Chapter 5
vv.1-12
We probably grew up the same, with the idea that these blessings
were each separately targeted to people in the world and the saints. You
have “Kingdom of Heaven
Too, this brings out a big “last days” question about how Saints inherit
both the earth and the Kingdom of Heaven and what exactly is the Kingdom of Heaven
In any case, if the blessings are targeted at the saints, it makes
sense. Phrases like “poor in spirit” don’t mean simply the downtrodden,
especially since the Kingdom of Heaven (remember that Matt often substitutes
“Kingdom of Heaven” for the “Kingdom of God” found in other books, since “God”
wasn’t a word used lightly by a Jew) is given to them, but this may be a
condition of realizing that one is poor with regards to God’s spirit (many
translations have this). All the other conditions easily apply to the
saints, to what Christian living ought to be.
vv.13-16
It’s not surprising that Jesus speaks directly to them as “the salt
of the Earth” and “lights to the world” which underscores that he’s not likely
talking to the masses but to his people. MacArthur suggested that in
ancient times the value of salt was as a preserving agent, meant to keep food
from spoiling by absorbing the water which cultivates rot. This was what
it was used for and it was valuable. If it lost its flavor, there was no
other use for it and you’d dump it out on streets or ground. In
keeping with the next metaphor it’s a sort of preserving agent via good
works. Think of the value of honest men, even in pagan governments like
Daniel. Good people, whether saints or not, keep the system going, else
things would fall entirely into corruption and violence where the most ruthless
man wins. Similarly, saints as the light of the world with their good
deeds are meant to be seen, something apart from the rest, as a beacon pointing
invariably to God. But here, it’s good deeds that define the
saints. Separation, isolation, for separations sake isn’t preached.
What sets us apart in God’s eyes is the goodness of our lives, and not
differences in tradition and ritual or in simply keeping apart so as to remain
somehow “holy”. True holiness only comes from reflecting God’s character.
vv.17-20
There was a question in Jesus’ day regarding this. Does that
mean that the Law of Moses (and by extension in the minds of the Pharisees,
their more complex system of laws and traditions) doesn’t matter? That
it’s simply some undefined “good works” rather than strict traditions which
kept the Jews separate from the other nations, and kept the Pharisees separate
from other Jews? Are we breaking down the separation?
Jesus points out a critical thing, that he came to fulfill the Law
and not to destroy it. Moreover, that Law of Moses would stand until the
world was finally destroyed and made new (which happens after the Kingdom with
the new heavens and new earth, Rev. 21-22). Which means Jesus isn’t
removing the requirements of Moses’ law. (This itself is an subject of
great debate: what part of Moses’ law do we keep? because obviously Paul did
not command Gentiles to observe the festivals and Sabbaths in Col 2:16, nor did
the Jerusalem council in Acts admonish more beyond keeping from meat sacrificed
to idols and blood, when the question of Gentile circumcision came to them.)
Jesus also refers to the Law’s purpose. Paul in Romans 2-3
and 2 Cor 3:9 refers to the Law as a ministry of condemnation, designed to
bring people to an understanding of their sin, perhaps so they recognize the
poverty of their spirit (v.3) and they can yearn for righteousness (v6) and be
filled, causing all those other conditions in the blessing.
So Jesus upholds the Law, setting the Pharisees anxieties to rest,
and then immediately blasts them for not being righteous enough despite that
they followed a stricter set of rules than Moses brought, or at least they
thought they did.
vv.21-26
To prove his point Jesus points to various accepted practices in
their religion. Obviously, murder is wrong and punishable by law.
But Jesus reveals the full intent of God’s law; that if you are angry with your
brother, you have murder in your heart which is equally offensive to God.
Jesus hits the core of the Pharisee’s hypocrisy in believing it’s only the
external behavior that matters (which is a common belief to day; it doesn’t
matter what I think or feel as long as I don’t act on it!).
The Jews had elaborate definitions of what could and could not be
said. Call someone an “idiot/fool” and you can be taken to an earthly
court, but you could curse someone. In fact, before God, you’ll be taken
before a heavenly court and left to the fires of hell. In fact, cursing
someone effectively puts you in the role of deity, in God’s place. In
Jude 8-9 and 2 Pet 11 we read that while unholy people come, mocking and
scoffing at even angelic glory far above their own, even the angels, even
Michael the greatest, didn’t dare accuse even the devil but left the rebuking
to God. Hell is therefore not an unjust punishment, and yet these Jews
treated it so lightly.
Jesus shows that a true sacrifice comes from the heart: that if you
have an issue with your brother, far better to leave your sacrifice on the
altar and go and be reconciled first. This was nothing new. Mic
6:6-8 said the same, that sacrifices were far out weighed by good works and
humbly walking with God. But like any pagan, after centuries of sacrifice
and temple, it became convenient to think of winning over God with those bulls
he likes so much.
Jesus uses another analogy: that of a man going to court with his
enemy and encouraged to settle out of court. Assuming he’s at fault, if
he’s arrogant enough to get to the court, the judge may find that he owes and
put him in prison where he will rot until every last cent is paid. This
is a subtle metaphor for hell, because we’ll suffer for every our sin as a
result of our arrogant conviction that “we’re ok” and “we’re right”.
Unlike this prison, if you haven’t made your peace with God by the peace he’s
given us, you will never emerge from hell. There’s no reason to think
your hatred of God will abate once in hell, once you are faced with a perfect
conscience that you can no longer silence and a sense of perfect
holiness. God will likely be the last person you will want to see there.
vv.27-30
Adultery was a horrific sin in ancient times. It’s kind of
strange that when Jesus in John 8 (though this account may not be part of the
original Scripture) is faced with an adulteress the people want to stone,
contrary to the prescription of the law, the man she committed adultery with
(supposedly) is never produced. If God condemns adultery, Jesus attacks
the heart of the hypocrite. And normal, red-blooded man has lusted after
women probably more times than he can count. It’s a silent sin, likely
one you never talk about it, but it’s their. The feeling at my church is
that it’s adultery whether you’re single or married, being unfaithful to the
spouse you will have for whom you are to keep yourself pure, or to the spouse
you already have to whom you belong.
It’s interesting that the development of the Pharisee’s code came
as a natural progression of trying to ensure that they don’t break Moses’
law. If you’re not supposed to work on the Sabbath, find everything that
could possibly be constituted as work and don’t do it. That’s where much
of the tradition came from; a pious attempt to prevent any break of Moses’ law,
adding law after law to accomplish this. Of course, in terms of behavior,
Jesus condemns them since (Luke 14:5) they would of course rescue their donkey
on the Sabbath if it fell into a ditch. It’s not behavior. Jesus
metaphorically takes the same reasoning but applies it to the heart.
Rather than prohibiting behaviors, if some body part of yours facilitates sin,
remove it. Better to lose a part of yourself, than be damned because you
kept sinning. Of course, since sin is a heart condition, he’s not
advocating castration or removing an eye or a hand. That won’t stop sin
anyway. But the point is the same. Rom 13:4 says “make no provision
for the flesh”. If this is where you sin, keep yourself far away from it,
as far as you have to.
vv.31-32
Undoubtedly there were divorcés among these Pharisees. The
prevailing feeling at the time was that divorce was permitted for any
reason. Even Judaism today (based on ancient laws) holds that divorce is
permissible for any reason, though technically only the man can initiate.
The rabbis before Jesus had developed some provision to make it easier for the
wife though. In Matt 19 the Pharisees, knowing what Jesus taught,
confronted him with the question of divorce against this tradition, especially
since Moses permitted it. But Jesus reveals this tolerance accommodated
the people’s hard hearts but God’s intent was always against divorce.
Unfaithfulness is the only reason, and adultery was punishable by death (though
a righteous man like Joseph opted for mercy). The disciples got Jesus’
point: if they couldn’t divorce, maybe it’s better not to marry and Jesus
confirms that not everyone can accept this. Some opt to not marry in
first place. But if you can accept that marriage is permanent, you ought
to accept it.
Here, Jesus as always affirms the Law of Moses by restating God’s
intent for marriage, something that was written from the beginning. The
Pharisees had read about God’s institution of marriage with Adam and Eve as
permanent. Here, Jesus rips open another pocket of sin in their lives;
that following their law regarding the freedom of divorce, still violated God’s
law.
vv.33-37
Vows were important in this society. It was taught that vows
are binding, but some vows are more binding than others. If you swore “by
the earth!” and didn’t keep your word to the person who assumed you would,
ok. But if you swore “by heaven” you must keep it. It’s like little
kids who cross their fingers behind their back and everyone smiles and nods,
knowing they were kidding. Jesus laid it out for them that it’s
deception; such vows are useless. Rather than a complex system of which
vows were binding and which could permit deception, let your yes be yes and
your no be no, and be a person of integrity. Besides, what can you swear by
that makes a bit of difference. You swear by heaven which is God’s home,
or by earth which is his footstool. Swear by Jerusalem
This isn’t a prohibition of vows of service, as in “don’t make any
commitments” but rather it’s a command for integrity, something that probably
hit the Pharisees hard because, in keeping their ridiculous system, they
convinced themselves they were doing God’s will while they were doing their own
also. Hypocrites loves choosing which laws they’ll follow and which they
won’t, so they can convince themselves they’re following the law.
vv.38-42
Worst, revenge was a perversion of the Mosaic Law. The Old
Testament “eye for an eye” law wasn’t designed to prescribe worse punishments
for weak systems, but to limit it so a man doesn’t lose his head for stealing
bread. But it in this day, it had become the motto for the sort of people
who wanted control over their lives and who proudly wouldn’t crap from
anyone. You see the same people today. Don’t mess with me since
I’ll do worse to you. This was not a prescription for how to deal with
sins, however, especially not given the hypocrisy of a sinful human being
demanding justice from another masked the desperate desire we all have for God
to not deal with us according to our own sins. Judge not lest you be
judged.
Rather, learn to be merciful and generous and to endure all sorts
of indignities. Why?
vv.43-48
…Because it’s a reflection of God’s character. The prevailing
sentiment among the Jews was to be good to your friends and hate your
enemies. This was especially true in how Jews dealt with the horrible
Gentiles. Even Jonah hated the idea of preaching to Nineveh
because he hated the possibility that they might actually repent and be saved,
after all Assyria had done to Israel Israel
But here we understand how God can be the savior of the
world. If he was only justice, Adam should have vanished into hell after
the first sin. Even those not saved by Christ continue living. God
gives the good and the bad the same sun and rain. He is consistently good
even to the wicked. It’s easy to love the people who do you good – even
the pagans know how to do that – but if you want to reflect God’s character you
need to love and do good even to those who hate you.
Finally, the statement that encompasses everything already said: be
perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Outlined above we see the
divine standard of perfection and holy living. Jesus confronts the
Pharisees with it, and encourages his disciples to adopt it.
No comments:
Post a Comment