1 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,560 So Matthew 5 tonight, the title of the message is the law of 2 00:00:10,560 --> 00:00:12,040 love. And we're going to have a look 3 00:00:12,040 --> 00:00:13,600 at the principles of the Kingdom. 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:18,320 I don't know if you've ever asked this or wondered this. 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,040 If you were to just go out onto the the street and ask the 6 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,080 average person whether they could list, rattle off, identify 7 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:28,600 any of the 10 commandments or even all of the 10 commandments, 8 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:33,040 how they might go, How might we go, you know, trying to recall 9 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:38,480 and remember identifying the 10 commandments, let alone living 10 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:41,720 the 10 commandments. And if you were to ask the 11 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:47,080 average person what they think to be the most important law to 12 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,680 abide by and unto them, I think it would differ according to the 13 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,400 individual, particularly living in this postmodern world in 14 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:57,080 which we do, where, you know, people have their own version of 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:59,360 what is right and their own version of what is wrong. 16 00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,040 I remember having a conversation with a fellow that I worked with 17 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:06,280 a number of years back who purported to be a Christian. 18 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:08,360 And we're just talking about things at the Bible. 19 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:10,720 And then he said this, oh, I forgot, you're one of those 20 00:01:10,720 --> 00:01:13,880 fundamental Christians. You take the Bible literally. 21 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:17,400 I said, well, what do you take it as? 22 00:01:17,440 --> 00:01:21,240 Well more as guidelines and just sort of general principles that 23 00:01:21,240 --> 00:01:24,920 I can effectively pick and choose what suits and 24 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,240 accommodates. So we've made yourself the 25 00:01:27,240 --> 00:01:29,960 authority. You might as well write your own 26 00:01:29,960 --> 00:01:33,080 book. You didn't take that too well. 27 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,600 Speaking of books, there's a novel called The Kite Runner 28 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:41,840 written by a guy called Khaled Husseini. 29 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,080 It's his best selling work. And one of the main characters, 30 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:50,120 Baba, declares that the worst sin, According to him, is a sin, 31 00:01:50,840 --> 00:01:55,400 is the sin of lying, you know, And that in doing so, you've 32 00:01:55,400 --> 00:02:00,360 stolen somebody's right to the truth was his deduction of it. 33 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,920 The irony, of course, if you're familiar with the story and the 34 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:08,400 hypocrisy of that, is that he is doing exactly that, lying to his 35 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:15,320 son about a situation. Now to the Jewish mind, the time 36 00:02:15,320 --> 00:02:18,880 of what we're reading here in Matthew 5, remember it's the 37 00:02:18,880 --> 00:02:21,960 Sermon on the Mount. Take some 10 minutes for us to 38 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,680 read it, but picture multitudes gathered for likely hours, if 39 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:30,680 not in two days, as Jesus is teaching effectively his 40 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,360 disciples and then the multitude who are listening in and 41 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,000 gathering around. And to the Jewish mind that 42 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,920 Jesus is speaking to the law is everything. 43 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:46,320 And the Pharisees that we've been reading of and the 44 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,760 Sadducees were the experts on the law, they were the ones who 45 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:52,680 studied it. They were the ones who taught 46 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:55,440 about it. They were the ones who made 47 00:02:55,440 --> 00:02:58,640 determinations about it, the ones who enforced it upon the 48 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:01,720 populace. In fact, on one occasion, we'll 49 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:03,440 get to it. I've jumped ahead and I'll read 50 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:09,120 it for us in Matthew chapter 22. They're trying to catch Jesus 51 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:16,120 out as became their little hobby as Jesus popularity grew. 52 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,520 And they asked Jesus the question, Jesus, what is the 53 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:24,760 greatest commandment? Matthew 22, verse 34 to 40. 54 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,880 I'll read the passage for you. It says when the Pharisees heard 55 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,880 that he had silenced the Sadducees, and they gathered 56 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:37,080 together, and then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, 57 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:44,120 testing him and saying, teacher, Rabbi, you think you know all 58 00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:46,320 the things about the law and you teach about it. 59 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,840 OK, which is the great commandment in the law? 60 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:54,360 Verse 37 Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God 61 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,080 with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your 62 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,640 mind. This is the first and great 63 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:05,600 commandment Jesus said. The second verse 39 he said is 64 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,360 like it you shall love your neighbour as yourself. 65 00:04:09,080 --> 00:04:13,920 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. 66 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:16,760 So we get back to Matthew 5 here. 67 00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:19,720 So when Jesus has been preaching and we've looked at the 68 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,880 Beatitudes and last time together we looked at Jesus 69 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,280 declaration to his disciples where he said you are the salt 70 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:29,040 of the earth, you are the light of the world. 71 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:34,520 The people were trying to figure out who this man Jesus was and 72 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,200 something that they did a lot and frequently with Jesus. 73 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:42,520 Is he like John the Baptist or is he some kind of new 74 00:04:42,520 --> 00:04:46,640 revolutionary that we should find a little more about? 75 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:48,880 What does he think about the law? 76 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:51,600 Does he think about our religion? 77 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:57,480 Jesus directly addresses. Maybe the question was asked in 78 00:04:57,480 --> 00:04:58,800 the crowd. We're not given that. 79 00:04:59,440 --> 00:05:03,560 Maybe, as we see often, Jesus is able to discern and ascertain 80 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:07,680 the hearts of the people gathered for about to move into 81 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,000 a portion of Scripture where Jesus will utter these words. 82 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,200 You've heard it said, but I say unto you, he teaches with this 83 00:05:15,200 --> 00:05:19,000 authority that they're perhaps wondering or querying, where is 84 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,520 this authority coming from? So Jesus directly addresses 85 00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:26,120 their questions in Matthew 517 through to 48 and specifically 86 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,680 verse 17 in Matthew 5. He says don't think, do not 87 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:36,000 think that I have come to abolish to do away with or to 88 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:43,200 destroy the law or the prophets. Now there's a lot wrapped up in 89 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:46,480 that, but Jesus was effectively talking about what we know and 90 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:51,840 understand of the Old Testament. To simplify it, someone I have 91 00:05:51,840 --> 00:05:55,200 not come to abolish them, but to fulfil them. 92 00:05:55,600 --> 00:06:01,560 Verse 17 and the question is for Phil, how, how Jesus are you 93 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,200 going to do that? How is that possible? 94 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:10,440 What do you even mean by that? Fulfil here means to complete, 95 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:18,200 it means to perfect it means to fill full with meaning and all 96 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:22,160 that these law and prophets were pointing towards. 97 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:27,880 Jesus claims tonight as we study, to be the one who 98 00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:33,440 perfectly embodies and authoritatively explains all 99 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:36,600 wrapped up in the Law and the prophets. 100 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:40,880 All that the Law and the prophets were pointing towards 101 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:45,120 and to is Him. He is the fulfilment thereof. 102 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:48,920 In times past. The Bible tells us that the 103 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:51,960 prophets spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 104 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,840 But Jesus speaks with divine authority. 105 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,600 You have heard it was said, we will read tonight. 106 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:02,920 But I say unto you, and he is not destroying the Old 107 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,200 Testament. He is not destroying the 10 108 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,440 commandments. He is not destroying the law and 109 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,080 the prophets. Rather, he is revealing the true 110 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:15,000 heart and the goal that all was being pointed to. 111 00:07:16,200 --> 00:07:18,880 Now the great principle that I want us to see running through 112 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:22,240 this entire section is this is that the law of the Kingdom? 113 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:24,240 He's been Speaking of Kingdom of Heaven. 114 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,440 Remember, repent, Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and he's been 115 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:31,000 talking about in the beatitudes. Blessed are and for theirs is 116 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:32,840 the Kingdom of heaven and on through. 117 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:35,720 So he's been talking about the Kingdom of heaven and its 118 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:39,920 citizens, who they are, their their character and their 119 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:42,640 conduct. So understand this section here. 120 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:45,600 The great principle running through it is that the law of 121 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:50,560 the Kingdom is the law of love, love for God. 122 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:54,800 This is the greatest commandment Jesus said, and love for others. 123 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,760 The second is like unto it as the fulfilment of the law. 124 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:03,080 Now as citizens of the Kingdom of heaven, Jesus is speaking and 125 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:07,120 to you and I tonight we are called to display the character 126 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:13,680 of the King and our king Does the Bible tell us for God is 127 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,480 love. That's what guides and motivates 128 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:19,520 this and ought to in US. And let's explain it. 129 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:23,120 Let's read. We'll break it into two chunks 130 00:08:23,120 --> 00:08:26,160 rather than reading the entire text together, but we'll come 131 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:31,000 and deal with each component. Verses 17 through to 20 now and 132 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:35,080 two effective main points for us and the second we'll have 6 sub 133 00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,480 points that we look at the various principles in that. 134 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:41,480 But firstly, the King's authority is come to fulfil the 135 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:43,000 law. He said not to abolish it. 136 00:08:44,159 --> 00:08:48,440 Matthew 5, verse 17 reading out of the new King James, do not 137 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:53,440 think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. 138 00:08:54,240 --> 00:09:00,960 I did not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 4 Assuredly, I say to 139 00:09:00,960 --> 00:09:07,520 you, till heaven and earth pass away. 1 Jot, or one title will 140 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,760 by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 141 00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:12,640 You know Jesus here. What's a jot? 142 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:14,240 What's a title? These were even just the 143 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:16,960 smallest. If we were to think of it in 144 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,080 English, we might call it punctuation. 145 00:09:19,560 --> 00:09:22,520 Well, marking said that this is how important, how valuable 146 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:24,920 every component of the law and the prophets is. 147 00:09:24,920 --> 00:09:28,920 Jesus says is that not even 1 minuscule amount of punctuation 148 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:33,200 will pass away until it has all been fulfilled in me. 149 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:40,200 Whoever verse 19 therefore breaks one of the least of these 150 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:45,200 commandments, teaches men so should be called least in the 151 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,920 Kingdom of heaven. Whoever does and teaches them, 152 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,440 he shall be called great in the Kingdom of heaven. 153 00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:55,360 Now look at this, because this is going to shake and rattle the 154 00:09:55,360 --> 00:10:00,320 minds of the audience gathered. For I say to you, verse 20, that 155 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:05,440 unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the 156 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,880 scribes, they studied the law, they wrote about the law and the 157 00:10:08,880 --> 00:10:11,840 Pharisees. I mean, they, if anybody gave 158 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,520 the law its due diligence, it was the Pharisees. 159 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:18,720 You will by no means enter the Kingdom of heaven. 160 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,240 So let's consider this. Jesus says I have not, don't 161 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:26,040 mistake me. I have not come to abolish, to 162 00:10:26,040 --> 00:10:29,200 destroy, to dispense with the law, but I've come to fulfil it. 163 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,640 And He did so by perfectly obeying it in his life and His 164 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:38,960 living. Every word, every deed, all of 165 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:43,840 his conduct, Jesus followed, adhered to the Law and the 166 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:46,600 prophets. But in doing so, He also went 167 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,880 beyond that and revealed the greater, deepest spiritual 168 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,520 intent of the Law and the prophets. 169 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:55,040 He accomplished everything in it. 170 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,920 And everything that the Law and the prophets were pointing 171 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:01,520 towards is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, especially our 172 00:11:01,520 --> 00:11:05,720 redemption. And verse 20 again shocks the 173 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:08,320 audience. Unless your righteousness 174 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:12,440 exceeds, goes above that of the scribes and the Pharisees and 175 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,360 man, they're righteous in everyone's estimation in the 176 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:19,720 world at that time, you will not enter, you'll never enter the 177 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:23,280 Kingdom of heaven. And the Pharisees, again, they 178 00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:26,760 were meticulous when it came to the law on the outside, 179 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,000 painfully so. You can read and you can 180 00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:33,280 research how it was that they had become sticklers for 181 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:36,720 following all sorts of aspects of the law and how they sought 182 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:40,440 to impose that upon others, or at least their interpretation of 183 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:43,240 the law and the prophets. But what they were doing was 184 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:45,760 they were missing the spirit of the law. 185 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:49,400 This is what Jesus criticised and attacked them again and 186 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,280 again for. So when the audience gathered 187 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:55,920 here's unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and 188 00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:58,040 the Pharisees, you know what they're doing, they're thinking 189 00:11:58,040 --> 00:12:01,760 it can't be done. We're doomed. 190 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:05,120 Who then can enter the Kingdom of heaven? 191 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,680 And Jesus has been talking about the Kingdom of heaven and 192 00:12:07,680 --> 00:12:09,080 blessed are those and all of that. 193 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:12,280 And now it gets to this and and the audience is just, you can 194 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,760 imagine their jaws dropping to the ground. 195 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:20,520 There's no hope for us. It's true also of us if we're to 196 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:22,360 think of all that is written in the law. 197 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,040 If you've ever read through the Pentateuch first five books, and 198 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:28,760 particularly the Levitical law in Deuteronomy and on, and then 199 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:33,760 through the prophets and let alone the 10 commandments, and 200 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:36,120 you think there is no hope for me? 201 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:39,520 There is no hope for you. There is no hope for anyone for 202 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:41,960 our righteousness to exceed that of the scribes and the 203 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:44,520 Pharisees. So what does that mean? 204 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:48,200 Well, it means this. It means that the good news of 205 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:52,280 the gospel, of what Jesus is coming to teach and to bring is 206 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:57,400 that our righteousness comes not from within ourselves, but it 207 00:12:57,400 --> 00:12:59,800 comes from outside. And our righteousness comes by 208 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,600 faith in God. The Bible says who is righteous. 209 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:07,080 And faith, the Bible tells us, comes by hearing, and hearing by 210 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:11,360 the word of God, and that for righteousness to exceed that of 211 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:15,040 the scribes and the Pharisees is to love God. 212 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:20,160 For Jesus said, If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 213 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:23,200 And what is the commandment we read at the beginning? 214 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:27,920 Jesus said, a new commandment. In fact, I give unto you, You 215 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:30,680 love one another as I have loved you. 216 00:13:31,160 --> 00:13:33,360 And then he said this. And by this shall all men know 217 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:38,560 that you are my disciples, my followers, citizens of the 218 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:42,200 Kingdom of heaven, If you have love one for another. 219 00:13:42,440 --> 00:13:47,440 Thus, you see, love is the key as we read through these verses. 220 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:52,480 And Jesus ultimately fulfilled the law of love and displayed it 221 00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:56,840 to his Father in the way that he lived to his disciples, to you 222 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:02,000 and I with his obedience to death upon the cross, with his 223 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,280 fulfilment of the redemptive plan that the law and the 224 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:08,440 prophets were pointing towards. And He commends to you and I to 225 00:14:08,440 --> 00:14:12,760 us the same tonight. True righteousness that exceeds 226 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,680 the scribes and the Pharisees therefore comes by faith, trust, 227 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:22,000 dependence upon God on what Jesus has accomplished, and it 228 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:27,120 flows from love from God and for God in our lives. 229 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:30,440 Again Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my 230 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,800 commandments. John 14 verse 15. 231 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,520 And So what we see and what we're starting to see and what 232 00:14:36,520 --> 00:14:39,200 we should understand is again, the narrative of the Old 233 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,640 Testament as it was with the people of Israel, as it is with 234 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:48,480 you and I, that God saves, that God rescues, that God restores, 235 00:14:48,480 --> 00:14:51,040 and then that God empowers to live. 236 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:55,600 And His law is the guidelines, the governance that not 237 00:14:55,680 --> 00:14:59,720 enforces, that directs that living for you and I. 238 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,960 It's interesting in Exodus, as we're studying through it, that 239 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:06,320 God redeemed Israel out of Egypt, out of their slavery, out 240 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:08,480 of their bondage, and brought them through. 241 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,880 And as he was taking them in the wilderness, it's then that he 242 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:16,840 gave them the law. In other words, it's interesting 243 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:20,120 that God has said to the people of Israel, as is the case for 244 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:24,160 you and I as gospel recipients today, I've saved you. 245 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:26,600 I've loved you with an everlasting love. 246 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:30,880 I've, I've pulled you out of your slavery for us to sin for 247 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,960 them out of Egypt. And now I am making you my 248 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:36,200 people. And in light of the love that 249 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:39,200 I've given to you, now let me give to you my law. 250 00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,840 And the way that we live is a response to the salvation that 251 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:46,520 we've received from God, from his love. 252 00:15:47,800 --> 00:15:51,640 And now he gives in the verses to come illustrations of this 253 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:56,320 love and how it was to be enacted for those who are 254 00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:58,000 citizens of the Kingdom of heaven. 255 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,080 Action toward others and Jesus will go to the heart of the 256 00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:06,560 matter in each of these subjects because the Pharisees are all 257 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:10,560 about external actions and appearances of abiding by the 258 00:16:10,560 --> 00:16:13,720 law and the prophets. But Jesus will go to the heart 259 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:18,600 in each of these situations and reveal the attitude of love that 260 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:22,840 needs to be the cause, the motivation of these actions. 261 00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:26,680 So now let's consider secondly for us the principles of the 262 00:16:26,680 --> 00:16:29,640 Kingdom that we'll cover from verse 21 through to 48. 263 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:32,600 And if you're taking notes, they'll be broken down with the 264 00:16:32,600 --> 00:16:35,360 relevant verses. And what we're going to see is 265 00:16:35,400 --> 00:16:42,320 Jesus now give 6 powerful contrasts in his words, where 266 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:48,840 he'll start with, you've heard it said, but I say unto you. 267 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:53,000 And as he does so, what he's doing is he's showing how the 268 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:57,720 law of love moves from external rule keeping and appearances to 269 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:04,480 internal heart transformation. Let's look at the first in 270 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,400 verses 21 to 26, the principle of reconciliation to do with 271 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:13,640 anger and murder our relationships to others. 272 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:19,520 Verse 21, Jesus says he begins with the first you have heard 273 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:25,599 that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder one of 274 00:17:25,599 --> 00:17:30,560 the 10 commandments and whoever murders will be in danger of the 275 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:37,120 judgement. But I say to you, verse 22, that 276 00:17:37,120 --> 00:17:44,640 whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be 277 00:17:44,640 --> 00:17:48,920 in danger of the judgement. And whoever says to his brother 278 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:54,480 Raqqa shall be in danger of the council. 279 00:17:55,400 --> 00:18:04,480 The word Raqqa there means empty headed, stupid, dim witted to 280 00:18:04,520 --> 00:18:06,760 use that label to give to somebody else. 281 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,880 I'm not sure if the elevator goes all the way to the top with 282 00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,520 you. We might say to someone, but 283 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:18,880 whoever says you fool should be in danger of Hellfire. 284 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:25,080 Therefore, if you bring So in light of all that I've said, 285 00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,800 Jesus goes on verse 23. If you bring your gift to the 286 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:33,760 altar, if you come to worship, come to the temple and there 287 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,360 remember that your brother has something against you. 288 00:18:36,360 --> 00:18:39,920 Leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. 289 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,600 First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer 290 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,800 your gift. Agree with the adversary 291 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:50,080 quickly, verse 25, while you are on the way with him, lest your 292 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:54,000 adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over 293 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000 to the officer and you'll be thrown into prison. 294 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:00,680 Surely I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till 295 00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:03,520 you have paid the last penny. And there is so much in these 296 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,240 verses that we're going to read tonight. 297 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:09,640 And part of my struggle through the week was how am I going to 298 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,680 break this up? And what I'm going to do is give 299 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:16,040 us a more of an overview and encourage you hopefully to whet 300 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,000 the appetite a bit to dig in more deeply as a student. 301 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,560 Because like I say, we're going to spend a long time in the 302 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,560 Gospel of Matthew. But I don't want to be spending 303 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:26,880 ten years in the Gospel of Matthew. 304 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,920 And we could certainly just out of a few of these verses have 3 305 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,040 sermons coming out of what we've just read. 306 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:35,920 But we're looking at the principle. 307 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:40,120 So here's what Jesus is giving effectively A manifesto for for 308 00:19:40,120 --> 00:19:44,160 Kingdom of heaven, citizen living righteousness exceeding 309 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,760 that of the scribes and the Pharisees and to do with murder. 310 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:50,360 And and they were going around the scribes and the Pharisees 311 00:19:50,360 --> 00:19:54,440 thinking they're pretty good. They've not murdered anybody as 312 00:19:54,440 --> 00:19:58,600 we would do today. Jesus gets to to the heart of it 313 00:19:58,600 --> 00:20:00,280 said the Lord said you shall not murder. 314 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:06,640 You've heard it said of old. Now Jesus connects anger and 315 00:20:06,640 --> 00:20:14,560 contempt and hate towards a brother and puts us in danger of 316 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:19,120 judgement by having so of calling someone Raqqa empty 317 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:23,920 headed, a fool. It's very serious in this. 318 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,640 Not to be flippant, not to just throw these things out and to 319 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:32,040 harbour these attitudes and these actions towards others and 320 00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,280 think, well, I'm not murdering, I'm not killing anybody. 321 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,120 So I'm, I'm, I'm obeying the law and the prophets. 322 00:20:37,120 --> 00:20:38,760 But Jesus is not goes to the heart. 323 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,040 It's more than that. It's more than just an outward 324 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,640 appearance of not actually doing the deed, but if you've thought 325 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:48,600 it, it's as good as done. This will be the the heart that 326 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:51,400 runs through many of these examples that Jesus gives. 327 00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:57,600 And we read such of these things and we might go, well, what of 328 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,640 anger then? Am I able to have anger because, 329 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,440 you know, I get angry over injustice and when I see 330 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:07,200 unrighteousness and when I see people mistreated and harmed. 331 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:09,760 And we kind of considered that and looked at that in our study 332 00:21:10,360 --> 00:21:14,120 through 1st and 2nd Corinthians, if you remember, and always 333 00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:17,800 going back to to anger. Did did Jesus display anger? 334 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,080 Yeah, he did. It was righteous anger. 335 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,600 He certainly didn't call people Raqqa. 336 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:34,600 He did use some pretty strong language towards people, but his 337 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,800 anger was against those who would pollute and pervert and 338 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,680 destroy and in so doing 'cause people to be put off the things 339 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,640 of God. And then he goes on and talks 340 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,400 about seeking reconciliation. Quickly. 341 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,760 Be ready to do so. If you're coming to worship and 342 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,080 you recognise that there's some animosity or hostility between 343 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,360 you and a brother, just drop the gift. 344 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:58,280 Go and reconcile. Sort that out. 345 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:00,280 Deal with it. Because overall, Kingdom love 346 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:04,440 deals with heart attitudes before they become actions. 347 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:08,480 How can I lift my hands and worship under God when there's 348 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,560 this, this tension and oh, I need to seek forgiveness and we 349 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:14,640 need to be right and we need to sort this out. 350 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:20,400 It's the law of love and the principle of reconciliation, 351 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:29,240 connecting anger towards murder. Second, principally, perhaps 352 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:35,200 knowing our day and age in which we live, deals with lust, deals 353 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,520 with adultery 7 to 30 and this principle of purity, you've 354 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:43,560 heard that it was said to those of old, verse 27 you shall not 355 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,120 commit adultery. And the scides and the 356 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:48,680 Pharisees, they were quick to bring those that they'd caught 357 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:52,160 in the act of adultery. But Oh no, we, we would never. 358 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:58,160 But I say to you, Jesus says verse 28, that whoever looks at 359 00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,400 a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with 360 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:07,160 her in his heart. Then he goes on 29 If your right 361 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:10,080 eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. 362 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,880 It is more profitable for you that one of your members perish 363 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:16,400 than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 364 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,400 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from 365 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:24,760 you, for it is more profitable for you that one of your members 366 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:27,880 perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 367 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,200 Wow, there's some heavy verses we're going to be reading 368 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:35,040 through tonight and Jesus specifically on this one said, 369 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:40,160 you've heard it said of all you shall not commit adultery. 370 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,600 Then Jesus says, all right, let me connect it to something all 371 00:23:44,600 --> 00:23:48,520 the more powerful. Looking lustfully upon somebody 372 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:52,400 is, with intent, committing adultery in the heart. 373 00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,480 Let me understand, Jesus isn't saying that they're the same 374 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:00,800 thing as some have mistakenly figured and gone. 375 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:02,560 Well, I've looked, so I may as well do. 376 00:24:03,040 --> 00:24:07,960 That's just stupidity. Now, the point is that both are 377 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,520 sin. Let me try and explain this a 378 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:15,600 little bit further. The greater adultery starts with 379 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:20,080 the feeding of the lesser. That's what we saw with David, 380 00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:25,000 right? With Bathsheba, sin begins in 381 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,760 the imagination, a Bible commentator, DA Carson noted and 382 00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:34,520 said imagination is God's given gift, but if fed, he goes on 383 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,880 dirt by the eye, the imagination becomes filthy. 384 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,640 And Jesus takes this idea that OK, you think scribes, 385 00:24:45,640 --> 00:24:48,200 Pharisees, their righteousness, they've not committed adultery. 386 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:50,440 But let me tell you that it's a heart matter. 387 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:55,440 But if you've looked lustfully upon another with the intent, 388 00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:59,080 with the desire for adultery, for fornication, you've as good 389 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:03,280 as committed the crime of adultery. 390 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:07,600 And then he says we must therefore deal radically with 391 00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,680 that and violently with such temptation. 392 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,280 And he uses the hyperboles of plucking out the eye and 393 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:19,520 chopping off the hand. If we were to do that literally, 394 00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,760 we know that we would still have the capacity to sin in our mind, 395 00:25:22,760 --> 00:25:27,920 would we not? And in this, what Jesus is 396 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,240 declaring is the sacredness of the the human body and 397 00:25:31,240 --> 00:25:35,760 particularly the female form, recognising that they're a 398 00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:40,840 daughter, they're a sister, they're a betrothed, not an 399 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:45,480 object to be disregarded and used and abused in that way. 400 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:51,640 Because again, Kingdom love, the law of love, the law of the 401 00:25:51,640 --> 00:25:56,720 Kingdom, it guards purity at the level of desire. 402 00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:02,480 God help us all in this regard. Then he. 403 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:06,800 Builds and goes further the principle of fidelity and now 404 00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,200 moves into marriage and deals with divorce and verses 31 and 405 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:13,920 32. Furthermore, it has been said 406 00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:17,920 whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of 407 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:22,240 divorce. But I say to you that whoever 408 00:26:22,240 --> 00:26:27,160 divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes 409 00:26:27,160 --> 00:26:31,560 her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a woman who is 410 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:35,800 divorced commits adultery. Again, we could spend so much in 411 00:26:35,800 --> 00:26:39,200 these verses, could we not? We we dealt dealt with it 412 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,360 somewhat in our study of First Corinthians, Second Corinthians 413 00:26:42,360 --> 00:26:44,960 and we we looked at marriage, we looked at singleness, we looked 414 00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:47,720 at divorce. But for our purposes tonight, 415 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:53,640 the principle of fidelity, understand that in Jesus day for 416 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:57,680 the audience gathered there are effectively 2 schools of thought 417 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:03,400 when it came to divorce. A fellow called Rabbi Shamay and 418 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:08,080 his teachings was that divorce was only due to and as a 419 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:12,120 consequence out of sexual immorality and that would be 420 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:15,680 evident through the scriptures. And there was another school of 421 00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:22,320 thought under a guy called Rabbi Halal, where, to summarise, 422 00:27:22,360 --> 00:27:27,920 divorce was effectively open to interpretation and up for almost 423 00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:30,640 anything. You can understand what was the 424 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:36,440 most popular back then. And Jesus here in his teaching, 425 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:43,320 upholds a high view of marriage, the covenant relationship, while 426 00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:47,040 acknowledging the hardness of the heart in respect to this. 427 00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,120 And for us as the church, over the years, there's been a lot 428 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,280 with respect to this topic of marriage and divorce. 429 00:27:56,280 --> 00:28:01,600 And the Church must neither treat divorced people as lepers. 430 00:28:02,840 --> 00:28:08,800 We're all sinners in need of God's grace, but nor slip into 431 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,480 the world's casual, flippant attitude towards divorce. 432 00:28:14,560 --> 00:28:17,280 A citizen of the Kingdom of heaven is different when it 433 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:21,880 comes to the sanctity, the purity, the fidelity of the 434 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:30,400 marriage relationship. Verses 33 through to 37 looking 435 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:32,200 at the principles of the Kingdom, the principle of 436 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:38,080 integrity to do with our oaths and our truthfulness in what we 437 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,320 declare and what we speak in what we utter. 438 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,440 Again. Jesus says verse 33, You have 439 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:49,280 heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear 440 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:53,000 falsely, you shall perform your oath to the Lord. 441 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:58,840 But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for 442 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:03,640 it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is His footstool, 443 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,800 nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 444 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,360 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make 445 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:18,400 one hair white or black. But let your yes be yes, and 446 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:22,360 your no, no. Whatever is more than these is 447 00:29:22,360 --> 00:29:27,640 from the evil 1. In other words, keep it simple 448 00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,240 in this regard. Let your yes be yes. 449 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:32,960 May it be that what you declare, what you say, what you utter, 450 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,320 what you speak, that it's trustworthy? 451 00:29:37,520 --> 00:29:39,840 That people can. Depend upon you to not only be a 452 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,280 speaker, but a doer of things and a fulfiller of those. 453 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:47,440 And let your no be no, don't swear by heaven, don't swear by 454 00:29:47,480 --> 00:29:51,200 earth, don't pinky swear, don't on my mum's grave and and all of 455 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:53,960 those things that people say to try and enforce that. 456 00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:55,880 No, I'm really telling the truth this time. 457 00:29:56,120 --> 00:30:00,120 May it be so that of you as a citizen of the Kingdom of 458 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:03,040 Heaven, that people know that when you speak, you speak the 459 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:07,800 truth, and that love motivates and guides and governs that. 460 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:13,560 And our word then, as believers should be so reliable that no 461 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,320 oath is needed. For back then, as is the case 462 00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:21,560 today, people will say what they need to say in a moment when 463 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:24,800 it's convenient, and then act all together different when it's 464 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,840 convenient. We've all been burnt by people 465 00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:30,720 like that. We've all experienced that and 466 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:35,720 maybe many of us have done those very things where we have said 467 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:38,640 things just to sort of get by and in that moment think, Yep, 468 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:41,120 that's what they need to hear. But then later I've got no 469 00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,920 intention of following through with those actions. 470 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,240 Jesus says let you yes, be yes, you no be no. 471 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:52,040 Kingdom citizens are people of truth known for meaning what we 472 00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:58,280 say and saying what we mean. And then there's the principle 473 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,120 of non retaliation to do with insults and generosity. 474 00:31:02,120 --> 00:31:04,800 OK, if I'm going to be like that, then I'm going to be open 475 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:10,120 for all sorts of insults. Jesus anticipates that there's 476 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,920 38 to 42. You have heard that it was said 477 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:18,600 an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 478 00:31:18,600 --> 00:31:23,880 Now that law came out of and the importance of justice being 479 00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:28,240 fulfilled, but also not an overreaching hand of justice to 480 00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:32,320 we just go absolutely ballistic on somebody and go above and 481 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:33,960 beyond. Well, you wronged me, so I'm 482 00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:35,600 going to give it back to you and then some. 483 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:43,520 But I tell you, Jesus said verse 39 not to resist an evil person, 484 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:49,520 but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to 485 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:53,120 him also. If anyone wants to. 486 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:55,160 Sue you and take away your tunic. 487 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:01,000 Let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you, maybe 488 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,080 there were some Roman soldiers standing nearby. 489 00:32:03,080 --> 00:32:07,200 I'll explain that in a moment why I say that? 490 00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:10,760 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him too. 491 00:32:13,360 --> 00:32:15,800 Give to him who? Asks you and from him who wants 492 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,120 to borrow from you. Do not turn away. 493 00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,440 Let's look at these verses principle of non retaliation to 494 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:29,360 do with insults, generosity, an eye for an eye was the saying 495 00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:33,920 it's the law profits. There's a limit on vengeance 496 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:38,040 when it came to justice, but Jesus calls U.S. citizens of 497 00:32:38,040 --> 00:32:44,040 heaven personally to non retaliation in this instant. 498 00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,720 Turn the other cheek. He said, go the second mile, 499 00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,000 give generously if somebody asks. 500 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:56,680 And this isn't passive weakness, but active overcoming love 501 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:02,320 towards others who would seek to insult us, to use us, to abuse 502 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:05,240 us. And it's very oh man, it rubs 503 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:08,000 against the grain, doesn't it? Naturally for how we want to 504 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:12,400 respond in such moments. Let me explain all those things 505 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:14,560 that I just said quickly in in reading. 506 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:17,800 I said there may have been Roman soldiers in the audience. 507 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:24,440 Well, a Roman soldier in those days could and would make any 508 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:28,280 person that they came across carry their armour or their 509 00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:30,600 baggage. But there was a a limit to that 510 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:37,040 in the law up to a mile. And Jesus says blow his mind, go 511 00:33:37,040 --> 00:33:44,560 to and then whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other 512 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,120 to him. Also, what does Jesus mean by 513 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,080 this and what it's meant by the slapping on the right cheek? 514 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:53,960 Understand it's a cultural insult. 515 00:33:55,600 --> 00:33:58,800 Most of them back then, as the case today were right handed and 516 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:02,040 if you were to slap somebody across the cheek with your right 517 00:34:02,040 --> 00:34:05,280 hand, you would be slapping their left cheek, wouldn't you? 518 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:10,239 To slap somebody on the right cheek is to take typically your 519 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,800 right hand and to backhand slap them across the face. 520 00:34:14,440 --> 00:34:19,920 Intended to be an insult rather than a lashing out in, you know, 521 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:24,120 a bit of a conflict or a biff maybe we might say it was a an 522 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:30,239 intentional backhanded slap. So what do you do in such 523 00:34:30,239 --> 00:34:35,440 instances where Jesus says turn the other cheek, but you could 524 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:42,880 return that backhanded slap with interest, couldn't you could 525 00:34:42,880 --> 00:34:50,400 turn and run, probably me, you could stand and take it and off 526 00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:56,800 of the other cheek. And what Jesus is saying here 527 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:02,800 patiently bear because of the law of love at work in you such 528 00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:11,240 insults backhanded slap across the face and offences and to not 529 00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:13,800 resist an evil person who insults in this way. 530 00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:20,600 I meant to do that you know to do that as a citizen of heaven. 531 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,480 Like I say, it goes against everything within us right. 532 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,120 You know what we do when we all right turn the other cheek. 533 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:32,320 Here's what we're doing. Here's what we're saying and 534 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:40,000 here is the connection is we are trusting in God to defend, we're 535 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:45,960 trusting in God to avenge for God said in his word, vengeance 536 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:49,560 is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. 537 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:58,400 Here's here's the difficulty in that when we're desirous of 538 00:35:58,400 --> 00:36:01,640 justice for a wrongdoing in such regard, and we take matters into 539 00:36:01,640 --> 00:36:03,920 our own hands. Oh yeah, justice comes eye for 540 00:36:03,920 --> 00:36:08,360 an eye, tooth for a tooth, but we've robbed God of that which 541 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:10,160 belongs to him. Vengeance is mine. 542 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:17,520 I will repay, says the Lord. Either justice will come by God 543 00:36:17,520 --> 00:36:21,680 from the throne to them on Judgement Day, or justice will 544 00:36:21,680 --> 00:36:25,240 come should they seek repentance and forgiveness, just as all of 545 00:36:25,240 --> 00:36:28,360 us. And justice will be poured out, 546 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:31,120 judgement will be poured out rather on Jesus who died on the 547 00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:34,200 cross. But in turning the other cheek, 548 00:36:34,200 --> 00:36:38,000 it's a trusting for God to take care of it and to take care of 549 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:41,080 you. And it's a it's a difficult 550 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:44,080 thing that we need God's help in this regard to obey and to 551 00:36:44,080 --> 00:36:46,440 follow. Now, as an aside, let me deal 552 00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:48,640 with this. Is it wrong to think that Jesus 553 00:36:48,640 --> 00:36:50,400 means evil should never be resisted? 554 00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:52,800 Do we see that in the Scriptures? 555 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:57,160 Jesus. Demonstrated in his life, and 556 00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:00,000 we'll see it as we go through the Gospels, that evil should 557 00:37:00,000 --> 00:37:04,120 and must be resisted. Such as when he. 558 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,960 Overturned the tables in the temple and other examples. 559 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:13,040 So I think it wrong to think that here Jesus is meaning all 560 00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:16,720 physical attack cannot be resisted or defended against. 561 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:23,880 We're not to be doormat in this regard, but when Jesus speaks of 562 00:37:23,880 --> 00:37:27,400 a slap on your right cheek, it was culturally understood as a 563 00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:32,080 deep insult, not a physical attack in the way that we might 564 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:36,000 think of it. It's also wrong to think that 565 00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:39,160 Jesus means there's no place for punishment or retribution in 566 00:37:39,160 --> 00:37:42,000 society. Jesus here is speaking towards 567 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,960 the personal relationship, not to the proper functions of 568 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:50,360 government in restraining evil. That's what Romans 13 speaks of 569 00:37:50,360 --> 00:37:53,400 in verses 123 and 4. So we have our right and and 570 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:57,880 Paul would appeal as a Roman citizen for justice in that 571 00:37:57,880 --> 00:38:02,560 regard. But I am hearing this in turning 572 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:05,520 the cheek when personally insulted. 573 00:38:06,440 --> 00:38:10,240 I can do that but also understand that the government 574 00:38:10,480 --> 00:38:14,400 has a responsibility to restrain the evil man from physical 575 00:38:14,600 --> 00:38:18,760 assault and attack and that's not something that we're to 576 00:38:18,760 --> 00:38:25,360 abdicate of our access to as citizens of earth as well being 577 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,400 citizens of heaven. On this Berkeley said Jesus here 578 00:38:28,400 --> 00:38:31,880 is saying that the true Christian has learned to resent 579 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:35,560 no insult and to seek retaliation for no slight. 580 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:39,200 And when we think of Jesus, remember he said I have not come 581 00:38:39,200 --> 00:38:42,640 to do away with the law and the prophets. 582 00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:47,200 So when we think of Jesus life, when we think how Jesus himself 583 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:53,560 was insulted, Jesus himself was spoken evil against, think of 584 00:38:53,560 --> 00:38:55,000 the things that were said of Jesus. 585 00:38:55,400 --> 00:38:58,400 Oh, he's a glutton, he's a wine Bibber. 586 00:38:59,920 --> 00:39:01,760 I mean, you know what his mother did, right? 587 00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:06,960 He's a blasphemer, he's a madman. 588 00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:09,800 Even his family tried to have an intervention. 589 00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,440 And how we see that Jesus lived this principle himself. 590 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:20,840 It's a high. Calling, yes, it's a calling of 591 00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:24,600 the citizen of heaven and unless your righteousness exceeds out 592 00:39:24,600 --> 00:39:27,360 of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus said, and now the 593 00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:31,840 audience, you can see, just as we are feels the weight of this 594 00:39:33,320 --> 00:39:36,320 and it's all leading to a point that we'll get to Israel. 595 00:39:36,320 --> 00:39:40,240 Hurry up and make it all right. I'm making it the last verses, 596 00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:45,560 verse 43 to 48, the final principle, principle of enemy 597 00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:48,480 love. You have heard that it was said, 598 00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:51,080 you shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy. 599 00:39:51,080 --> 00:39:55,040 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse 600 00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:58,480 you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who 601 00:39:58,480 --> 00:40:04,400 spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of 602 00:40:04,400 --> 00:40:09,440 your Father in heaven. But he makes his sunrise on the 603 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:13,480 evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the 604 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:17,240 unjust. For if you love those who love 605 00:40:17,240 --> 00:40:21,320 you, what reward have you? Do not even tax collectors do 606 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:24,800 the same? Wonder if he gave Levi a little 607 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:30,040 wink at that? And if you greet your brethren 608 00:40:30,040 --> 00:40:33,960 only, verse 47, what do you do more than others? 609 00:40:34,440 --> 00:40:36,520 Do not even the tax collectors do so? 610 00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:42,680 Therefore, verse 48, you shall be perfect just as your Father 611 00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:50,040 in heaven is perfect citizens of heaven, the family of God, 612 00:40:50,040 --> 00:40:53,000 children of God doesn't not stand a reason that there's a 613 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:55,680 family resemblance. Jesus himself said that that you 614 00:40:55,680 --> 00:40:58,000 may be sons of your Father in heaven. 615 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,800 Verse 45 shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy 616 00:41:01,800 --> 00:41:08,640 was the human addition, but Jesus commands and says love 617 00:41:08,640 --> 00:41:12,360 your enemies. This is the divine addition. 618 00:41:12,960 --> 00:41:15,440 And pray for those who persecute you. 619 00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:21,320 Why? Jesus answers that and says why? 620 00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:25,400 Because this is what your heavenly Father does. 621 00:41:28,160 --> 00:41:33,720 This is how he acts. He sends his reign and the just 622 00:41:34,880 --> 00:41:38,520 and the unjust and the evil and the good. 623 00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:46,000 Then he builds upon that and says you think it's pretty good 624 00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:47,800 to love others just because they love you. 625 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:50,920 The tax collectors do that. He says, let's, let's blow some 626 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:54,440 minds of people here. Nothing would annoy enemies more 627 00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:57,600 than for you to reflect God's character to them and love them 628 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:02,640 back when they've meant hatred towards you because Kingdom 629 00:42:02,640 --> 00:42:05,600 perfection is being like the father and you, you hear that 630 00:42:05,600 --> 00:42:08,960 And we we hear all of this through these verses and we're 631 00:42:08,960 --> 00:42:13,240 going can't do it. How is that even possible to 632 00:42:13,240 --> 00:42:15,760 love someone like that? And so Jesus says, how do you do 633 00:42:15,760 --> 00:42:23,640 this verse 44 Pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute 634 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:25,880 you. Ask God for help. 635 00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:32,240 God help me and not only God help me, but I I pray for them. 636 00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:37,600 They've persecuted, they've abused me in this way and oh God 637 00:42:38,320 --> 00:42:44,840 bless them. And Jesus sums it all up with 638 00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:47,640 this staggering command. You therefore must be perfect, 639 00:42:47,640 --> 00:42:50,720 verse 48, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 640 00:42:52,120 --> 00:42:57,720 And again, the audience and you and I in reading this, and it's 641 00:42:57,720 --> 00:43:04,280 impossible, but if anyone could fulfil this, do not think I've 642 00:43:04,840 --> 00:43:06,840 come to do away with the law and the prophets. 643 00:43:06,840 --> 00:43:12,400 But Jesus said I've come to fulfil, to fill full the law. 644 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:18,920 It was Jesus never harbouring hate, never having lust in his 645 00:43:18,920 --> 00:43:24,240 heart, never having deceit in his words, never having 646 00:43:24,240 --> 00:43:29,720 retaliation to insults, never failing to love enemies. 647 00:43:31,400 --> 00:43:34,920 Such a person would possess the righteousness that exceeds that 648 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:36,960 of the scribes and the Pharisees, would they not? 649 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:41,880 And that is Jesus, the fulfilment of the law. 650 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:47,080 Only one man has ever, could ever lived in this fashion, in 651 00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:49,320 this way. It's Jesus himself. 652 00:43:49,320 --> 00:43:56,280 Now again, in reading this, we're exposed as guilty sinners 653 00:43:56,280 --> 00:44:02,080 all the way through who cannot, could ever achieve this on our 654 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:03,680 own. The righteousness scribes and 655 00:44:03,680 --> 00:44:08,040 Pharisees can't do it, reflecting God my Father in this 656 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:11,480 way. Oh, man, being perfect as he is 657 00:44:11,480 --> 00:44:13,040 perfect. Oh. 658 00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:17,840 Everybody. Listening, who had any ounce of 659 00:44:17,840 --> 00:44:22,720 self righteousness would have the rug pulled out from under 660 00:44:22,720 --> 00:44:25,240 their feet in hearing these words, would they not? 661 00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:31,160 Just as many of us have been feeling probably the heaviness 662 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:33,320 and the weight of these words of Jesus tonight. 663 00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:37,160 You know what the result is, and I think would be the result of 664 00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:40,560 the audience gathered is that they would be running back in 665 00:44:40,560 --> 00:44:43,600 their mind to Jesus words when he uttered the first of the 666 00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:46,720 beatitudes. Blessed are the poor in spirit. 667 00:44:46,720 --> 00:44:50,040 Oh man, I am. I've got nothing. 668 00:44:50,040 --> 00:44:57,160 God, I'm desperately in need of a saviour of help, my 669 00:44:57,160 --> 00:44:59,160 righteousness. I thought I was good. 670 00:45:00,720 --> 00:45:03,760 I thought I could maybe even attain the level of the scribes 671 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:06,720 and the Pharisees and the Sadducees, but I can't. 672 00:45:08,440 --> 00:45:11,440 God help me. And Jesus says blessed are the 673 00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:14,520 poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. 674 00:45:15,760 --> 00:45:18,960 And again and again through this, remember what we're, we're 675 00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:22,280 learning, what we're discovering out of this is it's not God 676 00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:27,440 helps those who help themselves. It's God helps those who cannot 677 00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:31,240 help themselves. And that is why we need 678 00:45:31,240 --> 00:45:33,280 righteousness apart from the law. 679 00:45:33,760 --> 00:45:36,960 Romans chapter 3, verses 21 to 22 indicates this. 680 00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:40,120 And it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus 681 00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:44,480 Christ that now makes this law of love possible in US. 682 00:45:44,960 --> 00:45:49,120 And then the law as truly interpreted drives us to Christ 683 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:55,160 and the law, his law of love is written on our hearts overall. 684 00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:57,240 Again, we, we can't help ourselves. 685 00:45:58,080 --> 00:46:03,640 God, it is he who helps us. And because God helps us, we are 686 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:10,000 loved, we are made righteous. We are the salt of the earth, 687 00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:15,240 the light of the world. We are blessed. 688 00:46:15,240 --> 00:46:17,760 This is what I want to bring home because in all of this, in 689 00:46:17,760 --> 00:46:23,600 chapter 5, this is what one Bible commentator, WH Griffith 690 00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:26,320 Thomas, he, he beautifully points out in this entire 5th 691 00:46:26,320 --> 00:46:29,440 chapter of Matthew and he says it, it shows us what the 692 00:46:29,440 --> 00:46:33,520 citizens of the Kingdom of heaven are to be. 693 00:46:34,240 --> 00:46:37,280 And it's summed up in one word. He says blessed. 694 00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:42,240 I love that citizen of the Kingdom of heaven is blessed. 695 00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:47,120 And the term blessed, he points out, is often found through the 696 00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:52,200 Scriptures, but three strategic places he points out that when 697 00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:55,240 put together, they constitute the full revelation of how 698 00:46:55,880 --> 00:47:00,320 Christ blesses us, his people, both on earth and in heaven. 699 00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:04,480 Blessed appears again and again in the Psalms, doesn't it, 700 00:47:05,720 --> 00:47:08,960 showing how blessedness comes through a right relationship 701 00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:12,280 with God. Then blessed appears in the 702 00:47:12,280 --> 00:47:13,960 Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes. 703 00:47:13,960 --> 00:47:17,000 Blessed are the poor in spirit. What we've been distorting the 704 00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:20,440 the character and the and the conduct of the citizens of the 705 00:47:20,440 --> 00:47:23,440 Kingdom. And finally we we see blessed 706 00:47:23,440 --> 00:47:27,680 again and again in the Book of Revelation pointing to the 707 00:47:27,680 --> 00:47:31,320 consummation of all things and so on earth. 708 00:47:32,240 --> 00:47:34,520 This blessing is the blessing of grace. 709 00:47:36,160 --> 00:47:41,000 It's not earned by perfect law keeping because we can't do it, 710 00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:46,800 but received as a free gift of God's grace through the finished 711 00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:51,160 work of Jesus Christ. And the Beatitude described the 712 00:47:51,160 --> 00:47:56,560 happy condition of those who are poor in spirit, who are mourning 713 00:47:56,560 --> 00:48:02,840 over sin, who are meek, who are hungry for righteousness, who 714 00:48:02,840 --> 00:48:08,040 are merciful, pure in heart, the peacemakers persecuted for 715 00:48:08,040 --> 00:48:12,280 righteousness sake. So this blessedness then is the 716 00:48:12,280 --> 00:48:16,520 present position and possession of every believer who walks in 717 00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:21,240 the grace of the king who fulfilled the law of the Old 718 00:48:21,240 --> 00:48:26,080 Testament, the prophets of Moses, of the 10 commandments to 719 00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:29,280 the full. I've not come to do away with 720 00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:32,640 the law, he said. But I am the fulfilment of it. 721 00:48:33,680 --> 00:48:38,560 And then in heaven it's a a blessing of future glory, the 722 00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:43,800 full unbroken enjoyment of God's presence but evermore with him, 723 00:48:45,080 --> 00:48:48,400 the complete realisation of the Kingdom of what Jesus has been 724 00:48:48,400 --> 00:48:53,200 talking about and the reward of faithfulness and the blessedness 725 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:56,480 that begins here on earth through grace is perfected in 726 00:48:56,480 --> 00:49:02,040 glory in heaven. So what are we to do with a text 727 00:49:02,040 --> 00:49:07,680 like this? Tonight has the law love exposed 728 00:49:07,680 --> 00:49:11,160 your heart tonight and it butchered me through the week. 729 00:49:14,680 --> 00:49:17,320 Areas of. Anger and of lust and bitterness 730 00:49:17,320 --> 00:49:21,360 and lack of integrity and unwillingness to love enemies. 731 00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:27,520 May it 'cause you and I tonight to come to the only One who 732 00:49:27,520 --> 00:49:33,360 perfectly fulfilled the law and to receive His righteousness by 733 00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:39,440 faith and then by the power of the Holy Spirit He grants to us. 734 00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:45,840 Let the law of love shape every part of your life, of your day, 735 00:49:46,880 --> 00:49:51,400 as a response to who He is and to what He has done. 736 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:56,120 Then you've insulted me. But because of who God is and 737 00:49:56,120 --> 00:49:58,600 because of what God has done to me, I'm going to respond 738 00:49:58,600 --> 00:50:06,680 differently to you now. May we live as blessed citizens 739 00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:12,280 of the Kingdom of heaven, reflecting the perfect love of 740 00:50:12,280 --> 00:50:16,800 our Heavenly Father. Let's pray. 741 00:50:16,800 --> 00:50:19,400 Lord, I thank you for your word. I thank you for your people 742 00:50:19,400 --> 00:50:23,280 tonight. And we confess that in reading 743 00:50:23,360 --> 00:50:30,320 such a text as this, that it challenges us and it makes us to 744 00:50:31,160 --> 00:50:35,520 recognise that in ourselves there is nothing that we have to 745 00:50:35,520 --> 00:50:37,840 offer. We are truly poor in spirit. 746 00:50:39,000 --> 00:50:43,360 So we're so grateful and thankful for who you are as the 747 00:50:43,360 --> 00:50:47,840 perfecter of our faith and the fulfiller of the law and the 748 00:50:47,840 --> 00:50:55,880 prophets and that we can come to you and in your righteousness by 749 00:50:55,880 --> 00:51:02,600 faith in that we are made right. And now we can live in a 750 00:51:02,600 --> 00:51:04,280 different way as citizens of heaven. 751 00:51:06,320 --> 00:51:11,680 May love that has been received from you flow out of us on to 752 00:51:11,720 --> 00:51:17,120 others and check and arrest our attitudes and our our mindset 753 00:51:18,320 --> 00:51:20,920 and situations such as we read of tonight. 754 00:51:22,480 --> 00:51:26,320 Help us in this way. Lord God, may we know the 755 00:51:26,320 --> 00:51:32,360 blessing of you and every day and every moment in thought, in 756 00:51:32,360 --> 00:51:37,080 Word indeed. We thank you for your mercy, we 757 00:51:37,080 --> 00:51:40,720 thank you for your grace, we thank you for your love towards 758 00:51:40,720 --> 00:51:42,720 us. We are so undeserving. 759 00:51:47,440 --> 00:51:50,080 We bless you and we honour you now in Jesus great name. 760 00:51:50,800 --> 00:51:51,760 Amen. Amen. 761 00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:54,880 Just to know you.