“Jesus Expanded the Law” Pt 2

The Rabbinical teaching of Jesus’s day dealt with the letter of the Law and not the full intent. Jesus made very clear the full intent of God’s Law and how it impacts every individual. When we sin (any violation of God’s Law is sin) our confession must be according to Jesus’s interpretation and not our own ideas of what is right or wrong. (Carissa & Manny)

Examination: (Why?)

1. Job had it right (Jb 31:1; Mt 5:27-32)

Mt 5:27-32 ““You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

The term adultery refers to a consensual sexual relationship between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse. (Faithlife Study Bible) Jesus though called attention to the fact that sin begins in the mind/emotions.

Jesus was speaking primarily to the twelve (with others listening in) so He framed this statement from a masculine point of view. However, the admonition is to both men and women. The main point is once again that sin begins in the mind (heart). What we see, and especially what we gaze upon, creates mental images that do not go away. If we begin to fantasize on those images they may very well progress from a thought to a desire to a plan and eventually to an act. To underscore the seriousness of mental adultery, Jesus used hyperbole, which is deliberate exaggeration to make a point. He was saying that people must go to great pains to avoid committing spiritual (mental)adultery. Billy Graham and his team (all males) met together during a crusade in Modesto, CA and formulated what became known as the “Billy Graham Rule”. While most people think only of the sexual purity part of the Modesto Manifesto, they also covered finances, publicity and other factors that might lead an evangelist into sin. The sexual purity part was the pledge never to travel, meet or eat with a woman other then their wife. Mike Spence, when he was VP, made such a statement and was criticized by the media and by feminist groups for it. Although this might seem to be extreme, it is nothing compared to what Jesus said. “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Of course a body-part is not going to cause you to sin. One of the early church fathers, Origen, had a problem with lust. He misinterpreted the words of Jesus and sought to solve his problem by rolling naked on briars. When that didn’t work, he castrated himself, only to discover that the problem remained. Jesus was not suggesting bodily mutilation, but rather making a point of the seriousness of sexual sin. It will keep a person from having a relationship with God and leads to their experiencing His judgment and wrath.

Closely related to the sin of adultery is divorce. Again the Rabbis differed in their interpretation of what constituted a divorce that God accepted. For some of the more liberal Rabbis, if a woman burned the toast, it could be grounds for divorce. Here is what Jesus had to say about it.

Mt 5:31-32 ““It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce. But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

The idea of a “written notice of divorce” came from Deut 24:1 ““If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.” When the Pharisees raised a question about divorce in Matt 19 and Mark 10, Jesus told them that this was not a command of Moses, but rather he gave permission because of their hardness of heart. God gave only one acceptable reason for divorce and that was sexual immorality. That is the reason that Jesus dealt with the two subjects back to back. Even in the case of immorality, it is better if reconciliation would take place (i.e. Hosea and Gomer). When children are involved, the act of divorce is even more devastating. A child of divorce wrote the following poem. “The monster’s here, the monster’s there, the monster is everywhere. In my milk, in my tea, doesn’t it ever think of me? Mom’s here, Dad’s there, and I’m just not anywhere! How can I say this without any force; the monster is called divorce.” (source unknown)

Jesus finished His words on divorce by linking it with adultery in Mt 5:32 “But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

In our society the admonition of Jesus is largely ignored. The reasoning of man has replaced the clear teaching of God. John McArthur noted: “The many confused and conflicting ideas in our day about the biblical teaching on divorce are not caused by any deficiency in God’s revelation, but by the fact that sin has clouded men’s minds to the straightforward simplicity of what God has said.”

But remember, there is only one unforgivable sin, and that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

To sum up this section of the message, perhaps Job had it right when he said in Job 31:1 “I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman?”

2. Watch Your Mouth (Mt 5:35-37)

I have long held the opinion that the use of profanity shows that a person is so lacking in how to voice their statements emphatically that they have to prop up what they say with a profane word or phrase. Jesus seemed to have the same opinion.

Mt 5:33-37 ““Again, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but you must keep your oaths to the Lord. But I tell you, don’t take an oath at all: either by heaven, because it is God’s throne; or by the earth, because it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. But let your ‘yes’ mean ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ mean ‘no.’ Anything more than this is from the evil one.” This is not speaking of something like taking an “oath of office” for an elected official. Rather it refers to “flippant, profane, or careless use of oaths in everyday speech.” (Faithlife Study Bible) An example would be someone who says something and props it up with the phrase, “I swear to God”. If that sort of oath is used, the one who uses it is must know that if what they have said is not true they will be under God’s judgment. Deut 23:21 ““If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to keep it, because he will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as sin.” Using God’s name to prop up your statement is a violation of the 3rd commandment, “Do not misuse the name of the LORD your God, because the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses His Name.”

We need to get back to the idea that “a person’s word is their bond”.

3. Attitudes and Actions (38-42)

Mt 5:38-40 ““You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your coat as well.”

While it is true that the phrase “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” was part of the Mosaic Law om Ex 21’ Lev. 24 & Deut 19, it was intended to put a limit on the extent of any retribution. It was not to give licence to “personal retaliation”. (story of the hunter and the farmer)

Those who were listening to Jesus had grown up with this law of retribution, so they were shocked at His statement “don’t resist an evildoer”. He really had their attention. He then gave examples of what He was saying. “If anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” “As for the one who wants to sue you and take away your shirt, let him have your cloak as well.” Jesus was applying this principle not only to physical abuse, but also to legal abuse through frivolous lawsuits. The bottom line is “don’t try to get even”. God has said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.”

The part that really got their attention though was when Jesus said, Mt 5:41 “And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” At this time the Jews were under the thumb of the Roman Empire. Roman soldiers were allowed by law to command a person to carry their pack for one thousand paces. No matter what they were doing at the time, they had to stop, carry the pack for a mile and then retrace their steps to go about their own business. But now Jesus was telling them to go the second mile voluntarily. This would have been shocking to the Roman Soldier, and could have opened the door for a Gospel conversation. The Roman might say, “Why are you doing this?” to which the Jew could respond, “Because of all that God has done for me.”

Jesus then capped off this teaching with Mt 5:42-48 “Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

This passage needs very little commentary. Jesus demonstrated this a short time later during His arrest, trials, flogging and crucifixion. He prayed, Lk 23:34 “Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided his clothes and cast lots.”

Application: (How should I respond to this message?)

Have you surrendered your life to Jesus. You can do it right now by saying to Him in prayer, “Lord Jesus, I give you my life.”

Do you struggle with sexual fantasies, or with pornography? Today is a good time to ask for God to deliver you. Then destroy all if your porn, or put a filter on your computer so that you can’t access porn sites.

Are your words, attitudes and actions pleasing to God? If not, now is the time to confess that to God and repent.

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