Law & Grace - Matthew 5:33-48 The Law true & deep - Part II
Matthew 5:33-48 · Vern Peterman · Jul 10, 2011
Law & Grace, No. 26
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926240314295

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

Good morning. A couple weeks ago we presented to you the halftime strategy since we're approximately at the halfway point in the year and we wanted to tell you what our halftime strategy was and we revealed at that point in time that we in fact had Several different touchdown potentials that were playing out here this second half that Laban and Katie, for whom we'll be having the shower this afternoon, will be having one touchdown. and craig and jessica johnson uh... having another touchdown and uh... jim and leslie mccully another one and uh... erin april shot uh... so far as we know the final touchdown at least uh... so what's been revealed However, I put forth the question, can we pull off a few field goals?

Well, it turns out that the answer is yes. If we count a field goal as anyone who has been at Holly Hills in the past or has been associated with Holly Hills in the past, we actually have a fair number of field goals that are in the works. So for that, we have Calvin and C. Tang, and of course, we're going to address that, see Donna on that one, but also Hassan and Juliet Wabutwa are expecting, and I think I only did their wedding less than two months ago. So, but that's what's happening. So hey, I just thought you'd like to know that Brad and April Mastin are also expecting and Eric and Sarah Johnsgaard some of you may remember them and Then Matt and Heather Tracy, so we have great future scoring potential here With four touchdowns and five field goals here looking into the second half. It's looking great And we'll just see. What I'm not sure about is what makes for an extra point. So we'll have to think about that one. Okay. Twins. That may be more than one extra point. We'll see. All right, so at any rate, enough distraction.

Meanwhile, back at the Sermon on the Mount, we're going to continue with our compare and contrast approach. There are going to be things as we go through here that we will compare, things that are the same or similar with how the Lord was addressing the people of Israel and how the Lord deals with us in the church. And we'll also be contrasting things that are different.

Why is something directed to Israel and it doesn't seem to apply to us? So we'll be looking at that. Scripture, in fact, gives us good basis for determining what is similar and what is not. And why would something be similar between Israel, who are a select ethnic people in their land that God chose for them and gave them, who are under the law of Moses, and us? Why would there be something to compare, something to be similar?

Well, one reason is because God is a God who does not change. And so when scripture speaks about God's character, that does not change. Furthermore, there is also a common need. God may deal with different groups in some different ways, but the truth is we all have a common need as human beings. And so the Lord will sometimes address things similarly because of that common need. So, Israel was under the law of Moses and will be in the coming millennial kingdom, the coming reign of Christ on the earth. And we in the body of Christ, the church, live under this principle of grace.

And we'll be talking about this word principle as we go through here. Now, something to point out, if you're visiting with us or have just come fairly recently, this little number in the corner there, that's the page number. If, for example, previously the slide had no page number, that means it's not on your handout. But if it has a page number, it is on your handout and you can look at the corresponding slide on your handout, make notes, et cetera. Now, context, context, context.

From the Sermon on the Mount, many in various parts of Christendom, and I put that as a wide umbrella, have taken views against, for example, remarriage. against taking oaths. We don't take oaths, right? Looking at the Sermon on the Mount. Some have said, we're not going to participate in government or the military because that makes us, you know, not peacemakers.

So you'll have various parts of Christendom have taken things from the Sermon on the Mount and taken a stand in one direction or another. Quite often it's from misunderstanding what exactly the uh... sermon on the mount is saying and not looking at the context to understand what christ is saying to the israelites and that's the one he's speaking to we should keep in mind that the law of moses was given to israel it was not given to you and me it was given to israel to the people of israel who are going to live in the land of israel As a matter of fact, one of the things that the Jews increasingly found out, as many of them scattered to other places, it was difficult to keep the law when you're not in the land. You can't do things when you're not in the land and in your own land the same as the Israelites could when they were in the land. Secondly, interpretation is by cultural context. We understand what words mean by the context.

If I tell you the letters B-O-W, you might say, OK, that's so far so good. What's the context? You don't know what I mean by that unless I, matter of fact, I can even say one word and you will suddenly know what I mean. Bow and arrow. Suddenly you know, oh, that kind of B-O-W. If I say it's the sound a dog makes, then that's something else. If I say bow and present, then you get a different context. So it means different things in different contexts.

Same thing with the Sermon on the Mount. It was in a particular context. We have to understand the context. So the Sermon on the Mount was directed to the people of Israel in the land of Israel who are all under the law of Moses. That is the context.

You have here on one slide, here's the poetic pattern of Matthew 5, 34 and 35. I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it's the throne of God, or by earth, for it's the footstool of his feet, or by Jerusalem, for it's the city of the great king. The first couple parts of that, by heaven and by earth, is Psalm 66, 1. Basically, Jesus draws from that in order to make those references. And then the next one, Psalm 48, one through three is for by Jerusalem. So what's going on here? What's going on here is this.

According to the rabbi's rules, making an oath by heaven or by earth or by Jerusalem are all non-binding. So you could go ahead and make whatever promises you want, as long as it's an oath by heaven, by earth or by Jerusalem, and you don't have to keep it. About that.

Wow, yeah, but that's exactly what they would teach. The Law of Moses required that the people simply keep their vows. If you say you're going to do something, do it. If you say you're not going to do something, don't do it. It's that simple. That's the way the Law of Moses was written, but that's not the way it was taken. By Jesus' time, the rabbis had cooked up an incredibly complex system of rules. They developed a set of rules as to whether an oath was binding, and if you didn't know the rules, you could find yourself fooled. You'd think somebody had obligated themselves, oh, I will do this, I will not do that, and you find out later, I didn't say it by the right thing, and so I don't have to do it.

Crazy, huh? Here is the simplification, if you can allow that. Oaths that did not invoke God's name were not binding, so oaths that did invoke God's name were binding. So you could swear by heaven, and that's not binding because that's not God's name. You could swear by Jerusalem and by earth. As a matter of fact, what they'd do is swear by several things, as long as it didn't involve God's name. He didn't have to keep it. How about that? Confusing enough? Well, here's Numbers chapter 30, 1 and 2. Here's right from the Law of Moses. Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, This is the word which the Lord has commanded.

If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. Note here, the law of Moses did not say that you couldn't take an oath. You see that? It did say you could take an oath. So that's not what Jesus is saying. He's not saying, don't take an oath. The idea that one could take an oath and still be excused from carrying it out because of what one swears by is just a tricky way of lying.

Right? So that's what they were doing. As long as I swear by certain things and it's not invoking God's name, I can lie through my teeth and be righteous. Does that sound right? Not so much. Okay. Now, here we go. Here's Matthew 5, starting with verse 36.

Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black." Now, I really hate to differ from Jesus on this. I don't like to disagree. In my case, I could make a hair white, and I could make a hair black. And after that, I'd be done with the hair. But let your statement be yes, yes, or no, no. And by the way, of those two, which one do parents teach their kids most often? Yes, yes, or no, no? So, let your statement be yes, yes, or no, no. Anything beyond these is of evil.

In the Hebrew culture, if you said something two or even three times, that gave the message that it was total or perfect or complete, right? It was entirely one way. So, truly, truly, which is how you see Jesus introducing many statements in the Gospel of John, truly, truly, I say unto you, right? Or, holy, holy, holy, which is out of Isaiah 6 or Revelation chapter 4, right? those two places it means truly truly means completely or totally true and holy holy holy means God is ultimately or completely holy entirely holy and I I am am not not kidding kidding really okay well I tell you I must be having real bloopers today all right Isaiah 26 3 the steadfast of mind you will keep in perfect peace it's literally peace peace Shalom, shalom. Why? That's how you say perfect peace or complete and total peace is you say it twice, twice.

Really, really. Okay. Now, here is Paul, and tell me, is he actually making an oath? I think so. Here he says in Romans 9, 1 and 2, I am telling the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, two witnesses, if you will, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.

And he talks about the nation of Israel and how they are unresponsive to the gospel, right? He is essentially making an oath. He is saying this is most definitely and certainly true. So it's not wrong to make an oath. It is wrong to make an oath that's put out there for the sake of I wonder if I can trick these people into thinking I'm telling the truth when in fact I'm not.

That's the problem and that's what Jesus is addressing. Among us here in the body of Christ, there is certainly to be truth. Ephesians 4.25, Therefore, laying aside falsehoods, speak truth, each one of you, to his neighbor. For we are members one of another. Why would God want truth among the Israelites and also truth among us? Because God is a God of truth. That is His character and it does not change.

Right? Here's Matthew 538. You've heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Sounds like a body parts market, right? Okay. These passages have the eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth and actually similar wording for other things. You know, life, foot, wound, etc. Here in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. So that was something in multiple locations. And the eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth statement is a way to summarize it, because although they differ slightly, those two are the same in all those passages. Israel was in the midst of cultures that practiced revenge killing. And matter of fact, it was escalating revenge.

It was intergenerational revenge. This guy killed my father. Therefore I am obligated with family honor to kill someone in his family as a matter of fact since they killed my father and I have to kill two people in theirs that would be the revenge killing with escalating revenge and It would be carried on for generations. It was kind of like the Hatfields and the McCoys, right? It would be carried on and all the cultures around Israel had that characteristic. There was revenge killing. There was a matter of increasing and escalating revenge.

And that is very much the culture of the Middle East now. The Middle East still has that honor killing idea. Matter of fact, it's been a problem here in the United States because we don't tend to have that practice. And when it's brought over here, It creates difficulties. People will carry out these honor killings based on the culture back in the Middle East. The principle in the Law of Moses, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, to many sounds like, well, that's really severe.

No, it's not. What was it intended to do? It was intended to say that and no more and that's enough. You don't, you don't carry on this obligation. Well, you killed my father, so I'm going to kill your father and your mother. And you know, that is it. So it is to stop violence and to stop it from escalating and to stop any intergenerational requirement of continuing the killings from one generation to the next. Justice is also in this way kept a public issue instead of a private honor to be fulfilled.

Now, this word principle, I want to talk about that, because it's a word we use from time to time. The word principle, and this is not in writing here, so that's what I mean, talk about it. The word principle is a word that we use in one of two primary ways.

One, it's either a fundamental truth, or two, it's the way things work. We're using it in the second sense here. The way things work is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Okay. That's the use of the word principle. And we're going to use that from time to time. We've already used it once. We're going to use it again.

Israelite society was thus kept by this principle from escalating violence and the family's duty to carry out revenge. The Israelites were in this way, among many others, made to stand out from the common culture. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord, is a principle that comes out of the Old Testament. Multiple times, the Israelites were told, leave room for God to take his vengeance for them. It's not your place to go and take vengeance on this and that and for every little thing. Leave room for me to do it.

A very similar principle applies for us who are in the body of Christ, Romans 12, 19, Hebrews 10, 30, they're referenced in the slide and in your handout. Those are a couple of passages where the same principle out of the same passages in the Old Testament are quoted for us as Christians. To leave room, one of the things that we pointed out here I think is very important. As a matter of fact, I would say in my own life it's been important, and it's very important in counseling.

And that is understanding that God will bring about absolute justice for everything in the big picture. All injustice of every kind, whether it's known or secret, every injustice of every kind will be dealt with. And so Christians, when we learn that and when we rest in that, we can keep from getting all bitter and broiled and looking as if justice wasn't done.

Sometimes on this earth, justice is not done, and I could even say a lot of times. A lot of unjust things happen. Unjust things have happened to me and people that I know and love. But in the big picture, Everything will be dealt with three places, either on the cross, did not Christ die for every single sin, right? Or sometimes in this life, and that's what people don't understand. Sometimes justice happens in this life, many times not, or in eternity.

There are those who are unsaved. There are those who are saved. There's a price to be paid for everything. But in the end, nobody will get away with anything except as we go to God's grace and let Christ pay the price. Let God be the one who carries out justice. And He will. He is faithful to it. And He will not forget anything. No injustice will be ignored.

None. Now, that having been said, this does not support pacifism, the idea that we just, you know, never react to anything. We never respond to anything. I got a guy running through the front door and he's ready to kill my wife. And I just kind of sit there because after all, God's going to take care of it, right? No. Right. So we'll talk about that more just shortly. We have this word principle again. This is a similar principle. In this case, this is the way things work, and it's also a fundamental truth.

Here's Matthew 5.39, But I say to you, do not resist an evil person. And whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. A backhanded slap on the cheek, which is what would be typical here in the context of the culture, was not an injurious physical threat. This is not going to break my bones and threaten my life, but an insult. That's what was intended.

Both the Gospels and the books written to and for the church say one is not to respond in kind to an attack only intended to damage one's emotions or social standing, and it may in fact be persecution. Total pacifism, the idea that I just don't react and respond to anything, I don't defend myself, I don't defend my family, I don't fight in the military, total pacifism is not biblically supported. There may in fact be times to say, no, I won't get involved in that and won't do this, I'm not saying that, but total pacifism is not supported. Israel certainly did have a military, both initially when they entered the land and continuing And this was not incompatible for God fighting for them in the midst of it. Secondly, in the Gospels and the book of Acts, the Roman officers are all shown, no exceptions, in a favorable light and neither Jesus or the apostles said, okay, now that you're a Christian, leave the military. Right? Never happened.

There are a couple of supplements. Some of them may be on the cabinet to the right as you exit this room. We also have them on the church website right next to the rest of the audio and handout for this lesson. So you can take a look at those. There's quite a bit to look at there if you'd like. Feel free to talk to me about it as well. Also in anticipation of the church time, starting in Acts 1 and 2, Christ tells his disciples towards the end of the Gospel of Luke to actually arm themselves.

He said to them, when I sent you out without money and a belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you? And this is when he sent them out, what did he do? He sent them out two by two and he said, only go to the people of Israel. Don't even go on a road that leads to the Gentiles. And they said, no, we didn't lack anything. We had every provision we needed. He said to them, but now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, and likewise also a bag. Whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one. How about that?

You will need some defense along the way. You're going out into Gentile roads. You see, the Romans built enough roads to go around the earth two times. Over 50,000 miles of roads. All by hand. No cat D9s or anything. None of that. And when they built those roads, they built them out there so the Roman army could go on them. Of course, everybody else could too. One thing they didn't have is police protection on any of it. You are on your own.

So Jesus said, yes, go ahead and defend yourself. Does that mean you go around attacking people? No. But yes, you may defend yourself, and you ought to. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let them have your coat also. Anybody going to volunteer for that? Basically Jesus was saying let them sue you nearly naked, okay? Let them take everything that the coat was the outer garment that they would use actually the poor folks That's what they would use for a nighttime sleeping blanket, okay? This is giving the shirt off your back and then some Jesus said this in a cultural context among the Jews, where the Israelites in the land of Israel were to lend to any and all of their Jewish brethren with an open hand.

We're going to see a comment in a couple of verses here that will give more insight there. The Jews were not required, however, to be so open-handed with their Gentile neighbors. So does this verse apply directly to you? The answer is no. The Jews were not even required to do this with Gentile neighbors living nearby, those with other fellow Jews.

Then he says, whoever forces you to go one mile, go with them two. A Roman soldier could force anyone else by law to carry his military equipment for one mile. You know, there's a bunch of metal I got in the shield and I've got on my, you know, plates that I've got on me and the spear. This is all heavy stuff. So I'm going to force you to carry it for a mile because the law says that I can't. The Roman soldier could do that, right?

This is under the same set of laws that Simon of Cyrene was told, Simon, you're going to carry this cross piece here because Jesus can't do it. But you're going to do it because I say that you are and I'm a Roman soldier and I'm allowed to tell you that's what you're going to do. It's under that same set of rules that Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry Jesus' cross piece. Jesus told the Israelites, outside of even the law of Moses, for the law of Rome, if you're required to go one mile, go a second, even though you don't have to. That's the extra mile.

Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you. In Deuteronomy 15, 7 and 8 it says, If there is a poor man with you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns and your land which the Lord your God has given you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother. You will not you will not harden your heart you will not close your hand that's what they were told but you shall freely open your hand to him and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks generously you see every seventh year in israel and this is not a slide in your handout And every seventh year in Israel, all debts to all Israelites were to be forgiven. And no Israelite was allowed to diminish what he loaned because that year was coming. So you gotta loan generously to other Israelites even though tomorrow might be the start of the day it's forgiven. And the guy doesn't have to pay you back. And you're not allowed to diminish what you loan out in anticipation of that seventh year when all the debts are forgiven.

So give and give big, you gotta, that's the law. And that's what Jesus was talking about here. He says, it's just the law, carry it out. In every case in this passage, what Jesus says is to go beyond the requirement of the law of Moses, or even the requirement of the law of Rome. Be gracious, be full of mercy, and very generous.

You gotta. That's the law. Right? We in the church are not under the law of Moses, nor do we live in the land of Israel, unless you had a very long commute this morning. But being gracious and merciful is still what God has in mind for you and me. Why? He's the same God. That's why. Grace and mercy are basic to God's character. That's why.

Here's Ephesians 2, 4 through 7. And this is kind of like the two bread parts of the sandwich. In the middle of this sandwich is where we are identified with Christ. In His death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and seeding. But here, but God being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us. Not skimpy love. Not wimpy skimpy. Not just enough. love with which he loved us and that in verse 7 so that in the ages to come he might show that means demonstrate visibly in the ages to come he might show the surpassing riches of his grace and kindness toward us in Christ Jesus this word surpassing means overthrown in baseball it's called an error but God doesn't call it an error right it's overthrown He has overthrown over-the-top riches of His grace, and He's going to be showing that to us for all eternity.

If you're wondering, what am I going to do forever? I don't know how to play the harp. If you're wondering what you're going to do, don't worry about it, because you know what? It's what God's going to do in eternity, not you. He is going to visibly demonstrate the surpassing riches of His grace. And we'll be going, Don't inhale your gum, that's bad. Okay. We will be going, and we will be astounded at his grace forever. When we've been there 10,000 years, we will not be looking for where it's the coffee break. My rear is getting tired, even if these are nice pews, okay? That won't be happening.

It won't be happening because we will be astounded and amazed at His grace demonstrated, shown to us so that we will see it and understand it forever. Grace and mercy are basic to God's character. How do we live it now? How do we live it now? Galatians 2, 19 and 20.

For through the law, I died to the law. Are you supposed to carry out the law and try your best? No. You died to it. You died in relationship to it so that you might live to God. I'm not worried about, am I following all the rules? I'm not worried about, how am I doing at this? because I died to the law. How do I live?

I've been crucified with Christ. That's the best thing that could happen first. I've been crucified with Christ, and it's no longer I who live. Let me translate that for you in an expanded version. It's no longer I who do the living. I'm not the one who does the living. It's not my job. I'll put it to you this way. You're fired. It's not your job. It's not your job to do the living, it's Christ's job to do the living through you. Okay? So being fired's a good thing. It's His job.

That's how God's righteousness gets lived out. That's how His grace and His mercy get lived out. That's how we satisfy the righteous requirements of the law without even being under it. And God pulled that off by crucifying us first with Christ. Matthew 543, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Love your neighbor was definitely a message from the Law of Moses.

Leviticus 19.18 is one reference there that has that. Definitely there.

But, hating your enemy was rarely taught among most of the groups, including Sadducees and Pharisees. They're in Judaism, but there was one exception. The Essenes consistently taught Love your neighbor who is an Essene, but hate everybody else, including hate the Pharisees and hate the Sadducees. Love your neighbor, hate your enemies, and make sure your enemies list is really long.

Many wondered where Jesus stood in the midst of these conflicting messages. So he does let them know. I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For He causes His Son to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Forty years ago, in a few months, I was taking a class in Eastern religions. I was wanting to learn about them, not practice them. I took it from a professor who wanted me to practice them and not learn about them. And so only in the first couple of weeks of the class do they have a period of time when they do roll call.

But about the last time, the instructor had already figured out this Peterman guy is a Christian. So he gets down to my knees, says, Peterman, he says, you're a Christian, aren't you? I said, yeah, I am. He says, stand up. He says, what do you do if I whack you upside the face? And I said, well, I would turn the other cheek. Good. Whack. Where some of the students said, do it again. And some of the others said, no, that's stupid. Right? So anyway, he didn't the second time. What's interesting, I did pray for him. He died in 2009. But what was interesting is shortly thereafter, his son became a believer. Really neat.

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same. Notice that the Gentiles, that's the non-Jews, that's a group aside from them. He's not talking to Gentiles. He's talking to the Jews.

In sharp contrast to the persecutor of spirit and behavior, love them in return. Consistent with what both Jesus and the Apostles taught, his righteousness consists of not responding in kind to the persecutors. You persecuted me and I will get you for it. Right? No, not like that. But with his love, whether under law or grace. Law or grace requires the same against persecutors. Love them in return.

When Paul and Silas were in stocks in the worst part of the jail in Philippi, unjustifiably, as a matter of fact, illegally beaten, they sang songs in praise to God. This is believed by some to be the prison. Let me explain to you what the prison was like. What they would do is they would take men who were put in stocks and they would back them into a space inside the rock wall that was about the size of a dishwasher. And then they would put locks across the opening, and so you would sit there like this in the dark. Oh, and by the way, they don't let you out to go to the bathroom, and they've not cleaned the place up since the last guy was there.

In that environment, they sat there and cursed and said, oh, this is terrible. Boy, does it stink down here. Is that what they said? No. They sang praises to the Lord and essentially told the gospel in song so that when the earthquake hit that broke them and all the others out, Paul and Silas tell the jailer of the gospel, what must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And they didn't run, although they could have.

Jesus said, be sons of your father. Sons is a term, sons of or children of, means to be like in character or close in relationship to. So Jesus said that loving persecutors in return is son-like, that is a son like unto a father. Like father, like son. Right? Jesus tells them that God does make material blessing and provision available to all. That person who's evil, who does evil things, the Lord provides for him, too. To love regardless of the behavior is, in that way, son-like. Like son, like father.

Matthew 5.48, Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. How's that for a standard? How many are up to that? Oh boy.

The law of Moses was given to require good and righteous and a holy heart and behavior, not just behavior, but a holy heart. You got to love. You cannot covet. The law is good and righteous and holy. Don't bad mouth the law. It's not the law's problem. It's that people are not up to it. That's the difficulty with the law, but good and righteous and holy. That's God's character.

We who are the body of Christ, who live under grace, are already like Him in what way? In who we are in Him, because we've been placed in Christ, and who He is in us. You know, that Christ living in and through you. We already like Him in those ways. It's God's design and desire, what He has intended from the beginning, that we're being conformed by circumstances, transformed as we behold the Lord through His Word, and growing to be like Christ daily, all the way to Silo Park.

And then so, let's pray. Lord, we thank You as we Look at this passage. We see that you are, in fact, consistent. Your goodness and righteousness and holiness are consistent always. And we thank you for your grace, your overthrown, over-the-top, surpassing, amazing grace. We look forward to seeing that grace shown and demonstrated for all eternity. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.