Turn the the Intensity

Well good morning Journey I want you to open up your bibles to the gospel of Matthew chapter 5. Over the last few weeks and for the next several after we are walking through the Sermon on the mount in this series called “Modgnik” if you have not noticed yet, it is the word Kingdom backwards. Because the kingdom that Jesus came to instill was not one that everyone expected, and definitely was not one that the jewish people were expecting. (WHAT WERE THEY EXPECTING) They believed that there was going to be a political savior, fun fact, there isn't one and Jesus was never going to be one. They believed that there was going to be a kingdom of might and strength to overthrow the roman empire, it did not overthrow it, but hundreds of years later he did convert it. Instead, Jesus flipped upside down and installed a backward kingdom, one that was far more different and more extreme than the Jewish people ever thought.

Today we are at the tale end of the 5th chapter where Jesus goes on a little bit of a tangent about what the Israelites had been taught when it comes to the Gods kingdom and God's law. He uses the language, you have heard it said, and then he explains what they had been taught, but then he uses his divine authority to say, “but I tell you” and then he goes on to explain more in detail the full extent and standard of the law that God has given. People often think that Jesus came to make following God easier, that all of his rules, decrees and laws of the old testament were too difficult to follow therefore he sent Jesus to this earth to take away his decrees and laws and that love trumps all and it's easier. That isn't the case at all, instead Jesus arrived on this earth to make God accessible to all people, but the call to follow Jesus costs you more than you could ever imagine, it costs you not just your obedience, but your entire life.

The jewish law as great as it served its purpose, following the law God gave which distinguished the Israelites from the rest of the world. However, over time, the Israelites tried time and time again to get one over on God. Or put another way, they would ask the question, “How can I get out of what God says”

This isn't a jewish thought, heck it isn't even a New Testament thought, this thought is a human thought. We all try to do this on many different levels in many different ways when it comes to following Jesus. How can I get out of what Jesus says, how can I ignore what Paul says, how can I get as close to the line without sinning. How can I twist scripture into saying what I actually want it to say or in other instances, it can be what parts of the bible can I completely ignore and pretend doesn't exist so I don't have to live by it. We see this in many different ways, how can I get out of what God says about gluttony, how can we get out of what God calls a marriage, and say well love is love and God is love so we just redefine what God has already defined, ignore what God says about gender, or abortion though God is clear do not murder cover that. We ignore what God says about social justice, caring for the poor, orphans and widows around us and call it liberalism. We tend to ask the same question, “How can I get out of what God says.” and we falsely believe that we get to pick and choose what we want to believe because, listen carefully, we think that God does not care about all of that as long as we love him.

Jesus would tell us the very opposite, in fact, he in the sermon on the mount, he makes the case in the sermon on the mount when it comes to what God has proposed it is more intense than you could possibly imagine. For instance you have heard it said do not commit adultery, that's the bare minimum do not commit adultery, so that must mean I have free reign to look but not touch, nope. If you lust after another person, that is committing adultery in the eyes of God. Jesus arrived so that God would be more accessible , gentiles, pagans, jews, but do not for one minute ever think that God softens his postion on the law, Jesus woudl make it more intense than easy. Why, God is the most righteous judge and there must be a penalty for the laws we have broken, and he sent Jesus to take on that penalty on our behalf. God did not send his son Jesus to the cross for us to take his word lightly. This is a point Jesus is also making in this section of scripture, that Jesus did not come to make it easier, but to show us the full standard of the law in such a way that there is no getting out of what God says. So I will say it this way, Jesus ups his intensity not his leniency.

So Jesus continues when it says ‘Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, “Do not break your oaths, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made, But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by earth, for it is his footstool; or by jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply yes, or no; anything beyond that comes from the evil one. Let's break this down, in leviticus 19 and Number 30:2, they are told that if you make an oath especially if you swear by God you are to fulfill every single part of that oath you've made. This was to keep you from making false promises or false testimonies, this is why we place a hand on the bible in court and swear to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me God. If you lie, you perjure yourself and are held accountable to the court. So in order to get out of this, the Israelites got around this, but making oaths, or swearing by anything other than God, and that allowed you to tell lies or make false promises without breaking God's law.

We see this all the time in children, I swear by my mom, I swear on the bible, I swear on my pokemon cards, or I swear on my life, and we make the claim that was I swear by is so important to me that I have to be telling the truth, or I will fulfill my promise, but how many of you know that you have made those claims with no intention of fulfilling the promise and you were blatantly lying. You broke God's law even if you didn't swear to God. How can it be, well Jesus makes it clear, everything you swear by belongs to God in its own way. Heaven is God's throne, earth is God's footstool, Jerusalem is his city, and you cannot even swear by yourself, because you don't have self autonomy for you have divinely pre-determined features only God knows. So Jesus makes the claim that to swear by anything is to swear by God. Jesus tells us that we should live such lives that our word needs nothing

That has been lost in the christian world for the same reason it has been lost in the pagan world. We swear and we lie. Pastors lie about their marriage and have affairs, arrested for financial fraud, politicians swear they will (fill in the blank)  or Jim Bakker on TBN sells you Numanna for when the apocalypse comes, uncle baby billy sells you a miracle elixir, every disease cured with ease with this special biblical potion. So our words don't hold weight.

Imagine a world where the integrity of our words is so undeniable that trust comes effortlessly. This is the ideal for Jesus' followers: to speak with such honesty and consistency that no formal assurances are needed. Our goal should be to live in a way that our word is our bond, so deeply rooted in truth that others can trust us instinctively and without question.

Something my dad always says and it has stuck with me, is that “Truth Matters” the truth matters, and if you have ever been someone whose words cannot be trusted you know how painful that life is, you know what it is like or the effects of what a life of lies looks like, and you know how freeing telling the truth is. Clinical Psychologist Jordan Peterson says this, There is nothing possibly better than what will happen to you if you tell the truth. It does not matter how it will look to you, even if that, rather especially if telling the truth hurts you. You can get into trouble for telling the truth and that is why everyone lies. Are you really going to make the proposition that to bring about the order that is good for the world is brought about by lying? No one believes that, they might believe they can get away with it and use it for manipulative purposes. But the path to paradise isn’t paved with lies, if you believe that it will truly destroy you. - Jordan Peterson.

Jesus tells us the full extent of the law, don't just tell the truth when you swear to God, be a person whose word is always the truth. So what does Jesus do here? Jesus ups his intensity not his leniency. He shows us the full standard of what God expects. He does this again in another way when he says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.- Matthew 5:38-42

This specific saying is referring back to Exodus 21:24, the law of restrictive retribution. This was written so that someone could get retribution for them being wronged, insulted, hurt or injured by another party. This allowed you to get even with someone else without going overboard or for someone to take it upon themselves to get even on your behalf, so no Batman vigilante actions allowed in Israel. But Jesus once again flips this whole thing upside down on its head and speaks clearly that just because you have the right to get even, does not mean that you should.

A lot of people take this verse completely out of context and begin to think that Jesus was speaking directly to pacifism in the face of abuse. If you get slapped, turn the other cheek, but that is not what Jesus is saying don't be pacifist in the face of abuse, but rather this was speaking directly to an insult. One of the most disrespectful and insulting things you could do is slap someone with the back of your non-dominant hand. Jesus is telling you as a Jesus follower that if you are insulted, don't take it upon yourself to get even with someone who has insulted you, instead, allow them to do it again. Let the insult roll off your back.

This is a hard one for me because the American way is to trade insult for insult, punch for punch and passive aggressive social media post alluding to someone for passive aggressive social media post alluding to someone. Right? The american way is to get even, when someone lies about you, we want to set the record straight, but what if your integrity was so strong your words so true that even when people lie about you, you don't have to defend yourself let God do it. In fact, I have a saying in my life, I don't mind being lied about. I know the truth, so a lie doesn't bother me. I said this awhile back and it is prudent to say it again, The problem with getting even, is that it makes you even with someone you don't even like. And I don't, and certainly you don't want to be like someone you don’t even like, so who do you want to be like? Jesus and what was Jesus like? When he was being brought before pilate and the sanhedrin on his way to be tried and crucified they and the crowd hailed all sorts of insults at him and you know what he did? He remained silent. Jesus never stooped to the level of his insulters. And we are not to do that either. . Jesus ups his intensity not his leniency

Lastly in this run of sayings Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[i] and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? - Matthew 5:42-47

Interestingly enough, this saying here, love your neighbor but hate your enemy is found nowhere in the old testament. This is a cultural law that was created that God never said. It reminded me of when my wife and I went to Rome last year with a bunch of our friends and I would make up historical facts to see if I could get anyone in our group of 20+ to believe me. We went to the place where cesar was betrayed and killed and I told everyone that's where cesar made his first salad. But by our hotel we were staying at, there were a bunch of steps and on these steps was a mural of a woman, and I told anyone who would listen that the mural was painted after the first woman who voted in Rome. (PICTURE) So a few days went by and I hadn't told my brother Cayden about it yet and as we were walking by I said, “hey Cayden do you know what's interesting about that mural.” and he says, “Yeah Matt told me it's painted after the first woman who voted in Rome” (OTHER PITCUTRE) He had heard it was said, but that didn't make it true.

Jesus says to love your neighbor which simply means every other person around you is your neighbor, but to love your enemies. What does Jesus mean by love? If you have been around the Chrsitian world at all you know that there is a difference between the English word love and the Greek word love. We have one word with many different meanings, they have many different words with specific meanings. This word that Jesus used was Agape this love means it gives itself for the good of the recipient. So you should ask yourself the question, “What does love require of me?”

If I am to love my neighbor, and I am to show God's love and kindness to my enemy as Jesus commands, then what does love require me to do? Does it require me to serve, does love require me to give, does love require me to keep my mouth shut, does love require me to ask for forgiveness, what does love require of you?

Here is the craziest part, Jesus does not give you and out in fact he calls you out. If you as a Jesus followers only love those who love you that makes you no different from the rest of the world. The test of the christian is how you love those who you would call an enemy. Watch this, if you love your enemies as Jesus tells us to, you are loving people as God loves people. Watch don't miss this, you were once an enemy of God. The Apostle Paul says this in Colossians 1:21 “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. I was separated from God as an enemy because of my sinful nature and God has every right to treat me as an enemy, but even from the first moment our first parents Adam and Eve sinned God planned a way for us to be reunited, so as I was an enemy how did God treat me? Paul again says in Romans 5:8“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” And while Jesus was hanging on the cross he prayed to God to forgive those who put them there for they did not know what they were doing. Jesus calls us into a life that he models for us, read the entire sermon on the mount and you will see how Jesus lived his life and he calls us to live like he does.

He even says it at the end of this portion of the sermon on the mount, where he makes us realize the full extent of the law of God, where he intensifies what it would look like for us to be perfect when he says Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matthew 5:48. How can I, or how can you be perfect as God is perfect? You can’t do it by yourself, you never could. It is Jesus who finished work on the cross and received his forgiveness that makes you perfect in the eyes of God. Hebrews 10:14  tells it this way, For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

So what's the point of all of this, Jesus is showing us that when it comes to following God, when it comes to being a Jesus follower, he ups his intensity not his leniency. And watch, the law of God was never meant to make us perfect, it was to show our imperfection and our need for a perfect savior. In this life, perfection is not attainable, but Holiness is. You will never be perfect on this side of heaven, but you can be more like Jesus, as you follow what Jesus lived like.

Pray.