Matthew | Chapter 5

Matthew 5:1-6

“Kingdom Character part 1”

Vs. 1-2 The Setting for the Sermon

Vs. 3-6 The Need of our Hearts

Intro.

We come now to what is commonly called the Sermon on the mount, & it is Jesus’ Declaration of Independence, for the believer. In our U.S. constitution the citizens of this country are guaranteed the right of the pursuit of happiness. Those outside have no promise given to them; so to with Jesus’ declaration. This sermon on the mount does not concern it’s self with what the citizens are to do but rather with the character of who they are. Who they are is summed up with one word, “Blessed or Happy” the rest of these beatitudes describes the character of the person who is happy or blessed. You will notice that these are not the Do-Attitudes, simple put these attitudes describe the state of being that all that are in Christ’s kingdom should look like & in so looking like this they will find the most Joy! Jesus came to teach His disciples, us, that character is before conduct. He did not say a word about policy, or government, not one condition of this blessing has to do with us doing anything it is all pronounced upon our “BEING”. 

         With that said Jesus taught them that nothing is of greater importance than the making of character that is what the Kingdom of heaven is all about. President Harry Truman used to like to say this quote: “Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, those who cheer today may curse tomorrow, only one thing endures — character.”  

Vs. 1-2 The Setting for the Sermon

Vs.1-2 The occasion of this message is found right in the first four words, “And seeing the multitudes,..” You will remember that last week in verse 25 we read that of His fame went through out a 100 mile radius & “great multitudes” followed Him where ever He went. Fame followed Him, but He did not follow fame! People thronging Him wanting Him, listening to Him. Folks that is need, these people whom He came to were in great need, that is the picture you need to grasp here. He saw the multitudes, their needs & they were willing to follow Him with hopes of having those needs meet & we were told that He had done so, but now seeing the same thronging multitude He goes up on to a hill side & calls just those whom are “hanging around, apprenticing” under Him to Himself to teach them. What’s the point?

         A.) The greatest need people have is to come to Jesus. People get all raped up in their circumstances & they are looking for some way out, with out coming to Christ or they make coming to Christ conditional upon getting out of their circumstances. You know what blesses me is that some times because He is so loving & merciful He does take care of them, but most of those won’t want to “hang” with Him after their circumstances have been changed. Folks don’t miss this now, this message was not for those multitudes. Oh, I’m certain that they heard some of it, but He was talking to only those that were His followers, those that had trusted their lives to Him. 

         B.) The only way to meet the need is to equip others. The need, is over overwhelming where do you start? You start with 12 who are committed, & you teach them not to focus on anything but a changed heart. Oh, you should go out & feed the hungry & heal the sick but what is lasting is a changed life! These attitudes that He is going to share characterize the state they were now in as citizens of the Kingdom. In other words bring them into the kingdom & they will be blessed no matter what their circumstances. 

         Note: That Jesus taught them. Teachers would sit when they would speak that is how they taught, & they would stand if they were announcing something.  

Vs. 3-6 The Need of our Hearts

Now before we look at these blessings individually let us look at them together. There are three words repeated each & every time. Understanding these three words will cause you to understand the character that is blessed! They are, BLESSED, ARE, & FOR.

         1.) BLESSED: This word is translated “blessed” 43 times & “happy” 6 times. The general thought is that is should be expressed “Oh how happy”. It describes a conscious condition rather than something bestowed from without. This is Gods intention for all of human life. Happy, is the first word of the character of the child of the King. The apostle John wrote something similar in 1 John 1:4 where he says, “And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.” There it is, Gods design for all is “full Joy”. The great tragedy of human life in the world is that full joy is conditional upon outward things not an inward heart. The King does not bestow gifts to make men happy, He creates a condition within the human heart, which enables them to find joy everywhere. Jesus does not create joy by new surroundings, He creates new surroundings by Joy! Jesus takes us & makes us joyful by changing our character. Then we put our hands on everything & our environment has changed. So hear set the disciples surrounded by a down trodden multitude who to some degree or another were saying; “Oh, if only I had these circumstance or those circumstances than I would be happy.” And He tells them Happiness, Joy, has it’s root not in favorable circumstances but rather in a changed character! 

         2.) ARE: Here we see that the Joy I spoke of above is not conditioned upon doing, or possessing, but on “being”. “Oh, how happy ARE…”; that is what Jesus declares here, not “Oh, how happy are they that Do or HAVE..” A person is described as being full of Joy based upon who he is not what he does or have. Do you get this? 

         3.) FOR: Here Jesus declares that character creates conditions by which a person experiences Gods ideal for them, “full joy”. By way of illustration Jesus does not say here that the kingdom of heaven will be given to the man that is “poor in spirit”. Instead He says, that the “poor in spirit” is full of joy because he has the kingdom of heaven. Notice the word “is”! Do you see this? We are now ready to look at these individual traits of character in those children of the King.

         A.) Vs. 3 “Poor in spirit”: Poor means to have a lack of something which is not usually associated with happiness or joy. If you were driving to church this morning & you had a lack of gas in your car & don’t think you would walk in this door with a joyful heart! However if you got in your car this morning & recognized that you were on empty you could go & get some gas, you most likely would be glad you did. A person who is poor in spirit is one that recognizes that they are empty, bankrupt spiritually. It describes the condition of the heart that has recognized that it has nothing to offer it is empty of pride & self importance. They are insignificant as to value in & of themselves. It is the agreement that we are sinners devoid of any spiritual assets. It is only the empty, broken person that can truly experience the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because as long as a person still thinks that they can get to God on their own self effort they are never going to make it. So much for the “I’m OK, your OK!” attitude. So how does one become poor in spirit? Becoming into the presence of the Holy God, than you like Isaiah will say “Woe is me for I am a man of unclean lips..”      

         B.) Vs. 4 “those who mourn”: These are progressive aren’t they? A person who recognizes their own poverty of spirit will be mournful of their own sinful condition. They will be conscious of their own failure. This word for “mourn” does not mean casual sorrow for the consequences of our sin, it is a deep grief over our falseness before God. Sin has destroyed our lives & separated us from a loving God & it’s all our fault, & we are broken up over it. Helpless on our own to resolve this condition before God. That is what is meant here. To that person who is lost in grief over their failure & sin, Jesus says they will be comforted. I like watching those rescue shows, where ordinary people do the dumbest things & get themselves in life threatening circumstances, floundering out there in their own failure until some brave person rescues them risking their own lives to do so. That is the picture here!

         C.) Vs. 5 “the meek”: Meekness is not weakness, but rather strength under control. The word “meek” was a word used to describe a powerful stallion who was broken & rideable. It describes a person who has recognized their own poverty of spirit, who has grieved over their failure, experienced the presence of the Lord in spite of themselves. In other words they are humble, willing to relinquish their rights & privileges. To the person who rests in the Lord everything is his. The earth, what the world strives for which is only won by Christ’s victory on the cross is theirs. Why? Because to that person they only want the Lord to rule, they are not bucking the Lord they are strength under control!

         D.) Vs. 6 “those who hunger & thirst for righteousness”: Here the word for “hunger” & “thirst” describe a longing that can never be fully satisfied. And what is it they who are blessed are craving? “Righteousness”! That is wanting all of Him & nothing of the world. No mere snack will do, not just enough of Him to soothe a guilty conscience. To many Christians are craving what the world has, power, success, comfort, but how many are just wanting more of Jesus? To those that crave more of Jesus they will be filled, but with a filling that leaves you wanting more of Him!    

Matthew 5:7-12

“Kingdom Character part 2”

Vs. 7- 9 The Response of our Hearts

Vs. 10-12 The Reaction of the World

Intro.

As we saw last week these attitudes describe what a child of God looks like, they are his state of being. And as such they come from a persons true assessment of who they are before God; “Poor in spirit”. The result of that understanding of their sin & failure will be cause them to mourn in deep grief over our fallenness before God. This will lead as to a meek heart, & then a hunger & thirst for all of Him who alone can satisfy the emptiness of life with out the Lord. Those that have this are promised to be His children, comforted by His presence, inheriting all the privileges as His children, filled with all of Him.

All of this speaks of a conscious need. Those that are the most full of joy are the ones that have come to understand this. I heard a story of a little boy who wanted $100.00 badly so he prayed for several weeks but nothing happened. He then decided to write a letter to God requesting the money & sent it. The postal authorities got the letter addressed to God USA, & decided to send it on to the president. The president was so impressed with the letter he instructed his secretary to send the little boy $5.00 thinking that this would seem like a lot of money to the little boy. When the little boy got the $5.00 he was very excited & sat down to write God a thank-you note which read; “Dear God, Thank-you very much for sending the money, however, I noticed that for some reason you had to send the money through Washington D.C. &, as usual, those jerks took $95.00 in taxes.” I wonder how many times we Christians are looking for other things to fill our joy & like this boy we feel ripped off because God has not given us something that we wanted to make us happy? Gods design for us is “full joy”, He does not give gifts to make us happy, He creates a condition with in our hearts which enables us to experience joy now matter what our situation is! 

         Now we move to how these traits display themselves in everyday life, & lastly how the world will react to them when they see them in us.             

Vs. 7-9 The Response of our Hearts

Here in the next three verses we are the further progression of character in the believer, let me say again that any attempt to make this something that we do or have instead of something that we are is out of context.

         1a.) Vs.7 “Blessed are the merciful”: We have already looked at the words blessed “Oh how happy” & are“which tells us that the state of being in full joy is not conditioned upon us doing or possessing but rather on who we are.” So here Jesus says; “How full of joy are they that are merciful.” But what does that mean? Does it mean as some think today that it describes a person that is easy going? You know, the person when someone breaks the law rip’s something off & just says; “What does it matter lets not do anything about that, just forget it.” What ever we may say about this term it must be consistent with two things:

         A. It must be consistent with the character of God for this is one of His attributes. Ps. 116:5 says of God; “Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; Yes, our God is merciful.” 

Does God just wink at wrong doing? No! For He is holy, righteous, & just so what ever definition of mercy we come up with must include this.

         B.) It must be consistent with mercy as shown in scripture. Perhaps the best scripture in the Bible that illustrates mercy is found in Luke 10:29-37 the story of the “Good Samaritan”. You remember the story of the man who was on his way to Jerico & on the way there was beat up & robbed. A priest went by him saw him, & crossed over to the other side of the road, likewise a Levite, but when a Samaritan saw the man he had compassion. Later on Jesus asks the lawyer that asked the question “Who is my neighbor?”, which one of these three acted as a neighbor to the man? To which the layer replied “The one who showed mercy on him.” The essential meaning of mercy then is twofold. It is pity plus action. Grace describes us getting what we don’t deserve, but mercy is not getting what we do deserve. It is more than feeling bad for someone’s situation it is feeling bad enough to go across the road & do something about the situation. 

         Mercy does not gloss over the situation, but rather looks at the ravages of sin in the human life, knows what that sin has done in their life, pities the person who has wronged them & goes to help them. That’s mercy. This is how; because of our changed life we now view the people of the world both Christians & none Christians. Victims of sin, we know this because we two are victims of sin. That is what Eph. 2:1-3 tells us we were all dead in our sins. The person who has been forgiven & cleansed of their sins should not be self righteous but merciful! In other words it is the attitude from personal experience that is sorry for every sinner even though that sinner has effected you, so much so that you have to do something about their condition. And what is it that you can do? Why, share what has set you free, Jesus!

         1b.) Vs. 7 “For they shall obtain mercy”: It appears here from a simple reading of this that we will only receive mercy if we are merciful. If that is true than am I only forgiven if I forgive, as Matt. 6:14-15 seems to say; “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” 

         A.) If any of us were judged based upon these terms then no one would obtain mercy nor would they have forgiveness. 

         B.) Second, this would contradict the clear teaching of grace in the N.T. which says that we have been saved by grace not of works least any man boast. As well as the fact that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Thus we must interpret scripture in light of scripture, the difficult by the clear. 

With that in mind let me first offer you how Wuest interprets this section, “Blessed are the merciful, for they are the OBJECTS of mercy.” If I have truly been forgiven then I will forgive that is what Jesus is saying. So here if you have been the objects of mercy then you will be merciful. How full of joy are they that are reaching out to those who are suffering in sin, because they have found relief from that suffering already in Christ. That is the picture here. Jesus would go on to say; Mat. 10:8 “Freely you have received, freely give.” I have found this to be true in me; the more right I am in my walk with God the more merciful I am with other even if they wrong me, & the more critical & harsh I am the further away from Him I am. How about you? 

         2a.) Vs.8 “Blessed are the pure in heart”: I find it so important to say here in dealing with Gods plan for man “full joy” that it is with the heart of man that God is interested in. So much of the time we are concerned with the outward things but God is interested in our hearts. The Christian life is not concerned with our intellect or understanding of doctrine it is a condition of the heart! But is meant by pure in heart? The heart in scripture is the center of mans being, that would include his emotions, his thoughts, & his actions. That is what a person is! The pure means clean, but it also means whole! The best example of that would be Jesus. To be pure in heart is to be like Jesus, His whole being was clean, not just what we saw on the surface anybody can do that, but all the way through a single cleanness. Living in & for the glory of God in every thing. The supreme desire of our lives being to know Him & glorify Him. That is “pure in heart”. There is a difference between having a clean heart & being pure in heart. Soap is clean by it’s very nature, but it may not be pure it may have color added as well as perfume. That would not be pure but it would be clean. It is only to the pure in heart that we see the blessing.

         2b.) Vs.8 “For they shall see God”: How do we see God? Can any one see Him in this body? No! So we have a partial understanding of what it means to “see God”. It is speaking of greater intimacy, greater clarity. When we are single hearted towards Him we will experience more of Him. The more we experience His presence in our lives the more we will want nothing but Him. 

         Do you realize that you will one day see God? I mean really see Him face to face? Does that bring terror & fear upon your heart or Joy? If you have fear it is because you don’t have a pure heart. The apostle John said this concerning seeing the Lord in 1 John 3:2-3 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Folks soon we will be ushered into His presence, what a great motivation to remain pure in heart.

         3a.) Vs.9 “Blessed are the peacemakers.”: Obviously this is not talking about a natural disposition, but a condition of the believers heart. So what is a “peacemaker”? It carries two main ideas:

                   A.) A peacemaker is a person who is at peace, or if you will is a rest in the state of being at peace.

                   B.) Secondly, a peacemaker is a person who is not quarrelsome. Not only that they are actively seeking to bring that state of peace or rest into where ever they are. 2 Cor. 5:18-20 describes what a peacemaker is, “Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” The bring together of two that have been at odds with each other. That is what Christ has done at the cross in His body paying for our sin bringing together God & us. And clearly we have been called to do the same. Rom. 5:1 further tells us “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

         3b.) Vs. 9 “For they shall be called the sons of God.”: The idea is that we shall look like the one in Whom has brought us peace. We will be as to our very nature peacemakers because we have been peace partakers! There is No peace unless we Know Him who is peace!

Vs. 10-12 The Reaction of the World

In verse 10-11 we have the reaction of the world to our changed character, it is not popularity.

         4a.) Vs. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.”:

First does not say that we are to most joyful if we are being persecuted for being objectionable, loud & quarrelsome. We have not right what so ever to hide behind this badge if we are being jerks! Neither do we have any right to claim this when people begin to make light of us or our Christianity if we are not walking in obedience to His word. Simple put if you are out there getting drunk or living with someone that you aren’t married too, & people start mocking you about what you believe, you can not call that persecution. Persecution is for only right living. If you are living right & then people begin to go after you this verse applies. 

         4b.) Vs. 10 “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”: Simple put if they are treating us like they treated Jesus then it is a fact that we are living under the principals of the Kingdom of heaven! 

         5a.) Vs. 11-12 Again the key is for His name sake! The Christians life is to be dominated by Christ & when it is you will be miss understood & hated. You are in great company for they have done so to the prophets before us. But again notice that the speaking evil against us is false. We have again no right to say we are being reviled & persecuted if what people are saying about us is true! Weirdness & sin does not count. If I like some gals in San Jose a few years back did, take off my clothes & spread mustard on myself in order to illustrate that we are to have faith like a mustard seed, then get arrested. I can not claim that as being persecuted falsely nor was it for righteousness sake. 

         5b.) However if it is falsely we are to “leap for joy”. Because the characteristic here above described are happening in our lives.  And great is our reward. Folks that is hard for me to comprehend! Being rewarded for allowing Jesus to have all of me by which these characteristics are manifested in & through me. Wow! What a great God we serve! 

         Let me conclude with this: Gods ideal for every person is full joy, & to the portion that you realize these characteristics in your lives you will experience this joy! Those who are in the world they shall not experience the joy of the Kingdom, they will never find comfort, they shall not inherit the blessing in Christ, they shall be hungry & thirst & will never be filled, their hearts will be corrupted & they won’t see God. Oh how tragic that is. How many today want full joy? It is your in Christ! 

 

Matthew 5:13-20

“Character’s Influence”

Vs. 13-14 Blessed That We Might Be a Blessing

Vs. 15-16 Our Calling and Purpose

Intro.

Let me again remind you of the setting of this message of our Lord. He had left the multitude that had pressed around Him in need; to instruct those that were belonging to Him. He tells them who they are now by nature & what effects that would have in the world in which they were placed. Believers would be what God wants for all of man kind “blessed” or if you will full of joy. This would come about by a changed heart. A heart that sees it’s depravity therefore is in His presence. Grieves over it’s failure therefore finds comfort in the Lord, & so on. Now His focus is upon this new characters influence in the world, & in so telling them this He reveals how the world really is. Further more, He tells them what they are to do & how they are to do it. Full joy will always have an impact in the world in which we are placed & consequently we can always see what kind of effect we are having upon the world by the condition of the world in which we live.

         The story is told of Joe Roberts A young pastor in 1883, he was called to minister to the Indians of Wyoming. Soon after Joe Roberts arrived, the son of the chief was shot by a soldier in a brawl, and the Chief vowed to kill the first white man he met. Roberts decided to take action.  He sought out the chiefs teepee, fifteen miles away in the mountains, he stood outside and called the chief’s name.  When the chief appeared, Roberts opened his shirt. “I have heard of your vow,” he said, “I know that the other white men have families, but I am alone.  Kill me instead.” The chief was amazed and motioned him into his tent.  “How do you have so much courage?”  he asked.  Joe Roberts told him about Christ, His death, His teachings. When Joe left, the chief of the Shoshones had renounced his vow to kill and resolved to become a Christian. The chief had seen love in action. Every person who calls themselves Christian must decide what they should do to make love visible in the home, church, community, and world.  For unless love becomes visible it is not love at all. Paul Harvey said, “Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium.”     

Vs. 13-14 Blessed That We Might Be a Blessing

         We are going to look at these verses from several angels so we might get a full picture of the meaning. 

         1.) First, before we see How we are to effect our surroundings, what does Jesus say are surroundings are? What is the sphere of our influence?

                   A.) Vs. 13 “The earth”: The word here literally means the soil or ground. It clearly describes the material world in which we live. We are to live in the midst of the people of the world in the same conditions that they are. If you will we are to be in the world but not of the world. So the sphere in which we are salt is to be found effecting the conditions of the people. There was a thought by some in the church that for the church to be living the Christian life they needed to separate themselves from the world in which they were placed. Go live in a monastery, & contemplate God, but clearly that is against all that Jesus teaches. Peter says the same in 1 Peter 2: 9 “..you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”

                   B.) Vs.14 “The World”: Here the word Jesus uses is the word “cosmos”. He did not say that they were to be the light of that time, or age, but of the whole of order. The Christian is to so live as to show mankind the principals to full joy, to show that where man now finds himself is not where God intended him to be. Every Christian is to be an illumination of Gods glorious order. The founder of Mac Donald’s wanted to create order in the fast food industry. His principal idea was that every time a person went into Mac Donald’s & ordered a Big Mac it would be the same. That’s the idea here every time a person runs into a believer it ought to be like running into Jesus the same characteristics that He displayed we display. That is what Paul said to the Corinthians, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”

         There you have it, we are to effect the conditions of the people in which live, & we are to radiate Gods order, His plan to those we dwell with. The Christian life is not to be lived in isolation the above beatitudes are to be displayed before the world in so doing it will arrest the conditions of the world & bring order to it. Influencing the multitudes as to the realization of His kingdom is what the sermon on the mount is all about. Don’t you see He has blessed us in order that we might be a blessing to those who at this moment are outside His kingdom?

         2.) Second, carefully notice the words, “You are” salt, & light. What He does not say is; “Dispense salt, turn on light!” It is only what a person is in his character that will have influence to those that are around him. Not one Christian will ever have an impact upon the world in which they live by trying to be something or do something that in their very character & nature they are not. You can write your congressman, picket the government & so on but that will not change a thing if by our very nature we are not Christ like. The influence that we have upon the world in which we live will be from what we are not what we tell them they ought to be. We can not say to the world do as we say, vote this way, but don’t do as we do! 

         Folks, are society is decaying it is rotten & dark & the church as been very vocal in it’s denunciation of the condition. We have indicted our society & critiqued our political leaders, but the simply fact is that we have not been what we called others to be.  We are not what we say we are & there is only one thing we can do, (2 Chr 7:14 NKJV)  “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 

         3.) Now we move to the twofold picture of what the Christian is to be in society. This then is how we are to influence the world in which we live.

                   A.) Salt: This is to be a picture of the Christian in the condition in which he lives. Salt in Jesus’ time was a very important commodity, in fact it was so valuable that Roman soldiers were often paid with salt, that is where we got the phrase, “he is worth his salt”. It had several uses:

                            1.) It was used as preservative on meats & foods. There was no refrigeration, no way to preserve food accept by use of salt. Salt used on dead things kept them from putrefying & spoiling. With that said, salt does not change decay, that is it can not change corruption into incorruption it has no power to do so. All it can do is prevent it from spreading. Jesus says we are the salt of the earth, we are the preservative to impede corruption. There is not a Christian who can take a corrupt individual & make them pure, that is solely the work of Christ. All we can do is so live among those corrupted by sin as to be the presence that slows the spread of that corruption in lives thus creating an opportunity for Jesus to change a life & make it pure & whole.

                                     A.) With that said we have Jesus’ first view of how he sees the condition of the world; it is in a state of decay. It is rotten. Why? Because it is a world devoid of Him who is pure.     

                            2.) It was used to provide healing. Salt was used in wounds as a antiseptic. Like the use above accept in living things not dead. So here as well the picture is that of us providing healing to those that are sick stopping the spread of decay so that healing can take place. If all we are as a church is an entertainment center to provide some sort of social center than we are not a cleansing influence. That is the hospital verses hospice idea, Calvary Chapel wants to be a hospital not a hospice. You can be sure that when you come here we are going to treat you in order that we might promote healing, not just make your stay here pleasurable until you die! Salt in a wound stings, it’s the sodium chloride upon the decaying infected wound, but that is also a sign of healing!

                            3.) Thirdly, salt was used like today as a flavor. That is how we mostly use salt today. Salt is used to bring out or enhance the taste of foods & we Christians ought to bring out the things that promote life, that is what food is. But you know there is something that always happens when you eat something salty, it always makes you thirsty. Salt promotes the need for something to drink. As we are enhancing the things of life for those around us it ought to lead people to the source of life “living water” Jesus. He alone can bring “full joy”. 

         But, what happens if we are not that influence? That is what Jesus now goes on to say, “.. but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” The Scottish interpret this word “flavor” as “tang” which better captures the idea. The church loses it’s tang, it’s purpose what good is it? Do the people around you know by your preserving, healing, flavorable influence that you are a Christian? This is not a question of a persons salvation it has to do with their influence. Jesus is not saying if we are not salt He will cast us out. He is saying that if we lose our tang we have lost our influence of preservation on those that we live. It’s only use then is to be thrown out on the pathways where people would walk. When it would rain it would dissolve it would kill the vegetation which would make it easier for people to walk on the pathways that they were on. Jesus is saying that if we lose or preservation then the world will use us to be able to continue on in the paths they are still on. Has that not been the case? When the church has stopped being salt, then the world has used it to continue on the paths they were on!

                   B.) Light: The purpose of light is to illuminate. This is a positive principal in contrast with salt. Salt prevents the spread of decay, but light reveals what is present. Yes it exposes what is hidden, but more than that it reveals what might be. To live as light is to live like Jesus effecting every place He went with the possibility of “Full Joy”. We are to reveal the possibilities to every person of the joy that can only be found in Jesus. Every life surrendered to Jesus light, that is more than just a reflection it has caught fire with the flame that has lit it. But notice this, we are not trying to light the world we are the light of the world. We don’t need to illuminate the problem, we simply need to be aflame with Him which will shine all around.

                                     B.) Here then is the second view of how Jesus sees the condition of the world; they are in “Darkness”. The world is in a state of decay & it is in darkness. Thus if our Christianity imitates the darkness then the world will not see Jesus. Will not effect the world by becoming like the world. We are to give mankind what life can be only in Christ. This is our mission, this is what Paul told King Agrippa that he was called to “deliver the gentiles from the power of darkness & bring them into the kingdom of light.”

         Then Jesus gave this admonishment: “A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” 

Above the hills of Galilee was the fortress Masada perhaps he pointed up there & said this. The higher you set light up the more it will illuminate. So here we are told our twofold responsibility as light: 

         1.) To be a city: No one person can be this no person can be a city. A person can be a light house, but not a city. This speaks of unity, no Christian make a claim to illuminate with out being a part of other that illuminate. The church is a social order & reveals what Gods intention is for man to live together. Up on a hill all the area that surrounds it will be lit up. 

Vs. 15-16 Our Calling and Purpose

          2.) Vs.15 To be a lamp: This is individual in a house, that is a sphere that each of us can be. We individually can be a lamp in a house. There ought to be no one trying to keep the light hidden. If a person was to put a lamp under a basket there are only two things that could happen: a.) The basket would extinguish the lamp. b.) The lamp would set a blaze the basket. Would be that those of us who are tempted to hide Jesus’ love would catch a flame! Set that lamp no matter how small up so that it might illuminate all that is around it.

         Vs. 16 Finally, we come to our purpose. Jesus tells us to whom our light is to shine, & how it is to shine:

                            A.) It is to shine before men in good works. We are to be examples of His love & truth to a dark world. Living out a surrendered others centered life in Full Joy. Attracting people to Him.

                            B.) It is to shine in such away as to glorify the Father & not us.  I always amazed how Jesus did His miracles in such away that people glorified the father. It is before men but yet it is to glorify the Father. We are not to let people think that we are so hot. Putting our names upon pews that we have paid for. Taking credit & glory for every good thing we do. 

Matthew 5:17-20

“Right Living”

Vs. 17-18 Carrying Out Scripture 

Vs. 19-20 Teaching Through Right Living

Intro.

On the sermon on the mount Jesus has been describing who we are in Him, then we were told what effect that would have upon the world, “Salt & Light”. So here Jesus answers the natural question; “How is this to be done, will this do away with the law?” The simple answer is no, but it will do away with the external interpretation as seen in the Pharisees & the Scribes. The Law we are told in Gal. 3:24  “..was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” In other words the law was not something that we can outwardly keep, because it revealed the sinful inward attitudes which pointed us towards Christ & His work upon the cross. How this fits is as believers we don’t obey God because of outward constraints but because of the inward life described in the beatitudes. The Law required death for disobedience, Jesus came to dye for our disobedience.

Vs. 17-18 Carrying Out Scripture

Vs.17 To understand what Jesus is saying we need to understand what he meant by the words Law, Prophets, & Fulfill. Remember now He is speaking to Jews who understood these terms.

The Old Testament is divided into three sections:

                   A.) The law

                   B.) The Prophets

                   C.) The writings 

So the Jews understood Jesus saying here that he did not come to destroy the ethical code under which you have been living; I have not come to minimize morality, or in any way change what the law is for, I have cone to fulfill it. 

         1.) The Law (found in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers): This would be the entire law which consisted in three parts:

                   A.) The moral, which included the Ten Commandments & other great moral principals.

                   B.) The judicial, which was the legislative law given for the nation of Israel on how men were to behave in their relationships with others.

                   C.) The ceremonial, which had to do with the sacrifices & burnt offerings in connection with their worship.  

So we must assume here when Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it He must of meant all three aspects of the law that effected how the Jew on how he lived life, conducted himself towards others, & ordered his behavior in order to worship. These men thought of the Law as giving the means by which their lives were conditioned outwardly as to effect their environment to be as Isa. said in 42:6-7 “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.” That is what Jesus had just told them there on that hill about being salt & light. The Jews had failed in this, they had reduced the Law to an outward code of ethics which they broke inwardly all the time. In so saying this Jesus points out that the importance of the Law obedience. “I have come to realize all that the Law was to show.” That is what He tells them. 

         You will notice if you start reading the Law that it dealt with negatives “Thou shalt not’s” Jesus turned it around to a positive “Thou shalt Love”. Being right before God is not about what we don’t do outwardly, that is not the standard, rather it is what we are inwardly which will show forth outwardly. It is “BEING verses DOING”.

         2.) The Prophets: We all know of the Prophetical books 17 books that speak to Israel. The prophets taught the Law, interpreted it & applied it to the nation. They then went to the nation & told them that the problem they had was not being obedient to it. It had to main ingredience:

                   A.) To forth-tell: That is to speak the truth concerning the law & mans failure.

                   B.) To foretell: That is to speak of yet future events that draw people back into obedience. To all of this Jesus Said He had not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 

         3.)  Fulfill: Is the word “plero” & it does not mean to complete or finish, neither does it mean to add to something that has already begun. It is better understood by the words “carry out”. In the sense of carrying out to full obedience everything that been stated in the law & the prophets. Jesus carried out in perfect obedience every doctrinal teaching, every predictive prophecy, every ethical precept. Jesus was not at any point a contradiction to the Old Testament He carried it out. He was not out to weaken it but to establish it to free it away from the wrong interpretations of the Pharisees & Scribes. 

Vs. 18 To fully understand what Jesus has just said he explains permanence of Gods law. It is absolute & perfect. How long will it be in effect?

         A.) Till heaven & earth pass away: To the end of the age, to the end of the things the way they now are. While they are here so is the law. Will heaven & earth pass away? Yes, in Matt. 24:35 Jesus says “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” Gods ideal can not will not pass away until heaven & earth pass away. Peter tells us when that will happen in 2 Peter 3:12-13 “looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” Until the time that sin has been forever put away nothing will be altered. That is why He says:

         B.) One jot or tittle will by no means pass away: The “jot” & “tittle” were little punctuation marks that were placed here & there, in the Hebrew language, to give the vowel pronunciations. Jesus declares that not even the slightest change in the pronunciation of the law will change till all is carried out by Him. Folks Gods standard has not changed, He does not wink at sin He carried out our breaking of the smallest pronunciation of it by being obedient to the point of death on the cross.  

Vs. 19-20 Teaching Through Right Living

Vs.19 Here Jesus speaks of the relationship of believers to the moral law or ten commandments. Before we get into this you will note that Jesus is speaking of the intent of those commandments. How do we know this? Because He is going to go on through the next verses to tell us that, for instance versa 21-26 on murder, not just not killing someone but anger in your heart towards them.

         As most of you know the “ten commandments” were made up of two parts:

                   A.) The first section concerns our relationship to God.

                   B.) The second section comes from that & deals with our relationship with our fellow man. 

         Next, note the words Jesus uses: 1.) Break  2.) Teach This then is a warning to all believers. Jesus puts breaking them ahead of teaching them. You don’t find believers teaching that you can hate people do you, but do you see believers breaking this? It is not a question of being cast out of the kingdom but sure is a question losing the rewards & benefits of that joy full life of the kingdom. Least here does not mean that the person who breaks them will not be there; “least” means “very little (small), smallest”. You get the picture? The person who so lives different than what he teaches will be very small in heaven no matter how big a church he pastors etc. I suppose most of you when you get to heaven will want to know where you can find me, you will have to look very close in heaven to find me for I think I will be the smallest person there! 

            But conversely who ever does & teaches them, they will be huge in the kingdom. Folks the only power in teaching is what precedes it. No pastor, or Bible study person ever teaches a commandment with power that they are breaking it in their own life. Oh how we teachers need your prayers, what great hypocrites we are. The great men in heaven are going to be the doers of the word not the spectators! 

Vs.20 Here Jesus summarizes what it means to be right. 

         1.) What is “righteousness” : What does Jesus mean when He says that it must exceed that of the Pharisee & the Scribe? It is the standard by which a person is declared “right” before God. Now we know according to Rom. 3:20, 24 that by the deeds of the law no person will be declared right before God, & that being declared right before God is through faith in Jesus Christ. So how did the Pharisee & the Scribes declare that they were right before God?

                   A.) Scribes: Were men who spent all their time in teaching & expounding the Law, they were great authorities on the Law of God. They gave their whole life to the study & teaching of it. Every person recognized then as the authorities of the Law. 

                   B.) Pharisees: They were famous for code of ethics in keeping the smallest detail of how they interpreted the law. The word Pharisee means “separatist” & that is what they did they separated themselves from the people. Their interpretation of the law was far more strict outwardly then what Moses had taught. When the Old testament said that a person should fast one a year these guys did it twice a week & let everyone know that they were fasting. 

         Both of these two groups were obsessed with being externally religious. So their right standing in their eyes was based on what they did externally not what they were in their hearts. So here Jesus says that the right standing before God that He is concerned with is one that comes from what a person is not what he does. That kind of right standing will exceed the right standing of a person who merely trying to appear to be something. The right standing before God is what a man is when no one else is around. When you are alone with your thoughts, desires, imaginations. That is where we really see what we are! It here that I say all I am is poor in spirit, mourning over my failure & so on. The Pharisee & Scribe was trying to see himself on the bases of what he was doing to be right before God the believer will see himself right before God on what God has done for him. In this the law will cause us to come to Christ not just when we kill someone, but when we have not cared for them as Jesus would. The law in relationship to us in Christ will cause us to come to Him not when we have committed adultery, but when we have looked upon another person & degraded them to want them only for what pleasure they would give to us. Do you see now how this all works? Coming to Christ does not free us to keep ourselves in sin it causes instead to come to Him broken hearted trusting solely upon His work to cleanse & empower us to live. The great message of the Law is the gospel of grace.  

Matthew 5:21-26

“The Law of Life”

Vs. 21-22 The Attitude of Murder 

Vs. 23-26 The Gift of Reconciliation

Intro.

 As we move on from last week you will remember that Jesus made that statement of verse 20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” In this statement Jesus is saying, among other things, that the contrast is not between Him & the law but rather the interpretation of the law as put forth by the Scribes & Pharisees. So from here Jesus puts forth a series of six contrasts all introduced with the words; “You have heard it said, or it has been said; but I say to you”  In verse 21-22 Jesus states the law as they had heard it told them then He interprets the heart of the law. Then in verses 23-26 He correctly illustrates how it ought to be carried out. 

         Much has been said of late concerning the rise of murder & violent crime in America for instance their are 22-25,000 gang related deaths in America. Also someone is beaten, stabbed, or shot every 22 seconds. What does the Bible have to say on this? How can we deal with our anger. Someone has well said; “Anger is only one letter short of danger that’s because danger begins when you become angry.” 

Vs. 21-22 The Attitude of Murder

Vs.21 First you will notice the words; “You have heard that it was said to those of old,..” Remember that Jesus is speaking to His disciples when He says these words. He did not say, “You have read..” but “You have heard it said…”.The reason for this is that the disciples could not read Hebrew, all they knew of the law had come from listening to the Scribes & Pharisees. From the time after the captivity in Babylon most spoke Chaldean, then Aramaic was the common language, some spoke Greek. Hebrew was just for the scholars. The common people had never read or studied the law for themselves. So many today have never searched the scriptures for themselves they just listen to someone else tell them what it says. Now don’t get me wrong it is great to turn in some radio program & listen to a solid Bible teacher, but make sure you are searching the scriptures yourself as well.    

         Next: After Jesus’ statement on murder He says in verse 22 “But I say to you..” Most of the teachers in Jesus day were just relying on what others said, but Jesus does not do that He goes right to interpreting the spirit of the law.

         Now we come to the Quote: “You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.”  This is the sixth commandment found in Exodus 20:13 & the words and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment is a summery of numbers 35:30-31. In so combining these two verses the Scribes & Pharisees had reduced the law to being punished by the civil magistrates. The word “judgment” refers to the local court.  So they had reduced this to “You must not murder because if you do you will be in danger of  being punished by the civil authorities.” There was no mention of the judgment of God it was purely a legal matter not a moral matter. The deterrent for murder as far as they were concerned was the punishment that might come upon you legally.

         Murder was a capital offense under Jewish law; the death penalty could not be commuted to a monetary fine. Where it could be proved that the killing was accidental—as when a man’s axe-head flew off the handle and struck his fellow workman on the head—it did not count as murder. The killer was brought before the village elders and on the testimony of two or three witnesses & was sentenced to death. The death penalty was carried out by stoning: the witnesses threw the first stones, and then the community joined in, thus dissociating themselves from blood-guiltiness and expiating the pollution which it brought on the place. 

         The Pharisees & Scribes could feel pretty good about themselves in this as long as they did not kill someone then they were OK. They had reduced this to something legal, “If you commit murder, certain consequences will follow.” 

         Folks we have those same laws today, if you kill someone & are caught after a very lengthy court hearing & even a still even longer appeals process you will have certain consequences follow. Might I ask you do you think that really has stopped people from killing each other? When anger builds up in the heat of a moment do you think a person can rationally stop & say; “I better not kill that person because if I do, I will suffer the consequences of my action.”? You see the problem with this reasoning is that adverse consequences will only stop wrong actions if they are caught early enough! So we hear the intent of the law in verse 22.

Vs.22 Now Jesus words make more sense, “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a causeshall be in danger of the judgment.”  

         A.) In the NKJ  the phrase “without a cause” was added later to the Greek text, designed to make Jesus’ words more tolerable. The other man’s anger may be sheer bad temper, but mine is righteous indignation—anger with a cause. But Jesus’ words, in the original form of the text, make no distinction between righteous and unrighteous anger: anyone who is angry with his brother exposes himself to judgment. There is no saying where unchecked anger may end. “Be angry but do not sin,” we are told in Ephesians 4:26 (RSV); that is, “If you are angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin; let sunset put an end to your anger, for otherwise it will provide the devil with an opportunity which he will not be slow to seize.” 

         B.) Jesus points out that the murderous act springs from the angry thought. It is in the mind that the crime is first committed and judgment is incurred. The earthly court cannot take action against the angry thought, but the heavenly court can—and does. If you are angry in your heart you are already in danger. Do you see this? It does not say you shall be judged but you are in “danger”. The moment you or I get mad at someone we are in danger that is what Jesus is saying here. But you say who doesn’t get mad a people. The answer is no one, the point is to deal with the heart id your mad deal with it NOW, nip it in the bud, because if you don’t your in endangering yourself & the other person. 

         Next Jesus gives two illustrations of letting your anger go to far & as you will see they are verbal not physical, & as you can see the deterrent is on an ascending scale as He shares, the first was harboring anger in your heart which placed you before the civil authorities.  

         1.) “..whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council.” Raca  is a term that means “worthless fellow” or as we might put it today “nitwit, bonehead idiot..” It was to show contempt for their intelligence. Now the word “council”

speaks of the Sanhedrin it would be like our superior court or supreme court, a much more serious matter. Simply put, to verbally insult a persons intelligence is a more serious thing in our heart then just being angry. Why? Because when it’s got to that stage it is a lot harder to stop! If your angry to the point of insulting a person, if unchecked it can lead to violence. Today, this is not all that uncommon; one person becomes mad at another some statement is made about their intelligence than Wham! Again He did not say that you are already before the council but that you are in danger. 

         2.) “But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” We are not sure what this word really means  ‘You fool” We can clearly see that this was regarded as a far greater insult than calling someone a bonehead. It most likely meant something that attacked a persons character & many think it was like calling someone an apostate (against God). The word for “hell fire” is the word Gehenna & it is the valley on the south side of Jerusalem which, after the return from the Babylonian exile, served as the city’s rubbish dump and public incinerator. In earlier days it had been the site of the worship of Molech, and so it was thought fit that it should be degraded in this way. In due course it came to be used as a symbol of the destruction of the wicked after death. In fact this is where they cast the bodies of the people who had murdered someone. Thus the assignation of a persons character is far worse, the moment we begin to attack a persons character we are in much more sever danger, were close to murder. 

         Folks anger in our heart creates a condition of a criminal & if not dealt with will cause death. If anger is not dealt with then we are on a very slippery slope it must be dealt with the moment we are made aware of our anger. God is interested in attitudes not just actions, it’s to late to stop after the action.

Vs. 23-26 The Gift of Reconciliation

Again Jesus uses two illustrations on what how to handle our anger after the fact.

         1.) Vs.23-24  First Jesus puts far more importance upon relationships than He does religion. Be reconciled with a brother whom you have offended is better than performing some sacrifice or offering. You can not atone for moral failure by religious action. Who has ever said; “Love is never having to say your sorry”. There is no balancing out evil with good, you need to lay your gift down at the alter & make it right with the brother you have offended. Note that it is each of us who needs to examine our hearts to see whom we might have offended by our actions or attitudes. We don’t need to seek out the person who has offended us, no we need to seek out the person whom we have offended. Now let me give a word to the wise, if you have thought, “You know that Dale he is a boneheaded jerk, I’m going over their & tell him that’s what I’ve been thinking of him.” That is only going to make certain that I will behave in just the manor you have been thinking of me. No, that’s not what it is saying, it is saying that your brother already has some personal knowledge of what you have done, to that person go & make it right first than come & offer your gift.

         2.) Vs.25-26 Here Jesus uses the example of urgency because of our relationship with the Lord. Don’t delay, go at once our your debt may become so large as it can not be paid. In other words if you have hurt you enemy / brother go & tell him that you agree that you have treated him poorly before the hurt has become so large as to permanently effect that relationship. Notice to that the result will be if we don’t than we will be imprisoned. We won’t be released from this until we have paid the last penny, & how can you do that if you are in prison?

         What great teaching we have here upon our need to deal with our hearts early, coming to Jesus with our attitudes confessing our anger to Him before it comes out upon someone. Let me get a head start on you here, please forgive me in any action of anger or bitterness towards you.  

Matthew 5:27-32

“The Law of Love”

Vs. 27-28 The Law of Lust 

Vs. 29-30 The War Against Sin

Vs. 31-32 The Law of Marriage

Intro.

As we saw last week the Pharisees & scribes had reduced the commandment’s to outward   & legal instead of the inward heart. We now move to that difficult passage of scripture dealing with lust. It was not that many years ago that we had a future president asked a very embarrassing & potentially damaging question. Jimmy Carter was asked if he had ever looked at a woman with lust in his heart to which he replied yes. We now have a president who claims that he has never done anything improper! Wow have we come full circle. The issue we are to look at this morning is not so much whether or not we have ever done this, but rather how we are to deal with it! To understand this we must understand three things:

         1.) What the original law taught & why.

         2.) How the Pharisees & scribes interpreted this & applied it.

         3.) What Jesus taught.

Now I’ve included the issue of divorce in this section dealing with lust for it no doubt is one of the greatest reasons for divorce today. 

         Yet before we get started in this let me again say that the purpose of this teaching of our Lord was to show us the hopeless & helplessness of our fallen natures. It is my prayer that as we deal with all scripture we will come to our knees before Him & declare that we are spiritually bankrupt apart from His spirit in our lives. That we will grieve openly over our failure, that this will in turn create a humble broken heart in our lives which lead us to a greater desire then ever before to grow in His grace & knowledge. This leading us to reach out in Gods mercy because we have been recipients of that same mercy in our failures. Which will cause us to desire to be pure in our hearts, peace makers in our actions, & often persecuted by those that we are trying to reach with His love. 

Vs. 27-28 The Law of Lust

Vs. 27 Here again Jesus Quotes out of Ex. 20:14 & the 7th commandment. This commandment forbade a person to have sexual relations with another persons spouse. To break this was a capital offense by stoning. The second clause of this was found a short few verses away in verse 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” Here is where we begin to get the middle eastern view of women in that time frame as well as today in some cultures. women were seen as part of a mans property thus she is linked with a servant, ox etc. Clearly the key to understanding how this law was taught originally is to be found in the word “covet”. That is what Jesus is going to point out in the next verse as He ties lust with coveting which are clearly inward activities, not just outward such as physically having sexual relations with another spouse, that is only the outward action of a heart that has coveted. The word covet, used here in Exodus is the word “khaw-mad”; & the root word means; to delight in:–beauty, greatly beloved, covet, desire, goodly, lust. Paul speaks that he too was at one time confused over the outward keeping of the law until he came to this verse in Exodus; Rom. 7:7 “..I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” 

         So here we get the picture of how the Pharisees & scribes interpreted this & applied it in their lives. They just looked at this commandment outwardly & said that they were not having sexual relations with another spouse therefore what they thought inwardly was OK. Jesus said this of them in Luke 16:5 “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” By their interpretation of this law on adultery they had nullified it’s intent, thus they never dealt with the issue of lust in their hearts at all. I believe a great many of us would rather not deal with our hearts in this area as well. We often think to ourselves that this is not hurting anyone else so why worry about it. Yet it does hurt someone it hurts you. So the time to deal with adultery is not after you have had sexual relations with someone’s spouse it is when you begin to treat any person as an object for your own personal pleasure. That is what is behind adultery, it is the sin of self pleasure. 

Vs. 28 Here Jesus goes to the heart where the outward action begins. The moment we begin to look at another person not just another persons wife, but any woman even our own wife in away which is just as an object to fulfill our own urges then we have broken the spirit of the commandment. People, women have value apart from what pleasure they may bring us. There is a sacredness of life not just in not killing that person, but in their right to be loved & treated in away that does not see them as mere objects of pleasure but rather creations of His love! 

         Let me say that we guys have no right to feel smug about ourselves in this area of adultery if we have been in our hearts seeing women as objects of our sexual fantasies. The only difference between us & a person who has committed the physical act of adultery is a lack of opportunity & or the fear of getting caught. Our hearts ought to be convicting us way before we get to that stage. 

         Now that I’ve got all us guys slinking down in our chairs may I say a word to the gals here. Watch how you dress or shall I say undress around us! Watch how you behave around men! We don’t need any help in this area we struggle quite well with out the skimpy shorts. So what ought to be the conclusion having dealt with this scripture? I can not speak of how it effects you but I can tell you that I am convicted! I have told my wife before that I have committed adultery in my heart, that this is a struggle that I need her prayers in. That I hold myself accountable to several groups that ask me on a regular basis how am I doing in my thought life, am I watching any sexually explicit material etc. I’m serious about this area in my life how about you? That brings us to our next section!

 Vs. 29-30 The War Against Sin

Vs. 29-3- You notice that Jesus goes right to how to deal with sin after dealing with this hidden sins of the heart? With that said we need to understand what Jesus is not saying before we can interpret what He is saying.

         A.) The trouble with a literal interpretation is that it does not stop the problem. If you gouge out your right eye what about the left? And if you cut off the right hand what about the left. So if you gouge out both eyes & cut off both hands what about the mind & the heart? Jesus said in Matt 12:35 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.” 

Now that we have ruled out that what is He saying?

         A.) First that we must take a seriousness to sin in our lives. The right eye & hand were thought to be of greater value to a person then that of the left. Thus, Jesus is saying that if the most precious things in your life are causing you to sin you must get rid of them. The idea of sacrificing something that we have attached value & importance to shows that you are serious about sin & being holy. If  that T.V. is so important to you yet it is causing you to trip up; “that is the meaning of the word offend”, then get rid of it. 

         What is the most precious thing you have? It ought to be our relationship with the Lord anything that hinders that needs to removed! All to often we are struggling with some sin & we continue to struggle with it because we refuse to die to that area. May I speak plainly if all we do is stumble in sin in an area of our lives & are never willing to separate ourselves from that area by ding to what ever is causing us to stumble then we are fooling ourselves about being serious about sin in that area, all we really have is vague wishing!

         B.) Next we see that sin separates, Jesus tells us that sin will lead a person right to hell. We need to get to the place that we no longer worry about what pleasure our sin is giving us but rather what it is leading us into, death!

         C.) It is also clear that we must come to a great hatred of sin in our lives. Our ambition ought to be putting an end to every sin of our heart, all bitterness, envy jealousy, hate spite & lust. To do so we will need to regularly examine our own hearts!

         This all being said, our greatest goal is to become more like Him, this is seen not in words but in actions that will cause us to put away from us anything that will hinder our growth in the Lord!    

Vs. 31-32 The Law of Marriage

Vs.31 Here again Jesus is linking what He just shared about adultery & seriousness about sin in our lives with that of divorce. Again it is helpful to understand what the law taught & why, how the Pharisees & scribes taught this, then how the Lord taught this.

         1.) “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” This is a quote out of Deut 24:1-4. As I said before the punishment for adultery was death by stoning so there was no words spoken about divorce in the case of adultery that person was to be put to death. Women in that society had no rights there was no way they could divorce their husbands. And the husband could divorce his wife for any reason. There were two school of thought from two separate Rabbis & the debate was over the word “uncleanness” in Deut. 24:

         A.) Shammai, who said that divorce was only permissible if the wife was found not to be a virgin when they were married that was the only way in which she could be declared unclean. Only then could a written bill of divorce be given her.

         B. Hillel, who was a liberal who interpreted “uncleanness” as if another women was more righteous then the wife she was then declared unclean by way of comparison. Or if she burned your eggs in the morning she was unclean. All, they had to do is go to the public square, look at his wife & yell three times;  “I divorce you!”

the Mosaic law was radical because of the concept of the written bill, in this bill the husband had to declare the specific reasons for the divorce which had to be established by two witnesses. The law went on to establish the fact that once he divorced her he could not change his mind & try to get her back, thus the seriousness of marriage was upheld. She could remarry but not to the same guy. 

         Thus the Pharisees & scribes were only concerned with the document not the reason for the document. This is why the custom of a dowry became so popular it was alimony in advance in case the husband ever put away his wife she had money already. Jesus will have much more to say on divorce in the 19th chapter so we will wait until then to go over it. 

Vs.32 The point of marriage & fidelity is her brought forth by Jesus. Marriage is not just a civil contract it is a covenant before the Lord. To becoming one flesh, & separating that will cause the other to break the bond of one to be untied to another. Jesus is not saying that it is a commandment that if a person has committed adultery you must divorce them He is saying that it is permitted but that is only because of the hardness of hearts. 

         In conclusion, let me say that Jesus forgives adulterers murders, & even divorced people but these things are not what He has for you & I. We are all sinners in need to turn to our Savior daily. communion. 

Matthew 5:33-42

“The Laws Of Speech & Duty”

Vs. 33-37 Speaking of The Truth 

Vs. 38-42 Death to Self

Intro.

We have now come to the forth & fifth illustrations that Jesus used to show the principals of His kingdom. As I have said before these principals are in part used to drive us back to Him revealing our need of Him. The first section we are to be dealing with concerns our speech, the second our conduct. 

         Stop to imagine for a moment what impact we Christians could have upon the world if we honored Jesus with our speech & demonstrated His love by our actions? The story is told of a preacher named Peter Miller in the days of the American Revolutionary War who enjoyed the friendship of General Washington.  There also dwelt in the same town one Michael Wittman, an evil-minded man who did all in his power to abuse and oppose this pastor.  One day Michael Wittman was involved in treason and was arrested and sentenced to death.  The old preacher started out on foot and walked the whole seventy miles to Philadelphia to plead for this man’s life.  He was admitted into Washington’s presence and at once begged for the life of the traitor. Washington said, “No, Peter, I cannot grant you the life of your friend.”  The preacher exclaimed, “My friend, he is the bitterest enemy I have.” Washington cried, “What?  You’ve walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy?  That puts the matter in a different light.  I will grant the pardon.”  And he did.  And Peter Miller took Michael Wittman from the very shadow of death back to his own home in Ephrata — no longer as an enemy, but as a friend. Folks, this is how to win the world!

Vs. 33-37 Speaking of The Truth

Vs.33 Again we will look at this section from the three views of what the original teaching was, how the Pharisees & scribes taught, & lastly what Jesus had to say on the subject.

         1.) These exact words are not to be found in the Old Testament, which is a clear signal that the Pharisees & scribes had already taught something different than what the scriptures had to say. What was taught on this subject of oaths can be found in:

                   A.)Ex. 20: 7 the 3rd commandment; “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.” 

                   B.) Deut 6:13 “You shall fear the LORD your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.”

                   C.) Lev. 19:12 “And you shall not swear by My name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.”

What was at issue was truth & the law was there to uphold the telling of truths. Life was chaotic because people could not be trusted at their word. So an oath was to be taken for telling the truth to which we say that a person who under an oath lies commits perjury. Gods name was upheld so highly that the Jews would not pronounce His name. Thus the swearing the truth in Gods name. The reason for this law was to show the seriousness that God places upon the truth!

         2.) The Pharisees & scribes had made this legalistic & thought that this should be applied in all of mans dealings. So they made distinctions between various oaths, some were binding others were not. If you took an oath by the temple it was not binding, yet if you made the oath by the gold in the temple it was. If you made an oath by the alter it was not binding yet if you made an oath by the gold on the alter it was. That is why Jesus rebukes them so severely in Matt. 23:16-22. Every thing centered around the exact wording in the oath. Sound familiar? Again it appears that our president has not been reading the words of Jesus instead he has been reading the words of  the Pharisees & scribes. The very reason for the oaths was to uphold truth & their interpretation had made lying the norm. 

         3.) Vs.34-36 There are some who have taken this statement of Jesus & have missed the point. They claim that Christians ought not to take an oath at all. To so interpret this that way is missing the context in which it was said. Jesus is not addressing the law as originally applied. Clearly the words “you have heard it said..” shows He was addressing how it was been interpreted by the Pharisees & scribes. He simply shows how inconsistent it is to make some oaths binding & others not. Why? Because in a part of every oath any way heaven, earth, Jerusalem for He is over everything & He created every thing, thus ultimately you are swearing by God anyway.

         A.) Vs. 37 Oaths are absolutely not needed in ordinary conversation. Why Because anyone saying to you that they are telling the truth has already by swearing such told you that they at times lie! The other day my son had a ball game in which they won the game, I had to miss the game due to a Bible study & they all got together to pull one over on me. When they came home they all looked bummed out & said that they had lost on a shot at the buzzer. I believed their little joke, them they told me the truth. I said I’d get even, so when our house flooded the kids didn’t know yet, so when I went to pick them up from school I told them that the house was flooded. They didn’t believe me, even after I swore I was telling the truth. Kind shows something about my relationship with my kids doesn’t it?

         Folks as believers we must be people of our word! We ought not need to ever swear we are telling the truth, because a lie or exaggeration would be out of character. This is another area I’m guilty of, I have a tendency to exaggerate. This is wrong, telling the truth makes oath taking obsolete. The bottom line is that charter & integrity ought to be hand in hand. Eccles. 5:4-5 says; “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed; Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.” 

Vs. 38-42 Death to Self

Vs.38 Here is the fifth illustration in the way Jesus interprets the law. This principal is found in three places:

         A.) Ex. 21:23-25 “But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”  

         B.) Lev. 24:19-20 “If a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him; fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him.”

         C.) Deut. 19:21 “Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

The intent first & for most was to limit retribution for the civil government. It was to control excess punishment & to eliminate retribution & revenge. Simple put the most a person could exact from another person civily was an eye for an eye & a tooth for a tooth. The crime ought to fit the punishment is what the intent of the law is. 

         2.) The Pharisees & scribes had made this an issue not for the civil authorities to limit retribution & revenge; they had made it an obligation for personal vindictiveness. This was never meant for personal application in the private sector, it was for the judges. 

         3.) Vs. 39-41 First Jesus corrects this false interpretation concerning the personal use of this as an obligation, verse 39.

                   A.) Vs. 39 “Don’t retaliate at all!” If someone does injury towards you don’t take matters into your own hand & harm them back. Again Jesus is addressing the miss application of this in the area of personal relationships not the proper application of this in restraining evil by the government. When a person was slapped in the cheek, (back handed) it was a personal insult, thus Jesus is saying when you are personally insulted or wronged don’t wrong the person back. This has nothing to say about war or Police etc. It is dealing with personal matters as they were being falsely taught. Simply put we are not to be personally vindictive. 

                   B.) Vs. 40 Here Jesus uses the illustration of being sued. The Jews wore two main garments the tunic; which was which was made of linen & covered the whole body too the knees & was worn next to your skin. Over this they wore a cloak it was nearly square & was wrapped around the body like a coat. The view is that of demands being placed upon a persons property through the legal system. If you owe something or you are being sued don’t fight that pay what you owe & beyond. People that don’t seek revenge against another physically often seek legally to the obsessive, clearly this is right where we live today. 

                   C.) Vs. 41 Here the illustration was not towards the individual but rather the oppressive government, or public authority. In those days of the Roman occupation of Israel if a Roman soldier saw you walking along the same road or near him he could ask you to carry his backpack for a mile (1000 paces) & you would obliged to do so. The Jews hated the Romans control of their land, so too suggest them not only doing this but going the extra mile was radical. What is being said is that we believers ought to be going beyond what the law requires us to do, give the extra mile out of love. You know that it is impossible to manipulate what you do for someone if what you do is out of love of Christ!

                   D.) Vs. 41 Here then is the summation of all Jesus has to say on this matter of retaliation. Give, do not turn away! As we read this section it seems that what Jesus says here does not fit with the rest. What does giving & not turning away have to do with not seeking vengeance upon a person personally? It fits this way, to so live as to not personal seek revenge you must be dead to yourself & if your are dead to yourself you are not worried about getting even you are concerned for others. Resist evil but not the evil person, they are the ones we are to reach!  

         As we conclude this section might I again say that all of this points us back to our failure & need of Him in out lives!

Matthew 5:43-48

“Perfect Love”

Vs. 43-45 Love Your Enemy?   

Vs. 46-48 Love Like Our Father 

Intro.

We now come to the sixth illustration which our Lord used to contrast the intent of the law with that of what the Pharisees & scribes had been teaching. Now I don’t know about you but this series has been highly convicting to me. It seems that I’ve been given a personal application to every section thus far, & so far as I look at it I have failed every time. Well this week I failed again. I don’t measure up to these ideals for believers in Christ’s kingdom, & all I can do is be honest about this go back to Jesus & confess my failure before Him for as 1 John 1: 9 says; “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

         This appeared some time ago in the Reader’s Digest:

People are unreasonable, illogical and self-centered. Love them anyway. 

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. 

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. 

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for the underdogs anyway.

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. 

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you’ve got anyway! 

The simple truth is that those who deserve love the least need it the most. Is not that the story of you & I & Christ’s love for us? 

Vs. 43-45 Love Your Enemy?

Vs. 43 Here again we need to look at what was being taught by the Pharisees & scribes, what the old testament taught, & lastly how Jesus taught on the subject.

         1.) This is in part what Jesus in Matt. 5:43 calls the second of the two great commandments. If you were to look at the O.T. reference you would find the first part of it in Lev. 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” But the second part of this is not to be found. So where did they come up with this “and hate your enemy”? 

         2.) If you read through the O.T. you will come across many passages of scripture that seem as if they encourage the Jews to hate & even destroy their enemies. If you go through Psalms you will find this theme often in fact the word enemies appears 79 times Lets take for example the words in Psalm 18:37-40 “I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. I have wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet. For You have armed me with strength for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose up against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies, So that I destroyed those who hated me.” Clearly the author is describing his victory over those who hated him. So is there a contradiction? No not at all; if you were to go through all, of those 79 references you will not find a single one of them that applies to the individual acting on his own behalf. So the difference in this passage as compared to that of what the Pharisees were teaching & practicing is that one is judicial as it is instructed by God the other is personal. God who alone knows the thoughts & intents of the heart was removing the evil influence of those enemies & was using human means for it. The Pharisees & scribes had taken this to the extreme & had made it an obligation for personal vengeance. You were obligated to hate your enemy, thus they thought that any person who was not Jewish was not their neighbor therefore they were an enemy. 

         3.) Vs. 44 Now here Jesus tells us the intent & purpose of love. 

                   A.) The first thing of note here is who Jesus sees as our neighbors, simply put those that are our enemieswho, demonstrate this by cursing us, hating us, spitefully using us, & persecuting us. 

                   B.) Not only is a definition of who is our neighbor it is also a road map of how we are to show our love towards them. We have already seen the negative aspect of what we are not to do last week in verse 38-42 here we are given four positive ways we are to love our enemies. 

                            1.) Love: That is the word “agapao” & of coarse it speaks of Gods love. Simply put we are to love them as He loves them. A point we will bring out more in a moment, as we look at the example Jesus puts forth in verse 45.  

                            2.) Bless: Here the word used is “eulogeo”, we get our word eulogy from & it means to speak well of, to thank or invoke a benediction upon. Do you say this when someone is cursing at just invoke a blessing upon them? The story is told of a wicked man who had passed away & the local pastor was asked to do the service, his brother knew that church needed a new roof so he said that if you say something good about him he would pay for the roof. The pastor agreed, & during the eulogy he spoke of how rotten the deceased man was, but at the end of his time he said these words; “Yet compared to his brother setting right here he was a good man!” I don’t think that is what the Lord had in mind here. 

                            3.) Do good: This is the word “kalos”, & it means to do well usually morally, to deal honestly, full well. In other words to the person who is hating you continue to do towards them morally & honestly with all you have.

                            4.) Pray: This word means to pray to God, i.e. supplicate, worship; to earnestly make prayer for another. So for the person who continues to spitefully use us & persecute us we are to pray for their salvation. 

         Now I of coarse always do this when someone is treating me as an enemy; No way! As I look at how I am to love those people who are hateful towards me & can honestly say I fail. If I had not failed going through the sermon on the mount yet I have now. Someone has well said that the best way to destroy a enemy is to turn him into a friend. But with that said I am not trying to make them my friends I am rather desiring to turn them over to Christ so that they might be His friend. 

Vs. 45 So what does this verse have to do with loving our enemies? Well our heavenly father is our example & if we are His children then we ought to be act the way He does. so the first then we must ask ourselves is how does He love?

         1.) His love for us has never been dependent upon what we do for Him. His love is not reciprocal in nature He does not love us because of who we are or what we do. The fact is He loves us in spite of us! If He loved any other way then it would be wages not grace. Now that is not to say that He is not grieved over our behavior, but clearly Rom. 5: 8 says; that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

         2.) “..for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” So what does this mean? It shows that God loves not based upon His need but rather our need. This is common grace, God does not just bless the Christian ball team, or the Christian business. No! He bless all bringing sun & rain to both not based upon merit but rather need! Why? Because He sees their need & He loves them so He gives the sun & rain; the sustenance of life. Gods love is generated out of the nature of His character not the nature of ours. Do you get that? Do you love that way? 

Vs. 46-48 Love Like Our Father

Vs. 46 Here Jesus uses the tax collectors who were very self centered as an illustration of how they loved only those who loved them or greeted them. The idea here is this is what all sinners do; love based upon how others treat us. 

         A.) The tax collector responds to this love, this self centered love is not evidence of Gods love. No our behavior must not be governed by what they do or don’t do with regards to their actions or attitudes towards us! As long as we are still self centered we will be sensitive, watchful, jealous, & envious towards others always reacting to what they do or don’t do. Now based upon this I have determined that I am the most self centerd person I’ve ever been around!

         B.) Next Jesus uses the analogy of greeting. Now the word greet means to enfold in the arms, to welcome by embrace. Think of this for a moment as you came in here this morning I saw you all hugging each other shaking each others hands. You were greeting each other. Well that is all fine & good but that is no different then what any other person does. You were greeting those who have loved you so you were loving them back. Now, what if your worse enemy came through the door, would you go over & give that person a great big hug? That is what we are called to do if our love is like the Lords.

         C.) Now don’t get mad at me but it does not say I have to like them or their behavior towards me. It does not say I am to like my enemies; it says I am to love them as God does. What God commands us to do is to love them as if we liked them. When we do  I guarantee that at least one persons heart will change! Love is practical if it is Gods love then it springs not from the person but from what John says in 1 John 4:19-21 “We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

Vs. 48 Now we come to this very difficult statement of Jesus, “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Now the word “perfect” here is the word “teleios”, & it means complete in growth, mental and moral character, or of full age, mature. Notice carefully the context of this statement for it is not speaking that we can obtain some sort of “sinless perfection” as a part of being Jesus’ disciples. No it is speaking of the moral maturity & character. So you get the idea that as we love the way our Father does the way He has through His Son we shall be mature believers. Mature believers are not the ones that have memorized the whole Bible neither are they the ones that have all the gifts of the Spirit. They are the ones that love their enemies as Jesus does. I for one am not going to be calling myself a mature Christian, & again this section of scripture drives me back to Christ’s work on the cross. Clearly I can not stand on my own righteousness I will only stand on His!