This is a sermon preview for the fourth week of our “Mountaintop Manifesto” series.
Visit FBCM’s Church Center Channel to view video live stream (live) or audio version of sermon (published week after).
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” - from Matthew 5:21-32
Someone once joked that if their family had a motto, it would be this: Well, that escalated quickly. How relatable!
One day your toddler tries strawberries for the first time. The next day they refuse to eat anything that’s not a berry. Well, that escalated quickly.
One daughter annoyingly pokes her sister. A few pokes later, and the sister punches the daughter in the face. Well, that escalated quickly.
Your spouse casually mentions the idea of a vacation, and within the month you’re signed up for a retreat in the Dominican Republic with new passports on the way. Well, that escalated quickly.
As we move past Jesus’ love for the Law into his interpretation of the Law, hearers of the Sermon on the Mount are left with a similar impression. Well, that escalated quickly. Jesus doesn’t just do what the Old Testament Laws command in his outside actions.
Jesus internalizes the Laws so that his internal desires and motivations reflect God’s wisdom and reign in the kingdom of heaven.
This way of teaching the intention of the Law reminds me of my great-grandmother. My great-grandmother is 100 years old and still living alone in her own home (with some help from my mother). Aside from hip pain, her health and mind are phenomenal. It’s no doubt that her diet plays a large role in that. When her blood pressure came back high during one doctor’s appointment, the doctor told her to cut salt out of her diet. A few weeks later, my great-grandmother landed herself back at the doctor because her sodium levels were dangerously low. The doctor was surprised to find out that my great-grandmother took her original directions so seriously that she had consumed no salt or added sodium in over a week–raw vegetables, no meat, and very little cheese only. The doctor had to backtrack and re-explain what she actually meant when she said to cut out the salt.
Jesus tells us he fulfills the Old Testament Laws, and invites his disciples to do the same. But the disciples have a problem: they don’t have enough righteousness on their own to properly understand the Laws. Not even the educated faith leaders of their day had enough wisdom on their own to fully understand the Laws. And just like my great-grandmother, you can’t properly follow directions that you don’t fully understand the intention behind them.
So Jesus goes into several mini “case studies” about the Old Testament Law to help the disciples understand God’s wisdom and intention behind the Laws. Each “case study” begins with Jesus saying, “You’ve heard it been said…” where Jesus names a particular Old Testament Law that the disciples would have known, but not understood. Then Jesus continues, “But I tell you…” That’s when the disciples would have joined us in thinking: Well, that escalated quickly.
Matthew 5:21-32 is one section of three case studies that all focus on how the people relate to one another. Whether the Law is about murder, adultery, or divorce, the intention behind the Law is the same: How we treat people isn’t enough. God cares about our motivations and view towards matter. In the kingdom of heaven, God’s children are to protect and respect the particular image of God that is in each and every person.
In other words, Godly relationships require us to treat every person like they have value, because they do. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors,” we are praying that God will transform our core desires and motivations about how we treat people.
And once God does that, then and only then will we be able to have righteous, mountaintop relationships with those around us.
Reflection Questions
What strikes you most about the difference between the Law Jesus quotes and the intention behind the Law that Jesus reveals?
Which of these three case studies–murder, adultery, and divorce–make you most uncomfortable or challenge you the most? Why do you think that is? How might the Holy Spirit be trying to transform this area in your life?
How have you heard any of these three case studies misused or misunderstood? How can you/FBCM help others better understand Jesus’ teachings on these sensitive topics?
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