Jesus and the Law Pt. 2
Sermon Recap
We are in the 5th week of our preaching series on the Sermon on the Mount, the longest sermon of Jesus in the gospel writings.
Jesus is teaching his new disciples what His kingdom is like and what it means to enter into it. We are here, now, learning from Jesus in the exact same way. We want these words of Jesus to shape our imagination and reignite our vision for what is good.
In last week’s sermon, we heard Jesus say that his disciples needed to have a “righteousness that exceeds the scribes and Pharisees”. We believe He meant that – and that it is good news. (You can find that sermon here.) This week, we explored the 6 case studies in Matthew 5:21-48 that illustrate and apply Jesus’ point.
Case study 1 – Murder/Anger (vs 21-26)
Jesus references the OT command “do not murder” and places it next to anger, making insults, and calling someone a fool. The common thread, according to Dallas Willard, seems to be the idea of contempt. Looking at another person made in the image of God and treating them or considering them unworthy of value or dignity.
All of these things – from murder to insults – are like various steps along one path, a path not in the kingdom of God.
Jesus calls his disciples to be the kind of people who would interrupt even a sacred ritual like leaving a gift on the temple altar, in order to go be reconciled to someone else. Can you imagine the inner life, the humility, such a person would have to have?
These actions are like “little steps”, that show us ways to “concretely try to live Jesus’ road-clearing new way,” in the words of Dale Bruner. We can’t will ourselves into having hearts free of contempt. But we can take a step, and keep taking steps, allowing God to form us into the kind of people whose hearts are changed to naturally treat others with dignity and value.
Case study 2 – Adultery/Lust (vs 27-30)
Again referencing an OT command (“you shall not commit adultery”), Jesus makes a comparison, this time showing how adultery and lust have more in common than not.
The original force of “looking with lust” points to a man staring at a woman in order to objectify her for his own gratification. Jesus says this “looking”, which may be invisible from the outside, is a stop along the same path as adultery.
He calls his disciples to consider their eyes and hands – what they are looking at or thinking about, what they are doing. Do any of those things lead you to degrade the dignity of another human being? Using a metaphor intended to shock his audience, Jesus tells them they should sever their “eye” or “hand” instead.
Case study 3 – Divorce (vs 31-32)
In the time of Jesus there was a well-known controversy between rabbis who argued about when a man is allowed to divorce his wife. Jesus takes a position that demonstrates the authority of Scripture and holds up the covenant reality of marriage, prohibiting divorce except in the case of immorality. He shows how the kingdom path, rooted in the heart of God, is one of faithfulness and self-sacrificing love.
For us, divorce must always be approached seriously, soberly. Scripture must never be turned into a weapon. And grief is appropriate when divorce happens, remembering, too, that grief is different than shame.
Case study 4 – The swearing of oaths (vs 33-37)
To swear an oath is a way of transferring integrity from yourself onto the reputation of another. “I swear on my grandmother’s grave this is true.”
In the time of Jesus, people were commonly using oaths to verbally manipulate other people. While we may not swear oaths in the same way, we know what it is to live in a culture where verbal manipulation – “spin” – is common. In contrast, Jesus tells his disciples not to borrow integrity, but to have integrity, speaking plainly and truthfully.
Case study 5 – Retaliation (vs 38-42)
The language Jesus references – “an eye for an eye” – IS actually found in the OT. However, even in the beginning, it was intended to place a limit on retaliation, not act as a prescription for what is required.
Jesus calls his disciples to not resist an evildoer. The word used for “resist” points to a dynamic of opposing someone using the same weapons and ways. Picture two armies facing off in a field, ready to do battle.
Instead, Jesus says to oppose evil with good. To expose injustice without mirroring it. This is, of course, costly, as we see in the life of Jesus himself.
Case study 6 – Loving (vs 43-48)
Jesus says, “You have heard it said to love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” This is not a direct quote from the Scripture, but rather a common practice in that time – and ours.
Jesus calls his disciples to love their enemies and pray for their persecutors, so that they may demonstrate the love of the Father. There should be a family resemblance, sons and daughters loving others just like God Himself sends the good gifts of sun and rain on all people.
This is the heart of the father and this will be the heart of his children.
So, Jesus says, be perfect like your Father in heaven is perfect.
Being perfect is not a call to moral perfection or performance. “Perfect” is the Greek word “telios”, meaning whole or complete or mature. Jesus is calling his disciples to grow up into the kind of human they were meant to be. Not merely externally compliant, but deeply transformed and made whole.
Through partnership with the Spirit, in the journey of discipleship, human beings can be made whole. Jesus did not only keep the law for our sake, He opened for us a way, to be gathered together into Jesus’ family, living a Jesus-shaped life.
When we realize that the paths of sin are often more familiar – and easier to walk – than the way of Jesus, we must keep 2 things in front of us: Promise, and practices – and only in that order.
In the promise of the gospel we are forgiven from our sin and freed from trying to perform for God’s approval. Jesus has accomplished everything necessary to reconcile us to the Father and give us new life in the Spirit. So then by the Spirit, we can step into practices, steps of obedience that over time will be used to transform our hearts.
Entering Conversation
1. Reflect back on what you heard in this sermon, or on the thoughts that have come afterwards. What stood out to you, either because it was new/interesting, or because you felt like the Spirit directed your attention to it?
2. What might it look like to respond in some way to what you heard? Particularly, as we think about the “practices” that rest on God’s promise, do you sense an invitation from the Spirit in a particular direction?
(NB – this is where community can be helpful. Sometimes we don’t know what to do with what we heard, but others can help us identify ways of responding. Feel free to help each other, graciously and gently, listening for what the Spirit may be prompting.)
3. Close this time with prayer, inviting God to continue the conversation with you through the week.