12.10.07
Sermon on the Mount Study: Week Two
I wrote out the notes for the second week of the study over the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Please read the previous article if you missed the first week before reading this article. Please contact me with any questions regarding the content.
Sermon on the Mount Study: Week Two
Overview – beatitudes define who a Christian is, the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM) say what a Christian does. The rest of the content of the SOTM will set the parameters and expectations of how a Christian should conduct itself. The focus will primarily be on the issue of righteousness in the rest of chapter 5.
- Vs. 13 - “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”
Salt in the Old Testament functioned as:
• Purifying agent
• Sign of God’s Covenant
• Fertilizer
• Preservative
The most common interpretation of this passage asserts that we, as salt, are the preservative of this decaying world (see Philippians 2:14-15 where Paul describes our world as crooked and decaying). Consider the connection of why Jesus calls Christians both “salt” and “light” in the same passage. I would assert that we are salt and preserve this decaying world by functioning as “light”.
- Vs. 14-16 - “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Again, we preserve this world by being light to it. Being light includes proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus which is a light to the world. Consider also how Christians serve in adoption of orphans, volunteering at soup kitchens, and other areas of service that non-Christians are not motivated to serve in. These actions also aid in the preservation of this decaying world.
Ultimately, we are to be light to this world by living as Jesus lived, by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus and by serving Jesus and obeying His commands because in the end Jesus is the true light of the world:
John 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus is the true light of the world but also He also commands us as His disciples to be the light of the world. I would assert that we can only be effective light to the world by imitating and proclaiming Jesus, the true light.
- Vs. 15 – “Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.”
Just as lighting a lamp and putting it under a basket will ruin its ability to function as light, engaging and concealing sin will destroy our witness and hinder us from being light to the world. Effectively, living in sin will dim our light and we become little more than a lighted lamp placed under a basket:
Luke 11:33-36
“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.”
Any area of darkness (sin) in our lives will taint our light and destroy our witness. Flee to Jesus with repentance and confession of your sin so that you may experience the complete joy of knowing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Only then can be joyful disciples of Jesus Christ and be salt and light to the world.
- Vs. 17-20 – “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. 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. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
The Old Testament law was given as a guardian to convict us of sin, provide a moral compass and lead us to God. Ultimately, we will see that the law should make us aware of our unrighteousness and make us flee to God to receive the righteous that comes from faith, not adherence to the law through our own good deeds:
Galatians 3:24
So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.
People always try to justify themselves before God by doing good deeds. God though does not see our righteousness as sufficient because He calls us to be completely holy (Leviticus 11:44, 1 Peter 1:15). The law should show us that even at our best our adherence to the law is incomplete because we cannot adhere to all of the law all the time and we are therefore unrighteous before God.
The Gospel is that Jesus Christ fulfilled the demands of the law and brings what we never could, righteousness! This is a highly disputed text but in essence we see that Jesus fulfilled the demands of the law and in Him the law has passed away and He is righteous. The Gospel tells us that we don’t need to be righteous by our own good deeds but instead to trust in Jesus to receive His righteousness by grace through faith. The law is about righteousness. It shows us the demands of God to make us aware of our own unrighteousness and to make us rely on the righteousness of God:
Romans 10:3-4
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
Luke 16:14-17
“The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void.”
This is a complex topic but understand that the law teaches us that we are unrighteous before God and can never inherit the blessing of the Kingdom of God in our unrighteous state. Jesus fulfilled the law and is the “end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4) so that we may be righteous before God. Our righteous comes not by good deeds and adherence to the law but instead by trusting in Jesus Christ in faith.
Verse 20 is integrally important to the remainder of the chapter. Jesus tells us that if we want to try and justify ourselves before God our righteousness must be greater than all human standards because the scribes and Pharisees are the essence of human “righteousness”. Consider the following verse that is similar to verse 20 but shows us that entrance into the Kingdom comes by faith in Jesus and not self-righteousness:
John 3:5
“Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
The remainder of the chapter will reference back to verse 20 where Jesus cites an Old Testament command of the law that people use to cite their own self-righteousness only to show them that it is not only outward acts that show adherence to the law but our thoughts, words and deeds that reflect the purity of the heart and our true unrighteous state before God. The remainder of the chapter is composed of six units where Jesus says “You have heard it said” and cites an OT law only to say “but I say to you” to show that we are truly unrighteous before God bringing us back to verse 20 to show us our state before God. This should make us rely on a savior who can be righteousness before God in our place.
- Vs. 21-26 - “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Verses 21-26 on murder and anger are the first of six units where Jesus re-defines the law by saying “you have heard it said… but I say to you”. Continue to remember the connection to verse 20 as we move on and remember our unrighteous state before God. All of these six units are to explain to us how great our righteous must be before we can even begin to claim to be righteous before God. This makes us realize our need for a redeemer who is Jesus Christ.
Verses 21-22 show us that we are not just called to just not do bad but instead that we should be holy in thought, word and deed. Our unrighteousness is shown by the nature of our hearts more so then our deeds because the deeds we commit simply reflect the nature of our heart:
Mark 7:14-22
And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
John tells us that to be angry with another is as good as murdering that person before the standards of God (1 John 3:15). We should not be satisfied with outward righteousness but instead seek complete righteousness to purify ourselves.
Matthew 18:7-9
“Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
Verses 23-26 mirror back to Matthew 5:9 where Jesus uses peacemakers as one of the Beatitudes. Jesus says that to be a peacemaker is a characteristic of being one of His disciples. This is important because we are one body of believers and we should reflect a unity of the body that is the bride of Christ. We should reconcile ourselves to others because God has reconciled us to Himself by forgiving us which should lead us to forgive others:
Matthew 18:21-35
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
It is important to note that we should try to make peace with our brothers as much as it depends on us. We should reconcile ourselves to others if we have wronged others or if others have wronged us as much as it depends on us. We ultimately cannot control the actions or emotions of another:
Romans 12:18
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Note: This is the end of the study for week two. Points to remember:
• We always try to justify ourselves before God by our deeds
• Even at our best our deeds fall short of the demands of God
• Jesus was righteous where we were unrighteous
• We can be righteous before God through faith in Jesus Christ
If you don’t know Jesus, repent of your sin and desire to justify yourself before God. Trust in His righteousness and love and trust Him as your Lord and Savior. He is our righteousness and apart from Him we remain under the wrath of God. Love Him so that your righteousness may be greater then the scribes and Pharisees to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.