Matthew 5: 27-48, The Sermon on the Mount, Part 2 (Morality From the Heart)

Jesus continues to contrast the behavior of citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and the accepted religious teachings of his day.

Matt 5:27-32
"You have heard that it was said, `Do not commit adultery.'  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body  than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your  body than for your whole body to go into hell.

"It has been said, `Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

The quote in verse 27 is from Exodus 20:14; the quote in verse 31 is from  Deuteronomy 24:1.

We humans rationalize our thoughts and actions by drawing artificial lines that we claim not to cross. But if we fantasize about sex with someone, but we don't act it out, we may indeed avoid external consequences, but we are making decisions that effect who we are and what desires we cater to.

Matt 5:33-37
"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long  ago, `Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for  it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem,  for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one  hair white or black.

Simply let your `Yes' be `Yes,' and your `No,' `No';  anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

"You have heard it said" is an introduction to an past instruction that has now been defeated by human legalism and rationalization.  In this case, Jesus speaks of promises and oaths and returns to a simple principle, Be Honest.  If you mean Yes then just say it; don't say it if you don't mean it.  (The very emphasis on an oath indicates that there are times when one is dishonest....)

Matt 5:38-42
"You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth  for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone  strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him  have your cloak as well. 

If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.  Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

The quotes in verse 38 are from Exodus 21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21.

I struggle this submissiveness, but I understand that in most cases we humans love to escalate conflict instead of de-escalate it.  If that Roman soldier says, "You!  Carry my load for a mile!" what response would there be if we smiled and said, "Sure!  Indeed, may I carry it for two miles?"  How strange.  How unworldly.

Matt 5:43-47
"You have heard that it was said, `Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'  But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?  Are not even the tax collectors doing that  And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans 

do that?

The quote in verse 43 is from Leviticus 19:18.

Jesus removes the calculations from "love".  Most of us practice a basic computation: "I love those who reward my love; I punish those who don't."  But the citizens of Heaven have a different view....

From the NIV Footnotes:  in verse 44 some late manuscripts add "bless those who curse you,  do good to those who hate you", making clear the break from the standard earthly calculus.

Matt 5:48
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

This is a rather strong, demanding finish to these passages on living righteously!  These instruction are indeed unworldly, distinct from the culture in which we are immersed.

More online resources for Matthew

On Sundays we relax a bit from this blog, catching up on our readings or briefly summarizing where we have been or where we are going.  Today I want to note a few more online resources.

The Blue Letter Bible has a study guide on Matthew.  It begins here.

Bob Utley, a pastor out of East Texas (where I'm located now) has a nice overview of various passages from the Bible.  Here is his introduction to the Sermon on the Mount.  Bob's accent meets the stereotype of the southern televangelist, but his understanding and communication of bible passages is much better than that.

On a different direction, here is the Wikipedia page on the Renaissance painting of Jesus calling the tax collector, Matthew, to be his follower.  The gospels were the source for much of medieval and Renaissance art.

While searching Youtube, I found a four hour (!!) adaptation of Matthew as film. Personally this is not for me (I'd rather read the whole book – in the KJV – than watch this slow moving film!) but I it shows the things one can try to do with Bible Study.

Tomorrow we return to Matthew, looking at the "transfiguration" which appears in chapter 17.

The Five Discourses of Matthew

On Sundays we will "rest" from our reading of New Testament chapters and maybe catch up on past readings or take a moment to summarize some topics we are reading at this time.  Since we are currently in The Gospel of Matthew, it might be good to look at the structure of the body of that book.

The Gospel of Matthew has five significant teaching passages, in which Jesus gives a series of talks on a particular theme.  These five passages are sometimes called the Five Discourses of Matthew.

Matthew makes no claim to put his recorded events in chronological order.  It is likely that Jesus spoke these teachings numerous times throughout his three year ministry, in various places and in different arrangements.

The most well-known and most significant discourse is the Sermon on the Mount, in chapters 5 to 7 of the gospel of Matthew. In this teaching passage, Jesus spells out citizenship in the kingdom of heaven.  Beginning with the Beatitudes, he inverts the standard understanding of power, emphasizing compassion, mercy, peacemaking and humility.  Part way through the sermon, he teaches the disciples to pray; that passage is now called The Lord's Prayer and now recited in thousands of churches every week.

In Matthew 10, Jesus gives instructions to his disciples on how they are to begin their ministry.  This is sometimes called the Missionary Discourse or the Little Commission (in contrast to the Great Commission.)

In Matthew 13, Jesus publicly teaches about the kingdom of heaven in a series of parables and then privately explains one of the parables to the disciples and presents several more.  These two sections, one public, one private, have been collectively called the Parabolic Discourse.  (As a mathematician I might think that a "parabolic discourse" has something to do with conic sections, but it does not ... sigh.)

In Matthew 18, Jesus gives several parables about the Kingdom of Heaven, sometimes called the Discourse on the Church.

In Matthew 23-25, beginning on the Mount of Olives at the very end of his ministry, Jesus gives several teachings on the "end times".  This is the Olivet Discourse.

Tomorrow we return to chapter 12 and Jesus's disputes with the Pharisees and religious teachers.

Matthew 7, The Sermon on the Mount, Part 5 (Kingdom Wisdom)

Jesus concludes his sermon on "the mount" (or hillside), laying out the actions of citizenship in his kingdom. This section is a series of short statements and proverbs, much in keeping with Old Testament wisdom literature (Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes.)

Matt 7:1-5
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Jesus routinely uses vivid metaphors, colorful "word pictures" to make his point.  Here he takes the common experience of a painful dusty speck in one's eye and suggests that the judgmental individual is concentrating on a speck ignoring an large log embedded in their own eye!  We laugh at the image and each of us can quickly imagine other people with this problem!

Matt 7:6
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

This proverb is rarely quoted, rarely used, but really quite straightforward.  It seems to me we often ignore it?

Matt 7:7-11
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in  heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

A strong statement about God's eagerness to grant answers!

Matt 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

This has come down to us as the "golden rule".

Matt 7:13-14
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Following God is not automatic or natural. It requires serious contemplation.

Matt7:15-20
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

This reflects a general Old Testament test for evaluating prophetic voices.  Of course, like all fruit, it takes time....

Matt 7:21-23
"Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  

Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'

Then I will tell them plainly, `I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

Especially the "religious" need to be held to these tests!  Jesus was critical of the religious leaders and this takes aim at them.

Matt 7:24-27
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

As we seek wisdom, we need a good foundation.  Jesus claims that his words are a place to start.

Matt 7:28-29
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

And so the word continues to spread about this new prophet.