A Sudy of Matthew: Heart Issues

Matthew 5:13–48 ESV

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body 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 your members than that your whole body go into hell. “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. “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.’ 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. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. “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.

Last week, we began looking at Matthew chapter 5. Jesus has begun gathering disciples and ministering to the people of Judea. More and more people are drawn to Jesus’ teaching AND his miraculous healing. Jesus gathers his disciples, those who have already committed to following him, up on the side of a mountain. A crowd gathers to hear what Jesus has to say. When Jesus begins speaking, it sounds like he is going to quote a famous document that everyone there is familiar with, but then he turns the tables on them by teaching a new set of “Blessed Are” statements that reveal God’s value system in contrast with what the world values. And in this first recorded teaching of Jesus, he lets his followers know that choosing to follow him will lead to persecution and difficulty down the road. He wants them to come into his kingdom with eyes wide open.

Jesus’ teaching to his disciples goes on. He reminds them that, as Jews and as his disciples, they have a certain role to fill. He calls them salt and light.

Salt has a variety of uses. First of all, it makes my french fries yummy. It is a seasoning—a flavor enhancer. When used correctly, it is an important ingredient in a majority of recipes.

Second salt is a preservative. In ancient times—and even today—meat and fish were packed in salt to draw out the moisture and cure the meat so that it could be stored for long periods without refrigeration.

Third, salt has certain medicinal qualities. How many of you have ever gargled or rinsed your mouth with salt water for sore throat or canker sores? Ever take an Epsom salt bath to soothe your skin?

Salt is extremely useful, and that’s where its value lies. If, however, salt were stripped of its useful properties, it has no value.

It’s the same thing with light. Jesus calls his people the light of the world. What is the purpose of light? To illuminate. To pierce the darkness so that we can plainly see. A light is useless if it’s covered up.

What Jesus is saying to his disciples is that there is more to being a kingdom citizen than just membership. As kingdom citizens, as Christians, we have a purpose. The beatitudes that Jesus just told his disciples about are the values of God’s kingdom. They are values that are meant to be lived out.

Jesus himself was acting them out. Matthew 5:17-18

Matthew 5:17–18 ESV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

When God made his covenant with Abraham, he didn’t just promise good things for Abraham and his descendants, he also gave Abraham a purpose that was passed down through the following generations. Genesis 12:3

Genesis 12:3 ESV

I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

The children of Abraham were to be the instruments of restoration for all of humanity, They had a purpose to help everyone else discover that the God of Abraham was the one true God. They were the people God had chosen to be his witnesses to the rest of the world.

But somewhere along the way, Abraham’s descendents came to misunderstand what “God’s chosen people” meant. They began to think it meant “God’s favorite people.” They thought that the covenant God made with them was something they deserved. They thought that being born Jewish meant being born special.

For some, being born a Jew was enough. They could go out and do whatever they wanted. They adopted the religions and customs of the pagan nations. They thought they were salt and light, but in reality they were no different from any of the other nations they were supposed to be witnessing to.

For others, keeping all the Jewish traditions was enough. They were super religious, and looked good to everyone around them. But they were judgmental and full of pride.

Matthew 5:20 ESV

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus tells the people that, unless their righteousness exceeds that of the religious leaders, they are useless to the kingdom, and will not be part of it.

We talked before about how the religious leaders and experts of Jewish law were masters at condemning others while at the same time twisting the Jewish laws to excuse their own misbehavior. They were supposed to be salt and light guiding their own people into right relationship with God, but they only heaped guilt and condemnation. While these leaders held themselves as the epitome of Godly righteousness, they were far from it.

Jesus begins to point out to them how they are missing the mark. He speaks about how what is in the heart is more important than the actions you take.

Verses 21-26 talk about how harboring anger and bitterness toward someone is the same as murder in God’s eyes, and how we need to care more about reconciliation than retribution.

Verses 27-30 compares lust to adultery. Verses 31-32 decries divorcing for the wrong reasons. Since women were not allowed to file for divorce at the time, this is tying the divorce issue to the previous, where the man is seeking to abandon his current wife so he can legally and “morally” pursue the woman he now desires. In the process, he ruins the reputation of a good woman.

Then Jesus talks about oaths. Leviticus 19 talks about keeping the oaths you have sworn to God; Jesus says don’t make any kind of oath. Why? Because, again, the religious leaders were good at twisting the law to suit them. The Jews had come to swear oaths according to a specific wording. If the specific wording was not used during the oath, the oath wasn’t binding. So people were making promises they had no intention of keeping, and they used the fine print, so to speak, to excuse themselves. As Jesus says in Matthew 5:37,

Matthew 5:37 ESV

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

After pointing out the way we can look good on the outside but be rotten on the inside, Jesus describes the kingdom values put into practice.

Resist the urge to retaliate when others do evil to you. If you owe somebody, repay them generously. Don’t look down on the unfortunate, but help them as much as you can. And don’t worry about their motives, even if they think they are taking advantage of you.

And then Jesus tells them to go further and love their enemies. He already said to put away ideas of retaliation and bitterness; but this is next level. When it comes to those who have wronged you, it’s not enough to just not hate them. God wants us to actively love them.

Think about it. How can we be effective agents of God’s kingdom if we are filled with anything other than kingdom values. For that matter, how can we even be citizens of the kingdom if we are living by the world’s values?

It’s easy in this life to make our Christianity about the externals. If you are a Christian, you do this. If you are a Christian, you don’t do this. Or this. Or any of those things over there.

But being a Christian is first and foremost about the condition of our hearts. Being a Christian is about having a heart that is aligned with God’s heart. And that comes first by recognizing how unaligned our heart is, and then asking God to help us change. Because I’m here to tell you, I cannot change my heart on my own. Every day, my sinful nature tries to reassert itself on the throne of my heart. Without every day trusting in the blood of Jesus that paid my price and washed me clean to make me clean again and keep me clean, I’m hopeless. Without the Holy Spirit empowering me to overcome, I will never make it as a citizen of God’s kingdom.

Jesus said, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Human righteousness isn’t enough. It’s flawed. The only way to be righteous enough is to receive the righteousness Jesus imparts to us. When he died on the cross, Jesus took our sin, and he gave us his righteousness. It’s is for us to receive that righteousness, internalize it, live it out, and then share it with others so that they can find Jesus too. Remember, Jesus’ righteousness is not about do’s and don’ts; it’s about a heart that is aligned with God’s heart. A heart this is right with God.