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6th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Cycle A)

Readings:
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 15:15-20
Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 27, 34
1 Corinthians 2:6-10
Matthew 5:17-37

Abbreviations: NABRE (New American Bible Revised Edition), NJB (New Jerusalem Bible), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC designates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The word LORD or GOD rendered in all capital letters is, in the Hebrew text, God's Divine Name, YHWH (Yahweh).

The two Testaments reveal God's divine plan for humanity, which is why we read and relive the events of salvation history contained in the Old and New Testaments in the Church's Liturgy.  The Catechism teaches that the Liturgy reveals the unfolding mystery of God's plan as we read the Old Testament in light of the New and the New Testament in light of the Old (CCC 1094-1095).

The Theme of the Readings: Humanity's Free-will, God's Law, and Freedom
God gave humans the free will to make choices in life.  Sirach wrote: When God, in the beginning, created man, he made him subject to his own free choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments; they will save you (Sir 15:14-15). However, freedom should not be confused with "license," which is to behave according to one's desires with no boundaries. Such behavior does not bring self-realization but is an invitation to fall into sin and self-destruction. God promises humanity the gift of true freedom.

In the First Reading, Sirach tells us that human freedom means men and women can choose to do good rather than evil. God is not responsible for the bad things that happen in the world (Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24), and He does not give men and women the license to sin. Instead, he justly punishes those who choose to do evil. In the Last Age of humanity, the Holy Spirit calls all Christians to live the revealed Law of divine wisdom in the New Covenant Kingdom of Christ Jesus. In acknowledging Jesus as our Lord and Savior, one chooses the path of righteousness on earth that leads to eternal life in Heaven.

In the Responsorial Psalm, the psalmist pronounces a blessing for the righteous who faithfully follow God's commandments and seek Him with all their hearts. He asks the Lord God to increase his understanding of the precepts of the Law, a reminder to us that to keep God's commandments; one needs to know and appreciate them to be motivated to obey. God enables those who seek to please Him to understand His commandments and to keep them so that, by the obedience of faith, they can live in fellowship with Him and obtain His favor.

In the Second Reading, St. Paul writes to the Christian community at Corinth about godly wisdom that is not of this world. That higher wisdom is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which gives the insight into the Christian faith needed to help discern the right direction in life. St. Paul taught that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not contrary to reason but is superior to it with the power to turn new Christians who are "children" in the faith into "mature," faith-filled adults. However, Paul also warns that it is a wisdom that those attached to the secular world cannot understand.

The Gospel Reading is a continuation of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount. He began by saying He did not come to abandon the earlier revelation of the commands and prohibitions of God's Law or the teachings of the prophets but to fulfill them. The Law of the Sinai Covenant, given through His prophet Moses and reinforced by the prophets throughout the Old Testament, was God's gift to His holy covenant people. It was the Law that bound the Israelites to God and the Law that bound Him to the Israelites. However, it was also a gift in anticipation of the perfect Law that the promised Messiah would usher in, beginning with His reign over the New Covenant Church of the "new Israel."

After His discourse on the Law, Jesus offered a teaching giving six examples of Christian perfection referred to as "the Six Antithesis." An antithesis is a contrast or opposition of words or sentiments. Using the repeated formula "You have heard it said/But I say to you" and "It was also said to you/But I say to you," Jesus contrasted the accepted interpretation of Mosaic Law with His teaching, which internalized and intensified the Law to yield a new standard of obedience for the New Covenant Kingdom He came to establish.

St. Paul wrote: For freedom, Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery (Gal 5:1). Real freedom comes from accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and receiving His gift of liberation from bondage to sin and death through His sacrifice on the altar of the Cross. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the wisdom of God becomes available to humankind to make the free-will choice to live the Law of the Gospel of salvation in accepting Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, as Savior and Redeemer.

The First Reading Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 15:15-20 ~ The Freedom to Choose Life
15 If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you; 16 if you trust in God, you too shall live; he has set before you fire and water; to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand. 17 Before man, are life and death, good and evil, whichever he chooses shall be given him. 18 Immense is the wisdom of the Lord; he is mighty in power, and all-seeing. 19 The eyes of God are on those who fear him; he understands man's every deed. 20 No one does he command to act unjustly, to none does he give license to sin.

God's gift of human freedom means men and women can choose to do good rather than evil. God is not responsible for the bad things that happen in the world (Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24), and He does not give men and women the license to sin. Instead, He justly punishes those who choose to do evil for the sake of justice. Evil at work in the world comes from the sinful choices men and women make every day. In the Sinai Covenant with Israel, the commandments God gave His people in the Law provided the path to life (Dt 30:15-20). The Law was a tutor and a guide that led to the revealed Law in the Gospel of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ (CCC 1961-64). In the Last Age of humanity, in which we live today, the Holy Spirit calls all men and women to live the revealed Law of divine wisdom in the New Covenant of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. In accepting and acknowledging the Son of God as Lord and Savior, one chooses a higher calling on the path to eternal life.

Responsorial Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-34 ~ The Blessed Follow God's Law
The response is: "Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!"

1 Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD. 2 Blessed are they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart.
Response:
4 You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept. 5 Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping your statutes!
Response:
17 Be good to your servant, that I may live and keep your words. 18 Open my eyes, that I may consider the wonders of your law.
Response:
33 Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes, that I might observe them. 34 Give me discernment, that I may observe your law and keep it with all my heart.
Response:

The first verses of the psalm focus our attention on the Law and our obedience to God's commandments. Then, verses 17-18 ask the Lord God to increase our understanding of the precepts of the Law because to keep God's commandments, one needs to know and appreciate them (verses 17-18 and 27).

The Ten Commandments summed up the moral prescriptions of the Law, but there were also ritual purification laws, social prohibitions, religious laws about worship, and laws concerned with the wearing of certain textiles and the eating of certain foods. The ritual purity laws separated the covenant people from identifying with their pagan neighbors. To the one who tried to live in righteousness, God gave that person the discernment to know the Law and keep it so that one could obtain God's favor (verse 34).

The Old Covenant Law expressed many truths naturally accessible to reason. God revealed His Law to His covenant people to prepare them for the coming of the Messiah. According to Christian tradition, the old Law was holy, spiritual, and good. However, it was imperfect because it could only show the way to salvation but was incapable of granting the indwelling of the Holy Spirit or eternal life. The New Law, which is the Law of the Gospel, is the perfection on earth of divine Law. It is the work of Christ and the Holy Spirit and is taught by Christ in His Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7; see the Gospel reading). Through the work of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, the New Law becomes the interior law of love and charity in a prophecy God gave to His prophet Jeremiah: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Heb 8:8 and 10, quoting from Jer 31:31-34).

The Second Reading 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 ~ God's Wisdom
6 We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. 7 Rather, we speak God's wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, 8 and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for, if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: "What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him," 10 this God has revealed to us through the Spirit.  For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.

After teaching that the wisdom of the secular world is not what is wisdom according to God (1 Cor 1:25-31), in this passage, St. Paul wrote about godly wisdom that is not of this world. He referred to a higher spirituality, which has the wisdom of God hidden in it. That higher wisdom is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the insight of Christian faith inspired by the Holy Spirit intended to help Christians discern the right direction in life.

St. Paul made the point that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not contrary to reason but is superior to it since it is divine wisdom. It is a wisdom that can turn new Christians, who are "children" in the faith, into "mature," faith-filled adults (verse 6). Paul also argued that it is a wisdom that those attached to this world cannot understand. If they had understood, he wrote, they never would have crucified "the Lord of Glory" (verse 8), which is a title Paul uses for Christ on the Cross and, which in the Old Testament, was reserved for God alone (Ex 24:15; 40:34; Is 42:8). By using the title, "the Lord of Glory" for Jesus, Paul was stating that Jesus Christ is God.

Then in verse 9, St. Paul quoted from the prophet Isaiah, What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him (Is 64:2-3). Paul's point, made by the Old Testament prophet Isaiah (8th century BC), is that because of His transcendence, one cannot see God as He is unless He, Himself, chooses to open up His mystery to a person in a divine vision and give that person the capacity for it. It is in God the Son that God reveals Himself to humanity, and through divine wisdom, He gives humans the ability, through the Holy Spirit and faith, to understand that revelation.

The Gospel of Matthew 5:17-37 ~ The Sermon on the Mount Continued: Jesus Teaches About the Law and the Six Antithesis
Jesus taught His disciples: 17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 20 I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. 23 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise, your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny. 27 You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. 30 And if your right-hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. 31 It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.' 32 But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 33 Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.' 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. 37 Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one."

Matthew 5:17-20 ~ Teaching about the Law
Jesus begins this part of His discourse by assuring His disciples that He has not come to abandon the earlier revelation of the commands and prohibitions of Yahweh's Law until "all things have taken place" and the Law has been "fulfilled" (verses 17-18). By referring to "the Law and the prophets" (verse 17), Jesus's reference is to the entire content of Sacred Scripture from the first book of Moses (Genesis) to the last book of the prophets (Malachi).  To stress this assurance, Jesus makes a statement and gives an example concerning His solidarity with "the Law," as expressed in the sacred writings. He says no part of the Law, not the smallest letter or part of a letter of the Law, would be abolished until "heaven and earth pass away" and until "all things have taken place."

In verse 18, Jesus used two Greek words when saying: until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a keraia will pass from the law until all things have taken place [or been accomplished/fulfilled]. The "iota" [ee-o-tah] is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew yod, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, about the size of a comma. The keraia [ker-ah'-yah], or literally "something horn-like," refers to one of the tiny hooks or projections that distinguish some Hebrew letters from others. St. Luke recorded the same use of this word in Luke 16:17: It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for the smallest part of a letter [keraia] of the law to become invalid. Although Jesus did not mention "the prophets," as He did in the previous verse, He was probably using "the Law" as a comprehensive term for the entire body of divine revelation in the Old Testament.

Notice that Jesus made a critical statement in Matthew 5:18 and repeated it with slightly different wording in verse 20. In verse 18, He said: "Amen, I say to you," and in verse 20, "I tell you." Jesus was issuing commands in His own name and under His own authority. No other prophet or scribe had ever spoken with such authority.

The Law of the Sinai Covenant, given by Yahweh through His prophet Moses and reinforced by God's prophets throughout the Old Testament, was a gift of God to His holy covenant people. It was the Law that bound the Israelites to their God, and it was the Law that bound Yahweh to the Israelites. But, it was also a gift in anticipation of the more perfect Law that the promised Messiah would usher in, beginning with His reign over the New Covenant Church of the "new Israel" prophesied by the 8th century BC prophet Isaiah: The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah... (Jer 31:31; also see CCC 877).

The Magisterium of the universal Church interprets the Old Covenant Law in an anticipatory light as looking forward to Jesus as the "new Moses," the "new Lawgiver," and an interpretation expressed in the documents of the Council of Trent and the Catechism:

With Jesus's announcement, "I say" and not, "God says," He was declaring His superiority over Moses and the other Old Testament prophets. Jesus announces He is the new lawgiver and the promised One greater than Moses. Jesus is the future prophet God commanded the Covenant people to listen to and obey. Speaking through Moses, Yahweh told the people: "I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen, and will put my words into his mouth; he shall tell them all that I command him. If any man will not listen to my words which he speaks in my name, I myself will make him answer for it" (Dt 18:18-19).

When Jesus said, "until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law," He promised that no divine revelation, even in the smallest part, would pass away or be discarded until it all achieved fulfillment in Him. Jesus's statement that none would pass away "until heaven and earth pass away" affirmed that when they do "pass away," a mighty rebirth would occur, and time as we know it would change. The final fulfillment of the "passing away" of the one and the birth of the other would coincide.

The event would take place not "until all things have taken place/been fulfilled" (Mt 5:18). Many would say this reference is to the end of time and the cosmos as we know it, but this theory requires further examination. Jesus's reference may not concern the end of the world in the sense of the dissolution of the existing universe. At the beginning of His homily in Acts Chapter 2 on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, St. Peter quoted from the Old Testament book of the prophet Joel 3:1-5. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter declared that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled Joel's prophecy on the day of the Jewish Feast of Pentecost (Shavuot/Weeks in Hebrew). It was one of the seven God-ordained annual feasts that celebrated God's gift of the Law and the covenant at Mt. Sinai. On that feast day in AD 30, fifty days after Jesus's Resurrection, God the Holy Spirit came down upon the New Covenant people praying with the Virgin Mary in the Upper Room, filling and indwelling the believers of the New Covenant. St. Peter told the crowd that these events were what was spoken through the prophet Joel. Peter declared that Jesus's death and resurrection had ushered in a New Age and a New Creation. Jesus's resurrection and the supernatural event in the Second Great Pentecost were the promised "Day of the Lord" that signaled the beginning of the Final Age of humanity. It is the age in which we now live.

The key phrase in Jesus's teaching in Matthew 5:17-20 is verse 17, in which Jesus promises that He has not come to abolish but to fulfill: Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Jesus brought about the fulfillment through His sacrificial death, burial, and resurrection by bringing New Covenant believers, through their baptism by water in dying to sin and rising in the Spirit, into the family of God and ushering in the eternal Kingdom on earth, the universal Church, as prophesied by the prophet Daniel in Daniel 2:44 and 7:27:

  1. Jesus fulfilled the purification rites of the Old Covenant. For Old Covenant believers, touching someone who was ritually impure left them ritually "unclean;" however, when Jesus touched the sick or sinners or the dead, He did not become impure; instead, He purified the impure.
  2. Jesus fulfilled the old sacrificial system. He redeems us and purges us of our sins through His perfect sacrifice on the altar of the Cross. Moreover, His sacrifice eliminates the necessity of imperfect animal sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins that was necessary under the Old Covenant Law. Moreover, his perfect sacrifice opens the gates of Heaven to all redeemed souls.

Jesus's statement "until all things have taken place" before the Law is "fulfilled" refers to His Passion, death, and Resurrection. In one of Jesus's last statements from the Cross, He spoke of fulfillment/completion: After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I thirst." There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, "It is finished." And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit (Jn 19:28-30).

In the Greek text, Jesus said, "Teltelestai," which means It is finished, or It is fulfilled/completed; it was also a Greek word used in accounting practices to mean "It is paid in full." The Old Covenant Law that prepared us for His advent is fulfilled/completed/accomplished, and our debt of sin is "paid in full." It cannot be His work of salvation because that will not be completed until His return in glory at the End of the Age. Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant's sacrificial and purification system in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world (Jn 1:29). He became the ultimate, perfect sacrifice for sin. Jesus came to "finish" or "fulfill" God's work of salvation, as he told His disciples in John 4:34, saying, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work" (also see Jn 17:4) and to "pay in full" the penalty for our sins. With His sacrifice on the cross, the Old Covenant animal sacrifices and the ritual purity rites, which were an imperfect, temporary measure, ended. Only the moral Law remained that He transformed to a higher, more spiritual standard. Jesus took the Law contained in the Sacred Scriptures (Jn 19:28) and perfected, transformed, and fulfilled it (CCC 1967-68).

In Matthew 5:19, Jesus warned concerning the Law when He said, "Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven." Jesus taught that the measure of greatness in His Kingdom would be by obedience and correct teaching of the whole Law. Using the conjunction oun, which can be translated as "certainly," "accordingly," "then," or "therefore," Jesus made the vital connection between faithful obedience to the Law and entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. He also made it clear that personal obedience was not good enough. The faithful Christian disciple must also teach others the permanently binding nature of God's commands. Greatness in God's Kingdom will be measured by living and teaching in obedience to the laws of God, which includes teaching our children, extended families, neighbors, and the world.

In Matthew 5:20, Jesus declared: "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." In this statement, Jesus set a standard for His disciples. Not only is the Christian's "greatness" in God's Kingdom measured by righteousness that conforms in obedience to the whole body of God's commands, but entry into the Kingdom is not possible without obedience that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes, most of whom were of the order of the lesser Levitical ministers, were the 1st century AD theologians and teachers, while the Pharisees, the most influential religious group in the first century AD, considered themselves the most righteous of God's covenant people. They prided themselves on rigid adherence to the "Law of Moses." 

God's Kingdom is composed of the wholly righteous. However, Jesus was calling for a standard of perfection and righteousness that was not the rigid external holiness of the Pharisees. Instead, He called for spiritually intense holiness that comes from the inner and most spiritually pure hearts of New Covenant believers. It is a perfection of holiness and obedience to the Law promised by Yahweh through the 6th-century BC prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Ezekiel 36:25-27, the prophets looked forward to the Messianic Age. They linked a promised new Covenant to spiritual purification in a new Law and a new heart generated by the Spirit of God.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus inaugurated the New Law founded upon inward righteousness manifested by the Spirit of God and evidenced by external acts of mercy because Yahweh loves a heart of holiness! The link between the Spirit that God would put into hearts and His love shows that we cannot have one without the other. The Spirit came to circumcise the hearts of the children of God, and why entry into Jesus's Kingdom is impossible without holiness deeper than that of the scribes and the Pharisees. Such righteousness is evidence of the new birth through water and the Spirit. One must be reborn from above through the Sacrament of Christian baptism to enter the Kingdom of God (Jn 3:3, 5-7; Mt 28:19-20).

If Jesus fulfilled the purification rites and ritual sacrifices so that they are no longer necessary, what remains of the Sinai Covenant that He will transform but leave in place? The moral law of the Ten Commandments and the ritual of worship remain, but it is worship devoid of imperfect animal sacrifice and replaced by the pure sacrifice of "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world," Jesus the Christ (see the chart at the end of the study). The Old Testament was only a partial revelation of God. Jesus of Nazareth "fulfilled" all the Old Testament in the sense that He brought the Law given to Moses and the teaching of the prophets to completion in His Incarnation, His ministry, and His work of redemption: In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a Son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe (Heb 1:1-2; also see  CCC 1962-1974).

What remained from the old Mosaic Law that was transformed but still in place in the New Covenant after Jesus's self-sacrificial death and His glorious Resurrection was the Ten Commandments and the moral law. Jesus addressed the moral law in the six antitheses, which are the higher standards of conduct Jesus demands of the Christian disciple living the Beatitudes of the New Covenant Law.

The Six Examples of Conduct Jesus Demands of the Christian Disciple

Biblical scholars refer to the six examples of Christian perfection in Matthew 5:21-48 as the six antitheses. An antithesis is a contrast or opposition of words or sentiments. Using the repeated formula "You have heard it said/But I say to you" and "It was also said to you/But I say to you," Jesus contrasted the accepted interpretation of the Mosaic Law with His teaching that internalized and intensified the Law of Moses to yield a new standard of obedience. Jesus used this formula to teach six examples of the new Law of Christian conduct, and He used the formula six times in 5:21-22; 27-28; 31-32; 33-34; 38-39; and 43-44. However, in verse 26, His additional "I say to you" makes His use of the seventh use of the authoritative statement. The number six represents imperfect humanity and rebellion in Scripture, while seven represents fullness, completion, and especially spiritual perfection. The seven times repetition of Jesus's command, "I say to you," emphasizes the spiritual purity to which He calls Christian disciples of all generations.  See the document The Significance of Numbers in Scripture.

#1: Teaching about Unrighteous Anger

Matthew 5:21-26 ~ Jesus said: "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' 22 But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. 23 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise, your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

The "gifts" that the faithful brought to Yahweh's altar of sacrifice at the Jerusalem Temple were the unblemished Tamid lambs for the morning and evening (afternoon) liturgical worship for the sanctification and atonement of the covenant people, communal sacrifice, animals for sin, communion, and feast day sacrifices together with grain offerings/unleavened bread offerings, and wine libations. The gifts brought to God's altar in the celebration of the Mass are gifts of wine and unleavened bread that become the un-bloody and ongoing sacrifice of the glorified Jesus Christ.

In the first antithesis, Jesus addresses the destructive power of unrighteous anger. Righteous anger directed toward injustice and sin was permitted, within limits. To hate sin like abortion and to feel righteous anger with those who participate in the murder of babies created in the image of God is permissible. It is possible to constructively generate righteous anger by taking a public stand against such sins. However, letting that anger fuel personal hatred and violence is not permitted. Jesus began this teaching about unrighteous, destructive anger by referencing the Old Covenant commandment: You shall not murder ("murder" is a more accurate translation than "kill" because the action refers to the shedding of innocent blood; see Ex 20:13; Dt 5:17). Jesus raised the bar on the commandment "You shall not murder" by addressing the root of the act of shedding innocent blood, which is unrighteous anger.

The little parable in verses 25-26 compares a civil judgment against a law-breaker with sin and God's verdict as the divine judge who sends the sinner to his deserved punishment in Sheol/Hades (the abode of the dead in the old covenants and the destination of both the righteous and the sinner before the Resurrection; see CCC 633; Lk 16:19-31). Four words require our attention in this passage: raqa, moros, Gehenna, and Sanhedrin:

  1. Most Bible translations interpret the Aramaic word raqa/raca as "insults." It is a Semitism that scholars tell us is not easy to translate. It can mean "foolish," "stupid," "blockhead," or "crazy," but in any case, it is an expression of reproach and conveys contempt for a person. That this Aramaic word is used in the Greek New Testament text without any explanation or translation is probably evidence that it was widely used in Jesus's time as an insult. It is believed that the Aramaic word raca conveyed the description of one devoid of all moral and religious sense so as to become an apostate, meaning one who separates from the covenant with God. For the Jew, the degree of contempt for such a person approaches hatred and condemnation for such a person in this life and in the next.
  2. The other word, translated as "fool," is the Greek word moros, from which we get the word "moron," meaning "one devoid of any sense." But most scholars believe this Greek word does not give the full force of the meaning of the Aramaic word Jesus must have used. From the progression of the severity of judgment in this passage, we can determine that the word moros carried more force than raca.
  3. The word Gehenna is not in the Old Testament, but Jesus uses it in the New Testament to identify the "lake of fire," also called the "bottomless pit" created for Satan and his demons. We would call it the "Hell of the damned," the place of eternal punishment. In the Old Testament, blessings and punishments were temporal, but in the New Covenant of Christ Jesus, the blessings and punishments are eternal! It is the critical difference between the old covenants and Jesus's New Covenant Kingdom.
  4. The Sanhedrin was the highest judicial body of the Jewish people. In the 1st century BC, Judah became the Roman province of Judea, but the Romans allowed the Jews to control their own civil and religious courts of justice. The Jerusalem Sanhedrin was the highest judicial court.

In this passage, Jesus points to three degrees of faults and their corresponding punishments or judgments committed against charity (in Scripture, "love in action" defines charity). St. Augustine noted that our Lord pointed to three faults we commit, moving from internal irritation to showing a total lack of love (Augustine, Homilies on the Sermon on the Mount, II.9).

Fault Corresponding judgment
1. Feeling angry (verse 22a) Falling under the "judgment" of God.
2. Insulting remark (verse 22b) The chastisement of "the Sanhedrin" (the council of judgment).
3. Hatred (verse 22c) Eternal punishment "by the fires of Gehenna/Hell."

Jesus taught that anger, which comes to the point of endangering our immortal souls, generates from sin that begins in the heart. Therefore, one's heart must be purified/cleansed before sin manifests in an action that can have eternal consequences. Notice that Jesus imposes a restriction on worshipers in Matthew 5:23-26. He urges reconciliation of "anger against a brother" (a member of the covenant community) or "an opponent" before one comes to worship God at His holy altar. One must not come to God's sacrificial altar with the sin of anger in one's heart. The Rite of Peace in the celebration of the Mass allows the Catholic faithful one final opportunity to make amends before coming forward to the altar to receive the Lord in the Eucharist.  

Jesus told a short parable in verses 25-26 to illustrate the dangers of the internal sin of anger. The severe judgment of the judge in the parable is a warning of the fate in store for unrepentant sinners when they stand before the judgment throne of God: Jesus said: 25 "Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.  Otherwise, your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.  26 Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny" (underlining added). The judgment in the parable is not eternal punishment but is another kind of punishment for the sin of an angry and unforgiving heart. The "prison" mentioned by Jesus is a metaphor for the punishing side of Sheol (the Hebrew word for the grave or netherworld called "Hades" in the Greek) for those who died before Christ's Passion and Resurrection or the purification available to the Christian soul in the changed state of Sheol after Jesus liberated the righteous dead. After Jesus freed the righteous from Sheol, all those who accepted Christ and were baptized went to Heaven, and those who rejected His gift of salvation went to the Hell of the damned. Those destined for Heaven but requiring more purification remain in Sheol until full atonement is made; we now call this state Purgatory (see Mt 5:25-26; Lk 16:22-26, and CCC 633, 1030-32). Sheol/Hades remains until Christ's Second Coming and the Final Judgment (Rev 20:11-15).

Jesus cannot be referring to Gehenna, or eternal punishment (Hell), because there is no "release" from Hell/Gehenna, whereas in Jesus's parable there is the promise of a release: "Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny" (Mt 5:26; underlining added). There is a release from the purifying state of Purgatory for those who have been cleansed of remaining venial sins or who have made full atonement for mortal sins that were forgiven but for which penance is still due. For more references to Purgatory, see CCC 1033-36; 1 Cor 3:10; 1 Pt 3:19; 4:1; 4:6, 12). Scripture often refers to Sheol (Hebrew) or Hades (Greek), the abode of the dead, as "prison" in the Old and New Testaments (see Ps 142:7; 1 Pt 3:19 and CCC 633). Jesus will use the Hebrew word "Amen" (in Hebrew =emen) as He does at the beginning of verse 26 when He wants to emphasize a statement. "Amen" is a Semitic acrostic used as an emphatic statement to mean "It is true" or "I believe" and formed from the Hebrew words for "God is a trustworthy king": El Melech Ne'eman (see Rev 3:14; The Jewish Book of Why, vol. I, pages 152-153; Talmud: Shabbat, 119b).

#2: Teaching about Sexual Immorality

Matthew 5:27-30 ~ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.'  28 But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.  30 And if your right-hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna."
Once again, Jesus refers to the Ten Commandments, this time concerning the prohibition against adultery (see Ex 20:14; Lev 20:10-13; Dt 5:18), and again He raises the standard of conduct by addressing the interior root of the sin using the formula "But I say to you." Jesus raises the bar of correct behavior beyond the infidelity of a married or betrothed person. Whether married or not, the lustful thought or glance at any woman is now judged to be a sin. Under the old Law, only adultery and coveting one's neighbor's wife were considered sinful. But Jesus teaches that to have impure thoughts about a woman who is not one's wife or to look at any woman with lust (disordered desires) not only soils the soul of the man but is also a design toward denigrating the holiness of the woman.

There is a difference between the right desire between a man and a woman joined in a covenantal union of marriage, giving themselves to each other unselfishly in love and opened to new life, as opposed to lust which is a disordered desire that is selfishly motivated to use the other person for sexual gratification. Notice that Jesus said that sin begins in the heart. It is the heart that represents the total character, intellect, and will of a person. Then in verses 29-30, Jesus used hyperbole (an exaggerated statement) to emphasize that no sacrifice of disordered personal desire is too great to avoid the judgment of eternity in Gehenna (the Hell of the damned).

#3: Teaching about Divorce

Matthew 5:31-32 ~ "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.'  32 But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
Marriage was considered "unlawful" under the Law of the Sinai Covenant when the kinship relationship was too close (see Lev 18:6-18). Divorce for other reasons was not permitted under the Sinai Covenant until Moses permitted divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. Moses allowed divorce for "something indecent," which could refer to adultery but could also be loosely interpreted as anything that displeased a husband.

Although God allowed Moses to make this exception, Jesus taught that divorce was a sin in God's eyes. An exchange Jesus had with some Pharisees in Matthew 19:1-9 supports this interpretation, where He stated that any disillusion of a marital covenant union was a sin except for unlawful marriages. In the Matthew 19 passage, the Pharisees asked Jesus why Moses allowed divorce. Jesus replied, "Because of the hardness of your hearts, Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning, it was not so."  Then, using the formula statement emphasizing His authority, Jesus said, "I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery," repeating His statement in Matthew 5:32. Also see Acts 15:29.

The Catholic Church has remained faithful to Jesus's teaching concerning the sanctity of marriage: "Divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the sign.  Contracting a new union, even if it is recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a situation of public and permanent adultery" (CCC # 2384; also see CCC#s 1650-51; 2382; 2385-86).

#4: Teaching on the Swearing of Oaths

Matthew 5:33-37 ~ "Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.'  34 But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  36 Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.  37 Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one."
Jesus named four subjects by which oaths must not be sworn: by heaven, by the earth, by the holy city of Jerusalem, nor by their own person. What these have in common is that God has dominion over all of them. However, Jesus's teaching is often misunderstood. He was not forbidding all vows but instead cautioning against frivolous oath-swearing. To swear an oath is a serious affair because it invokes divine action. An oath calls upon God to be the judge of the oath-maker and his vow, and if the oath-maker fails in their obligations, God delivers the judgment. Evidently, in Jesus's time, people frequently abused the sacred nature of oath-swearing and the use of God's name.

In addressing the offense of unnecessary oath-swearing, Jesus called His disciples to exhibit the virtues of truthfulness, sincerity, and acts of virtuous solemnity:

  1. Truthfully say what you will or will not do.
  2. Be sincere in your promises.
  3. Solemnly carry out what you have said you will do.

The act of oath-swearing presupposes untruthfulness. Jesus reminded His disciples that to tell a lie or to try to "spin" the truth (a common practice then as today) places one within the realm of the "prince of lies," Satan. Jesus said, "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one." Jesus calls the Christian disciple in every generation to a higher standard of truthfulness that makes oath-swearing unnecessary (see CCC 2150-54).

For Jesus's last two teachings on the "Six Antithesis," see the Gospel of Matthew Lesson 9, or next week's Gospel Reading for the 7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A.

Chart of the liturgy of worship in the Old Covenant and the transformed liturgy of worship in the New Covenant in Christ:

Old Covenant Liturgical Worship New Covenant Liturgical Worship
The centralized Church hierarchy located in Jerusalem. The centralized Church hierarchy located in Rome.
The ministerial priesthood.   The ministerial priesthood.
The altar of sacrifice. The altar that represents the table of the Last Supper, the empty tomb, and the sacrificial altar.
Holy water for ritual purification.  Holy water signifying interior purification.
Incense representing the prayers of the people rising to heaven. Incense representing the prayers of the people rising to heaven.
Hymns from the psalms and music glorifying God. Hymns, including those from the psalms and music glorifying God.
Prayers and petitions of the faithful that are offered to God. Prayers and petitions of the faithful that are offered to God.
Readings from Sacred Scripture: the Torah (Books of Moses), the Writings, and the Prophets. Readings from Sacred Scripture: the Old Testament, the New Testament Gospels, Acts, and the Epistles.  
Annual Holy Feasts remembering the history of the birth of Israel and the Church of the Sinai Covenant. Annual Holy Feasts remembering the birth of Jesus and the history of the New Covenant Church.
The Tamid: a single sacrifice of two unblemished male lambs, twice a day in two liturgical services, seven days a week, for the atonement and sanctification of the covenant people. It was the most important of all sacrifices and commanded as a perpetual sacrifice for all generations for so long as the Sinai Covenant endured. The Eucharist: a perpetual sacrifice of the risen Jesus in His humanity and divinity, offered every hour of the day around the world for the atonement and sanctification of all the covenant people of God for all generations.
The confession of inadvertent sins* to a priest, resulting in God's forgiveness. Confession of all sins to a priest, resulting in God's forgiveness through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © October 2005

* Under the old Law, there was only forgiveness for unintentional sins; there was no forgiveness for intentional sins since the sacrifice of an animal was incapable of atoning for mortal sin (Numbers 22-31). Catholic liturgy has more elements of Old Covenant worship than modern Rabbinic Judaism. Modern Judaism has no altar, no sacrifice, and no priests.

Catechism References (* indicated Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
1 Corinthians 2:6-10 (CCC 221*); 2:7-9 (CCC 1998*); 2:8 (CCC 446*, 498*, 598); 2:9 (CCC 1027*)

Matthew 5:17-19 (CCC 577, 592*, 1967*); 5:17 (CCC 2053*); 5:20 (CCC 2054); 5:21-22 (CCC 2054, 2257), 5:21 (CCC 2262, 2302; 5:22-39 (CCC 2262); 5:22 (CCC 678*, 1034*, 2302); 5:23-24 (CCC 2608*, 2792*, 2841*, 2845*); 5:24 (CCC 1424); 5:27-28 (CCC 2330, 2336, 2380*); 5:28 (CCC 1456*, 2513, 2528); 5:29-30 (CCC 226*); 5:29 (CCC 1034*); 5:31-32 (CCC 2382*), 5:32 (CCC 2380*); 5:33-34 (CCC 581, 2141, 2153); 5:33 (CCC 592*, 2463); 5:37 (CCC 2150-54, 2338*, 2466)

Jesus and the Law (CCC 577*, 578*, 579*, 580*, 581*, 582*)

The old Law (CCC 1961-1964)

The Decalogue in the tradition of the Church (CCC 2064-2068)

Michal E Hunt, Copyright © 2014; revised 2023 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.