What It Looks Like to Die to Self

We will be continuing our studies in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, and if you want to turn there you can, but before we read the verses corresponding to today's study, I want to open with a verse found in Matthew 16:24-26.

Matthew 16:24-26 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

PRAY

Introduction:

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

We find Jesus here telling his disciples and those listening that if anyone really wants to be His disciple (that's what it means to follow after him), then he must be willing to do 3 things - deny himself, take up his cross every day, and follow Jesus. The word that Jesus used for "follow" means to walk the same path. Where did Jesus' path lead to? Death.

The following verses, indicate that this it is the expectation of those that follow Christ to give up their hold on life. What does that mean? It doesn't mean that when this service draws to an end, we are all going to drink a cup of poisoned Kool-Aid. This is, like many of Jesus' teachings, hyperbole - that is, statements that are not meant to be take literally.

So what it does mean is that we are to willingly relinquish what we think will make life fulfilling for us. This encompasses a lot - goals, careers, relationships, desires, even what we often and commonly view as needs, and, as we will see more in detail today, our frequent desire for retribution to those that have wronged us. Let's look at those verses again -

25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

That word save means "to keep, to preserve." If you are holding onto your life, if you mean to dictate how your life goes, dictate your decisions, follow your own wishes, desires, and goals, then you will find that at the end of your life, you will have lost it. By "lost it" what I mean is that you'll end up in a similar situation that King Solomon ended up in. If you read the book of Ecclesiastes, you find an aged King Solomon lamenting the years he spent living for self satisfaction without taking God into account. As a repentant, older man, Solomon is regretful of the waste of a life that he lived and writes to the congregation of Israel as a whole a warning about living life according to your own whims.

The concept is rampant throughout the Bible in both the Old and the New Testaments. We call it "self-denial." It is something that Jesus dealt with quite often in his teachings, regularly using phrases like, "If you don't leave everything and come after me, you cannot be my disciple. If you don't forsake everything, you are not worthy of me. If you don't love me more than anything and anybody, you cannot be my disciple."

Paul writes in Galatians, I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Basically, Paul is acknowledging the fact that he has died to self. He has died to his own wishes, his own personal goals. It does not mean that he no longer has desires, but simply that he is not driven by those desires. What guides him in every aspect of his life, what determines his day-to-day life walk is none other than Jesus.

I want you to keep this concept in mind as we go to our passage in Matthew 5 now.

Matthew 5:38-42 Follow along as I read. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

You may be wondering, "What does self-denial have to do with anything that we just read?" Well, the answer is, "Everything."

As we go through this section of the Sermon on the Mount, I hope that it becomes increasingly clear that this is directed at Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ. We have covered it before, but I'll remind us again, Jesus teachings on the Sermon on the Mount are directed at individual Christians. They are not meant to be an operational guide for organizations, governments, nations, or even individuals that are not Christians. This sermon and all of its contents are directed specifically to those who have been born again, to those that have a personal relationship with Jesus.

It is impossible for a person that does not have this kind of relationship with Jesus to adopt these teachings into their daily life. So if you are here and do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, dying to self is something that you cannot do. You cannot be led by Jesus, and you cannot reap the benefits of it. But if you's like to change that, I would be happy to speak with you after the service about how you can start this personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Ye Have Heard

Just like the previous times, Jesus makes a point with this phrase of letting his audience know that what they have heard the Pharisees and Scribes say about the law is false or misconstrued.

Jesus says, "Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

If we go back to the Mosaic Law we will find that in Exodus 22 there is a phrase that says, "...Life for life, eye for eye, and tooth for tooth..." It is part of God laying down the law of retribution, the law of proper punishment for crimes and injuries, or the lex talionis, the law of like for like. This law is expounded upon in Leviticus 24 and Deuteronomy 19.

Again, I take you back to the time when the Israelites had come out of Egyptian slavery. They had never operated autonomously as as a nation, and for about 400 years they had been slaves to the nation of Egypt. Now that God has freed them and is guiding them back to the land that he had promised for them over 500 years before, it is time for them to have laws of their own as a nation. Many of these laws would help set them apart from the pagan nations that surrounded them. Many laws would stand in stark contrast to what they had grown accustomed to in Egypt.

Remember, the Israelites leaving Egypt had never know autonomy, self-rule. They were slaves, and treated horribly under Egyptian rule. This is the only form of government that they knew. What they knew was that when someone messed up, they were beaten and even killed. The punishment that was meted out to them was rarely, if ever, punishment that fit the crime.

So now as they leave Egypt, God lays down a law for them, that when someone hurts someone else maliciously or criminally, they are to be met with an equal punishment.

Not only does this seem like common sense to most of us here today, but it seems like it would be a necessary statute for the development of decent society.

So, remember what Jesus is doing here, he is correcting the teachings of the Pharisees, exposing them as ignorant teachers (at best), and at worst, false teachers that only have their own personal glory in mind. But what is false about this teaching, "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"? If you go to Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy, you will find these exact words.

Why is Jesus teaching against them? What possibly could the Pharisees have gotten wrong in relaying this message?

Well, those are all the right questions, and I am glad you asked!

This law in Moses' day had many purposes. The primary purpose was that of discouraging people from engaging in behavior toward others that could result in their pain/injury.

Thus, the man that had a complaint against his neighbor was dissuaded from going next door, uppercutting his neighbor, and knocking out a tooth, because by law, if found guilty of assault, he would have to pay by having a tooth removed from him.

The idea here is that if I have the thought, "Man, I can't stand so-and-so. Next time I see him, walking his dog I'm going to go right up to it and kick it as hard as I can! But wait, if I do and he presses charges, then when convicted, someone is going to come and kick my dog as hard as they can, and I don't want that..." So this law acts as a deterrent.

But it also acts as a guide for proper, just, and passionless punishment. It prevents someone from losing their life because they kicked someone else's dog or because they got in a fight and knocked out someones teeth. Execution does not match the crime of simple assault, nor does poisoning someone's cattle match the crime of stealing someone's roses from their garden.

What this law ensured was that each crime and injury was dealt with in a just and fair manner. Like for like.

There is no denying this is exactly what these verse mean. Read contextually, this is an accurate interpretation of these laws, so why is Jesus trying to correct the Pharisees and Scribes?

The reason is that these laws had been given to the nation of Israel, not the individuals of Israel. God gave these laws and based on context, these injuries were to be brought the judges of the nation of Israel, and then these judges had an investigation to do into the claims. If the defendant was convicted, the judges would appoint the person or people that would then deal out the proper punishment that would meet the crime committed.

This law was give n for the purpose of preventing acts of revenge, which is done out of angry passion (something that we should never be guided by). However, the Scribes had taken to teach the Jews in Jesus' day and before that each person was entitled to avenge themselves.

They taught this, knowing that God had told the Israelites that they should by no means avenge themselves against each other at all. So the law that originally was intended to prevent revenge, was now being twisted and taught as an encouragement to take revenge, and not simply as an encouragement, but as a command to take revenge.

But I Say unto You

V. 39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil:

Jesus begins to give his take on the spirit of the law as it applies to individuals. Jesus does not abolish this law as it applies to governments and courts, but we must remember, He is preaching to individuals about our individual conduct.

Resist not evil. Jesus gives the command to not resist evil. Now, when he uses the word "evil" here, he is not talking about the concept of evil, but about evil people. "Don't fight against those that are evil to you." It is important that we understand this in the rest of the context of this passage. That phrase, taken on its own, can and has been misinterpreted as "we should not have police, we should not have an army, we should not have courts or prisons or any kind of punishment." This is NOT what this verse means. Again, Jesus is not giving institutional commands, he is giving instructions to individuals.

"Resist not those that do evil to you" is not a demand for absolute passivity under all circumstances either. This command, like every other command we have and will see in the Sermon on the Mount, is a laying-down of principles.

We are to submit to evil. Not give into it and serve evil purposes, but we are to submit to evil in a sense and in ways that will bring about spiritual victory. If this is quite confusing to you, you are not alone. In fact, it is confusing only because we need to analyze the rest of what Jesus had to say about this, and as he illustrates this command, he illustrates the beatitudes of meekness and mercy, characteristics that cannot exist without the denial of one's self. Denial of self or dying to self is often mentioned in sermons, teachings, and books among Christian circles, and what we will explore this morning is what it looks like to die to self.

Selfishness and Retribution

Personal Insult

Jesus follows up the phrase, "Resist not evil:" with the first of three examples.

V.39. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

The example that Jesus gives hear is a slap to the face. The word "smite" in English means to strike, and one can smite someone else with their fists, palms, backhands, or with a weapon. However, the word translated "smite" in this verse is a word that in the Greek means to slap with the open palm. This kind of strike, though physical and painful, was not the kind of strike that often brought about lasting or permanent physical damage, much less did it threaten life or limb. Though painful, it's primary use was to deliver an insult and dishonor upon the victim.

So Jesus says, "If you are slapped on your right cheek, turn to him the other cheek," and do so in order to gain a spiritual victory. We know this is NOT an appeal to not resist evil completely, and we can look at Jesus Himself to see his example. John 18:19-23 The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. 20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. 21 Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said. 22 And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the high priest so? 23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me?

When Jesus was slapped on the cheek, Jesus did not quietly turn the other cheek. What he did was he reproved, he got on to the man that slapped him. He said, "If I have spoken evil, be a witness to the evil which I spoke; but since I haven't, why did you just slap me?"

However, there were other times under Jesus' arrest that he did remain quiet as they not only slapped him, but also beat and tortured him.

We also have the example of the Apostle Paul in Act 23. When Paul was arrested of the Jews, the high priest, after hearing Paul's accusers and listened to Paul's defence, which he ended by saying, "I have lived my life in good conscience toward God," the high priest commanded that someone smite Paul on the mouth.

Paul did not, in this case, turn the other cheek. Instead, he said, "God will smite you, you whitewashed wall. Who are you to command me to be slapped contrary to the law?" Paul and Jesus resisted an act of evil toward their person, in Paul's case, to be struck as a punishment when the matter of his guilt or innocence had yet to be established.

We will discuss further during Life Groups, but it is safe to say that self-preservation is a God-given right under most circumstances, and Christians can claim that right as well. A Christian may resist a robber or a murderer to protect his person and others against the assault of violent or law-breaking people or entities.

We find another example with the Apostle Paul. Paul was a Roman citizen by birth, something that afforded him special legal protections. A Roman citizen could not be subjected to public beatings unless he was found guilty of a crime. If a person or an authority did this, they would have to answer for that, and the punishment for a magistrate that beat a Roman citizen without a trial was often death.

There is a time in Philippi that as Paul is preaching, a mob of people begin to shout him down. To placate the mob, the magistrates arrest Paul and Silas (also a Roman citizen) and beat them publicly and throw them in the dungeon. The next day, the crowd is pleased, so the magistrates send word to release the prisoners. Paul does not go quietly. In fact, he refuses to leave at all. He tells the guards, "We're Romans, and they beat us publicly and imprisoned us without cause, and now they want to release us privately? I don't think so. You can have the magistrates themselves come and release us and face what they have done."

When the magistrates heard that they were Romans, they got scared! They came to the prison and begged Paul and Silas to leave the city and not tell anyone. Before leaving, the two men met with the Christians of Philippi once more and encouraged them. They did not, however, report the magistrates.

But we see in this example found in Acts 16 that Paul and Silas resisted even governmental powers that were breaking the law.

Jesus said stated it as a matter of common sense that if someone knew that a thief was going to break into their house, that head of the house would be prepared to resist him in a way that would protect his property and his family.

So this directive is not a command against all self-preservation or the preservation of others or even of property, but when the honor of Christ and the salvation of men is at stake, we should observe this to the very letter.

Even in applying a resistance to those doing evil, note that Jesus could have called legions of angels to his aid, but limited his defence to words. Note that Paul and Silas could have had the lawless magistrates put to death, but they simply confronted them about breaking the law.

It is putting to death the spirit of retaliation.

"What it means is this: we should not be concerned about personal injuries and insults, whether of a physical kind or any other. To be struck on the face is humiliating and insulting. But an insult can be given in many ways. It can be done with the tongue or by a look. Our Lord desires to produce in us a spirit that does not take offence easily at such things, that does not seek immediate means of retaliation. He wants us to reach a state in which we are indifferent to self and self-esteem." - Martin Lloyd-Jones

Personal Grievances

V.40-41 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.

According to the law, Jews could sue each other for their inner garments as a form of repayment for minor debts, however, the cloak, which would have been the more expensive article of clothing, was treated almost as an unalienable right to have. No one could take away your cloak. Even if you left your cloak to a creditor as a surety of a payment, he was not even allowed to keep it overnight. The reason is that the cloak was a shelter for those travelling and for the homeless. But Jesus states, if anyone sues you for your coat, your inner garments, give him you cloak also.

Again, this is not a teaching that in major legal disputes you are not permitted to righteously defend or even appeal your case, but it does mean that we should be willing to suffer petty persecution, and even be willing to give up more than what is required by law.

Our Lord is concerned here about our tendency to insist upon our rights, our legal rights. He gives an example of a man suing me in a court of law for something so petty that it can be paid off by the giving of my inner garment, my coat. Instead of resisting, I am to willingly let him have my cloak also, which by all rights no man can take from me.

Being an American is an great gift. We have right afforded to us that many other nations, even free ones, do not have. I am grateful for those rights and for the freedoms that we enjoy by this government that is ordained by God. I believe that we should take advantage of these rights and freedoms to spread the Gospel as much as we can.

But as American Christians, I think we get caught up too often in the "American" instead of the "Christian". Too often we concern ourselves about our "rights." We demand them and must have them. We demand that we are free to do this and that, to defend ourselves.

Earlier, I mentioned that Jesus and the Apostle Paul resisted their treatment by the high priest and the magistrates. Yet these were not examples of them insisting on personal rights, they were protesting the lawless way in which they were being treated. They were concerned with the law being upheld and honored. Paul didn't throw a fit when he was cast into prison, his concern with the magistrates was that he had been publicly beaten in an illegal manner. They were violating the law that they had been appointed to carry out.

Law and laws ultimately come from God. Disciples of Jesus should therefore believe in obeying the law, and we should speak out against injustices for the laws sake. But our protest should be for the purpose of sticking it to someone else.

Lawful Oppression

Then Jesus says, "Whosoever compels you to go a mile, go with him a second mile." The Romans that ruled over Galilee and Judea had a law that can be traced back to when Cyrus was the ruler of the Persian Empire. This law stated that a Roman soldier or official could press a citizen into their service to carry their pack or their supplies for a mile. At the end of the mile, that citizen could drop the pack and the Roman official either had to carry it himself or get someone else to carry it another mile.

This command of Jesus, "go with him a second mile," completely eliminates not only a spirit of struggling against the oppression of a government that the Jews hated, but this command requires cheerful compliance, a setting aside of selfish desires, of ones own plans, and of hatred toward an oppressor.

Think about it. You may be working in your field, minding your own business, when a foreign occupant comes down the road that boarders your field and conscripts you into his service for the next mile. This is the situation that Jesus is referring to. He is teaching that in such a situation, instead of grumbling, instead of taking the pack from the soldier, knowing it has his food and bouncing it on your back as hard as you can with each step so that it smooshes his bread; instead of slamming the pack on the ground or in a mud puddle at the end of the mile, what Jesus is teaching is to cheerfully and selflessly take it two miles without a thought as to how to get even at this oppressive practice that you totally disagree with. "You have the right to drop it at a mile and not go a step further, but go with him two miles," is what our Lord is telling us.

The Christian spirit is not concerned with demanding our rights or with retaliation against those that violate them. We are to have a spirit of obedience and servitude to, as Romans 13 puts it, "the powers that be," that are "ordained of God." Adults, this means that those laws and ordinances that you may think are just a pain, and unfair, and ridiculous, etc., we are to obey them, cheerfully.

Teens, that means that the rules that your parents have, the ones that are in your mind unnecessary, pointless, etc., you are to cheerfully obey those.

In all these instances- personal insult and injury, petty grievances, and what the Jews would probably call "lawful oppression," none of these are things that would threaten the life or livelihood of a person. They are, in the grand scheme of things, small issues. But these issues, though they may be small, sometimes bring out the worst thoughts and attitudes in us.

J.W. McGarvey puts it this way:

A man may strive for self-protection when life is threatened without any spirit of revenge. He may appeal to the law to protect his property without any bitterness toward the one who seeks to wrest it from him, and he may set himself against the oppression of his government from the loftiest motives of patriotism. But if revenge slumbers in our breast, little injuries will waken it as quickly as big ones.

We will discuss this matter a little more during Life Group as well.

Selfless Generosity

The last three examples have been negative examples, but now Jesus switches gears to state an positive instruction.

V.42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

Here Jesus teaches us the principle of Selfless Generosity. Our conduct ought to be generous and liberal instead of being vengeful and selfish.

According to Mosaic law, no lending was allowed except for benevolent reasons. No interest could be collected from lowans, and loans were to be cancelled/forgiven every seventh year.

That means that what Jesus is referring to is the giving and lending to in cases of real need. I don't want to hear anyone after the service go up to someone and say, "Hey, can you give me $300? Remember what the Bible says - Give to him that asks of thee..."

We can understand this principle even more when we look at other supporting verses. "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." - Proverbs 3:27

Proverbs 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,

he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

This does not mean take out a second mortgage on your house to provide for someone else's need. It does not mean that if you are barely able to feed your family then you should take your kid's last meal to give it to someone else. Take your own and give it away, if you want to, but parents, we are to be providers for our children first of all (that's something we can discuss in LG as well, if there are any questions).

The popular attitude, the natural attitude of men is to "Get all you can, and can all you get," or hold onto and store all you can for yourself. The attitude Jesus is highlighting is an attitude of selfless generosity.

When we give selflessly, we demonstrate the love of God; we put it into action.

I will close with these verses from 1 John 3:17, 18 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Invitation

having studied through these things one-by-one, we should clearly see that it takes a supernatural power to live this kind of life.

It is a nice thought to think, "The world would be a better place if we all just lived this way," but it is an impossible thought and a foolish one.

No one can hope to live like this without the presence of the Holy Spirit in their life, this is why Jesus directs all this at his disciples.

Some of these teachings today are uncomfortable, but this is the God's Word, and it is what Jesus would have us live by.

These teachings deal with something that we all battle with on a daily basis- selfishness. But it brings us to a point where we can begin to understand the need to die to self and let Jesus live through us.

You may ask, "Why is this necessary? Why should I let go of personal insults? Why should I give more to those that seek personal profit out of me? Why should I not rage against rules and laws that are uncomfortable and unfair?

I take you back to Matthew 5:13-14, 16 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Heads bowed, eyes closed. Are you dying to yourself daily? Are you denying yourself daily? Jesus said, "If you want to follow me, deny yourself daily, take up your cross, and follow me." He didn't say take up your flowers, he said take up your cross. Death to self is required to follow Jesus.

We take it to be evident that this would be death to self in the big areas of our lives, but we have just seen that it is in the small areas as well.

Life Groups

The discussion here is something that I am imagining can go many different ways, and though I have some questions prepared, I want to open it up by asking this:

What stood out to you? Are there any questions about anything? Is something not clear? (There's got to be, because honestly, we could have taken a week on each of these verses...)

How does the concept of self-denial, as explained in Matthew 16:24-26, apply to modern Christian life? Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

In what ways might self-denial influence one's goals, careers, relationships, and desires?

Why do you think Jesus emphasized individual conduct in the Sermon on the Mount rather than providing a guide for organizations or governments?

How can Christians balance the command to "turn the other cheek" with the need for self-preservation and justice? Example of Raiden from Indonesia (from the Book Radical): Raiden, before he was saved, was a fighter. He was a master of ninjitsu, jiu-jitsu, and several other martial arts. He got saved and went to a Christian seminary. He went to a village that had no church and no Christians. As he began to visit people and witness about Jesus, the village witch doctor became angry. He was at a families house explaining to them the Gospel one day when the witch doctor entered the house and called him out. He said, "Come outside, you and I are going to fight." Raiden's first thought was, "How easy will it be to just put this man on the ground and in his place," but instead, he followed the witch doctor, and on his way out, he grabbed a chair. When the witch doctor turned to look at Raiden, Raiden took the seat and set it in the middle of the street and sat down facing the witch doctor. "I'm not going to fight you," he said. "God fights all my battles for me." As the witch doctor opened his mouth to respond, all that came out were gasps and choking noises. Within seconds, the witch doctor had fallen to the ground and died, apparently of asphyxiation. Would you and I be so full of faith as to face an enemy of the cross and either let God save us or allow ourselves to be beaten for His sake?

How does the teaching of going the extra mile (Matthew 5:41) challenge your natural responses to unfair treatment?

How does the spirit of retaliation show up in your life? How can Christians develop a spirit that does not take offense easily and avoids retaliation?

What lessons can be learned from the examples of Jesus and Paul when they resisted unlawful treatment?

How does understanding the historical and cultural context of the Mosaic Law enhance our comprehension of Jesus' teachings on retribution?