Reappraising the Antitheses in Matthew 5,” delivered at the 2006 Jerusalem Perspective Conference, “Insights into Jesus of Nazareth: His Words, His Wisdom, His World,” Dwight Pryor discusses Jesus’ attitude toward the Jewish law in view of the “antitheses” (“You have heard it said….
The Sea of Galilee
According to the Gospels, Jesus’ earthly ministry centered around the Sea of Galilee. While important events occurred in Jerusalem, the Lord spent most of the three years of his ministry along the shore of this freshwater lake. Here he gave more than half of his parables and here he performed most of his miracles. Northwestern shore of the lake from Mt. Arbel The Plain of Gennesaret on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee sits between Capernaum and Magdala and was surely crossed by Jesus and his disciples many times.
With All Due Respect…
Interestingly, Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:27, 32, 34, 39 and 44 carry a similar ring to them.
Us and Them: Loving Both
(Matt 5:43-45, NASB)
The Qumran scroll of Thanksgiving Hymns (1QHa) as it appeared at the beginning of its unrolling. …
The larger context of Jesus’ saying includes Matthew 5:21-48. … Said another way, viewing Jesus’ saying on love as an authentic part of Matthew 5:21-48, one could suggest that Jesus’ words represent a response not to a proverb, but to an exegetical tradition linked to a verse from the Torah. …
Reading Matthew 5:43-45 against the background of the exegetical trends and sectarian attitudes reflected in the Dead Sea Scrolls, one appreciates better the aim of Jesus’ saying…. See Morton Smith, “Mt. 5:43: ‘Hate Thine Enemy,'” Harvard Theological Review 45 (1952): 71-73.
Yohanan the Immerser’s Exhortations
as a follow up to the Baptist’s demand to ποιήσατε καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας (poiēsate karpon axion tēs metanoias, “Do/make fruit worthy of repentance”; Matt. 3:8; cf. … We believe the answer lies in the editorial changes the author of Matthew made to the opening of Yohanan the Immerser Demands Repentance, where he changed the identity of John’s audience from the diverse crowds (as in Luke 3:7) to the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matt. 3:7).
Matthew 5:5: Blessed Are the Meek
The recording below is of a sermon preached on July 18, 1998 by Halvor Ronning at Jerusalem’s historic Narkis Street Congregation.
Who Questioned Jesus?
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The first mention in the New Testament of συνέδριον (synedrion) occurs in Matthew 5:22, in a saying of Jesus found only in Matthew’s gospel.
Prayers for Emergencies
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The prayer that Jesus taught his disciples (Matt. 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) is viewed by Christians as a model prayer.
“Do Not Resist Evil”: Jesus’ View of Pacifism
Matt 5:21; 5:39a; 5:44; 10:28; 16:25….
One verse that is commonly cited in support of Jesus’ pacifism is Matthew 5:21, which most English versions of the Bible render, “You shall not kill.” … It seems quite certain that in Matthew 5:21 Jesus was quoting the sixth commandment….
Hebrew Maxim
Another saying of Jesus on which his supposed pacifism is based is found in Matthew 5:39a. … Lindsey for drawing my attention to the connection between Matt 5:39a and these three passages.
“And” or “In order to” Remarry
For example: “anyone who is angry with his brother” (Matt 5:22); “anyone who looks at a woman lustfully” (Matt 5:28); “everyone who hears these words of mine” (
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is amazingly similar to Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Matt 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13)…. [Matt 4:10; cf. Attentive readers of Matthew, Mark and Luke know that Jesus relished speaking about the kingdom of heaven. Responding to his emphasis, prominent New Testament scholars made it a major theme of inquiry in their research. (Matt. 5:45) The sage Rabbi Abahu said: The day of rain is greater than the resurrection of the dead, because the resurrection of the dead benefits only the righteous, but rain benefits both the righteous and the unrighteous. Matt. 8:14-15; Mark 1:29-31; Luke 4:38-39 (Huck 13, 47; Aland 37, 87; Crook 61, 91)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'”
The above image shows a miniature painting by Dirc van Delf appearing in an illuminated manuscript (ca. 1400) depicting the fall of Satan from heaven. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Luke 18:1-8 וַיִּמְשׁוֹל לָהֶם מָשָׁל לֵאמֹר דַּיָּן הָיָה בְּעִיר פְּלוֹנִית שֶׁלֹּא יָרֵא שָׁמַיִם וְאָדָם לֹא כִּבֵּד וְאַלְמָנָה הָיְתָה בְּאֹתָהּ הָעִיר וְהָיְתָה בָּאָה אֵלָיו לוֹמַר שָׁפְטֵנִי מִיַּד בַּעַל דִּינִי וְהָיָה מְמָאֵן זְמַן הַרְבֵּה וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן אָמַר בְּלִבּוֹ אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינִי יָרֵא שָׁמַיִם וְאָדָם אֵינִי מְכַבֵּד מִפְּנֵי שֶׁמֵּבִיאָה עָלַי צָרָה אַלְמָנָה זוֹ אֶשְׁפוֹט אוֹתָה שֶׁמָּא תָּבוֹא וְתִפְגַּע בִּי לְעוֹלָם וַיֹּאמֶר הָאָדוֹן שִׁמְעוּ מַה דַּיַּן הָרֶשַׁע אוֹמֵר וְהֲלֹא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁמַיִם מִשְׁפַּט בְּחִירָיו הַצּוֹעֲקִים לוֹ בַּיּוֹם וּבַלַּיְלָה הֲמִתְאַפֵּק עֲלֵיהֶם אֲנִי אוֹמֵר לָכֶם יַעֲשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּטָם בִּמְהֵרָה Then Yeshua told them this parable: “There was a judge in a certain town who was not a God-fearing man, neither was he concerned about human welfare. Nevertheless, there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him demanding, ‘Rescue me from my legal opponent’s power!’ But the judge kept refusing her for a long time. Some time later, however, the judge thought to himself, ‘Although I am not a God-fearing man, and although I have no concern for human welfare, yet because this widow keeps on bothering me, I will rescue her, or else she’ll keep on coming to pester me forever!'” Updated: 28 June 2023 Scholars have long been aware that there is something strange about the relationship between the “eschatological” discourses of Jesus as presented in Mark 13 and Luke 21.See Manson, Sayings, 323; Marshall, 754-758; Fitzmyer, 2:1324-1329; Nolland, Luke, 3:983-986; Bovon, 3:103; Wolter, 2:416-417.
Abraham’s Temptation, Forerunner of Jesus’ Temptation
A Call for New Conversation
The Lord’s Prayer 2: “Our Father Who Art in Heaven”
Healing Shimon’s Mother-in-law
Like Lightning from Heaven (Luke 10:18): Jesus’ Apocalyptic Vision of the Fall of Satan
Persistent Widow Parable
(Huck 185; Aland 236; Crook 289)For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.'” Revised: 21 October 2022
“Destruction and Redemption” complex
