Sunday, October 18, 2009: Greater Righteousness 5

Greater Righteousness 5
Matthew 5: 43 – 48.

I. Introduction.

Today, we are going to look at one of the “hard sayings of Jesus.” Some of the things Jesus said were obviously wise teachings. Some of these teachings have been admired by religious and irreligious people of all eras. They contain good, common sense wisdom that anyone can recognize the wisdom of Jesus’ words. Today is not one of those teachings. This one is hard. In fact, it is so hard, many Christians probably wish Jesus had never said this.

However, we must remember what Jesus said to his disciples the last time he spoke to them on earth. After the crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus gathered his eleven remaining disciples at the top of a mountain. This was the last time the disciples would see Jesus on earth. They would be reunited one day in Heaven, but not yet. Before they could enter into Heaven, the disciples had work to do on earth. In the meantime, Jesus gave his disciples the commandment we know as the Great Commission… Matthew 28: 18 – 20, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey EVERYTHING I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As Baptists, we are a missionary people, so we typically read this Great Commission as Jesus’ instructions to spread the Gospel around the world. However, there is another important part of the Great Commission. Jesus told his disciples—and us—to go, to baptize and to teach. Specifically, we are supposed to teach other to obey EVERYTHING Jesus has taught us. If Jesus wants us to teach everything, then everything Jesus said must be important. Everything is not restricted to our favorite passages. Everything includes the hard teachings Jesus gave us.

One of our favorite passages from the life of Jesus took place in the context of a controversy with the Pharisees. One of their experts challenged Jesus with a question, “What is the greatest commandment in the Old Testament Law?” Jesus’ answer is one of those commandments we don’t mind that he said… Matthew 22: 37 – 40, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Now we like that commandment. It is simple. It is wise. Probably all people—religious and irreligious—can recognize that following these commands will make the world a better place to live. Loving God and Loving Neighbors will make the world a better place.

This command also demonstrates how important “love” is for Jesus and anyone who is a follower of Jesus. This is not an isolated command. In another place, Jesus told us to “Love one another,” and that “Greater love has no one than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Love your neighbor. Love one another. Love your friends. This is good stuff! And, then we come to Jesus’ words in Matthew 5…

Read Matthew 5: 43 – 48.

This the is sixth and final teaching Jesus gave about Greater Righteousness in the Sermon on the Mount. He begins this teaching with the same formula he used five times before, “You have heard that it was said…But, I say to you.” In the first five teachings, Jesus quoted either a commandment or a precedent found in the Old Testament. This time, Jesus quoted something that was NOT found in the Old Testament. Actually, the first half of this quote does appear in the Old Testament, but the second half does not. The Old Testament taught the Jews to “love their neighbors,” but it never taught them to “hate their enemies.”

More than likely, the phrase “hate your enemy” is the result of interpretation or application of the command to love neighbors. I don’t know if we could ever find a written interpretation that suggests Jews should hate their neighbors. But, I do know that whenever we place narrow restrictions on the literal words of the Bible, this is what can happen. For many first century Jews, the commandment to love neighbors could be narrowly interpreted to apply only to the people who are related by race and religion. In other words, love your neighbor meant simply to love the Jews—love people who belong to the Jewish race and the Gentiles who have converted to Jewish religious practice.

In twenty-first century East Texas, we might be guilty of the same kind of narrow, literal application. Everybody loves love. We love to love other people…especially nice people; safe people; people who can help you out through relationships or political connections. Yet, this is NOT what Jesus said.

In fact, verses 46 and 47 show us that everybody loves love. The tax collectors know how to love. The pagans know how to love. But Jesus calls us to have a greater love than the love found in the world. It might help us to understand Jesus’ words if we ask ourselves, “What am I doing that is greater than the Pharisees? The tax collectors? The pagans? Other religious people?” Is my love greater than the love found among people who are far from God?


II. Loving Enemies = Sons of God.

The Greater Righteousness Jesus requires is not an impossible standard. I used to interpret Jesus’ words as proof that you and I can never measure up to God’s standards. Since we cannot measure up, then we must trust in Jesus’ righteousness that is available to us through his sacrificial death on the cross. The only problem with this interpretation is that it leaves no room for the power of the Holy Spirit.

Yes, I believe that none of us will ever achieve a righteous status in God’s eyes. We need the crucifixion of Jesus to make us righteous. However, Jesus places specific expectations for righteousness on us. He truly expects us to love our enemies. Loving our enemies is the way we show the world that we are “children of God.”

It is important to note that the concept “sons / children of God” is not a universal concept in the Bible. The Bible NEVER says that all human beings are God’s children. In John 3, Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to Spirit. There is no evolution from flesh to Spirit. There is no natural, human progression from a regular human being to a spiritual human being. There has to be a spiritual birth. The Apostle Paul used a slightly different image to describe what it means to be a child of God. Paul never used the phrase “born again.” Rather, Paul described our relationship as being adopted sons / children of God. Both images communicate the same idea. You do not begin your earthly life as a child of God. You must be born again through a spiritual rebirth, or you must be adopted by God. Both spiritual rebirth and adoption come as a result of faith in Jesus: crucified and resurrected.

If all human beings are not sons / children of God, then it is a short step for us to project that some people live their lives as “enemies” of God. How does God treat his enemies? This is the meaning of Jesus’ illustration about sunshine and rain.

Do you remember drawing pictures when you were a child? Or, perhaps you have a young child or grandchild who likes to draw. Often those pictures have a large yellow sun in one of the top corners of the picture. Usually, the child draws a smiling face on the sun. Sometimes, there is also a grey rain cloud in the picture. What kind of face do children usually draw on the rain cloud? Usually, a frowning face. To a child, sunshine is a good thing, and rain is a bad thing. Do you think this is the way Jesus intended his words in Matthew 5: 45? God sends both good and evil equally to the righteous and the unrighteous.

The first century world was an agrarian culture. People grew their own crops. Families raised their own livestock. They lived off the land. Rain is NOT a bad thing for agrarian people. They cannot live without sun and rain. Sun and rain are the GOOD gifts that God gives to all people to sustain life on the earth. God gives indiscriminately to all people…his friends and his enemies.
In Romans 5: 10, the Apostle Paul tells us something else about how God treats his enemies: “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

On one hand, God gives sunshine and rain indiscriminately to his children and his enemies. On the other hand, God gave his only Son Jesus to die on the cross and rise from the grave so that the enemies of God could become children of God.


III. What Is Love?

If loving enemies is the way we demonstrate that God is our Father, then it stands to reason that we should love as God loves.

I just gave two illustrations of the way God loves his enemies: God gives sunshine and rain to support life on earth and God gave his Son as a sacrifice to reconcile his enemies to himself. Notice that God demonstrates his love by giving.

In the Bible, love is not a feeling. Love is an action. Love is a specific kind of action that is self-sacrificial and benefits another person.

Jesus did not say “Like your enemies.” He said to love your enemies through self-sacrificial actions that benefit your enemies. You don’t have to like them!


IV. How Can We Love Our Enemies?

Practically speaking, Jesus gave us three examples to help us understand how to love our enemies.

A. Speak to your enemies…

In verse 47, Jesus commands us not to use the “silent treatment” against those we dislike. He specifically used the word “brother” in this context, which is often used to refer to church members. We should ask ourselves how we treat people who are not a part of our church. This is not about the Baptists and the Methodists. This is about Christians and non-Christians. Do you treat non-Christians differently than Christians? Outsiders different than insiders? In this sense, it can apply to members of First Baptist Church and visitors? (Should I ask the visitors to our service this morning how they were greeted?) What about people who are not members of your group of friends? Do you treat outsiders differently than insiders?


B. Meet your enemy’s needs…

Ultimately, the word “love” can be defined as “meeting needs.” When you love someone else, you place their needs and desires ahead of your own needs and desires. God has modeled this for us in the way he sends sunshine and rain to support life and the way he sent his only Son to die on the cross for our sins. The Apostle Paul said in Romans 12: 20, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

We are not capable of causing the sun to shine or the rain to fall. We cannot provide forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. However, we can meet basic physical needs and share the life-changing story of the Gospel with anyone in need…including those we count as enemies.


C. Pray for your enemy…

In verse 44, Jesus said we should pray for our enemies who persecute us. Let me offer a couple of suggestions about praying for your enemies. Yes, you should pray for your enemies by name. No, you should not do this during the offertory prayer. Pray in private for your enemies, and don’t put this on a public prayer list.

Second, I don’t believe Jesus intended for us to pray for our enemies to experience calamity. Sure, all he said was to pray. And you can keep the letter of the law by praying for your enemies to be killed. There are at least two pastors who have gained notoriety for praying for Barack Obama’s death. This was not Jesus’ intent. When you pray, pray for God’s blessings. Pray continuously. You will discover that your attitude changes as you keep on praying.


V. Conclusion: Be Perfect as God Is Perfect.

The final statement Jesus made is a command to be perfect. Another way to understand the word “perfect” is “mature” or “complete.” In the context, it seems that Jesus is calling us to have the same kind of perfect, mature or complete love for others that God himself has demonstrated.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is known for saying “Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”[1] However true this statement might be, Jesus never promised that love would transform enemies into friends. In fact, the opposite may happen. Love may bring out the worst behavior from our enemies. But we weren’t commanded to make everyone our friends. We were commanded to love with no ulterior motive. The true test of our faith is the way we treat people whom we are naturally inclined to hate.

Christians are to reflect the character of God in our love. We are called to love what God loves and hate what God hates. God loves people and hates sin.



[1] http://www.martinlutherkingjrdayeveryday.com/Martin-Luther-King/Dr-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Day-Products-Famous-MLK-Quotes-Love-Only-Force-Capable-Transforming-Enemy-Into-Friend.htm