Matthew 5:38-42

Please take your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you. It's well read and treasured in your heart.

Turn with me to Matthew's Gospel, chapter 5.

It's Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Our text this morning will be Matthew chapter 5, verses 38 through 42.

Matthew 5:38–42

We've been working on an exposition of the Sermon on the Mount,

which is found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7 since mid-February of this year.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

And we are getting close to concluding chapter 5.

Those of you who were with us in the spring and then not with us in the summer, here we are,

still in chapter 5 of this most precious of Jesus' teachings.

Across our study so far, we have considered two prominent themes that I want to remind you of

before we look at our text today.

First is the theme of human flourishing, these declarations of blessedness.

We commonly call the Beatitudes, found at the beginning of chapter 5.

Jesus has this repetition of statements, blessed is.

And tells us what it is like, what it looks like to live as a citizen of God's kingdom.

This blessedness that Jesus teaches is not the same as the blessedness of the world.

Jesus says, blessed are those who are poor in spirit and mourn

and are meek and hungry and thirsty for righteousness and merciful, pure peacemakers.

He even says that those who are persecuted for righteousness call blessed.

The second theme is the theme of whole person righteousness.

Jesus has taught us that citizens of his kingdom are keepers of the law.

Not that they gain their citizenship by keeping the law, but that they have been granted citizenship

and their keeping of the law is the evidence of their citizenship.

And this law keeping, this righteousness is meant to permeate us.

It's meant to be every part of our being.

We are to be righteous in thought, feeling, intention, as well as action.

It's to have an inward expression as well as an outward expression.

And this is what Jesus means when he says in Matthew chapter 5 verse 20,

Matthew 5:20

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

The scribes and the Pharisees were seen as the most righteous people of the day,

the most outwardly expressive followers of God.

They seemed to have everything right.

And they certainly told others that they did and placed burdens upon them.

And he goes on then to press this point by using a series of phrases beginning in Matthew chapter 5 verse 21 and 22.

Matthew 5:21

You'll see it there.

You have heard that it was said.

And then in verse 22, but I say to you.

There's a repetition of this through the end of chapter 5.

Six different times.

And what Jesus is doing here is correcting the common misinterpretations of the law in his day.

He's saying, see the scribes and Pharisees?

They haven't even gotten this stuff right.

Those that you would declare as righteous are not at all righteous.

This morning's text is the fifth in this series.

And it concerns revenge.

Or as some of your subtitles in your Bibles might say, retaliation.

So join me as we look at Jesus' careful correction and application for our day.

Before I read the text, beloved, I want to remind you that this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and our good.

And as such, we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

I'll begin reading in verse 38.

Verse 38.

Now this morning we will consider this text by employing the following outline.

And I'll repeat these, of course, but I want you to see where we're headed before we even start.

Number one, the original intent of the law.

Number two, the scribes and Pharisees' perversion of the law.

Number three, the modern perversion of Jesus' teaching.

And number four, and most importantly, the correct understanding of Jesus' teaching.

I find so often, as Jesus finds here, that we have to correct, we have to say the what is not in order to say what is.

So let's look first at the original intent of the law.

Verse 38, Jesus says,

You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, which is a direct quotation from the Old Testament.

So their saying an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was not wrong to say.

They just misapplied the law.

You can find this in Exodus chapter 21, verse 24.

Exodus 21:24

Leviticus chapter 24, verse 20.

Leviticus 24:20

And Deuteronomy chapter 19 and verse 21.

Deuteronomy 19 · chapter mention

And this law was given to place limitations on punishments for crimes.

It was meant to place boundaries on the severity of punishments and was given as a limiting law to the judges of Israel.

So God is saying, let's be fair as we enact punishments for crimes that are committed.

Let's not go above and beyond the crime itself, but rather an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

God, in His graciousness, in His mercy, was putting a line that the judges could not cross.

They couldn't create a severity.

If you steal a piece of fruit, we'll cut off your hand would be an example of what this type of thing was limiting.

And this is most clearly seen in Deuteronomy chapter 19, verse 18, and then leading up to verse 21, where we see this phrase repeated.

Deuteronomy 19:18

So beginning of verse 18, it says,

The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely,

then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother.

So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

And the rest shall hear in fear and shall never again commit any such evil among you.

Your eye shall not pity.

It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

So you see, in the case of a false witness, the judges are charged to enact punishment, but only so far.

So God gave a good law that would restrain unfair punishments from being administered by Israel's judges.

But this was not its use in Jesus' day.

Jesus says,

You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.

The previous four times we have seen Jesus say,

You have heard that it was said, but I say to you,

He has been correcting a misinterpretation and practice.

And this is no different.

So let's look at what the scribes and Pharisees were doing with this law in their day.

So number two, the scribes and Pharisees' perversion of the law.

The main trouble of the scribes and Pharisees' teaching was that they failed to connect the teaching to judges,

but rather made it a point of personal application.

They believed the commandment was given for the sake of retaliation and revenge,

and in their typically legalistic way, viewed exacting revenge as a duty and an honor.

They were taking a negative injunction,

do not punish beyond what is just,

into a positive one,

punish to the degree of what is just.

Did I say that word?

And they took and taught that the power to do so belonged to the individual.

What they were promoting was vigilantism, not justice.

It is into this background that Jesus is speaking and says,

But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

It's that context he's speaking into,

where they would, at every turn,

defend their own rights,

stand up for themselves.

And it's important to know that,

to rightly understand what the rest of Jesus says means.

There is much misinterpretation and misunderstanding in our day of what Jesus is saying here.

So let's look at what Jesus is not teaching in our contemporary setting in this text.

So number three,

the modern perversion of Jesus' teaching.

The modern perversion of Jesus' teaching.

Certainly there are those of us in our day

who want to defend our own rights in the same way that the Pharisees did.

This is typically not the text people run to,

though, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth to justify such a thing.

But there are many who run to this text to make an argument for national pacifism.

And I suggest to you that that is not at all what Jesus is teaching here.

We must be very careful in how we go about interpreting such a text.

And there are a number of interpretive principles

that must be applied to the Sermon on the Mount to understand it well.

Number one, if our interpretation contradicts the plain and obvious teaching of Scripture elsewhere,

then our interpretation is wrong.

James chapter 4 and verse 7.

James 4 · chapter mention

James writes,

Submit yourselves therefore to God.

Resist the devil or the evil one,

and he will flee from you.

So how are we to reconcile these two things

if we're not supposed to resist the evil one?

And yet James commands us in the Holy Writ to resist the evil one.

Isaiah chapter 1 and verse 17.

Isaiah 1 · chapter mention

Isaiah prophesies,

Learn to do good.

Seek justice.

Correct oppression.

Bring justice to the fatherless.

Plead the widow's cause.

So if our interpretation contradicts the plain and obvious teaching of Scripture elsewhere,

then our interpretation is wrong.

This text is not a cry for national pacifism.

Secondly, if our interpretation makes the teaching appear impossible,

then our interpretation is wrong.

Jesus nowhere requires something of us that cannot be done by His grace.

Tolstoy believed and wrote that our Lord's word should be taken at face value.

And therefore, because soldiers, police, and magistrates all resist evil,

to have any of these positions would be to be unchristian.

But Paul writes in Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 4,

Romans 13:1–4

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities.

For there is no authority except from God,

and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed,

and those who resist will incur judgment.

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority?

Then do what is good, and you will receive His approval.

For He is God's servant for your good.

But if you do wrong, be afraid.

For He does not bear the sword in vain.

For He is the servant of God,

an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

Seems that Tolstoy also needed to read Romans chapter 13, verses 1 through 4 at face.

Romans 13:1–4

To see that those placed in authority,

the magistrates, the soldiers, the police,

are given to us as a good gift from God

to restrain the evil of men.

The world would descend into absolute chaos

without the restraining grace of God.

And authorities are part of that grace to us.

Not the totality of it, but they are part of that grace to us.

So, if our interpretation makes the teaching appear impossible,

then our interpretation is wrong.

Third interpretive principle.

If our interpretation ignores the context of the text,

ignores the context of the text,

then our interpretation will likely be wrong.

Will likely be wrong.

As they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut from time to time.

It is possible to ignore the context and still arrive at the proper meaning.

But it's not probable that this will happen.

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount is not teaching a new law.

He is not explaining a new code of ethics.

The Sermon on the Mount is harmonious with the moral law of God.

Jesus rather is working to give his listeners an understanding of the spirit of the law.

The scribes and the Pharisees were all about the letter of it.

And they misunderstood it all together.

But Jesus is concerned about the spirit of it.

An understanding of the law leading to human flourishing

and to whole person righteousness.

Further, in the context,

Jesus is speaking about what citizens of his kingdom will look like.

Citizens of his kingdom.

This is teaching meant to be applied to individuals called apart for his praise.

Not nation states or local governments.

Now I won't labor any longer on the matter of pacifism.

Because it is not really the point.

I will say I'm not a pacifist.

And I believe in just war theory.

But that's a topic for another day.

All I mean to show you this morning

is that national pacifism is not what Jesus is teaching here.

That is not the point of this text.

And I believe it's unfaithful to the text

to think that's what it teaches.

So, what is he teaching?

The all-important question.

What is he teaching?

This brings us to our fourth and final but longest point.

The correct understanding of Jesus' teaching.

Right?

So, if he's correcting what the scribes and Pharisees thought and practiced in the day,

certainly he's not supporting the national pacifism cries of our day.

What is it that he's teaching in this text?

And let me begin by rereading verses 39 through 42.

Let's get it fresh back in our minds again.

Jesus says in verse 39 and following,

But I say to you,

Do not resist the one who is evil.

But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek,

turn to him the other also.

And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,

let him have your cloak as well.

And if anyone forces you to go one mile,

go with him two miles.

Give to the one who begs from you,

and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

So, after Jesus says,

Do not resist the one who is evil.

I say to you,

Do not resist the one who is evil.

He graciously gives us five examples.

He wants us to understand what he means when he says,

But I say to you,

Do not resist the one who is evil.

And of these five examples,

the first three seem pretty straightforward.

Fairly basic.

If anyone slaps you on the right cheek,

turn to him the other also.

So if someone hits you,

don't hit him back.

There's the summary of it.

And,

if anyone would sue you and take your tunic,

let him have your cloak as well.

So if someone sues you to take your jacket,

give them your coat also.

Grip tightly what is yours,

but be willing to give,

and to give freely.

And if anyone forces you to go one mile,

go with him two miles.

Roman soldiers in this day

could force citizens of Israel,

or any other foreigner for that matter,

to carry their backpacks.

They could demand that of them,

as the conquering nation.

But,

as the Romans were somewhat fair at times,

they could only demand that they would go a mile.

So along the Roman road,

they would go from one mile marker

to another mile marker,

and then that conquered citizen

could give the backpack back to the soldier.

Jesus here is saying,

if you're forced to walk one,

volunteer to walk a second mile.

So,

certainly we have to work on applications of that in our day,

and I'm going to leave you to that,

mostly,

yourself.

How is it that I'm supposed to be

gracious in this way?

But,

when we come to verse 42,

this pattern seems to break up a bit,

and I think that verse 42 is key

in helping us interpret this teaching of Jesus.

Jesus.

He gives us the final two examples

of what he means by,

do not resist the one who is evil.

They seem a little out of place.

We've tracked through.

If someone hits you,

don't hit them back.

If someone sues you,

give a little extra.

That's okay.

And if someone makes you serve them,

serve them a little more.

But then he says in verse 42,

give to the one who begs from you,

and do not refuse the one who would borrow for you.

Doesn't it seem inconsistent

to equate the beggar and the borrower

against, right,

alongside a slapper, a sewer, and a sluggard?

I like to alliterate.

Doesn't it seem inconsistent

to equate the two together?

How is it that the beggar and the borrower

are the one who is evil?

Have you ever borrowed money from somebody?

I don't think you did so from evil intent.

I believe that what Jesus is doing here

is speaking to our perspective of ourselves

and our perspective of others.

That's how these examples fit together.

We are so apt to think

that we are always in the right

and that others are always in the wrong.

This would have been the great error

of the scribes and Pharisees' day.

They were so self-righteous.

Everything they did was right and good.

And therefore, anything anybody else did,

anybody who didn't look just like them,

demanded or asked something of them,

must be evil.

Must be in that category.

Since they were so righteous,

everyone else must be evil.

So, how would Jesus have us live

in light of this text?

What are we meant to do with the text?

Number one,

we should live in light of this text

with a proper view of self.

A proper view of self.

We must have the right attitudes

toward ourselves.

In our sinfulness,

we are so quick to jump to our own defense

when any wrong is done to us.

I like to classically use traffic as an example

because I think we all readily experience this.

Have you ever pulled out

in front of somebody accidentally?

I have.

I do it out here on this road all the time.

People come over that hill so fast.

And I drive a Prius,

which is not a spry vehicle.

And I think,

Oh, no.

That guy clearly was going faster

than I can get up to speed.

How often have you shook your fist

at somebody when they pull out

in front of you?

Probably accidentally.

Probably didn't recognize

how fast you were barreling down the road

when they pulled out in front of you.

We're so quick

to even call things wrong that aren't wrong,

but to defend our own rights.

We want to be so autonomous,

so independent.

I deserve.

My, mine.

We would be so likely

to slap back.

Just imagine if somebody,

when you headed to the restaurant

after you're here

and somebody just walked up to you

and slapped you.

What is your knee-jerk reaction

going to be?

Would it be humility?

Or would you rear back

and let it fly?

We would be so likely

to grip tightly

our tunic

and our cloak.

Right?

How dare anyone take from me

what is mine?

We would be so likely

to grumble

the whole mile

and begrudgingly

throw down the backpack

at the mile marker.

Not a step further.

I have rights.

We would be so quick

to begrudge the person

asking for help

and think so much of ourselves

when someone needs

to borrow from us.

Of course,

I put myself in the position

to be the loner

and not the borrower.

I am so good with money

and clearly you

are not.

Beloved,

we think far too much

of ourselves.

Anything that we are,

we are by the grace

of God.

Don't forget

that this teaching

comes in succession

to the beginning

of Jesus' sermon.

We started that

back in February.

His original listeners

sit and listen

through the whole thing

at one time.

Remember,

he's declared blessed.

Those who are,

in verse 3,

poor in spirit,

recognize their spiritual poverty

before God,

recognize they have nothing

of any value

spiritually to offer

to God.

Verse 4,

those who mourn,

who are heartbroken

over this,

right?

Humbled,

see their great

spiritual poverty.

Who are meek,

although they have

the strength

to retaliate,

the strength

to find revenge,

rather lay aside

their own self-interest

for the sake of others.

Verse 6,

those are hungry

and thirsty

for righteousness,

right?

Recognizing that they have

no righteousness

of their own longing

to do good

and to walk uprightly

before God.

Those in verse 7

who are merciful.

Those in verse 9

who are peacemakers.

Those in verses 10-12

who are persecuted.

There has been wrong

delivered to these people

and they're persecuted

for righteousness' sake.

And Jesus here

is turning,

as you've heard me say,

an upside down world

right side up.

And He's saying,

these are the blessed

of the world.

And why?

Because the kingdom

of heaven

is theirs.

They'll rejoice

with me forevermore

because the kingdom

of heaven

is theirs.

Beloved,

we ought not

defend

ourselves.

We ought to join

with Paul

in thinking ourselves

the worst

of sinners.

we ought to think

less about

our rights

and more about

the grace of God

to us

in Jesus Christ.

We ought to think

more about

having received

that which we

do not deserve

and less

about what we

think we deserve.

So we're to live

in light of this text

with a proper view

of ourselves.

We're also to live

in light of this text

with a proper view

of others.

we found

ourselves

in need

and God

graciously

met

that need.

He now

intends

to use us

to meet

the great

need

of others.

We encounter

people every day

who act

wretchedly,

but should we

expect

anything else?

Beloved,

we need to view

people with the

eyes of Jesus

who wept

over unrepentant

Jerusalem.

We need to see

all people

as eternal

and consider

their eternality.

Where will this

person go?

Are they a citizen

of the kingdom

of heaven

as I am?

Are they a citizen

of the kingdom

of darkness?

And how might

I be about

the work

of rescuing

them

from that

darkness

by the grace

of God?

Paul wrote

in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:14

chapter 5

verse 14

and following,

For the love

of Christ

controls us

because we

have concluded

this,

that one

has died

for all,

therefore all

have died.

And he died

for all

that those

who live

might no longer

live for themselves

but for him

who for their

sake died

and was raised.

From now on,

therefore,

we regard no one

according

to the flesh.

You see that?

The love

of Christ

controls us.

The one

who died

on our behalf

that we might

live in him.

And now,

living in him,

we live

in such a way

to bring others

to the life.

that is found

in Christ.

We regard

no one

according

to the flesh.

I want to read

to you two examples.

This is from

a commentary

by Martin Lloyd-Jones.

And he writes,

Let me give you

two illustrations

of men

who,

we must all agree,

put this teaching

into practice.

The first is about

the famous

Cornish evangelist,

Billy Bray,

who before his conversion

was a pugilist.

Anybody know

what a pugilist is?

A professional boxer.

A much cooler name.

Boxer.

Before his conversion,

he was a pugilist

and a very good one.

Billy Bray

was converted

but one day

down in the mines

before he became

an evangelist.

Another man

who used to live

in mortal dread

and terror

of Billy Bray

before Bray's conversion,

knowing he was converted,

thought he had at last

found his opportunity.

Without any provocation

at all,

he struck Billy Bray

who could very easily

have revenged himself

upon him

and laid him down

unconscious

on the ground.

But instead of doing that,

Billy Bray

looked at him

and said,

May God forgive you

even as I forgive you

and no more.

The result was that

the man endured

for several days

an agony of mind

and spirit

which led directly

to his conversion.

He knew what

Billy Bray could do

and he knew

that the natural man

in Billy Bray

wanted to do it

but Billy Bray

did not do it

and that is how

God used him.

The other is a story

of a very different man,

Hudson Taylor,

standing on a river bank

in China one evening,

hailed a boat

to take him

across a river.

Just as the boat

was drawing near,

a wealthy Chinese

came along

who did not recognize

Hudson Taylor

as a foreigner

because he had

affected native dress.

Hudson Taylor

wore the clothes

of China

to relate to the Chinese

more closely.

So this Chinese man

did not recognize him

as a foreigner

which would have been

a thing of honor.

So when the boat came,

he struck and thrust

Hudson Taylor aside

with such force

that the latter fell

into the mud.

Hudson Taylor,

however,

said nothing

but the boatman

refused to take

his fellow countrymen

saying,

no,

that foreigner

called me

and the boat

is his

and he must

go first.

The Chinese traveler

was amazed

and astounded

when he realized

he had blundered.

Hudson Taylor

did not complain

but invited the man

into the boat

with him

and began to tell him

what it was in him

that made him behave

in such a manner.

As a foreigner,

he could have resented

such treatment

but he did not do so

because of the grace

of God in him.

A conversation followed

which Hudson Taylor

had every reason to believe

made a deep impression

upon that man

and upon his soul.

So how would we respond,

right,

if we have a proper view

of others

to these types

of offenses,

would you respond

in the same way

that Billy Bray

and Hudson Taylor

responded

in these cases?

So we must live

in light of this text

with the proper view

of ourselves,

with the proper view

of others,

and finally,

and in closing,

with the proper view

of God.

Beloved,

God is ours

and we are God's.

What else

could a rationally

enlightened person

possibly want?

Read to you Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:31

verse 31 and following.

After Paul has talked about

the trouble of the world,

living in the tension

of our bodies,

the flesh,

and our spirit of life.

He says,

What then shall we say

to these things?

If God is for us,

who can be against us?

He who did not spare

his own son

but gave him up

for us all,

how will he not

also with him

graciously give us

all things?

Who shall bring

any charge

against God's elect?

It is God

who justifies.

Who is to condemn?

Christ Jesus

is the one who died

more than that

who was raised,

who is at the right hand

of God,

who indeed

is interceding

for us.

Who shall separate us

from the love

of Christ?

Shall tribulation

or distress

or persecution

or famine

or nakedness

or danger

or sword?

As it is written,

For your sake

we are being killed

all the day long.

We are regarded

as sheep

to be slaughtered.

No,

in all these things

we are more than

conquerors

through him

who loved us.

For I am sure

that neither death

nor life

nor angels

nor rulers

nor things present

nor things to come

nor powers

nor height

nor depth

nor anything else

in all creation

including

offenses

against our

perceived rights

will be able

to separate us

from the love

of God

in Christ Jesus

our Lord.

Beloved,

we have Christ

and he is better

than anything

we could possibly

imagine

that we deserve.

And

he is for us

and he will finally

make all things

right.

We have the God

of the universe

on our side.

Why do we think

we have to go around

stamping our feet

and pounding our fists

and trying to get

what's ours?

Paul writes

in Romans 12

Romans 12:17

verse 17

and following

Repay no one

evil

for evil

but give thought

to do what is

honorable

in the sight

of all.

If possible

so far as it

depends on you

live peaceably

with all.

Beloved,

never avenge

yourselves

but leave it

to the wrath

of God

for it is written

vengeance

is mine

I will

repay

says the Lord.

To the contrary

if your enemy

is hungry

feed him

if he is thirsty

give him

something to drink

for by so doing

you will heap

burning coals

on his head.

Do not

be overcome

by evil

but overcome

evil

with good.

You see Paul

picking up

the teaching here.

How is it that we

are in fact

to resist

the evil one

with good?

We're to turn

the other cheek

and give also

the cloak

and walk

the extra mile

and lend

and give

generously

that people

would come

to saving

faith

in Christ.

Beloved,

may we be a

people

with a proper

perspective

of ourselves

others

and God.

May we be

individuals

that do not

seek our own

self-interest

but look

to the interests

of others.

May we be

citizens

of the kingdom

of heaven

who are not

retaliators

but trust

in the mighty

hand

of our sovereign

and gracious

God.

May we be

a church

that glorifies

God

by experiencing

proclaiming

and displaying

the supremacy

of Jesus Christ

in all things

to all peoples.

Let's pray together.