THE GOSPELS: LESSON 23: SERMON ON THE MOUNT, PART THREE
TEXT: MATT. 5: 33 - 48 and 6: 1 - 18
Jesus is still near the Sea of Galilee, speaking primarily to his close disciples, the ones who would become his apostles, but also preaching to thousands of others who had come out from the towns and villages to hear what this “New Prophet” was saying.
VERSES 33 - 37: About making oaths.
My mother used to quote verse 34 to me to impress upon my mind the evils of cussin’, which she called “swearing.” However well-intentioned, this passage is about making vows, not about having a “dirty mouth.”
It was common (and still is in some circles) to swear by great things to impress on others the veracity of your statements. However, as Christians, we are always to be honest, so a simple YES or NO is quite sufficient. What about making oaths when serving on juries or accepting political office? What about the marriage vows? For a good reason why making oaths is unwise, see the story of Jephthah in Judges 11: 30 - 40.
VERSES 38 - 42: Turn the other cheek.
Each of the “evil men” spoken of in the following verses demand more of us than they are entitled. Our response must diffuse their anger and “shame them with our goodness.”
Verse 38: Look in Exodus 21: 23 - 25. We must resist evil with good. (See James 4: 7.) We are not to resist evil, violent men with force and violence.
Verse 39: In other words, do not retaliate with violence to those who act violent towards you. That just escalates the violence. What we want to do is diffuse the cycle of violence. The “turning of the cheek” is not necessarily to be taken literally, for when in just such a position (John 18: 21 - 23), Jesus did not literally turn his other cheek. Instead he gave a reply which ended the violence. See also Proverbs 15: 1.
Verse 40: BEFORE they can get your cloak in a lawsuit, it would be best to give them your coat also and thereby end their anger. Note: the cloak was the inner garment. The coat is the more expensive, heavy outer garment that could also serve duty as a blanket when sleeping in the open.
Verse 41: It was common practice for the Romans to temporarily conscript civilians (without pay) to carry government dispatches AND furnish the horses, etc to do so. This tells us to submit to unreasonable demands rather than start a fight over our “rights.”
Verse 42: Give even to those who ask more than they should. Do not turn away anyone who wants to borrow something from you. (This is not speaking of lending at interest as that was strictly forbidden in the Law of Moses. Ex. 22: 25)
VERSES 43 - 48: Love your enemies.
Verse 43: A classic example of how people add to the scriptures. The original version is in Lev. 19: 18. It was because of this distortion of the scripture that the Romans charged the Jews with being haters of the whole human race.
Verses 44, 45: We must love our enemies as well as our friends, just as God does. If God hated all his enemies then no man would ever be saved, for all have sinned (Rom. 3: 23). What do we mean by love? The love spoken of here is the Greek agapao, which is moral love. It is desiring someone’s highest good. Ultimately this means working to convert them to Christ. It does not require affection for the person, only that we work for what is best for them. We can love someone whom we dislike.
Verses 46 - 48: We must be better than regular sinful men, we have a higher standard, for we are the children of God. We must be complete, fully grown (mature) [Gr. telios] even as God is. The word “perfect” does not mean completely sinless. It means grown up and mature in our thoughts and actions.
CHAPTER 6
VERSES 1 - 4: Piety in secret.
Verse 1: If you do righteous things only for the accolades of men, YOU WILL HAVE NO REWARD IN HEAVEN. So, BE CAREFUL!
All the things spoken of in the first half of this chapter deal with doing righteous acts to draw attention to ourselves. This is wrong, whether giving, praying, or fasting, or indeed, performing any other righteous act.
Verses 2 - 4: Should all our benevolence be anonymous? Probably so. If you allow yourself to be praised as a philanthropist, then are you really one?
VERSES 5 - 8: Rules for prayer.
See the parable Jesus gives of this subject in Luke 18: 9 - 14.
Verse 5: RULE 1: Be careful of public prayers. What about those “dinner prayers” we sometimes see at restaurants? Good, bad, or dangerous?
Verse 6: RULE 2:Prayer is between you and God – no one else.
Verses 7, 8: RULE 3: Beware of empty phrases. (Guide, guard, and direct?)
RULE 4: Beware of too many words. It is not the prettiness of the words or the vast number of them, but the sincerity of the prayer which causes God to hear.
VERSES 9 - 15: A model prayer.
What we call the Lord’s Prayer. See also Luke 11: 1 - 4.
Look what this little prayer does:
1. Our Father: Acknowledges God as our one true Father.
2. Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: acknowledges that we understand the majesty of God and the sanctity of his name.
3. Thy kingdom come: His kingdom HAS come, so we no longer need to pray for this. However we should pray that his kingdom will continue to increase, which is basically what the next phrase is saying.
4. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven: we should acknowledge that God’s will is only partially followed on this earth. This is a prayer for the spreading of the gospel and more righteousness and unity in the church.
5. Give us this day our daily bread: The earth is the Lord’s and all things in it. We must never tire of asking the Author of all life to continue to bless us with the things we need for life to continue.
6. Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors: We need to ask for the forgiveness of our own sins and the ability to forgive those who harm us.
7. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: Help us keep on the strait and narrow way, oh Lord! And when we fall into evil surroundings, help us to get out.
------ This prayer is most noteworthy for what it does NOT say. It is not, as some prayers seem to be, a sermon to those listening. It is not a recitation of how good and blessed we are. It is not a screed against our enemies. It is not too long, too wordy, or even too detailed. Why not? “. . . your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” (Verse 8.)
VERSES 16 - 18: Rules for fasting.
Simply this: when you fast, don’t let anyone know. It is only between you and God. Fasting means not eating anything, so you can use the time to ponder spiritual things.
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