Matthew 5:20 ESV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

Those to whom Christ preached, and for whose use he gave these instructions to his disciples, were such as in their religion had an eye, 1. To the scriptures of the Old Testament as their rule, and therein Christ here shows them they were in the right: 2. To the scribes and the Pharisees as their example, and therein Christ here shows them they were in the wrong; for, I. The rule which Christ came to establish exactly agreed with the scriptures of the Old Testament, here called the law and the... 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 5:20

For I say unto you ,.... These words are directed, not to the true disciples of Christ in general, or to his apostles in particular, but to the whole multitude of the people; who had in great esteem and admiration the Scribes and Pharisees, for their seeming righteousness and holiness; concerning which Christ says, that except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven . He mentions the Scribes, because... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:20

Except your righteousness shall exceed - περισσευση , Unless your righteousness abound more - unless it take in, not only the letter, but the spirit and design of the moral and ritual precept; the one directing you how to walk so as to please God; the other pointing out Christ, the great Atonement, through and by which a sinner is enabled to do so - more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, who only attend to the letter of the law, and had indeed made even that of no effect by their... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:20

Verse 20 Matthew 5:20.Unless your righteousness shall be more abundant. He takes a passing notice of the Scribes, who were laboring to throw a stain on the doctrine of the Gospel, as if it were the ruin of the Law. True, he does not reason on this subject, but only points out briefly, that nothing has less influence over their minds than zeal for the law. “They pretend, that their hostility to me arises from their strong desire, that the law should not be violated. But their life makes it... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

(1) With this aim he first states summarily and in nucleus the position that he himself holds towards the Law—a statement which was the more necessary as he had already ( Matthew 5:11 ) claimed to be the object of his disciples' devotion. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The veneration of Law and prophets. The caution which Jesus Christ now addresses to his disciples was very probably owing to many things wont to be said, though not recorded, in the nature of hasty and often malevolent forecasts, of his likely tendency to innovations. How many things had been conjectured, and most vainly, respecting him "that should come "! And now that he had come, those who yielded but a hesitating and grudging assent to his Messiahship, in that very proportion were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The gospel of the Law. The Jews of our Lord's day expected that Messiah would dignify the Law and verify the prophets. In this they were correct, but they were utterly mistaken as to the manner in which these things were to take effect. The scribes and Pharisees, therefore, disputed the claims of Jesus to be the Christ because he reprobated the traditions of the elders, which they had strangely confounded with the Law; and because he did not establish a secular kingdom according to their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

The second part of the sermon: the mount of the Beatitudes and Mount Sinai: the new Law and the old. I. CHRIST THE FULFILLER OF THE LAW . 1 . He came not to destroy. They must not misunderstand the purpose of his teaching. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; both speak of Christ. The commandments are as binding now upon the Christian conscience as when they were first delivered amid the thunders of Mount Sinai. "We establish the Law," says the apostle of faith ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

Sermon on the mount: 3. Exceeding righteousness. A teacher who compels the public to look at an unfamiliar truth, the reformer who introduces a new style of goodness, will be misinterpreted just in proportion to the advance he makes upon former ideas. Our Lord renounced explicitly, and with warmth, the goodness of the Pharisees, and the cry was at once raised against him as a destroyer of the Law, a libertine, a companion or' loose people. He thus found himself called on publicly to... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Matthew 5:20

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:20

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Matthew 5:20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

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