on character (part 2 of 2)

the hard sayings of Jesus

introduction  

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death [...] Choose life [...] (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14).

We discovered last week that there is a specifically Christian character and lifestyle. I did not go into a lot of detail in describing that character and lifestyle in my sermon, but we did discover that way of life involves more than simply acting a certain way, but also involves a reordering of our desires as the basis for our behaviour.

It may come as a surprise, but everything we do has a basis in our desires. We may not recognise those desires coherently, but they exist as a fundamental component of our more basic nature.

After salvation, a person is introduced to an alternative way of living to that which he or she previously knew or experienced. This “Christian” character and lifestyle is vastly superior to and more inherently attractive than anything the world offers, despite the fact that the “patterns of this world” too easily distract and confuse us.

Nevertheless, both the Old and New Testaments highlight for us that there exists truly only two choices in our life: the right way and the way of sin. In the Old Testament, the right way of life is represented by the Ten Commandments, which we looked at, to a degree, last week in part one of this short series. Today, I would like us to consider Jesus’ own commentary on this issue.

I would like to pretend that he makes the choice and the path much easier to follow than the Ten Commandments. Unfortunately, the choice remains difficult for us because “the gate is narrow and the road is hard”.

Matthew 5:17-48

Despite the perspective of some, Jesus did not introduce a new Law of God to compete with the Ten Commandments. Rather, he entered into the debate regarding the method of interpreting the Law and applying the Law. His side of the debate is reflected in what we know today as “The Sermon on the Mount”.

¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore, whoever 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

³³“Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ ³⁴But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; ⁴⁰and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; ⁴¹and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. ⁴²Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

In vss. 17-20, Jesus is stating his hermeneutical principles, the guidelines he uses when he both reads and teaches the Law of God. Jesus states unequivocally that he is not destroying the Law or casting it aside (:17). Rather, his reflections on and articulation of the Law of God are their fullest and purest expression. He is not changing any aspect of the Law (:18). Indeed, he is upholding the virtue of following and of teaching the Law (:19). Yet, the standard represented in the Law is greater than the simple dissection and following of its rules (:20), typified by the Pharisees; our standard is the perfection of God (:48).

In this part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus discusses six representative commandments of the Law of God: on murder, adultery, divorce, perjury, retaliation, and the treatment of enemies. Since each reflect some aspect of broken relationships with others, we can then recognise that they are really interpretations of the commandment to love one’s neighbour (Leviticus 19:18), which was itself stated in vs. 43. Thus, we discover that the way to fulfil the Law of God is to love (Matthew 22:36-40); to do so is to be perfect (5:48).

To love is so important, Jesus tells us, that even our religious observance is secondary to God’s primary concern that we be in right relationship with our neighbours (:23-25; cf. 22:36-40). We will suffer the consequences of broken relationships (:26) and should never be the one at fault for a broken relationship (:32), but we can always come back later to participate in the sacraments.

It should be so important to us to not sin —to not contravene God’s law, Jesus tells us— that we are willing to do whatever it takes to avoid it, in any form and by any means (:29-30), even to the point of submitting ourselves to permanent, physical damage.

These fresh interpretations of the Law of God are intriguing, to say the least, and immensely challenging. Why would anyone want to put themselves through such rigour of thought, word, and action?

impossible, you say?

A life of suffering servanthood an impossible calling, you say? No way, we simply haven’t tried it yet, because it doesn’t sound like too much fun (John Howard Yoder).

While Jesus’ interpretations of the Law of God are sometimes thought of as his “hard sayings”, they are in no way intended only to highlight our sinfulness, nor to set-up a two-tier ethical system. Certainly, when we compare our present lifestyle to that which Jesus is describing, we will all fall inadequately short. We may try to justify ourselves by thinking that, perhaps, they are only meant for the saints.

The lifestyle promoted by Jesus appears hard, not because it is impossible, but because it’s dictates run counter to “the patterns of the world” and, thus, to our sinful nature. This point highlights that our desires are often not aligned with God’s will. Also, that we often don’t know what we actually want.

Herein lies the key to this series on the Christian character that I am presenting. How can we be deceived about our own desires? Where do our desires even come from? Our desires are best represented by our fantasies. Our fantasies constitute our desires and provide their coordinates, thus teaching us how to desire and what to desire.

For instance, I was given an iPod shuffle two Christmases ago. I was quite happy to finally have this entrée into the world of cool. Aside from that, it certainly does very well what it is supposed to do, and that is to play music.

Lately, however, the next generation of iPod shuffle has come out and it is so cute! I am no longer truly cool and I almost feel compelled to buy one, not because it does anything different than the one I have, but that it is the latest and greatest (plus, it really is quite cute).

Every single day, we are bombarded with all sorts of images, from all sorts of sources, trying to convince us that we need to be the kind of person that we could be if we only signed up for their service, bought their product, or travelled to their destination (who doesn’t want to solve life’s mysteries while swimming in the crystal-clear water which gently laps a beautiful beach?).

And make no mistake, you are what you buy! That is because brand-merchants know that their products appeal to certain values, not the values that you have necessarily, but the values that you want to be seen as having (could we be any more superficial?). This is why counterfeit clothing is so popular (champagne tastes on beer money, as some would say).

A fantasy is an internal image of the “best me” that I presently conceive. Those fantasies —whether self-generated or subtly reinforced by advertising— provide a focus for my self-identity, guiding where I will place my energies, to what I will commit, and how I will behave in the world.

Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps, for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be (William Hazlitt).

Thus, the internal war we experience is over our desires (Romans 7:15ff). Will we follow the “patterns of this world” or the pattern that Jesus typifies and promotes? Will we allow our desires to be dictated by “the machine” or by the Spirit of the Living God?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is telling us who we are to be; not who he thinks that we should want to be, but the kind of person that God intended us to be when he created us. This is a fundamental difference from the patterns of this world. The world begs your indulgence, encourages you to try something whose results are uncertain, although past and present experience is quite discouraging and downright horrifying. If you are not at all concerned by the state of the world and of people’s hearts around you, then this sermon will likely seem quite tedious and unnecessary.

The “hard sayings” of Jesus give us a way of identifying how we are not yet the people that God intended, but also provide a path whereby we may become the people that God intended. This is a gift of imagining how our lives can be so much better than they are. The results of that life are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). It bears no repeating that a lifestyle that has proven to yield such character within us is one in which it is worth investing. And even more so do the results of that lifestyle last for eternity.

conclusion & response

Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness [...] But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve [...] But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:14-15).

There is a choice set before each of us. It is not simply a choice of whether or not to believe that God exists and that he loves us. It is a choice for whether or not we are going to live according to that belief.

Our belief in God, and our continuing discovery of all that the Bible says about him and the world that we live in, radically calls into question the bases for our character and our lifestyle. We can either allow ourselves to be manipulated by a world that would increasingly demean us for its own ends, or we can allow the Holy Spirit to transform us by renewing our minds (Romans 12:2), so that we can live in this world the way that God always intended for us: that is to be so overwhelmed by his love that love becomes the guiding principle in every relationship that we have, whether with spouse, parent, sibling, coworker, playmate, neighbour next door or stranger on the street.

While I recognise that choice will require you to completely reorient your life (:1) —which will, initially, seem quite stressful and disorienting— ultimately there really is no choice. Abundant and eternal life is always the better option. With a little training and lots of practice, your desires can become aligned with God’s, and what you formerly thought of as an impossibility will become your everyday reality: you can live in and exemplify the perfect holiness of Jesus!

sermon delivered by Ian Forest-Jones
at Hurstville Church of Christ
on Sunday, 13 May 2007 at 10am
[email]

< back