Introduction
I’ll
be completely honest with you—it’s hard being a Christian. I’m not talking
about believing in Jesus—that’s
simple. I’m talking about following
Jesus. I don’t want to shock you but not everyone likes what I have to say! I
know! Crazy right {read: sarcasm}?
They insist that being a Christian should be very simple and it’s people like
me who drive people away from God because I make it too difficult. But I’d like
to address this particular criticism, if possible, by saying that I have
included, at the top of the web page, what I believe is God’s message to each
of us. It’s a very loose paraphrase of John 3:16 which I’ve included
specifically as a paraphrase in order to make God’s message of salvation as
simple as possible. However, I am more convinced than ever that my job is to
help you move beyond the message of salvation and walk with you on the path of
being a faithful follower of Jesus. As a pastor, I am compelled to challenge
you to join me on the journey of faith that only begins when we accept Christ.
“The spiritual leader’s task is to move people from where they are to where God
wants them to be.”[1]
And that's the objective of my teachings (cf.
2 Peter 3:15-18). There’s a popular church strategy being adopted here in
America that has as it’s objective to create an environment where people can
“bump” into Jesus. That’s a quaint sentiment and maybe something you’d see on a
bumper sticker or in a greeting card but let’s not be naïve, what pastors who
adopt this strategy are saying is: “I’m afraid to take you by the hand and lead
you into the presence of Jesus because you may not like what He has to say and
then you’ll blame me and stop coming to my church.” Is an encounter with Jesus
supposed to be accidental or intentional? Well it certainly can be accidental
but, more often, the Bible is replete with story after story of people who have
been called or confronted by Jesus that have been very intentional about bringing
others to meet Jesus—Philip brings his brother Nathanael (Jn. 1:45-46), The
Samaritan woman brings her whole town (Jn. 4:28-30), and some men tear a hole
in the roof of a house to lower their lame friend down into the presence of
Jesus (Lk. 5:17:20). As you can see time and again in Scripture, there is an
intentionality—a trajectory—to a person’s faith. Faith is not some abstract, one-time
task that a person does and then they’re done and can check it off their
“to-do” list. Faith is either active and growing or it’s stagnant and dying.
Following Jesus is the ongoing process of being in a dynamic relationship with
the most important person in your life.
But in Following Jesus—Simple Doesn’t Mean Easy.
On the one hand Jesus says that all we have to do is believe in Him and we will
be saved and on the other hand He says we must take up take up our cross and
follow Him. Or, we can simply call on Him and He will be there to give us all
we need but then we must be prepared to forsake all to follow Him. If you think
about it, this dichotomy is the essence of Jesus-the simple faith of a child
and the difficulty of faith that may lead to death. Nowhere is this dichotomy
more obvious than in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. The sermon spans chapters 5
through 7 of Matthew’s gospel. However, for the purposes of this particular
teaching, a reading of chapter 5 will serve to make my point with perfect
clarity. Let’s take a look at what it says there.
Subject Text
Matthew 5
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a
mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to
teach them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they
will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for
they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons
of God. 10 Blessed
are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven
11
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely
say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in
heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses
its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city on
a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a
lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives
light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your
light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your
Father in heaven.
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 I tell you the truth, until
heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a
pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
19 Anyone who breaks 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 practices and teaches these commands will be
called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses
that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter
the kingdom of heaven.
21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long
ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will
be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is
answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger
of the fire of hell. 23 “Therefore,
if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother
has something against you, 24 leave
your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother;
then come and offer your gift. 25 “Settle
matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you
are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the
judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you
will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit
adultery.’ 28 But I
tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart. 29 If
your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown
into hell. 30 And if
your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must
give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except
for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who
marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people
long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the
Lord.’ 34 But I tell
you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is
his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your
head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your ‘Yes’ be
‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and
tooth for tooth.’
39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If
someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue
you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you to go
one mile, go with him two miles. 42
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one
who wants to borrow from you.
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.’ 44 But
I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your
Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends
rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing
more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is
perfect.
Context
The
people lived under the guidance of the religious leaders who were the sole
purveyors of God’s instructions for holy living and it was serious business. We
get lost in the context of our own culture where we can disagree and oppose our
religious leaders and life goes on pretty much as normal. But this wasn’t the
case during the time of Jesus. The religious leaders had tremendous power and
influence over the people. The average person had little recourse against the
religious leaders. The way they interpreted the Scriptures established the
rules for living in community. The religious leaders interpreted the Scriptures
very narrowly and ruled the people in accordance with the Scriptures as though
they were a strict legal instrument. But this was not Jesus’ way. Instead,
Jesus wanted to introduce the people to God’s word in the spirit that it was
given to them—as a means to be in relationship with God and with others. The
way of the religious leaders was complex because of its many intricacies but it
was easy because it did not require relationship with God or with people just
obedience to the rules. Jesus’ way was different, it was so simple but it
wasn’t easy because it required relationship with God through Him and
relationship with other people.
Text Analysis
The chapter can generally be broken
down into 4 sections:
We find what is
commonly described as the “Beatitudes” in vv. 1-12. The verses demonstrate God’s
heart for justice and mercy. They are the hope of all those who are oppressed,
persecuted and faithful. They contain the promise of God’s reward. They answer
the question: “What’s in it for me?” More importantly, “The upshot of the
Beatitudes is a complete inversion of the attitude known in our culture as
‘machismo.’ In fact, this attitude is not limited to a particular culture but
characterizes humanity’s self-centered, self-arrogating pride which invariably
seeks personal security and survival above the good of others. We are enabled
to invert these natural, worldly values only when we recognize that God will in
turn invert our marginalized status and grant eternal compensation.”[2]
A transition in
Jesus teaching in this chapter takes place in vv. 13-16. Jesus goes from the
end reward of perseverance and faith in the previous verses to the purpose of
our faith in these verses. God calls us to be salt and light to the world so
that others will come to know him through the example of our lives. V. 16 is
clear that our faith is intended to be an active faith so that people will see
our “good deeds” and thereby praise God. There is certainly a personal
component to our faith but it was never intended to be specifically private.
Instead, our faith is intended to be lived out in full view of the public as a
signpost pointing the way to God. Otherwise, “Just as tasteless salt lacks
value to the person who uses it, so does a professed disciple without genuine
commitment prove valueless for the work of the kingdom.”[3]
Jesus is making
the proclamation, in vv. 17-20, that He is the fulfillment of all the things
spoken of by the Prophets about the coming Messiah and that He alone is the
perfect fulfillment of all the Laws. Jesus makes it clear that he is not
abolishing the Law but has fulfilled it. “Jesus has come to show forth the
true, transcendent meaning of the law by reaffirming it without repeating
it...Matthew’s Jesus is the ultimate goal of the law and the prophets, the one
to whom they point. His mission of kingdom word and deed fulfills the ethical
standards and eschatological promises of the law and the prophets. Thus he
becomes the sole authoritative teacher of the law, and his interpretations take
on the character of new law for his disciples. His teachings are not brand new
in the sense of having no root in the Hebrew Bible but new in the sense of
transcending the traditional understanding of the law promulgated by the
religious leaders.”[4]
V. 21—“Do not murder, and anyone
who murders will be subject to judgment.”
V. 27—“Do not commit adultery.”
V. 31—“Anyone who divorces his wife
must give her a certificate of divorce.”
V. 33—“Do not break your oath, but
keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.”
V. 38—“Eye for eye, and tooth for
tooth.”
V. 43—“Love your neighbor and hate
your enemy.”
Not Easy
V. 22—“But anyone who says, ‘You
fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
V. 28—“But I tell you that anyone
who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his
heart.”
V. 32—“But I tell you that anyone
who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become
an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”
Vv. 34-37—“But it tell you, Do not swear
at all...Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’”
V. 44—“But I tell you: Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
“By means of six
bold antitheses representing the teaching of Jesus, Matthew now contrasts
Jesus’ exposition of the true and ultimate meaning of the Torah with the more
common, rabbinic understandings of the commandments. In this way the
incomparable ethical demands of the kingdom are set forth.”[5]
Application
Jesus draws a
striking and sharp contrast between simple faith and faith that is not easy.
The Bible is clear that there is nothing we can do to earn our salvation. That
is absolutely true. However, the Bible is also clear that the life of faith
doesn’t end with the profession of our belief in Jesus. My oldest daughter says
that spiritual growth means taking responsibility for your faith. That means
taking responsibility for your behavior-to yourself, to others and to God. I
think she’s right on target. When we are in a love relationship with someone,
making a public pronouncement of that relationship and then never or hardly
doing anything else is simply not enough to maintain a healthy, nurturing and
growing relationship, if it can even be called a relationship at that point. It
requires action because “saying” I love you is simple but “doing” I love you is
not easy.
In seminary, we
learned that many biblical teachings are of the “both/and” variety as opposed
to the “either/or” variety. This would be one of those teachings. I'll sum up
the life of faith succinctly according to the Bible: Jesus died on a cross to
pay for our sins. You can be reconciled to God by accepting that Jesus did that
for you. If you’ve already done that then you can be assured that you will have
a place in eternity with God! However, until then, there is a cross that awaits
each of us as we follow Jesus’ instructions and example-all of them! For those
who are willing; those who are up to the challenge of Following Jesus—Simple Doesn’t Mean Jesus.
[1]
Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby, Spiritual
Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda, (Nashville, TN: B & H
Publishing Group, 2001), p. 20
[2]
Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew, The New
American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), pp. 101-102
[3]
Craig S. Keener Matthew, The IVP New
Testament Commentary Series, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997),
p. 109
[4]
David L. Turner, Matthew, Baker
Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker
Academic, 2008), p. 158
[5]
Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 1-13, Word
Biblical Commentary, (Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1993), p. 111
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