Me a Murderer?
Matthew 5:21-26
Have you ever gotten to the point with someone that you were so angry, so mad, so upset that you just wanted to do or say something that would hurt them? Has rage so controlled you that you lash out at those around you? I have been there. I have been so upset with some of those that are close to me that I did not care what I said and I tried to hurt them. For me it starts with attitude. Mine and the person I am interacting with. If somebody gets a bad attitude with me, it is very hard not to get an attitude back. And when that happens, you have 2 people with bad attitudes and a situation that can escalate in a hurry. I can’t say that it has gotten to the point that I have ever wanted to kill somebody. Hurt them badly? Yes. Destroy their spirit? Yes. Who is it usually that we get the most upset with? For me it has been the people that are the closest to me. Brothers, parents, and close friends. Hopefully we can all say that we have never committed murder. Hopefully we can say that we have never taken another life. We can feel pretty good about ourselves until we hear the words of Jesus:
Matthew 5:21"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell. 23Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. 25Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Last week we focused on verse 20 which holds the main teaching of The Sermon. Jesus tells us that unless our righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Pharisees that we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. He is setting up his listeners to hear more specifically what he means about righteousness. Our righteousness is very much wrapped up in our relationships with others. How we deal with the people that we interact with on a day to day basis has a huge impact on our righteousness. Jesus just jumps right in when he starts in Verse 21 talking about murder. Every Jew that was there no doubt had studied the 10 commandments all their lives. This is exactly why Jesus says “you have heard that it was said…” Jesus was particularly referencing the 6th commandment “Thou shalt not kill”. If we were to rank these commandments many of us would put this as the number 1 commandment. It is such a heinous thing to take someone else’s life. Jesus wanted those with him to understand the full teaching of the law and not just the traditions that were passed on from one generation to another. When someone who has studied the law would hear this commandment he would know several things already. They would know that this commandment refers to the intentional taking of a life, murder. It is not in reference manslaughter or accidental death, and it does not refer to life taken in war. What Jesus was pointing out, and what Moses also intended was that murder is when with anger and premeditation you cause the death of someone else. In cases of manslaughter there was a system that was followed. In the Old Testament there were places called Cities of Refuge. People who had accidentally killed someone else would go to the city of refuge and would await a trial to determine if it really was an accident or not. These cities are described in Deuteronomy 19: 4 This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life—one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. 5 For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. And a few verses later in verse 11 But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities, 12 the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die. 13 Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.
And also in Numbers 35:15 These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites, aliens and any other people living among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there. 16 " 'If a man strikes someone with an iron object so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death.” In the next few verses it is spelled out a little more. If you hit someone in anger with premeditation with something made of wood or stone or metal or even your fist and they die, you are guilty Verse 22 goes on to say “'But if without hostility someone suddenly shoves another or throws something at him unintentionally 23 or, without seeing him, drops a stone on him that could kill him, and he dies, then since he was not his enemy and he did not intend to harm him, 24 the assembly must judge between him and the avenger of blood according to these regulations. 25 The assembly must protect the one accused of murder from the avenger of blood and send him back to the city of refuge to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.
What Jesus is saying is that it is the internal attitude that is prohibited by the law. The outward actions are important, but God holds us responsible for more than our appearances. A commentary that I read, Barnes Notes on the New Testament says: “The Pharisees were intent only on the external act in worship. They looked not at all to the internal acts of the mind. If a man conformed to the external rites of religion, however much envy, and malice, and secret hatred he might have, they thought he was doing well.” And Jesus speaks to them about their situation, that their anger and abusive language and condescension were making them as guilty as the people who spilled the blood of others. We see this same idea in I John. John makes a comparison between real Christianity and false religion. I John 3:14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. The same attitudes that bring a person to murder are at work in them and in us when we do not have them under control.
Now we come to the word therefore. So we need to see Jesus is building on top of something that he has already said. Based on this new information, if you have had ill will towards your brother that you are in the wrong, he says this in Matthew5:23Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. This attitude in you has probably caused others to be offended and you need to work things out with your brother in order to be right with God. Barnes Notes says “It was of more consequence to have the heart right, than to perform the outward act.”
25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
And he concludes by saying “So now, the worship of God will not be acceptable, however well performed externally, until we are at peace with those that we have injured” In other words we should all be conscious of our relationships and make sure that they are right. Our relationships with others tell us a lot about our relationship with God.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Law and Righteousness in The Sermon Matthew 5:17-20
The Sermon…-Matthew 5:17-20
We have been talking for a couple weeks about The Sermon On the Mount. We have introduced the Sermon with discussion on the beatitudes and the importance of making a difference by being salt and light to a tasteless and dark world. This week we really come to the main part of The Sermon. We begin to talk about what it means to follow Jesus, to be a true disciple. What does he expect of those who would follow him? As Jesus begins to teach there are really 2 questions that need to be answered for us to grasp the text.
What is righteousness?
What is the Law?
We have an idea about righteousness that pervades our culture. There is a mindset that if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds at the end of our lives then everything will be ok. We put our church attendance, our helping the poor, our paying all our bills, our kind words said, our sending money to charities on one side of a scale. On the other side we put our lies, our cheating, our stealing, and gossip. Then, whichever one weighs the most wins. And then there is the church. We have not given a much better picture. Way too many churches have given the wrong impression about pleasing God. Live a life free of sin and you will be assured a place in heaven and more blessings than you can stand here on earth. It is the expectation that we live by a code, a behavior, a list of rules. And sadly, many people have gotten this impression about church. They are not welcome to come to church because they are not as (self)”righteous” as us. It is an unrealistic expectation that people live a righteous life, and that they do it sometimes before they even start to follow Jesus. When someone comes into our church we do not want to attack them on the areas of their lives that we do not agree with, we want to preach a message of mercy and grace and freedom from the slavery of sin. As Mac said when he started our church, as well as Shonn and Brad, “this is a safe place to hear a dangerous message.” That is where the safety comes in, when we have no expectation, just hope that they will hear of the goodness of God, his mercy and grace and will trust and follow him. We need to have the understanding that when it comes to righteousness, we do not have it within us. The Pharisees had the opposite point of view. They are the religious teachers who spent day and night studying the law. The Law is a complex code that is laid out in the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible.) It is more than the 10 commandments. It is made up of over 600 different commands. The Law defined righteousness for God’s people. It told you what you should do and not do in order to be righteous. Pharisees had been studying the scriptures for hundreds of years. Not only did they study the Scripture, they also studied the opinions and traditions of noted Rabbis. Over time the opinions of the Rabbis became the standard by which the people tried to live by and not just the Scriptures. And this is where wrong ideas of righteousness come in. What Jesus teaches here in the Sermon on the Mount is what it means to be righteous. He challenges the understanding of what is right by telling them that it is not good enough just to avoid these certain acts - even the underlying motives of the heart and the thoughts of the mind are sins in themselves and make us unrighteous. Jesus is bringing these 2 old questions into the minds of those listening. The Pharisees and Jews in general knew that righteousness was important if you were going to please God and that obeying the Law was the way to do that. Jesus was here to teach them a better way so I think they listened closely as he said:
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20
Verse 20 was a big shock to those Pharisees that might have been there and is the main idea for the Sermon on the Mount. It is also a major teaching for all of the New Testament, including the writings of Paul. He brings up this issue in several places in the New Testament. Jesus and Paul challenge the ideas of the religious teachers of the day. There is a righteousness that we can have, but it does not come of our own effort or through our own good works. Here are just a few of the places where Paul addresses this issue. In this 1st passage he is explaining the shortcomings of the Jews’ understanding of righteousness.
1Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Rom 10:1-3
Like so many people today, the Israelites of Paul’s day had a real desire to be close to God. Even though they, and many still today, are zealous for God, it is false. It is a self righteousness. There is only 1 way to true righteousness and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul preached this message to the Philippians, the Corinthians, the Romans, and to the Galatians. It is clear that righteousness does not come by the observing of the law or by a righteousness of our own. In Galatians 2:16 he says this:
(We) know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. We read on a little farther and we come to verse 21 …if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! And again in chapter 3:11 clearly no one is justified before God by the law…21If a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law…23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.
In 2 Cor 5 he puts it this way:
God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor 5:21
And in Phillipians:
…not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith Phil 3:8-9
And to Titus:
3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. Titus 3:3-5
And to the Romans, he quotes the Psalms, and discusses at length the subject:
9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." 13"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." 14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." 15"Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16ruin and misery mark their ways, 17and the way of peace they do not know." 18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. 21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
In this long passage Paul quotes some Psalms that stress one very important point. That point is that we are all in the same boat. We are all under sin. About 10 times in this passage he uses the word “all” as in “all under sin” or “none” as in “none righteous” to describe our situation. At the end he comes to the solution that we are “…justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
This is the kind of righteousness that Jesus is talking about in The Sermon. If our righteousness does not surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. We will not find our eternal home with God in heaven if we have a self righteousness. One more time in Romans Paul discusses this kind of righteousness:
30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. Romans 9 :30-32
I hope that we will all learn this one lesson: Through Jesus Christ and His righteousness I can be a true disciple. I believe that when we have a real understanding of righteousness and the law and how we are given a gift and not earning what is rightfully ours it will change us. We will be, in humility, listening to the words that Jesus has to say to us. We will hear him when he says hard things like “turn the other cheek” and “love your enemies”. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus
We have been talking for a couple weeks about The Sermon On the Mount. We have introduced the Sermon with discussion on the beatitudes and the importance of making a difference by being salt and light to a tasteless and dark world. This week we really come to the main part of The Sermon. We begin to talk about what it means to follow Jesus, to be a true disciple. What does he expect of those who would follow him? As Jesus begins to teach there are really 2 questions that need to be answered for us to grasp the text.
What is righteousness?
What is the Law?
We have an idea about righteousness that pervades our culture. There is a mindset that if our good deeds outweigh our bad deeds at the end of our lives then everything will be ok. We put our church attendance, our helping the poor, our paying all our bills, our kind words said, our sending money to charities on one side of a scale. On the other side we put our lies, our cheating, our stealing, and gossip. Then, whichever one weighs the most wins. And then there is the church. We have not given a much better picture. Way too many churches have given the wrong impression about pleasing God. Live a life free of sin and you will be assured a place in heaven and more blessings than you can stand here on earth. It is the expectation that we live by a code, a behavior, a list of rules. And sadly, many people have gotten this impression about church. They are not welcome to come to church because they are not as (self)”righteous” as us. It is an unrealistic expectation that people live a righteous life, and that they do it sometimes before they even start to follow Jesus. When someone comes into our church we do not want to attack them on the areas of their lives that we do not agree with, we want to preach a message of mercy and grace and freedom from the slavery of sin. As Mac said when he started our church, as well as Shonn and Brad, “this is a safe place to hear a dangerous message.” That is where the safety comes in, when we have no expectation, just hope that they will hear of the goodness of God, his mercy and grace and will trust and follow him. We need to have the understanding that when it comes to righteousness, we do not have it within us. The Pharisees had the opposite point of view. They are the religious teachers who spent day and night studying the law. The Law is a complex code that is laid out in the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible.) It is more than the 10 commandments. It is made up of over 600 different commands. The Law defined righteousness for God’s people. It told you what you should do and not do in order to be righteous. Pharisees had been studying the scriptures for hundreds of years. Not only did they study the Scripture, they also studied the opinions and traditions of noted Rabbis. Over time the opinions of the Rabbis became the standard by which the people tried to live by and not just the Scriptures. And this is where wrong ideas of righteousness come in. What Jesus teaches here in the Sermon on the Mount is what it means to be righteous. He challenges the understanding of what is right by telling them that it is not good enough just to avoid these certain acts - even the underlying motives of the heart and the thoughts of the mind are sins in themselves and make us unrighteous. Jesus is bringing these 2 old questions into the minds of those listening. The Pharisees and Jews in general knew that righteousness was important if you were going to please God and that obeying the Law was the way to do that. Jesus was here to teach them a better way so I think they listened closely as he said:
17"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20
Verse 20 was a big shock to those Pharisees that might have been there and is the main idea for the Sermon on the Mount. It is also a major teaching for all of the New Testament, including the writings of Paul. He brings up this issue in several places in the New Testament. Jesus and Paul challenge the ideas of the religious teachers of the day. There is a righteousness that we can have, but it does not come of our own effort or through our own good works. Here are just a few of the places where Paul addresses this issue. In this 1st passage he is explaining the shortcomings of the Jews’ understanding of righteousness.
1Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Rom 10:1-3
Like so many people today, the Israelites of Paul’s day had a real desire to be close to God. Even though they, and many still today, are zealous for God, it is false. It is a self righteousness. There is only 1 way to true righteousness and that is through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul preached this message to the Philippians, the Corinthians, the Romans, and to the Galatians. It is clear that righteousness does not come by the observing of the law or by a righteousness of our own. In Galatians 2:16 he says this:
(We) know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. We read on a little farther and we come to verse 21 …if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing! And again in chapter 3:11 clearly no one is justified before God by the law…21If a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law…23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.
In 2 Cor 5 he puts it this way:
God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor 5:21
And in Phillipians:
…not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith Phil 3:8-9
And to Titus:
3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. Titus 3:3-5
And to the Romans, he quotes the Psalms, and discusses at length the subject:
9What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one; 11there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. 12All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." 13"Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." 14"Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." 15"Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16ruin and misery mark their ways, 17and the way of peace they do not know." 18"There is no fear of God before their eyes."
20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. 21But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
In this long passage Paul quotes some Psalms that stress one very important point. That point is that we are all in the same boat. We are all under sin. About 10 times in this passage he uses the word “all” as in “all under sin” or “none” as in “none righteous” to describe our situation. At the end he comes to the solution that we are “…justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
This is the kind of righteousness that Jesus is talking about in The Sermon. If our righteousness does not surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees we will not enter the kingdom of heaven. We will not find our eternal home with God in heaven if we have a self righteousness. One more time in Romans Paul discusses this kind of righteousness:
30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. Romans 9 :30-32
I hope that we will all learn this one lesson: Through Jesus Christ and His righteousness I can be a true disciple. I believe that when we have a real understanding of righteousness and the law and how we are given a gift and not earning what is rightfully ours it will change us. We will be, in humility, listening to the words that Jesus has to say to us. We will hear him when he says hard things like “turn the other cheek” and “love your enemies”. This is what it means to be a follower of Jesus
The Sermon...Matthew 5:13-16
The Sermon…Part 2
I really like shows on TV like “Criminal Minds”, “CSI”, “N.C.I.S.” ”Bones”, “Without a Trace”… the list goes on. I think there is something on every night that has some kind of mix of crime solving and investigation. 5 of the top 10 top rated shows last week were shows like these. And these types of shows have been popular for a while, we can go back to lawyer and police shows for about as long as we have had TV. What are some of them? “Law and Order” has been on for years. “Matlock”, “Columbo”, “Perry Mason” It scares me to think that there are really people out there who are like those on the show, but I like to see how they figure it out. The Popularity of these shows is evidence that in most of us we have this desire to see the bad guy caught and punished for his diabolical actions, we want to see the good guy win, and we want to know that we can make a difference in the world we live in. but before you think I am not a super genius who knows how to red people like a book, you should know that we all can make a difference. And that is why we are here. We are here to make a difference for good. Jesus said “You are the Salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the World.” Both of these statements in the Sermon on the Mount are there to tell us of our purpose here which is to point people to a relationship with Jesus.
Matthew 5: 13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (NIV)
Salt is one of the oldest traded commodities and most wanted products in history. More wars fought over salt than gold. One philosopher has said that human life is not possible without salt. The Latin word “salarium” is the word that we get our English word “salt” from. Roman soldiers were paid in salt and we get our phrase “worth his salt” from this practice. Salt has primarily come from two sources: It is mined out of the ground, and it is harvested through evaporation of saltwater. And the processes of getting salt have not changed in thousands of years. I went to Romania last year and while we were there we visited a salt mine that dates back to the Roman Empire. We got to the mine, got into a truck and rode down hundreds of feet into the ground. Our tour guide told us that salt mining has changed very little. We are not able to just beam it ut of the ground, somebody still has to go down there and get it. It is the same way with salt from the sea. Joy and I were watching a program Sunday morning about salt. It was very interesting. I learned some things about salt that I did not know. Did you know salt comes in different colors? Did you know that it comes from all over the world? We heard on the show that many elite restaurants are now offering specific salts to be enjoyed as part of the meal. As a part of this program they discussed the process of making sea salt. Saltwater is gathered into shallow ponds, then dried by the sun and the salt is scooped up off the top. Salt has been so valuable because of its many uses. It has been used historically for medicinal uses, a herbicide, money, a preservative for meat, and as a flavoring for food. Jesus made use of this important product and its use to illustrate the importance that his followers have to make a difference in the world. We can “flavor” our world and help to “preserve” it. But there is a danger. Jesus told his followers then, and tells us now that salt that is not salty is not good for much. In those days salt might be intentionally or accidently combined with other things that would take away from its effectiveness as a preservative or a flavor enhancer. And once that has happened it serves only one purpose, to spread on paths to keep them free of vegetation.
“13…if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
It is not spelled out for us right here specifically what to watch out for so that our saltiness is not compromised, but Scripture is pretty clear in other places. Paul was writing to Timothy in I Timothy 6 and he was telling him some things to watch out for. On the list of things that might have made Timothy un-salty are: False doctrines, controversies, quarrels, evil suspicions, and the love of money. There are other places in that address other things, but here is the idea: getting “mixed” up with the wrong things can be detrimental to our saltiness.
Jesus follows with the next part of his illustration, not only are we salt, we are light. “14You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Some scholars think that as Jesus was saying this he looked into the distance and saw a city which was built on a hill. The followers looked and were able to see that city from miles around. People in any direction could look up and see that city. You and I should be like that city. We need not be afraid or timid about the light that we have. Don’t cover it up or “put it under a bushel”, but take the light you have and really put it out there for people to see. Put it on a lamp stand. “16Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” We talked about this passage a little bit a few weeks ago. We read here to be salt and be light so that men will see our works, but we read a little further and we see in verse 1 of Chapter 6 “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.” We have to understand here that Jesus is not changing his story as he goes. We understand Jesus to mean that our motive for service should be “16that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” and not “to be seen by men” Jesus is talking of motive. If we do it to gain the praise of men, that will be our reward, but if we do it so others can know and follow Jesus, God is glorified. This is the reason we were made. Ephesians 3:10 tells us “We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” In other words to shine the light. I like the Fee song we sing in church to Jesus “you are the light, and we shine you”. We measure the power of light in candlepower. 1 candle puts out 1 candlepower. We can buy flashlights that have 10 to 20 million candlepower. We are very dim on our own, but we have the Son who shines with a brightness greater than the s u n. I just have 2 questions. Are you salty? Are you shiny? We linve in a Dark and tasteless world. A world that can come up with some pretty gruesome things. We see it portrayed in the shows we watch In all of these shows the battle is to find the person who is guilty of the murder, the rape, or the theft and arrest them, and keep them from doing it again to someone else. But the wonderful thing about us being used by God to make a difference is that we can use our powers for good to make a difference in people’s lives that might prevent much of the headlines that we see today. If we all salted those around us, if we shinned the light of Jesus maybe the front page newspaper headline would read instead of “6th body found in Florence” to “Pollen count low” or “Pumpkin Sales up 25%” or maybe the News anchor would report “No one is Hungry tonight” “Divorce rate falls 90%” or maybe even “There is peace on Earth tonight”
I really like shows on TV like “Criminal Minds”, “CSI”, “N.C.I.S.” ”Bones”, “Without a Trace”… the list goes on. I think there is something on every night that has some kind of mix of crime solving and investigation. 5 of the top 10 top rated shows last week were shows like these. And these types of shows have been popular for a while, we can go back to lawyer and police shows for about as long as we have had TV. What are some of them? “Law and Order” has been on for years. “Matlock”, “Columbo”, “Perry Mason” It scares me to think that there are really people out there who are like those on the show, but I like to see how they figure it out. The Popularity of these shows is evidence that in most of us we have this desire to see the bad guy caught and punished for his diabolical actions, we want to see the good guy win, and we want to know that we can make a difference in the world we live in. but before you think I am not a super genius who knows how to red people like a book, you should know that we all can make a difference. And that is why we are here. We are here to make a difference for good. Jesus said “You are the Salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the World.” Both of these statements in the Sermon on the Mount are there to tell us of our purpose here which is to point people to a relationship with Jesus.
Matthew 5: 13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (NIV)
Salt is one of the oldest traded commodities and most wanted products in history. More wars fought over salt than gold. One philosopher has said that human life is not possible without salt. The Latin word “salarium” is the word that we get our English word “salt” from. Roman soldiers were paid in salt and we get our phrase “worth his salt” from this practice. Salt has primarily come from two sources: It is mined out of the ground, and it is harvested through evaporation of saltwater. And the processes of getting salt have not changed in thousands of years. I went to Romania last year and while we were there we visited a salt mine that dates back to the Roman Empire. We got to the mine, got into a truck and rode down hundreds of feet into the ground. Our tour guide told us that salt mining has changed very little. We are not able to just beam it ut of the ground, somebody still has to go down there and get it. It is the same way with salt from the sea. Joy and I were watching a program Sunday morning about salt. It was very interesting. I learned some things about salt that I did not know. Did you know salt comes in different colors? Did you know that it comes from all over the world? We heard on the show that many elite restaurants are now offering specific salts to be enjoyed as part of the meal. As a part of this program they discussed the process of making sea salt. Saltwater is gathered into shallow ponds, then dried by the sun and the salt is scooped up off the top. Salt has been so valuable because of its many uses. It has been used historically for medicinal uses, a herbicide, money, a preservative for meat, and as a flavoring for food. Jesus made use of this important product and its use to illustrate the importance that his followers have to make a difference in the world. We can “flavor” our world and help to “preserve” it. But there is a danger. Jesus told his followers then, and tells us now that salt that is not salty is not good for much. In those days salt might be intentionally or accidently combined with other things that would take away from its effectiveness as a preservative or a flavor enhancer. And once that has happened it serves only one purpose, to spread on paths to keep them free of vegetation.
“13…if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”
It is not spelled out for us right here specifically what to watch out for so that our saltiness is not compromised, but Scripture is pretty clear in other places. Paul was writing to Timothy in I Timothy 6 and he was telling him some things to watch out for. On the list of things that might have made Timothy un-salty are: False doctrines, controversies, quarrels, evil suspicions, and the love of money. There are other places in that address other things, but here is the idea: getting “mixed” up with the wrong things can be detrimental to our saltiness.
Jesus follows with the next part of his illustration, not only are we salt, we are light. “14You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” Some scholars think that as Jesus was saying this he looked into the distance and saw a city which was built on a hill. The followers looked and were able to see that city from miles around. People in any direction could look up and see that city. You and I should be like that city. We need not be afraid or timid about the light that we have. Don’t cover it up or “put it under a bushel”, but take the light you have and really put it out there for people to see. Put it on a lamp stand. “16Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” We talked about this passage a little bit a few weeks ago. We read here to be salt and be light so that men will see our works, but we read a little further and we see in verse 1 of Chapter 6 “Be careful not to do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them.” We have to understand here that Jesus is not changing his story as he goes. We understand Jesus to mean that our motive for service should be “16that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” and not “to be seen by men” Jesus is talking of motive. If we do it to gain the praise of men, that will be our reward, but if we do it so others can know and follow Jesus, God is glorified. This is the reason we were made. Ephesians 3:10 tells us “We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” In other words to shine the light. I like the Fee song we sing in church to Jesus “you are the light, and we shine you”. We measure the power of light in candlepower. 1 candle puts out 1 candlepower. We can buy flashlights that have 10 to 20 million candlepower. We are very dim on our own, but we have the Son who shines with a brightness greater than the s u n. I just have 2 questions. Are you salty? Are you shiny? We linve in a Dark and tasteless world. A world that can come up with some pretty gruesome things. We see it portrayed in the shows we watch In all of these shows the battle is to find the person who is guilty of the murder, the rape, or the theft and arrest them, and keep them from doing it again to someone else. But the wonderful thing about us being used by God to make a difference is that we can use our powers for good to make a difference in people’s lives that might prevent much of the headlines that we see today. If we all salted those around us, if we shinned the light of Jesus maybe the front page newspaper headline would read instead of “6th body found in Florence” to “Pollen count low” or “Pumpkin Sales up 25%” or maybe the News anchor would report “No one is Hungry tonight” “Divorce rate falls 90%” or maybe even “There is peace on Earth tonight”
The Sermon Matthew 4:23-5:12
The Sermon…
I look at my life a lot of times and I ask what can I do to make my life easier. Or an even better question is what can I do to make my self happier? In general I am looking for, answers to my questions, and help with my problems, and ultimately happiness.
Go to any bookstore and you can find books on parenting, money, cooking, relationships, car repair, history, and how to fix our appliances. There are shows on that tell us the perfect way to raise our kids, how to decorate our houses, and survive in the wilderness with just a paperclip and some duct tape. We are drawn to books, shows, and people who we think can help show us how to be happy and deal with our problems. And we all have problems. What do I do to fix my marriage? How do I deal with my children? How do I survive at work when it seems no one else is on my side? Do you ever wonder is happiness even possible? How can I be happy with all this stuff that weighs me down? Am I all alone in this? Is everyone else happy and I am somehow just missing it? I think it has been the same for people since the beginning. We read that in the formation of our own government over 300 years ago that we have the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We talked last week about Ecclesiastes and that Solomon had asked a lot of these questions. The people of Jesus day were no different. They have struggles to deal with in life, and they, like us, were looking for the answers to their problems and they were looking for a real happiness. The people who lived in the region where Jesus was had been hearing about this new teacher, a new prophet who was going around doing some pretty amazing things. So they began to seek him out. Many people started to follow Jesus, and for different reasons.
Some people followed Jesus because they ate the food that he provided. In John 6:26 Jesus told many who were following him “…not because(they) saw miraculous signs but because (they) ate the loaves and were filled” Jesus did not mind that they followed only for the food, but wanted them to understand that they were missing out on the ultimate bread from heaven, himself.
Many people followed because they were in need of healing and had heard that Jesus had healed those in pain, and blind, and deaf, and with leprosy. When we are in pain or we are sick, there is no greater desire than for it to be over. Think back to the time when you were in the most pain you have ever been in. What would you have done to make it stop? In Jesus day many came seeking him hearing that he could take away the pain and they were willing to travel great distances in the hope that Jesus would make them well. Matt 4:24
Matthew14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew 15:30: Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
Many people were intensely curious about what Jesus had to say. He taught like no one else, he taught as one having authority. Matt. 7:28-29. Even at 12 years old he amazed the teachers of the law. At the beginning of his public ministry people who knew about Jesus, or possibly knew Jesus said “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” The Bible also says “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” Luke 4:22 He even had the conversation with his own disciples and asked them about their motives and resolve to follow. Peter answered “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of life!” John 6
All of these things caused people from all over, “…from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan…” to follow him. The Bible uses the words Multitudes, and crowds to describe the size of the gathering. We know on one occasion there were 5000 men, plus women and children. On another occasion there were 4000 men. So many people were coming to see and hear and be fed by Jesus. This passage in Mark describes a little of the people’s desire to be near Jesus, the one with the answers to their questions and the one with the power to heal their diseases.
Mark6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
As the multitudes followed Jesus, he knew their hearts and gave them what they needed whether it was food or healing understanding of the things of God. We read in the Bible Matt. 4:23-5:2 “23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. 1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
The word is translated in most of our translations here blessed, but the idea is happy is the man that…
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus began by confronting the people’s ideas about true happiness. The things he says go against our natural instincts about happiness. And as the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount he is setting himself up to challenge a lot more preconceived ideas. He tells then true happiness or peacefulness does not come the ways that we think it should. There is a challenge to our preconceived notions of happiness. Jesus is saying be poor and meek and mourn and be hungry and merciful and pure and be a peacemaker and be persecuted for doing what is right. I just wonder did someone stand up and say…”What? you are telling us the real way to happiness is by being poor and hungry, and all these other things you have mentioned? Doesn’t it make sense that we have plenty of money and that we eat the best foods and that we are in places of power to really be happy?” I do not think that there was, but I think there were some who wondered. It would do us well to know and understand the words that Jesus said to them.
Blessed are the poor in spirit…Poor in spirit refers to a condition of the heart where we look at ourselves and we know that on our own we cannot make it. It could be referred to as humility. It means that we look in the “bank account” of our lives and realize I do not have riches. This is an understanding that we cannot do it on our own, and is a direct reference to our need for Jesus for Salvation. For the person who recognizes this, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn…This is in reference to people who grieve over sin. It is a godly sorrow that brings repentance. …for they will be comforted. They are comforted with salvation.
Blessed are the meek…meekness means strength under control. It is the opposite idea of being out of control. It is the ultimate control, being controlled by the spirit. …for they will inherit the earth
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…there are those who have a slef-righteous way of looking at life. Jesus is specifically talking about the Pharisees who will end up being a major focus of the Sermon. These are people who have a yearning for the righteousness of God and not of themselves. God is glad to fill them …for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful…those who show mercy will receive mercy from God. This is the law of the harvest, you will reap what you sow. …for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart…”That is, whose minds, motives, and principles are pure.” (Albert Barnes, Barnes notes on the New Testament) …for they will see God. Not just by faith but for real, in heaven. 9Blessed are the peacemakers…These are the people who try to use their influence to reconcile differences and settle disputes, prevent lawsuits. … for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness…those who suffer for doing right, no bad. …for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11"Blessed are you when people insult you…like they insulted Jesus.. persecute you and falsely make sure it is not true say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
How can you be Happy? It is summed up pretty well in Verse 12 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
What would it look like if we all had the security and blessings, the Happiness that come with following the Lord’s teachings? I hope that we will all realize that these blessings of God are for now and for later. They are for the life we now live and the one that is to come. The tense of the promises are future except, We can have a confidence that Jesus includes us when he says “…theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”
I look at my life a lot of times and I ask what can I do to make my life easier. Or an even better question is what can I do to make my self happier? In general I am looking for, answers to my questions, and help with my problems, and ultimately happiness.
Go to any bookstore and you can find books on parenting, money, cooking, relationships, car repair, history, and how to fix our appliances. There are shows on that tell us the perfect way to raise our kids, how to decorate our houses, and survive in the wilderness with just a paperclip and some duct tape. We are drawn to books, shows, and people who we think can help show us how to be happy and deal with our problems. And we all have problems. What do I do to fix my marriage? How do I deal with my children? How do I survive at work when it seems no one else is on my side? Do you ever wonder is happiness even possible? How can I be happy with all this stuff that weighs me down? Am I all alone in this? Is everyone else happy and I am somehow just missing it? I think it has been the same for people since the beginning. We read that in the formation of our own government over 300 years ago that we have the right to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We talked last week about Ecclesiastes and that Solomon had asked a lot of these questions. The people of Jesus day were no different. They have struggles to deal with in life, and they, like us, were looking for the answers to their problems and they were looking for a real happiness. The people who lived in the region where Jesus was had been hearing about this new teacher, a new prophet who was going around doing some pretty amazing things. So they began to seek him out. Many people started to follow Jesus, and for different reasons.
Some people followed Jesus because they ate the food that he provided. In John 6:26 Jesus told many who were following him “…not because(they) saw miraculous signs but because (they) ate the loaves and were filled” Jesus did not mind that they followed only for the food, but wanted them to understand that they were missing out on the ultimate bread from heaven, himself.
Many people followed because they were in need of healing and had heard that Jesus had healed those in pain, and blind, and deaf, and with leprosy. When we are in pain or we are sick, there is no greater desire than for it to be over. Think back to the time when you were in the most pain you have ever been in. What would you have done to make it stop? In Jesus day many came seeking him hearing that he could take away the pain and they were willing to travel great distances in the hope that Jesus would make them well. Matt 4:24
Matthew14:14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Matthew 15:30: Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
Many people were intensely curious about what Jesus had to say. He taught like no one else, he taught as one having authority. Matt. 7:28-29. Even at 12 years old he amazed the teachers of the law. At the beginning of his public ministry people who knew about Jesus, or possibly knew Jesus said “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” The Bible also says “all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” Luke 4:22 He even had the conversation with his own disciples and asked them about their motives and resolve to follow. Peter answered “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of life!” John 6
All of these things caused people from all over, “…from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and the region across the Jordan…” to follow him. The Bible uses the words Multitudes, and crowds to describe the size of the gathering. We know on one occasion there were 5000 men, plus women and children. On another occasion there were 4000 men. So many people were coming to see and hear and be fed by Jesus. This passage in Mark describes a little of the people’s desire to be near Jesus, the one with the answers to their questions and the one with the power to heal their diseases.
Mark6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. 33But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
As the multitudes followed Jesus, he knew their hearts and gave them what they needed whether it was food or healing understanding of the things of God. We read in the Bible Matt. 4:23-5:2 “23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. 24News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. 25Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. 1Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2and he began to teach them saying:
The word is translated in most of our translations here blessed, but the idea is happy is the man that…
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Jesus began by confronting the people’s ideas about true happiness. The things he says go against our natural instincts about happiness. And as the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount he is setting himself up to challenge a lot more preconceived ideas. He tells then true happiness or peacefulness does not come the ways that we think it should. There is a challenge to our preconceived notions of happiness. Jesus is saying be poor and meek and mourn and be hungry and merciful and pure and be a peacemaker and be persecuted for doing what is right. I just wonder did someone stand up and say…”What? you are telling us the real way to happiness is by being poor and hungry, and all these other things you have mentioned? Doesn’t it make sense that we have plenty of money and that we eat the best foods and that we are in places of power to really be happy?” I do not think that there was, but I think there were some who wondered. It would do us well to know and understand the words that Jesus said to them.
Blessed are the poor in spirit…Poor in spirit refers to a condition of the heart where we look at ourselves and we know that on our own we cannot make it. It could be referred to as humility. It means that we look in the “bank account” of our lives and realize I do not have riches. This is an understanding that we cannot do it on our own, and is a direct reference to our need for Jesus for Salvation. For the person who recognizes this, theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn…This is in reference to people who grieve over sin. It is a godly sorrow that brings repentance. …for they will be comforted. They are comforted with salvation.
Blessed are the meek…meekness means strength under control. It is the opposite idea of being out of control. It is the ultimate control, being controlled by the spirit. …for they will inherit the earth
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…there are those who have a slef-righteous way of looking at life. Jesus is specifically talking about the Pharisees who will end up being a major focus of the Sermon. These are people who have a yearning for the righteousness of God and not of themselves. God is glad to fill them …for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful…those who show mercy will receive mercy from God. This is the law of the harvest, you will reap what you sow. …for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the pure in heart…”That is, whose minds, motives, and principles are pure.” (Albert Barnes, Barnes notes on the New Testament) …for they will see God. Not just by faith but for real, in heaven. 9Blessed are the peacemakers…These are the people who try to use their influence to reconcile differences and settle disputes, prevent lawsuits. … for they will be called sons of God.
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness…those who suffer for doing right, no bad. …for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11"Blessed are you when people insult you…like they insulted Jesus.. persecute you and falsely make sure it is not true say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
How can you be Happy? It is summed up pretty well in Verse 12 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
What would it look like if we all had the security and blessings, the Happiness that come with following the Lord’s teachings? I hope that we will all realize that these blessings of God are for now and for later. They are for the life we now live and the one that is to come. The tense of the promises are future except, We can have a confidence that Jesus includes us when he says “…theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”
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