Matthew 5:33-48
I. \\#Matt 1:1-3:17\\ The Presentation of the King
A. \\#Matt 1:1-2:23\\ The Offering of the King
1. \\#1:1-17\\ The King is Offered to the Reader
2. \\#1:18-25\\ The King Is Offered to Joseph
3. \\#2:1-12\\ The King Is Offered to the East
4. \\#2:13-23\\ The King Is Offered to Herod
B. \\#Matt 3:1-17\\ The Announcement of the King
1. Announced by John
2. Announced by the Father
II. \\#4:1-7:29\\ The Person of the King
A. \\#Matt 4:1-4:29\\ Powerful but humble
1. \\#4:1-11\\ Powerful but humble before Satan.
2. \\#4:12-17\\ Powerful but humble before government.
3. \\#4:18-22\\ Powerful but humble in the selection of His
disciples.
4. \\#4:23-25\\ Powerful but humble in ministry.
B. \\#Matt 5:1-7:29\\ Wise and Godly
1. \\#5:1-2\\ The Setting
2. \\#5:3-12\\ Be All You Can Be
3. \\#5:13-16\\ Do the Work
4. \\#5:17-19\\ Honor the Law
5. \\#5:20-6:18\\ Do It Better-Grace Always Exceeds the Law.
a. \\#5:21-48\\ Grace exceeds the Law in our dealings with people.
(1) \\#5:21-22\\ Keep It Civil
(2) \\#5:23-26\\ Make It Right
(3) \\#5:27-32\\ Keep It Pure
(4) \\#5:29-30\\ Control Your Vessel
(5) \\#5:31-32\\ Make It Work
(6) \\#5:33-37\\ Keep It True
(7) \\#5:38-42\\ Go the Second Mile
(8) \\#5:43-48\\ Love Them Anyway
b. \\#6:1-18\\ Grace exceeds the Law in our dealings with God.
I. \\#5:20-6:18\\ Do It Better-Grace Always Exceeds the Law.
A. \\#5:21-22\\ Keep It Civil
B. \\#5:23-26\\ Make It Right
C. \\#5:27-32\\ Keep It Pure
D. \\#5:29-30\\ Control Your Vessel
E. \\#5:31-32\\ Make It Work
F. \\#5:33-37\\ Keep It True
1. \\#33\\ The Old Standard
a. "ye have heard… of old time" - The old. This is a paraphrase
of \\#Numbers 30:2, Deut 23:23\\ and others.
b. "Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord
thine oaths":
(1) To "forswear" means to perjure yourself.
(2) "unto the Lord" - The remainder of the verse indicates this is
a vow made to the Lord.
(3) In other words, the Old Testament standard was that if you
make a vow to do something for God, do it.
2. \\#34-37\\ The New Standard
a. \\#34\\ "But I say unto you" - Yet again, Jesus uses His own
authority as God to raise the standard of righteousness under
grace.
b. "swear not all"
(1) The new standard is do not make any vows at all.
(2) For some reason, some people think that if they make a promise
and then swear on something precious to them, it will somehow
add value to the promise.
(3) The higher standard under grace is to so honor your word, that
nothing needs to be added to it to make it more valuable.
c. \\#36\\ "because thou canst not" - Jesus makes the point that to
swear by something that you have no control over means nothing
at all, no matter how grandiose the vow may sound.
(1) \\#34\\ To swear "by heaven" means nothing to us because it is
"God’s throne," not ours.
(2) \\#35\\ To swear "by the earth" means nothing to us because it
is God’s "footstool," not ours.
(3) \\#35\\ To swear "by Jerusalem" means nothing to us because it
belongs to the "great King" (Messiah), not to us.
(4) \\#36\\ To swear by our own "head" means nothing to us because
we cannot "make one hair white or black" (not permanently
anyway).
(5) Although Jesus does not ask the question, it begs to be asked,
"How does swearing by something beyond our reach make our
promise anymore valuable?"
d. \\#37\\Conclusion
(1) "let your communication be, "Yea, yea; Nay, nay" - That is,
just say what you mean and mean what you say.
(2) "for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
(a) It is not just a matter of speaking of things beyond
one’s control.
(b) Jesus indicates that swearing, at least by God’s
things, leads to evil.
i. To be "of evil" means that it is a temptation sent
by the evil one, Satan.
ii. The obvious indication is that Satan is sending a
temptation that will cause us to do something
wrong, perhaps to offend or sin against God in
some manner.
(c) Does that mean it is a sin for a Christian to take a vow
when required, as in a courtroom or signing up for the
military service?
i. I do not think so.
aa. The Bible indicates that the Apostle Paul made
a vow \\#Acts 18:18\\.
bb. The church leaders asked Paul to be partakers
with four others who had taken a vow
\\#Acts 21:23\\.
cc. The Bible says that God has made vows to us
\\#Heb 6:13\\.
ii. More likely, Jesus’ point is that we should not need
a vow to prove we intend to keep our word. Our
habit should be to speak the truth.
(d) While the "how" we might offend God is not clearly
stated, the desire of the Lord is. Speak the truth
without using or needing vows to authenticate them.
G. \\#5:38-42\\ Go the Second Mile
1. \\#38\\ The Old Standard
a. "An eye for an eye… tooth for a tooth" - A quote from
\\#Ex 21:24, Le 24:20, Deut 19:21\\.
b. The Old Testament system of justice was straightforward. Whatever
you did to another, it was done to you.
c. While that may sound like a vengeful retaliation, it was not.
d. The difference between vengeance and justice is not the punishment,
but the reason for the punishment, the method of arriving at the
punishment, and the executor of the punishment.
(1) The reason for a just punishment should be to compensate the
victim for his/her loss and to compensate the criminal for
his/her wrong actions.
(2) The method of arriving at just punishment should be unbiased,
fair, and impartial. For man, this is often difficult and
it explains why crimes need to have corresponding
punishments determined beforehand.
(3) The executor of just punishment should also be unbiased and
impartial. Justice is not to be served by the victim who
might in some way find delight in the administration.
e. It is hard to imagine a simpler and more just penalty for any
crime than to have the same offense carried out against the
perpetrator.
(1) In the case of thief, it would always be just compensation.
(2) It would be fair, unbiased, and simple, requiring no figuring,
estimating, or guessing. The penalty would never be more
painful than what the criminal inflicted and would never be
less pain than the victim experienced.
(3) If carried out by an impartial party, this seems the most just
of all criminal codes.
2. \\#39-42\\ The New Standard
a. "But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil" - Jesus continues to
reveal His authority.
b. To "resist not evil" means not to withstand it, not to oppose it.
(1) Herein is another reason why some think this sermon is only
for the millennium. They judge that this level of passivity
would not be possible during any other age. However, the
various illustrations that Jesus gave in explaining His
command make it clear that He was speaking of the present
time, not the millennium.
(2) Jesus’ command not to resist an evil force would be difficult
for most to obey. If taken literally in all situations,
complying would require that we not defend ourselves from
any aggressors.
(3) However, just because a command would be difficult for us does
not means it does not apply to us.
(4) Some would say that this command not to defend would even
apply to those situations where someone might seek to hurt
our family; however, I would require a direct instruction
to believe that to be the case. Even so, allowing ourselves
to be hurt or our possession to be taken would indirectly
cause pain and hurt to our family.
(5) To help us in understanding and applying this command, Jesus
gave several illustrations.
c. What does this command mean?
(1) \\#39\\ From illustration one, Jesus intends that Christians
not try to settle accounts with attackers.
(a) Jesus has \\#Matt 5:10-12\\ and will \\#Matt 10:17\\
speak of Christians being persecuted.
(b) When such attacks come, Christians are not to physically
attempt to defend themselves.
(c) At the very least, this is what Jesus was alluding to
when He said,
Matt 5:39 …but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the
other also.
(d) By commanding us to "turn the other cheek," Jesus was
not only telling us that Christians are not to resist
such physical attacks, He was commanding us to yield to
repeated attacks.
(e) Jesus and the disciples taught this and they demonstrated
it with their very lives.
Ro 12:17 Recompense to no man evil for evil…
Ro 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto
wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
1Th 5:15 See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that
which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
1Pe 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise
blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
(f) However, from the text, there is no reason to limit the
cause of the attack to persecution for Christ.
i. No such reasoning is given in the text.
ii. The Christian appears to be commanded to yield to
any attacker regardless of why he is being
attacked.
(2) \\#40\\ By Christ’s second illustration, we learn that we
are not to resist lawsuits.
Matt 5:40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let
him have thy cloke also.
(a) When sued, Christ instructed us to give more than the
lawsuit required.
(b) The "coat" and "cloke" were basic clothing garments of
that day.
i. The coat would be the garment that pressed up to the
skin. We would call it the undergarment.
ii. The cloak would be the outer garment. We would call
it our coat.
(c) If someone is suing a person to take these types of
personal items, it would be obvious that the person
being sued has nothing else worth having.
(d) Hence, Jesus is saying, even if you have nothing left at
all, do not resist those who would sue you.
(e) How much more should we not resist if someone is suing
to take from our abundance—no matter how hard we feel
we have worked for it.
(3) \\#41\\ Jesus’ third illustration shows us not to resist
abusive governments and laws.
(a) Rome was in power during Jesus’ life.
(b) While the Greek and Roman governments were somewhat the
precursors of American government, they were still a
long way from just and equitable.
(c) In that day, a Roman soldier could compel a person to
carry their equipment for a mile. I have heard that
many men measured and marked a mile in various
directions so they would know exactly how far they were
required to carry the soldier’s pack.
(d) Jesus’ command is that when being forced into such
servitude, we should not go only one mile, but should
joyfully carry their pack a second mile.
(4) \\#42\\ Jesus’ fourth illustration indicates we are not to
even resist unworthy borrowers.
(a) "Give to them that asketh… borrow… turn not away…."
(b) Obeying this command would seem to not only leave the
Christian open to pesky neighbors but thieves as well.
d. So how far are we to go with this?
(1) The only limit Jesus placed was on the third illustration.
The constrained servant had only to walk double the distance
the law required.
(2) So should a Christian allow himself to be beat to death for
any cause by any person? Even more, should he not move to
defend his family? Must a good Christian allow everything he
posses to be taken from him?
(a) It seems obvious that Jesus is commanding us to forego
our personal rights. That means that we should be
willing to be taken advantage of, abused, even killed.
(b) Does Jesus mean in every situation and by every
aggressor? On the personal level, there is no reason
to think that He does not.
(c) If there are times to defend, to protect, or to fight
back, they are not alluded to in this text.
e. That being said, Christians are not left defenseless.
(1) Christian have God as their Defense.
Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the
right hand of my righteousness.
Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear
what man shall do unto me.
(2) For the Christian, God should not be the last Defense, but our
only Defense.
(3) Even so, most Christians have to grow into such obedience.
(a) In confession, I find myself looking for some Biblical
reason to excuse myself from this command.
(b) Not only do I see none, but I find shame in the fact that
I do not readily trust the Lord and rejoice in Him as
my sole Protector.
3. I would point out that Jesus is not forbidding Christians to make use
of or to join institutions that He has provided for defense and
protection.
a. The commands given here are that Christians yield their personal
right to defend themselves, not their privilege or obligation to
serve to protect others.
b. That includes both the legal and military systems.
H. \\#5:43-48\\ Love Them Anyway
1. \\#43\\ The Old Standard
a. The Old Standard has a spark of human logic to it. Love your
neighbors but hate your enemies.
(1) The command to love your neighbor comes from \\#Le 19:18\\.
(2) The command to hate your enemy comes from the interpretations
of the religious leaders.
(3) Although Jesus has continually established His authority over
the Old Testament Law in this section, this is the first time
He has challenged the customs added by others. One wonders
how the scribes and Pharisees responded.
b. One reasoning behind this interpretation is that it is better to
show your hatred then to keep it a secret, like Absalom did with
his brother, Amnon.
c. The interpretations in their human wisdom failed to see the
spiritual alternative—make wrong things right.
d. It is interesting that Jesus gave this command immediately after
the command not to withstand those who would do evil to us.
Perhaps loving those who would do evil against us is the
motivation needed to passively allow another to do us harm.
2. \\#44-48\\ The New Standard
a. \\#44\\ "But I say unto you" - Jesus’ establishes His divine
authority.
b. Jesus gives a four-fold command.
(1) "Love your enemies"
(a) Human logic dictates that we should be good to those who
are good to us, but it should be all right to do bad
to those who treat us badly.
(b) Obviously, Jesus gave a new command that goes beyond
human logic.
(2) "bless them that curse you"
(a) However, Jesus goes beyond giving an unseen command for
the heart. He also gave a command that manifests itself
in outward behavior and speech.
(b) The middle eastern culture places a great emphasize on
verbal blessings and curses.
i. To stop one from pronouncing a curse upon an enemy
would have been difficult enough.
ii. To require that a blessing be pronounced upon that
enemy was even more difficult.
(3) "do good to them that hate you"
(a) But Jesus goes further yet.
(b) Beyond a command to pronounce good words, Jesus commanded
that good deeds are to be done for those who hate you.
(4) "pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you"
(a) And yet, Jesus goes further again.
(b) When our enemies have the upper hand over us, so that
they may use us and inflict harm upon us, we are still
commanded to bless them and do good to them.
c. \\#45-47\\ Jesus explains the command.
(1) \\#45\\ By doing so, we will be more like God.
(a) "That ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven"
i. The idea is that we might be more "like" our
heavenly Father.
ii. The only behavior that makes us the children of God
is repentance and faith.
(b) "for he maketh his sun to shine on the evil and the
good… on the just and on the unjust." - God sends
blessings upon all, not just those who deserve it.
(2) \\#46-47\\ By doing so, we take a step above others.
(a) I do not mean to imply that one who obeys this command
is any better than one who does not.
i. No one person is ever "better" than another.
ii. Rather, it is our behavior that is better.
iii. Any behavior that is patterned after God’s actions
is a better behavior.
(b) "do not even the publicans the same?"
i. Publicans were Jews who collected the Roman taxes.
ii. They were hated by the average Jew and considered
traitors to their country.
iii. Here is a case where Jesus, while not approving of
the Jewish culture, used it.
iv. Since the publicans were so disliked because of
their behavior, Jesus used that dislike to
demonstrate that the behavior of those who are
under grace should exceed that of the publicans.
(3) \\#48\\ Jesus closes this section with a challenge.
Matt 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect.
(a) The word "perfect" means to be complete in moral
character, as well as growth, mental abilities, and
other aspects of life.
(b) Humans can not be measure up to God in that aspect but
our challenge is to be all that we be with God’s grace.
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