Making Life Harder

Introduction

What do you think of when you think of God in the Old Testament? What sort of things did He do? What did He expect from the people who followed him, such as the Israelites?

Now think about Jesus in the New Testament. What did He ask of people? Do you think He made living easier or harder?

What if I told you that Jesus actually asked MORE of His followers than the Old Testament law?

Consider the section of the famous “Sermon on the Mount” where Jesus talks about the Law of Moses. This was the law that God gave to Moses after the Israelites escaped from Egypt.

Matthew 5:17–20 CSB

“Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.

So hold up, Jesus says he’s not doing away with the law. And these Pharisee guys, you know, the ones with a specific reputation for being way overzealous about keeping all the laws and even adding new ones, Jesus tells His followers that their righteousness, in other words their goodness or proper conduct, has to be even greater than those Pharisees. Does that sound easier or harder?

Now the next big section is basically Jesus explaining what He means by this. Matthew 5:21-26

Matthew 5:21–26 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.

Now I think we can all agree that keeping the “Do not Murder” law doesn’t interfere with our lives very much. It’s pretty easy not to murder people most of the time. I’m not going to ask for a show of hands or anything. What about being angry at someone and calling them names? That one might hit closer to home. Raise your hand if you’ve ever lost your temper with someone.

Well it looks like we’re all murderers. Dan, could you please call the police?

But wait, there’s more. Matthew 5:27-30

Matthew 5:27–30 CSB

“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.

Now avoiding adultery is again, maybe not that hard. This time because it’s awkward I won’t ask for a show of hands, but I’m sure most if not all of us have looked at someone with lust in our heart. That means we’re all murderers and adulterers.

And clearly Jesus thinks we should take these things seriously because He’s saying it would be better to cut of our hands and gouge out our eyes than to continue to sin. Now obviously doing those things wouldn’t actually stop you from sinning, so don’t. The point is to show you how serious these things are.

Again, that’s not all. Despite the popularity of no fault divorce among many of Jesus’ contemporaries (one sided no fault divorce actually, only the man was allowed to initiate divorce) Jesus disagreed. He said this: Matthew 5:31-32

Matthew 5:31–32 CSB

“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce. But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Skipping down a few verses, in the Israelite law there was a principle of fair punishment for crimes summed up as “an eye for an eye and a toothe for a tooth” that basically meant the punishment should fit the crime. But some people were taking what was supposed to be a law governing court decisions and using it to justify personal vengeance for perceived wrongs. Jesus says that this is not only wrong, but that you should prefer instead to let someone wrong you and love them instead.

Matthew 5:38–47 CSB

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?

I mean, I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “turn the other cheek” before, but stop and actually imagine yourself LITERALLY applying this teaching. Someone at school walks up to you and insults you and slaps you in the face, and instead of trying to pay them back you take a deep breath and offer to let them slap the other cheek.

And how does Jesus sum up all of these teachings in this section?

Matthew 5:48 CSB

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

So that’s it. Be perfect. Easy, right? How many of you are perfect? Anyone who raises their hands here has a pride issue and is therefore not perfect.

So what would you say now if I asked you if Jesus made living right easier or harder?

The good news is that Jesus did it right for all of us and paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. So when it comes to eternal life we don’t need to attain perfection. We try to live righteously as Christians not to earn eternal life, but as a gesture of thankfulness FOR eternal life, and also to be visibly different from the world around us to show them the hope of the gospel.