Sermon Tone Analysis

Helene has read a great chunk of Scripture for us and it covers a whole range of things, at least on the surface but are actually inter-related.

Many of the themes within this passage come up again later in Matthew and some of those will be dealt with in more detail then.

We are salt and light.

If we live as those in the world then our testimony will lose its saltiness, its tangyness.

It will have little or no effect.

It is the same with the light for it is greatly dimmed when we ruin our witness.

But if we are determined to follow Jesus and do good works then our light will shine and it will be impossible to hide the fact.

Light does one thing: it disperses darkness so that we and others can see.

The following teaching then goes on to explain just how perfect we must be to please God.

The law was given by God on the mountain to Moses and for those following the 3 year reading plan you have read Exodus and have started Leviticus.

Jesus is saying that all these laws still stand.

Everyone single one of them will continue until their fulfilment; every letter of it, every stroke of the pen is God-breathed.

The Pharisees must have been loving this sermon for it is exactly what they had been saying.

Every part of it is important and Jesus confirmed that this was the case.

The Pharisees excelled in the law and outwardly it was very evident.

But as with everything Jesus teaches it never quite goes the way you want it to go for then He said: unless your righteousness exceeds them then you will not get into Heaven.

This must have been very shocking to the hearers.

I mean, who can be more righteous, more pedantic about the law than the Scribes and Pharisees?

The should be shocking to us too.

Who can be more righteous than these people who had dedicated their lives to the law?

So, Jesus explains further.

Six times now we will get: You have heard it said... but I say to you.

It was Moses who said but, Jesus says, I say to you.

Do you see what is happening here?

He is saying that I am greater than Moses.

The law was given to Moses directly by God to tell the people and now Jesus is saying I have the authority of God to interpret and make changes to the law.

But did Jesus change the law?

No.

The Pharisees could keep the law in all its details but, Jesus is saying, they are not keeping the spirit of the law.

The law is there to show it cannot be kept; to teach that it was impossible.

And Jesus is now showing that no matter how perfect you think you are it is much harder than you that.

And here come the examples:

Who here has murdered anyone?

No-one?

OK, good - but the spirit of the law is not only in taking a life it is in the desire to do so.

Being angry is likened to murder.

Anger, leads to hate, that leads to ill will, that leads to the actual action of murder.

Of course, rarely would we get to that stage but it is in our heart;

Nevertheless our righteousness needs to exceed the Pharisees who would not murder and go the next step and not be angry either.

This means that we are to have the highest regard for our fellow human-beings and the sanctity of human life.

This means that we have to sort out our ill will towards others before coming to communion.

Moses said but I say, says Jesus.

Who here has committed adultery?

No-one?

Perhaps.

But again it is the spirit of the law in not only in sleeping with someone other than your spouse but in the desire to do so.

Just looking at another woman or man with longing.

Of course, rarely would we get to the stage of actually committing adultery but it is in our heart.

Nevertheless our righteousness needs to exceed the Pharisees who would not commit adultery and go the next step and not lust either.

Moses said but I say, says Jesus.

Who here is for justice?

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

But what happens when it is personal?

What if someone want to take your car without permission?

Should we put up a fight?

Jesus says, no, let them take whatever they want and let them exploit you.

This gets to the root of where our citizenship is.

Is our heart in this life?

We should definitely seek justice when we see injustice done to others but when it is done to you we should not resist.

Suddenly this seems so much tougher.

Our righteousness needs to exceed the Pharisees who seek justice for themselves, but we are not of this world, we are to let God be the judge and take no steps against others as far as we are personally concerned.

Moses said but I say, says Jesus.

Who here is for love?

You shall love your neighbour but hate those who hate you.

This is an extension of the previous one.

You are not only to love and do good to those who will receive it with open arms and where they will be able to give back but we are to love and do good to those who will revile you, bad-mouth you, and insult you.

Our righteousness needs to exceed the Pharisees who would do nothing against those who would be friendly to them and get on with them and go the next step and show ourselves friendly to those who do not like us and maybe even hate us.

Moses said but I say, says Jesus.

I think we are getting the picture now.

Jesus ends what He says with: Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father is perfect.

The Pharisees and Scribes believe the law and, as far as was able, kept it.

But the law is there to show it could not be done and so Jesus has come along to reveal that the Spirit of the law is much harder to keep.

The point is that all that Jesus said we should do.

I think that I may have touched a nerve when speaking of injustice being allowed to be done to us and to love those who don’t love us.

To this we are called for we are called to a higher standard.

This doesn’t just affect our outward spirituality but the inward state of our hearts.

Now, if we want to be more righteous that the Scribes and Pharisees we have to do what Jesus said but the point will be missed if we think that anyone of us can actually do it.

This is not to say we shouldn’t and certainly not give that as an excuse.

But none of us can.

Not one of us is perfect.

We have just touched on a few things but we need to extend this to the whole of the law.

These were examples to show we cannot do it.

Every one of us have broken each of the ten commandments.

We have broken each and every one of them in the spirit of the law.

If we do not want to go to hell then we are to cut out our eyes, our hands, and other body parts, anything that will give offence to God.

Jesus is saying that this is one place you really do not want to go so avoid it at all costs and deal with the sin that leads there.

Jesus uses hyperbole to emphasise this.

The problem with cutting off body parts, as some have gone so far to do, is that this does not actually resolve the issue of our minds and hearts.

Many people have become monks to resolve the sin-issue but what they have found instead is that there is still bitterness, still desire, still sin and that even when they are in their little cell with little or no contact with others.

The impossibility of keeping the Sermon on the Mount should be plain to us.

We have need of a Saviour.

We cannot do it, we cannot achieve it in our own strength, in our own righteousness.

We will never be better than the Pharisees.

This means hell is a very real place that we can end up.

The gist of what Jesus said is that the Pharisees will end up there.

We have need of a Saviour.

Jesus came to fulfil the law and He did.

He did not break it in any point including not retaliating to the injustice done to Him and in loving those who hated Him.

Jesus was perfect in every way.

Jesus went to the cross whilst we were still sinners; whilst we were His enemies; whilst we were still in rebellion.