So begins our next
distinct section of the Sermon on the Mount, and since it’s a lengthy one, I
won’t reproduce it here in its entirety but simply link to the relevant
“paragraphs” or “subsections” for convenience.
I’m going to need to
make a few general comments about this section before diving into its
subsections individually, because they have so much in common.
There are six of these,
a number which in scripture makes me go “Hmm ...”
Numbered, Weighed ...
I’m not big on reading
too much into the use of numbers, but you can’t make your way through the Bible
without noticing that select numbers (three, seven, twelve and forty, for
starters) are repeatedly associated with specific events or themes.
Bible scholars say six is the number of mankind. Mankind was created on the sixth day. Under the Law of Moses, men are appointed six days to labor. The
sixth of the Ten Commandments is a prohibition against murdering one’s
fellow men. Six hours of suffering on a cross by the Perfect Man atoned for the sins of mankind once
and for all. The number of the Beast of Revelation is 666, and it is said to be “the number of man”, or “a man”.
Meaningful? You tell me.
Short of the Mark
In his own strength, mankind always falls
short. In Joshua 6, the people of Israel march around the besieged city of
Jericho for six straight days, and nothing happens. On the
seventh day, God knocks down the city walls for
them before a single arrow can be notched or a single sword unsheathed.
Suggestive? Possibly.
Like I say, I don’t read too much into numbers. But there are six of these ‘It
was saids’, every one of which falls short in some way of God’s will for those
who love him and desire to be subjects of his kingdom.
Commonalities
The formal design of verses 21 through 48 is obvious to anyone who recognizes patterns, likes poetry or is familiar with the rhythms of formal oratory. All but one of these ‘It
was saids’ are preceded by the words “You have heard
that”, the subsection on divorce being the sole exception. All six are followed
shortly by the words “But I say to you,” followed by the Lord’s restatement of a
societal principle found either in the Law of Moses or in a modified form in
the teaching of the rabbis. In every case the Lord’s restatement hews to the
spirit of the Law rather than the letter, and ups God’s standard to the point
of near-impossibility.
Hence the “falling short”. Perhaps.
I’m not sure these six restatements are
necessarily exhaustive. There remains plenty of material in the Law of Moses
that could potentially be reframed to show its spiritual import and intended
lessons more clearly. Had the Lord done so, it’s likely the Sermon would have
been thirty chapters long instead of three. What Jesus said is sufficient,
obviously; but the commonalities between the subsections seem to suggest a
similar attitude toward other areas of the Law would not be out of keeping with
the kingdom spirit.
The Kingdom Spirit
The six ‘It was saids’ relate to the following subjects:
1. | Anger | Matthew 5:21-26 | |
2. | Lust | Matthew 5:27-30 | |
3. | Divorce | Matthew 5:31-32 | |
4. | Oath-taking | Matthew 5:33-37 | |
5. | Retaliation | Matthew 5:38-42 | |
6. | Love | Matthew 5:43-48 |
In the first two instances, as with verses 17 through 20, failure to meet the Lord’s
kingdom standard puts the legalist in danger of what looks an awful lot like
eternal damnation. Those who insist on the Law as their means of justification
before God find themselves in serious peril: “Whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment”, “Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the
council”, “Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the Gehenna of fire” and “It is better that you
lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”
Ouch. No kidding.
The
View from Down the Road
The thoughtful follower of Christ today recognizes he is coming to these instructions from the distance of a couple thousand years, and tries to puzzle out the best approach. Some consider the Sermon a kind of template for Christian living. Carl Vaught says most believers think the Sermon on the Mount sets forth the “central tenets of Christian discipleship”.
But viewing the Sermon as essentially Christian can be a dangerous undertaking. Not to our salvation, which is as rock-solid as the Father’s evaluation of the worth of his own beloved Son (I am assuming genuine, works-producing belief here, not merely verbal assent to a series of propositions about God), but to our assurance of salvation. That can be a touchy thing, very much subject to our emotions and current subjective assessment of our own spiritual state.
Picture, for instance, the Christian who is angry with his brother. Is he in danger of the fires of hell? Of course not. His emotions will do what they will do, and as he confesses his sin to his Father in heaven and asks for parental forgiveness, will dissipate and ultimately become irrelevant to his spiritual condition. He knows he is wrong, and the Spirit of Christ within him prompts him toward confession and forgiveness. A momentary weakness in execution has no bearing on his justification before God, which stands on the basis of his Saviour’s perfect sacrifice, not his own temporary and shabby response to it.
Plain Words and Explanations
I am not attempting here to explain away the plain words of the Lord Jesus on the Mount. But they were spoken under the Old Covenant to a people attempting to approach God on the basis of legal righteousness. The Christian does not approach God that way. We only call him “Christian” in the first place because he has appropriated the once-for-all sacrifice of Calvary, and has no interest in attempting to justify himself by good deeds and law-keeping.
There are certainly
lessons in the Sermon that the Christian can and should learn about the sort of conduct God
loves and hates. But it is useful to recognize that the threats of eternal
torment we encounter in this passage are directed against those who would be
inclined to blithely condemn others for failing to keep the Law of Moses, all the while missing the obvious: that the Law condemns everyone
under it alike.
They are Jewish words
for Jewish ears designed to change the way that Jews thought about their law
and their history.
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