Be a Lover, Not a Fighter Listen to this sermon now
Matthew 5:38-48
The World’s Greatest Talk
Rev. Brian North – Westminster Presbyterian Chehalis, WA
May 16th, 2010
We’re continuing in our series on the Sermon on the Mount, called The World’s Greatest Talk. This is the 5th in the series so far. If you missed any of the others the audio as well as text is available on our church website, which is in the process of being revamped (www.chehaliswpc.org), or you can pick up copies at the back of the sanctuary.
Now, the content of the Sermon on the Mount is what the sermon is famous for by-and large today. But perhaps the most groundbreaking aspect of this teaching at that time was that Jesus speaks with absolute authority. We’ve heard several times Jesus say, “You’ve heard it said…” and refers to some commonly known teaching of the Old Testament, and then he straightens out their understanding of it by saying, “But I say to you…” There is the most shocking aspect of all of this. Jesus speaks as one with authority. He doesn’t back things up with references, he’s not quoting other people who support what he’s saying. There’s no “Thus saith the Lord…” in here. He draws lines in the sand and he makes no apologies for them whatsoever. It’s a subtle claim on his own divinity that he just lays it out there, speaking on his own authority, because the authority of God is a given. You can do that when you’re Jesus. You and I can’t do that. We have to begin and end with God’s Word.
And this pattern of speaking continues in today’s passage, as we pick up things up in Matthew 5:38: You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you (Matthew 5:38-42).
Ok, there’s some background that we need in order to fully understand this. The quote, “an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” is a rule of ethics that goes back to about 2250 B.C. and the Code of Hammurabi, who was a Babylonian ruler. In that original usage, there was a distinction between social classes when it came to carrying out this law justly. If a “gentleman” lost an eye or an arm, then there was supposed to be like payment on the part of the offender. If a “poor man” were the one who was hurt, then the offender just paid a small amount of silver. It was “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” only if the one who was hurt was far enough up the socio-economic ladder.
The “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” language is found in no fewer than three places in the Old Testament (OT) as well. Except there’s no distinction made between classes in the OT usage. So it brings about a sense of equality between people. The idea, however, that the Bible would even advocate this kind of repayment for harm done to a person is repulsive to most. Maybe you’ve wondered about this before, too. It sounds so vengeful and bloodthirsty. But as is usually the case, there is a misunderstanding of the Biblical notion of “eye for eye and tooth for tooth.”
First of all, this was not intended to give a personal right to an individual to exact revenge upon someone. It was given as a guide for how a judge could settle a case between two people. If some kind of punishment was indeed appropriate, this gave some guidelines and boundaries on what could be done.
Second of all, this wasn’t given as the minimum for how a criminal could be punished, but rather, the maximum. So this was actually the beginning of mercy. It limited the punishment in terms of what could be done, and also who could do it. It made sure that punishment was just, and didn’t escalate into tribal warfare, keeping it between the individuals actually involved. So there is mercy here, because it prevented further bloodshed by putting these limits on the punishment.
Thirdly, this was very, very rarely carried actually out in the Jewish setting. When you keep the whole of OT ethics in mind, it’s easy to see why “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” was hardly ever carried out literally. Mostly what happened was this was used as a guide for setting a monetary payment to the hurt individual. It helped to set some parameters for how proper punishment and payment was determined.
So that’s the background of the statement, and helps us to see good intentions of it in Jewish history. But as is always the case, Jesus intends a different and better future for us. So he says, “But I say to you…Don’t take part in any kind of retaliation.” You see: If Christians are going to be salt and light in the world as followers of Jesus Christ, we have to live differently than the world. So, if someone hits you – either literally or metaphorically – then don’t retaliate. Don’t swing back like most people would do. (By the way, if you’re in an abusive relationship, this doesn’t bind you to staying and continuing to receive the abuse. It just means, don’t retaliate. There’s still freedom to distance yourself from the person.) If someone needs a shirt, then offer them your coat as well – quite frankly, they probably need it, if they’re taking the shirt to begin with. If someone forced you to go a mile with them – and in that day, if a postal worker needed help delivering the mail, they could ask someone to help them and it was the law that you went with them – don’t just go the one mile and call it quits. Do more than is asked for. Go the extra mile. And if someone wants to borrow something from you, then loan it. It’s just stuff, anyway.
So instead of “eye for eye and tooth for tooth” Jesus is calling us to a new standard of ethics and of relating to people in the world, and it’s one that elevates peace above retaliation and retribution. Now, these verses have been used as a basis for international political relations such as anti-war movements and so forth. And that may be an appropriate use of the teaching. But Jesus isn’t dealing with international politics here. He’s dealing with personal relationships…he’s talking to individuals like you and me about their personal lives. We can cry out for peace between nations and still have our own families and friendships that are ripped apart and marked by retribution. Jesus wants us to look at ourselves and how we treat others and to deal with our own relationships. A similar theme comes up as he continues teaching. Listen to the next section:
Love for Enemies
‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43-48).
I want to begin with the last verse because it raises so many questions. I don’t know about you, but if I need to be perfect, I’m toast. But looking more closely at the Greek, the essence of what Jesus is saying is that he’s charging us to live godly lives. The word for “perfect” doesn’t just mean “flawless” but has more a connotation of “upright” particularly with regards to ethics and morals. So we’re to live ethically upright lives, as God does. The Message translation of the Bible gets it pretty close: “In a word, what I’m saying is, ‘Grow up.’ You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you” (Matthew 5:48, The Message).
The main point in this section is that we’re to love all people as God loves them all. This is the highest ethic. Now nowhere in the OT does it explicitly tell us to “love our neighbors and hate our enemies.” It does tell us to love our neighbors…but the hate part isn’t explicitly said. But this must have been a common phrase in their day, and it’s probably not so uncommon in our day, either.
And in contrast to it, Jesus is saying, “That’s not the way to live as children of God. If you’re really going to demonstrate your walk with God, then love your enemies, too. In fact, pray for them!” That’s dangerous, because when we pray honestly and authentically, prayer doesn’t just change the person we’re praying for: it changes us.
Now, clearly, when Jesus says to love our enemies, this does not mean an emotional kind of love that brings us goose bumps. That’s a kind of love that starts with the heart and then the head follows – hopefully. When we leave our heads out of that kind of love, it leads into all kinds of trouble. But, that kind of heart-initiated love is not what Jesus is speaking about here. Loving our enemies begins with our heads. This is a love that we will ourselves to do. Like a Tiger marrying a Bearcat…or a Cougar parent sending a child off to the UW, and so forth.
Greek has four words for love, each with a different meaning. And the one here is a love of the will, not the emotions. It’s a love that starts with a determination that we’re going to love the person…and then the heart follows along, even if it’s reluctant at times. It’s often a tough love that disciplines when needed, not out of a motive of retribution, but a motive of helping and curing. And that’s a love that can change a life and can transform a relationship. When we can love those who despise us, who are thorns in our flesh, who are our enemies, as Jesus puts it, then we are really living as salt and light in the world, and we’ll bring about change in the lives of those people and maybe even in our relationship with them.
In his book, The Grace of Giving, author Stephen Olford tells of a pastor during the American Revolution, named Peter Miller. Peter lived in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, and was a friend of George Washington’s. In Ephrata also lived Michael Wittman, who was a guy who did all he could to oppose and humiliate pastor Miller. One day Michael Wittman was arrested for treason and sentenced to die. Peter (the pastor) traveled seventy miles on foot to Philadelphia to plead for the life of the traitor.
“No, Peter,” General Washington said. “I cannot grant you the life of your friend.” “My friend!” exclaimed the preacher. “He’s the bitterest enemy I have.”
“What?” cried Washington. “You’ve walked seventy miles to save the life of an enemy? That puts the matter in different light. I’ll grant your pardon.” And he did. Peter Miller took Michael Wittman back home to Ephrata–no longer an enemy but a friend.
Every one of us has people in our lives like Michael Wittman. People who antagonize us, people who try to get under our skin, manipulate us, take verbal shots at us, oppose us, and so forth. Jesus is calling us to follow him through the narrow gate, to take the high road, and make a conscious decision that we’re still going to love those people. And as we see from this true story from the mid 1700’s: A person’s life can be changed, and a relationship transformed, when we make the decision to love someone else.
And isn’t that, in large part, the point of being a Christ-follower? Jesus has done something for us on the cross that we cannot do ourselves, and we are a forgiven, changed, transformed, new creation in Christ. That’s what Christianity is about…But there are people all around us in need of that same transformation. How ironic would it be that we accept the selfless gift that Jesus offers, but then out of our own selfishness or pride or fear that we don’t share that gift with others through our own lives?
Jesus wants his kingdom to grow deeper and wider, and he’s going to do it through people like you and me. And the way to do it isn’t to pick fights with people. It’s to love them. It’s been said that no one has ever been argued into the Kingdom of God. Trying to fight someone into a relationship with Jesus just isn’t going to work. What we have to do is love them. Relate to them. Accept them where they are. And then let God transform them so that they can one day echo the words of David and say, “Create in me a pure heart O God and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
Have we loved and prayed for our enemies lately? Have we sought reconciliation rather than retribution with our enemies, in our marriages, in our extended family, in our workplace, as well as with our friends? Jesus is calling you and me to be different; to be salt and light. To live lives of peace, prayer, and love in a world that needs them desperately. If we’re going to be salt and light in the world, taking these verses to heart will go a long ways towards that objective. Who are the unloveable people in our lives? God is calling you and me – individually as well as collectively – to love them. Won’t you let God’s love shine into your life today so you can reflect it to the world always? That’s what Jesus is calling us to do. Let’s pray…Amen.