Sermon on the Mount: Retaliation (Extra Mile Faith)

Intro

Jesus was raising the bar…was showing them the REAL standard God wants

They had been trying to get away with the minimum, asking what the LEAST they had to do was.

Jesus shows them he has a higher standard.

His people are to be holy/righteous

They can only become this through Him

Today Jesus was going to set the record straight on retaliation/vengeance.

God had given instructions; but just like what still happens, people started looking at how the world around them handles this instead.

Always a problem for Israel.

The way they worshiped, wanting to “see” their God

Kings

Always a problem for us.

Today, Jesus is going to talk about retaliation. He’s going to tell us that our natural desires, what feels right to us, isn’t what God wants. We shouldn’t be seeking revenge, but instead should seek to further the kingdom.

Jesus is specifically talking about retaliation today; but i think we can paint a bigger picture, and see a really fundamental truth today that all followers of Jesus have to embrace.

Our personal desires ALWAYS come second to the Gospel

Every time we open God’s Word, we are going to see God asking us to do something that doesn’t seem natural to us.

This concept is talked about a lot; putting to death our flesh, the two natures within us being at war within one another; God asks us constantly to lay aside what WE want.

We bring more glory to God.

What we WANT is NOT what is best for us!

I will probably remind you of this every time I preach. The heart is WICKED! YOUR heart is wicked! You can’t trust it!

The best possible illustration that God gives us for this is parenthood.

What would life look like for your toddler if they always did what they thought was best?

Maybe even scarier, what about your teenager??

As parents, we know we have to make them do things they may not think is best, because we know better; we have more wisdom, knowledge, experience than them.

I want to remind you, the vast amount of difference between me and my 3 year old PALES in comparison to that between you and God.

God is the parent who, no matter how good their argument is, cannot get their toddler to understand the long term health benefits of eating vegetables.

We of course, are the fit throwing toddler tossing carrots across the room.

God has allowed us to recognize this about ourselves. So we have a chance. But we have to understand, what we “feel” or “think” is right is going to change; we can’t trust it; so how do we know how to live?

What we “feel” or “think” is right is going to change; we can’t trust it; so how do we know how to live? We look to what God has shown us.

We look to what God has shown us.

What we are going to talk about today, you will NOT be able to convince your heart that it’s what is best for you.

So, you have to trust God; CHOOSE to do what your heart says isn’t best, knowing that God has said it is. Knowing that God is faithful, and what he’s commanded us to do, he’s commanded because he loves us.

Today we will see Jesus is preaching a lifestyle of deference. Of self-sacrifice, of putting others ahead of yourself; of pursuing the furthering of the Gospel above all else.

This goes against our nature; it’s better, but it’s going to be hard.

Three things we need to do to live this out.

I’ll warn you now, these are not easy; if you do them, it’s going to lead to some pretty radical things happening in your life. Your friends, even your ‘church friends,’ might think you’re a little bit crazy if you actually do these. But I think it’s what God wants for us. So here they are;

1. Ask God to tell you “no” instead of “yes.”

Be willing to be taken advantage of.

2. Be willing to be taken advantage of.

3. Give like you were given to

Matthew 5:33–37 ESV

33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Matthew 5:38–42 ESV

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

This is a fascinating passage, because there’s a couple idioms here that everyone, regardless of if they’re church people, know.

eye for an eye

turn the other cheek

go the extra mile

These are great phrases today, but they’re BETTER when you know how Jesus meant them back then, how his audience would have heard them.

“Eye for an Eye”

This is directly from the OT Levitical law.

Like many do today, the pharisees took this phrase as justification for hurting someone at least as much as they hurt you; for getting even.

BUT, this was NEVER intended to be instructions for getting revenge, but rather to legislate justice.

This was given so that judges would not hand out sentences that were too harsh for the crime committed.

We tend to view this as a minimum, when really it was to be given as a maximum.

So if you want to get revenge on someone, or get even, don’t use this verse as justification for doing so; even in the OT, God said that vengeance was his. One of the ways he enacts justice is through the government, which is a tool God has always used to carry out vengeance and justice.

“Turn the other cheek”

A slap on the right cheek would have been understood as a backhanded slap by a right handed person; an incredibly common insult in the Jewish world.

Jesus point here is that his people should not retaliate to insults, even if doing so guarantees more insults would come.

That’s the LAST thing I want when I’m insulted…I want to hit back, and I want to hit back hard.

Every time I’ve done so, traded insult for insult, I’ve regretted it.

“Go the extra mile”

This is probably the most common. It’s used now to talk about doing more than you have to, but almost always in a way that is beneficial for you personally.

Did a better job than was necessary at work, at home, worked harder at something than expected; now just means that basic expectations were exceeded.

The “extra mile” was quite literal to people at that time.

Roman soldiers at this time were allowed to require any civilian they encountered to carry their equipment for them. However, the furthest they were allowed to make a single person go was 1 mile.

Imagine the attitudes of most people who were made to do this.

Now imagine you’re that Roman soldier, and you hit that mile marker; most people throw your stuff down, maybe spit on the ground, and get out of there.

What if instead, the person carrying your things joyfully continues, insisting that they serve you for another mile.

Undoubtedly there were people in this crowd who later in their life literally went the extra mile. I’m sure in the time that took they were able to share with this Roman soldier, their sworn enemies, their oppressors, about how this man named Jesus came and taught them a better way to live.

Jesus’ people aren’t a people who do the minimum.

Instead of thinking, “what’s the least God MAKES me do,” we should be thinking “What’s the most God will ALLOW me to do?”

Leads to the first thing we should do if we want to live lives that place the Gospel above our own personal desires.

Leads to the first thing we should do if we want to live lives that place the Gospel above our own personal desires.

Ask God to tell you “No,” instead of “Yes.”

Instead of thinking, “what’s the least God MAKES me do,” we should be thinking “What’s the most God will ALLOW me to do?”

I told you, if you do this, even your church friends are going to think you’re a little crazy.

Think about how often you see a need, or hear of an opportunity to serve, or open your home, or give.

Have you ever prayed, “Okay God, if you want me to do this, please make it clear.”

Can I tell you something? HE’S MADE IT CLEAR! He gave us this entire book that is full of His thoughts on this!

Should we give? YES!

Should we serve? YES!

Should we open our homes? YES!

Should we live radical lives for the sake of the Gospel? YES!

Stop asking God if he wants you to do something he’s already made it perfectly clear he wants you to do!

Instead, say, “God, I know you’ve called your people to do this. This opportunity is in front of me, and I know it’s something you’d want me to do. If there’s anything I don’t see, any reason I shouldn’t do this, please make it clear to me.”

Ask God to tell you no. He’s already told you what he expects of us.

Sometimes he WILL tell you no. There are good things that could be done that God doesn’t want you to do.

But I think far more often, we are talking ourselves out of doing what God wants us to do, because we are waiting for some sign from above.

God has already told you “yes.” Unless he tells you “no,” he has already told us exactly how we are to live.

As Emily and I considered doing foster care a few years ago, we had this exact conversation. I remember sitting in our bedroom, and coming to the conclusion that

even though our kids were young

we were busy

it would make our lives crazy

million other reasons;

We decided that God had already made it perfectly clear in his word that he wants his people to care for the orphans, the impoverished, the marginalized. And he made a whole lot more demanding asks of people in the Bible than anything it would require of us to be obedient to this call.

So we went full steam ahead, and we prayed that if this was NOT what God wanted for us that he would stop us.

Praise God that we didn’t ask for a “yes.” We would have talked ourselves out of it.

It’s too hard, it’s not the right time, someone else can do it, we do other things

And we would have missed the abundant blessings we received through foster care, culminating with the adoption of our daughter.

Stop asking God to tell you “Yes” and ask him to tell you “no” instead.

As we read the words of Jesus, and the examples he gave, there was a similar theme with all of them, and it’s there that we see the second thing we should do if we want to put the Gospel above our personal desires.

Eye for an Eye: Judicial vs. Personal

Be willing to be taken advantage of

I want to start with a couple disclaimers here.

First, there are some clear areas where this doesn’t apply. Any situation where safety is involved, or a situation where it leads to others being taken advantage of is not what is meant here.

It doesn’t mean you’re never allowed to have boundaries in your life.

This also doesn’t mean we are called to be pacifists, or that God doesn’t desire justice.

Usually though, we protect our time, money, energy, resources like our life depended on them, and have legitimate vitriol and anger towards anyone or anything that would threaten those things.

It’s in these areas that I think followers of Jesus are called to be abundantly generous, to the point where they might even be taken advantage of. This is the risk you run when you decide to take the commands of Jesus seriously, and all I would submit to you today is that it’s worth it.

I’m fully aware of how ridiculous this concept sounds, especially if you’re new to church.

But Jesus regularly calls his people to pretty ridiculous sounding things.

Again, look at the examples he gives.

If someone wrongs you, don’t get even!

They insult you, let them do it again.

If they sue you, and the implication here is that it’s an unjust lawsuit, give them what they want and THEN some.

If someone abuses their authority, serve them more than they demand.

All of these actions require the follower of Jesus to go further than what was required. To do MORE good than what was expected.

“Well, what if I do that, and people find out? What If I become the guy at work who always covers shifts, or always helps out, or always says yes when people ask for help; won’t people start to take advantage of me?”

YES! They will! They’ll see you as different. They might even see you as naive, or ignorant.

Some might even take advantage of you.

“Hey Jesus, if I do that extra mile thing, what if a bunch of Romans start making me carry their stuff everywhere because they know I’ll serve them more than I’m required to?”

That’s the point! What an opportunity!

Who cares if their motives aren’t pure, and they’re trying to take advantage of you? Let them!

We aren’t called to live a life where we are “even” with everyone. Where we only do for someone what they can repay.

We are called to an “extra mile” faith, that takes us away from what is comfortable and easy.

Some of you are already tensing up, and beginning right now to make excuses in your mind about why this is a bad idea.

I’d just like to remind you about who we serve.

You don’t think Jesus understand what it’s like to be taken advantage of?

Jesus, who fed, healed, taught, and loved all he met, but was still met with hatred.

You know all he had to do to avoid

To have people follow him with false motives, or to show kindness to people who wouldn’t give it back?

Pilate did NOT want to crucify him, you know? All he had to do to avoid it was offer even the slightest defense for the untrue accusations against him.

Did he not wash the feet of Judas, the one who he KNEW would betray him?

Think of his disciples...

Did he not wash the feet of Peter, who he KNEW would deny him?

Or Thomas, who he KNEW would doubt him?

Or Judas, who he KNEW would betray him?

Jesus was willing to do anything, for anyone, if it meant furthering the kingdom.

It’s Jesus who tells us in the very next chapter to seek the kingdom of God FIRST, and everything else will take care of itself. And that’s how he lived.

Jesus, who knew NO sin, BECAME SIN, so that we might become righteous.

Our savior was willing to be taken advantage of if it meant furthering the Gospel, and living a holy life, and we should be too.

Give like you were given to

Matthew 5:42 ESV

42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

This is pretty straightforward; we are to be generous. We are to give to those who ask.

For me, it was be

Sometimes, we look at someone, and we decide they are not worthy of our generosity.

Maybe they are in need because of their own bad choices, or you think they would squander any gift you might give them.

Knowing this, we are still told to give.

Now, does that mean we give every person anything they ask for? Of course not. We all know that sometimes what a person asks for is exactly the last thing they need.

The New American Commentary: Matthew 2. Paradigmatic Preaching: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1–7:29)

As Augustine rightly noted, the text says “give to everyone that asks,” not “give everything to him that asks” (De Sermone Domine en Monte 67).

Augustus said the best way to understand this verse was that,”

“You will give to every one that asks you, although you will not always give what he asks.”

-Augustus

When someone asks us for something, are we looking for a way out of it? A reason why we can say no?

How does this reflect on our savior? What if instead we tried to be more like Jesus, offering up the MOST we can to someone instead of the least?

Remember what we have been given. What Jesus did for us.

Jesus came to this earth, and despite literally no one ever deserving it less, was subjected to one of the worst physical deaths you could experience.

Pilate did NOT want to crucify him, you know? All he had to do to avoid it was offer even the slightest defense for the untrue accusations against him.

But instead, Jesus willingly took on the whole wrath of God, the punishment for sin, so that WE could be granted eternal life. We have been given life and freedom, that we didn’t deserve,

that we don’t appreciate, that we take for granted…yet any one of these things is enough to keep us from giving to someone else.

Knowing what Jesus has given us, how could we ever be anything but generous? How could we ever withhold from those in need?

We are to give freely, as Jesus gave freely to us.

Conclusion

Our personal desires always come second to the Gospel.

My favorite verse, and the verse I try to dwell on the most is

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Is this how you see your salvation? Do you understand what it really means to make no ownership claims over your life?

You cannot hold onto all your own personal desires, for things like vengeance, getting even, even being treated fairly with a tight grip and follow Jesus.

Not only did that old sinful self die when Jesus saved me, but any part of me that wants to call the shots in my life died too.

To follow Jesus truly, we must surrender all. We must make him the Lord of our life.

We don’t have Lords anymore. You pretty much only hear that word in church, maybe in history classes. And so the weight of it can be lost on us. But it’s a word that historically has carried a lot of weight.

If you were under the authority of a lord, and they told you to do something, your opinion on the matter really didn’t matter. You did as your lord commanded.

If we are followers of Jesus, if he is the Lord of our lives, then we are to live our life the way he has told us to, not the way we think is best.

Again; you cannot convince your sinful heart of this. You might NEVER feel like this is what’s best for you. But is he your lord? Do you trust him? Do you really believe that his designs are best? If you do, you will fully embrace his commands.

Whoever lays down their preferences, their desires, their right to retaliation..whoever lays down their very life, for the sake of their Lord, will truly find it.

Let’s put the Gospel first, ourselves second, and pursue an “extra mile faith,” so that Christ can be made known in the world around us.