Gospel Lesson: Matthew 5: 21-37
21"You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. 23So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. 25Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. 27"You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. 31"It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. 33"Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
As I read the appointed texts for today, especially that wonderful gospel lesson from the book of Matthew, I decided I had a few options of dealing with the difficulty of Jesus’ teachings.
#1. I could simply ignore the Gospel lesson and preach on either the first or the second lesson. Both of them offered some very good sermon material, and neither one is particularly controversial. I could have done this, but I decided this wasn’t being very faithful, and I thought it was simply avoiding the issues raised by Jesus.
Option #2: Explain away what Jesus says in the Gospel lesson. Believe me, I’ve been exposed to all types of biblical criticism and methodologies which open up a whole lot of avenues to soften what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 5. I could use them to make everyone feel pretty secure that Jesus really isn’t being as harsh as he seems in these verses. But, the more I thought about such a tact, the more I realized I was probably avoiding the issue once again.
So, I decided for option number 3. The same option a batter exercises when he is facing a pitcher who throws a 100 mile an hour fast ball. Walk up to the plate, take your best swing, and hope for the best.
It’s safe to say, Jesus doesn’t hold any punches back with these four teachings. He is in your face, and dare I say it, He’s nasty. When I was in college, I took a course on Judaism. The professor explained to us the Jewish concept of sin. "It’s not a sin unless you actually act on it," he shared with us. "It doesn’t matter what you think," my professor continued. "It matters what you do." This is important to understand in regards to what Jesus says in these verses.
For the common, everyday Jew that Jesus is speaking do, Jesus’ words would have been revolutionary. Whereas the Pharisees and religious teachers taught that one’s thoughts were irrelevant, Jesus puts thought on a par with action.
For instance, the Pharisees were awfully good about leading on that they were holy and blameless. They followed the Jewish law. They didn’t kill. They didn’t steal. They didn’t commit adultery. They did not swear by God’s name. They ritually washed their hands, ate the right foods, and didn’t work on the Sabbath like some others. Of course, their actions led them to believe they were righteous. They thought since they didn’t sin like common everyday folks, they had a special relationship with God. They believed God favored them above anyone else.
Jesus quickly and demonstrably puts all of that to rest with four simple teachings. If you think you are righteous because you don’t commit murder, I tell you that if you harbor anger in your heart, you are liable to judgement. And if you think you haven’t committed adultery by lying with a woman, I tell you that if you even think about sleeping with another, you commit adultery. If you divorce and get remarried, you commit sin. And finally, if you swear any type of oath, what-so-ever, you are in the wrong. In the space of 17 verses, Jesus levels the playing field. In the space of 17 verses, Jesus shows there is not a single person who is above the law. In the space of 17 verses, Jesus shows that every single person He is talking to is in the same boat. All of them are sinners. Just because you haven’t acted on something, your thoughts count as well.
I am sure this made folks both glad and sad at the same time. I’m sure it gladdened their hearts to hear someone stand up to the holier than thou attitude of the Pharisees. I’m sure it made their hearts glad to hear that the Pharisees and religious leaders were just like them–sinners all. But I am also sure that it made them scratch their heads. I’m sure it made them wonder, "Then who will be saved?" If everyone stands condemned by what we do or even what we think, where is the hope?
It’s a fair question that all of us need to answer this morning. It’s a fair question that each and every one of us need to wrestle with as we sit in our pews and hear Jesus’ words because those words aren’t just for those people sitting on that hillside 2000 years ago, they are for us as well.
And how many of you think you are righteous after hearing them? How many of you have been angry at family members, friends, or fellow church members? How many of you have ever looked at a member of the opposite sex and had thoughts which are better left unspoken? Who of us in this room today hasn’t been affected by divorce either ourselves or a family member? Who of us hasn’t sworn to uphold a belief or a promised action? Who of us can consider ourselves blameless with just the four teachings that Jesus presents in these 17 verses? If you consider yourself blameless, please stand up.
Yeah, I’m sitting down too now. I can’t stand before you because I’ve broken three out of those four teachings Jesus has this morning. I don’t notice anyone else standing either, so if you are like me. If you sit here condemned this morning. If you find yourself judged by Jesus’ words, please grab that red book that you find in your pew in front of you. You know, the one marked, "B-I-B-L-E". It’s a pretty important book.
If you sit here this morning condemned by Jesus words, turn with me in that Bible to Romans chapter 3. That’s in the New Testament, folks. It’s on page ___ in the back section of the Bible. I want you to scan down to verse 19 and read with me. Yes, let’s read verses 19 through 24 together, out loud.
19Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. 20For "no human being will be justified in his sight" by deeds prescribed by the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. 21But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Go back and read verses 23 and 24 again out loud, "23since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
Now verse 24 out loud, "They are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
Jesus purposely levels the playing field for all of us, because we need to remember where we stand. We need to remember that we have no business thinking we are any holier than anyone else. We have no business spouting off how good we might be morally or ethically or otherwise. We all are in the same boat because we are all under the condemnation of sin AND, and let me emphasize that AND we are all justified only by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing else. There is nothing else we can do to earn our place with God. It’s solely a gift given to us through grace.
And so, how does that leave us? I believe it gives us a sense of humility and joy. Humility in dealing with others because they are just like us, and joy because we have been given something we didn’t deserve. Therefore, we can now live our lives with our heads held high knowing that God loves us unceasingly, and yet, we live without looking down our noses at anyone for we know that none of us are righteous on our own. Amen.
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