Th e Sermon on the Mount Lesson 7 - The Righteousness of the Kingdom Citizen - Pt. 3

Points to Remember

This section of Chapter 5 falls under the admonition “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Key Points to Remember

The kingdom citizen is seeking to be more righteous than those that abused the law, not more righteous than the law itself.

Does Jesus teach anything in the Sermon on the Mount negate any aspect of the Law of Moses?

Jesus did not come to destroy the Old Law but to fulfill it. Nothing Jesus calls on the citizen to do negates any commandment or principle in the Old Law.

An Eye for an Eye

2. What was under consideration in and when the “eye for an eye...” principle was stated?

- The exact statement Jesus quoted here is found in and

is a series of ordinances that were given to aid the governing of Israel in regards to civil disputes.

These ordinances provided a standard of justice when one persons actions lead to the destruction of another’s property or bring harm to another person.

served the dual purpose of defining clearly the standard of justice as well as restraining revenge.

This would also have the effect of prohibiting an individual from taking personal vengeance and even the extreme of a family feud.

This had nothing to do with “self-defense” ().

The Message of the Sermon on the Mount 1. Passive Non-Retaliation (38–42)

It thus had the double effect of defining justice and restraining revenge. It also prohibited the taking of the law into one’s own hands by the ghastly vengeance of the family feud.

- Here the same phrasing is condensed and used as a metaphor for justice.

The point seems to be the importance of justice - the one who defrauds his neighbor should not be allowed to go unpunished.

However, we should again notice that the context (witnesses, judges and investigations are central to the context) seems to be that of a legal preceding not personal vengeance.

By the first century many of these punishments had been dismissed in favor of a fine or “ransom” (, ). These fines were pursued in a vindictive spirit.

The remainder of this section is a series of situations used to illustrate the principle of mercy that should characterize the kingdom citizen.

What He was calling for was a willingness to be wronged (mercy), rather than demonstrate an unloving attitude toward one who has wronged me (vengeance).

Mercy and the Kingdom Citizen

Does the admonition to turn the other cheek have reference to self-defense?

- Responding to an evil act with another evil act is not acceptable in the kingdom.

- Responding to an evil act with another evil act is not acceptable in the kingdom.

“Do not resist an evil person” - This should not be understood to mean that kingdom citizens simply allow evil to run rampant in our communities. Both Jesus and Paul resisted evil persons (, )

“Withstood” in Galatians is the same term translated “resist” in Matthew

However, the kingdom citizen should never return evil for evil.

Turn the other cheek - The kingdom citizen is not to engage in a tit for tat escalation of wrong doing.

The “slap” of the passage is not intended to describe a physical assault.

In Middle Eastern cultures, a backhanded slap would be used to put mark someone for shame.

The kingdom citizen should be willing to bear this insult rather than seek a way to cause greater insult to his neighbor.

4. What does tell us we should we be willing to do in order to pursue peace?

- Be willing to forgo your rights in the pursuit of peace.

What Jesus described in verse 40 was not robbery, but a legal preceding laid out in the Law.

- A tunic (“shirt” NASB, or “cloak” KJV) could be taken in a civil proceeding as a guarantee that payment of a fine or loan would be made.

- This was apparently intended to be more ceremonial than anything as the Law stated that the pledge was to be returned before nightfall, especially in the case of a poor person, on humanitarian grounds.

What Jesus proposes in the Sermon is a voluntary forfeiture of rights in the pursuit of peace.

- Go the second mile

5. What does verse 41 teach us about our attitude toward the government and the laws that govern us?

Verse 41 refers to Roman law which allowed a soldier to impress any citizen into service. The particular aspect of this rule was the citizen could be forced to serve as a porter for one mile.

The Jewish people resented this, yet Jesus states that the Kingdom Citizen should accept this willingly even to the point of going beyond what was asked of them.

6. With verse 42 in mind, what should the kingdom citizen’s approach to justice and peace?

- “Give to him who asks of you”

- The principle that Jesus is speaking of is found in the Law itself. The poor were not to be looked down on, rather those that had the ability were to help them in their need.

Jesus’s statement impresses us with the need for a merciful attitude toward those less fortunate.

That we should turn to each of these statements as principles rather than commands becomes obvious if we read them in reverse order and imagine applying them literally.

If we gave to everyone who asks of us, we would soon find ourselves in poverty and unable to meet the needs of our own families.

If we spent all of our time in the service of others our own responsibilities would fall by the wayside.

If we never stood up for any of our rights we would soon find it impossible to spread the Gospel.

If we dismissed the principle of justice altogether we lose the foundation of the Gospel itself.

However, if we apply the principles found in these passages we offer no man a reason to turn against us

Love Your Enemy

7. What principle is illustrated in verse 45? How should we behave as a result?

- Here Jesus blended with a common conclusion drawn by Jews in the first century.

Rabbis would turn to and draw the conclusion that an enemy did not deserve the same treatment as a “neighbor.”

The common definition of “neighbor” would have been fellow Israelite, however by reading the Gospels we see that this was narrowed down to refer to those Jews that were accepted generally by Jewish society ().

Jesus destroyed all such distinctions by noticing that God treats all men with mercy.

The only response we can take is to emulate God’s attitude toward mankind in general.

8. How far should we go in the pursuit of peace with others?

- Paul helps us to understand this section of the sermon in his description of New Man living in . Notice the similarities:

, - We are to love all men without hypocrisy

- As far as it depends on us, we are to be at peace with all men

As far as it depends on us, we are to be at peace with all men

- Respond to the evil we face in this world with righteousness

Be Perfect

- Many have used this verse to indicate that the Sermon on the Mount describes something that is impossible to achieve and thus see it as an idealized Christianity or even a glimpse of God’s people once in heaven. However, when taken in context this passage presents a very attainable goal.

In verse 20, Jesus commanded that the kingdom citizen have a righteousness that is greater than that of the Pharisees. In verses 21-47, Jesus illustrated just what this meant. What He has described so far is a more complete mature approach to holiness than was being demonstrated by the religious elite of His day. The statement in verse 48 neatly sums all of this up.

“Perfect” as it is used commonly throughout the New Testament, refers to completeness, wholeness, and maturity (cf. , ; )

What has been described is life wholly conformed to the character of God. Not merely through obedience to commandments, but to a heart felt need to “be holy for I am holy” () .

Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary (g) Summary (5:48)

The ‘greater righteousness’ demanded in v. 20 has been illustrated in vv. 21ff., and is now summed up (therefore) in one all-embracing demand. The demand is that disciples (you is emphatic, in contrast with the tax collectors and Gentiles of vv. 46–47 and the scribes and Pharisees of v. 20) must be perfect (teleioi). This is the ‘more’ required in v. 47. Cf. 19:20–21, where again teleios (its only other use in Matthew) indicates God’s requirement which goes beyond legal conformity. (There too Lev. 19:18 is superseded by this more radical demand.) Teleios is wider than moral perfection: it indicates ‘completeness’, ‘wholeness’ (cf. Paul’s use of it for the spiritually ‘mature’ in 1 Cor. 2:6; 14:20; Phil. 3:15), a life totally integrated to the will of God, and thus reflecting his character. It is probably derived here from the LXX of Deuteronomy 18:13, which, with the repeated formula of Leviticus 11:44–45; 19:2; 20:26 (‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’), is echoed in Jesus’ words. The conformity to the character of God, to which Israel was called in their role as God’s special people (see especially Lev. 20:26), is now affirmed as the goal of the disciples of Jesus. It is an ideal set before all disciples, not a special status of those who claim to have achieved ‘sinless perfection’ in this life; neither here nor in 19:20–21 is there a suggestion of a two-level ethic for the ordinary disciple and the ‘perfect’. (Cf. TIM, pp. 96–97.