Matthew 5:38-48 God Wants Me to Do What?

A few weeks ago, we looked at where Jesus said, that we should let our lights shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven. This begs the question, what kind of works cause people to glorify God? Answer: The kind of works that no one in their right mind would do unless they were motivated by the Spirit of God. 

What we are looking at today is something that it takes the Spirit of God to do. Naturally, we don’t have the power to do what Jesus is calling us to do here. In our flesh, it is the last thing that we want to do, but when we have been saved, when we are indwelled by the Spirit of Jesus, he gives us supernatural strength to do things that we cannot do naturally. Today, we see how Jesus calls us to do good to those who want to hurt us. Jesus calls us to give up our rights to revenge, and to love our enemies. No one can do this without Jesus.

Let’s read our text:

38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

In one way, Jesus continues what he has been doing in the past few passages that we have looked at, but he does something different as well. It is the same because it continues the same pattern, “you have heard that it was said…, but I say to you….” Today we are looking at two statements that Jesus does this with. However, there is something different in these two. The other passages up to this part were in the form of negative commands. “You have heard that it was said, you shall not…murder,...commit adultery,…bear false witness…” However here, it changes. The first thing that Jesus says is, You have heard that it was said, “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” This comes from Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, and Deuteronomy 19:21. This phrase, “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” is called the “lex talionis,” or the “Law of the tooth.” When we here this, we think of Jesus teaching in this passage and we think that an eye for a eye is bad…that it encourages revenge; however, this rule actually had a different purpose. If you look at the ancient law codes around Israel retaliation was much more drastic than this. Many other ancient law codes did not place the same value on human life. So, by using this phrase, “an eye for an eye” it is limiting the punishment required for a crime. The law would not require capital punishment for punching someone and knocking their tooth out. Rather, the punishment could not exceed the crime.

Now, Jesus quotes this law that limits punishments so that they fit the crime and cannot be excessive, and he tells us what his followers should do. Jesus says, “But I say to you, ‘do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.’” By saying this, Jesus is not telling us that we should ask for more mistreatment, but he is telling us that if someone PERSONALLY wrongs us, we should not seek revenge or retaliation.

There is one difficulty here. Jesus says, “do not resist the one who is evil.” Sometimes when the Bible talks about the “one who is evil,” it means the devil; however, I don’t think that is what it means here. In James 4:7 we are told to resist the devil and he will flee, and in 1 Peter 5:8-9 it tells us that the devil prowls like a lion seeking whom he may devour but we should “resist him.” When Jesus tells us not to resist the one who does evil, he is telling us not to retaliate against someone who wrongs us. We are not to seek revenge. We are not to retaliate.

Next Jesus says, “if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” The tunic would be the inner garment, and the cloak would be the outer garment. Jesus is saying, if someone takes you to court, maybe unjustly, maybe just because they don’t like you, if want to take you to court to get your inner garment, give them the outer as well. No one in their right mind would do this. Only one who has been changed by Jesus can “let goods and kindred go” like he is sayin, g here.

Next Jesus says, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” By Roman law, if a soldier needed help and he was going by you, he could just grab you and force you to carry his baggage for a mile, but no more. Jesus is saying that if you find yourself in that kind of a situation, don’t just do the minimum, but go the extra mile. Who would do this? The world looks at this and says it’s crazy to do this, but one who has experienced the gospel will do what the world thinks is crazy because of the change that Jesus makes.

Then Jesus says, “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” Now, Jesus isn’t saying to throw out discernment. I don’t think he is calling us to give to beggars. In fact, when I have traveled to India, we had beggars who followed us everywhere we went. We were told by those who were there not to give because this reinforces some bad things. In India, some parents will intentionally mutilate their children so that they will have more sympathy from tourists and will be more effective at begging. When you give, that encourages more of this behavior. There are times when giving with good intentions actually makes things worse. Rather, I think Jesus is telling us to do what he tells us elsewhere. Luke records similar words, Luke 6:34-35, Jesus says, “And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is there for you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting nothing in return.” What Jesus is telling us here is that when someone needs help, we shouldn’t be looking at whether that person can give anything in return. We shouldn’t give with any strings attached or to try to get someone to do what we want them to do. Instead, we should be people who will lend to someone with a real need, and be willing to never see anything in return.

Then Jesus quotes another Old Testament passage. He says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’” Now, the first part of this is found in the Old Testament. Leviticus 19:18 says, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This isn’t just what Jesus taught, it started in the Old Testament. However, you can search through the Old Testament and you won’t find it say the other half anywhere. The Old Testament doesn’t tell us to “hate our enemies.” What Jesus says here probably refers to the way people commonly practiced the command.

Jesus again restores the command to its original intention. He says, “But I say to you, ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’” Of course, when Jesus said this, people must have thought he was crazy. “Really, Jesus?! You want me to love my . . . enemies?! But they hate me! That’s what being an enemy means! You want me to love them?!” That is our natural reaction to what Jesus says here. Someone asked Jesus who our neighbor was, and he responded by telling the story of the Good Samaritan, so we might ask, who is our enemy? The Old Testament word for enemy is built off the word for hate. It is a person who hates, not a hated person. Your enemies aren’t the people you don’t like. Your enemies are the people who hate you. And Jesus tells us we are to love them. We are to have a genuine care and concern for their welfare and to seek their good.

Then Jesus tells us why we should love our enemies. Jesus says, “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” Why does Jesus want us to love our enemies? So that we will be like our Father. He is not saying that by loving our enemies we become sons of God, as if we had to do this in order for God to accept us into his family. No, because he says “so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” It’s only those who are believers who can say that God is their Father. What Jesus is saying is that when we love our enemies we are acting like our Father. Just as my son, Joshua, will imitate me, and some of the things that he does and says are things that he has heard me say and saw me do, so when we love our enemies we imitate our Father.

Then Jesus explains more of what he means. He says that God, our Father, “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” These are two good gifts that God gives to all people regardless of whether they are good or bad, believers or not. God causes the sun to rise and give light to all people, and he brings rain to all people regardless of whether they are good or bad. In this way, God loves even those who hate him. And Jesus tells us that as believers, we are to be like our Father and do good and be a blessing to our community whether they love us or hate us. That is how we bring glory to God. Nothing can make someone do that apart from God’s Spirit working in the lives of believers.

And this is the point that Jesus continues to make. Jesus goes on, “And if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” When Jesus says, “what reward do you have?” He means, how is there anything about that that is any different than what other people do? When Jesus saves us and we become God’s children, we are called to imitate him by loving even those who hate us and mistreat us. We go above and beyond what is “normal” so that what we do can only be explained by giving glory to God.

Finally, Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.” The word for perfect can also mean “whole” or “mature.” It is clear that none of us will be perfect in this life, but it is possible to imitate our Father, to love those who hate us, and to do good in ways that cause the watching community to glorify God.

Matthew 5:33-37 Diagnosis Deception

Wouldn’t it be nice if we lived in a world where people were just like Pinocchio? What I mean is, wouldn’t it be nice if when a person lied, their nose grew, or there was some other physical sign to tell us they were lying. When you go buy a new vehicle you can ask the sales person, “do you really think it’s worth the price you are asking or it?” And you could be sure that no one would pull the wool over your eyes.

 

We live in an era where people are always trying to lie to us. Most advertisement is designed as a lie. Advertisements are designed to send you the message, “you need this, and you won’t be happy without it.” That’s a lie. Most of the time, these subtle lies are just meant to make us discontent with what we have so someone can get us to part with money. And then there are more direct ways of lying. Con-men and scams. You really have to watch out today because there are scams everywhere. Someone might call you on the phone, in your own home, and tell you they are from the IRS or from your bank and that you need to give them some information. We are usually trusting, so an unsuspecting person may give them the information without suspecting anything is wrong, and be swindled for thousands of dollars.

 

In many ways, it would be nice if we had some physical sign, like Pinocchio’s nose that told us when someone is lying to us.

 

The next passage from Jesus’ explanation of the law talks about truth telling. He doesn’t quote the commandment against “bearing false witness.” Rather, he reflects on an implication of it. And Just as in the passages we looked at for the last few weeks, he leaves no one off the hook.

 

As we have seen earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had said, “You think you’re doing pretty good because you haven’t killed anyone? Have you been angry?” You think you are doing pretty good because you haven’t physically committed adultery? Have you looked at a woman with lustful intent.” Now Jesus says, “You think you are doing pretty good because you tell the truth?”

 

Let’s see what Jesus says in Matthew 5:33-37:

 

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 

34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 

35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 

36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

 

Jesus continues in the same pattern. He begins with “again,” telling us that he’s doing the same thing in this text as he has done in the others. He says, “you have heard that it was said…, but I say to you….”

 

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’” This statement is based upon the 9^th commandment. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor,” which we often shorten to “you shall not lie.”

 

The 9^th commandment, “you shall not lie,” is fundamentally important to all human interaction and it is rooted in the very nature of God. God is truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life.” Hebrews tells us that it is “impossible for God to lie.” And, we worship a God who has spoken to us in a book. We believe the Bible is God’s word and that it is true from cover to cover—every jot and tittle—because if it were not true it would make God a liar.

 

It is also fundamental to human interaction. Think of all the things in life that we count on truth telling for.

• Marriage is based on making promises to one another—this breaks down if we cannot trust what people say.
• Business dealings count on truth telling. You want to know if you are being taken advantage of or being treated fairly. Every time you buy anything, whether a new car or house, or a bread and milk at the store, we want to know that what we are buying is good and that no one is pulling the wool over our eyes.
• Education—you want to know that your doctor really did his homework, that he didn’t cheat on his tests, and that he really did get his medical degree from a reputable institution, and that he didn’t just print off a fake diploma and lie on his resume.

Every day we communicate with people and we depend on a system of mutual trust. When we lie it breaks that trust and it undermines all of our interactions as human beings.

It also breaks down our readiness to trust in God. If everywhere we look, people are lying to one another, how are we supposed to respond when we come to a book that tells us who God is? And more so for believers. If a person can’t trust us to tell them the truth about things in our own individual lives, how will they trust us when we share the Gospel?

 

While what Jesus says is based in the 9^th commandment, it focuses in on one application of the commandment. It focuses in on vows and oaths.  He says, “you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but you shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.” So when you make a vow or a promise, it must be taken seriously. When you make a vow, you bind yourself by your words. God takes this seriously, and he expects us to follow through.

 

Now what is a vow? It is a promise where we imply, “what I am saying is as certain as the thing I am vowing on.” We have heard people say “I swear to God.” What that expression means is, “you can trust what I say as firmly and as certain as you can trust God.” We have heard people say, “I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles.” A person who says such a thing is trying to give more weight to what they say. In effect it means, “you can trust what I’m saying as much as you can trust what God says.”

 

However, Jesus here says to us not to take an oath at all. He says, “But I say to you , do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.”

 

This seems pretty odd. It seems that the Old Testament allowed swearing an oath. In fact God swore often by himself to express his promises to his people. What seems to be the problem here?

 

First of all, swearing an oath had become abused. We see this in Matthew 23:16-17, where Jesus says, “Woe to you blind guides who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath. You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple which made the gold sacred?” People began to abuse oaths. They would say that certain things were not as important if you swear by them, but others are more important. They would make loopholes to allow themselves to break their word.

 

Second, making vows makes you in danger of breaking the 3^rd commandment as well. The 3^rd commandment says, “You shall not take the name of the Lord thy god in vain.” We often think that taking God’s name in vain is when a person uses God’s name as a curse word. However, it is more than that. When we speak of God, we need to speak with an understanding of who we are talking about. We should speak, feeling the weight of who he is. We shouldn’t be frivolous when we speak about God. Jesus is saying that we should not make a vow by heaven because it is God’s throne, or by earth because it is God’s footstool, because when we do we are in danger of breaking that command as well. What happens if we don’t fulfill our word? It isn’t just us that is implicated, it is God himself.

 

Jesus also warns us against even swearing by our own heads. He says, “And do not swear by your own head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.” There are things you don’t have control over. We are limited and we don’t have the ability to control our circumstances. So Jesus warns us, don’t swear by your head, because you don’t have the ability to control the circumstances. Something might happen that you were not expecting and stand in the way of your fulfilling your vow.

 

Finally, Jesus says to us, “Let what you say be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no”; anything more than this comes from evil.” The final reason Jesus warns against vows is that they are unnecessary. Vows assume that they are some how more binding than regular speech, but Jesus is saying to us that we should be people of our word. We shouldn’t need to make a “vow” to leverage us into a position where we keep our word. In a way, making vows cheapens the idea of telling the truth in our normal speech. By saying you really have to be sure to keep your promise because of the nature of the vow, it seems to lessen the force of just saying, “I will do this.”

 

Jesus wants his people to have credibility. He doesn’t want us to be people who have to bind themselves by oaths to be trusted. He wants every word we say to be trustworthy.

 

Just like Jesus did with murder and adultery, he does with truth telling as well. Do you think you are a good person because you keep your promises? Do you think you are a good person because when you make a deal with someone you always follow through? Think again. God doesn’t just expect us to be truthful when we make a promise or express our will in the form of a vow. He expects every word to be truthful.

 

Often we say things that we cannot fulfill because they are out of our control. Often we may fudge on the truth for our own advantage or for convenience. Jesus warns us in Matthew 12:36-37 that “on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

 

We have all spoken careless words, and we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ one day. We will all give an account to God, not just for the things we say in the form of an oath, but every word will be laid bare. Who can stand before this Holy God who judges the hearts and knows our every secret?

 

But there is a remedy. Jesus is the remedy. While we are all sinners, while we have all spoken careless words and even hurtful words, Jesus was totally sinless. He was innocent of all guilt. He lived a perfect life of obedience to the Father from his birth in Bethlehem to his crucifixion on Calvary. And when he died, he died as a sacrificial substitute for us. When we believe on him, he takes our mess and he makes us new. He washes us clean from all guilt and sin. He gives us a righteousness that is not our own. The righteousness of Jesus is counted to us.

 

How can we know this is true? Because He promised. His word says, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

You can’t always depend on human promises, but God’s promises will never fail. Flee to Christ. Turn to him. Believe on him and you will never be put to shame. Call upon him and you will be saved.