WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.480 Well, please turn up Matthew chapter 5, the passage that we read earlier. 00:00:05.520 --> 00:00:06.580 ! Here's a question. 00:00:08.640 --> 00:00:14.359 Why was it virtually impossible not to believe in God in, say, 1500 in our Western society, 00:00:14.359 --> 00:00:20.480 ! while in 2000 many of us find this not only easy, but even inescapable. 00:00:22.719 --> 00:00:27.199 It's not my question, which is why the reference is to 2000. 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:33.399 It's a quote from the book by the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor in his vast book, 00:00:33.500 --> 00:00:34.399 A Secular Age. 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:41.700 At a basic level, it has to do with what modern Westerners find believable, what is plausible, 00:00:42.179 --> 00:00:48.060 what is the sort of thing that is just plain and obvious to us in our world. 00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:55.899 There aren't more religious options available today, but it does seem, and this is Charles 00:00:55.899 --> 00:01:01.799 Taylor's argument that unbelief has become the default. That is, it has become the thing that 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:08.180 people just fall into without really even thinking about it, because it seems like the most plausible 00:01:08.180 --> 00:01:14.400 way to live in the world that we live in. Now, Taylor's vast book unpicks some of the thinking 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:20.480 that has led to this point. It talks about our love affair with self and the individualism that frames 00:01:20.480 --> 00:01:26.159 our thinking. It talks about the way that we've made life, about the here and now, and what he 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:32.700 describes as disenchanting the world. That is, we've kind of cut ourselves off from anything that's above 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:37.880 us that we don't really understand or is mysterious to us. He speaks about living in a world that is 00:01:37.880 --> 00:01:45.140 disenchanted. But it is fair to say, I think, that our passage this evening is right up there 00:01:45.140 --> 00:01:54.239 when it comes to things that we think are impossible to believe. They're well-known bits of the Bible, but 00:01:54.239 --> 00:02:00.879 they sound like a fantasy. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 00:02:03.379 --> 00:02:11.819 Love your neighbors, love your enemies rather, and pray for those who persecute you. Love people who 00:02:11.819 --> 00:02:18.459 treat you really badly and pray for those who are doing it. How can anyone live like this? 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:25.159 Our culture, I think, we've got to a point in our culture where this kind of thing is said and they go 00:02:25.159 --> 00:02:35.099 complete fantasy. It's impossible. It might sound nice, but it's not realistic. It's not the real world. 00:02:35.099 --> 00:02:43.180 And yet, as we see here, Matthew chapter 5, it is the life of greater righteousness, 00:02:44.159 --> 00:02:49.379 the righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, wholehearted devotion 00:02:49.379 --> 00:02:56.759 that citizens of Christ's kingdom must embrace. So, we need to understand what he's saying. We need 00:02:56.759 --> 00:03:03.859 to understand how it is possible, and not only possible, but actually credible. And not only credible, 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:10.220 but what we see here, as I hope we've been seeing as we've been visiting these passages in this sermon 00:03:10.220 --> 00:03:15.880 over the time that we've been looking at it, is that here is a vision of life that is truly beautiful. 00:03:16.220 --> 00:03:24.860 It's not only possible. It isn't simply credible. It's beautiful. And as we embrace this, we live a 00:03:24.860 --> 00:03:31.300 beautiful life that says something to the world around us. That is what Jesus wants his followers to do. 00:03:31.300 --> 00:03:38.180 I've got two points this evening that fit with the two sections that we looked at. Jesus is calling 00:03:38.180 --> 00:03:45.900 us here, number one, to generosity that reaches beyond your rights. Generosity that reaches beyond 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:52.720 your rights. Verse 38, you've heard it said, you've heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth 00:03:52.720 --> 00:04:00.620 for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. Now, as we've discovered in this sort of 00:04:00.620 --> 00:04:06.300 greater righteousness section of the sermon, Jesus is quoting laws. You have heard it said, 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:12.379 and he goes back to the laws that they are taking. And here he's quoting Exodus 21-24, 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:20.259 Leviticus 24-20, and Deuteronomy 19-21. In summary, those are laws regarding punishment for wrongs. 00:04:20.259 --> 00:04:28.439 This law, kind of revisited in each of those passages, it was established to provide the 00:04:28.439 --> 00:04:36.120 principle for justice at the societal level. These were laws for society. It was given to govern legal 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:44.319 relationships, to control excesses, and to ensure that any punishment fit the crime. As such, its aim, 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:52.480 the law's aim was to limit violence and the pursuit of revenge. It was not given as a principle for 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:57.219 personal relationships, which is how the scribes and the Pharisees were using it. If someone wronged 00:04:57.219 --> 00:05:02.219 them, they would say, I have a legal right to revenge. It's in the law, an eye for an eye, you see? 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:09.680 This is the problem. It's not the command itself that's problematic. It's the use of the command 00:05:09.680 --> 00:05:16.199 in the right setting. The so-called lex talionis is a right and good principle for safeguarding society, 00:05:16.340 --> 00:05:22.759 that the punishment fits the crime. It's good for safeguarding society and upholding justice, 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:29.519 but we don't apply that law in personal relationships. So Jesus says, by contrast, 00:05:30.220 --> 00:05:35.040 they say an eye for an eye is okay in interpersonal relationships. He says, 39, 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:42.060 do not resist the one who is evil. Don't resist them. And the word resist here has the sense of 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:52.000 take to court. So he's saying that when you're wronged, don't insist on getting justice in your 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:59.060 personal relationships. The Christian, he's saying, shouldn't think about getting their own back 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:09.540 or even insisting on their rights. Jonathan Pennington in his book on the Sermon on the Mount 00:06:09.540 --> 00:06:15.379 says this, this law is good for society as a prevention of violence. It fights against people 00:06:15.379 --> 00:06:21.680 taking justice into their own hands. Jesus does not contradict this, but he offers the true heart-level 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:28.420 virtue that corresponds precisely with this command. As lust is to adultery and anger to murder, 00:06:28.420 --> 00:06:36.000 Jesus speaks to the heart matter. Do not be a vengeful, vigilante, self-justified distributor of 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:43.640 justice. You get that? Do not be a vengeful, vigilante, self-justified distributor of justice. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:48.720 There is a righteousness greater and more beautiful than self-justice, end quote. 00:06:51.700 --> 00:06:56.340 So what does that look like? What does the righteousness that is greater and more beautiful 00:06:56.339 --> 00:07:01.299 than self-justice look like? Well, he goes on to explain. That's what Jesus then teases out. 00:07:01.799 --> 00:07:06.319 What does the greater righteousness look like when challenges come our way? Well, he starts with 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:13.099 our dignity, verse 39. Our dignity. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 00:07:16.059 --> 00:07:20.339 When he mentions that, he's very specific. Do you notice when someone slaps you on the right 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:25.639 cheek? Why does he say that? Well, because he's referring to being slapped by the back of the hand. 00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:33.459 On the right cheek. It was an insult. It was a way of expressing disdain. And in the culture, 00:07:33.639 --> 00:07:39.240 it brought disgrace to the person. It was a way of disgracing them and disgracing their family as it 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:48.019 happens. So you could take the person who did this to you to court. Now that's important, just to be 00:07:48.019 --> 00:07:52.719 clear. Jesus is not saying if someone is abusing you that you should stand there and take it. 00:07:52.720 --> 00:07:57.360 If someone hits you, don't just let it happen because of this verse. 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:05.400 Jesus is talking about personal affront, not physical attack. He's talking about insult. He's 00:08:05.400 --> 00:08:12.820 not talking about physical violence. And his point is, when your dignity is assaulted, don't insist on 00:08:12.819 --> 00:08:22.920 your rights. Don't take them to court for that. Absorb the offense. In fact, allow them to offend you again. 00:08:23.300 --> 00:08:27.519 Someone humiliates you or slanders you, don't make them pay in court. That's the point. 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:34.600 Instead, extend a generosity of spirit that goes beyond your rights. 00:08:34.600 --> 00:08:42.460 Our dignity. Secondly, Jesus goes to our possessions. Verse 40 and verse 42. 00:08:42.940 --> 00:08:47.540 If anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 00:08:50.180 --> 00:08:56.759 Now, under Jewish law, you could sue someone for their inner garment, their tunic, but not their 00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:02.740 outer garment, their cloak. The cloak was supposed to be almost sacrosanct. It had a kind of 00:09:02.740 --> 00:09:11.639 a sense of the family or the name. You carried your name, as it were, in this garment. The cloak 00:09:11.639 --> 00:09:18.019 apparently could be taken as surety for borrowing, but it had to be returned at nightfall because it 00:09:18.019 --> 00:09:24.980 was also used as bed clothing as well as day clothing. The cloak was a very important thing, 00:09:24.980 --> 00:09:28.919 which is why you couldn't actually be sued for your cloak. And Jesus says, 00:09:28.919 --> 00:09:33.719 when you're sued for your tunic, don't just hand your tunic over, but give them your cloak as well. 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:43.339 Meet their demand with super generosity. Shock them. They're going for this. You go have it all. 00:09:43.759 --> 00:09:50.939 Take it all. It's the old preachers love it, don't they? The Les Miserables illustration. Old, 00:09:50.940 --> 00:09:59.680 what was his name? Jean Valjean. He steals the silver from the bishop, and the whole point is that 00:09:59.680 --> 00:10:03.900 he gets caught, and he's brought back by the gendarme, and the bishop greets him, and he says, 00:10:03.980 --> 00:10:11.300 oh, Jean, I'm glad to see you. You only took the candlesticks. Why didn't you take the—or you only 00:10:11.300 --> 00:10:16.260 took the forks. Why didn't you take the candlesticks as well? And it's a great illustration of grace, 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:25.480 isn't it? But the point is that he is met with super generosity. You wanted to take that? I'll 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:33.059 give you everything. If they want your tunic, give them your cloak as well. It's the same idea with the 00:10:33.059 --> 00:10:38.980 beggar in verse 42. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:46.039 you. Now, again, Jesus is not insisting that you empty your bank account for the guy out the front of 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:52.599 the co-op, with his little cup. And look, how best to treat those who are begging around London is 00:10:52.599 --> 00:10:58.980 another question. That's not what's in view here. Jesus is, however, pressing us towards a generosity 00:10:58.980 --> 00:11:09.959 of heart that trumps a selfish, this is mine, this is my stuff, that kind of mindset. He wants us to sit 00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:14.460 light to what we have. He wants us to be prepared to be generous. 00:11:19.860 --> 00:11:21.720 Give me your tunic. Take my cloak. 00:11:24.580 --> 00:11:28.000 Give me whatever. Do you know what? I'll give you even more. 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:35.720 Boys and girls, what he's saying here is if your brother or sister asks you for one of your sweets, 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:50.980 you say, yes, in fact, have two. It's possible with your toys. And you say, would you like to play 00:11:50.980 --> 00:12:00.019 with these ones as well? These are my favorite. Share. At the dinner table, boys and girls, would you, 00:12:00.019 --> 00:12:06.019 you know, it's all sitting there, the last few bits and pieces, and you think, you've got your eye on it, 00:12:06.039 --> 00:12:12.980 and you think to yourself, I would love that. But actually, you say to your siblings, would you like 00:12:12.980 --> 00:12:20.860 the last absolutely gorgeous, unbelievably delicious-looking piece of dessert? Please have it. 00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:29.480 It's not a grasping mentality. It's a generosity. That's what he's getting at. Christians should not 00:12:29.480 --> 00:12:36.259 be controlled by their possessions. Our culture is creaking under the weight of people whose stuff 00:12:36.259 --> 00:12:44.440 governs their hearts. Not so for the Christian. This is where the principle of generosity, I think, 00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:52.320 really bites for us. Are there things that you have that if they were asked of you, you couldn't give 00:12:52.320 --> 00:13:03.260 them up? Possessions, things that you own, that if they were asked of you, you couldn't let them go. 00:13:06.660 --> 00:13:09.660 We'll see the deeper significance of this when we get into chapter 6. 00:13:09.659 --> 00:13:19.219 But the way of the kingdom is to say, have it. Take it. It doesn't have any hold on me. Have it. 00:13:23.259 --> 00:13:28.980 Our dignity, our possessions, then. Thirdly, Jesus addresses our liberty. Verse 41, 00:13:29.179 --> 00:13:32.319 if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:41.840 The occupying Roman army of the day had the right to conscript people to assist them. It's interesting. 00:13:41.920 --> 00:13:45.520 That's why Simon of Cyrene could be forced to carry Jesus' cross. 00:13:47.840 --> 00:13:54.640 The Romans had the right to do that, to get people to do things for them. The Jews hated it because it 00:13:54.640 --> 00:14:00.640 was a humiliating reminder that they were a subjugated people. But Jesus says that when they 00:14:00.639 --> 00:14:08.720 command you to walk a mile, walk another one as well. No soldier has the right to insist on that. 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:14.639 But when you do it, you're showing them that you serve a different leader. You're showing them that 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:18.240 his command is only part of the piece for you. 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:25.980 Now, to do this for anyone would have been remarkable, but to do it for the Romans, to do it for the enemy, 00:14:25.980 --> 00:14:33.340 would be unheard of. He's preparing us for the next command in 43 to 48. Now, again, this doesn't mean 00:14:33.340 --> 00:14:38.740 that you simply roll over every time the state reaches beyond their jurisdiction. But the point is 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:45.560 that Jesus wants us to do the unexpected. He wants us to go the extra mile because he wants us to show 00:14:45.560 --> 00:14:51.980 those around us that we serve a different king, that our authority is a higher authority, 00:14:51.980 --> 00:14:57.820 and we follow that authority because we belong to a different kingdom. 00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:02.379 This is the greater righteousness that Jesus calls for. 00:15:05.259 --> 00:15:08.120 France, in his commentary on Matthew, says, quote, 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:15.060 In place of the principle of retribution, Jesus sets non-resistance. In place of defense of legal rights, 00:15:15.059 --> 00:15:22.259 he sets uncalculating generosity. In place of concern for oneself, he sets concern for the other. 00:15:25.699 --> 00:15:30.979 Now, I get that that sounds great. It sounds really nice. It sounds very, like, lovely, warm-hearted 00:15:30.979 --> 00:15:37.219 thing to say, but it's not realistic. It's not realistic, is it? Especially not in our current 00:15:37.219 --> 00:15:41.379 culture. Sociologists have observed how a shift in Western approaches to parenting 00:15:41.379 --> 00:15:47.860 have created a narcissism that wasn't there in our parents' or grandparents' generations. In psychology, 00:15:47.860 --> 00:15:52.019 now, there's a thing called the narcissism test where they read people's statements. 00:15:53.139 --> 00:15:58.820 In studies, they've read people's statements and asked if they apply to them. Do these statements 00:15:58.820 --> 00:16:03.460 apply to you? To what degree do you think this statement describes you? Statements like, 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:08.980 I like to be the center of attention. I show off if I get the chance because I'm extraordinary. 00:16:08.980 --> 00:16:18.019 Somebody should write a biography about me. And apparently, the average narcissism score has 00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:28.820 risen by 30% in the last 20 years. I think somebody should write a biography of me. The idea of saying, 00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:37.300 yes, I think that's entirely reasonable, it's astonishing. David Brooks, the New York journalist, 00:16:37.299 --> 00:16:41.539 in his book, The Road to Character, describes how this kind of thing has played out. Quote, 00:16:41.539 --> 00:16:46.500 as I looked around the popular culture, I kept finding the same messages everywhere. 00:16:47.139 --> 00:16:53.299 Does this sound familiar? You are special. Trust yourself. Be true to yourself. 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:59.620 Movies from Pixar and Disney are constantly telling children how wonderful they are. Commencement 00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:06.099 speeches are larded with the same cliches. Follow your passion. Don't accept limits. Chart your own course. 00:17:06.099 --> 00:17:12.819 You have a responsibility to do great things because you are so great. This is the gospel of self-trust. 00:17:13.299 --> 00:17:13.939 End quote. 00:17:16.339 --> 00:17:23.379 Now, that explains Charles Taylor's observation, doesn't it? Because this self-centered perspective 00:17:23.379 --> 00:17:29.059 is in the back of our mind, it's the music that… it's the lift, the elevator music that's playing 00:17:29.059 --> 00:17:37.139 in the back of our minds all the time. It shapes everything about how we see the world. But as 00:17:37.139 --> 00:17:42.500 positive a message as that sounds, don't accept limits. Chart your own course. You have a responsibility 00:17:42.500 --> 00:17:47.379 to do great things because you are so great. As great as that sounds, as positive as it might seem, 00:17:47.379 --> 00:17:50.500 it is the cause of almost every emotional problem that we face. 00:17:50.500 --> 00:17:56.980 Anxiety to achieve. Because actually when it comes down to it, we're not so great. 00:17:58.660 --> 00:18:03.859 Depression when we fail. Because we tried to chart our own course and actually it didn't go so well. 00:18:06.339 --> 00:18:14.099 Insecurity. Because we realize that those limits can't be surpassed. 00:18:14.099 --> 00:18:25.539 We realize that we are fragile. Vanity. All of these things wrapped up together. But you know what, 00:18:25.539 --> 00:18:32.899 perhaps the biggest problem that this kind of backing track to our lives has created is that it 00:18:32.899 --> 00:18:38.259 has created a sense of entitlement. If you think you're special, if you think that someone should, 00:18:38.259 --> 00:18:42.419 if you're seriously thinking that someone should write a biography about you because you're so great 00:18:42.420 --> 00:18:50.420 at like 22 or whatever age. You know, all my great achievements at 22. Well, that comes with 00:18:50.420 --> 00:18:58.100 expectations. If you're super special, you expect people to treat you special, like you're special. 00:18:59.620 --> 00:19:04.740 And what comes from that is that you don't then, by definition, you don't have the generosity of 00:19:04.740 --> 00:19:11.940 spirit that Jesus demands. Embracing a generosity that reaches beyond our rights, 00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:20.340 in a culture that is neurotic about rights is almost impossible. Almost. 00:19:24.180 --> 00:19:26.500 But the gospel of Jesus Christ makes it possible. 00:19:29.060 --> 00:19:34.740 Jesus is preaching this sermon on the way to Jerusalem. And what will happen there? He will have 00:19:34.740 --> 00:19:41.300 his dignity offended, he will have his possessions stripped, and he will have his liberty denied in the 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:45.619 most extreme way possible. He will have his liberty in the most extreme way possible, nailed to a cross, 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:52.899 and executed unjustly, the perfect Son of God executed as a sinner. 00:19:56.019 --> 00:20:01.619 The heart of the Christian message is that he does this in order to bear the punishment from God that our 00:20:01.619 --> 00:20:06.899 sins deserved in our place. That is the heart of the Christian faith. 00:20:10.500 --> 00:20:16.979 And we put our faith in him in order that our sin is dealt with. We can't fix our sin ourselves. It is 00:20:16.979 --> 00:20:22.819 because he had his dignity offended, his possessions stripped, and his liberty denied, as he is nailed to 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:31.539 the cross for our sins that we might be put right with God. It is through our faith in him that we are 00:20:31.539 --> 00:20:36.819 then brought into this kingdom that's being talked about here, that we are adopted as his people. 00:20:38.579 --> 00:20:43.299 What that means is that our acceptance before God is not on the basis of anything that we have done, 00:20:43.299 --> 00:20:49.619 and that means it can't be lost through anything that we have done. We are secure. There is a banner over 00:20:49.619 --> 00:20:58.180 our lives that says, no condemnation. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We have 00:20:58.180 --> 00:21:03.779 been accepted by the King of the universe, and whatever happens then, he will find in our favor. 00:21:04.899 --> 00:21:11.940 Now, what that reality does is it changes our perspective on absolutely everything, because when somebody 00:21:11.940 --> 00:21:18.259 grasps this reality, they can embrace the kind of generosity of spirit that Jesus is talking about. 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:24.900 When our dignity is offended, we don't need to retaliate, because we have our vindication in Christ. 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:32.180 Jesus would do this himself when he was insulted on the cross, remaining silent in the face of his 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:38.100 accusers. He didn't need to justify himself. He trusted himself and his vindication to the Father. 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:47.619 Father, surely we can do the same. When it comes to our possessions, knowing that all that we have 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:53.939 comes from God, everything, from every breath that we take to everything that's in our cupboard, 00:21:53.939 --> 00:22:00.659 comes from him. When we realize that, and when we realize that all we need in life is our relationship 00:22:00.659 --> 00:22:06.980 with him, the relationship that he's given us, well, it does two things. It helps us grasp that God gives us 00:22:06.980 --> 00:22:11.700 what we have in order to share it with others. So, when someone says, can I have that? You say, yeah, 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:19.140 have more. And it frees us from the love of things so that we can say that, have more. 00:22:21.059 --> 00:22:26.819 It frees us from the clinging influence of possessions. It frees us from those things that 00:22:26.819 --> 00:22:33.220 get their claws into our hearts. And then when it comes to our liberty, we know that in Christ, 00:22:33.220 --> 00:22:41.700 we have a freedom that transcends every other restriction. Freedom from bondage to sin liberates 00:22:41.700 --> 00:22:49.620 beyond anything else. Freedom from bondage of sin liberates us so radically that we can willingly 00:22:49.620 --> 00:22:56.980 give up our freedoms for the sake of others. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we are so transformed that we 00:22:56.980 --> 00:23:02.740 will do what it takes to win others by love rather than retaliate on the basis of our rights. 00:23:07.140 --> 00:23:12.500 You know as well as I do that you cannot work up this generosity in your own strength. It takes a 00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:17.620 new man, it takes a new woman empowered by the Holy Spirit to be able to live this kind of life. 00:23:17.619 --> 00:23:28.099 But this is what we have through faith in Christ. That's what you have if you're in the Lord Jesus. 00:23:30.819 --> 00:23:35.699 And it's that truth, it's that gospel that underpins our ability then to follow the next 00:23:35.699 --> 00:23:40.979 impossible command as well. Look at verse 43. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your 00:23:40.979 --> 00:23:46.579 neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 00:23:46.579 --> 00:23:53.379 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. The first heart quality is generosity that 00:23:53.379 --> 00:23:58.099 reaches beyond our rights. The second heart quality is love that reaches beyond your friends. 00:23:59.379 --> 00:24:04.899 That's what he's calling us to, a love that reaches beyond your friends. Once again, Jesus 00:24:05.619 --> 00:24:11.299 addresses a misinterpretation of the law. In this case, it's the law of neighbor love in Leviticus 19, 00:24:11.299 --> 00:24:16.339 verse 18. Now, although it didn't actually say it anywhere in the Bible, the scribes and the 00:24:16.339 --> 00:24:20.179 Pharisees reasoned that if they were to love their neighbor, it followed that they could then hate 00:24:20.179 --> 00:24:25.299 their enemies. Love your neighbor? Well, I've only got so much love to give, so I'll give it to them, 00:24:25.299 --> 00:24:31.059 and then I'll hate my enemies. They knew the Psalms that spoke of destroying the nation's enemies, 00:24:31.779 --> 00:24:37.699 and they knew that they saw that then as their permission. Well, the Psalms talk about the destruction 00:24:37.699 --> 00:24:44.019 of the nation, God's enemies, so I can act the same way towards mine. And of course, remember the story 00:24:44.019 --> 00:24:50.180 of the Good Samaritan, there was a lot of chat there about what was required to qualify someone 00:24:50.180 --> 00:24:54.099 as a neighbor, because they knew they needed to love neighbors, but there were people they just 00:24:54.099 --> 00:25:00.579 didn't want to love. The problem with the teachers was their desire to limit their responsibilities 00:25:00.579 --> 00:25:07.779 and make the law suit them. But here Jesus pushes the radical character of the kingdom to its climax. 00:25:07.779 --> 00:25:15.220 Don't just love your neighbor, but, 44, love your enemies. Love your enemies. And pray for those who 00:25:15.220 --> 00:25:23.940 persecute you. It's an outrageous demand, until we see the grounds of the command. Verse 45, 00:25:23.940 --> 00:25:31.380 So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:38.420 on the good. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. This is a very particular case of like Father, 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:47.220 like Son. We were at a wedding last week in our family, and we only knew the bride. This is always a 00:25:47.220 --> 00:25:54.180 bit odd at a wedding. You don't know anybody else. And it was in Italy. I don't speak any Italian. 00:25:56.579 --> 00:26:00.900 We're meeting people and greeting them, and it was always, it was a lovely time. It was very awkward. 00:26:00.900 --> 00:26:05.380 However, when I was meeting people, I would say, and these are my children, and several of them said 00:26:05.380 --> 00:26:12.980 the same thing. Yes, I can see. I can tell. It's my son. I can tell. I see the family likeness. 00:26:12.980 --> 00:26:17.299 Yes. That's what it should be like for the Christian. 00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:24.660 When people see the way that we love others, it should bear the family likeness. 00:26:26.819 --> 00:26:30.259 Like a heavenly Father who takes the initiative to love the unlovely. 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:35.860 Like an older brother who, bearing the perfect likeness of the Father, pursued his enemies all 00:26:35.860 --> 00:26:42.900 the way from heaven to a world in rebellion against him. And who, when his enemies sought to destroy him, 00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:51.380 hanging in agony and weakness on the cross, he loved them, praying, Father, forgive them. They don't know 00:26:51.380 --> 00:26:59.460 what they're doing. It is a love that is not controlled by the object. It has nothing to do with the person 00:26:59.460 --> 00:27:05.860 being loved. It is a love that is controlled by his will, a will that is bent on emulating his Father. 00:27:05.859 --> 00:27:09.779 That's what the Lord Jesus is doing. 00:27:12.339 --> 00:27:17.779 Is there anywhere where the countercultural nature of Christ's kingdom is more stark in our day? 00:27:20.099 --> 00:27:26.579 Loving those who aren't like us, or who reject us, or who despise us, giving our time, our energy, 00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:32.819 our resources to people like that. This is the high point of our distinctiveness in our culture. 00:27:32.819 --> 00:27:40.259 Surely, everyone loves their friends. Everyone loves those who are like them. Verse 46, 00:27:40.259 --> 00:27:45.379 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same. 00:27:46.500 --> 00:27:51.779 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the 00:27:51.779 --> 00:28:01.059 same. There is great friendship and affection amongst some of the worst human beings in our world. 00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:05.539 Organized crime, very close with each other. 00:28:08.579 --> 00:28:13.220 But when you give yourself to pray for those who persecute you, when you keep serving with 00:28:13.220 --> 00:28:19.700 generosity those who make your life difficult, when you make sacrifices in order to bring the gospel to 00:28:19.700 --> 00:28:27.700 people who are not like you, this makes people sit up and take note. Why would you do such a thing? 00:28:30.420 --> 00:28:34.740 Like father, like son. It's how we behave in this family. 00:28:37.620 --> 00:28:43.620 And this is where Jesus concludes. Not just verses 43 to 48, but this whole section on greater 00:28:43.619 --> 00:28:50.419 righteousness that we started back in verse 21. You, therefore, he says, verse 48, you, therefore, 00:28:50.419 --> 00:28:58.099 must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. The Christian's lifestyle is to be different from 00:28:58.099 --> 00:29:05.379 other people's because it flows from the character of God. The word that Matthew uses here, the Greek 00:29:05.380 --> 00:29:13.780 teleos doesn't mean moral purity. When he's referring to you be perfect, the word is not morally pure, 00:29:13.780 --> 00:29:19.140 although that is true of God. But when it is used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it means 00:29:19.700 --> 00:29:27.060 undivided, complete, whole, which of course is entirely consistent with this theme that runs all the way 00:29:27.059 --> 00:29:32.419 through the sermon about wholehearted devotion, because that is what God is like. 00:29:35.220 --> 00:29:40.419 In distinction from the scribes and the Pharisees, Jesus' followers are to have an undivided heart, 00:29:40.419 --> 00:29:47.059 not one thing on the outside and another on the inside, but a wholehearted orientation towards God. 00:29:47.059 --> 00:29:53.460 That's what he's saying. You, therefore, must be wholehearted as your heavenly father is wholehearted. 00:29:54.180 --> 00:30:00.740 Generosity that reaches beyond your rights. Love that reaches beyond your friends. 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:07.140 I can see the family likeness. Let's pray together.