BECOMING MORE LIKE CHRIST
Matthew
5:33-48
Recently,
after seeing a photo I sent her of my granddaughter resting her head on my
broad shoulders while my arms lovingly wrapped around her, a friend of mine
said, "This grandfatherhood suits you very well. I felt like I had come
full circle." One day, my daughter, seeing me spoon-feeding our
granddaughter, asked me, "Papa, as you have grown older, do you feel like
you are becoming more like Christ?" I paused and said, "I don't know,
but I want to become more like Christ." Then she said, "Yes, you are!
I have never seen you get mad at me, except a few times when you were irritated
because we spilled water or milk!"
That
made me realize I might be becoming more like Christ! The thought of becoming
more like Christ was deeply satisfying. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we all grew
up and became a bit more like Christ? After addressing how the sins of the
heart affect our individual lives and those of others, especially our loved
ones, through adultery and divorce, Jesus continued to distinguish between the
Kingdom Citizens and the people of the world.
He
challenged his followers to be perfect, as their heavenly Father is. I titled
this message "Becoming More Like Christ: Matthew 5:33-48." Becoming
more like Christ means being distinct from the world by cultivating Christ's
heart, which compels us to do Christ's works. In his discourse on the Mount,
Jesus drew three contrasts between the world's ancient practices and those of
the Kingdom's citizens.
I. Being
Truthful In All Circumstances
Matthew
5:37: "All you need to say is simply, 'yes' or 'No'; anything beyond this
comes from the evil one." (NIV). We have heard the statement, "Your
Word is Your Bond!" Where did it come from? It comes from Jesus'
sermon. In the broader context, Jesus exposed the Pharisees' hypocrisy and
distinguished between the people of the world and the followers of His Kingdom.
Keeping
that in mind, let's explore the whole passage, Matthew 5:33-37: "You have
also heard that our ancestors were told, 'You must not break your vows; you
must carry out the vows you make to the Lord.' But I say, do not make any vows!
Do not say, 'By heaven!' because heaven is God's throne. And do not say, 'By
the earth!' because the earth is his footstool. And do not say, 'By Jerusalem!'
for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Do not even say, 'By my head!' for
you can't turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, 'Yes, I will,' or 'No,
I won't.' Anything beyond this is from the evil one." (NLT)
Jesus
wanted his followers to be truthful and straightforward in a society that
twisted the Truth and manipulated falsehoods, and, in particular, to keep the
oaths they had taken before God and others. Jesus encouraged his followers not
to break their oaths but to fulfill them. An oath was a promise to do or not do something. So when we
make a promise, we should keep it.
In the OT, people made oaths invoking God as witness and as
the One who would bring judgment if they broke the promise. Oaths were common
to emphasize seriousness and truthfulness. But sometimes they made oaths by
invoking something lesser than God, like heaven, earth, or Jerusalem, to give
them flexibility so they would not be guilty if they did not fulfill their
oath. On the books, they sounded serious, but they got away with breaking their
oath.
Jesus
was opposed to this dubious practice of saying one thing in public and failing
to carry it out. He drew the contrast by saying, "Just say a simple, 'Yes,
I will,' or 'No, I won't.' Anything beyond this is from the evil one." In
other words, Jesus says your Word should be your promise. Oath or no oath, say what
you mean and stick by it. What does this mean for us today? Many people promise
to do or not do certain things.
Yet they have no qualms about breaking their promises. As
Kingdom citizens, we must be truthful in all circumstances. We must be people of
integrity. We must commit only to what we can do, and do it without
complaining.
II. An Eye for an Eye, and a Tooth for a Tooth!
Matthew 5:38: "You have heard the law
that says the punishment must match the injury: 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth
for a tooth." This is one of the most misunderstood passages in the Bible.
Several Christians use this scripture to justify their anger and take revenge
aggressively against those who have harmed them. We even hear our elected
leaders say, "If you hit me once, I will hit you back ten times
harder." This Mosaic law was there not for that reason!
What would happen if we apply this law in its
literal sense today? The Baptist pastor
and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr once said, "If we do an eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, we will be a blind and toothless nation."
So what did this law, also known as the law of retaliation, mean, and how did
Jesus modify it? Initially, it was made for the children of Israel and was
meant to bring about a measured punishment matching the injury.
Leviticus 24:19-20, "Anyone
who injures another person must be dealt with according to the injury inflicted:
a fracture for a fracture, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Whatever Anyone
does to injure another person must be paid back in kind." NLT. This law
was meant to control excessive punishment and curb anger and the desire for
revenge.
In the New Testament, the Pharisees and scribes seem to
have taken the "eye for an eye" principle and taught that seeking
personal revenge was acceptable. If someone punched you, you could punch him
back; if someone insulted you, he was fair game for your insults. Jesus
countered this common teaching on personal retaliation by introducing Kingdom
principles of forgiveness, turning the other cheek, not resisting the evil one,
respecting the governmental and judicial authority by going the extra mile,
etc. By introducing these principles, Jesus separated responsibilities: our
responsibility is to forgive and leave revenge to God, as Romans 12:19 says.
The government's responsibility is to punish the evil-doers justly and
appropriately.
III. Prayer is the Highest Act Of Love
Matthew 5:43-45:
"You have heard the law that says, 'Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.' But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that
way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. We know
where 'love your neighbor' appears in the OT: Leviticus 19:18. But where do we
find 'hate your enemy' in the Bible? Nowhere!"
So where did this idea of hating your enemy come from? The
full text of the law reads, "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against a
fellow Israelite, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."
Leviticus 19:17-18. In this text, their love was limited to fellow Israelites
who lived among them. They were to seek their welfare and not to hold grudges.
They treated everyone outside their community as an enemy, even though they
posed no threat or harm, and hated them. At some point, God expanded their
neighborhood by including others.
Leviticus 19:33-34: "Do not
take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love
yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt. I
am the Lord your God." But the Israelites' hatred toward those who
were different continued until the time of Jesus.
Jesus acknowledged the law but wanted
to change their attitude toward foreigners or non-Israelites by saying, "You have heard the law that says, 'Love
your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say,
love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Matt 5:43-44
NLT. This was a countercultural idea then and even now.
We
humans are selfish by nature; loving others doesn't come easily. Somehow we
bring ourselves to love our own people, but loving our enemies and praying for
those who are out there to kill us? It is unthinkable and beyond us!
For
that very reason, Jesus wanted His followers to love not only those we like but
also those we might hate, and even those who try to kill us. How can we love
them? By praying for them. Dallas Willard notes that "praying for our
enemies is the highest act of love." [1]That is what Jesus did for us. In his
high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prayed for his followers but also for
all those who would be saved through their message, those who might be the
enemies of the gospel. A direct prayer he offered for those who were literally
crucifying them was on the cross, where he prayed Father forgive them, for they
know not what they were doing.
This
is what becoming more like Christ looks like. It calls for a lifestyle of
truthfulness in all circumstances. We refuse to take revenge; instead, we forgive
those who hurt us. We will offer radical prayers for our enemies, including
those who persecute us.
