Points to Ponder in Matthew 5 and Luke 6

September 21, 2022

To accompany your Come Follow Me study for February 13-19

In addition to reading the indicated chapters, you may wish to:

  • The Gospel of Luke, minutes 59:38-1:10:35, at

If you would like a Kahoot game related to this material which you could use for personal study or use with your family or your class, click here:   https://create.kahoot.it/share/matthew-5-and-luke-6/828b1454-ddd2-4175-bd49-c839e3ed4b2a.      (To use it with a group, after clicking on this link, you will need to log into Kahoot, creating a free account if you have not done so previously, then click on the blue “Start” button.)

Points to Ponder in Matthew 5 and Luke 6

1. Both the Joseph Smith Translation and the 3 Nephi version of the Sermon on the Mount contain a “beatitude” which is missing from the King James Version.  What difference does the “missing” beatitude make to an understanding of those that follow it?

2. How would you respond to the charge that the Sermon on the Mount is simply too idealistic‑‑that it is not realistic to expect people to love their enemies, endure persecution gracefully, and become as perfect as God?

3. A UPI article from a few years ago stated:  “Doctors have sewed the right hand back on the arm of a Bible‑carrying man who indicated to police he cut it off because he felt it offended God.”  As bizarre as that sounds, isn’t that what Matthew 5:30 says to do in such a case?  Explain.

4. What significance do you see in the other JST changes or Book of Mormon clarifications to the Sermon on the Mount?

5. What other passages from the Sermon on the Mount do you feel are often misunderstood?  Explain.

6. What passages from the Sermon on the Mount are particularly helpful in teaching uniquely Latter-day Saint concepts?

7. What experiences can you relate of people who have actually shown love for enemies?  With what results?  Why are we generally so reluctant to try out the Savior’s teachings in this area?

8. What other passages from the Sermon on the Mount did you find particularly inspiring or motivational to you personally?  Why?  

Possible Answers to Points to Ponder in Matthew 5 and Luke 6

1. Both the Joseph Smith Translation and the 3 Nephi version of the Sermon on the Mount contain a “beatitude” which is missing from the King James Version.  What difference does the “missing” beatitude make to an understanding of those that follow it?

In the JST, Jesus’ first recorded words in His sermon are:  “Blessed are they who shall believe on me; and again, more blessed are they who shall believe on your words when ye shall testify that ye have seen me and that I am. Yea, blessed are they who shall believe on your words and come down into the depth of humility and be baptized in my name; for they shall be visited with fire and the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of their sins.”  The sermon to the Nephites in 3 Nephi 12 begins similarly.  Both clarify that the first step on the covenant path, or road to perfection, is to make covenants with the Lord in baptism and receive the Holy Ghost, which works a mighty change in heart and enables the convert to achieve the perfection of character spoken of in the remainder of the Savior’s sermon.  It was never expected that man unaided by the Spirit could simply pull himself up by his own bootstraps and be pure in heart, love his enemies, etc.

2. How would you respond to the charge that the Sermon on the Mount is simply too idealistic‑‑that it is not realistic to expect people to love their enemies, endure persecution gracefully, and become as perfect as God?

See the comments above in response to question #1.  It really would be unrealistic to expect people to achieve such perfection without divine assistance.  Jesus acknowledged that in Matthew 19:26: “With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”  As Nephi reminds us in 1 Ne. 3:7 the Lord gives no commandments without preparing the way for us to keep them.  Genesis 17:1 tells us that God commanded Abraham to be perfect, and Genesis 6:9 tells us that Noah had achieved that status.  Evidently Adam’s son, Seth, did as well (D&C 107:43.)   Job 1:1 tells that Job was another who was “perfect and upright.”  Alma 13:12 tells us, in fact, that anciently thee “were many, exceedingly great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.”   

But modern prophets have clarified that while perfection is our goal, it is not to be expected that we’ll achieve it any time soon.  See Russell M. Nelson, “Perfection Pending,” at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1995/10/perfection-pending.p15,p39,p40?lang=eng#p15 and Jeffrey R. Holland, “Be Ye Therefore Perfect—Eventually,” at https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2017/10/be-ye-therefore-perfect-eventually?lang=eng. 

While it is likely that we may not achieve perfection in this life, it seems essential to try and to make continual progress.  As Amulek reminds us in Alma 34, intentional procrastination may make repentance everlastingly too late.    

3. A UPI article from a few years ago stated:  “Doctors have sewed the right hand back on the arm of a Bible‑carrying man who indicated to police he cut it off because he felt it offended God.”  As bizarre as that sounds, isn’t that what Matthew 5:30 says to do in such a case?  Explain.

In the JST version of Matthew 5:30, the following words are added:  “And now this I speak, a parable concerning your sins; wherefore, cast them from you, that ye may not be hewn down and cast into the fire.”  In other words, Jesus was speaking figuratively.  Too bad the man referenced in the news article didn’t know that!

4. What significance do you see in the other JST changes or Book of Mormon clarifications to the Sermon on the Mount?

My list would include:  

  • Matthew 5:3; 3 Nephi 3:3:  Only the poor in spirit who come unto Jesus are blessed.  There is no benefit from simply being poor in spirit.
  • Matthew 5:6; 3 Nephi 12:6:  Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will specifically be filled with the Holy Ghost.
  • Matthew 5:10; 3 Nephi 12:10:  We are blessed if we endure persecution for Jesus’ sake, not just for our own eccentricities or self-defined good causes, whatever they might be.
  • Matthew 5:13-14; 3 Nephi 12:13-14:  We are not by definition either the salt of the earth or the light of the world, but we are assigned to so be!
  • Matthew 5:19; JST Matthew 5:19; 3 Nephi 12:19:  Shows that those who break the commandments and teach others to do so won’t be “the least in the kingdom of heaven” but won’t be part of that kingdom at all.  (The JST version reads:  “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so to do, he shall in no wise be saved in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach these commandments of the law until it be fulfilled, the same shall be called great and shall be saved in the kingdom of heaven.”
  • Matthew 5:22; 3 Nephi 12:22:  The omission in 3 Nephi of the phrase “without a cause” suggests that the Savior doesn’t condone our getting angry with a fellow mortal for any reason at all.  We can hate the sin but must always love the sinner. 
  • Matthew 5:23; 3 Nephi 12:23:  Expands the idea to include more than bringing gifts to an altar but any effort to get closer to the Savior.
  • Matthew 5:28; 3 Nephi 12:28:  Both the JST and 3 Nephi add the following material after verse 28, which is missing from Matthew:  “Behold, I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your heart, for it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell.”  
  • The JST equivalents of Matthew 5:40-41 are amplified in the JST as follows:  “And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have it; and if he sue thee again, let him have thy cloke also.  And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him a mile; and whosoever shall compel thee to go with him twain, thou shalt go with him twain.”  This interesting toning down of the instruction may suggest that one need not feel compelled to volunteer to go “the extra mile” for an enemy but should do so without resistance if “compelled.”  Joseph Smith made a related change in the JST version of Luke 6:29, which he rendered as follows: “And unto him who smiteth thee on the cheek offer also the other; or in other words, it is better to offer the other, than to revile again. And him who taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. For it is better that thou suffer thine enemy to take these things than to contend with him. Verily I say unto you, Your heavenly Father, who seeth in secret, shall bring that wicked one into judgment.”

5. What other passages from the the first part of the Sermon on the Mount do you feel are often misunderstood?  Explain.

My list would include:

  • Matthew 5:1:  The common view is that Jesus went up onto an elevated place where the multitudes below could all see him and better hear him.  I read it quite differently.  To me, it says that when Jesus saw the multitudes, He intentionally did what was necessary to escape from them.  Many among the crowds were curious, but it appears that only Jesus’ true disciples were eager enough to hear Him to put for the effort to climb up to where He was.  This was a sermon for newly called apostles and other faithful disciples, not for the world at large.    
  • Matthew 5:5:  Meekness is often considered a sign of weakness.  But as the footnote indicates, the Greek word here used had the connotation of “gentle, forgiving, or benevolent.”  Other English translations use such synonyms as “mild,” “patient,” “long-suffering,” “kind-hearted,” “sweet-spirited,” “self-controlled,” and “humble.”  Far from being a sign of weakness, true meekness is a sign of great spiritual strength.   Moses, for example, though tough enough to lead thousands of Israelites out of bondage and direct them for forty years in the desert, was said to be “very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.”  (Numbers 12:3.)  And Jesus, the strongest man spiritually who ever lived, characterized Himself as “meek and lowly in heart.”  (Matthew 11:29.)
  • Matthew 5:32 Has confused many divorced and remarried people, who have wondered if they were really guilty of adultery.  Though always regrettable, divorce is indeed countenanced in the Church today as sometimes necessary, and previously divorced individuals are not considered to be in transgression if they remarry.  Latter-day Saint commentators on Matthew 5:32 seem to fall into two camps.  The first suggests that the Savior was speaking of an ideal which would be applicable in a perfect world, but which is not now in force.  The second believes the Savior was speaking of those who simply separated from their spouses without going through a legal divorce procedure.  Such, should they remarry without a legal divorce, would of course then as well as now be considered to be committing adultery.
  • Matthew 5:34:  Though profanity and vulgarity are certainly contrary to God’s will, that is not what this passage is speaking about.  Rather, the Lord is teaching against making formal oaths, embellishing them with references to deity, the heavens, the earth, the city of Jerusalem, or even by one’s own life or head.  Rather, one should simply say, “Yes,” or “No,” and let that be sufficient. 
  • Luke 6:25:  This is not a condemnation of cheerful laughter, which does no harm, but of scornful or prideful laughter at the expense of others.   

6. What passages from the Sermon on the Mount are particularly helpful in teaching uniquely Latter-day Saint concepts?

They could include:

  • Matthew 5:5:  The earth will sanctified, celestialized, and become the eternal abode of the righteous.
  • Matthew 5:8:  It is possible to see God, just as Joseph Smith testified to having done.
  • Matthew 5:48:  Man has the potential to become like God.

7. What experiences can you relate of people who have actually shown love for enemies?  With what results?  Why are we generally so reluctant to try out the Savior’s teachings in this area?

The greatest example, of course, is that of Jesus, who prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Stephen offered a similar plea as he suffered martyrdom.  Spencer W. Kimball in his classic Miracle of Forgiveness devotes an entire chapter (19) to accounts of those who have set an example of forgiveness.  You can also read a wonderful account of Chief Blue of the Catawba Indian tribe who forgave those who killed his son at https://bookofmormonevidence.org/catawba-chief-samuel-blue-2/#:~:text=Power%20to%20Forgive%20by%20Chief%20Blue%20Chief%20Samuel,with%20six%20other%20Indians.%20They%20were%20hunting%20squirrels.   President James E. Faust tells other modern stories of forgiveness at https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/04/the-healing-power-of-forgiveness?lang=eng&adobe_mc_ref=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2007/04/the-healing-power-of-forgiveness?lang=eng&adobe_mc_sdid=SDID=7932CF92C79C7F9F-5E8C1A1C059380CA|MCORGID=66C5485451E56AAE0A490D45%40AdobeOrg|TS=1663709883.

Presumably, the greatest obstacle to our applying the Savior’s teachings about forgiveness is simply pride. 

8. What other passages from Matthew 5 or Luke 6 did you find particularly inspiring or motivational to you personally?  Why?  

Your choice.  Mine would include:

  • Matthew 5:19:  Greatness in the kingdom of God comes not only from keeping God’s commandments but from teaching others to do the same. 
  • Matthew 5:25:  The importance of agreeing with our adversaries quickly and not engaging in contention. 
  • Luke 6:9:  Rather than engage in legalistic arguments about what one can and can’t do on the sabbath, we need to focus on whether we are choosing to do good or evil, to save life or destroy it. 
  • Luke 6:12:  If the Savior needed a whole night in prayer before choosing His apostles, is it possible we spend too little time on our knees?