A Messiah Who Teaches Part 5: The Atypical Reaction of the Disciple
Text: Matthew 5:38-48
Introduction
1. Illustration: The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is not - Do your duty, but - Do what is not your duty. It is not your duty to go the second mile, to turn the other cheek, but Jesus says if we are His disciples we shall always do these things. There will be no spirit of - "Oh, well, I cannot do any more, I have been so misrepresented and misunderstood." Every time I insist upon my rights, I hurt the Son of God; whereas I can prevent Jesus from being hurt if I take the blow myself. That is the meaning of filling up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ. The disciple realizes that it is his Lord’s honor that is at stake in his life, not his own honor (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, July 14).
2. How does a disciple of Jesus respond in a world that teaches:
a. Don’t get mad; get even.
b. Vengeance is a dish best served cold.
3. In answering this question, we must consider:
a. The Typical Response
b. The Atypical Response
4. Read Matt. 5:38-48
Proposition: Jesus is calling us to a higher standard.
Transition: First, let us consider...
I. The Typical Reaction (38-42).
A. An Eye For An Eye
1. Once again, Jesus deals with a misconception of a Scriptural principle. The basis of this teaching comes from 3 OT texts.
a. Exodus 21:23-25 (NLT)
But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot, a burn for a burn, a wound for a wound, a bruise for a bruise.
b. Leviticus 24:19-20 (NLT)
“Anyone who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted— a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever anyone does to injure another person must be paid back in kind.
c. Deuteronomy 19:21 (NLT)
You must show no pity for the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
2. Jesus says, “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’"
a. The whole idea of the OT mandate of "an eye for an eye" was so that people did not exceeded the punishment.
b. In fact, the law taught that vengeance belonged to God
c. Deuteronomy 32:35 (NLT)
I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.’
d. However, once again, people were taking undue liberties with the Scriptures. They said that vengeance was not only permitted, but mandated. In other words, it was their duty to get even!
e. Just as in his teaching on divorce, Jesus transcends an OT teaching that was given because of the hardness of the human heart (Turner, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, 93).
3. Consequently, Jesus tells us a better way. He does so by listing four concrete solutions. The first one, "But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also."
a. He is talking about a personal dispute that leads to an insulting back-hand slap by a right-handed person to the right cheek of another person.
b. A back handed blow to the right cheek was an insult, and considered a personal attack on a person’s dignity (Keener, IVP NT Commentary: Matthew, 128).
c. In the case of offense to our personal dignity, Jesus not only warns us not to avenge our honor but suggests that we indulge the offender further.
d. The startling teaching of this passage is that these are bad people (an evil person), intent on getting the better of the disciple, but even their admitted badness does not justify the disciple in resisting them (France, NICNT: Matthew, 220).
4. The second situation that Jesus sites has to do with legal matters. "If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too."
a. He is referring to a legal dispute in which one is ordered to forfeit one’s shirt to supply collateral for a debt to satisfy a claim for damages.
b. Many peasants had only one outer cloak and pursued whatever legal recourse to get it back.
c. Because the outer cloak also doubled as a poor man’s bedding, biblical law permitted no one to take it, even as a pledge overnight (Keener, 128).
d. In fact, for many of the poor it was the only blanket they owned, and the nights in the hill country of Palestine can be quite cool most of the year (Horton, CBL: Matthew, 97).
e. Therefore, Jesus is saying let someone take what the law specifically says is forbidden. Give them not only what is required, but given even what isn’t required.
f. Jesus is saying if the law is about fairness, be willing to submit to unfairness in order to benefit others.
5. In the third situation, Jesus says, "If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles."
a. In this scenario, an occupying Roman soldier is conscripting a Jewish person to carry his equipment.
b. Roman soldiers had the legal right to impress the labor, work animal or substance of local residents (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
c. However, Jesus tells us to go the extra mile by not only submitting to their demands, but taking it a step further.
d. Remember that the Romans were an occupying force, and the Jews hated them. Consider that To do this for anyone would be remarkable, but to do it for an enemy would be unheard of (France, 222).
e. However, in doing so, they leave room for God to do something, and He may even use to bring salvation and repentance (Horton, 99).
6. The forth scenario, is a little different. Jesus says, "Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow."
a. Jesus point here is not only is a disciple to be non-retaliatory when injured, he or she is to be generous to those in need.
b. Not only are we to not further evil in the world, but rather we are to further good in the world by benevolence.
c. In each situation, Jesus teaches that we are to go beyond the expected response.
d. Love and kindness are to be our standards for interpersonal actions (Horton, 99).
B. Should We Get Even?
1. Illustration: You are probably aware that Corrie ten Boom, along with her sister and father, were sent to Ravensbruck, a Nazi concentration camp, for hiding Jews. Her sister and father died there, but Corrie was released, due to a “clerical error.” And the Kingdom of God is better off for it. Corrie ten Boom likened forgiveness to letting go of a bell rope. If you have ever seen a country church with a bell in the steeple, you will remember that to get the bell ringing you have to tug awhile. Once it has begun to ring, you merely maintain the momentum. As long as you keep pulling, the bell keeps ringing. Corrie ten Boom says forgiveness is letting go of the rope. It is just that simple, but when you do so, the bell keeps ringing. Momentum is still at work. However, if you keep your hands off the rope, the bell will begin to slow and eventually stop. It is like that with forgiveness. When you decide to forgive, the old feelings of unforgiveness may continue to assert themselves. After all, they have lots of momentum. But if you affirm your decision to forgive, that unforgiving spirit will begin to slow and will eventually be still. Forgiveness is letting go of the "rope" of retribution (Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations).
2. The world says, "Don’t get mad; get even," but Jesus says, "let me handle it."
a. Retribution on produces more retribution.
b. It creates a vicious cycle of people trying to get back at the person before them in the chain.
c. Jesus is telling us to different; stop the madness.
d. Proverbs 15:1 (NLT)
A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.
3. The world says, "Vengeance is a dish best served cold," but Jesus says, "Let it go and forgive."
a. Romans 12:20 (NLT)
Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”
b. Meeting fire with fire just causes more fire.
c. The way to deal with fire is to pour some water on it!
d. Jesus is calling us to a higher standard.
e. He says don’t get bitter; get better.
Transition: Jesus is not calling to react typically, but to...
II. The Atypical Reaction (43-48).
A. Love Your Enemies
1. Jesus moves on to show us how his disciples should do the unexpected.
2. He says, “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy."
a. Again, Jesus is combating a misconception of Scripture. According to Jesus, the teaching they were following said that you should love your neighbor, but hate your enemy.
b. But is that what the Scriptures said? No!
c. Leviticus 19:18 (NLT)
“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
d. They took the "love your neighbor" to mean it was okay to hate your neighbor.
e. Just because Lev. 19:18 tells us to love our neighbors doesn’t give us the license to hate our enemies.
3. However, Jesus says, "But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!"
a. Jesus says that we should love even our enemies and those that persecute us.
b. Notice the change from singular in v. 43 to plural in v. 44. This indicates that no enemy was to be left out (France, 225).
c. This goes beyond not resisting them to seeking their good by praying for them.
d. Jesus himself is the best example of fulfillment of these words. He healed his enemy, prayed for them, and died for them (Horton, 99).
4. The reason that Jesus tells us to do this is because "In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike."
a. In doing so we will imitate our heavenly Father and transcend typical human behavior (Turner, 93).
b. Jesus is telling us not to copy the behaviors of this world, but rather to copy those of our heavenly Father who is perfect.
c. Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
d. Jesus is not talking about being saved because of our works, he is talking about works that come about of the fact that we are saved.
5. He goes on to say, "If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much."
a. The kind of love that Jesus is referring to is about not only feelings and emotions, but also to an accepting attitude that determines the way we treat people.
b. "Corrupt tax collectors" refers to what in Jesus day they called "tax farmers." These were people who paid the Romans to collect taxes and then collect for than was due, and kept the surplus for themselves (Turner, 94).
c. Even these crocked tax collectors could love those who loved them back, but Jesus calls his disciples to transcend what people who don’t know Him.
d. Anyone can love those who love them, but to show God’s love to those who are unlovable is difficult (Horton, 101).
e. Underlying the form of these questions is the assumption first that the life of the disciple is to be different, special, extraordinary, and second that there is a reward for a life lived by this higher standard of love (France, 227).
6. Jesus sums it all up by saying, "But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."
a. The word "perfect" means to be complete, mature, grown up in likeness to God’s benevolence (Turner, 94).
b. Some people assume that Jesus meant that we are supposed to be sinless, but this would be inconsistent coming from a teacher that taught His disciples about asking for forgiveness.
c. The emphasis falls more on the committed and close relationship with God (Horton, 101).
B. Transcending the World
1. Illustration: Pastor Joel Gregory tells the story of a seminary professor who taught the Christian graces of love and forbearance for forty years until he retired. Occupying himself in his retirement years, he poured a new concrete driveway to his house. Finished, he went in to rest and get a glass of ice tea. Returning later to view his proud achievement, he discovered that the neighborhood kids were putting their footprints all in the wet concrete. The angry professor chased the kids down in a rage and beat the tar out of the ones he could catch. Hearing the commotion, the professor’s wife rushed into the yard, saw the angry professor thrashing the kids, and began to reprimand him: "What a shame," she said. "For forty years you have taught love, forgiveness and forbearance. Now look at you. You’ve lost your testimony." To which he replied: "That was all in the abstract. This is in the concrete."
2. The world says, "I might love you if you love me first," but Jesus says, "love especially those who hate you."
a. It easy to love those that love you first.
b. It is easy to love those that are by nature loveable.
c. However, Jesus calls us to a new standard.
d. He calls us to take it up a notch.
3. The world says, "kill your enemy," but Jesus says, "love and pray for your enemy."
a. Not just to love them, but to pray for their good.
b. Romans 12:14 (NLT)
Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.
c. 1 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it.
4. Jesus calls us to be Atypical in our behavior.
a. The word atypical means something that is not normal (some of us are better at that than others).
b. He calls not to react to situations and people the same way that everyone else does, but to be different.
c. The world tells us to get even; Jesus tells us to consider the needs of others as more important.
d. The world tells us to hate anyone that crosses you; Jesus to us to love, pray, and bless them.
e. We are to look different, talk different, but most of all, we are to act different.
Conclusion
1. The things in life that are the most valued are those which are unique.
a. The most prized guitars are those that are custom made, because they are not like every other guitar. They are one of a kind.
b. The most prized furniture are those that are hand made, because they are built to a higher standard.
2. That’s what Jesus requires of us.
a. We are not be like everyone else; we are to be unique from those who are not living in a personal relationship with Him.
b. We are not to live our lives based on the standards of everyone else around us; we are to live to a divine standard.
3. Are you living according to God’s standards?
