TAKING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”

"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.”

"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Matthew 5:17-48

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever asked the following question, “Why are we doing it that way?” only to receive the answer, “Because that’s the way we have always done it.”

I don’t know about you but I’ve never been a big fan of that approach, mostly because it almost always means that the status quo has been accepted and any chance of change rejected.

Thank goodness that Jesus wasn’t willing to accept the status quo…a status quo that had been established by the religious authorities of the day…the Pharisees and the Sadducees. This status quo had held a hard legalistic line in accordance with Old Testament law although the leaders who proclaimed and enforced the laws were not willing to conform to them in their own lives. This hypocrisy is what bristled Jesus and caused Him to speak out against the religious double standards.

It is in this context that we start looking at our scripture passage today. We find Jesus continuing to teach His followers during His Sermon on the Mount and setting that ease that He wasn’t coming to change the laws of the Old Testament or the Prophets who spoke so many words of truth from God. No, Jesus tells the people that He had not “come to abolish the Law or the Prophets” but rather to fulfill them and I would add this…He came to enhance them and take them to a new level.

You see Jesus respected the Law because the words of the Law were the very words of His Father. And so it is little surprise when he says that the Law will never disappear “until everything is accomplished”. He further upholds the tenets of the Law by condemning anyone who would break “one of the least of these commandments” and teach “others to do the same”, saying that they would be called “least in the kingdom of heaven”. Conversely, anyone who would practice and teach the commands of the Law would be called “great in the kingdom of heaven”. Ultimately, Jesus exhorted the people to make sure their righteousness surpassed the “Pharisees and the teachers of the law” so they might “enter the kingdom of heaven.”

So what was Jesus getting at? How could the people He was speaking to have a righteousness that surpassed the Pharisees and teachers of the law?

It’s simple.

They had to take their righteous living to the next level…and Jesus was ready to show and teach them how?

As we look to the scriptures, we find Jesus using seven distinct examples from the Law and expanding on them to help the Israelites find their way to that higher plane of holy living.

He starts with the subject of murder. The people of Israel knew the commandment, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13) and were aware of the judgment that came with a violation of God’s command. But look at what Jesus does. He tells His listeners that “anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” and “anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

Whoa…wait a minute Jesus. Are you saying that I can’t even get angry with someone or resort to name calling without being subject to judgment…even the “fire of hell”.
Jesus would say, “Mark…that’s EXACTLY what I mean.”

You see, Jesus, in His infinite wisdom, knew that it wasn’t enough to just attack to act of murder because you can prevent the result if you address its causes first.

Ask yourself this. How many people commit murder every year because they were in a fit of rage against another? Or how many people tease and name call until the victim of their verbal attacks decides to end the harassment for good? Friends, it happens every day.

Jesus knew that it wasn’t just enough to say do not murder. He had to address the causes as well and place the same judgment on those causes to keep people from even starting to go down a road that might lead to murder. Instead, Jesus urged people to reconcile their differences with others…before one would bring an offering…before one would even get into court with an adversary.

You see reconciliation is the polar opposite of murder…and where Jesus expects us to go in all our dealings with others.

After murder, Jesus addresses the matter of adultery. Again, God’s command was well known…”You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14) but look what Jesus says:

“…anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Jesus, are you serious? So if a married man or woman looks at a woman and thinks romantic thoughts about them than it’s the same as actually having an affair with them?

Jesus would say that this is right on the mark. Because just as He did with murder, Jesus was getting to the roots of adultery. One must first lust after another with their heart before they will ever physically engage in an adulterous act. Fix the cause and you can prevent the sin from occurring and the commandment from being broken.

After adultery, Jesus looked at the matter of divorce. Sometimes, I think He wrote these words far more for today than he did for the New Testament days He spoke in. For Jesus looked at the base law of divorce and took it to a higher level of accountability. You get the feel that divorce was easy. Just decide you no longer wanted to be married and all you had to do was issue your wife a certificate of divorce. It seems to be just as easy if not easier today.

But Jesus said that divorcing just because a person wants to is not an appropriate reason. No, He offers only marital unfaithfulness as a viable reason to divorce. Outside of that, marriages were to be kept sacred and in the spirit of love that God intended for them. And as we later will read in God’s word, husbands and wives were supposed to build their relationships on the foundation of love (1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 5:21-33).

Jesus goes on to cover oaths. The Old Testament allowed for people to swear oaths as long as they didn’t defile God’s name in doing so. But again…Jesus wasn’t looking to keep the status quo. No…He questioned why one would have to swear an oath at all. Instead, He proposed that one should just “'Yes' be 'Yes,' and…'No,' 'No'”. It was just too easy. Jesus urged His listeners and us as well to tell the truth…straight up…all the time.

So what about the matter of vengeance? Jesus had something to say about that as well.

Again, as He had in prior examples, Jesus referred to what the people knew already. When it came to revenge, the common response was an “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.” (Deuteronomy 19:21) In other words, do unto others as they do unto you. Not quite the golden rule.

But Jesus taught something radically different…that a person was not to return the same wrong done to them. If you get struck on one cheek, turn the other to your assailant. If someone wants your tunic and threatens you for it, give him your cloak as well. If a person forces you to walk a mile (as the Roman soldiers often did to the Israelites, then Jesus said to walk two miles instead. And He urged us to give to those who ask to borrow.

So how hard is this teaching to hold to? Not easy. We feel the need to defend ourselves when we are done wrong. And we resist giving to others unless we feel we will be repaid. But Jesus exhorts us to live differently and we can do it…we should do it without question…because Jesus would never lead us astray. He only speaks truth.

Finally, Jesus speaks to us about dealing with those who would be our enemies. The cultural norm was to “love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (Leviticus 19:18) but again, Jesus wasn’t about keeping the norm. He was looking for an even better way.

So in going back to His foundation of loving behavior, it’s little surprise that Jesus tells His listeners to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” He would go on to teach that it’s easy to love those who love you and greet those you consider to be your brothers. No…Jesus preached indiscriminate love…a love that is blind and able to look beyond the fault in others.

After all, that’s exactly what the Lord does when He looks at us. He loves us despite our sins. And if he can do that with us, then we need to do that to others.

Or in other words, we are all called to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.

Friends, Jesus came to change the world He entered into…and today He still transforms those who read and cling to His words. Those who fail to embrace Him and His way stay mired in the cultural norms. Or in other words, they never rise above the world. But those who make the choice to shed the ways of the world for the new ways of Jesus find themselves where He hopes for them to be…elevated above the world’s ways to the very ways of heaven where their Father lives…perfect and true.

Question: Are you ready to take your life to a new level today?

You need only to buy into the ways of Jesus right here and now to get there.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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