Sermon on the Mount (6) – Righteousness Beyond That of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law (2) (Matthew 5:33-48)

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

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The key point of Matthew 5:17-20 is: Our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Jesus said that he came to fulfill the Law, meaning Jesus came to demonstrate the true meaning of the Law. The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law added traditions to the Law. The Law + Traditions is the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, as a result, God’s Law lost its intended meaning. Jesus gave five examples to explain the point: (1.) about murder v.21-26 (2.) about adultery and divorce v.27-32. Today, we would like to study the other three examples: about taking oaths in verses 33-37; about an eye for an eye in verses 38-42, and about loving one’s enemies in verses 43-47.

I. On Taking Oaths v.33-37

This passage of Scripture seeks to teach us one main point: honesty in everything we do. This is not just about taking oaths. Some people explain this passage literally and say: Christians should not make any oaths at all. They cannot swear even in courts of law. However, these people forget that even the Lord swore and made oaths.

Psalm 89:35 “Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness – and I will not lie to David.” The Bible also allowed oaths, Deuteronomy 10:20 “Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name.” The main issue is not taking oaths or not, but honesty. In Jesus’ time, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law loved to play with words. They said: If you swear by Jerusalem, then you are bound by your oath. But Jesus said, “Do not swear at all if you cannot keep your promises. For you cannot make even one hair white or black. Your oaths will simply ensnare you. Your oaths will entrap you and turn you into a dishonest person.

Married couples in our midst, when you got married, did you sign a contract? A contract is a form of oath. You say: Whatever happens, in riches or in poverty, in health or sickness, I will always stay by your side. Did you think you could carelessly say that? Of course not. This is an oath.

But people nowadays are too careless, they seek divorce or separate for the flimsiest reason. Someday, these people will have to face the Lord’s judgment, because what they have uttered have become their own traps. Jesus told us a secret: verse 37 “Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” It is very simple, let a yes be a yes and let a no be a no. This is the distinction between a truth and a lie. The truth is very narrow, if it is a yes it is a yes, if it is a no it is a no. However, a lie can be very broad, a yes can become a no, and a no can become a yes.

The truth is the truth, you cannot add to it nor take from it. No matter where you are in the world, there is only one version of it. That is why truth is very narrow as oppose to a lie. A lie is broad, a lie can have different versions. With the truth, there is only one edition, no matter where you are, no contradiction can come out. However, because a lie has many different editions, many contradictions will come up; in the end, no one would believe it. We must speak truth but do not make oaths.

There is another meaning to oaths, that is, we invoke a higher authority to prove the truth of our words. When you speak to someone and he refuses to believe you, you will say: I swear this is true. If you often need to do this, you are pitiable. It means no one believes you unless you swear. Just like some parents, if they do not raise their voices, their children will not listen to them. That is so pitiful! We must establish our integrity. May the Lord forgive us our lies in the past; from this day on, let us learn to be truthful people.

II. An Eye for an Eye V.38-42

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth comes from the teaching in Exodus 21:24. But we must understand that the purpose of this teaching was to prevent a bad situation from turning worse. Our hearts are evil, especially when we seek revenge. If someone injured one of your eyes, you would want to avenge yourself by taking his hand; if he hurts your hand, you want to take his head. Consequently, the cycle to settle scores gets worse and worse, so the Lord had to lay down a regulation -an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

But we understand that this rule is to not to be executed by any individual, but by the nation. This is the first thing we must understand. No one can seek revenge on his own. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth must be observed under the rules of the nation. Yet, Jesus teaches a new standard, “But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” What is Jesus saying here?

Non-Christians often use this verse to taunt Christians: If I hit your right cheek, you should give me your left cheek, too. If I hit you with a stone, then you must give me bread. If I want something from you, you must give it to me. I tell you, if you do this, people will take you for a fool. The central thought of this passage is: willingness to give up our rights. For Christ’s sake, we must be willing to give up our rights to our money, our time, our material possessions. Originally, we have a right to all these, but for the Lord, we become willing to lay them down. This is the way of the cross. Jesus teaches us that we must learn to give up our own rights for the sake of the Lord.

When we see others in need, oftentimes, we would do our best to help, whether it’s money, material things or our time. Most of us are very willing to help. But many times, it angers us when people take advantage of our kindness and compassion. This is what we cannot stand, isn’t it? When we see so-called Christians take advantage of Christian love, we become so angry. Some people would come to church and ask for help. They would narrate a sad story, making us unable to bear not helping them. But when we are willing to help, may the Lord also give us discernment and wisdom.

One time a man came into the church. He said he had nothing to eat and asked us for some money to buy food. One of my coworkers said, “Good, I will buy you food but you have to work. Please wash the church vans first.” Later on, I asked this coworker, “What happened?” She said, “He left.” I believe my coworker was right. He who does not work must not eat. We had all been deceived before, but may the Lord help us, may we not lose our hearts of compassion and willingness to help just because we had been tricked before. I’d rather be duped than lose my love and compassion for my fellowmen. Jesus said: Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

III. On Love for Enemies V.43-47

V.43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ To hate your enemy is not the Bible’s teaching. No such verse can be found in the whole Old Testament. This is something that the Pharisees had added to God’s Law. Love your neighbor – for them, not only did neighbor meant only the Jews, it was narrowed down to only the people they love. Towards un-loveable people, such us the tax collectors, they showed no love. All of us would agree that loveable people are easy to love, because they are loveable; but it is a real challenge to love un-loveable people.

Jesus said love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? During Jesus’ time, the tax collectors represented sinners, they were traitors of their nation, they were most hated by the Jews. Jesus said even the tax collectors had their own friends, people they love. If I love only those who love me, what is the difference between me and the tax collectors?

Jesus’ words truly hit the nail on the head. You may think that he is but using high sounding words, for how can we pray for those who persecute us, how can we love our enemies? But no, Jesus truly lived this out in his life. He became our example. When he was nailed to the cross, when he suffered great injustice, he said in a loud voice: Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.

It is so easy for us to persecute a person, to criticize, to find fault with a man, but how difficult to forgive, to find the good in a man. Yet, this is not impossible. The secret is employing the right kind of perspective. There is a kind of lens called a binocular. You can see far-off things with it, but have you ever realized that binoculars have two sides? From one end, you can bring near and see clearly things that are far. But with the other end, you can make the view nearby look far, making it unclear. If you want to magnify others’ faults, you can surely see them clearly. But if you minimize others’ faults, you will realize these people are not all that bad.

Jesus talks of two different standards in this passage: One is the standard of today’s society – if you treat me well, I will love you. If you are loveable, I will love you. The other is the Heavenly Father’s standard – if you mistreat me, I will nevertheless love you. You are un-loveable, I will still love you. O Church! Our faith can only influence the world when people see its reality in our lives. Jesus said: You are the light of the world; you are the salt of the earth. We must fulfill our roles as light and salt. Do not allow the world’s standards to influence us. For the Lord, we must live a tall standard because we are children of the Heavenly Father. We must seek to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. This must be our lifelong pursuit.

In April 19, 2009, the Miss America Pageant was held in Las Vegas. There were 50 candidates from the whole United States. Miss California, Carrie Prejean, was a frontrunner in the pageant. On the night of the pageant, judge Perez Hilton, who is gay, asked her the question: “Do you agree that gay marriage should be legalized, yes or no, why?” Carrie was a Christian. She knew that if she said no, Hilton will surely oppose her, if she said yes, then she would be untrue to her beliefs.

In the end, she said: “We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that’s how I was raised.” When she gave this answer, Hilton showed disappointment, and right there, many in the audience booed her although there were also those who applauded and supported her answer. Hilton gave her no points and as a result Carrie came in only second. After the event, when she was interviewed, Carrie said: “By having to answer that question in front of a national audience, God was testing my character and faith. I’m glad I stayed true to myself.” She said, “When I heard the question from Hilton, I knew if I told the truth, I would lose the Miss USA title. I had spoken from my heart, from my beliefs, and for my God. It was more important to me to be biblically correct than politically correct.”

We must be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. May the Lord help us to live out our faith concretely! It is indeed difficult to love our enemies. It is impossible for us, but let us allow God’s love to fill us that we may be able to love others with his love. Let us pray!