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But Jesus is not so much extending the law as explaining it. The command to love one's neighbor was already law, and one cannot love one's neighbor while venting unjustified anger upon them.

No, he is extending the law, or restricting it, depending on your point of view. If you but say he is explaining it, then it was not given previously. (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. For example, look at all the contrasts between "Ye have heard" and "But I say unto you." Here are the relevant passages from the Law and here is what the Messiah said:

The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken; According to all that thou desiredst of the LORD thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not. And the LORD said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

Thou shalt not kill.

He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another man's wife. And if the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth it in her hand, and sendeth her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, which took her to be his wife; Her former husband, which sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee. But if thou shalt forbear to vow, it shall be no sin in thee. That which is gone out of thy lips thou shalt keep and perform; even a freewill offering, according as thou hast vowed unto the LORD thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth.

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Romans, Catholic chapter five, Protestant verse thirteen,
Deuteronomy, Catholic chapter eighteen, Protestant verses fifteen to nineteen,
Exodus, Catholic chapter twenty, Protestant verse twelve,
Exodus, Catholic chapter twenty one, Protestant verse thirteen,
Matthew, Catholic chapter five, Protestant verses twenty one to twenty six,
Exodus, Catholic chapter twenty, Protestant verse fourteen,
Matthew, Catholic chapter five, Protestant verses twenty seven to thirty,
Deuteronomy, Catholic chapter twenty four, Protestant verses one to four,
Matthew, Catholic chapter five, Protestant verses thirty one to thirty two,
Deuteronomy, Catholic chapter twenty three, Protestant verses twenty one to twenty three,
Matthew, Catholic chapter five, Protestant verses thirty three to thirty seven,
Exodus, Catholic chapter twenty one, Protestant verses twenty two to twenty five,
Matthew, Catholic chapter five, Protestant verses thirty eight to forty two,
Leviticus, Catholic chapter ninteteen, Protestant verses seventeen to eighteen,
Matthew, Catholic chapter five, Protestant verses forty three to forty eight,
as authorized, but not authored, by King James
boldness mine

No, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not extending any of these laws. He is explaining what He meant by the law. He is, after all, God:

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
(Psalms 19:7)

For example, in Matthew 5:

1. Anger.

Unjustified anger is a violation of Moses, even in the absence of physical murder, because it is an offense against the two greatest commandments, to love God, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The spiritual component has always been part of the law. It was suppressed by the the formalists, who made avoidance of the spirit of the law into an art form. The advice to reconcile is really about relationships. Twisting it into confirmation of spurious rabbinic traditions such as purging in the afterlife is an inversion of it's core meaning.

2. Lust.

Again, a man who loves his wife does not deprive her of his love by seeking pleasure from another woman. The first line crossed is a failure to love her the way he would want her to love him. All sin at the root is a violation of the principle of love, which is why Jesus made sure we knew that love was the greatest principle of the law. There is no new invention here. Just Jesus connecting dots in a way the Pharisees never would have seen.

3. Divorce.

We both know God hates divorce. He would never sanction it, else He would contradict Himself. Moses did permit a writ of divorce, based on "uncleanness," but the scholars were in a dispute. Was the "uncleanness" mentioned in Deuteronomy 24 any old thing (Hillel), or was it sexual immorality, unfaithfulness (Shammai). Jesus confirms the Shammai position, and stipulates that under Moses, rightly understood, divorcing a woman who was not guilty of unfaithfulness and subjecting her to remarriage was causing her to commit adultery, the onus being largely on the man who rejected her for some reason other than a breach of faithfulness. So no, this is not an extension of the law, but an illumination of the law as it existed.

4. Swearing Oaths

The problem Jesus is addressing is not oaths as they were meant to be, firm promises, which He never negated, but oaths as what they had become under the corrupt teaching of the Pharisees. Under them, oaths had become a game of crossed fingers, where if you didn't swear in a binding formula, you could break any promise and not be held to account under the law. It had become a safe way to lie with regularity. The whole meaning of "swearing" had been corrupted. Jesus takes his listeners, not to some bizarre new rule about never making promises, but back to the primitive truth about integrity, that a man's own word must be his bond, and you should do what you say you're going to do, and if you don't, you've fallen short of the righteousness of God, and the law of love.

5. Justice versus mercy

Jesus, being God, would never speak against one of the most basics principle of justice, the law of proportional punishment. But the Pharisees had perverted this good principle of the civil justice system and falsely used it to justify personal vengefulness. Jesus here is not abrogating justice, but He is insisting on a personal generosity of mercy. I do not have to extract perfect retaliation for every wrong done to me. As Peter says, love covers a multitude of sins. The person living in a world where they cannot forgive but must have justice for themselves at any price is living in a self-created hell. I have seen it. The law of God has never supported personal vengeance, no matter how "even-handed." There is no new law in this. Only a solemn reminder of our own need for mercy, both to give, and to receive.

6. Love your neighbor but hate your enemy?

Where is "hate your enemy" in the law of Moses? It is nowhere. It is not a law of God, but yet another perversion of the law foisted on the people of Israel by their failed Magisterium. Clearly here also, there is no extension of the law, but a critical correction of a gross misunderstanding or perhaps even willful misrepresentation of God's good law. Jesus teaches us to love our enemy, and this is consistent with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The law was not deficient. The law of the Lord is perfect. But the interpretation of "neighbor" had been perverted. Jesus corrects that error in the story of the Good Samaritan, where we learn the law of love is to apply even to those we would think of as our enemies. Yet it is Moses unvarnished and unaltered. All that was need was for the Law-Giver, who wrote it in the first place, to give His own explanation of it. And that's exactly what Jesus did.

Peace,

SR