Let s transitin ut f part f Jesus Sermn n the Munt and mve int part 2 Befre we d, we have ne mre f Jesus examples frm the Mishnah t study Remember, Jesus gave six examples frm the Mishnah t expse the Pharisees distrted teaching n the Kingdm and righteusness The Pharisees made rules fr Israel that suppsedly helped Israel keep Gd s cmmandments The Pharisees recrded their rules in a bk called the Mishnah Sn that bk had becme mre imprtant than scripture itself in regulating the daily life f Jews But in reality the rules f the Mishnah cntradicted what Scripture said S Jesus is wrking t set the recrd straight in His first sermn He says the Kingdm saint desn t lk like a Pharisee And that saint wn t fllw the Pharisees rules Instead, that saint fllws the spirit f Gd s wrd And each f Jesus examples illustrates hw demanding that standard is Tday we reach Jesus final example, which cncerns the Mishnah s teaching n shwing lve t thers This final example will bridge us int the secnd part f Jesus sermn in chapter 6 And it als explains Gd s purpse in cmmanding His disciples t live righteusly nw while we await the Kingdm Matt. 5:43 Yu have heard that it was said, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate yur enemy. Matt. 5:44 But I say t yu, lve yur enemies and pray fr thse wh persecute yu, Matt. 5:45 s that yu may be sns f yur Father wh is in heaven; fr He causes His sun t rise n the evil and the gd, and sends rain n the righteus and the unrighteus. 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 Matt. 5:46 Fr if yu lve thse wh lve yu, what reward d yu have? D nt even the tax cllectrs d the same? Matt. 5:47 If yu greet nly yur brthers, what mre are yu ding than thers? D nt even the Gentiles d the same? Matt. 5:48 Therefre yu are t be perfect, as yur heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus says yu have heard it said yu shall lve yur neighbr and hate yur enemy Once again, Jesus prefaces His qute with the phrase yu have heard it said indicating He s quting frm the Mishnah, the s-called ral law In fact this example shws clearly that Jesus is quting frm the Mishnah, nt directly frm written Scripture Because the qute Jesus gives us in v.43 isn t fund in Scripture The first part f the qute, t lve yur neighbr, is a restatement f Leviticus 19:18 But the secnd half f the qute, t hate yur enemy, is nt fund in Scripture at all This is cnfirmatin fr us that Jesus was quting a rabbinical teaching fund in the Mishnah, nt Scripture And in the Mishnah, the Pharisees mdified the Bible s teaching t lve yur neighbr s that the spirit f Gd s law was lst Specifically, they created rules fr hw and when a Jew shuld lve and when lve wasn t required First, the Pharisees decided Gd s cmmand t lve yur neighbr nly applied t ther Jews Nw the cntext f Leviticus 19:18 des specify fellw Jews But as Jesus explains, that wasn t the spirit f the Law Gd expected Israel t shw lve t all humanity Secndly, the Pharisees cncluded that since Gd nly expected Jews t lve fellw Jews, then it was permissible fr Jews t hate Gentiles S frm that analysis Pharisees taught lve yur neighbrs and hate yur enemy, which is the rule Jesus quted 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 Pharisees supprted this by ther Scripture like Psalm 139:21 Psa. 139:21 D I nt hate thse wh hate Yu, O LORD? And d I nt lathe thse wh rise up against Yu? The Pharisees said if David culd rightly hate thse Gd hated, then surely it was apprpriate fr Jews t hate their enemies t David was referring t his shared hatred fr unrighteusness Just as Gd hates unrighteusness, s did David But just as we say hate the sin, lve the sinner, s Gd tld Israel t lve thers s that they might bring them int the knwledge f righteusness That was the spirit f Gd s law, but the Pharisees were spiritually blind, s they never understd the meaning f these things Instead, they were slaves t their wn rules and that slavery led them farther and farther frm the truth Instead f lking fr greater ways t shw lve (which was the intent f the Law), later generatins f Pharisees expanded the number f ways Jews culd legitimately hate thers Fr example, by Jesus day the Pharisees had defined ther Jewish plitical parties like Sadducees r publicans as enemies rather than neighbrs S as a result f the Mishnah s teaching, it was cnsidered gdly t withhld lve t a Sadducee even thugh he was a fellw Jew We ve see this pattern with Israel s religius leaders ver and ver Rather than seek t understand the spirit f Gd s wrd and cnfirm t it, they preferred t dissect the law with mindless rules The Pharisees rules had the effect f circumventing the intent f Gd s law s that their evil hearts culd d as they pleased This shuld be n surprise, f curse Evil and hypcritical hearts are always seeking fr ways t disbey Gd while still maintaining the illusin f righteusness 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 S nw, hw des true righteusness view the issue f lving thers? Jesus says it s simple righteusness means shwing lve t everyne, especially thse wh ppse yu In cntradictin t the Pharisees, Jesus gives us Gd s definitin f a neighbr and a new definitin f lve A neighbr, Jesus says, is yur enemy Yur neighbr is the ne wh persecutes yu In ther wrds, a neighbr refers t smene near yu It s the persn living near yu It s the ne yu wrk with, the ne yu see in the market It s anyne yu have cntact with in yur life, whether smene yu knw r a stranger In Leviticus 19:18 the Lrd defined a neighbr as a fellw Jew because Israel principally lived, wrked and interacted with ther Jews S bviusly, every Jew is a neighbr t every ther Jew But as the natin had pprtunity t interact with ther natins, Gd expected Israel t shw lve t Gentile neighbrs t Which means lving a neighbr means shwing lve t an enemy n ccasin Remember, the definitin f neighbr is based n prximity, nt n affinity Therefre, thse wh cme against yu t persecute yu make themselves yur neighbr They make themselves targets fr yur lve That was spirit f the Law, Jesus says Then Jesus clarifies what Gd meant by shwing lve Lving yur neighbr isn t merely the absence f malice It means a practive demnstratin f cncern and care fr them, Jesus says 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 Specifically, Jesus says lving an enemy means taking time t pray fr their spiritual well being Remember, praying fr smene means lifting them up befre Gd seeking that Gd wuld bring His favr upn them in sme way S imagine a persn wh yu sincerely dislike, smene yu knw wh has hurt yu r treats yu unkindly Nw imagine spending time n yur knees sincerely asking the Lrd t bless them T grant them peace, health, prsperity r sme ther blessing Or mst f all, t grant them salvatin by faith in Jesus I m sure we pray this way fr thse we lve, like friends and family members But Jesus says righteusness requires we place ur enemies n the same level f imprtance as thse we lve In effect, He s asking us t devte as much time t praying fr them as fr thse we prefer I bet few f us have dne this And I say that simply because fr mst f us it s challenging enugh t find time t pray at all S when we d, we naturally use that precius time t intercede fr persnal needs, ur friends and family, ur church, etc. Knwing that, I suspect we give little r n time t praying fr the spiritual gd f thse we dislike Yet Jesus says what Gd really meant by lve yur neighbr is shwing regard fr everyne Gd has placed arund yu Fr example, yur neighbr is that cwrker wh cntends with yu at wrk, the next dr neighbr wh annys yu That relative wh never liked yu, that classmate wh mcks yu And Gd placed thse enemies in yur path fr a gd purpse, as a test 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 The test is whether yu will be sns f yur Father in Heaven, Jesus says In Jewish thinking, t be a sn f a father means t fllw in the ftsteps f that father As Jesus says t the Pharisees in Jhn s Gspel Jhn 8:39 They answered and said t Him, Abraham is ur father. Jesus said t them, If yu are Abraham s children, d the deeds f Abraham. S ur test in life is whether we will d as the Lrd did The Father brught Jesus t earth as a man, s that Gd culd became ur neighbr in that He assciated with mankind Hebrews says it this way Heb. 2:9 But we d see Him wh was made fr a little while lwer than the angels, namely, Jesus, because f the suffering f death crwned with glry and hnr, s that by the grace f Gd He might taste death fr everyne. Heb. 2:10 Fr it was fitting fr Him, fr whm are all things, and thrugh whm are all things, in bringing many sns t glry, t perfect the authr f their salvatin thrugh sufferings. Heb. 2:11 Fr bth He wh sanctifies and thse wh are sanctified are all frm ne Father; fr which reasn He is nt ashamed t call them brethren, Jesus was made a little lwer than angels, that is He was made like man Jesus became ur neighbr in that He became man, interacting with mankind And as ur neighbr, He shwed us lve, tasting death fr us, t bring many sns t glry Jesus lved His neighbrs even as they hated Him and persecuted Him S nw Jesus asks if we will be sns f ur Father in the sense that we will als shw lve t thse Gd puts in ur path, ur neighbrs And nt just t thse wh are being saved, but even thse thse unbelievers wh are determined t remain s Because the Father als shw kindness t likes f them In v.45 Jesus says Gd s gdness t everyne, bth friend and fe, can be seen simply in the fact that the sun rises n bth 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 That s a way f saying just allwing bth t live t see anther day is grace frm the Father Mst peple, especially unbelievers, take life fr granted But Scripture says the pprtunity t live is grace frm Gd Fr example, cnsider hw lng yu lived befre yu came t knw Christ? Hw many years did yu sin? Hw lng did yu ffend Gd? Yet He gave yu fd, clthing, shelter Yur life had a measure f jy, it had sme satisfactin Yu tk all that fr granted and prbably assumed yu had ever right t expect it But in reality, yu were experiencing the kindness f Gd even thugh yu were unkind and ungrateful S that s ur test t shw lve t ur neighbrs, whether friend r fe, simply because that s hw the Father perates And as sns and daughters f ur Father in Heaven, we are expected t reflect the Father s character Since this cmmand is a test, the questin becmes what s in it fr us? And the answer Jesus gives is reward There are eternal rewards n the line If we heed this cmmand and shw lve t ur neighbrs, we will be rewarded by the Father in the Kingdm But we must seek fr that reward understanding the Heaven standard fr righteusness If we perate accrding t manmade rules like thse fund in the Mishnah r perhaps accrding t nes we make up fr urselves then we are ging t see that reward Fr example, if yu nly shw lve t thse wh lve yu first, then yu re nt perating accrding t the right rules, Jesus says In v.46 Jesus asks rhetrically, what reward will yu have? The answer is nne 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 Because shwing lve t thse wh lve yu first is nt wrthy f reward because that s hw the evil human heart thinks Even the wrst f Jewish sciety, a team cllectr, will lve his wn kind Tax cllectrs were despised because they were cnsidered traitrs Rmans used lcal subjects t cllect taxes in the prvinces S in Judea, Rmans hired Jews t cllect taxes frm fellw Jews S naturally, any Jew wh wuld cperate with Rmans was cnsidered a traitr Even wrse, the Rmans assigned each tax cllectr a quta t cllect r suffer severe cnsequences S tax cllectrs were extrtinists, using ruthless methds t frce fellw Jews t pay Furthermre, a tax cllectr wasn t paid by Rme S the cllectr made his wn incme by cllecting abve and beynd the qute set by Rme S fr Jews, the wrst enemy imaginable was a fellw Jew wh served Rme as a tax cllectr Which meant tax cllectrs had few friends Tax cllectrs were stracized by their fellw Jews and despised by the Rmans wh emplyed them S the nly friends a tax cllectr was likely t have were fellw tax cllectrs Which is why Jesus says even tax cllectrs are willing t shw lve t thse wh lve them first But this is hardly a standard f cnduct wrthy f reward It s entirely self-serving and des nthing t glrify the Father Yet that s exactly the standard the Mishnah prmted Lve yur neighbr, that is lve thse wh are kind t yu first 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 And hate yur enemy, that is shw n lve t thse wh refuse t lve yu There is n eternal reward fr acting that way If yu nly shw regard fr yur brthers yu re ding simply what everyne des naturally Or as Jesus put it, what even the Gentiles d N if yu want t pass this test f righteusness and gain a reward in Heaven, yu must d better Yu must d as the Father in Heaven has dne fr yu first Yu must shw lve t even thse wh deserve it least And d s befre they give yu regard Be generus, be kind, be cnsiderate, and even pray fr them And when yu enter int the Kingdm, yu will see yur reward Nw ntice that Jesus began this sermn defining the character qualities f a kingdm-bund individual Thse qualities are made pssible by spiritual rebirth That is we becme citizens f the cming Kingdm when we place ur faith in Jesus Christ and are brn again As we cme t faith in Jesus, Gd gives us a new spirit in the likeness f Christ s that we may think and act like Christ It s by that new spirit that we may begin t demnstrate the kingdm qualities Jesus utlined in the Beatitudes But we d nt btain the kingdm by mimicking these behavirs, as we learned earlier And nr d we receive the Kingdm itself as ur reward fr gd behavir We btain ur citizenship in the Kingdm by faith alne But Jesus says nw that we d have pprtunity fr eternal reward in the Kingdm 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 And that reward is based in part n whether we shw lve t ur neighbrs, t thse Gd places in ur path whether friend r fe Let that be an encuragement t us t serve the Father in thse mments Because let s be hnest, it can be difficult t shw lve t smene wh hates us r mistreats us We want retributin Or we feel like a hypcrite when we d nice things fr smene we secretly detest Well, remember the spirit f Gd s law He didn t say act like yu lve yur neighbr He said lve yur neighbr S Gd s intentin is that we find lve in yur heart fr them And the best way t d that is t remember hw Christ shwed yu lve befre yu lved Him Nthing sftens yur heart tward smene else faster than remembering what yu ve been frgiven f yurself Remember Jesus wrds t Simn the Pharisee Luke 7:47 Fr this reasn I say t yu, her sins, which are many, have been frgiven, fr she lved much; but he wh is frgiven little, lves little. Remembering hw much Jesus has frgiven in yur life, hw many ffenses, hw many unkind actins and thughts That will instill in yur heart a desire t shw lve t thers S that the mment yu begin t feel hesitatin t shw t lve t anther, just remember hw much yu we Jesus Yu cannt judge anther withut putting yurself in a place f superirity, s allw yurself t be brught dwn t their level Nw, if that still desn t seem pssible and yu re still struggling t lve yur neighbr at times, then cnsider this 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f 15! If yu can t find it in yur heart t shw lve t yur neighbr fr their sake Then d it fr yur wn sake Because reward is n the line Jesus summarizes this entire chapter with the final verse Our gal in life shuld be t be as perfect has ur Father is perfect First, because that is the standard fr entrance int Heaven, int the Kingdm Perfectin is the standard, and the nly way t meet that standard is thrugh faith in Jesus Christ S entrance int the Kingdm is by btaining Christ s perfectin thrugh ur faith in Him Secndly, we are called t live in righteusness by striving t equal the Father s standard Which is why it s s imprtant t understand the spirit f Gd s law Obviusly we dn t live in a Jewish, Pharisaic culture S we re nt in danger f fllwing the Mishnah rather than sticking t Scripture (thugh sme unhealthy Christian mvements are ding just that!) But that desn t mean we aren t susceptible t missing the spirit f Gd s cmmandments in Scripture We may knw that we btain Heaven by faith alne, s we re already resting in Christ s righteusness and nt ur wn But what yur walk f sanctificatin? Hw are yur endeavring t live ut that righteusness? Are yu ding it accrding t the spirit f Gd s wrd r merely accrding t the letter, which means fllwing yur wn Mishnah? Fr example, when Jesus says lve yur neighbr, are yu lving everyne r nly the nes yu like? 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 Or when Jesus says turn the ther cheek, d yu frgive thse wh harm yu? Or when He says dn t cmmit adultery, d yu fight the urge t indulge yur lustful thughts? Yu see the issue f being perfect is tw-fld, and as Christians we typically nly think f ne side f this cin We rest in Christ s righteusness t enter Heaven, but we frget that we have a wrk t d in the meantime And that wrk is ur sanctificatin By ur faith, we are made perfect befre Gd in ur Spirit And by ur willingness t bey Gd s wrd, we can becme mre like Gd in ur behavir But nly if we pay attentin t the true intent f Gd s wrd Dn t be like a Pharisee dn t seek fr the minimum Dn t try t find excuses r exemptins r lphles Dn t make yur wn rules fr when Gd s rules apply t yu and when they dn t Be perfect as yur Father in Heaven is perfect And as yu d this, yu please Christ, and as yu please Christ, yu stand t gain reward This is the walk we are called t live ut And this walk f sanctificatin is the single mst imprtant challenge and duty f the Christian life Nthing else cmes clse Yu can summarize what we re learning in this chapter this way Knw Christ t enter the Kingdm Knw Christ s wrd t represent the Kingdm Obey Christ s wrd t btain the Kingdm 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 And it s that last pint that drives us frward int the secnd sectin f Jesus sermn n the munt Because just as the Pharisees demnstrated a false way f righteusness, s they als demnstrated a false idea f sanctificatin S let s begin chapter 6 briefly this evening Matt. 6:1 Beware f practicing yur righteusness befre men t be nticed by them; therwise yu have n reward with yur Father wh is in heaven. The pening theme f this sectin is fund apprpriately in v.1 Jesus says t His disciples that they must t practice their righteusness befre men in the right way Practicing righteusness means living ut the righteusness the Lrd has placed in yur heart by faith As we believe in Jesus Christ, we receive His perfect spirit That s what it means t be brn again ur spirit is made new again Our prir spirit, the ne we received frm ur parents, was a fallen spirit in the nature f Adam Meaning it was sinful in all its ways But when we believed, we were brn again with a new spirit in the nature f Christ But that new perfect spirit was depsited in a sinful dying bdy S fr a time we have the struggle f ur new perfect spirit vs. ur sinful crrupt flesh We re already perfect in ur spirit, but ur behavir has yet t reach that standard because ur sinful flesh is always pressing back That battle is what Jesus is referring t when He says practice yur righteusness Or as Paul puts it in Phil 2:12, wrk ut yur salvatin in fear and trembling 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 It s yielding t the Spirit as He wrks in yu t teach yu cncerning Gd s righteusness And crucifying yur flesh by denying it what it wants Ntice Jesus says this is a practice we d befre men in v.1 That s because yu are already righteus befre Gd slely n the basis f yur faith in Jesus Christ There is nthing mre yu need t d r culd d t imprve upn yur standing with Gd Christ already did everything required! But when it cmes t living ut Christ s righteusness befre men, there is plenty f wrk fr us t d Only we must be careful (r beware Jesus says) t practice it in such a way that we are able t receive reward in the Kingdm Fr there is a right way t practice yur righteusness and a wrng way Ntice hw plainly Jesus says that a failure t live ur ur righteusness in the right way will nt qualify fr reward In fact, Jesus mentins rewards seven times in this chapter, because fr a saint saved by grace that s ur chief fcus Yu have already been assured entrance int the Kingdm by faith alne in Christ s perfectin S nthing yu d after faith can imprve upn perfectin Yet we are cmmanded by Jesus t practice ur righteusness, t make persnal sacrifices and t strive t be perfect like ur Father Which begs a questin why? Why strive against ur flesh, why battle against sin, why wrk t live ut ur righteusness? And Jesus answer each time is reward Thse servants f Christ wh live with eyes fr eternity, wh make serving Christ a pririty and sanctificatin a way f life please Christ And thse He pleases He rewards Remember what the writer f Hebrews taught abut faith 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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! f! 15 Heb. 11:6 And withut faith it is impssible t please Him, fr he wh cmes t Gd must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder f thse wh seek Him. The writer says that faith must cme first if we are t please Gd If yu have never placed yur faith in Jesus Christ, then yu are in n psitin t please Gd much less be rewarded But having placed yur faith in Gd, nw yu may seek t please Him knwing He is a rewarder f thse wh d s Ntice the rder: faith first, then seeking t pleasing Gd fr reward But t ften we read this verse and frget the secnd half Dn t frget Gd is a rewarder f thse wh seek Him, meaning seek t please Him And hw yu live ut yur righteusness matters in that regard First and fremst, we must set ur minds n that very gal f being perfect as ur Father in Heaven is perfect Of learning the letter and spirit f Gd s wrd s that we might seek t cnfirm ur lives t that standard T t earn ur salvatin, f curse, but t please Christ That s where we re ging in this chapter an examinatin f what living ut ur righteusness invlves And wh d yu think will be Jesus pster child fr living ur righteusness the wrng way? The Pharisees, f curse In particular, Jesus will highlight fur areas f Pharisaic religius practice: giving t the pr, praying, fasting and wealth These areas were prbably the fur mst crrupted areas f Pharisaic practice And with each example, Jesus will crrect the recrd nce mre shwing us the gdly way t practice ur righteusness S we ll learn what we can frm taking nte f the Pharisee s negative example in cntrast t Jesus example 2018 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal (www.versebyverseministry.rg) 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.