“But I say to you…”
Sermon by Pastor Dennis Gleason, February 2, 2003
There was once a little boy with a bad temper. One day his father gave him a bag of nails and a hammer and told him that every time he lost his temper, he was to hammer a nail into the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then the number gradually dwindled down.
He discovered that it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that he now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and out back they went to the fence. “You have done well my son,” his father said, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say, “I’m sorry," the wound is still there.
The nature of sin is such that it is abhorrent to God. He is righteous and cannot tolerate sin in any fashion. The nature of sin is such that there was only one way in which it could be permanently dealt with that would provide us with the possibility of forgiveness and a new nature so that we could please God. That way was the death of God’s Son Jesus on the cross. He paid the penalty for our sin so that we could be forgiven and the result is that he still bears the wounds caused by our sin.
In the section of Matthew 5 that is our text for today, Jesus makes a comment to his disciples: “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) He goes on to share three principles that are critical to our understanding of the relationship of God with his people.
As we begin, I want to look at those three principles with you and then illustrate them as Jesus did so that you will understand how they should affect our lives. The first principle is that what matters is not merely the letter of the law but the spirit of the law. Secondly, our attitude, desires and the motives of our heart are meant to be positive and not negative. If our heart is right then our actions will be right. The third principle is this: the purpose of the law is not merely to keep us from doing things that are wrong; but its real purpose is to lead us to do what is right and to love it!
The Scribes and the Pharisees were viewed as the most holy people around during the days of Jesus’ ministry. That is how other people saw them. These are the spiritual leaders of the day and the authorities of the law of God. The word Pharisee means “separatist”. They were people who set themselves apart from others. They had established a spiritual code for themselves that was more rigid than the law of Moses. For example, they fasted twice a week; while the law of Moses required the Israelites to fast once a year. They tithed not just their income but also the herbs in their gardens! The Pharisees and the teachers of the law thought that they were OK because they were keeping the law. People thought that they could never be as good as the Scribes and the Pharisees.
Jesus comes out publicly and says that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees you can not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The remainder of the Sermon on the Mount is simply an elaboration of this point. He challenges them on the very thing that they think they have right…keeping the law of Moses. Jesus tells his disciples that true worship is concerned about the inward principles of life and not the actions of worship only. What we think, and desire, the state of our heart is what really matters. And that the proof of our having really received the grace of God is that we are living a righteous life in thought, desire and deed as well.
What he does is to compare what they have heard with what He has to say about the heart attitude of God’s people. He uses a form of the formula: “You have heard that it was said by them of old time…but I say unto you…” In using this formula, Jesus shows us the real teaching of the law over against the teaching and false representation of the law by the Scribes and the Pharisees. The phrase “you have heard…” is a reference not to the law of Moses, but to the teaching and interpretation of the Fathers that had been passed on to them down through the ages. They were bound by and have always placed great significance on tradition. The people of Israel were dependent upon the Scribes and the Pharisees for their instruction in the meaning and the application of the law. Therefore, if the Scribes and the Pharisees had it wrong; the common man was in serious spiritual trouble.
The problem that existed was that the Scribes and the Pharisees were wrong in assuming that the action of the sin or the action that broke the law was all there was to be concerned about. Therefore, if you had never murdered anyone; you were not guilty of breaking the commandment not to kill another person. Jesus comes along and says that they have it all wrong. There has always been a spiritual content to the law that has existed and that has been missed by God’s people. The fact that the Scribes and the Pharisees have missed it is quite clearly Jesus’ point here.
Jesus does not hesitate to set himself up as the authority regarding the Law of Moses. He gave it to Moses and he is not correcting the law of Moses. He is saying that only I can interpret it with the true interpretation. The scribes and the Pharisees did not miss this fact and it was one of the reasons they wanted to kill Jesus. Religion is always ready to provide people with a list of dos and don’ts. When people are confronted with problem all they have to do is get out the book or the list and look up the answer. It is pretty cut and dried. And the idea conveyed is that so long as you do or don’t do the right things you are all right with God.
However, it is as if Jesus is saying: “I have come to establish a new kingdom. The people of my kingdom will be of a certain type and character, people who because they conform to the description are going to behave in a certain fashion that is pleasing to me.” He then goes on to give us six illustrations of these principles. The Gospel of Christ Jesus lays down the principles and then asks us to apply them to the stuff of our lives. So it is that we are given the central principle and then apply it to every area of our lives.
The illustrations that Jesus uses in the remainder of this chapter are six illustrations of one truth: Jesus desires to show the true meaning and intent of the law God has given us and to correct the erroneous conclusions drawn by the Scribes and the Pharisees.
In Matthew 5:21 we find our first illustration: “You have heard that the ancients were told, You shall not commit murder and that whosoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.”
The Pharisees had relegated this commandment to mean murder only and that it only applied when someone actually killed another person. If you have never killed anyone you are not guilty of breaking this commandment and therefore, you are all right with God regarding it. Keeping the letter of the law is never a guarantee that we are right.
Jesus, on the other hand, tells us that the spirit of the law is the important thing. Our attitude toward others is the critical thing when it comes to murder. But I say to you, that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court and whoever shall say to his brother, “Raca,” shall be guilty before the supreme court and whoever shall say, “You fool.” shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” Look at the three stages that lead to the actual act of murder: anger without cause against my brother; treating my brother with contempt and then abusing him with my words. “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” the saying goes. The attitude of my heart toward my brother may be such as that I have already killed him without ever touching him physically. The heart attitude is the problem. It leads to the actions of my life. Anger without cause leads to a wrong spirit. The wrong spirit leads us into expressing those thoughts in contempt and with abuse. It is a short step from there to the actual act of murder.
This is such a serious thing to God that if we are in the middle of presenting our gifts to God and we realize that someone has something against us…we are to interrupt our worship of God and go and do the more important thing which is to be reconciled to our brother…right now, without delay.
Jesus goes on to the next illustration of the principle that the attitude of our hearts is the important thing when he speaks about adultery. “You have heard it said “You shall not commit adultery; but I say to you, everyone who looks upon a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already…” The desire of the heart has already created the guilt of adultery before God long before the physical act itself. Years ago in some Sunday School material I found a copy of a radio spot produced by a Mennonite group that said this: “In the head or in the bed, it's all the same, all the same.”
This is such a serious thing that it would be better for us to go into eternity maimed than for us to remain whole and go into hell!
Divorce is the next illustration Jesus uses to illuminate the principle that the attitude of the heart is the important thing for us and not just our actions. The Pharisees were teaching that not only was it permissible for a man to give his wife a writ of divorcement but there were occasions in which it was commanded. They were saying that divorce was permissible for almost any reason. Adultery was not permitted in the Old Testament as a cause for divorce. The penalty for adultery in the Old Testament was to be taken out of the city and stoned to death.
Jesus is saying essentially that something new is created when a man and woman marry. Old ties are broken and new ties between the man and woman are formed. The essential nature of marriage is the one-fleshment of a man and a woman. “For this reason, a man leaves his father and his mother and and be united with his wife and they shall become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24) There is an indissolubility about that relationship. The law of love and forgiveness are always to be applied to the marriage relationship and when they are divorce is never a possibility. The legitimate cause for a dissolution of a marriage bond is fornication…the joining of oneself to another physically outside the marriage relationship. That and that alone can break the bond. It does not have to lead to divorce but is legitimate grounds for a divorce should one choose to go there. Once again Jesus focuses on the attitude of the heart as the important thing.
When he speaks about oaths, Jesus says don’t make any at all. Just let your yes be yes and your no be no. When I presume to back up a promise to you with a vow or an oath it is an indicator that the attitude of my heart is not right. My word to you should be my bond and my promise should be good. Adding a guarantee to my promise in the form of a vow…”I swear by my mother’s grave” or something else is meaningless. You will rightly doubt my sincerity and the probability of my keeping the promise made.
The attitude of my heart should be such that you can count on me to keep my word.
When Jesus deals with the eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth and love your enemies, he is speaking about the law of retribution which was designed to limit the heart’s desire for revenge and the way of the world to love and care only for those special to you.
The law of retribution said that if someone one knocked out your tooth you were not permitted to kill them. You could only expect that what was done to you could be done to them. Jesus says that the attitude of our heart should be one of love and going beyond what is expected of us. We are to turn the cheek, give our coat also when someone sues us and takes our cloak; to go the second mile when we are compelled to do something demeaning; give to those who ask of us without question. Willingly exceed what is expected of us and maintain a heart attitude of love for others.
We can look perfectly respectable and be guilty of commiting sin in our hearts without anybody knowing it. No one might guess at the awful, foul, ugly, filthy sin in our hearts. We are never to think of holiness merely in terms of doing or not doing things. The Pharisee did that. He concluded that I haven’t been guilty of any of these therefore, I must be all right with God. I am righteous and everything is well between God and me.
Jesus says this is a false view of the law. We must aim at a heart that is clean and pure. We must also remember the awfulness of sin and the price that Jesus paid so that sin could be dealt with once and for all. His death on the cross provided the payment for our ransom from the penalty of sin which is death and eternal separation from God.
God's plan for us is that we might be perfect as He is perfect. However I choose to live, if my poverty of spirit is not greater; my sense of weakness is not deepened; my hunger and thirst for righteousness is not greatly increased, then I might as well not have done it at all! God’s intention for us is to be righteous and to love it! With the right attitude of heart we can.
We need to consider that everything about my life should lead me into a deeper relationship with God and I should love it.
As we close let me ask you this:
What is your relationship with God? Do you know Him? Does your life please Him? Has God been supreme in my life today? Is my relationship with God deeper today and do I really love it? The attitude and desires of your heart is what matters. Take some time and make sure that your heart attitude is right today. Your eternal destiny demands it!
---Dennis Gleason
