Matthew 5E. Let s return to Jesus examples illustrating what true righteousness requires. But first let s not forget the big picture

Transcription

1 Let s return t Jesus examples illustrating what true righteusness requires But first let s nt frget the big picture Jesus s Sermn n the Munt is a gigantic resetting f Israel s understanding f what it takes t enter Heaven r the Kingdm Entering the Kingdm, Jesus has said, requires living a life that was even mre righteus than that f the Pharisees It required living accrding t the spirit f Gd s Law, nt merely fllwing the Pharisee s manmade ral law In the secnd half f this chapter, Jesus has been giving us examples f what this higher standard requires Last week we learned that the spirit behind "Thu shalt nt murder ges a lt deeper than nt taking anther persn s life The true intent f that law was t be lving t peple! And when Gd said thu shalt nt cmmit adultery, He didn t just mean dn t fl arund n yur spuse He meant stay faithful t yur wife with yur heart, mind, sul and strength dn t even let yur eyes stray! We still have fur mre examples in this chapter t study and as we examine them, we ll cntinue t see hw they refuted the Pharisees teaching But we ve already seen hw the Pharisees were perverting the Law fr persnal gain And we ve cvered the Mishnah s impact n leading peple astray S fr the final fur examples, I m ging t fcus mstly n the heart f each issue rather than n the Pharisaic cncern And I als want us t cnsider if we re thinking abut these issues like Pharisees t? That is are we guilty f setting aside the wrd f Gd and ignred Gd s heart n these matters 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 2! f! 15 While we pursuing ur wn rules in place f His? S let s begin with the first f these fur examples Matt. 5:31 It was said, WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE ; Matt. 5:32 but I say t yu that everyne wh divrces his wife, except fr the reasn f unchastity, makes her cmmit adultery; and whever marries a divrced wman cmmits adultery. S Jesus s third example cmpares the Pharisee s teaching n divrce with Gd s view f divrce frm the scriptures Let me begin by acknwledging divrce is a sensitive and emtinally charged issue Many f ur lives have been tuched by divrce And it s always a painful and ften embarrassing experience Nevertheless, it s imprtant we understand the Bible s perspective n this tpic and we will in time But in this chapter, Jesus is using divrce as an example n a larger pint divrce is nt His main pint n mre than murder r lust was Furthermre, Jesus returns t this tpic again later in this Gspel in chapter 19 And at that time Jesus will g int much greater detail n the subject S I will wait until then t address the subject f divrce in greater detail S fr nw we ll fcus n understanding Jesus pint in this example Jesus qutes frm the Mishnah ( it was said nt as it is written ) where it paraphrases Deuternmy 24 In that law Mses cmmanded that a man wh divrces his wife must send her away with a certificate f divrce But Jesus says that whever divrces his wife makes" her cmmit adultery 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 3! f! 15 T understand hw these tw statements relate, we need t appreciate the culture f Jesus day In the ancient east, wmen had n legal standing Generally speaking, they culdn t wn land r wn a business They culdn t testify in curt r enter int cntacts S a wman had n way t supprt herself in the culture Mrever, wmen generally didn t pssess sufficient upper bdy strength t handle the strenuus effrt required t wrk the land S a wman in Jesus day literally had n way t prvide fr herself thrugh labr Therefre, wmen relied n men t survive During the first part f her life, a yung girl lived under her father s rf depending n his supprt Later when she married she was supprted by her husband fr the rest f her life If she was widwed, she wuld mve in with a sn r brther-inlaw But if that wman s husband lst interest in her and kicked her ut f the huse, she faced a desperate situatin Nt nly was her marriage falling apart, but she was at risk f lsing her nly means f supprt She wuld be set ut f the huse with the clthes n her back and little else There wuld be n alimny r child supprt She wasn t ging t get a divrce settlement And generally speaking, she culdn t return t her father s huse since she was cnsidered the prperty f her husband And t make matters wrse, the wman was still cnsidered married Which meant that n ther man wuld cnsidering giving her shelter either 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 4! f! 15 A respectable man wuld never spent private time in the cmpany f a married wman, especially in his hme That man culd be accused f adultery Therefre, a wman abandned by her husband was literally withut hpe Unfrtunately, this happened cmmnly in ancient life Hard-hearted and cruel men abandned their wives rutinely simply because they tired f her r wanted smene else They left these pr wmen destitute and helpless withut a means f supprt Such a wman was in real danger f starvatin r abuse r death by expsure Her best chance fr survival was t depend n the mercy f strangers r family members, eking ut a meager life as a beggar The stry f Ruth and Nami is an example f such a situatin S t crrect this injustice, Gd said t Israel in Deuternmy 24:1 that if a man is determined t divrce his wife, he must give her a certificate f divrce The husband culdn t kick his wife ut f the huse with nthing He had t give her a certificate f divrce With a certificate f divrce, the wman had a reasnable chance f finding anther man t take pity n her and marry her Anther man culd take her as a wife withut fear f being charged with adultery But reading the law carefully, it s clear that Gd was nt apprving f the man s decisin t divrce his wife The Lrd was simply cmmanding the man t shw sme mercy t his victim Gd did nt intended Deut 24 t becme a license t engage in divrce and remarriage It s similar t the case f anther law 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 5! f! 15 Ex. 22:16 If a man seduces a virgin wh is nt engaged, and lies with her, he must pay a dwry fr her t be his wife. That law says that a man wh seduces a wman utside marriage, her must pay a dwry t the family and marry the girl he seduced Scripture is clear that having sex with a wman befre yu marry her is always a sin 100% f the time we call it frnicatin But in Ex 22 Gd addresses the aftermath f frnicatin because He knew sinful men were ging t sin in this way He bligated the man t make amends fr his sin by marrying the girl Obviusly, Ex 22:16 desn t mean Gd thinks it s k t engage in frnicatin Likewise, just because Gd made accmmdatin fr divrce desn t mean He apprves f it Nevertheless, the Pharisees had taken Deut 24 t be just that a license t divrce They assumed Gd wuldn t have made allwance fr a certificate f divrce if He didn t see need fr it at times S they set abut t define in the Mishnah the many reasns that justified a divrce Over the years the Pharisees invented a lng list f such reasns Nne f these reasns were fund in scripture itself, the rabbis simply imagined them The mst ridiculus f these rules stated that a husband was justified in divrcing his wife if she burned his sup With rules like that it s bvius that these men were simply lking fr any reasn they culd t end marriage But as silly as these rules seem t us, the Pharisees said they were equal t scripture because they were part f the ral law Irnically, their rules were suppsedly intended t limit divrce 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 6! f! 15 Yet because f thse rules, it became easier and easier fr men in Israel t d the very thing Gd said he hated And all the while they assumed Gd apprved f their behavir because the Pharisees said it was OK S nce again Jesus sets the recrd straight In v.32 Jesus says that despite Deut 24 and despite the Mishnah, everyne wh divrces his wife makes her cmmit adultery Given the backgrund I gave yu earlier, we can understand what Jesus means when He says a man makes his wife cmmit adultery By ending the marriage, the husband essentially frced his wife t seek shelter under anther man s rf S in that sense, the husband made her cmmit adultery because her nly ther ptin was starvatin But even mre challenging, Jesus says that when that next man marries the divrced wman, he t cmmits adultery That prbably shcked the crwd listening t Jesus Everyne in Jesus day assumed this new husband was in the clear because that wman came with that certificate f divrce But Jesus says that certificate didn t change the situatin frm Gd s pint f view That the certificate was simply intended t make the best f a bad situatin by preserving the life f the wman That certificate didn t actually end the first marriage vws it just gave the wman a chance fr survival Because if the chice is between the wman s death and adultery, adultery is the better f the tw But that desn t mean adultery stps begin adultery The husband s chice t divrce his wife was a sin and it led t a chain f sin by his wife and the next man S we culd summarize Jesus teaching simply by saying if yu want t please Gd, hnr yur marriage as a lifelng bnd 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 7! f! 15 As I might say t my kids ne wife per life, ne man is Gd s plan Nw yu prbably nticed Jesus mentins an exceptin in v.32 I want t wait until chapter 19 t discuss this exceptin in detail Fr nw, simply nte that grammatically speaking, Jesus s exceptin applies t the secnd half f that verse We culd rewrd the sentence this way everyne wh divrces his wife makes her cmmit adultery except in the case f unchastity Jesus was simply saying that a husband can t be guilty f making his wife cmmit adultery if she beat him t it if she cmmitted adultery first One last thing I will say n this tpic tday while divrce is a sin, it s nt an unfrgivable sin and it s nt wrse than ther sins Remember earlier Jesus said that thse wh have called a persn a fl have brken the sixth cmmandment against murder And He said that thse wh have lusted have brken the cmmandment against adultery S hw many f yu have hated a persn? Hw many have lusted? And sme f us have divrced, but I ask everyne is the sin f divrce wrse than ur vilatins f the sixth and seventh cmmandments? And mre imprtantly, did Jesus die t cver the sin f divrce r nly t cver yur sin? Obviusly, He died fr all f us because we all have sin n matter what kind And s we have n basis fr judging anyne in the bdy f Christ cncerning their life circumstances r past We all stand by the grace f Gd in the atning wrk f Christ And s ur nly pririty n this tpic r any ther is t encurage everyne t learn what the wrd says s we can all d better in the future knwing 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 8! f! 15 Let s mve t the next example fr tday, beginning in v.33 Matt. 5:33 Again, yu have heard that the ancients were tld, YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD. Matt. 5:34 But I say t yu, make n ath at all, either by heaven, fr it is the thrne f Gd, Matt. 5:35 r by the earth, fr it is the ftstl f His feet, r by Jerusalem, fr it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Matt. 5:36 Nr shall yu make an ath by yur head, fr yu cannt make ne hair white r black. Matt. 5:37 But let yur statement be, Yes, yes r N, n ; anything beynd these is f evil. The next example begins with ur tell-tale phrase yu have heard indicating anther qute frm the Mishnah is cming In this case, Jesus qutes the Mishnah s cmmand cncerning taking aths In the written wrd f Gd, the Lrd said in Numbers 30 that we are bligated t keep ur vws In Leviticus the Lrd warns that failure t keep ur vws, even unintentinally, will bring the cnsequences f the vw In ancient times, written cntracts weren t cmmn, s a verbal agreement was usually the nly way business was dne Thse verbal agreements were slemn, and if a man wasn t trustwrthy, n ne wuld d business with him We have cntacts nw, but this principle still applies in mdern life Fr example, we vw t pay back a lan We vw t fulfill ur enlistment bligatin in the military hnrably We take an ath t tell the truth n a witness stand And speaking f marriage, in the ceremny we vw t remain married fr life The wrd f Gd said keep yur vws r suffer the cnsequences But f curse, the Pharisees tk the spirit f Gd s law regarding aths and tssed it aside 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 9! f! 15 In the ral law, they expanded greatly n what Gd said cncerning aths They invented an array f ways men culd take aths And they imagined an equal variety f ways that aths culd be brken r excused Fr example, the Pharisees created an elabrate system fr determining whether an ath was truly binding The binding nature f an ath depending upn what the prmisr swre by Fr example, a persn swearing by Gd s name was always bund t keep his ath because the Pharisees said Gd was eternal But swearing by heavens and earth was nt binding they said since the heavens and earth were nt eternal And if a man swre his ath while facing tward Jerusalem, then the Pharisees said it was binding But if he swre while facing away frm Jerusalem, it wasn t The effect f these cnvluted rules was encuraging deceit and fraud in business dealings A man culd cnstruct his ath cncerning sme manner in such a way that he knew it wuldn t be binding Only later wuld the victim discver that his agreement wasn t enfrceable in curt It s the equivalent f the small print in a cntract In Acts men take an ath nt t eat r drink until they killed the Apstle Paul In the end, Paul escaped, but we never hear what happened t these men They almst certainly didn t keep their vw because the Mishnah had an exceptin fr smething called restraint These men were restrained r prevented frm fulfilling their vw, s they were released frm it, the Pharisees wuld say 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 10! f! 15 Of curse, Jesus denunces the Mishnah s stupid rules n aths In v.34 Jesus says swearing by heaven is just as binding as swearing by Gd Himself, because heaven is the thrne f Gd Likewise in v.35, Jesus says swearing by earth is equally binding as swearing by Gd because it s the ftstl f Gd s feet And regardless f which way yu face, swearing by Jerusalem is always binding because it s Gd s city in the Kingdm Jesus wasn t validating the Pharisee s silly categrizatin f aths, He was simply expsing hw ludicrus their lgic was Once again, Gd made smething clear in His wrd Then later in their ral law the Pharisees tk the spirit f what Gd says and perverted it They cntrived a set f rules that turned Gd s wrd n its head by making it easy t divrce r break a vw They call their rules an ral law t fl peple int thinking that Gd wuld be pleased when they did as they pleased In reality, thse rules led peple away frm bedience and righteusness and int sin S in the matter f making vws r aths, what des righteusness require? Jesus said it begins with understanding ur place in Gd s ecnmy In v.36 Jesus says yu shuldn t make guarantees abut things yu can t cntrl it s taking a needless gamble and it s evil Smene might swear an ath upn their wn head, meaning they put their wn life as a ransm shuld they fail t keep their ath But Jesus says yu can t even change the clr f yur wn hair, s hw can yu assure anyne f what yu can d in the future? This example desn t seem t wrk as well tday in ur age f hair clring But the example still applies because clring yur hair desn t change its actual clr 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 11! f 15! Yu re just cvering it up S if yu can t cntrl even the least thing n yur wn bdy, why place s much at risk ver things yu have n hpe t cntrl Jesus pint is that Gd s wrd n aths wasn t intended t encurage peple t enter int them And He certainly didn t want us t set rules fr hw t make aths nn-binding On the cntrary, the Lrd was trying t steer us away frm aths altgether S Jesus says the spirit f Gd s law was t encurage men t simply state their intentins hnestly as yes r n withut need fr additinal prmises If yu perate this way, yu will never have need t make aths Because yur wrd will be respected and trusted based n yur histry f ding what yu say Then we never have need t put urselves in jepardy f vilating an ath T perate any ther way is evil, Jesus says In v.38 Jesus mves t the Mishnah s laws n retributin Matt. 5:38 Yu have heard that it was said, AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH. Matt. 5:39 But I say t yu, d nt resist an evil persn; but whever slaps yu n yur right cheek, turn the ther t him als. Matt. 5:40 If anyne wants t sue yu and take yur shirt, let him have yur cat als. Matt. 5:41 Whever frces yu t g ne mile, g with him tw. Matt. 5:42 Give t him wh asks f yu, and d nt turn away frm him wh wants t brrw frm yu. Jesus qutes frm the Mishnah s take n Exdus 21:24 where the Lrd tld Israel that justice shuld be measured ut prprtinally The law uses euphemistic examples t say let the punishment fit the crime An eye fr an eye, tth fr a tth, s t speak 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 12! f! 15 We shuldn t demand smething mre valuable than was taken frm us An eye is far mre valuable than a single tth, s dn t demand and eye fr a tth But f curse yu knw what the Pharisees did here, right? They tk this law hyper-literally s they culd turn it int a license fr persnal vengeance S accrding t their Mishnah, a Jew culd take persnal revenge against smene wh harmed them s lng as they nly tk ne tth r ne eye, etc. But the Lrd wasn t advcating taking persnal revenge much less maiming peple Gd was placing a gvernr n ur tendency t react in sinful ways against thse wh ffend us by requiring we nt g beynd what was dne t us He was limiting retributin t ensure that punishment didn t becme excessive The true spirit f that law was t encurage mercy Said anther way, if excessive punishment is sin, then shwing undeserved favr (grace) is righteusness Gd s heart is t encurage mercy fr thse wh ffend S Jesus says if yu want t fllw the spirit f the Law yu ll shw n interest in retributin whatsever Let them strike yu withut striking back Respnd t their unreasnable requests by surprising them with yur genersity When they brrw and dn t return, let them brrw again anyway And they impse upn yu by their requests, respnd as thugh yu wanted t d it anyway Nw if yu re hearing Jesus list and wndering if there are any exceptins t these rules, then yu re still thinking like a Pharisee 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 13! f! 15 Instead f lking fr ways t limit ur bedience t Gd s wrd, we need t embrace the spirit f what Gd is saying Righteusness means lking like Gd and nt like urselves S the right questin t ask is hw wuld Gd respnd in these situatins? What wuld Jesus d? Fr example, what did Jesus d when they slapped Him n the cheek? Was that attack deserved? Did Jesus have a right t make against His attackers? Jesus had dne nthing wrng S culdn t He have retaliated and still been righteusness? Actually, n He culdn t because it wuldn t have been in keeping with the Father s will And that s the pint it s the Father s will and ur bedience t that will that determines ur righteusness Jesus had a right t respnd, but righteusness required He d smething else Jesus had t g t that crss as the Father determined s that He culd cmplete the plan f redemptin that we all depend upn nw Can yu live like that? With eyes fr eternity making decisins nw that supprt Gd s eternal purpses? As yu listen t this examples, I bet yu ve been hearing them frm the perspective f the injured party the ne ffended But have yu ever cnsidered that yu are the ffender? Even mre sbering have yu cnsidered yu were an ffender t Gd Himself? Yu were the sinner, the ne wh ffended Gd And then ne day yu came t Christ seeking His mercy In that mment yu were the ne demanded things frm Gd yu had n right t have Yu were the evil persn that Jesus didn t resist when yu called upn Him fr mercy 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 14! f! 15 Yu were the ne wh asked Jesus t walk a mile with yu and He surprised yu with His genersity Because when yu asked Jesus t frgive fr yur sins, Jesus went a lng way beynd just frgiving yu The Bible says that by yur faith, He adpted yu as a child f Gd, making yu part f the family f Gd He als has made yu a fellw heir in His Kingdm He has prmised yu a place in His gvernment and a share f His inheritance And He placed His Spirit in yu giving yu access t the mind f Gd by His wrd Jesus went the extra mile fr us and we certainly didn t deserve it S hw can we refuse ur Lrd when He asked us t be His hands and feet t this lst and dying wrld? Hw can we refuse t live accrding t the spirit f His Law when He has already accmplished all f that requires n ur behalf? If yur searching fr the big take away frm this chapter, let me say it plainly Heaven is a tall rder taller than yu can reach Yu can t get their n yur wn because yu can t measure up But Jesus culd and did S nw we live as His disciple, seeking t please Him and represent Him But yu can t d that effectively if yu revert t fllwing rules that were wrthless in the first place Stp listening t thers d s and dn t s r even the nes in yur wn head Get int the wrd f Gd and stay there And as yu d, yu ll be amazed by tw things First, yu ll be cntinually humbled by hw far yu are frm the standards f righteusness that Gd requires 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 15! f! 15 Yu ll understand why Jesus had t live and die fr yu, because yu ll see clearly yu had n chance t d it fr yurself And that recgnitin will serve t increase yur appreciatin fr the grace yu ve received in Christ And then secndly, as yu cntinue in yur studies, yu ll be amazed at hw much yur heart is changing by what yu learn Yu ll find yurself thinking and acting differently Almst instinctively, yu ll begin living by the spirit f the wrd where befre yu culdn t even fllw the letter f the law And that recgnitin will serve t increase yur lve fr Christ and yur devtin t Him If yu want t receive Christ s righteusness, if yu want assurance that yu will be in Kingdm, cme up here after the last sng and let me tell yu abut placing yur faith in Jesus Christ 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.