Matthew 5 – 7
The reading today is one of those that you could clip the entire section and use it to discuss God. Jesus does his “sermon on the mount” and immediately starts with the “beatitudes.” For the “churched” this is a word we all understand, but it’s not something that most know. In a nutshell verse 3 – 11 start with “blessed are” and go into detail on an attribute God wants from us. Most think it’s a “B”-attitude since each verse starts with the letter B, but in actuality it is based on the Latin adjective beatus which means happy, fortunate, or blissful.
We could go on for hours on what each of these means and how we should apply them to our lives, but suffice that you should read them often and dwell on each and every one. As you move through chapter 5 we are asked to be “the salt of the earth” and we “are the light of the world.” Although seemingly simple these are difficult to actually do when you really think about it. We are to provide flavor to life and shine God through our actions. How many people have you seen professing Christ Sunday morning, yet living a dark life Sunday afternoon? Profess Jesus one day and then do shady business dealings the next. Hypocrisy is something Jesus want’s rooted from the church, so when we flavor and shine our light, there is no question on its source!
One of my favorite subjects is covered in verse 17 and 18:
17 (Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Some argue that Jesus fulfills the law on the cross and therefore the Law does not apply. I argue it on different terms, the Law will always apply to this world as it has before Christ, the difference is how we should view its edicts. See the Law is impossible to follow, as we saw with Israel, but it is there more as a guide than restrictions. The Jewish people got in trouble because they became legalistic about the Law. The Law is “fulfilled” when Jesus returns and not at His death, so technically it still applies. But again most is not a set of legalistic rules, but a guide to live a full and satisfying life.
Chapter 6 goes into the Lord’s Prayer, which is a model on how to pray. Before presenting the prayer, Jesus gives us “shy” people an out to pubic prayer by saying it should be done in private where no one else but you are God are involved! When you dig into the prayer we ask for forgiveness, but like we forgive others! Verse 14 and 15 expand on this:
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Oh how this tosses a monkey wrench into things! God will forgive us, but we get to set the standard on how it will happen. If we expect loving and pure forgiveness, we should do the same to others that have wronged us. Greg, from MSU, is an example I cannot fathom to understand, his son was murdered and after the trial he has forgiven the young man who killed his son. I can see by his actions with the killer’s family this was truly done, since he still visits him in jail and works with the family often. Could YOU do that? You know the answer deep in your heart!!
Much of 6 and 7 dive into outward versus inward sins, since many times the internal ones are far worse. I think Jesus focuses on these since many times we can outwardly look pure as the wind driven snow, yet if we let dark thought invade our being quickly a layer of soot will tarnish that snow. Where the mind goes the body eventually follows and this is no more highlighted than in a crash. More than once I have been racing and will have an accident happen in front only to get caught up in it because my focus left the racing line and was directed at the melee before me.
One time I remember the esses at Sears Point, the guy in front hit the ground and slid off the track. No biggie in most cases, except it was the “esses” which meant he exploded the hay bales off the track and ricocheted back into the racing line. Somehow my focus remained on the track, not the accident, and I somehow split the rider and the bike at 100mph! This highlights why Jesus is warning us about “mental attitude” sins, our bodies will eventually follow if we allow them to fester.
This is one of those sections where most of the words are in “red” (depending on your Bible) and should be read over and over. I can tell you how many times I read this sermon and have heard it preached, yet still I am amazed every time I read it. I pray you have the same experience I do reading the words of Jesus. Technically, whereas most of the Bible is “inspired” by God, Exodus 20 and the words in “red” are God’s talking directly to us! So read, learn and apply!!