Christ’s Authority: Behold The Bigger Picture

Introduction

Imagine a world where everyone treats each other with dignity and respect, working hard to do right by each other. I got to experience this in a small way during a mission trip to Puerto Rico. Hurricane Maria perhaps 2 weeks after it had devastated the island, we planned to take medical professionals and any able body to go and serve. People lost their homes, churches lost their buildings, and with what little they had, they shared with us; we couldn’t help it, down to the little things we shared with them. It was sad, it was beautiful, even in pouring rain one day, we had an open clinic at someone’s house in the mountains, and we got to bless people, work together, and treat each other with honor, love, sacrifice.

Until one evening when someone on the team began accusing someone else that they were not only taking their snacks but borrowing their clothes without permission. Oh, the drama. Not to be mean or rude, but this older lady which wore a 2XL shirt was accusing and being pretty mean to a lady that wore Medium pants and shirts, maybe a large if we had a big meal. That night, it was tense inside the house, the team was split, not really, but we made the older lady feel that way so she wasn’t alone, but the hard part was that they didn’t reconcile till the end of the trip. Imagine what that trip could’ve been like if this individual chose love over anger, over frustration. Imagine how the whole team would’ve remained united and undistracted if reconciliation was sought early on.

Jesus, in his life, throughout his ministry, and especially in his teachings and words to us, he shows us how he fulfills the entirety of the Old Testament by living out what the word of God meant to teach us. Today, we see how we can begin to live out those words of God, how we can begin addressing those issues happening within our hearts, and how we can experience heart transformation by having genuine love for one another.

Prayer

Big Idea: The Law’s purpose was always to transform the heart and foster genuine love and reconciliation.

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-30

Matthew 5:21–30 CSB

“You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire. So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny. “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Understanding Righteousness.

Last week I talked about how Jesus demonstrates the kind of righteousness that the law intended to instill in us, to teach us, and to transform our hearts: to have a righteousness, a life of right living, having right relationship with God and with our neighbor. The law and the prophets, the biblical foundation of Christ’s ministry, were supposed to show us a righteousness that mirrors that of God. But the Law of God, the Words of God didn’t fail us, we failed it. The teaching of Jesus is that if we follow him we fulfill the law. He then challenges us to pursue a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, which meant that in us he is seeking a righteousness that comes from the inside, not from external behavior modification, but a heart that is transformed to be like our Lord Jesus; that by following in his footsteps, we follow the word of God.

Jesus’ Approach

The thing I love about Jesus, as we read today in our passage, is how practical he is. With everything and anything he ever taught, he would always demonstrate how to live it out soon after. This was always his approach. When you read throughout the Gospels, Jesus would always teach something and then soon after demonstrate how to walk it out. In Matthew 5, he showcases six different case studies where Jesus quotes from the Law and Jewish Tradition that he is showing how to listen to the commandments by giving examples and clarification of how we were meant to walk it out.

But for today, we're just going to look at the first two: Do not murder and do not commit adultery. So let's start with the super light topic of murder.

Murder and Anger (Matthew 5:21-26)

In verse 21, we see that Jesus starts with what I'll call a prohibitive expectation. If the law says do not murder, there's an expectation that you don't murder, and it's prohibitive: It's something you are not supposed to do, and you better not do it because there will be consequences.

He’s quoting a command that the people are already familiar with. For the Jews, from the time you're a child, you are very familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures. I would imagine, that the way Jesus speaks, someone might think, (at least I know I would now), “Okay. Rabbi Jesus is going to teach more on the commandment: don't murder. Great. Easy enough. I've never laid a finger on my brother or my sister, and I'm good. I'm righteous, right, Jesus? I’ll bet whatever he says next has nothing to do with me, (*whisper* everything to do with you). I'm good.”

I imagine their disappointment when they hear the next words of Jesus, “I tell you, everyone who's angry with his brother or his sister will be subject to judgment.”

Jesus’ Teaching

In one turn of phrase, Jesus’ teaching is that the consequence of anger against another is on the same level as murder. Not that murder and anger are the same, but the consequences are the same. And why?... Jesus is emphasizing how much we value someone's existence. Think about it.

What's happening under the sin of murder? Someone takes it upon themselves for whatever reason, whatever evil and wickedness fills their heart, they see fit to take someone's life. In that action, or even before that moment, they have made the decision that the life of their victim is not worth protecting, it's not worth preserving… it's worth taking. They have taken it upon themselves to take life as if it was less than and belonged to them… But what leads someone to commit murder?

I think Jesus here is getting at that very question by addressing the heart. Now, I've seen a lot of crime shows and criminal investigation shows and detective dramas, and it's always very interesting when they're chasing down the bad guy and they're trying to get into the mind of the criminal. Sometimes, it was a spouse that was a victim of cheating, of adultery, and they decided that the right way to fix the problem was to get rid of the perpetrator through murder. Of the many stories, the common factor is that someone was wronged, they were filled with anger, they only saw red, and they decided to take action out of that anger.

Jesus is saying that to have anger at a brother or a sister, ( referring to your neighbor, not just a sibling, maybe even specifically referring to the community of faith), but to have anger at a brother or sister, he's talking about anger that doesn't have a just cause. It’s anger that leads you to see red, to feel almost murderous. Let me say it a different way, it's kind of like unrestrained anger, fury. When that kind of anger is in your heart, there's no way you're having peaceful and holy thoughts about someone. The truth and reality that the commandment do not murder is speaking to is that if you have that kind of unrestrained emotion and anger in your heart, you are not seeing someone, the target of your anger, you are not seeing them as an equal. You are not showing respect and honor to that image of God-bearing person.

In fact, you're guilty of the same guilt that's of someone who commits murder because you are devaluing them in your heart. Jesus expands it even more. Listen to the consequences of anger which Jesus gives us in three levels.

Consequences

· If you're angry, (again, referring to unjustified, unrestrained anger), at a brother or sister, you're subject to judgment.

Jesus is saying that to harbor wrath in one's heart is sinful. It's deserving of punishment. I want you to hear me, there is definitely a time and place for having anger, be it against sin, be it against corruption, being against evil and the darkness that exists in our lives and our world. It's what I'll call righteous indignation. Jesus will have this righteous anger later in the gospel when he goes into the temple to cleanse it out, because the people that have set up shop and charging them crazy amounts of money to buy sacrifices that they deem actually pure and worthy of being given as an offering. If people can't come and worship freely, Jesus is angry. You won’t like him when he’s angry.

The problem with human anger is that we're not Jesus. His entire being is pure and holy, even his emotions are perfect and spotless. Every single intention, thought and motivation that Jesus ever had was pure, holy, righteous.

I'll be the first to say: my anger, my emotions, they are not completely clean and free from mixed motives. All my emotions, all our emotions, they come from a place we call sin. It's the curse. It's the stain of our reality because of our rebellion against God. I need Jesus. I need the Holy Spirit to purify me, to make me holy as he is holy. I am liable to have impure thoughts, to have impure anger. The kind of judgment that Jesus talks about is not the kind of judgment we see in our court of law today. Not the kind that people see and do something about it. No. Who sees what's going on in here? (*point at heart*) He does. Jesus is talking about a judgment that comes from God; an eternal judgment.

He says, if you insult your brother. Now, has anyone ever seen someone lash out in anger? I know no one in here has because we’re all perfect, but maybe you’ve witnessed it out there. When it happens, I feel the cringe when people say, “I know they shouldn't have said that to them. It wasn't nice, but we got to forgive. We got to show grace. They were offended. They were just a little angry. They weren't thinking clearly.”

In your Bibles, there should be a footnote next to the word “insult” that says raca. Raca is an Aramaic term. It was commonly known as a quasi swear word. It was considered verbally abusive to use it, although today most writers think it meant something along the lines of “stupid, idiot, empty headedness,” but maybe with a heavier tone behind it. What I see? It is a term that you would use to demean someone, to insult their intelligence. Jesus is emphasizing the point that “Do Not Murder” gets to the heart, gets to how you speak to someone. The command is to expose how you are loving others, or expose a lack of love, and to shed light on how you're treating them. You're demonstrating how you see their worth and value even in your words. Jesus says To insult them makes you “subject to the court.” For Jesus, if you're insulting them, if you're angry at them, you're subject to the Sanhedrin, the high court of the Jewish people, the same council that later condemns Jesus to death.

That's how serious Jesus is taking this. If you're angry in your heart at them, there is judgment. If you're calling someone an idiot, you're being dragged before the Supreme Court. And If you call someone a fool, which in biblical terms, you’re saying that person lacks any hope of gaining wisdom. They were actually the antithesis of the wisdom of God. You did not want to be a fool. And if you are calling someone a fool, Jesus says, you are subject to hellfire…

Jesus is teaching us that how you treat people matters; that how you demonstrate that they have worth and value matters, even from the point of how you see them and treat them in your heart. It's more obvious with your words, but even your words all come from the heart…

Jesus is teaching his disciples the values of the kingdom of God, and that in the kingdom, every person, they all have the same immeasurable value. The commandments were to lead you to transformation, for your heart to resonate, to mirror, to pour forth the heart and righteousness of God. Jesus says that you can't do that even with anger in your heart, with anger in your actions, even if you never lay a single finger on someone else. The way we open ourselves to transformation of heart is by listening to his proactive expectations.

Proactive Expectation

First, he calls us to reconciliation. He uses the illustration that if you're going to the altar, to the temple in Jerusalem, and going to give a sacrifice that brings forgiveness, but then you remember that you and a brother, you guys have something going on, There's no peace: You better leave that sacrifice and go get right. And these are heavy words. Remember who he's talking to, these people live are from all around the Sea of Galilee, and Jerusalem is about a hundred miles away from Galilee. These people would take a 2-3 day journey to the temple in Jerusalem, give their sacrifice at the altar there, go through the whole process that can’t be paused (The priest has to do what the priest has got to do), then you are cleansed, be atoned for, and then go back home.

But for Jesus, if there is even the inkling that you are not right with someone else, Jesus tells them you better leave that sacrifice. It's not going to be effective for you. God would rather have you go and be reconciled, go and have peace with your neighbor, than for you to do this whole process. You can try and get right with God, but you really won’t be if you're not right with your neighbor. That is how significant this is for Jesus. Anyone who would want to be part of the kingdom of God, this is the heart that is required.

And I love that he doesn’t stop at people you would call, even if you’re not on good terms, brother or sister. He then says Go and Resolve conflicts quickly with your adversary. Reach a settlement quickly or else he will give you over to the courts. The word adversary is someone you would consider your enemy, your accuser, your opponent, someone you definitely don't like. Something happens, you both get wronged, and they are going to sue you, or hand you over to judgement, to make you pay for the wrong you've done them. Jesus says that at all costs, go. It is not about what they can do for you. It's not about their responsibility to make things right. He's saying, you, as a participant in the kingdom of God, you have a responsibility for righteousness sake. You go and make things right. You go and reconcile. You go and pursue peace.

He said at the beginning of the sermon, “blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.” If you want to be considered a child of God, God’s children have to take responsibility to go make things right; they don’t wait for someone else to do it because they'll be the ones to hand you over to the court. They'll be the ones to make you pay every last penny. Jesus says it's on you and me.

Do not murder is how you treat each other, how you see each other's worth.

Deeper wisdom.

Jesus's deeper wisdom is teaching me any action that demeans or devalues a person is a failure to do right by them. True righteousness means treating everyone as valuable.

· In Luke 6, Jesus teaches us to love your enemies and pray for those who mistreat you. He prays for their forgiveness even from the cross.

· In Acts 7, Stephen with his dying breath prays that this sin would not be held against his accusers. Stephen is mirrored the heart of Jesus.

· In James 3, we are reminded the power of the tongue and that we should not be cursing people who are also made in the image of God

· In 1 John 3, “If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. And whoever hates his brother or sister is a murderer.”

· In Romans 12, Paul calls and challenges the church, even in Rome, live at peace with everyone; conquer evil with good.

The same idea is true for the shorter passage on adultery.

The prohibitive expectation is given, you shall not commit adultery. But what is Jesus teaching? What is his wisdom behind that?... To look at someone with lust, you are committing adultery. You're guilty of the same consequences as anyone who commits adultery. Proverbs 6: 25-29, wisdom says that lust leads to ruin and punishment; “can someone embrace fire and not be burned?” To lust after someone, you are objectifying them; we demean their worth and their value, and in so doing we bring judgement on ourselves.

The famous story of David and Bathsheba, in 2 Samuel 11 and 12, the story shows us both examples of adultery and murder. Nathan shows David that his sin dishonored God and man, and it began in David’s heart. Throughout the Old Testament, it demonstrates to us the severe consequences of lust, of devaluing others and the damage it causes.

Jesus gives us two extraordinary and crazy proactive expectations, if your right eye causes you to sin, that eye that you are using to look at someone inappropriately, to demean them in your heart as something for your pleasure, you better gouge it out and throw it away. If your right hand causes you to sin, that hand that you're using to take action that is inappropriate, to take or to have someone who is not yours to take or to have, you better cut that hand off and throw it away because it is better that you enter heaven with one less part on your body than for the whole thing to be thrown into hell.

It is crucial for us to understand how this important this is to Jesus and so should become important to us. These two commandments were always about righteousness, a righteousness that reflects the goodness of God. Jesus walked before us the perfect example of how to love others and show them dignity, love and respect, and he shows the beauty when the commands are followed through.

1 Peter 2:21, “For you were called to this [to do what is good and suffer if you must], because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” Jesus loves you and me. Everyone in his eyes has such immeasurable worth that he give his life on that cross. That love poured forth from a heart that is eternally and inexplicably one with God the Father, one with God the Holy Spirit. We are invited into that union. We are invited into His Kingdom. But it all begins in the heart. It's what his word has been trying to teach us from the beginning, but we are stubborn creatures…

What if, instead of harboring anger, we chose reconciliation and peace? Instead of seeing others through the lens of our own desires or impure hearts, we saw them as bearers of God's image, worthy of love and respect?

This is not an easy task. It's a call to a radical transformation of our hearts and minds, something only possible through the grace and power of Jesus Christ. But it’s what we’re called to as followers of Christ, to embody a righteousness that goes beyond mere rule-following to a deep, heart-level transformation.

(In conclusion) Let us remember that the purpose of the law was not to restrict us but to guide us into a life that reflects the heart of God; a life characterized by genuine love, respect, and reconciliation. As we go forth this week, let us strive to live out this higher righteousness in every aspect of our lives, treating every person we encounter with the love and honor that we have received from the grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen?

Let us pray.