April 20, 2009

  • The Sermon on the Mount: The New Standard (Matthew 5:21-26)

    love-hate-tat There was a time that I hated my father. Why….because he didn’t treat my mother well. Because he had affairs and it broke up our family. I was angry at him. I began hate him. I had a hard time forgiving him. If you were to have asked me back then……”well….how is that workin’ for ya?” I would have responded “not so good”. This was a time when I turned away from God. This was a time when I turned to my friends and drugs to take away the pain in my heart and in my life. It was during this time that I started to hate myself and I had little love for others. As I look back at this time in my life, it wasn’t only him that I wanted to murder in my heart…it was me too. 

    To set the record straight, I forgave my father years later and, especially in the last months of his life, we became closer than we ever had been.

     

    We continue this journey into the heart of Jesus’ message…..a message we commonly call “The Sermon on the Mount”.  I believe that Jesus wants us to take a deep, deep, look at our inner selves. In the Beatitudes He shares with us these simple truths:

    • To trust ainner-heartnd have dependance on God in our daily life
    • To  mourn….to care, love others 
    • To have the strength of character to be meek (not weak)
    • To hunger and thirst for doing what is right
    • To have a heart to help others and show mercy….grace in action
    • And with  all these things……Jesus tells us to have a pure heart
    • Jesus tells us to make peace with those around us
    • And to have the strength of character to endure persecution for loving Him and doing what is right.

    These, I believe, are the secrets…..the mysteries….the truth upside down…. upon which we can build happy and fulfilled life.

    truth-upside-down Jesus was preparing his listeners THEN ….and is preparing us NOW……for some very strong stuff….again…the truth upside down. If we live out the Beatitudes, we will start to see fulfillment in our lives. If there is a breaking down in these simple truths…….we’ll have trouble understanding the strong truths that He presents us NOW and in the coming weeks. If we internalize and apply these “inner truths” to our lives, we can’t  be defeated. The reason some people don’t survive spiritually,  is that they don’t pay the price for maturity.

    Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:20) we heard Jesus say that the righteousness of His people must exceed that of the Pharisees. Who were the Pharisees? The Pharisees were the religious leaders of Jesus day that often lived in hypocritical ways. The Pharisees were EXTERNALLY correct…. and appeared to be God’s people. What Jesus is sharing with us is how to be INTERNALLY correct……. and to TRULY be God’s people.

    With the stage set……let’s continue our journey into the “Sermon on the Mount”:

    Let’s look at the next teaching of Jesus that is found in Matthew 5:21-26. This is where Jesus starts to express the result of applying the Beatitudes to our lives.

    murder Matthew 5:21-26 ( TNIV )
    21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 

    raca 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ [a way of calling someone “empty headed”] is answerable to the Sanhedrin. [The Sanhedrin was the Jewish high court]  And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

    23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.  26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

    Something that we have to remember is that Jesus elevated the standards of God’s wisdom, the standards Christian living. He elevated these standards above just  SIMPLY KEEPING THE LAW.

    As we will see in the coming post in this series, Jesus will say six times, “You have heard that it was said … but I say to you” ……what Jesus is telling us is that his teaching goes beyond what the Ten Commandments and the Torah say. The Torah is the name for the Hebrew “Law”. He is speaking to the interpretations by the Rabbi’s that were passed down through the ages [this collection of interpretations of the meanings of the law; according to rabbinic tradition is called “the Mishna”]  and Jesus was setting the stage to explain what God really meant.

    Jesus shows us the true intent of God’s Law. The people don’t need to be more righteous than the Pharisees by the NUMBER of laws that they kept… they need to be more righteous in the WAY they kept the laws.

    Let’s look at the first example that Jesus gives us:

    thou-shalt-not-kill Matthew 5:21 ( TNIV )
    21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 

    I looked closely at this Greek word translated as “Murder”. The Greek word is “phoneuo” [phone-you-o]. Jesus, of course, is speaking here of the 6th commandment, “You shall not murder” (found in Exodus 20:13 as well as Deuteronomy 5:17). The original Hebrew word used in the Old Testament Scriptures is “rasah”. Both of these words mean to kill, primarily with intent and premeditation, which is “murder”. The Pharisees were teaching that the command against murder, referred JUST to the taking another person’s life. They read this law, and not having literally murdered anyone, they felt righteous. 

    Scripture also tells us that murderers were subject to judgment (to death) through legal proceedings………also described in the Law.

    Exodus 21:12-14 ( TNIV )
    12 “Anyone who strikes someone a fatal blow is to be put to death.  13 However, if it is not done intentionally, but God lets it happen, they are to flee to a place I will designate.  14 But if anyone schemes and kills someone deliberately, that person is to be taken from my altar and put to death.

    So……..what is the point here? If Jesus did not come to abolish or change the Law…..how does He “FULFILL” the law? He fulfills the Law by telling us it’s true meaning as God intended.

    anger Matthew 5:22-24 ( TNIV )
    22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca, ’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you,  24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to that person; then come and offer your gift.

    Jesus tells us that we should not even become angry enough to murder…….because then we would already have committed murder in our heart. Killing is a terrible sin…….but anger is just as bad because it also violates God’s command to love. The “Anger,” here…….refers to a seething, brooding….and  bitterness. Jesus saw a direct connection between anger and murder…a connection that we so very often deny.

    Why do we so often deny this?   I believe because we often feel “justified”….we want rationalize our anger and hate. Jesus taught that our intention  is a significant part of wrongdoing. Think about it……”anger”….. leads very quickly to a whole range of emotions and actions……… a whole range of emotions and actions that we so very often regret. Anger tends to be like a hurricane that reeks a path of destruction.. Anger can destroy us as well as anything or anyone against which we direct it. What can we do to stop this “hurricane” …….to direct it’s path to the see where it will subside and die out?

    • girlPraying Confrontation—we can express anger in appropriate ways ….speaking in love
    • Contemplation—we can examine why we are angry, looking at the surrounding circumstances
    • Confession—we can ask God and others for help in dealing with our anger

    Is all anger a sin? No, it’s not. Righteous anger and anger that is dealt with in a healthy way is not a sin. 

    • It is not wrong to be angry at the inappropriate response of others towards us….it is wrong to hate them.
    • It is not wrong to be angry at the pain and wrongdoing of others in the world…..it is wrong if that anger is manifested in hate and retribution.

    I think you get the point……the point is to love….. not to destroy the spirit in those around us.

    Let’s look at this last thought that Jesus shares with us about murder and anger:

    shake-hands Matthew 5:25-26 ( TNIV )
    25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.  26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

    resolve-differences It is very practical advice to resolve our differences with our enemies, with those who make us angry, before their anger causes more trouble. Not all disagreements end in going to court or end in having someone else arbitrate the matter. The point is……..even small conflicts mend more easily if you try to make peace right away. In a even a bigger way, Jesus is telling us to get things right with our brothers and sisters before we have to stand before God.

    Do you see the difference between destroying a person physically and destroying a person spiritually?

    • In the case of physical destruction, civil authorities will do the punishing.
    • In the case of not loving those around us, God will do the punishing.

    I have found that as I have applied this wisdom to my life, that a wonderful transformation took place….. a transformation for the better….because I decided to willfully  live up to a divine standard, the truth upside down. When we make this choice to change (which, I would add, is not instant or always easy), relations ships in our lives change, homes and communities change, and people’s attitudes toward us often change.

    In recognizing that we are nothing without God we become merciful….loving those around us. When we become meek…strong in who we are….as our hearts become pure….it makes it easier for us to have a good attitude toward all those around us and ultimately……..they have a better attitude toward us.

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