Jesus on Hate

Introduction:

RED LETRS - Words of Jesus

Reiterate words of X not whole picture… life of JC, actions of JC that fill out example

But red letters give us, sometimes, clearest starting point.

Intro, “Beatitudes” > Begin., “New Torah” {paints ‘self as new standard for what’s right]

X came to renew our underst’ of wise living & God’s Way—not change, but relearn

Written down over 2k yrs ago—takes some transl. work!

…

Literally just going through S.o.M & this is next pssg. > >

God’s View on Hatred

Going to look at & study out the 1st sec. of 5:21-24 today; make appl. with the 2nd.

Matthew 5:21–22 ““You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Chart : OFFENSE | RECOMPENSE |&| SEVERITY

Angry [Spiteful Rage] /\ | \/ “judgment” | [citation]

Spiteful Rage, wrath, is one that LEADS to murder…

This results in judgment, thinking badly about some1, small penalty (citation)

Let’s look at the next row…

Label as “Raca” [worthless] /\ | \/ “the Courts” | [felony]

RACA is a step back from the wrath, in first part.

“Worthless” is a value assessment—not worth time, not worth forg., not worth my attendance!

Look at punis. = Sanhedrin courts; higher justice courts… comp. to felony!

Think: Any federal law punishes U saying “worthless”? NO! Not in their day either

Just wait. It gets more harsh…

Label as “foolish” [idiot] /\ | \/ “hell, Gehenna” | [divine judgment]

N.Ireland “idjit” [lots of merch!]—friendly term for silly mistake or doofus; meant lightly…

Calling someone a ‘fool’ [μορε] is similar type of offense… what’s conseq??

Hell!

Examine the arrows I’ve included for you… Jesus is doing something intentional here.

How do the types of offenses rank; descending or ascending in severity?

How about their respective punishments? ascending!

What on earth does Jesus mean? What’s he getting at? Two takeaways… > >

1. God Doesn’t Rank Sin

This took a bit of brainpower didn’t it?

Best Bib. wisdom isn’t just surface level; takes some effort

I’ve heard b4, taught to me, “X says call'g some1 fool will make you go to hell; so watch your words!”

Now, that might have kept me from swearing my whole life—or calling people foolish—

but that’s not the whole picture here. And it takes careful reading and even some outside help.

Can’t be lazy about reading Bible—dig in to auth. intent & orig. context; don’t dismiss!

Beaut. poetic wisd. pssg that also relates to this idea:

Proverbs 6:16–19 “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness… & a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”

[auth’r] Solomon lists spreading gossip along with shedding the blood of innocent!

IOW, God is not a respect’r of sin levels

*CAVEAT* some sins conseq. on earth may be more severe… not all pd. for equally

BUT,

Before God’s standard of purity, all sins are the same!

&&—need to be removed from our lives!

The "Stain" Analogy:

If you have a pristine white tuxedo, a drop of dark red juice and a gallon of juice both result in the same status: "Stained." You cannot enter the "Clean Tuxedo Party" with either one.

Can’t play compar' game: “well, it’s not not as bad as XYZ”…

“Well I’ve never hit wife/kids out of anger…” but deprived them of finan. security/ love

SIN is SIN. Standard he’s set.

G. doesn’t rank sin. Secondly, inverted judgments tell us … > >

2. God Wants us to Value Every Human

It feels noble or right to dismiss or 'cancel’ a person bc they’ve offended you!

World: “I’m just not going to put up with their neg.”

Nuance: boundaries are good & can be really healthy—not against—but s’times TOO eager to just burn bridges/relat’s, move on, & get outta’ Dodge.

We can be so focused on how we’re right, been offended/harmed, we de-value another person.

Call them ‘fool’; apply a label—maybe even jokingly at first

S’where down line begin believe they’re ‘worthless’… not worth dignity, respect, love, my compassion

Eventually, builds to a bitterness or rage: angry firest. of insults and dirty stares

Jesus calls us instead to stop, pause, and consider:

a) you’re more alike thank you’d like to think;

b) they have issues themselves; gives context for actions &&

c)

There is no one for whom Jesus did not die! See: 1 John 4:20

Yes, Jesus died for the person who hurt or offended you. that means they have value and are worth forg. accord’ to X.

The beloved Disciple writes:

1 John 4:20 “Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.”

No matter what they’ve done… John saying: devaluing some1 also WRONG.

& 2 ‘wrong’s don’t make a ‘right’.

Find a way to see value in them—even if hard

Then we can better love even those who have mistreated us.

Now, it should’nt come as shock 2U, but his challenge isn’t easy. Jesus gives us [his] > >

Jesus’ Answer to Bitterness

Has really direct chlng. for those who struggling w/ offense & bitterness…

Matthew 5:23–24 ““Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.”

Jesus believes that:

Right Relationships are More Important than Offenses

Ever been praying or just thinking & HS interrupts you with a thought that you just can’t leave alone?

It might be a challenge; might be a name; might be a whole family.

...but it’s not something you were intentionally directing ur thoughts toward?

Put ‘selves in example: JC brings up particular offense that you committed against some1

In Jesus’ story, God values the person you offended MORE THAN the offering you’re bringing! See Leviticus 19:17-18, Proverbs 17:9

Baked into the Law of Moses are moral commands about e’rday life

From here, where Jesus pulls to give us GREATEST cmd.:

Leviticus 19:17–18 “ ‘Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt.’ ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.’ ”

Here, enc. to resolve an offense quickly. If we carry bittern/hate around, we SHARE in the offense!

Solomon feels the same way, puts boundaries against gossip:

Proverbs 17:9 “Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.”

Commiserating about our offense w/ some1 and dwelling (repeating) on it only gives U a role to play in making worse.

Jesus really values our relationships; calls us to high st’d. > >

Human Relationships affect my Spiritual Relationship

A clear OT example of this is found in the scroll of God’s mouthpiece Amos

Amos 5:21,24 “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me… I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

God says, thru the prophet, that songs & sacrif's of the people have been rejected!

Why? Bc the people are not acting justly or righteously!

remember: right’ss means “right-relationship”—between you and God OR others

Again & again, God rails against infidelity toward HIM & to their fellow humans

In God’s mind, the two are very related.

The Apostle Peter warns men, husbands:

1 Peter 3:7 “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect… so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

Here,

Our treatment of covenant-partners can even prevent our prayers from being effective.

This warning partners perfectly with Jesus’: “leave your gift at altar and first make amends”

The evangelist Mark credits Jesus with this parallel challenge

One that agrees with Peter’s assessment

Mark 11:25 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

LISTEN, Idk how this works in real time.

I’m not sure how God determines how far is too far or where the line is

BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT.

The point is to strive for treating others rightly — how you would want to be treated.

Jesus’ big point here in the immediacy of his challenge:

Not tomorrow, not day after, not in an hour.

NOW is the Right Time to Forgive

G. has grace… forg. takes time, not immed.

But we should start, praying, moving, not stalemate!

Take steady steps TODAY

Ephesians 4:26–27 ““In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”

Jesus even sets the bar higher… “reconciliation”!

*CAVEAT* not always healthy to reconcile; other pers. is not always willing. Takes two to reconc.; only takes one to forgive.

AP gives bold command in letter to Roman Xians…

Romans 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

IF possible… AS FAR AS you can influence… Lots of qualifiers!

Before we worship, Ask God to search your heart for unforgiveness.

Ask God to help you begin letting go of the offense or resentment.

Stay sitting if you’d like; altar of your pew.

As Brian to just play for a bit as we & HS examine <3

Keep Rom 12:18

Romans 12:18 “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

{list possible situations/relat. where offense can grow}

We live in a cancel culture of offense

{list poss. ways begin forgi./reconc.}

See, King Saul obeyed God… to a pt. Honored His limit’ns except in this seemingly small way.

Particular inst’ce: raided a city (God’s will), took some choice animals as a sacrifice (tressp’d God’s limit!)

Tried to paint it as good or worthy… just excuse to not obey fully

1 Samuel 15:22 “But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.”