed in front of me and went very slowly, my anger turned vocal. I began talking about that person and justifying my frustration, even though I had no right to be angry. That anger escalated until I crossed a double yellow line and was pulled over by a police officer.
The officer had seen everything. He was kind and only issued a warning, but it could have escalated. That situation showed exactly what Jesus is teaching. Anger begins with criticism, moves to words, and then leads to action.
Anger and Broken Relationships
Jesus then connects this to relationships. God is not interested in your gift if your relationship with your brother is not right. If you remember that someone has something against you, you are to stop, go make it right, and then return to give your offering. The issue is not the gift itself. The problem lies in the underlying rationale.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
You cannot have a right vertical relationship with God if your horizontal relationship with others is broken. You cannot say you love God while hating your brother. As John says, if you do not love your brother whom you have seen, you cannot love God whom you have not seen.
1 John 4:20
20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
You don’t really love God, except that you love your brother. You cannot have the proper vertical relationship until you have the appropriate relationship horizontally.
The gift comes from the heart. Abel’s gift came from the heart. Saul’s gift did not.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
1 Samuel 15:22–23
22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Isaiah writes,
Jeremiah 6:20
20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Amos 5.22 says,
Amos 5:22
22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
The value of the gift depends on the condition of the heart. The issue is not simply avoiding murder. The deeper principle is avoiding anger. The real question is not who is right or wrong, but what is happening in my heart. Is there anger where love should be?
If I were to stand before the great Judge today, what would He find in my heart? Would it be love or anger? This is the difference between how the world thinks, how religious people think, and how kingdom people are meant to think. Kingdom people are not to live out of anger.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Adultery and the Condition of the Heart
Jesus then proceeds in Matthew 5:27-30 to another heart condition. He contrasts adultery with purity.
Matthew 5:27-30
27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish,
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
This teaching builds on the command from Exodus 20:14.
Exodus 20:14
14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
The world, and even the religious leaders, say you should not commit adultery. The Pharisees and the scribes taught the same thing, as long as you handled divorce properly. The obvious lesson was not to commit the act.
Jesus goes much further with a kingdom mindset. Kingdom people already know adultery is wrong, but Jesus moves beyond behavior to the heart. He teaches that righteousness is not only about what one does but also about what one thinks.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Jesus states that kingdom people do not even entertain the idea in their minds. The Pharisees said, “Do not do it.” Jesus says, “Do not think it.” He makes it clear that lust in the heart is already adultery.
That is precisely what He teaches in Matthew 5:27-28. You have heard it said not to commit adultery, but Jesus says that looking with lust is already adultery in the heart. This shows again that kingdom righteousness is inward, not merely outward.
Adultery begins in the heart and the mind long before anything ever happens physically. Jesus teaches that if you do not allow lustful thinking to take root, the act itself will never follow. If people truly lived by this one principle, it would radically change not only the church but the world.
I want to be clear about what Jesus is not saying. There is nothing wrong with recognizing that someone is attractive. I appreciate an attractive woman and a woman who takes care of herself and presents herself well. That is not lust, and that is not what Jesus is addressing here. Simply noticing beauty is not a sin.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
What Jesus is confronting is lust. Lust begins when you dwell on what you see and allow desire to grow in your thoughts. That is where the problem lies. The Greek word translated “looketh” means more than a casual glance. It means to see, then observe, then discern, then perceive, and finally to dwell on something with focused contemplation. That progression is what leads to sin.
This teaching applies to everyone, not just men. Women can lust just as men can. Jesus is not placing us under bondage, but calling us to a higher, kingdom way of thinking. The issue is not appearance or attraction. The problem is what happens in the heart when the mind begins to linger.
What I want you to see is that Jesus is describing a progression. First, there is seeing. Then there is observing. After that comes discerning and perceiving. Finally, there is repeated thinking and deep contemplation. This is not a sudden act. It develops step by step in the heart and mind.
When He speaks of lust, the Greek means to set the heart upon someone. It means to long for them with an evil desire. This is not a casual glance at an attractive person. It involves focused contemplation and inward desire. Something is being allowed to live inside a person. That is when adultery truly happens, long before anything ever takes place physically.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
This also speaks of possession and domination. A man who seeks to dominate and possess a woman in this way is acting from a controlling spirit. A woman who seeks to dominate and control a man operates from the same kind of spirit. Scripture refers to this as the spirit behind Jezebel. It is manipulative, self-seeking, and determined to get its way, even within the church.
The Pharisees condemned only the outward act. Jesus addresses the inward condition of the heart. Just as hatred begins inside before violence, adultery begins inside before any outward act. There is nothing innocent about this process. It is a deliberate inward desire to possess and gratify oneself.
Dealing Radically With Offenses
Jesus makes it clear how serious this is. If something causes offense, it must be removed. That is why He says if your eye offends you, remove it, and if your hand offends you, cut it off. His point is that the kingdom demands radical dealing with the heart, not tolerance of inward sin.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
Matthew 5:29
29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
What Jesus is talking about in Matthew 18:7-9 is the same issue of offenses.
Matthew 18:7-9
7 Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!
8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
In the King James, it uses the word offenses, and in the NAS, it uses stumbling blocks. The Greek term denotes a trap or snare. It pictures the bait stick in a trap. Just like a piece of cheese placed to catch a mouse, the enemy uses bait to trap us.
That bait may not be adultery or lust specifically. It may be something else entirely. Every one of us has something that can offend us, stumble us, or snare us. Every one of us has a weakness that, if we give in to it, becomes a snare. When we take the bait, it traps us. Jesus says to deal with it decisively. He says to cut it off, pluck it out, and cast it away from you.
Notice what He does not say. He does not say to wait for a prophet to lay hands on you and cast a devil out. He tells you to do it yourself. You are called to be an overcomer and called to be victorious. You cannot be more than a conqueror unless you personally overcome. That requires action on your part.
Too often, we wait for God to send someone to fix us. We wait for a dramatic moment of deliverance. God says instead that we must take responsibility. Think right, and you will act right. Jesus taught a new way of thinking. He taught kingdom thinking.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
That is why Scripture tells us to let the mind that is in Christ be in us also. When the mind is renewed, the behavior follows. You pluck it out and cast it away. You overcome by changing how you think and by walking in the mind of Christ.
Philippians 2:5
5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
The Purpose of Jesus’ Teaching and the Kingdom Call
We will stop here for today and resume the remaining pages next time. I am not sure we will be able to get through all of them, but we will continue. What matters to me is that you derive something from this study on Matthew, and I believe these truths are worth revisiting and reinforcing.
Matthew 5 Part 3 How to Think Like Kingdom People
What I really want us to grasp as we move through Matthew is what Jesus is doing and why He is doing it. He is desperately appealing to the Jewish people. He is fulfilling Scripture by going to the Jew first, just as Paul later did, and then to the Gentile. Jesus is pleading with them to repent, to change their thinking, and to enter the kingdom.
He is speaking to the kingdom people of that moment, the Jews, and His heart is clearly for them. He is calling, inviting, and urging them to receive the King and enter the kingdom. As His ministry progresses and rejection increases, His words become stronger and more severe. Eventually, He declares that judgment will come upon that generation, and history shows that it did.
This is important for our understanding. Jesus’ heart was first for Israel, even though the Gentile church would later become the bride of Christ. We are currently studying the mind of Christ and the way kingdom people think. If we are in the kingdom of God, this is how our thinking must be shaped.
Matthew 5 Part 3
Matthew 5 Part 3
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