June 25, 2017
Sermon on the Mount
Divorce / Oaths / Eye For An Eye
Matthew 5:31-42
This week we’re continuing our series on “The Sermon on the Mount.”
A really incredible thing about the Sermon on the Mount is that Jesus didn't save his heavy hitting and culture shifting commands for a private setting, and he didn’t just save it for people whose hearts he had already won over…
Actually, The Sermon on the Mount wasn't even planned, when Jesus was surrounded by people who needed to hear the truth of who He was, He gathered them together on a hill and he shared the truth with them:
- loud and proud
- out in the open
- with nothing to hide
And that’s what we’re doing in this series… We’re meeting outside, in the open, unashamed of the truth of who God is - wanting desperately to soak up everything we can about who that man is: A God who isn't ashamed of the truth, who has nothing to hide, and who just wants to draw his people back to him.
Divorce
Matthew 5:31-32
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
In the last paragraph, Jesus talked about how the affects of adultery are so incredibly disastrous that we should do whatever it takes to keep us from that lust. So, not only is adultery that bad, but divorce can lead to that adultery.
What Jesus knew, was that in this culture that he was talking to, divorce was getting to epidemic status…
Jesus doesn’t just throw out these rules about divorce to throw his weight around and be in control, he does it because he knows the earthly ramifications of sin and he really loves us enough to not want us to live under the bondage of that.
Oaths
Matthew 5:33-37
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
It was a normal thing in those days, that Jews would “swear to God” on things they were passionate about.
Numbers 30:2
2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
But what people were doing in those days was swearing to other things as a way to deceive people, and be off the hook.
So instead of getting into the details of what’s okay and what’s not, Jesus obliterates the whole argument:
34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
If we really know and follow God, you will be men and women of integrity, and when we say YES it will mean YES and when we say NO it will mean NO.
Eye for Eye
Matthew 5:38-42
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
At that time, there was a thing called lex talionis which means “the law of retaliation.”
Deuteronomy 19:16-21
16 If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
A lot of societies in that day would hand out the same punishment regardless of the crime which was often too harsh, so the idea of this law was that it protects people who are charged with a small offense,
so they don’t get judged too harshly. If someone poked out someone’s eye, the punishment would be getting their eye poked out. The issue, is that people in Jesus’ time, people would use lex talionis as a means for personal revenge…
So Jesus explains that as followers of God, we need to flip the norm on it’s head and when someone takes something from us we willingly give more than they take.
We don’t need to be taken advantage of at every step in life, BUT we do need to be willing to be taken advantage of if it furthers the cause of Christ. The goal of life is not to amass wealth, it’s to build the Kingdom of God. So, is it worth it to lose a bit of money in order to show the love of Jesus to someone who needs it? YES
So, Jesus breaks this down into 4 circumstances to prove his point:
Scene 1 - Public Insult
39b If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.
Scene 2 - Legal Setting
40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
Scene 3 - Military Setting
41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.
Scene 4 - Social Justice
42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
This is not telling us to take all the junk the world has to offer just because we are Christians... It’s telling us to WILLINGLY take some of the junk the world has to offer, because it can be an amazing testimony of who Jesus is.
Communication Card
- I will take my marriage seriously and know that divorce is not an option.
- I will be a man/woman that keeps my word.
- I will seek to serve other people in my life.
