The Command That Scares Us

Life's Most Significant Pursuit is to be Like Jesus Matthew 5:38-48

Introduction Last week, we started our series, "The Scariest Parts of The Bible." We began by looking at why suffering and evil exist, what is called the problem of pain. We saw through scripture that the existence of suffering and evil results from our sinful desires and choosing to follow them. Next week, we'll look at the doctrine of hell. These topics and today's are doctrinal issues in the Bible that we often shy away from and avoid because they make us uncomfortable. We don't like to acknowledge that the suffering and evil we see, for example, the conflicts in Israel and Ukraine, is because of us. Our sin has immediate and generational effects.  We don't want to face that the result of our sin and evil is the thought of hell. So, between these two doctrinal truths that scare us, we insert a teaching of Jesus that does the same today.

This teaching scares us. Well, most of the time. As my business partner told me as I was sharing the theme of this message, "It scares me some, and then other times, it makes me mad because I don't want to do it." Jesus had some incredibly hard-hitting teachings. No matter how many times we read them, hear them preached and taught, they still make us squirm. It scares us because it sets a standard so high and lofty it feels completely unattainable. So unattainable, we often fall into the trap of "I can't do this, so why even try?" But Jesus never calls us to something we can't attain and that He Himself didn't do. So let's jump into "The Command That Scares Us." Matthew 5:38-48

Matthew 5:38–48 ESV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 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. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 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. For 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? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Scriptural Analysis Jesus teaches the principle that Christian kindness should transcend all natural human reactions. All of these commands must be read against the historical background of first-century Judaism, which is defined by the violent and oppressive occupation of the Roman Empire. The entire Sermon on the Mount is Jesus quite literally calling the crowd to a new ethic of relationships between us and God and between us and others.

V38-42 There's a lot more being taught here than we often realize. The “eye for an eye” and “tooth for a tooth” are part of the widespread ancient Near Eastern law of retaliation. In Israel and other cultures, the court enforced this principle. In the turbulent world of Jesus’ day, when Jews were under the rule of the Roman occupying forces, it was easy to lose sight of this higher purpose and begin to use the law of retaliation to justify personal revenge. The common person was at the mercy of the Romans everywhere—on the street, in the court, in the presence of the military, and in the everyday world of finances. Jewish courts had little or no power to execute justice to protect their people. The Jews who were hurt wanted to strike back, especially since their leaders had no power or avenue of justice to protect them. Personal retaliation through violent resistance was a burning issue among the Jews. Some of the Jewish leaders sought retaliation by gathering a following to resist the Romans, which led to popular resistance movements during the time of Jesus. So, Jesus' words here have personal, spiritual, and cultural importance. Within this oppressive atmosphere, Jesus points to the motivation of the individual disciple who has been taken advantage of and wronged. Jesus uses four illustrations from the everyday life of his followers under oppression to emphasize how they can love those who offend them.

The first scene is in an arena where a Christ follower is insulted publicly: “If someone strikes you on the right cheek …”. According to Rabbinic Law, hitting a man with the back of your hand was twice as insulting as hitting a man with the palm of your hand. A right-handed person can only hit you on the right cheek with the back of their hand. Jesus said that don't return the insult or retaliate when that happens. Crude Roman military personnel were known to demean their subjugated people in this way. To turn the other cheek indicates that Jesus’ disciples are so secure in themselves that they do not need to retaliate to evil with more evil. By turning the other cheek, they place themselves in a position of greater humility.

The second scene is in those days; a man typically wore an inner garment, a tunic similar to a shirt, and an outer garment, a cloak similar to a coat. A man would probably own more than one tunic but only one cloak. Also, a man's cloak, his coat, was used as a blanket when he slept. Therefore, in a legal dispute, a creditor could sue a man for his tunic but not his cloak. This was an Old Testament law. But again, the Romans were not beholden to Jewish Laws. They'd take a cloak if they wanted a blanket for the night and saw your cloak as sufficient. Again, this would anger the Jews because this oppressor was unfairly taking their most basic necessity. Jesus is teaching his disciples that their first responsibility is to reverse the dynamic of the situation from unjustly taking to sacrificially giving. The evil person has attempted to take it, but Jesus’ disciples will give it to the offender. It is a mental and matter of the heart. Jesus’ disciples are not to think first about retribution. Even when they are being taken advantage of, they must think of ways to advance the kingdom of heaven.

The third illustration draws a military scene: “If someone forces you to go one mile...” In ancient practice, governmental or military personnel could requisition the help of local civilians for official business. This was a common custom in Roman-occupied lands. Roman law gave a soldier the right to force a civilian to carry his pack for one mile. Needless to say, this caused great inconvenience and irritation to Jewish civilians. Imagine being late for a business meeting or on your way to the temple and suddenly being stopped on the street and forced to drop everything in order to carry a soldier's pack for one mile. Jesus told his followers, "When that happens, instead of just walking one mile, walk two." There's no greater way to show God's love than to be kind to someone who hasn't treated you with kindness.

The last illustration relates to uncomfortable people: “Give to the one who asks you … the one who wants to borrow from you.” This carries Jesus’ point one step further by referring to two kinds of uncomfortable people who might intrude into the everyday lives of his disciples. Not only are Jesus’ disciples to respond with positive treatment to those who ill-treat them, but they are also to give to those who beg and borrow. In this context, “ask” indicates a poor person begging for alms. During Roman occupation, the oppressed became less likely to help others because they never knew what the Romans would take from them, too. So they held onto everything with a clenched fist. Jesus tells his followers to be generous even when times are scary or when those we give to might not be appreciative. A follower of Jesus' generosity cannot be based on who or the times they find themselves in.

V43-45 The Bible never teaches hatred for one’s enemies. In the parallel passage in Luke 10, Jesus explained through the parable of the good Samaritan that every human in our sphere of influence is our neighbor. Therefore, Christians are to love everyone and hate no one. Jesus takes the competing attitudes of love for neighbor and hate for an enemy and brings them together in a way that undoubtedly stuns his audience but is actually what God intended from the beginning: “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” God does hate evil, but his intent is to bring reconciliation.

To be sons (or children) of God in the biblical sense is to reflect the character and likeness of God, for which the second half of the verse provides specific illustrations. For example, the Father in heaven provides sun and rain for all people without discriminating between the bad and the good. Jesus reveals that we are never more like our Heavenly Father than when we love those who don't love us. When we refuse to retaliate, even if the other person is wrong, when we seek to make restitution for our own wrongs, respond to mistreatment with kindness, and extend our generosity to all who need it, that's how we show his love.

V46-48 Jesus is summarizing this teaching by saying the true test of genuine Christianity is how believers treat those they are naturally inclined to hate, mistreat, or persecute them or are different. Whatever emotions may be involved, “love” here refers to “generous, warm, costly self-sacrifice for another’s good. We are to love everyone, for everyone is our neighbor, even if we are not inclined to like that neighbor.

This last statement has often been misinterpreted. It has incorrectly served as a basic text for the doctrine of Christian perfectionism, which requires Christian absolute moral perfection, which is impossible. The context has just defined the perfection to which Jesus calls his followers. Perfect love is an active concern for everyone everywhere, regardless of whether or not they receive it. To do this is to imitate God and demonstrate that we are his children. Since human beings were made in the image of God in Genesis 1, they are “perfect” when they demonstrate those characteristics that reflect the nature of God in their lives. Our goodness and grace must be unlimited, as your heavenly Father’s goodness and grace knows no bounds. TODAY'S KEY TRUTH Life's Most Significant Pursuit is To Be Like Christ. Application All of these commands sound practically impossible. But the summary conclusion sounds like insanity. "Be perfect." No matter what I might try to convince my wife of, at times, I'm not perfect. None of us are. Only Jesus has walked this life and been perfect. But Jesus would never command us to do something that we aren't capable of doing. He didn't command us to be all-powerful or to be all-knowing. These things are beyond our grasp. But he told us to be perfect, as our heavenly father is perfect.

The Greek word for perfect here means “having attained the purpose.” It means to reach an intended end or completion. In other places in the Bible, it is translated mature. In other words, a person is 'perfect' if he or she fulfills the purpose for which they were created. Jesus isn't saying you'll be without error. Jesus is saying you can be perfect when you fulfill your purpose in life by loving everyone, including your enemies. We are never more like God than when we love those who don't love us. So, being perfect, in the context that Jesus mentions here, isn't attained through sinless perfection because that isn't possible. The kind of perfection Jesus refers to here is being perfect in love, especially loving your enemies.

Jesus starts with a very famous radical ethic of love. Do you realize that being slapped on the cheek does not mean somebody is trying to violently beat you up? You don’t slap somebody on the cheek when you’re trying to beat them up. You kick them. You punch them in the mouth. A slap on the cheek is an insult, and Jesus clearly says, “When someone insults you, take no concern or offense. The point is not your honor or your dignity. There is something bigger here to accomplish.”

These ethics scare us and are widely disregarded, but no one ever says to disregard them or that I don’t like them because they're too low, trivial, or unworthy. They always say it’s too high. It’s too lofty. We are scared of these ethics because the Christian understanding of relationships is so lofty it feels unrealistic.

A new relationship with God also creates a new relationship with yourself, and it creates a new relationship with others. It’s a package! What Jesus is saying here is, “If you are a follower of mine, if you have been radically transformed inside, in your attitude toward yourself, because of your new relationship with God, you have the ability not just to love the people who love you, but to love your enemies, to turn the other cheek, to give more, to go the extra mile, and live a godly lifestyle.”

Jesus and His followers are living in oppressive and abusive times. Jesus wasn't affirming full pacifism. Jesus prohibited vengeful retaliation, but He did not intend to forbid acts of self-defense in the face of potentially dangerous and violent attacks. Jesus does not exhort his disciples to passive tolerance of violence and physical harm but instead to accept wrongdoings as radical and tangible opportunities to love one’s enemy. Jesus says everything, including insults and injustice, can be used as an opportunity to be like Jesus and show love.

For Jesus' followers, His kingdom will be marked by a number of distinguishing characteristics. Jesus’ followers are called to an exceedingly high standard. God cares about our attitudes and motives for behaving as we do. We must be as mindful of motives and attitudes as we are of our public behavior. The Kingdom changes our hearts, behaviors, reactions, and relationships. Avoid comparing your life to others and what they do. Instead, strive to live up to the high standards Jesus sets.

Life's Most Significant Pursuit is To Be Like Christ. Conclusion Jesus was well acquainted with the selfish, superficial love of the Pharisees and leaders of His day. They were known for favoring those who supported their traditions and mandates and rejecting or condemning those who were deemed unworthy. Little compassion was shown to those viewed outside their circle of influence. This was not love at all; it was simply a response to those who benefited them. Our world is filled with those who possess the same selective, self-serving love. If we are to reflect the change that has been made in our lives and the Lord we serve, we must be willing to love all men, regardless of color, creed, culture, affiliation, or even their hurtful actions toward us. That does not mean we must love their ways or ideals, but we must love them!

Jesus himself lived out this radical principle and became a vivid example for his followers. He loved so much that he gave himself for sinners. The obligation of Jesus' disciples is not to retaliate for the evil done to them. Their primary obligation is to serve those around them, those who seem to deserve it and those who don’t. Jesus not only called His followers to this radical love, He then went and showed it.

Jesus turned the other cheek as the guards assaulted him. Jesus went the extra mile as he carried our cross while being mocked, ridiculed, whipped, and beaten. Jesus did not refuse the thief on the cross as he begged Jesus to remember him. Jesus hung on the cross for those who cursed Him as their enemy. Jesus prayed, "Father, forgive them," as they cheered His death. Jesus set the standard and then lived the standard.

Life's Most Significant Pursuit is To Be Like Christ.

We are never more like Jesus than when we love those who don't love us. When we refuse to retaliate, even if the other person is wrong, when we seek to make restitution for our own wrongs, when we respond to mistreatment with kindness and extend our generosity to all who need it, that's how we show his love. That's what it means to become perfect, to fulfill our purpose like Jesus did. We may think that life's most significant purpose is to accomplish personal goals, obtain wealth, earn a name of respect, or achieve so much we'll be remembered. But none of that will be a legacy that lasts for eternity. Our only hope for a legacy is to imitate and point the world to Christ. He's the only person worth remembering.

Life's Most Significant Pursuit is To Be Like Christ.

These commands shouldn't scare us; they are simply a call to love like Jesus. We are never more like Jesus than when we show His unconditional love. His love is shown without bounds or limits. Even those who have no personal relationship with Him benefit from His love. He pours out His blessing on the good and the evil. Our world is filled with sin, and yet the sun rises each day. Our world is filled with evil, and yet God sends the rain upon the earth. Our world is consumed with selfishness, and yet He gives strength and ability to us all. This is not because any have earned or deserve it, but because He chooses to reveal His love while we all are still sinners and His enemies. We must seek to show our love as Jesus has loved us so that others may see Him in us. Our love testifies to our relationship with Jesus and to the truth of His love for everyone. Jesus' love is for you, me, and everyone to receive and then give. This lost, dark, and dying world needs more of us loving like Jesus.

Life's Most Significant Pursuit is To Be Like Christ.