The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.
Matthew 5 (Sermon on the Mount)the primary text for the entire sermon, covering salt and light, fulfilling the law, and the six illustrations
1 Seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain. When he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 He opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.
14 You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden.
15 Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.
16 Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
17 “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.
19 Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
23 “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.
26 Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’
28 but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
30 If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’
32 but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’
34 but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;
35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
36 Neither shall you swear by your head, for you can’t make one hair white or black.
37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ be ‘No.’ Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
39 But I tell you, don’t resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 If anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.
41 Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
42 Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
you are the salt of the earth, if salt becomes tasteless
13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.
Jesus did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it, not a stroke shall pass away
17 “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.
18 For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.
whoever nullifies one of the least commandments shall be called least in the kingdom
19 Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
you have heard you shall not murder, but anger and calling someone a fool is tantamount to murder
21 “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
23 “If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.
26 Most certainly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.
you have heard you shall not commit adultery, but looking with lust is adultery in the heart
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery;’
28 but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.
29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
30 If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.
whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality makes her commit adultery
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’
32 but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
44 But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you,
45 that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.
46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
47 If you only greet your friends, what more do you do than others? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same?
48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.
This message was part of an ongoing study of the Sermon on the Mount. The pastor walked through Matthew 5, covering Jesus' teaching on salt and light, his statement about fulfilling the law, and six illustrations in which Jesus takes familiar commands and intensifies them rather than setting them aside.
What was said
Jesus opens this section by telling his disciples they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. The pastor pointed out that salt in the first century was expensive and sometimes cut with other substances that looked like salt but could not do salt's job. Applied to the church, a body of people who look like disciples but are not actually living selflessly becomes diluted and loses its preserving influence on the world around it. The remedy is the same as it ever was, turning back to Jesus. Light works the same way. A lamp goes on a stand, not under a basket, because the goal is to illuminate everything in the room. The disciples' good works are meant to be visible so that people glorify God, not so that the disciples receive credit.
Before moving into the six illustrations, the pastor paused on Jesus' statement that he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. Not the smallest letter, not a single stroke of a letter, would pass away until all was accomplished. The scribes and Pharisees were trusting in their correct theology and careful practice, and Jesus tells his disciples that their righteousness must go far beyond that. The point is that true righteousness is not earned by merit but is drawn from God himself, available to those who have put their faith in Christ.
The first illustration is murder. The law said do not murder. Jesus says that anger toward a brother, calling someone worthless, or calling someone a fool already puts a person in the position of the accused. Murder starts in the heart, and what comes out of the mouth reveals what is already there. If you know someone has something against you, Jesus says to leave your offering, go be reconciled, and then come back. The goal is to keep short accounts, because judgment is coming for everyone and the time to make things right is now.
The illustration on adultery follows the same pattern. The law forbade the act. Jesus says that looking at someone with lust is already adultery in the heart. The section on divorce flows directly from this, with Jesus noting that the Mosaic Law permitted a man to issue a certificate of divorce, but that divorcing a wife except for sexual immorality causes harm that extends beyond the two people involved. On oaths, Jesus tells his disciples not to swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or their own heads, because none of those things belong to them. Simple, honest speech is enough. Let your yes be yes and your no be no.
On retaliation, Jesus takes the familiar eye-for-an-eye standard and sets it aside entirely for his disciples. He calls them to turn the other cheek, to give more than what is demanded, and to walk a second mile when a Roman soldier compels them to walk one. The pastor noted that carrying a soldier's pack past the mile marker without complaint would be exactly the kind of salty, illuminating act Jesus described at the start of the sermon, the kind of thing that would start a conversation.
The final illustration is on loving enemies. The normal pattern of human life is to love those who love you and hate those who hate you. Jesus calls his disciples out of that pattern entirely, telling them to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. He points to God's common grace as the model. God causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good alike, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Loving only those who love you back is what tax collectors do. Jesus is calling his people to something different.
The pastor closed on the word translated "perfect" in the final verse. The Greek word, teleios, carries the sense of mature or whole, derived from telos, the word for a completed goal. It is the same root as the word Jesus spoke from the cross. Sinless perfection is not what is being demanded. What is attainable, as Craig Blomberg's commentary on Matthew was quoted as saying, is godliness in its biblical sense. The standard is high, but the God who sets it is also, as the same commentary notes, more forgiving of our failures in the new covenant than in the old.
Doing a Bible study?
Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages
in order, questions for the group, and room to write.
The pastor described the church becoming like diluted or tainted salt, using Constantine's opening of Rome to Christianity as an example of something that watered down the actual kingdom of God. Where do you see that kind of dilution happening today, and what does it look like in your own life?
Jesus told his disciples that their light must shine before people so that others see their good works and glorify the Father in heaven. The pastor said this is not a separatist calling but one that requires being present in the world. How do you hold that tension between being set apart and being genuinely present with people who do not know Christ?
Speaker 1Hey. Can y'all hear me now? Hey. Good to see you. How are you this morning?
It's kinda good. Bit of a bit of a thin response there, but it'll be alright. How how about we stand up and sing a rousing rendition of victory in Jesus, hymn number three fifty three, or you can sing just what comes up on the wall. We're gonna do three verses. The first two will have the regular refrain, and then on the second...
I mean, on the third refrain, we're gonna go straight into the key change and bring it on up a little bit. So, here we go.
Speaker 2I heard an old, old story, how a savior came from glory, how he gave his life on Calvary to save a wretch like me. I heard about his groaning of his precious blood's atoning, then I repented of my sins and won the victory. Oh, in Jesus, I heard about his healing, of his cleansing power revealing, how he made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see. And then I cried, dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit. And somehow, Jesus came and brought to me the victory.
And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea and about the angels singing and the old redemption story. And some sweet day, I'll sing up there the song of victory. Wait for it. Oh, victory in Jesus,
Speaker 1Amen. Amen. Thank you. It took a miracle. We had to put this one up so that we could see it on the wall.
Do y'all know this song? Anybody know this song? It's been a while. Yes, there are a few of you. If you know it, sing it loud, okay?
Loudly. I will do my best. Here we go. We'll side read. It's very operatic.
Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I have a few announcements this morning. The announcements, Monday nights at first b. Monday nights at first b is happening tomorrow night.
Carl is finishing up chapter 15 of the book of John where Christ has told them to abide in him. And what's the passage? The main thought this week, Carl? Yeah. Jesus calls his disciples.
Out of and into. Yep.
Speaker 2Onto it.
Speaker 1Okay. So, he's calling us out of every tribe, tongue, and nation, and into the ecclesia. I think I might mention that again. This sermon and tomorrow night's gospel conversation go hand in hand. It's a really, really tight little pattern there.
So that's cool. Monday night's the first beat. Meal, music, and a message down the hall. Awana starts at six also, 05:45. Get here to register.
Kids start off in this room and then spread out all over the church. It's a good kids club because kids matter to God. We're pouring scripture in their hearts, their minds to reach their hearts. And I love Awana. I just think it's great.
It's fun to be here, and it's edifying for all in attendance, whether it's volunteers that are helping out with it or the students themselves. So if you'd like to sign up for weekly email bulletins, they can be found at firstbjackson.org. And when you if you do that, you can sign up yourself rather than having to get somebody else to sign you up. Congregational meeting is next week, January 16. It'll be between services.
So, if you come at eleven next week, you will have missed the business meeting. If you want to be here, be here at ten next week for the business meeting. It's a 2021 financial review budget approval for the coming year. Jim Reed has been a CPA here in town for a long time. He is up for election as a member of the board of trustees and financial secretary.
Steve Landis is also up for a three year term as an elder. So if you would, if you are a member, you wanna come to that. You're welcome to come and attend, but members will get to vote if you wanna come to the congregational meet next week. Twenty twenty two men's snowmobile retreat. This has happened in January 28 through the thirtieth.
We have had a few who have signed up for it, but as far as I know, only a couple have paid for it. So, it's time. The time has come. If we're gonna pay for, the food and lodging up there, we need to get some of that money coming in. So Old Faithful Christian Ranch is a $100 per adult, 75 for kids.
So if you're planning on going on that, see Nick afterwards. There's Nick staring right there. He's working in our office, and he's the guy. He can tell you how to make that payment. Anything else?
Sisters Saved by Grace. Nancy Baxter has been leading along with several other ladies. She's been leading this, women's Bible study on Thursday evenings from six to eight, and they are having a good time. I'm usually here for elders meetings and board of trustees. Not that we're not having a good time, but they sound like they're having a lot of fun.
So, fellowship hall, there's a light meal provided. Some somebody, Nancy's made it this week but somebody will make the meal and Addie Hair has been making the dessert which is fantastic but Sisters Saved by Grace, that's a Thursday evening study, six to eight and they're love to have you. There was supposed to be covenant ceremony this morning, but we put it back one more week. Brad's at home sick, and we had Leah in the nursery. So we had one from each couple that we're not able to be.
And I think we'll do that. Is there anything else that I've forgotten? Seems like there was one more announcement. I may have already covered it though. Did I cover it?
Speaker 2Blake, is
Speaker 1there anything else? Nobody's nobody's looking at me. Diane often will remind me of something over here, but y'all don't have anything else for me. Would you stand up and we'll sing, open my eyes that I may see. Hymn number five sixty three if you have an actual hymnal with you.
Speaker 2Amen. That shall unclasp and set me free. Silently now, I wait for thee. Ready, my God, thy will to I may hear voices of truth. Thou soundest clear.
And while the wave knows all on my ear, everything false will
Speaker 1The longer I serve him, the sweeter he grows. Y'all can have a seat. Would you pray with me? God, I thank you for this morning. Lord, the beauty of this morning is just staggering.
I thank you for all that you have done, Lord, all that you have given. We're reminded this morning in the first service, song service, that every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the father of lights. Lord God, you are the light of the world, and you have given us the task of being the light of the world. I pray that you would reflect off of us, lord, your illuminating light in such a way that people would would be drawn to you, Lord, irresistibly. I pray that you'd use us to expand your kingdom.
Would you take what is put into these plates literally and physically, Lord, the resources that are put in here. Would you take these and spread them, Lord, to the... And multiply them to the very ends of the world. But, Lord, would you also take metaphorically everything that we will offer you and make it enough, Lord. Make it more than enough.
You're mighty to save. Your word can go forth through human vessels. Open our eyes to see. Open our ears to hear. Open our heart, Lord, and then open our mouth.
Open our mouths to just share the good gospel and see the kingdom advance. In Jesus' name, Lord, we ask your blessing on this offering. Amen. That that was a smorgasbord. That was Swedish and German and all kinds of European, everything, American, Moonlight Sonata, all kinds of stuff in there.
Wow. A hodgepodge. Beautiful medley. Oh, this morning. So, we are dealing this morning.
We're in there continuing study of the Sermon on the Mount. Now, we started with the beatitudes last week right where Jesus starts. The beatitudes, the blessings and those blessings are right out front and they're countercultural in every culture. They are counter to every worldly kingdom or subculture under that kingdom. They are counter cultural.
And Jesus has started out with blessings saying, you can be a part of the kingdom of heaven now. Some stuff will be deferred for a while. If you hunger and thirst after righteousness, you will be filled. You will be filled. And it's a progressive issue of filling.
One day, eventually, all completely filled, but you can be a part of the kingdom now. Salt and light, he's speaking the first part of this, and then a statement on fulfilling the law. He fulfilled the law, not set it aside or abolished it or put it away. Actually, he intensified it and then he gives six illustrations with a pretty common format. You have heard that it was said but I say to you.
So, that's what we're gonna go through today. Each one of these probably could be a sermon in itself but they work best together. Honestly, they work best together along with Carl's message tomorrow night because he's speaking to his disciples primarily. Whether you look at the sermon in the mount in Luke or you look at it in Matthew and we're looking at it in Matthew. When you look at the sermon on the mount, it's he's speaking to his disciples, not just anybody who showed up.
Now, anybody who showed up is certainly going to hear it but the ones that he's speaking to are the folks that he's been speaking to in those beatitudes. Blessed are you when the folks of the world say, all manner of evil things against you for my name's sake. For if that's the case, blessed are you. Right? So here we go.
Salt and light to start off with. You are the salt of the earth. Now you collectively you collectively, my disciples disciples equal salt here. You disciples. We might even say ecclesia, the called out ones, the church, the ones who have been saved and brought into the kingdom of heaven.
You you are the salt of the earth. And I know y'all heard a thousand sermons about this passage, and it's not just about making stuff taste good. I mean, in the time period, salt was used as a preservative. You're preserving stuff. You didn't have refrigeration, so you had to preserve it somehow, and salt was the way that they did that.
Okay. Preserving influence is good. Taste is also good, but you are the salt of the earth. You disciples are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?
Well, that's a good question, because if salt becomes tasteless, it's not salt. Okay? Salt stays salt till it's acted on in some other chemical process where it's actually changed into something else. But that's not what he's talking about. He's not speaking chemically.
In the time period, salt was expensive because it did a job that they had to do, right? When you've got a resource that's somewhat scarce and it's expensive, what do people do? They try to make something that looks like it that they can cut it with, fill it with. And honestly, in our day, the only time we ever hear about this is when somebody's cutting drugs, like they're cutting cocaine or they're cutting heroin or something, and they're putting something in it that looks like it but it's not it. It doesn't do the purpose that cocaine or heroin are...
They're trying to get to do. Salt can have the same thing. If we are collectively the salt of the earth, right? We're supposed to be salty. And if there is something that looks like salt but doesn't do the job of salt, then the whole mass of salt becomes degraded.
Right? Let me give you some definitions. I can see the confusion on your faces. Morenthe, if this Greek word helps. Morenthe is the aorist passive, subjunctive, third person, singular.
Moreno. That was for you, Dave. It means to be foolish. Moreno. Moreno means to be foolish.
So the A definition and the B definition here. I think B is probably better put. We could say tasteless there, and it does say in the new American standard, has become tasteless. But if you look at this definition and you mull it over, you think about what salt's use is for, and you think it's collective. So if there is a church that is salty, they are acting selflessly like Jesus did, they are making an impact on the world around them, a preserving influence on those around them.
If that's the case, the church is doing what the church is supposed to do. If there are a lot of people within the confines of the church that are not actual disciples, they look like it, they show up at the same times, they do some of the same things, but they're not living selflessly. They are not salty. If you get diluted or tainted salt, it's no good. Right?
I'll go back to the slide before this, but think about this with me. If one has been made foolish is a good translation. If one has been turned to foolishness, turned away from the main message of the gospel and turned to something else, anything else. If one has been tainted and thus, if one has become tasteless, they're not this collective group is not doing what this collective group was designed to do. They're not salty.
They're tainted with something else. If one has been made to be useless, can you see in the history of church times when church was more helpful, more useful, more preserving, more redemptive, and there are other times when they're less so. For me, I think about the first three centuries of Christianity when there was a terrible persecution. There were not a lot of Christians, but it was growing like wildfire. And then when Constantine, big, had this vision and opened it up and said, alright, instead of Rome being against Christians, now we're all Christians.
What did that do to the influence of the actual church, the actual kingdom of God? It watered it down. It made it less salty. It's arguably the worst thing that ever happened to Christianity. Okay.
I'm backing up. Here we go. If the salt has become tasteless or not, it's not really salt, how can it be made to be salty again? Honestly, it's the same thing that happened in the first place. You just have to turn to Jesus.
Each and every one of those can turn to Jesus and he will redeem. It's no longer good for anything. The church here, he's speaking about the church is no longer good for anything if it becomes watered down except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by people. If the church is not having an influence in the world, a redemptive work of saving people and souls, it's just gonna get run over by the world. Covered that.
Now it goes from salt to light. You are the light of the world. The light of the world. Disciples now equal the light of the world. Now, I know in another place in Matthew, Jesus says, I am the light of the world.
Right here, he said, you you are the light of the world. You're the ones that are gonna be continuing to carry forth this illumination from God. You are the light of the world. A city that's set on a hill, this is just a statement of fact, cannot be hidden. You can see that when you're riding home from Wilson and you look up at the at the bar.
Wow. You see everything on that hill, don't you? They have the lights on. You can see it. You're a light of world.
City set on a hill can't be hidden nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but you put it on a lampstand. You put it where it'll give light to all who are in the house. Do you remember the old farmhouse style when they first started putting electricity in, a knob and tube, electrical wire running up top, and they had one light bulb, and where was it? About this high hanging from the center of the room. Because that's the best place for it.
It gives the most illumination to the whole room. Your light. Your light, disciples. If you are a disciple, your light must shine before everyone else, people, in such a way that those other people may see your good works and that they may glorify your father who's in heaven. There is a chance.
There is a possibility that if you are living selflessly loving God and loving people, that people who live for themselves and no one else will see it and recognize they're not doing that for themselves. They're doing that for some other reason and may ask. He's saying whether they ask or not, your light must be shining. Put it in a place where it can be seen before other people. This is not a separatist.
I can say this with certainty. He's calling his disciples out of, but he's also calling them to be an impact on the world. Salt and light. They're walking in darkness. You have to be the light.
They are rotting, and you have to be the salt. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they see your good works and they glorify your father who's in heaven. So that's the salt in light. I I wish that I could transmit to you. That that salt thing has always bothered me.
What what if the salt's not salty? What do you do? Well, it's saying you're not gonna have an impact unless you are really, humbly submitting to me and my will. And if you find that you are not, you turn back to him and say, Lord God almighty, forgive me, and he will put you back on the path. He will do it.
Collectively, we should be about the kingdom business, and we should not allow it to just get watered down to the point of ineffectiveness. Statement on fulfilling the law. So we've got quite a few here illustrations coming up. But before that starts, this is the point, the thesis that Jesus is trying to flesh out is this. Do not presume that I came to abolish the law or the prophets.
Yes. I know, disciples, you're here and you're looking to me with all of your background in mind, and you're looking to me for fairly different reasons. But this sermon, I'm saying, blessed are you when you start thinking about other people, not about yourself. Blessed are you when you are looking to me. Don't presume that I came to abolish the law or the prophets.
I didn't come to abolish, but I came to fulfill. Israel had always been God's chosen people way back to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they had failed in their spreading the light. They had failed in spreading the blessing of God. And Jesus was gonna fulfill it. He was actually gonna live it out.
I didn't come to abolish but to fulfill, and he did. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter, a iota in Greek or a yod in Hebrew. It's the smallest letter, just a stroke. Nor the stroke of a letter, the seraph. You know when you have a letter that has a little top that has a little shelf on it?
That's a seraph. Not one stroke nor one seraph, not a iota or a seraph shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. The law will set out exactly what it was set out for. It will accomplish it. Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, nullifies them, puts them aside and says they don't matter at all, teaches others to do the same, they shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
So the 10 commandments, the first four about loving God, the last six are about loving people, and it's about how we can get along, really. It's about if if you will treat others this way, that's the minimum that you can do. If I go forward here, we'll get to this. For I say to you, disciples, there are other people in attendance. There are actually scribes and pharisees in attendance.
There are other people, Gentiles, in attendance. There are tax collectors in attendance. The people that he's speaking to... Matthew was a tax collector, as a matter of fact. For I say to you, disciples, that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
When he said, blessed are those who are poor in spirit, they recognize their own spiritual lack. Scribes and Pharisees were trusting in their intellect, in their proper theology, they were trusting their proper practice. And Jesus is saying, you gotta go beyond that. It's not that. That's not it.
For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes of Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. One implication of Matthew five twenty two is this, the scribes and Pharisees will not enter the kingdom of heaven. That's not going to happen. That's not going to be because of their merit.
Speaker 2I grew up
Speaker 1in little Southern Baptist church in Georgia, and I think it's funny every time I think of it now. Our association actually, Abby Hale's back there too, or Abby's back there. Sorry. And she was in the same association, and it was called the Merit Baptist Association. Is that funny to y'all?
It was two r's and two t's, so I never thought about it. But merit, for crying out loud, it was all about merit. I think all of us who grew up religious at times feel like it's on me. It's on me. Do I merit this?
Well, grace is unmerited favor. Okay? Jesus is saying, you gotta you gotta go beyond that. For I say unto you, unless you're... Oh, sorry.
True disciples will draw on God's righteousness. If you have put your faith in Christ, he has promised to be with you and to provide his spirit to you, and you can live in spirit led life with the power that raised Jesus from the dead at your disposal. And that will allow you to have the righteousness that surpasses the scribes and pharisees. So here are the six illustrations, and he doesn't take anything off. These these are these are hard hitting, all of them.
So what Jesus does in this common format is you have heard that it was said. This is the law, and I'm telling you, I'm going beyond that. You've heard that it was said, but I say unto you. First one is about murder. It says, you've heard that the ancients were told, you shall not murder.
And whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court. That's the law. It's one of the 10 commandments. And obviously, if you break the law or you do the crime, you do the time. Right?
There is a punishment that comes along with it. You've heard that ancients were told, you shall not murder. Whoever commits murder shall be answerable to the court. At that time, the punishment was stoning if you did murder. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be answerable to the court.
Wow. That intensifies it. It doesn't take it away. It doesn't nullify it. It intensifies it.
And whoever says to his brother, you good for nothing, shall be answerable to the supreme court. Let's go one step further, and Jesus does. And whoever says, raka, you fool, shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Wow. He's saying, if you're angry with someone or if you think they're a good for nothing or if you think they're a fool.
Now, how long do you have to watch the news in the morning before you hear somebody doing one of those things? Okay. How long do you have to watch the news for you yourself? Start thinking one of those things if you keep it to yourself and don't say it out loud. It is a very common thing these days to think, They don't know what they're talking about.
They're just idiots. Or, that makes me so mad that they're such an idiot. Jesus is saying, that's tantamount to murder. Where does murder start? It starts in the heart.
It starts in the heart. What comes out of your mouth says what's in your heart. If you say, you fool, you're already guilty. Therefore, if you are presenting your offering, Jesus is offering a better way. Therefore, if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and I'm sure his guests at this Sermon on the Mount would have thought, well, that's about the holiest thing you can do, is presenting your offer offering.
Therefore, if you're presenting your offering at the altar and right there, you remember that your brother has something against you. It doesn't say that you have something against your brother. You didn't hold the offense. You're supposed to be forgiven and letting the offenses go. If you realize that someone else has something against you, then leave your offering right there before the altar and just go.
And first, be reconciled to your brother. If you know somebody's got something against you, you need to go to him and try to make that right. Reconcile. Go. First, be reconciled to your brother and then then come and present your offering.
And Paul would say it this way. He says, if possible, in as much as it depends on you, you live at peace with all people. Now I will tell you, some people won't let you live at peace with them. They're just not gonna do it. But as much as it depends on you, if you know your brother has something against you, you go to him and you try to make it right.
You do the best you can to make it right. Now they may hold that grudge and they may hold it onto it. That's not on you at that point, but you've done all that you can do. Come to good terms, it says, with your accuser. This is the person who has something against you.
Come to good terms with your accuser. How? Quickly. Keep short accounts. While you are with him on the way to court, and if you think about it, do you believe there's a judgment day coming?
Yes or no? Yes. So we're all headed towards court. Okay? All of us.
In this road that we're walking forward, we're all headed towards a court date. Come to good terms with your accuser quickly while you're with him on the way to court so that your accuser will not hand you over to the judge and judge the officer and you'll not be thrown into prison. Do you think that Jesus lived a life knowing that judgment was coming? He did. And what does it say?
He continually entrusted himself to the one who judges rightly. If we live that life that way, we may be offensive to them, but it'll be an offense because of the gospel, not because of what we do. Truly, I say to you, you will not come out of there until you've paid the very last quadrants. Now I'll give you a break right here. Quadrants, you know what that is?
It's an itty bitty little bronze coin. Here's a picture of one. This one is from the time of Caesar Augustus, so this is one that would have been in circulation at the time. This is an older one that's got Hercules on the back and a ship on the front or vice versa. And this is another one.
This one's from Domitian. So when John was writing Revelation, this is a coin, a quadrants, and it is worth a fourth of another small coin. It's the littlest coin that they had to offer at the time. It's itty bitty. It was barely worth what a pebble is worth.
It was three pebbles or three three little dots is what they were known for. A quadrants. He's saying, you'll be held to account to the very nth degree, to the uttermost if you're not looking to make it right. Adultery. He hits this one pretty hard too.
You've heard that it said you shall not commit adultery. That's one of the 10 commandments just like murder. Right? You've heard it said your whole life. What's the least you can do?
Do not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So again, he intensifies the command. Out of our heart comes all kind of defilement. And he's saying, it's not just the act itself, it is the want to, the will.
Now if your right eye is causing you to sin, tear it out. Throw it away from you for it's better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand is causing you to sin, cut it off and throw it away from you for it's better for you to lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. He's saying that it's deep down within us. Some things we are hardwired for.
And when we remove those things from the realm they should be in and we start taking them into our own hands, we will then go off the path. It's a distraction. He goes on to talk about divorce from there. I don't think, by the way, that those two images that he gives are hyperbolic language. I do believe that.
But he also is hitting very close to the issue. If you start to entertain this idea and act as if as long as I don't actually act on it, that it's sin without a victim, you're wrong, and you're heading in a bad direction. Divorce. Next one. Now it was said whoever sends his wife away is to give her a certificate of divorce.
That is from the Mosaic Law. Divorce was allowable, but she had to be given a certificate and that was only the man could divorce woman. It wasn't the other way around. But you have heard that it was said, this is the way that it is, and it was. That was the law.
That's the reason that Joseph, when he found Mary was with child, could send her away quietly. With just two or three witnesses, he could write up a divorce and be done with her quietly because that was the law. Jesus though says this, but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of porneia, sexual immorality, any sexuality outside of a loving biblical marriage, except for the reason of sexual immorality makes her commit adultery. So what you do has an effect on someone else. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
He goes straight on. Nothing miss a beat. This is all illustrating the fact that he is not coming to abolish the law, he's coming to make it even more intense. Oaths. For oaths.
Again, you've heard that the ancients were told, you shall not make false vows. Don't lie. But you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord. Now, people to heighten their speech would say, I swear upon whatever. Greeks did one thing, Romans did another.
Christians were not supposed to take oaths. They weren't supposed to have to heighten their language whatsoever. And then the fulfilling your vows to the Lord. Has anybody ever prayed this prayer? Lord, if you get me out of this situation, I will never do this again.
That's known as the drinker's prayer. From my case, it's the mountain climber's prayer. I'm not summoning the highest mountain in wherever I am ever again. I've made the promise to God, and I'm keeping that vow to the Lord. Anyway, you shall not make false vows, but you shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.
That's the old school way, but I say to you, take no oath at all, neither by heaven for it's the throne of God. That's his. You can't swear by something that's not even yours. No. Don't do that.
And nor by the earth for it's the footstool of his. That's his too. Nor by Jerusalem, for it's the city of the great king. Jesus is saying this. He's Jerusalem's real king, and he's saying, don't swear by anything.
And all of these were common at the time. People would say, oh, by Thor's hammer, you know, the Norse gods, you know, or by whatever, they would buy this, buy that, and they were trying to heighten their speech. And Jesus is saying, just chill on that. Don't do that. You don't have to do that.
Nor shall you take an oath by your head because you can't do anything. You can't make a single hair white or black. But make sure your statement is this, yes, yes. No, no. Let your yay be yay and your nay be nay.
Just speak simply, live simply, and follow through on what you say that you'll do. Anything beyond these is of evil origin. No oaths. He goes on, retaliation. Retaliation.
Now Luke mentioned quite a bit about retaliation in his Sermon on the Mount. You've heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. Can you remember? I mean, can you believe that was the law? If somebody punched out your tooth, you just got to punch out their tooth?
Somebody shot your dog, you just get to shoot their dog? That that is... Well, I don't want somebody to shoot my dog, so I won't shoot their dog. It's a human... Makes sense, I guess.
You you have skin in the game at all times under this law. You've heard that it was said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, don't show opposition against an evil person. You're not evil people, disciples. You've been called to be righteous.
You've been empowered with a spirit that would give you the ability to see clearer than those evil people do. I say to you, don't show opposition to an evil person. Whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn the other toward him also. Did Jesus do that? Literally, he did that.
And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also. Okay. That's countercultural. That's not anything like the world's rules. Whoever forces you to go within one mile, this is Roman law.
Roman law, a Roman soldier who's the oppressive force for the Jewish people. Right? All of these disciples at the time were little... Good little Jewish boys. Right?
They all knew the law and the Romans were the oppressive force, and what they were hoping the Messiah would do was whip these bad Romans, and now he's saying, if anyone forces you to go one mile because a Roman soldier could ask any subjugated person in the whole Roman Empire, you carry my pack for the next mile. And they had mile markers so that you'd know how far a mile was. And they could just compel you to do it. Jesus is saying, Go an extra mile. Go with him too.
Do you think that would spur a conversation if you're carrying a Roman soldier's heavy bag and you get to the mile marker and you don't turn around and you just say, No, I'll go ahead and I'll go another one? Wouldn't that be salty? Wouldn't that be illuminating? Yeah. If we actually followed through on this, it would be very countercultural and very different.
Whoever forces you to go with them one mile, go with them two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. It's countercultural. It's a good way to live. Now I know all the proverbs that say, if you help a man, you'll have to do it again.
Yep. It doesn't say don't do it though. Loving enemies. Loving enemies is the last one. You've heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
That doesn't sound like a commandment from God, but it is the normal way of the world. We love the ones we love that love us, and we hate the ones that hate us, our enemies. But you've heard that it was said, you should love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Loving your enemies will confuse them.
It'll confuse them. And praying for those who persecute you changes your mind about them, and it'll probably allow you to see something about yourself. If you will, pray for those who persecute you. I can think of Jesus going, father, forgive them for they know not what they do. He did know what they were doing.
Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you so that... Oh, I love a good so that. So that why?
You may prove yourselves to be sons of your father who's in heaven. If you act like your father who's in heaven, it shows you to have a family resemblance. And he goes on to say because God does this, he causes the sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and he sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. He's saying that God's common grace is available for all all the time, and we should be living that way. Friend or foe, we should be living that way.
It proves us to be sons of our father who's in heaven. Luke says this way, you should be good to them. Why? It says because God is good to evil and ungrateful people. That stuck with me, and I really like that.
For if you if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors it's funny that Matthew wrote this and he was a tax collector. If you love those who love you, what reward is that to you? Even tax collectors do. Don't they do the same?
Well, yeah, they love the ones who love them and hate the ones who hate them. Even tax collectors, do they not do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? That's normal. He's calling you to be abnormal, to love in the spite of the difficulty and oppression.
Even the Gentiles, that's everybody outside of the Jewish people. Everybody else, the nations. Don't all nations do that? I'm calling you to be different, Jesus says. I'm calling you to be loving and helpful to everybody, not just the ones you love and appreciate.
Therefore, because of all of that, you shall be perfect. Boy, that's tough. For those of you who struggle with perfectionism, it's really, really tough. I don't. I don't struggle with perfectionism.
That might not surprise anybody at all. I struggle with it only if I'm painting something. I want it to be well sanded. I want it to be primed. I want it to painted.
That's the time when I want to be perfect. You know? I could do the body shop thing. I could do that. But other than that, I feel like, you know what?
I'm gonna fall short. I want to be the best me that I can be. I want to go forward and be better today than yesterday, but I'm trusting in God to take care of my lack. Therefore, you shall be perfect. Now the word perfect there.
If you struggle with perfectionism, this is something where it could just feel like I gotta chuck this all together because there's no way I'm ever gonna be perfect. It feels like I'm Sisyphus rolling a rock to the top of the hill just to see it roll back down. Perfect means this, teleoi. Teleoi. Mature or whole.
It's derived from telos, which means a consummated goal. Actually, if you think of the words from the cross, Jesus said,, same word. It means it has been finished. It's over. Everything that needed to be done has been done.
So Jesus could say, Tetelestai. This is complete. Teleoi is mature or whole. It is derived from this consummated goal. Mature from going through the necessary stages to reach the end goal.
Developed into completion by fulfilling the necessary process, a spiritual journey. So let me illustrate it this way. If you see a field and there's this beautiful, large oak tree out in the field and it's just gorgeous, and you say, that is the perfect oak tree. That perfect oak tree in your mind is like, that's what an oak tree is supposed to look like. But if you had seen it seventy five years ago and it was an acorn, it would still be perfect as the acorn.
It would still be perfect when the shoot sticks up from the ground because at that point in the process, that is as mature and whole as it can be. And we, the rough material that we are, can be sanctified and improved over this life as we submit our will to the will of God, and we can be mature and whole at any point. Therefore, you shall be mature, whole, as good as you can be at this point. While sinless perfection is impossible, j Walvoord says, while sinless perfection is impossible, godliness in its biblical concept is attainable. I agree with that.
I think that that's a really good statement. If you look at it and you think, I can't... Not only can I not commit that act, but I can't even think about it? If I think about it, I'm already sinful. I just gotta chuck this and go do whatever I want.
That's one response. Or to think, you know what? With your help today, Lord, I can avoid the situations that would distract me from your will and your way. Sinless perfection is impossible, but godliness is attainable. I think that's true.
We can walk in victory. Therefore, you shall be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. I think I accidentally cut off the last slide. It's, therefore, you shall be perfect. As your heavenly father is perfect.
But it says as, and sometimes those little adverbs like that get thrown away and we we can see that and go, well, there's no way I can be as perfect as God. You can be whole and mature as you will allow him. So hos is the adverb there. As, like as, even as, when, since, as long as, as, like as, about, as it were, according as, how, when, while, as soon as, or so that. If you think about it that way, be ye perfect since your heavenly father is perfect because he's the one empowering you.
Be ye perfect while your heavenly father is perfect. Is he able? He's able. Are we willing is a better question. How are we gonna do it?
Only through him. I have one more little blurb to read out of this book. It didn't make the slides. But I like this, when we look at those about murder, adultery, divorce, and we all fall guilty under Jesus' new definition. All of us do.
We fall guilty under that. I like this last sentence here in Craig Blomberg's commentary on Matthew. It says, even as God sets higher standards in his new covenant than in the law, the old covenant, he also reveals himself as more forgiving of our failures. Thank God we have a merciful God who loves us, who is leaning towards us with grace, and allows us to see that, you know what? Things start in here and you can deal with them in here before they ever get to your mouth, before they ever get to an act that you will regret forever.
I think that's it. Y'all have anything to add? Would you stand with me? Oh master, let me walk with thee. What a humble prayer that is.
665. Oh master, let me walk with thee. By the way, this didn't come up on this sermon but Kevin Wedgeworth, if you know Kevin Wedgeworth, he was leaving today to move to Washington in the first service. We laid hands on him and sent him out to carry on and as a gospel servant. He's moving to Washington State today.
Just so you know, if you don't see him around, that's where he's going. Seeking after the kingdom of God above all else and living righteously. He will be giving you everything that you need. Lord God almighty, may we be seeking your kingdom first, your righteousness above all else. And lord, may we recognize that every good and perfect gift, whole, mature, all of that is given from the father of lights.
In Jesus name, we pray that you would bless us to bless others as we go. Amen.
