Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 1 of 8. Up and Down The Mountain of Commandment Selections from Matthew 5-7

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1 Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 1 of 8 Up and Down The Mountain of Commandment Selections from Matthew 5-7 INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES The rugged Alps of Europe. The Grand Tetons. The gentle mountains rising out of England s Lake District, the Pinackleshell Volcanoes in Guatemala, craigy Mount Kenya, the majestic Cascades, the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, the dramatic Rockies, the Holy Land s infamous Masada, the now famous mountains surrounding Qumran, the awesome Smokies, most recently the sand capped ridges of the Shenandoah range and our own familiar, but oh so beautiful, Blue Ridge Mountains. I have seen and even been to some of the most remarkable mountaintops in the world. And each time, the view took my breath away. I think the same thing is true about the mountaintops we can visit in Holy Scripture. This summer, we are doing what so many people do during this season of vacation. We are traveling traveling up and down. We are going up to the mountains and down to the beach, and our travel guide is the Holy Scripture. Already we have seen Jesus calm a storm, had breakfast with the resurrected Lord on the beach, and traveled to the mountaintops of worship and call. Today we are making our way to the high peak of commandment. Next week, we will be back at the coast. My hope is that, as we travel, you too may find the views quite beautiful, see something clearly that you have never seen before, and maybe maybe even find yourself catching your breath along the way. INTRO TO SERMON Preparing for the journey to this particular mountaintop, I was reminded of an old fable passed down through the generations. An elderly man was traveling with a boy and a donkey. As they walked through a village, the old man was leading the donkey and the boy was walking behind. But the townspeople ridiculed the man saying he was a fool for not riding. So, to please those people, the old man climbed up on the donkey s back. When they came to the next village, the people said the old man was selfish to let the child walk while he enjoyed the ride. So, to please those people, the old man got off and put the boy on the donkey s back. In the third village, the people accused the child of being lazy for making the old man walk. To please those people, both the man and the boy got on the donkey to ride. In the fourth village, the people were indignant at the cruel

2 Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 2 of 8 treatment of the donkey because he was forced to carry the weight of two people. When last seen, the frustrated man was carrying the donkey down the road and the boy was walking behind. Now, we will of course smile at such a silly story but this fable makes a very important point. We can t please everybody and when we try, well, we end up carrying a heavy burden. Well-meaning Christians family, teachers, even preachers will offer us advice along the way, much of it quite valuable. But, when we try to do everything others want us to do, we can easily become frustrated and confused. That s why we need to remember that the ONE we must please above all others is the Lord Jesus Christ. And, friends, we do that by obeying His teachings and His commandments. Of course, we cannot obey them IF we do not know them. Hence the importance of today s mountaintop. I ve called it Commandment, but this mountain is known by other names, too: the Mountaintop of Law, of Teaching. It shows up again and again in the pages of Scripture like here in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5. Matthew 5:1-2 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them. Did you see what happened there? When Jesus wanted to teach His disciples, where did He go? Up the mountain, and today, friends we are going up with Him. ECHO 10 COMMANDMENTS You know, you can t really sit on this mountain with Jesus, without hearing an echo from a mountain across the way. Matthew is very careful to set Jesus teaching in a context that would immediately bring to the mind another mountaintop of teaching, of law, of commandment. Matthew wants to remind us of when the law was first given to Moses and a band of wandering slaves. You see, we cannot really understand Matthew s Mountaintop of Commandment without the context of old Mt. Sinai. While on top of this mountain, Moses receives what we call the Ten Commandments. Those are recorded for us in Exodus 20. I won t take the time this morning to read the whole chapter, but I do want to make a few general comments. Reflecting upon the Ten Commandments (the heart of the Jewish law), I was struck by two things. First, I find it interesting that there is no hierarchal distinction made among them. They are all presented as though equally important

3 Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 3 of 8 to God. Second, I was struck by how we God s people have, through the years, done just the opposite. We have prioritized some of the commandments and pretty much come to ignore the others. As the old saying goes: Everybody looks for different things when they read the Ten Commandments. Some look for divine guidance, some look for a code to live by but most of us are just looking for loopholes. Seems to me that such an attitude is proof that we have the wrong understanding of God s law. Remember, friends, God s motivation is always Love. These commandments were never intended to be a burden. Far from it. They are in fact, a gift of love, given by God to a people whom He loved, people He had already saved. Obedience to these laws was never meant to be a way to earn salvation; obedience was instead, evidence of salvation. It is no accident that in Exodus, story and law are woven together. God s law comes out of a relationship that already existed between God and His people. The Israelites had already been chosen. They had already been saved. God s gift of the law was yet one more sign of God s graciousness and love. The God who had defeated chaos to order nature would now take on the chaos of life at the social level as well. Don t you see? The Law is intended to do just that order our relationships with God and with each other. Without law, we see it time and time again chaos wins. Terrence Fretheim, an Old Testament theologian, puts it this way: The law is a compass for wandering in the wilderness. Beloved, in case you haven t noticed, look around you; we are still wandering in the wilderness. Our world still needs a compass. Years ago I heard about a study I ll bet some of you, especially the educators, will remember this too. A group of children were taken to play in a playground without a fence and then to a similar playground with a fence. Here s what happened. When there was no fence, the children huddled around their teachers afraid to fully explore the playground. And when there was a fence, the children felt more comfortable and safe and moved all around the playground with confidence. Educators have referred to this study through the years to point out that kids need boundaries. So do adults. Real freedom comes from knowing where the danger begins. And Beloved, the Law is God s fence for His children. Now when we understand law and commandment that way as a compass that guides, as a fence that protects we understand obedience differently too. Our obedience is in no way based on fear, far from it. God has saved us in the past. God can be trusted now. Even when we don t fully understand the law, we can still be sure that based on our past experience, God intends it for our good.

4 Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 4 of 8 We should see this same attitude toward obedience when it comes to parents and children, at least that s the ideal. I have to admit that when I was raising my boys, I often felt like the exasperated mom who had a particularly trying day with her young son. Finally she flung up her hands and shouted, All right Billy. Do anything you darn well please! Now let me see you disobey THAT. But the loving parent does not give up so easily. You will brush your teeth, you will go to church, you will do you homework, you will help around the house, you will be polite, you will eat healthy food Why? Because I say so? Of course not because all those things are good for you. They will make your life better. Obey me because you know I love you and that I want what is best for you. And that, Beloved, is exactly why you and I should obey God. Obedience is the greatest witness we have not to what God will do but to what God has already done. JESUS ON MOUNTAINTOP Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments provide a context for the passage we are using from Matthew. His teaching is recorded for us there in chapters 5-7. It s called the Sermon on the Mount though most scholars agree that this teaching was not delivered all at one time but is instead Matthew s summary. It begins with the well-known Beatitudes. But today, I want to focus on the material that follows. You see, at this point, Jesus and His followers were under attack for what others thought was a disregard for the Law. Violating the Sabbath, being lax about fasting, not keeping the rituals of the faith, associating with sinners. All of these things were contrary to the way well-intentioned religious folks tried to live. Jesus refutes those charges. Matthew 5: Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, [c] not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks [d] one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. But here comes the catch:

5 Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 5 of 8 Matthew 5:20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And with those words, Jesus introduces a new way of understanding the laws that came to Moses on Mt. Sinai so many years before. Jesus will require even more. For the next 27 verses, Jesus states one commandment after another and then expands on it with the recurring phrases: You have heard it said but I say to you. Don t miss the radical nature of Jesus actions and words, folks. Jesus is actually assuming the authority to contradict and expand the requirements of the law. Prophets began their teaching with the phrase, Thus says the Lord. Rabbis began with, There is a teaching that. But Jesus? Well Jesus skips all that and takes responsibility for His own teaching. But I say, but I say, but I say. It s a wonder he was not crucified right then and there. Look friend, if you thought the Ten Commandments were tough, get ready! Wait until you see what Jesus does. In every case, Jesus pushes beyond the outward act to the inward attitude. According to Jesus, God judges us not only for what we do but also for what we are. The old Law focused entirely on outward action but Jesus says that God is every bit as interested in our inner thoughts and desires. There are some important implications here that we need to recognize and heed: 1. This means that only God can judge a person because only God can see the heart. Many people viewed by society even Christian society as good will absolutely collapse before the penetrating eyes of God. 2. Since we cannot possibly achieve this new standard on our own, we must fall back on Jesus and God s grace. Every now and then a business around here will change hands and a sign will appear outside, Under New Management. That s what has to happen to us. Jesus new approach to the Law means we can never succeed under out own management. We have to turn our life over to Him. That s what it really means to be a Christian.

6 Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 6 of 8 WHY? But why? Why should we heed these laws, given to Moses and expanded by Jesus? What s the real meaning for us? Thankfully Jesus Himself explains just a bit later: Matthew 7: Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. 25 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell and great was its fall! 28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. When Jesus [a] had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him When we traveled out West, I was curious upon seeing so many of the bridges with no water what so ever underneath. Massive bridges without even a trickle of water flowing below. Then later one of the park rangers explained. Though bone dry in the middle of the summer, at other times a torrent of water would pour through. Without the bridges, no road system could survive. That is the same picture Jesus is painting for us here, friends. The same was true in the Holy Land. Summer s pleasant sandy hollows could become winter s raging riverbed. People could easily be misled as to where to build their houses. I believe Jesus draws this illustration from His own experience and knowledge as a carpenter. Where you choose to build your house can make all the difference in how you survive the storms. And the same is true spiritually. Look, these teachings are of Jesus as the Rock. Those who choose to build their lives upon that Rock will not escape the storms but they will survive them. Those who ignore His teachings will be lost in the winds and the waters. That s the why and here s the how. To build our lives upon that Rock, we must do two things. First, Jesus says, we must listen. We need to listen and hear what Jesus says. The only way to do that is to read His teaching for yourself. Listening to good teachers and good preachers is just not enough. Listen to Jesus.

7 Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 7 of 8 To do that you must study the Bible. Secondly, we are called to DO to do what Jesus says to do. Knowledge has very little value until it is translated into action. We can know the teachings of Jesus perfectly, but until we live them, they will have no impact in and through our lives. Listen and Do. That is, in fact, what it means to obey. Again, the echo from Mount Sinai sounds in the distance. Obedience is to be understood as a response to God s gift of grace, not some effort to earn that grace. Jesus offers these commands to His followers with the same love that motivated God on Sinai. So that life might be better your life, my life, the lives of our children and grandchildren. So that we might survive the coming storms. CONCLUSION On the Mountaintop of Commandment, we discover the value of simple obedience. It s a virtue that I fear is in short supply. The lifeguard at the top of the waterslide tried to stop them but they pushed on by, ignoring the rules and the lifeguard s pleas to hold back. The high school seniors were on a pre-graduation trip. The call had come for them to head to the bus but instead of heeding the call, they rushed to the top of the slide determined to ride down together. They did not obey the chaperone calling for them to return to the bus. They did not obey the posted rules. They did not obey the desperate lifeguard. They chose disobedience and then they suffered the consequences of that choice. Many were hurt and one died. (CNN. June 3, Edition.cnn.com) Oh Beloved, don t you see? The same choice is being made all around us with perhaps less dramatic yet every bit as deadly consequences, but it doesn t have to be that way. With a little time spent on the Mountaintop called Commandment, you and I can discover the joy and security of obeying the one we trust not out of fear, but because of love. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

8 Up and Down/Mountaintop of Commandment Page 8 of 8 Life Application Questions: 1. Think for a moment about some of the mountaintops upon which you have been privileged to stand. Why was it easier to see so much from that vantage point? How did perspective change? Might the same thing happen if we spend some time on the mountaintops in Scripture? 2. How might our attitude toward the Ten Commandments change if we think of them as a compass given by God to help us navigate our lives successfully through life? 3. How might our attitude toward the Ten Commandments change if we think of them as a fence given by God to enable a sense of safety and security? 4. What is the difference between obeying out of fear and obeying out of love and trust? Which on describes you and your relationship to God and His commandments? 5. Jesus expands the demands made in the original commandments. Now God is looking at our inside behavior as well as out outside behavior. How do you feel about that? How do we actually change the way we feel and react on the inside?