Beyond The Letter Of The Law

Secular -

After church, Brother Caleb proudly told everyone, "If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other too!"

Just then, grumpy old Larry walked by and slapped him.

Caleb calmly turned the other cheek. Larry slapped that one too.

Caleb paused, then said, "Okay… now the Bible’s out of cheeks. Time for the book of Revelation!"

I think both of them kinda missed the point of that scripture don’t you?

Historical/Cultural Context -

This Gospel is written by Matthew, also known as Levi who was a former tax collector. It was most likely written between AD 50-60. Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish believers—people who knew the Old Testament well. Matthew had one goal: to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Connecting the Old Testament prophecies to the life of Christ, proving that every word God spoke was coming true in Jesus. The key themes of the Gospel include Jesus as King, The Kingdom of Heaven, Fulfillment of Prophecy and discipleship.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 5:21–48 NKJV

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father 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 have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - If We Are Christ Followers Then We Need To Deal With Life As Jesus Wants.

Life Point- Anger Management

Exegetical -

Matthew 5:21–26 NKJV

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Homiletical -

The things listed in today’s scripture is easy to say, easy to comprehend, yet sometimes hard to accomplish.

In this section Jesus takes what was law or wisdom from the culture around Him and makes it more difficult to accomplish. Which shows our need for a savior even more.

The first thing we come to in this passage is the subject of murder. Jesus says that if you are angry with someone without a just cause it is the same as murder. Because you have murdered them in your heart.

Even worse is taking that and lashing out in anger using the term RACA which literally means “empty head” or fool was considered quite the insult and could have gotten you before a judge. But Jesus makes it more egregious saying that you are in danger of hell fire.

Remember Jesus’ point here is to show how utterly inadequate and sinful we are in order to get ourselves right with God. We can’t do it. That’s why we need Jesus.

It was common to take your gift to the alter but you see if you harbored anger against someone or someone harbored anger against you Jesus says don’t bother with worshipping at the altar to God until you have made that right.

This is a principle that still affects us today. If we know someone has something against us, deserved or not, we need to go and attempt to make it right with them.

Courson expounds on the legal system in Jesus’ day. You see the legal system required the plaintiff to personally track down the defendant. In other words, if you had something against someone, it would be your job to find him and bring him in physically before the judge. This is why Jesus here says, “If you are on the road with your adversary—if he has captured you—cut a deal with him before you get to court. Apologize! Get it right because once the matter reaches court, you could get cast into prison and remain until you pay the last penny.” But how can you pay the last penny when you’re in prison? You have no way to make money. That’s the point. If you let the incident become a big deal by not dealing with it immediately, promptly, in humility, and with transparency, you’ll never escape it.

Many of us have been in a similar situation. A situation arises and we don’t deal with it right away and instead we let it fester until it becomes a huge situation. We should attempt to resolve all situations, especially ones that deal with anger in a wise and respectful manner. This may not always work out the way we think it should, but it should be one which we strive for.

Illustration -

In the Bible, we see the story of Cain and Abel. Cain was consumed by anger when God favored Abel's offering over his. Instead of confronting God, he let his anger fester and ultimately led to tragedy. This biblical example teaches that unchecked anger can result in dire consequences, while addressing it with God leads to healing and mercy.

Life Point - Radically Dealing With Sin

Exegetical -

Matthew 5:27–32 NKJV

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. “Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.

Homiletical -

I am not going to spend a whole lot of time here, but I would draw your attention to how Jesus says to deal with sin. For more on marriage you can go back into our archives and find the message on marriage from Ephesians five that we covered a little while ago.

Matthew 5:29–30 NKJV

If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

This is considered to be hyperbole which is akin to Jewish humor for that day and time.

The point is to not actually pluck out an eye or cut off a hand but to tackle sin head on and in a matter that is both God honoring and direct.

Whatever circumstance you find yourself in that causes you to sin keep yourself away from those circumstances.

When sin comes knocking how do you handle it? I would say be like Joseph in the book of Genesis and run from it.

One last thing to note here about divorce.

There were two schools on divorce at this time. The conservative thought was that divorce could be granted only in the case of uncleanness which was interpreted as immorality.

The second school of thought was that uncleanness could include anything. If your wife made your eggs wrong and it made you mad, you could divorce her.

Jesus reaffirms the conservative thinking on this issue.

Life Point - Making Promises

Exegetical -

Matthew 5:33–37 NKJV

“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Homiletical -

Ever here of the phrase, “your mouth can get you in trouble?”

Oaths were a big deal back in this time, if you gave your oath it was much more binding than a contract is by today’s standards. You did what you said or you and your family would be dishonored and no one would have any dealings with you in the future and I mean no one.

Years ago in our culture it was the same way. You could shake a person’s hand it would be done a deal. No one would think twice because you would keep your word. Today it seems like just about everyone is trying to get out of a deal even if you have a contract that is 300 pages long and iron clad.

James 5:12 NKJV

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

As you can see it was and is a big deal.

You don’t know what tomorrow holds, so don’t make any oaths that could lead to dishonor.

Life Point - The Rule For Life Is Love

Exegetical -

Matthew 5:38–48 NKJV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father 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 have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Homiletical -

Let’s talk about turning the other cheek for a minute. Turning the other cheek has nothing to do with pacifism and everything to do with personal slights. As an example we used to dual when our honor was besmirched and it ended in bloodshed.

These personal slights are what Jesus was referring too.

Retaliation is what most people expect and how the world reacts. Turning the other cheek requires something more. Responding to hatred with love and ignoring personal slights displays the supernatural power of God in the believer.

Notice that verses 38-42 are talking about retaliation in general and showing Christian love specifically. Such as going the extra mile.

Speaking of that. It was law in the Roman Empire that you could be tapped by a soldier and made to carry his belongings for up to a mile, Jesus says go two miles.

In today’s terms Jesus says Be Better, Do Better, go above and beyond what is required of you and don’t retaliate so that when they see that you are different you might have an opportunity to show them the love of Christ and possibly share with them the Gospel.

Life Principle– If We Are Christ Followers Then We Need To Deal With Life As Jesus Wants.

Call to Action – altar call….