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The Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity
Sermon on the Mount, 9th Sermon
September 1, 2002
NKJ Matthew 5:38 " You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth.' 39 "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever
slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 "If anyone wants
to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 "And
whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 "Give to him who asks
you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
TEXT: 38 " You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.'
This morning we continue in our examination of the lessons Jesus taught His 12
and the multitudes who followed Him to the mountaintop
Today’s lesson is a continuation of Jesus’ correcting the misinterpretations of
the Old Testament Law given by God to His people—the Jews
As in past weeks—we begin by reading the Old Testament
NKJ Exodus 21:20 " And if a man beats his male or female servant with a rod, so
that he dies under his hand, he shall surely be punished. 21 "Notwithstanding,
if he remains alive a day or two, he shall not be punished; for he is his
property. 22 " If men fight, and hurt a woman with child, so that she gives
birth prematurely, yet no harm follows, he shall surely be punished accordingly
as the woman's husband imposes on him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
23 "But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, 24 "eye for eye,
tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 "burn for burn, wound for
wound, stripe for stripe. 26 "If a man strikes the eye of his male or female
servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. 27
"And if he knocks out the tooth of his male or female servant, he shall let him
go free for the sake of his tooth. 28 " If an ox gores a man or a woman to
death, then the ox shall surely be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but
the owner of the ox shall be acquitted.
NKJ Leviticus 24:17 ' Whoever kills any man shall surely be put to death. 18
'Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, animal for animal. 19 'If a man
causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so shall it be done to him
-- 20 'fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has caused
disfigurement of a man, so shall it be done to him. 21 'And whoever kills an
animal shall restore it; but whoever kills a man shall be put to death. 22 'You
shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country; for
I am the LORD your God.' "
NKJ Deuteronomy 19:16 "If a false witness rises against any man to testify
against him of wrongdoing, 17 "then both men in the controversy shall stand
before the LORD, before the priests and the judges who serve in those days. 18
"And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a
false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, 19 "then you shall
do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the
evil from among you. 20 "And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter
they shall not again commit such evil among you. 21 "Your eye shall not pity:
life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for
foot.
After reading these three accounts of Scripture—it becomes obvious that God is
clearly speaking of civil law—and conducting that law through appropriate judges
and officials
The Jews were twisting these teachings of Scripture to an issue of individual
conduct—if someone does something to me—I can do likewise to them—and God says
so
After reviewing the Scriptures—it is clear that they were taking things out of
context
Let’s look at two more Old Testament readings—and reinforce the ideas that Jesus
is teaching His 12 and the multitudes on that mountain top
NKJ Proverbs 24:28 Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, For
would you deceive with your lips? 29 Do not say, "I will do to him just as he
has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work."
NKJ Leviticus 19:15 ' You shall do no injustice in judgment. You shall not be
partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty. In righteousness you
shall judge your neighbor. 16 'You shall not go about as a talebearer among your
people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the
LORD. 17 ' You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely
rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 'You shall not take
vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you
shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
God’s intent is clear—yet the Pharisees and the scribes continued to practice
and teach that revenge was theirs—and that God instructed them to such in His
Word
TEXT: 39 "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on
your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
As Jesus continues to teach us with some examples—let’s take a look at the
writing of Paul—a Pharisee—a Hebrew’s Hebrew—who wrote in his Epistle to the
Romans under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit
NKJ Romans 13:1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For
there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are
appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the
ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For
rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid
of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For
he is God's minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does
not bear the sword in vain; for he is God's minister, an avenger to execute
wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only
because of wrath but also for conscience' sake.
Civil justice is turned over to the government by God’s Word—revenge is not ours
to have—that is what Jesus is teaching the 12—the multitudes on the mountain—and
us Christians today
Now let’s look at the example set by our Lord Jesus—and learn from His deeds as
well as His words
How did Jesus act when He was wrongfully accused—and when He was physically
punished without cause?
He acted just as He would have us Christians act—He acted with love in His
heart—not with malice—not seeking revenge
NKJ John 18:22 And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood
by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "Do You answer the high
priest like that?" 23 Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness
of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?"
NKJ 1 Peter 2:20 For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults,
you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it
patiently, this is commendable before God. 21 For to this you were called,
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should
follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth";
23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did
not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;
Even as He hung on the cross dying for our sins—Jesus demonstrated the love in
His heart for the soldiers who had the job of executing Him
NKJ Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what
they do." And they divided His garments and cast lots.
TEXT: 40 "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your
cloak also.
This second example Jesus offers us is an unjustified civil suite—if they want
to take your shirt—offer them your jacket also
Jesus didn’t arbitrarily choose to use the example of a shirt and jacket—He
chose this example because they are discussed in the Old Testament Law
A poor man’s cloak was life-or-death—God gave very specific instructions
regarding the cloak
NKJ Exodus 22:25 " If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you,
you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.
26 "If you ever take your neighbor's garment as a pledge, you shall return it to
him before the sun goes down. 27 "For that is his only covering, it is his
garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries
to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.
NKJ Deuteronomy 24:10 " When you lend your brother anything, you shall not go
into his house to get his pledge. 11 "You shall stand outside, and the man to
whom you lend shall bring the pledge out to you. 12 "And if the man is poor, you
shall not keep his pledge overnight. 13 "You shall in any case return the pledge
to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and
bless you; and it shall be righteousness to you before the LORD your God.
Therefore—when Jesus says give them your cloak also—He is saying—if they need it
bad enough to lie—give them everything you have
TEXT: 41 "And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.
This third example refers to the law of the day regarding government couriers
similar to our postal workers
They had the authority to impress any man into service—they could direct you to
carry their burden for a distance of 1,000 paces—about 1680 yards—the defined
length of a Roman mile
These couriers could also press your animals into service—or take other
resources you have such as carts or anything he could use to complete his trip
Jesus says—don’t just go the mile—go another mile without grumbling or protest
Reflecting upon the 3 examples offered by Jesus on that mountain—we see a
pattern
If they
strike your cheek—offer the second cheek
If they sue
you for your shirt—offer you cloak also
If you are
impressed to walk a mile—offer to walk a second mile
The lesson is that when an injustice is done to us by others—the Christian
should go an extra step
This is Jesus’ example of a true disciple—one who understands the mastery over
their own heart
Harbor no ill-will—but truly love your neighbor—even an evil one
TEXT: 42 "Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do
not turn away.
This illustration differs from the other 3 in that it does not involve
doubling—also it involves a request rather than a demand
It is a reference to the Old Testament Law on giving
NKJ Leviticus 25:35 ' If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into
poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that
he may live with you. 36 'Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God,
that your brother may live with you.
Jesus wants to make sure that His disciples take care of the poor among them
But notice
the clarification we get from other Scripture on this subject
First an excerpt from Paul’s discussion of sharing with the less-fortunate
NKJ 2 Corinthians 8:13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you
burdened;
And, finally—Paul’s discussion on those who take advantage of our Christian
hearts and want to freeload off of us
NKJ 2 Thessalonians 3:6 But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not
according to the tradition which he received from us. 7 For you yourselves know
how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we
eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day,
that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have
authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. 10 For
even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work,
neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a
disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are
such we command and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in
quietness and eat their own bread. 13 But as for you, brethren, do not grow
weary in doing good.
Next week we will continue with our series on this beautiful sermon of our
Lord—and we will discuss in greater detail the loving of our enemies