Matthew 5:22
But I Tell You
22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:28
But I Tell You
28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Matthew 5:32
But I Tell You
32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 5:39
But I Tell You
39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
Matthew 5:44-48
But I Tell You
44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus here uses the phrase "But I tell you"...When Jesus brings this to our attention, we should, in fact, pay particular attention to what He is saying...Jesus understands the entire Bible because He is the Bible...Jesus fulfills the Bible verses...He knows how to read and interpret every verse of the Bible... And these "But I tell you statements" are hard for me to follow...
Jesus in using His "But I tell you" statements, takes the commandments and Moses Law to an even more divine level...Jesus raises the standard and words of the Ten Commandments...He puts them in the context of God, for Jesus speaks the mind of God...For example, He takes the do not murder commandment to the next level...We all know murder is bad, but how can that be compared to being mad at a brother...Jesus does just that...He tells us that even when we are mad at a friend or even our brother, we should forgive him...For we will be judged, even when we are just mad at our brother...When we look at a woman and it is in a lustful way, we have sinned in our heart...The very thought of lustfully looking at another woman is a sin...Anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, has caused his wife and her new husband to commit adultery, because of the divorce...We should always keep the oaths we make with the LORD...But Jesus tells us to go further than this...We should not even cuss, curse, or swear at all...Getting mad and cursing does not do anything for us...It does not make even one hair white, or one hair black...Simply our yes should be only a yes, and our no should only be a no...Anything said beyond this when we are mad, and swear comes from the evil one...Jesus even teaches us not to resist this evil one...If someone strikes us on the right cheek, we are to turn and offer the evil one our left cheek as well...And even though we have enemies, we should love them...We are even to pray for those who persecute us...
These statements are very hard teachings...The "But I tell you" statements teach us to keep our tempers in check, be morally good, and love those are our enemies...But they are much, much more in being morally good...Jesus makes us think about our thoughts and what is in our hearts, and what is behind the acts and temptations in which we do and live...Negative thoughts start out small and grow...Jesus is the true example of how we are to live...Jesus has challenged us to a standard that seems impossible to live by...But Jesus is communicating God's words and ways to us...God's standard is very, very high...Be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect...
Jesus uses this phrase, "But I tell you" to show us some of the misinterpretations of the Bible and the Law of Moses...And God sent Jesus to earth to help communicate His teachings to us...Jesus gives us meaning to the verses of the Bible...He in a sense puts a Divine Face on the Bible, and make them true living verses...Jesus teaches us how we are to live, and how things will be in His Kingdom...