A right relationship with God requires a right response when wronged...

This week, we have been looking at a part of a famous sermon that Jesus gave that is recorded for us in an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew. Tuesday, we looked on as Jesus called the crowds listening to His sermon to not place themselves in opposition to someone who is bent on doing wrong.  Jesus then provided four examples of situations in which a person was not to place themselves in opposition to someone who is bent on doing wrong. We talked about the reality that we your natural response is to question, or even challenge Jesus words here.

And if we could have a conversation out at the courtyard coffeehouse, the conversation would sound something like this: “Really? Does Jesus actually think that we should not retaliate when we are wrongly insulted by another person? Does Jesus actually think that we should not retaliate when we are wrongly sued by another person? Does Jesus actually think that we should not retaliate when we are wrongly humiliated by others? Does Jesus actually think that we should just give to the needy and not reject the needy, regardless of how they became needy?” If that question or pushback is running through your mind, just look at what Jesus says next in Matthew 5:43:

"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.'

Now, if what Jesus had to say at this point was not enough, Jesus continued by quoting from another section of the book of Leviticus. Here, Jesus quotes a section of Leviticus 19:18. To truly understand the importance of this verse in the book of Leviticus, let’s look together at the entirety of what the Lord was communicating to the Jewish people in Leviticus 19:17-18:

You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. 'You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.

Now, did you notice that nowhere in these verses do you see the phrase “and hate your enemy”. However, what the religious leaders and Jewish people of Jesus day had done, was to take this passage from the book of Leviticus and add the phrase “and hate your enemy”. You see, the Jewish people of Jesus day believed and taught that they were to love one another as God’s chosen people and hate those who were not like them ethnically, who the letters in the Bible referred to as Gentiles.

The Jewish people in Jesus day believed that, as God’s chosen people, they were morally and ethnically superior to the Gentiles around them. As a matter of fact, most Jews during Jesus day considered Gentiles to be less than human. In addition, many Jewish people believed that God hated the Gentile people. After all, God had given the Jewish people the Promised Land from the Gentile nations. However, once again, the crowds listening to Jesus were not prepared for what Jesus had to say next, which Matthew records for us in verse 44:

"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven;

After repeating this commonly held Jewish belief and teaching, Jesus responded by stating, but I say you are to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. This morning, imagine yourself in the crowd listening to Jesus speaking. You have grown up your entire life believing that you are morally superior to all other ethnicities and nations. You have grown up hearing that you are to love your fellow Jew but hate those who do not share your chosen people status. It would be as if Jesus were stating to us this morning that as Americans that we were to love Al Qaeda and ISIS and pray for them.

Jesus here was calling the crowds, and followers of Jesus throughout history, to demonstrate a love that is selfless, other centered and sacrificial in nature and that seeks the good of another. Now, your natural reaction to Jesus words is “why would Jesus ask followers of Jesus to do such a thing?”  Why would Jesus expect us to selflessly love and seek another’s good, even when they have wronged us?”  That is a great question, and I am sure that it was a question that was floating through the stunned crowd listening to Jesus message. Fortunately for us, Jesus gives us two reasons why we are to demonstrate such a selfless, other centered and sacrificial love that seeks the good of others, even if they have wronged us. The first reason is found in the second half of verse 45:

for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

First, Jesus reminds the crowds listening to His sermon of God’s gracious generosity: “for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” In other words, God, in His gracious generosity, provides for those live a life that is marked by a moral and social worthlessness, and God, in His gracious generosity, provides for those whose life is marked by a high standard of worth and merit. God, in His gracious generosity, provides for those who live in a way that meet God’s right standards, and God, in His gracious generosity, provides for those who live in a way that is contrary to God’s right standards.

Jesus is reminding the crowds that God loves all His creation and demonstrates His love by generously providing for all of His creation. You see God loves all of His creation. God loves all people and desires that all come to know and follow Him. God created and loves drug addicts and homosexuals; God loves ax murderers and child molesters; God even loves people who think that God only loves them. God loves all people and desires that all come to know and follow Him.

After all, that was the whole point of Jesus coming to earth, wasn’t it? You see, Jesus came for the lost, the hurting, the broken, in other words He came for all of us. And because God loves all, even those who oppose Him and His kingdom, we are to follow His example. Jesus then revealed a second reason why we are to we are to demonstrate such a selfless, other centered and sacrificial love that seeks the good of others, even if they have wronged us, is found in verses 46-47. Let’s look at them together:

"For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

 Here we see Jesus ask a rhetorical question: "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?” Now the reason that this question is rhetorical is due to the fact that the answer to this question is so obvious that is does not require a reply. Jesus then reinforced the rhetorical nature of this question by pointing to two groups of people who the Jewish people looked down upon. First, Jesus pointed the crowds listening to the tax collectors of the day. Now Jews who were tax collectors were hated by their fellow countrymen for two reasons.

First, these tax collectors were hated because they would often charge higher taxes than necessary in order to make a profit. Since the Romans did not care what these tax collectors charged as long as they received what was due them, many tax collectors became wealthy by charging over and above what the Romans asked. So tax collectors often became wealthy at the expense of his fellow Jewish countrymen. Second, Jewish tax collectors were hated and were viewed as traitors because they were working for the enemy. Jewish people so despised tax collectors that they had a separate category for them. There were tax collectors and there were sinners. There were those who sinned and then there were tax collectors. Jesus point is that even people who are thought of as being immoral know enough to love those who love them. It is easy to love those who love us, isn’t it? I mean, to love those who love us is not a very high standard.

Jesus then pointed the crowds listening to the Gentiles. Gentiles were not Jewish either religiously or ethnically and who worshiped something other than the One True God as God. Jesus here is reminding the crowd listening to His sermon that even people who do not believe in God love and treat well those who are close to them. Jesus here is revealing the reality that, those who want to be right with God have a higher responsibility to live a life that reveals and reflects God to those around them. Jesus point is that, as followers of Jesus, we have been placed by God in a distinctive environment to live lives that are distinctively different.

And as followers of Jesus who have been given the responsibility to live a life that reveals and reflects Jesus to those around us, we are not to live as the world lives, but are called to a higher standard that reflects the generosity and love of Jesus to all people, even those who are hostile to Jesus and to followers of Jesus. Now this morning, I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves in the crowd listening the Jesus words. Can you imagine what the response must have been like? Can you imagine the body language? The facial expressions? Can you imagine the pushback? If you think there was pushback to what Jesus had said up to this point, just look at what Jesus says next in verse 48:

"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

In verse 48, Jesus continues by giving what seems to be an impossible command: “Therefore you are to be perfect, as our Heavenly Father is perfect”. But this morning, what does Jesus mean when He says we are to be perfect? When Jesus uses the word perfect, He is referring to someone who is fully developed in a moral sense. This word refers to someone who meets the standards of moral and spiritual perfection and maturity. 

Remember a few weeks ago when Jesus made the statement that a person’s character and behavior must surpass that of the religious leaders of the day in order to enter the kingdom of Heaven? The greater character and behavior that Jesus first brought up earlier in this sermon is revealed here. Jesus states that being right with God by meeting His demands involves more than external obedience; the character and behavior that meets God’s demands to be right with Him involves moving past external rules and regulations to having the heart and character of God that is revealed in us as we live a life that is lived in obedience to God by doing the right thing.

And it is here that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the true nature of what it means to obey the message and teachings of Jesus and the true nature of a lifestyle that is living a right relationship with Jesus.  And that timeless truth is this: A right relationship with God requires a right response when wronged. Just as it was for those who were listening to this famous sermon; just as it has been for humanity throughout history; A right relationship with God requires a right response when wronged.

Jesus here is revealing for us the timeless reality that a right relationship with Him requires that we respond to a personal insult by not responding in kind. A right relationship with Jesus requires that we respond to being wrongly sued by another by striving to do everything we can do in order to make things right with the one who wrongly sued us. A right relationship with Jesus requires that we respond to being wrongly humiliated and oppressed by going the extra mile for the one who humiliated and oppressed us. A right relationship with Jesus requires that we respond to the pressing and practical needs of the needy by meeting those needs, regardless of why they are in need. And a right relationship with Jesus requires that we reflect the generosity and love of Jesus to all people, even those who are hostile to Jesus and to followers of Jesus.

A right relationship with Jesus requires a right response when wronged because Jesus is not simply concerned with our external behavior when things go right and when we are treated right. Instead, at the end of the day, Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition when things go wrong and when we are treated wrong. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that eventually what is in the heart will spill out. Human history has shown us that, just like toothpaste, our true character and what dwells in our heart will ultimately spill out when we are squeezed as a result of being wronged.

So here is a question to consider? What does your response to being wronged reveal about where you are at when it comes to a relationship with God? How do you respond to being insulted? How do you respond to being wronged financially? How do you respond to being embarrassed? How do you respond to those who are in need, even if the reason they are in need is a result of their own doing?

Because, as Jesus points out, a right relationship with God requires a right response when wronged. And as Jesus points out, God’s right standard is perfection. You see, Jesus never asks us to do something that He has not already done. Jesus repeatedly demonstrated a right response when He was wronged that revealed the reality that He had a right relationship with God.

And because we are not perfect; because nobody is perfect, we desperately need the rescue that Jesus provides us as a result of failing to demonstrate a right response when wronged. We desperately need the rescue that Jesus provides us because we are all guilty of murder as a result of what comes from our heart damaging another’s heart. We desperately need the rescue that Jesus provides us because we are all guilty of adultery as a result of desiring sexually what we were not committed to relationally. We desperately need the rescue that Jesus provides us because we are all guilty of misrepresenting God’s promises as a result of failing to keep our promises. And we desperately need the rescue that Jesus provides us because we are all guilty of responding the wrong way when wronged.

That was the whole point of Jesus coming to earth. That was the whole point of this sermon. Jesus came to earth and lived the life that we were created to live but are all guilty of refusing to live, and then willingly allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life, so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. And when we respond to all that Jesus did to rescue us from our selfishness and rebellion by believing trusting and following Jesus, we receive the forgiveness of sin and enter into the relationship with God that we were created for. We also receive the Holy Spirit, which empowers us to live the life we were created to live in relationship with Jesus as we strive to follow the message and teachings of Jesus.

The question is “How have you responded to what Jesus has offered?

Rejecting the Law of Retaliation...

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Jesus uncut. During this series, we are spending our time together looking at perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preached, which is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. During this series, we are going to see Jesus reveal to the crowds listening to His sermon, and to us here today, the true nature of what God demands of humanity in order to experience a right relationship with Him and what it truly means to obey the message and teachings of the letters that make up the Bible.

And during this series, as we see Jesus uncut, our hope and prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in a way that enables us to wrap our heads, hearts, and hands around the lifestyle that Jesus calls us to live as one who is living in a right relationship with Him.  This week I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this famous sermon that Jesus preached, called the Sermon on the Mount, which is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew, we are going to discover another timeless truth from Jesus uncut. So, let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in Matthew 5:38:

"You have heard that it was said, 'AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.'

As Matthew continues to give us a front row seat to this famous sermon that Jesus preached, we see Jesus quote from a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament called the book of Leviticus. Jesus here quotes a part of Leviticus 24:19-20. Let’s take a moment to look at the entire verse:

If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him:  fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him.

Now these verses were referred to as the Lex Talionis, or the Law of Retaliation. The Law of Retaliation was used in the Jewish legal system to enforce proportional retribution for offenses that occurred between two people. The Law of Retaliation was designed so that there would be the right amount of justice in order to prevent private vengeance or revenge from taking over the Jewish legal system. As a matter of fact, much of our legal system here in America is based on this concept of proportional justice or retribution.

Now for those in the crowd listening to Jesus sermon, no one would be surprised at Jesus words here. For those in the crowd listening to Jesus sermon, no one would disagree with Jesus words here. For the Jewish people it was a common and accepted principle to live according to the Law of Retaliation. For the Jewish people it was a common and accepted principle that the punishment for a crime would be proportional to the damage done by a crime. However, what the crowds listening to Jesus were not prepared for was what Jesus had to say next. We see what Jesus said next in verse 39:

"But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

Jesus, after quoting part of the Jewish Law of Retribution, explained “but I say to you do not resist an evil person.” When Jesus uses the word resist, this word literally means to place oneself in a place of opposition towards another, in this case an evil person. When Jesus refers to an evil person here, He was referring to someone who is morally or socially worthless and who is driven by wicked intentions. This phrase refers to someone who is bent on doing wrong.

Jesus then provided four examples of situations in which a person was not to place themselves in opposition to someone who is bent on doing wrong.  First, in the second half of verse 39, Jesus stated that if someone slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. Now to understand the situation that Jesus is referring to, we first need to understand that in order to hit someone in the right cheek with their right hand, as most people in Jesus day, as today, were right handed, one would have to backhand them with a slap.

Now, in the Jewish culture of Jesus day, this form of a backhanded slap was a common way that people disrespected or insulted someone. The issue is not about being a pacifist, as many people in the anti-war movement attempt to use this passage. The issue is about someone’s personal honor being insulted.

Jesus point to the crowds listening was that they were not to seek retribution by suing in court when they were insulted, which was their right under the Law of retribution. Jesus point here is that when a person is insulted, they should accept the personal insult without retaliating in kind. Jesus then provided a second example of a situation in which a person was not to place themselves in opposition to someone who was bent on doing wrong in verse 40. Let’s look at it together:

            "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him

            have your coat also.

In this example, Jesus points to a legal suit between two Jewish people. This was not a case of someone breaking what we would call a criminal law in our culture, such as theft or embezzlement, where there was a danger and potential liability to the community as a result of an individual’s action. In our culture today, this would be a legal suit between two individuals that would occur in civil court. Most likely, the suit was over a collateral or pledge for a debt that was not paid between two parties.

The shirt that Jesus refers to would be a shirt that would have been used as collateral for the payment of the debt. Jesus response to this situation was that the person was not only to give up his desire to sue to keep the shirt, but should also offer his coat as well. In the time in which Jesus lived, a person’s coat often also doubled as a blanket and was never allowed to be taken under the Old Testament Law of Retaliation.

If Jesus was communicating this in the language that we use in our culture today, this example would have sounded something like this: if you received a car as collateral for a loan and were being taken to court unfairly so as to take the car, do not sue to keep the car. Instead offer your opponent your house as well so that you can make things right. Jesus point was that even what the opponent could not dare to ask for, we are to offer freely in order to make things right. Jesus then provided a third example of a situation in which a person was not to place themselves in opposition to someone who was bent on doing wrong in verse 41:

            "Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

When Jesus uses the word force, this word literally means to be pressed into service. During this time in history, the Jewish people were living as a conquered people under the rule of the ruling Roman Empire. And as a result of living as a conquered people under the ruling Roman Empire, it was a common practice for a Roman soldier to enlist a Jewish person into forced labor, including the carrying of his equipment. We see this right of Roman soldiers to force Jewish people into service during Jesus crucifixion when Simon the Cyrene was forced to carry Jesus cross by a Roman soldier.

Now, as you might imagine, this practice was resented by the Jewish people who viewed the Roman enemy as humiliating them by forcing labor upon them. Jesus point to the crowds was that they were to renounce their right for justice under such oppression and exploitation and go the extra mile for their oppressors. Jesus then provided a fourth and final example of a situation in which a person was not to place themselves in opposition to someone who was bent on doing wrong in verse 42. Let’s look at it together:

"Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

In this final example, we see Jesus explain to the crowds that they are not turn away from those who want to borrow from you.  The words “to turn away” convey the sense of rejecting someone or something. Jesus point to the crowds was that they were not to reject those around them who have pressing physical and material needs, regardless of the circumstances that placed them under need. Instead, they were to place themselves in a position to meet those pressing and practical needs.

Now I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves in the crowd listening the Jesus words. Can you imagine what the response must have been like? Can you imagine the body language? The facial expressions? Can you imagine the pushback? Maybe you find yourself pushing back. Maybe you are wondering, questioning, or even challenging Jesus words here.

And if we could have a conversation out at the courtyard coffeehouse, the conversation would sound something like this: “Really? Does Jesus actually think that we should not retaliate when we are wrongly insulted by another person? Does Jesus actually think that we should not retaliate when we are wrongly sued by another person? Does Jesus actually think that we should not retaliate when we are wrongly humiliated by others? Does Jesus actually think that we should just give to the needy and not reject the needy, regardless of how they became needy?”

If that question or pushback is running through your mind, just look at what Jesus says next. Friday we will do just that…

We misrepresent God’s promises when we fail to keep our promises...

This week we have been looking at a section of perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preached, which we know today as the Sermon on the Mount. Tuesday, we looked on as Jesus dealt with the issue of divorce and remarriage.

Jesus quoted from a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament called the book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 24:1-4, we see the Lord, through Moses, address the issue of divorce that had begun to occur amongst the Jewish people. However, the Jewish people of Jesus day had twisted and manipulated the Lord’s words through Moses in such a way that made it easy for people to get a divorce. The Jewish people of Jesus day did what we all have a tendency to do, which is to only quote a part of what the message and teachings of Jesus have to say in order to justify behavior that may go against what the message and teachings of Jesus have to say.

Thus, the Jewish people would only quote the first part of the passage in order to justify getting a divorce for any number of reasons. Jesus then explained to the crowds listening that regardless of whether or not a woman had committed adultery, for a man to divorce her is to portray her as an adulteress who becomes an adulteress if she remarries. In addition, Jesus points out that the person who marries a divorced woman, regardless for the reasons for the divorce, commits adultery. Jesus point is that both the divorced wife and her new husband are guilty of adultery. Jesus point is that everyone in this scenario is guilty of adultery.

Jesus here is taking an external commandment and is internalizing the true meaning of that commandment. Jesus here is revealing the true intent of this commandment as given by God. But this morning, what if Jesus is making a greater point than the issue of divorce? What if Jesus is using the issue of divorce as an opening illustration to address an even deeper spiritual issue? And if that is the case, if Jesus is using the issue of divorce as an opening illustration to address an even deeper spiritual issue, then what is the deeper spiritual issue? We see Jesus reveal the deeper spiritual issue in Matthew 5:33:

 "Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.'

Here we see Jesus continue His sermon by quickly moving from the issue of divorce by quoting from two different sections of two different letters that are preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament of the Bible. First, Jesus quoted from Leviticus 19:12 “You shall not make false vows. Jesus then quoted from Numbers 30:2 “but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord”.

When the Lord commanded the Jewish people “You shall not make false vows” this command refers to failing to do what was promised under a vow or an oath. Now a vow, or an oath, was a voluntary promise that one made to another, that once made was binding. The Lord commanded the Jewish people to make sure that they did not fail to keep a promise or commitment that they had voluntarily made.

Instead, the Lord commanded the Jewish people to fulfill your vows to the Lord. In other words, the Lord commanded the Jewish people to make sure that they kept the obligation that they had made to keep any promise or vow that they had made. Again, for those in the crowd listening to Jesus sermon, no one would be surprised at Jesus words here. For those in the crowd listening to Jesus sermon, no one would disagree with Jesus words here. For the Jewish people it was a common and accepted principle that a person who engaged in failed to do what was promised would certainly be guilty of breaking this commandment. However, once again, what the crowds listening to Jesus were not prepared for was what Jesus had to say next. We see what Jesus said next in verse 34-37:

 "But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. ³⁶ "Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ "But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes ' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil.

Now to fully understand what Jesus is getting at here, we first need to understand some things about the culture of Jesus day. In the culture of Jesus day, when a person made a vow or an oath, they would often invoke God as the guarantor of their word. We see this happen on occasion today, don’t we? Isn’t this what we are doing when we say: “I swear to God”? In addition, to break an oath or a vow after invoking God was to misuse and profane, or disrespect, God’s name.

As a result, the Jewish people of Jesus day, just like today, developed a system of innocuous substitutes for the name of God instead of the name of God. Jesus lists three of those here: by Heaven, by the earth, or by Jerusalem. In addition, Jesus lists another common substitute, which was by your head. Jesus here is explaining to the crowds listening, and to us today, that a person should make no oath at all.

Jesus then exposed the ridiculous nature of using such innocuous substitutes for the name of God instead of the name of God by explaining that Heaven, earth and Jerusalem are inseparably linked with God. Heaven, earth, and Jerusalem are inseparably linked to God as they are all places where God dwells and are His creation and His possession.  Jesus also exposed the ridiculous nature of using such innocuous substitutes as your head instead of the name of God by explaining that not only are we His creation, but we have no power over the color of our hair. While we may try to control the color of the hair we have with dye, the reality is that it is God who determines to color of hair since He is the Creator and sustainer of all things.

Jesus here is exposing the reality that all such oaths are superficial and irreverent to God. All such oaths are superficial and irreverent to God because God requires truthfulness. And because of that reality, Jesus, in verse 37, states “But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes ' or 'No, no'; anything beyond these is of evil.” Now if Jesus was giving this sermon in 2017, this phrase would have sounded something like this: “But let your words be your word. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Anything that goes beyond a simple yes or no is evil.”

 Jesus point is that our word should be so trustworthy that oaths are unnecessary. Jesus point is that God’s expectation is that people are so trustworthy in keeping their vows and promises that oaths are unnecessary. Once again Jesus is addressing the temptation that we all face, which is to look at the message and teachings of the letters in the Bible as though they simply address external behavior. Jesus here is addressing the temptation that we all face, which is to make our lists and charts for what we believe is spiritual and what we believe meets God’s standard of obedience, while missing the reality is that our lists and standard looks nothing at all like God’s standard. Jesus here is taking an external commandment and is internalizing the true meaning of that commandment. Jesus here is revealing the true intent of this commandment as given by God.

And it is here that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the true nature of what it means to obey the message and teachings of Jesus and the true nature of a lifestyle that is living a right relationship with Jesus.  And that timeless truth is this: We misrepresent God’s promises when we fail to keep our promises.

You see, once again, Jesus is confronting us with the timeless reality that our words and our actions are the overflow from what is going on inside of our hearts. And because of that reality, we are guilty of misrepresenting God’s promises when we fail to keep our promises. We are guilty of misrepresenting God’s promises when we fail to keep the promises that we make in marriage. We are guilty of misrepresenting God’s promises when we fail to keep the promises we make in marriage because marriage is designed to be a word picture to the world around us of the eternal covenant relationship that Jesus has with His followers. And because of that reality divorce mars and misrepresents God’s promise and God’s covenant commitment that He makes to His followers.

We are guilty of misrepresenting God’s promises when we fail to keep a promise or commitment that we have voluntarily made. We are guilty of misrepresenting God’s promises when we break a promise after invoking God so as to disrespect God’s name. We are guilty of misrepresenting God’s promises when we develop and use a system of innocuous substitutes for the name of God instead of the name of God so as to try to avoid any consequences from God when we fail to keep our promises. And we are guilty of misrepresenting God’s promises when we lack the ability to be so trustworthy that oaths are unnecessary.

So, with that in mind, here is a question to consider: Do you represent God’s promises by keeping your promises? Are you a person who says what you mean and mean what you say? Are you a person of your word who is true to your word? Are you so trustworthy in your word that oaths and vows are unnecessary? Are you a promise maker and a promise keeper?

Because, as Jesus points out, we misrepresent God’s promises when we fail to keep our promises. We misrepresent God’s promises when we fail to keep our promises because Jesus is not simply concerned with our external behavior.

We are guilty because at the end of the day Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that eventually what is in the heart will spill out. Human history has shown us that when we fail to keep our promises, we misrepresent God in a way that will ultimately spill out into other aspects of our lives and in a way that will hinder our ability to be a part of God’s kingdom mission in the world…

Some difficult words from Jesus on a difficult subject...

At the church where I serve, we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Jesus uncut. During this series, we are spending our time together looking at perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus ever preached, which is referred to as the Sermon on the Mount. During this series, we are going to see Jesus reveal the true nature of what God demands of humanity in order to experience a right relationship with Him and what it truly means to obey the message and teachings of the letters that make up the Bible. And during this series, as we see Jesus uncut, our hope and prayer is that God would move by the power of the Holy Spirit in a way that enables us to wrap our heads, hearts, and hands around the lifestyle that Jesus calls us to live as one who is living in a right relationship with Him. 

This week, I would like for us to spend our time together picking up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this famous sermon that Jesus preached, called the Sermon on the Mount, which is recorded for us in a section of an account of Jesus life in the Bible called the gospel of Matthew, we are going to discover another timeless truth from Jesus uncut. So, let’s discover that timeless truth together, beginning in Matthew 5:31:

"It was said, 'WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE';

As Matthew continues to give us a front row seat to this famous sermon that Jesus preached, we see Jesus quote from a section of a letter that has been preserved and recorded for us in the Old Testament called the book of Deuteronomy. However, to fully understand why Jesus would quote this section of the book of Deuteronomy, we first need to understand something about what was happening in the culture of Jesus day and the context in which the book of Deuteronomy was written.

In Deuteronomy 24:1-4, we see the Lord, through Moses, address the issue of divorce that had begun to occur among the Jewish people. You see, during the time in which the book of Deuteronomy was written, as it was during Jesus day, divorce was purely a male prerogative. During the time in which the book of Deuteronomy was written, as it was during Jesus day, a divorce did not require a legal hearing. Instead, a divorce was simply the husband’s decision.

During the time in which the book of Deuteronomy was written, as it was during Jesus day, Jewish law made no provision for a woman to initiate a divorce and a woman had virtually no say in any divorce. In addition, during the time in which the book of Deuteronomy was written, as it was during Jesus day, women did not have the economic opportunities that they have today and were far more dependent on men for financial support and for survival.

Thus, if a woman found herself being divorced, her only options were to return to her parent’s home, become the husband of another man, or live in poverty. And because of the cultural context during the time in which the book of Deuteronomy was written, as it was during Jesus day; and because of the divorces that were occurring during the time in which the book of Deuteronomy was written, as it was during Jesus day, the Lord addressed the issue of divorce in Deuteronomy 24:1-4.

While Jesus only quoted a section of these verses, the Jewish people listening to Jesus would have been familiar with the entire passage. Let’s look at the entire passage together, beginning in Deuteronomy 24:1-4:

"When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, ² and she leaves his house and goes and becomes another man's wife, ³ and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, ⁴ then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

Here we see the God explain to the Jewish people that since they were already getting divorces, which went against God’s design for marriage, which is a covenant relationship between one man and one woman for one lifetime, then this was how they were to handle the issue of divorce. The Lord explained that if a man decided to divorce a woman, he was to write out a certificate of divorce to give to her.

This certificate of divorce was designed to protect the woman from any additional legal action against her by her former husband. The former husband could not accuse her of committing adultery if she was to be remarried, because he was the one who instituted the divorce. The Lord then explained that if the woman who was divorced remarried another man, and her second husband either divorced her or died, the first husband could not remarry her.

However, did you notice why the Lord said she could not remarry her first husband? The Lord explained that she could not remarry her first husband because she has been defiled. The word defiled was used in the language that this letter was originally written in to describe what happened when adultery occurred.

You see, the Lord viewed the woman’s remarriage after the first divorce as being similar to adultery in that the woman would be engaged in sexual activity with someone other than her first husband. So, if the woman remarried a man and then the second husband either divorced her or died, the first husband could not remarry her because he would be committing adultery with her, as she had entered into a marriage relationship with another man.

Thus, the Lord was establishing restrictions on the already existing practice of divorce that was occurring among the Jewish people so that divorce would not become too easy and abused so as to create a legalized form of adultery. However, the Jewish people of Jesus day had twisted and manipulated the Lord’s words through Moses in such a way that made it easy for people to get a divorce.

The Jewish people of Jesus day did what we all have a tendency to do, which is to only quote a part of what the message and teachings of Jesus have to say in order to justify behavior that may go against what the message and teachings of Jesus have to say. Thus, the Jewish people would only quote the first part of the passage in order to justify getting a divorce for any number of reasons.

Now for those in the crowd listening to Jesus sermon, no one would be surprised at Jesus words here because they had heard this phrase used in order to justify divorce. For those in the crowd listening to Jesus sermon, no one would disagree with Jesus words here because they had heard this phrase used in order to justify divorce.

For the Jewish people it was a common and accepted principle of the day that people would use this phrase to justify getting a divorce. However, what the crowds listening to Jesus were not prepared for was what Jesus had to say next. We see what Jesus said next in verse 32:

but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Now to fully understand the impact and weight of Jesus words here, we first need to understand what Jesus means when He uses the phrase “except for the reason of unchastity”. when Jesus uses the word unchastity here, this word is used to describe any unlawful sexual activity that goes against God’s design for sexuality, which is sexual activity between one man and one woman for one lifetime in a covenant marriage relationship.

And so often we focus on this little phrase, which is known in church mumbo jumbo talk as the exception clause, to be able to justify getting a divorce. However, this phrase is not the point that Jesus is trying to make here. Jesus point is not when someone is able to get a divorce. Instead, Jesus point is that regardless of whether or not a woman had committed adultery, for a man to divorce her is to portray her as an adulteress who becomes an adulteress if she remarries.

In addition, Jesus points out that the person who marries a divorced woman, regardless for the reasons for the divorce, commits adultery. Jesus point is that both the divorced wife and her new husband are guilty of adultery. Jesus point is that everyone in this scenario is guilty of adultery.

Now I want us to take a minute and imagine ourselves in the crowd listening the Jesus words. Can you imagine what the response must have been like? Can you imagine the body language? The facial expressions? Can you imagine the pushback?

Maybe you find yourself pushing back. Maybe you are wondering, questioning, or even challenging Jesus words here. If we could have a conversation out at the courtyard coffeehouse, the conversation would sound something like this: “Really? Does Jesus actually think that people are guilty of adultery if they get divorced and remarry? Does Jesus actually think that a person who marries a divorced person is guilty of adultery? So, what is Jesus point here?”

If that question or pushback is running through your mind, I want to let you know that those are fair questions. And my response to that question and pushback is this: Once again, Jesus here is taking an external commandment and is internalizing the true meaning of that commandment. Jesus here is revealing the true intent of this commandment as given by God.

But what if Jesus is making a greater point than the issue of divorce? What if Jesus is using the issue of divorce as an opening illustration to address an even deeper spiritual issue? And if that is the case, if Jesus is using the issue of divorce as an opening illustration to address an even deeper spiritual issue, then what is the deeper spiritual issue?

Friday, we will see Jesus reveal the deeper spiritual issue…

The seriousness of sexual selfishness...

This week we are looking at a part of perhaps the most famous sermon that Jesus preached, which we know today as the Sermon on the Mount. Tuesday, we looked on as Jesus proclaimed in Matthew 5:27-28 "You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Jesus statement, if communicated in the language we use in our culture today, would have sounded something like this: You have heard that is was said “you shall not engage in sexual activity with someone other than your spouse, but I say to you that everyone who takes in the sight of someone else’s wife with a strong desire to have sex with her or whoever looks at a woman who is not your wife with a strong desire to have sex with her has already had sex with her in their heart."

We discovered that Jesus is addressing the temptation that we all face, which is to look at the message and teachings of the letters in the Bible as though they simply address external behavior. Jesus here is addressing the temptation that we all face, which is to make our lists and charts for what we believe is spiritual and what we believe meets God’s standard of obedience, while missing the reality is that our lists and standard looks nothing at all like God’s standard. Jesus here is taking an external commandment and is revealing the internal realities that drove God's true intent behind this command. Jesus here is revealing what true obedience to this commandment as given by God would look like.

And it is here that we see Jesus reveal for us a timeless truth about the true nature of what it means to obey the message and teachings of Jesus and the true nature of a lifestyle that is living a right relationship with Jesus in that we are guilty of adultery when we desire sexually what we are not committed to relationally.

You see, once again, Jesus is confronting us with the timeless reality that our words and our actions are the overflow from what is going on inside of our hearts. And because of that reality, we are guilty of adultery when our heart desires something sexually that goes against God’s desires for our sexuality.

We are guilty of adultery because Jesus is not simply concerned with our external behavior. We are guilty because at the end of the day Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that eventually what is in the heart will spill out. Human history has shown us that when we desire something sexually in the heart, that desire will ultimately spill out into the sexual activity that occurs in a hotel room or a bedroom.

And because of that reality, as Jesus continues His sermon, we see Jesus reveal how we are to respond when what spills out of our heart reveals what is inside of our heart when it comes to desiring sexually what we are not committed to relationally. So, let’s look that response together, beginning in Matthew 5:29-30:

"If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰ "If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

In verse 29, Jesus makes a seemingly strong and shocking statement: “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you;” Now when Jesus uses the word stumble here, this word literally means to cause on to experience a downfall. Jesus here is basically saying “if your right eye causes you to selfishly rebel sexually, then tear it out and throw it away from you”. Jesus then explains that the reason why someone would take such seemingly strong action was due to the fact that it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

And if that was not strong and shocking enough, Jesus doubles down on His statement in verse 30: "If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” As we discovered last week, when Jesus refers to hell, he was pointing the crowds to a place called Gehenna. Now Gehenna was the place where the Jewish people of Jesus day believed that God would exercise His final judgment.

In other words, Jesus is explaining that it would be better for a person to lose the part of their body that was causing them to selfishly rebel against God sexually and still be able to live in relationship with God than have all of the parts of their body, only to be in a position where they could be judged worthy of the eternal punishment that one would experience from God in Hell. Now your natural reaction to Jesus statement here is “Dave is Jesus serious here? I mean, you don’t actually believe that Jesus is literally saying that we should pluck out our eyes or chop off our hands in they cause us to rebel against God. I know that there are some legal systems that do such things, but are you saying that Jesus would want us to do such a thing?”

 So is Jesus literally saying that we should cut out our eyes or chop off our hands if they cause us to rebel against God? The answer to that question is a resounding no. And there are two reasons why the answer is no. First off, just because a person only has one eye, that doesn’t mean that a person couldn’t still commit adultery with their other eye. Just because a person only has one arm, that doesn’t mean that a person couldn’t still commit adultery with their other arm.

Second, Jesus has just explained that we are guilty of adultery when we desire something sexually that we are not committed to relationally. And that desire for something sexually for something that we are not committed to relationally has nothing to do with one’s eyes or hands; that desire has everything to do with one’s heart. You see, Jesus is not being literal here.

Instead, Jesus is using an exaggerated metaphor to reveal the seriousness of selfishness and rebellion in the area of sexuality and its ability to cause people to reject the message and teachings of Jesus and experience salvation. You see, the area of sexuality is the area where people are most likely to either compromise or totally reject the message and teachings of Jesus.

The message and teachings of Jesus on sexuality is often pointed to as a reason why people reject the message and teachings of Jesus as a whole. And the message and teachings of Jesus on sexuality is often rationalized and justified away in a way that results in compromise by those who say they are followers of Jesus.

Jesus uses this exaggerated metaphor to reveal the reality that anything that would cause someone to fail to follow Jesus and live in a right relationship with Jesus must be removed or eliminated at all costs. Jesus uses this exaggerated metaphor to reveal the reality that the danger of selfishness, rebellion and sin, especially selfish rebellion in the sexual arena, requires drastic action to avoid such selfishness, rebellion, and sin.

You see, how we handle our bodies in the sexual arena really matters to Jesus because, at the end of the day, Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition. Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that eventually what is in the heart will spill out. And, as Jesus points out in this part of His famous sermon, we are guilty of adultery when we desire sexually what we are not committed to relationally.

So  here is a question to consider: What do the desires of your heart reveal about how you are handing your sexuality? Are you guilty of desiring something sexually that goes against God’s desires for our sexuality?

Are you guilty of undressing with your eyes someone who walks by who you are not committed to relationally in marriage? Are you guilty of watching online porn to satisfy your sexual desires with someone on a screen who you are not committed to relationally in marriage? Are you guilty participating in sexting or snapchat images of others who we are not committed to relationally in marriage? Are you guilty of using tinder as a means to satisfy your sexual desires with someone who you are not committed to relationally in marriage?

Because, as Jesus points out, if that is the case, we are guilty of adultery.  We are guilty of adultery because Jesus is not simply concerned with our external behavior. We are guilty because at the end of the day Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition.

Jesus is concerned with our internal heart condition because Jesus knows, and human history has shown, that eventually what is in the heart will spill out. Human history has shown us that when we desire something sexually in the heart, that desire will ultimately spill out into the sexual activity that occurs in a hotel room or a bedroom...