You have heard, but I tell you

You have heard... but I tell you...

Jesus teaches on: Divorce, Vows, Retaliation, and Loving Enemies

Matthew 5:31-48

1. Back in V20, Jesus introduces a righteousness that surpasses that of the pharisees and sadducees. He then launches into this pattern of “you have heard... but I tell you...” to explain what that looks like. He talked about Anger and Lust, and now moves on to talk about Divorce, keeping your Vows, Retaliation, and Loving Enemies.

Jesus on Divorce

2. It has been said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce”: In Jesus’ day, many people interpreted the Mosaic permission for divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1) as granting virtually any reason as grounds for divorce. Some rabbis taught this even extended to allowing a man to divorce his wife if she burnt his breakfast.
3. “Moses insisted upon ‘a writing of divorcement,’ that angry passions might have time to cool and that the separation, if it must come, might be performed with deliberation and legal formality. The requirement of a writing was to a certain degree a check upon an evil habit, which was so ingrained in the people that to refuse it altogether would have been useless, and would only have created another crime.”
• Jesus explains this further in Matt 19:8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
4. In that time, the permissible grounds for divorce were debated:  School of Shammai: “Restricted the ‘some indecency’ of Deuteronomy 24:1 to refer only to a sexual misdemeanour authenticated by witnesses.” School of Hillel: “Reputedly took it of any cause of complaint, even including burning the dinner.”
5. Whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality: Jesus plainly picks a winner in this argument. This emphasis of Jesus on the permanency of marriage and the wrong of unjustified divorce went against the thinking of many in both the Jewish and the Gentile cultures (and American too!).
6. Causes her to commit adultery: An illegitimate divorce gives place to adultery because God doesn’t recognize the divorce, and sees a new relationship as bigamous. It is possible for a person to have a divorce that is recognized by the state, but not by God. If that person goes on to marry someone else, God considers that relationship adultery because He sees them as still married.

What does the culture say about divorce? What does the church say?

What about abuse? or abuse of kids? Is that an ok exception? (see attached)

How should we (as believers) support the marriages of our brothers/sisters?

Jesus on Keeping Vows

7. You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely”: The scribes and Pharisees had twisted the law You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain (Exodus 20:7) to permit taking virtually every other name in a false oath
8. Do not swear at all: Jesus reminds us that God is part of every oath anyway; if you swear by heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or even your head, you swear by God - and your oath must be honored.
• “Again an unqualified statement, to be taken not in the letter as a new law, but in the spirit as inculcating such a love of truth that so far as we are concerned there shall be no need of oaths.” (Bruce)
9. But let your “Yes” be “Yes”: Having to swear or make oaths betrays the weakness of your word. It demonstrates that there is not enough weight in your own character to confirm your words.
10. Some have taken this word of Jesus to be more than an emphasis on truth-telling and honesty to be an absolute prohibition of all oaths. This is misguided, because oaths are permitted under certain circumstances, as long as they are not abused and used as a cover for deception. God Himself swears oaths: Hebrews 6:13 and Luke 1:73. Jesus spoke under oath in a court: Matthew 26:63-64.

What forms of lying are socially acceptable?

What ways do we compromise our honest reputation?

What should we do about that?

Jesus on Retaliation

11. You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”: The Mosaic law did teach an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Exodus 21:24). But over time religious teachers moved this command out of its proper sphere (a principle limiting retribution for the civil government) and put it in the wrong sphere (as an obligation in personal relationships).
12. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also: Here, Jesus presents the fullness of the eye for an eye law, and how its idea of limiting revenge extends into the principle of accepting certain evils against one’s self.
13. When a person insults us (slaps you on the right cheek) we want to give them back what they gave to us, plus more. Jesus said we should patiently bear such insults and offences, and not resist an evil person who insults us this way. Instead, we trust God to defend us. Ancient Jewish writings say that striking someone with the back of the hand – a severe insult – was punishable by a very heavy fine. (it’s related to the cultural left-hand cleanup after elimination. Ewww!)
14. It is wrong to think Jesus means evil should never be resisted. Jesus demonstrated with His life that evil should and must be resisted, such as when He turned tables in the temple.
• “Jesus is here saying that the true Christian has learned to resent no insult and to seek retaliation for no slight.” (Barclay) Remember what we learned about the Meekness of Moses.
• It is wrong to think that Jesus means a physical attack cannot be resisted or defended. When Jesus speaks of a slap on your right cheek, it was culturally understood as a deep insult, not a physical attack. Jesus does not mean that if someone hits across the right side of our head with a baseball bat, we should allow them to then hit the left side.
15. It is also wrong to think Jesus means that there is no place for punishment or retribution in society. Jesus here speaks to personal relationships, and not to the proper functions of government in restraining evil (Romans 13:1-4). I must turn my cheek when I am personally insulted, but the government has a responsibility to restrain the evil man from physical assault.
16. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also: Under the Law of Moses, the outer cloak was something that could not be taken from someone(lest they freeze to death). (Exodus 22:26; Deuteronomy 24:13)
17. “Yet even in a country where justice can be had, We are not to resort to law for every personal wrong. We should rather endure to be put upon than be forever crying out, ‘I’ll bring an action.’” (Spurgeon)
18. Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two: Positively, we are told to take command of evil impositions by making a deliberate choice to give more than we are required.
• At that time, Judea was under Roman military occupation. Under military law, any Roman soldier might command a Jew to carry his soldier’s pack for one mile - but only one mile. Jesus here says, “go beyond the one mile required by law and give another mile out of a free choice of love.” This is how we transform an attempt to manipulate us into a free act of love.
19. Give to him who asks of you: The only limit to this kind of sacrifice is the limit that love itself will impose. It isn’t loving to give into someone’s manipulation without our transforming it into a free act of love. It isn’t always loving to give or to not resist.
20. We might say that Paul repeated this idea of Jesus: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)

What forms of retaliation are socially acceptable?

In which areas are you most tempted to retaliate?

How can we resist retaliating when others treat us badly?

Jesus on Loving Enemies

1. The Mosaic Law commanded you shall love your neighbor (Leviticus 19:18). teachers in the days of Jesus had added an opposite: an equal obligation to hate your enemy.

• Bonus Question: How did Jesus define Neighbors? (Luke 10:29)

2. Instead, Jesus reminds that in the sense God means it, all people are our neighbors, even our enemies. To truly fulfill this law, we must love, bless, do good and pray for our enemies - not only our friends.
3. We are to respond to them in love, trusting that God will protect our cause and destroy our enemies (meekness) in the best way possible, by transforming them into our friends.
4. Sons of your Father in heaven: In doing this, we are imitating God, who shows love towards His enemies, by sending rain on the just and on the unjust. (again, God revealing his character through creation, so we are without excuse)
• Why does God do this? Why doesn’t he just bless the deserving (like ME)?

5. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?
• The world says someone is “good” if they return good for good. (love friends and hate enemies). Following Jesus’ call to love enemies will shine as a strong contrast; a light in the darkness (if you will).
6. More should be expected from Christians than others:

• They claim to be renewed, repentant, and redeemed by Jesus Christ.
• They have a power that others do not have; they can do all things through Christ who strengthens them. They have the Spirit of God dwelling within them.

Some Questions:

Who are our enemies? for real?

How do we show hate for them?

What can we do to show love to them?

“Be Perfect as your heavenly father is perfect”

1. How is this even possible? There is only one man who has lived like this: Jesus Christ. What about the rest of us? Are we left out of the Kingdom of God?
2. We see that in this section Jesus was not primarily seeking to show what God requires of the Christian in his daily life. True, Jesus has revealed God’s ultimate standard, and we must take it to heart. But His primary intent was to say, “If you want to be righteous by the law, you must keep the whole law, internal and external - that is, you must be perfect.”
3. What did Paul say in Romans 3:21-22

What is our current relation to the law?

4. Focusing on the command to love God and our neighbor, Jesus explained the law (Matthew 22:37-40). What did Paul write in 1 Timothy 1:5?

What does Jesus mean by be perfect? How is that possible?