Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 5:3-12

Christ begins his sermon with blessings, for he came into the world to bless us (Acts 3:26), as the great High Priest of our profession; as the blessed Melchizedec; as He in whom all the families of the earth should be blessed, Gen. 12:3. He came not only to purchase blessings for us, but to pour out and pronounce blessings on us; and here he does it as one having authority, as one that can command the blessing, even life for evermore, and that is the blessing here again and again promised to... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Matthew 5:1-48

As we have already seen, Matthew has a careful pattern in his gospel. In his story of the baptism of Jesus he shows us Jesus realizing that the hour has struck, that the call to action has come, and that Jesus must go forth on his crusade. In his story of the Temptations he shows us Jesus deliberately choosing the method he will use to carry out his task, and deliberately rejecting methods which he knew to be against the will of God. If a man sets his hand to a great task, he needs his... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:9

Blessed are the peace makers ,.... Not between God and man, for no man can make his own peace with God; nor can any mere creature, angels, or men, make it for him; Christ, in this sense, is the only peace maker: but between men and men; and such are they, who are of peaceable dispositions themselves; live peaceably with all men, and with one another, as their relation obliges to, and their mutual comfort requires; and with the men of the world; and who are ready, willing, and very... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:10

Blessed are they which are persecuted ,.... Not for any crimes they have done, for unrighteousness and iniquity, as murderers, thieves, and evildoers, but for righteousness sake : on account of their righteous and godly conversation, which brings upon them the hatred and enmity of the men of the world: for saints, by living righteously, separate themselves from them, and profess themselves not to belong to them; their religious life sets a brand upon, and distinguishes other persons;... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:9

The peace-makers - Ειρηνη , peace, is compounded of ειρειν ( εις ) ἑν , connecting into one: for as War distracts and divides nations, families, and individuals, from each other, inducing them to pursue different objects and different interests, so Peace restores them to a state of unity, giving them one object, and one interest. A peace-maker is a man who, being endowed with a generous public spirit, labors for the public good, and feels his own interest promoted in promoting that... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:10

They which are persecuted - Δεδιωγμενοι , they who are hard pressed upon and pursued with repeated acts of enmity. Parkhurst. They are happy who suffer, seems a strange saying: and that the righteous should suffer, merely because they are such, seems as strange. But such is the enmity of the human heart to every thing of God and goodness, that all those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution in one form or other. As the religion of Christ gives no quarter to vice, so the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:9

Verse 9 9.Happy are the peacemakers By peacemakers he means those who not only seek peace and avoid quarrels, as far as lies in their power, but who also labor to settle differences among others, who advise all men to live at peace, and take away every occasion of hatred and strife. There are good grounds for this statement. As it is a laborious and irksome employment to reconcile those who are at variance, persons of a mild disposition, who study to promote peace, are compelled to endure the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:10

Verse 10 10.Happy are they who suffer persecution The disciples of Christ have very great need of this instruction; and the more hard and disagreeable it is for the flesh to admit it, the more earnestly ought we to make it the subject of our meditation. We cannot be Christ’s soldiers (369) on any other condition, than to have the greater part of the world rising in hostility against us, and pursuing us even to death. The state of the matter is this. Satan, the prince of the world, will never... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:1-16

The sermon on the mount. The first part of the sermon: the law of the kingdom of heaven. I. THE BEATITUDES . 1 . The first Beatitude. 2 . The second Beatitude. (a) It seems a paradox. Sorrow and joy are opposed to one another; but the Lord says that there is a sorrow which is blessed. Life is full of sorrows. There is more sorrow in the world than joy, more pain than pleasure. Outward sorrows are blessed if they are meekly borne, in patience and in trustful faith. When... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:3-9

The benediction of good character. The word "blessed" is taken from beati , which is used in the Vulgate. By it our Lord indicates what will be especially esteemed, and receive special honour, in his new kingdom. To see our Lord's point we should observe what the Pharisaic teachers of his day were proclaiming. According to them, God's blessing rested upon minute acts of obedience; upon precision in keeping every detail of a series of elaborate, man-made rules. The teaching of the day... read more

Group of Brands