JESUS PREACHES THE TRUTH

Matthew 5:43 - 44

43  Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 

44  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 

JESUS PREACHES THE TRUTH

The world is subjected to so many

falsehoods. Information comes at us

like a flood, and we can be caught in a

whirlwind of doubt as we try to figure

out what is true and what is false.

And I’m not just referring to the

political arena, though that is a good

place to start. We certainly know that

deception, twisted truth and outright

lies are a sad part of politics. But we

can’t blame our elected officials for all

the ‘trash’ that gets circulated. Our

computerized world has opened the

door for anyone to share fabrications.

The broad brush of human rights

allows mankind to paint any

‘picture’…as he or she sees it…and

too often without ramifications.

But this is not something new. That’s

what was going on during Jesus’

earthly ministry. The Jewish

hierarchy…the Pharisees and

Sadducees…were responsible for

interpretation of the law of Moses. If

they said their interpretation of the

law was correct, then everyone had no

choice but to follow. The problem was

that they were cunning in their

interpretation. They would often avoid

the true spiritual meaning of God’s

law.

Enter Christ…on the scene. He is

teaching his new disciples a new

interpretation of the old law. He

doesn’t want to abolish the law. He

just wants to fulfill it. In his sermon to

his disciples, known as the Sermon on

the Mount, Jesus sets the record

straight on a lot of falsehoods, from

murder, to adultery, to divorce, to

forgiveness, and finally to our broad

responsibility in our relationship with

each other. Jesus addresses each of

these false interpretations of the law,

beginning with the same words, “Ye

have heard…”.

Ye have heard…thou shalt not kill.

Ye have heard…thou shalt not commit adultery. Ye have heard…thou shalt not divorce

except for the cause of fornication.

Ye have heard…an eye for an eye, and

a tooth for a tooth.

The Pharisees were notorious for their

interpretation of these laws. They

would swear their interpretations were

correct. If someone challenged them

they would swear to it. They would

declare their truth by ‘heaven’, or

‘earth’ or ‘Jerusalem’ in much the

same way that we swear on the bible.

But if they became personally trapped

by their own interpretation of the

truth, they would argue that because

God himself was not mentioned in the

oath, the oath was not binding. In

other words, they gave THEMSELVES

a way ‘out’.

In this important sermon to his

disciples, Jesus addresses each of

these laws from the perspective of a

perfect God who never errs. He was

there to set the record straight. Jesus

said, ‘Ye have heard…but here’s the real deal.’

· First, Jesus teaches that “Thou shalt

not kill” includes all rash or reckless

anger toward others. He says that

calling someone a fool is just as

murderous as killing him.

· Then Jesus teaches that adultery by

lustful thought is just as convicting as

adultery by actions.

· Next, He teaches that marriage is a

permanent spiritual commitment, and

divorce is outside of God’s will, except

in cases of unfaithfulness.

· Then Jesus teaches that the old ‘eye

for an eye’ law, called the law of

retaliation, does not have to be

exercised. A man can choose to suffer

an injury for the sake of peace and

turn retribution over to the Lord. In

other words, the victim can choose to

‘Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so

fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2).

Some of you are thinking…’That’s it!

He sure covered all that quick. Maybe

we’ll get out of here early!’ Nope!

There’s one more ‘YE HAVE HEARD’

that Jesus covered in His Sermon on

the Mount. And that’s the one I want to

proclaim in detail. Let me read it

to you again.

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

Love your enemies! I call this the

ultimate challenge. The Jewish

teachers of the day taught that the

word ‘neighbor’ signified only those

who were of their own country, nation

and religion. It included only those

whom they were pleased to consider

their friends. But Jesus expanded the

definition of ‘neighbor’ to include all

mankind.

First, Jesus says, ‘Love your enemies and bless those who curse you.’

When you BLESS someone, it may

require you to speak. Christ is saying,

‘Speak softly to the one who curses

you. Don’t get caught up in an

argument. It’s just not worth it. You’re

playing with fire, and before you know

it, you’ll be the one to get burned.

Jesus had just taught the disciples

that: “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake: for theirs in the kingdom of heaven”, AND “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake” (Beatitudes: Matthew 5:10-11).

But His words hadn’t sunk in yet. It

hadn’t sunk in that as Christ’s

followers, they would have to live by

nobler principles than the rest of the

world.

How are we blessed by persecution?

That’s exactly the point. What better

opportunity is there to act Christ-like

than to respond in a gentle manner,

and thereby set a higher example of

how to live as a disciple of Jesus

Christ! Jesus said, “If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Even sinners do that!” (Matthew 5:46).

A Believer’s life should back up what

he believes. We should avoid disputes

and strife...especially among each

other. We should be characterized by

humility and selflessness. We ought to

reflect the One whom we claim to

represent. We ought to be doers of the

Word, and not hearers only.

We ought to help and not hinder.

We ought to care and not condemn.

We ought to bless and not burden.

‘Love your enemies and bless those who curse you.’

Second, Jesus says, ‘Do good to them that hate you’.

Jesus says that while others render

evil for evil, we are charged to render

good for evil. We are charged to

perform all the real kindness we are

capable of, not just with words, but

also with deeds.

We’ve all had conflicts with people in

our social circles. Maybe they said

something to offend us, or worse…

they did something to harm us. The

carnal or flesh side of us wants to

retaliate, to get even, or…at the very

least, to separate ourselves from them.

But if we call ourselves Believers,

Christ says it’s not our decision to

make. He says we should respond with

kindness. Do unto others as you would

have them do unto you. Go the extra

mile and take action to resolve any

conflict. If you’re motivated by the love

of God, anointed by the Spirit of God,

and guided by the hand of God, there

is only one avenue to take…and that’s

the narrow road. Leave that broad

road for the foolish. It can only lead to

destruction.

Here’s a real good reason to serve your

enemies…the ones who think poor

thoughts of you and plot against you.

You should show kindness toward

them because Christ showed kindness

toward you. He forgave you, so you

should forgive them.

Fast forward to Paul’s advice to the

church at Rome. Paul says, Romans 12:20 “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head”

I know someone maybe

thinking…’That’s more like it. I’d like

to see my enemies burn!’

But that’s NOT what Paul meant. Allow

me to explain. Heaping burning coals

on his head, along with the first part of

Romans 12:20, is a quotation from

Proverbs 25:21–22. The coals on the

head may refer to a ritual in Egypt in

which a person showed his repentance

by carrying a pan of burning charcoal

on his head. Helping rather than

cursing an enemy may cause him to be

ashamed and penitent.

John A. Witmer, “Romans,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 490. It was the custom to

Do you get it? Paul was saying that

giving your enemy food and water just

may cause him rethink how he has

treated you.

Your actions may just cause him to feel

ashamed of his own!

Remember…we are not called to hurt.

We are called to heal.

Jesus says, ‘Do good to them that hate you’.

Finally, Jesus says pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.

Have you ever been used? Maybe you

caught the blame for something you

did not do. Or maybe you were tricked

into helping someone who really

didn’t need your help at all. You just

got ‘played’. Using someone for the

wrong reasons is malicious. At the

least, its unpleasant to be on the

receiving end of this type of offensive

behavior. It hurts! And our carnal flesh

wants to take action immediately. The

flesh wants to jump at an enemy and

set him straight.

But remember that God’s expectations

of us are far greater than those of our

enemies. Jesus says our immediate

reaction should be to PRAY FOR THEM!

Lay aside your hurt and the

momentary unpleasantness of being

victimized and take the higher road.

Pray for those who hurt you.

Admit it! We often mentally disregard

the power of prayer because its results

are often not immediately visible. We

want to SEE God destroy our enemies.

But prayer is more than just a request

we make to God. It’s a stabilizing force

for us as well. When we pray, we are

releasing our troubles…but we are

also relinquishing our actions and our

attitudes. We like to say, “Turn it over

to the Lord; He’ll work it out.” But we

must believe it, or our prayers will not

benefit us.

Letting go is not easy. It takes practice.

That’s the trouble with too many

Believers. Not enough prayer practice.

Prayer should be our lifeline…not our

last resort. Try making it the FIRST

thing you do…

When anger wants to have its way.

When people step on your spiritual toes.

Here’s what I got out of this lesson

from Jesus Christ. ‘The only way for

me to conquer evil is to never allow

evil to conquer me.’ And I pray you

get the same message. The old hymn

writer said, “Plant my feet on higher

ground”. That’s where your spiritual

armor comes into play. That

breastplate of righteousness will

protect your heart from attacks. That

helmet of salvation will keep your

mind fixed on Christ. Those “feet shod

with the word of God” will keep you

from running headlong into trouble.

But you must wear your armor for it to

work. You can’t leave it hanging in

your spiritual closet until you think

you need it.

Jesus came to preach the truth.

Love your enemies. Do good to them.

Pray for them. Pour out kindness

toward them. You just might be the

one who leads that sinner in a new

direction.

If you’re grounded in Christ…no

enemy can uproot you.

If you’re shielded by Christ…no enemy

can destroy you.

If you’re anchored in Christ…no

enemy can overthrow you.

If you’re committed to Christ…no

enemy can conquer you.

If you’re sheltered in Christ

…no enemy can subdue you.

The only way to conquer evil is

with good.