MATTHEW 5:21-48 LET JESUS HAVE THE FINAL WORD2020 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Matthew 5:21-48 Let Jesus Have The Final Word

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2020. Last week, we looked at chapter 5 of Matthew as well. As we continue to work our way through the Bible in three years, last week's

reading on that Sunday was the first half of Matthew chapter 5, and then today we're looking at Monday's reading, which was the last half of chapter 5, and just continuing to consider the teaching of Jesus there on the Sermon on the Mount.

And as we look at this passage this morning, I've titled the message, Let Jesus Have the Final Word. And I want to encourage you this morning to let Jesus have the final word, the authoritative word, the last word to say about any subject, about any behavior, about any attitude or activity in your life.

We have in the world around us lots of voices and opinions being presented to us continually. We have politicians telling us what we should think about, what we should be paying attention to, how we should feel about certain situations, what our attitude should be, and the way that we should approach different things. We have then athletes chiming in and giving their input and saying, no, here's what you should think about, and here's how you should have a perspective, and here's what you should be

concerned about, and then YouTubers chime in and say, here's what you should be thinking about, and here's what we think, and our perspective, and then the TV personalities gather around their table, and they tell you, you know, what they think, and their opinions, and their ideas, and then the radio talk show hosts get online, and they start telling, you know, what you should think about, and what you should do, and then actors and actresses get on board, and then your neighbor, and then your co-worker, and then your family, and then everybody around you has opinions, right?

has ideas about how you should behave, how you should handle situations, how you should feel and the attitudes that you should have, that there is an onslaught for us of all of this communication and expectation about what we should do, how we should behave. And this morning, I want to encourage you to give Jesus the microphone, to let his voice be the loudest.

to let his voice drown out all the others, and let his opinion be held by you and in more esteem than any others that may be presented. In this onslaught of ideas and opinions and expectations that can be presented to us, we may not seek the counsel of Jesus at all. And we all will find ourselves from there, or in that place from time to time. That

That we just fail to, we forget to, or maybe we just are not willing to put in the effort to find out what Jesus says.

Or it might be the case sometimes we just prefer, we know if we ask Jesus what he's going to say. I would prefer what Jonathan would tell me, right? I would prefer, I already know what Jesus is going to say, but I really like Jonathan's idea about how I should handle this and the conversation that I have and the route that I should take. And so we might prefer somebody else's counsel over Jesus's counsel. But we need to let Jesus have the final word.

Sometimes, you know, we let the norms of society override what Jesus says. And the last word is not given to Jesus, but it's, well, this is what the world does. This is what everybody does. This is what is normal and expected. And it cannot be wrong if so many people are living and behaving and thinking and acting and talking this way. There's an onslaught of ideas and opinions. But the one that matters most is the opinion itself.

The instruction, the ideas of Jesus. And so this morning, the Lord will be challenging us to let him have the final word. This goes across all subjects of our life, but Jesus is going to give us six subjects to consider this morning. Six things that just get us started in being challenged in allowing him to be the authoritative word in our lives. We're going to start out in verses 21 through 26 for point number one.

We need to let Jesus have the final word when it comes to how we treat the people around us. Check out verse 21 and 22 again. It says, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, Raka, shall be in danger of the counsel of

But whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hellfire. Here is Jesus continues to teach his followers. He says,

Talks about what they have heard. You have heard that it was said. He's talking about the teachings they've heard from the rabbis, from the religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees. He's talking about what they've heard in their society and in their culture. He's talking about what their friends and family have been talking about. He's addressing the things that they have heard, which were based upon scriptures that God had given them.

and commands that God had given. For example, this command, you shall not murder, it's a direct reference back to the Ten Commandments, Deuteronomy 5, verse 17. God's command was, you shall not murder. And Jesus here is not...

contending with the Old Testament scriptures, but he's talking to the people about what they've heard, not just that reference, but also what they've heard on top of and in addition to this command. As the rabbis and the religious leaders were teaching these scriptures, they were also building traditions around the teachings and taught those traditions in

with the same level of weight as the commands themselves. And Jesus always, you know, battled with the religious leaders for that. He said, look, you teach as doctrines the traditions of men.

And there was various traditions, and that's one of the things that Jesus is addressing here in this passage as we work our way through in chapter 5, that there's all these built-up ideas and all these concepts that were being taught, that were accepted as this is what God wants, that were not actually consistent with what God wants. And so along with the teaching of the scriptures, there would be some manipulation of the scriptures, bringing forth some interpretation to allow people

activities and behavior that the people wanted, but God did not actually desire. They were often legalistic in their approach to the word, but they also were legalistic loophole experts. And so they were very strict about things, but then also they would have their ways to be able to get to do what they wanted to do and live the way that they wanted to live. And so when it came to the subject of murder, the command was, you shall not murder.

But the teaching was, the kind of concept for them was, you can do other stuff, you just can't murder. As long as you don't murder them, you're good. You're okay. You can be angry. You can be upset. You can curse them out or whatever, but just don't kill them. And then you're okay. You're good. It's interesting that today,

People will often use that as a measurement of whether or not I'm a good person, right? I'm a good person. I've never killed anybody. That's a common thing for people to say. But Jesus, he doesn't contradict the command that was given, but he adds on to it. He brings clarity to it and says, look, it's not just that final external act that is forbidden by God that is being addressed by that command, you shall not murder.

But the heart and all that leads up to it is part of what God is concerned about as well. And so in verse 22, he says, It's not just the issue of that final act of murder, but the anger that is there is still an issue and is worthy of and deserving of the judgment of God.

He goes on to give some examples. He says, Now, he's talking about calling people names. Raka, you fool. These have slightly different meanings. The word raka, Pastor David Guzik puts it this way, it expresses contempt for their intelligence.

While calling someone a fool showed contempt for their character. It was a way to express contempt, a way to express anger or hatred towards someone around you. Other commentators have translated the word raka as nitwit, blockhead, numbskull, bonehead, and brainless idiot. You ever call people those kinds of things? Jesus is saying...

When you treat people that way, you address people that way, you call people by these kinds of names, you're in danger of judgment. Yes, you may not be committing the act of murder, but what's happening in your heart is not right.

And this is important to understand because, well, again, all society around you might dictate to you, it's good to be angry in that way. You should have those kinds of feelings toward that person. There's no problem talking to people in that way. There is an acceptance perhaps. And there are going to be situations in your life where even you have people close to you who are even encouraging you to treat people that way.

Maybe, you know, setting the example for you or showing you or wanting you to follow down that path. And Jesus here says, look, when we treat people this way, we're in danger of judgment. This is not God's will. This is not God's way. And it's not okay to just continue on in this behavior. We need to let Jesus have the final word on how we treat people, not just violence towards them, but also what's happening in our heart towards them.

And the way that we speak to them and the tone that we have and the attitude that we have towards the people around us. Well, the next couple of verses focuses really on those who have reason to be upset with us for some reason, for one reason or another. Check out verse 23. He says,

And so here Jesus says, look, you're going to the temple to sacrifice and you have your lamb there. You're waiting in line for your turn. And then all of a sudden you realize, oh man, I offended Chico and he is so upset with me. I just remembered. I totally forgot. Jesus says, leave your lamb there. Just tie it up. Nobody will take it. It'll be fine. Go make it right. Go bring reconciliation to your relationship. And then you can come back and offer your gift.

Jesus, in talking about how we treat one another, says it's not just about what you directly do, but also if you remember, if you realize, if it comes to your attention that somebody is offended by you, well, you should go out of your way, stop what you're doing, and go be reconciled. That is a way that we treat one another as well. Now, there's perhaps the situations where it's like,

Oh yeah, I got him angry. Oh man, he deserves it. I hope he stews on that and is just frustrated by that. And we kind of enjoy the fact that others have been offended by us. And there might be people around us who would encourage us to that regard. There might be voices on the radio that say, you should be rejoicing. Isn't it great how frustrated we've made them? Isn't it awesome how we've caused them to be offended this way? Jesus says, that's not the way to treat people. You've offended your brother, go and be reconciled.

Well, verse 25 and 26 now take it into the legal situation. He says, Here Jesus is describing a situation where I've failed in some legal capacity.

And so I have an adversary, someone who's taking me to court because I didn't measure up to the contract. I didn't live up to the contract. It was a breach of contract or some injury, some fault, something has happened and he's taking me to court. There's damages that I owe. And Jesus here is saying, look,

Don't try to get out of it. Don't try to escape your responsibility. You did damage to somebody. And whether it was intentional or not, there's a retribution that is right. There is a repayment that should be paid. Don't try to get out of your responsibility and end up standing before the judge. You're going to have to pay and make do for that responsibility one way or the other. It's better for you if you proactively go and seek to make things right. How we treat people involves what we think.

The anger that we have or that we don't have, the words that we use in speaking to them, the tone that we have, leaving things unresolved or trying to avoid making things right. Society, the world around us, our family members, they may have different ideas about how you should treat people. But this morning, I encourage you to hand Jesus the microphone. Let his voice be the loudest. Let his word be the final word that you would treat people the way that he wants you to.

Not with the attitude, I can treat you horribly as long as I don't actually cause you physical harm. No, I'm going to treat you in a manner that honors the Lord. Give Jesus the microphone. That means searching the scriptures. It also means seeking him directly, personally. That he might show you, that he might speak to you how he wants you to treat the people around you.

Well, moving on to verses 27 through 30, we get the second subject to consider this morning. Let Jesus have the final word on what you think about. What's happening in your mind? What's happening in your heart and internally is of a concern to the Lord. And what is going on there is, well, subject to his instruction to you. Verse 27 says, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not commit adultery.

But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Here in this portion, Jesus is addressing again what they have heard about the scriptures. This one goes back to the 10 commandments again, Deuteronomy 5.18. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not commit adultery. This was God's command. It is God's command.

And adultery is forbidden. It is sinful. It is destructive. And so you've heard this taught. But similar to the subject of murder, along with this teaching that they had heard and what was common to them, well, would have been the idea that you can do other stuff. It's not the full-out adultery deal. I remember as a kid, I was at Disneyland with some family and friends. And I was with my friends and their dad and friends.

We were in the Main Street area, and the dad and the boys were talking about some girls walking by, and I became a little bit uncomfortable, right? And the dad was like, no, no, it's okay. I can look. I just can't touch. And then he was saying, and there's some good looks, you know, if you want them. Encouraging, you know, to take it all in.

And that's a mindset that wasn't just, you know, around in Jesus's day and wasn't just around when I was a kid, but that is around continually. And again, what Jesus says here is different than what people around us might say. And it's different than what we see on TV or in movies. It's different than what is normal for the world around us.

But Jesus says, I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. It's not just the physical act. It's not just that final step. But the steps leading up to it from the very beginning are also adulterous.

Now, Jesus is not saying it's the exact same thing. It's the same, you know, level of effect in the world or, you know, in the consequences. But he is saying spiritually, it's equivalent. It's the same type of sin, whether it is carried out physically or just entertained in the mind. Pastor Warren Wiersbe says, the man Jesus described looked at the woman for the purpose of feeding his inner sensual appetites as a substitute for the act. It was not accidental.

It was planned. It wasn't a random thought, but it was entered into to feed the flesh. It was entertained to gratify the cravings and longings of the flesh. And what Jesus is saying here is, look, you don't have the right, and it's not right, for you to engage in that kind of behavior or in that kind of thought, in that kind of meditation, in that kind of

of inner workings. And if that's going on, he goes on to explain, look, you need to take some serious steps to deal with it. In verse 29 and 30, he says, if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you.

For it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Here Jesus is not saying we should physically harm ourselves, but he is using that kind of language to illustrate, to get across the point of the severity of which this sin is. And we need to take some serious steps to deal with it. Meanwhile, the world around us and people around us and

entertainment might foster those kinds of activities in our mind and in our heart and encourage and stimulate those things. And Jesus is saying, look, if there's something that's stirring up within you, these thoughts, if there's something that's stirring up within you, these passions that you would dwell on and consider and meditate on and camp out on those ideas internally, your mind, your heart, he's saying you need to cut that out of your life. You need to remove that from your life.

The person next to you might say, no, no, don't worry about it. It's normal. You're a teenager, hormones, hey, it's normal. It's okay. Give Jesus the microphone. Let him have the final word and he'll say, it's not okay. Your mind and your heart should not be engaged in those kinds of things. Pastor David Guzik says, what we think about and allow our heart to rest on is based on choice. We may not be able to control passing thoughts or feelings, but

but we certainly do decide where our heart and mind will rest. There's going to be a lot of things that go through your mind and feelings that you have that are out of your control. Like they just, they happen. That's part of our sinful nature. Thoughts run through our heads, but the thoughts that we camp out on and entertain, that's based on our choice. And Jesus here is saying, make a good choice. Let me tell you,

What is appropriate for your mind and heart? When it comes to these kinds of things, again, we may not seek his counsel at all because we want what we want. Or we may prefer what is normal in society. We may prefer to let others tell us that it's okay. Let me encourage you to give Jesus the microphone. Search the scriptures. Find out the truth. Hear from him. What does he want for you? What does he have for you to spend your time

time thinking on, meditating on, and considering. Well, moving on to verse 31 and 32, Jesus is now going to address the subject of divorce and remarriage. This is a complicated subject, but it's one that we need to let Jesus have the final word on. In verse 31, he says, "'Furthermore, it has been said, whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'

Again, Jesus refers back to what they have heard. In this case, going back to probably Deuteronomy chapter 24, where Moses is describing a situation, the law is being given about a situation where a husband and wife...

The wife goes and marries another man. She becomes his wife. But then that couple gets divorced. And then the original husband and wife...

want to get back together, and Deuteronomy chapter 24 is addressing that situation. You can dig into that later if you want. But verse 1 here is where the quote is coming from. When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of the house, and then it goes on with the rest of the scenario. So there's a couple things here.

He describes a situation where here's this husband and wife, but there's some uncleanness that is found in her, in the wife. And in Jesus's day, there was fierce debates between the religious leaders about what uncleanness meant. And the strict school of thought was that uncleanness only refers to unfaithfulness in the marriage, that there was some type of immorality that went on. And so that would be an uncleanness.

took it to the other side and said, uncleanness is, you know, just anything you don't like. And there was this battle of opinions and there was the range of practice that included all of those. And so there were people who were divorcing because of, you know, little insignificant reasons. And then, of course, there were people that were divorcing because of serious unfaithfulness in that way.

And here Jesus is saying, look, you've heard this teaching and you've heard the battles. You've heard, you know, the back and forth and the debates about what's appropriate and what's okay. And when is this allowed? Jesus says, let me weigh in. Here's my approach. Verse 32. Jesus lays it out as very clear.

The issue of separation, the issue of divorce, he says it needs to be an issue of sexual immorality. Jesus will elaborate on this concept. This is just two verses. This is a big subject. Okay, I'm not trying to cover every aspect of this subject. Personal situations have a lot of variables. There's a lot of details. We're not going to try to cover all of that. But it is important to think about what does Jesus teach about this? And to seek to understand what is it that he wants? Because

Hey, divorce in our day is, nobody cares what Jesus says. It's just, what does the judge say? What does my neighbor say? Or what does my friend say, you know, in regards to the situation that I face? Is it okay for me to divorce? Or is it okay for him to leave me? And there is not much concern about what Jesus has to say, but we're his followers. We need to give him the microphone and let his voice be the loudest voice.

His view of marriage and divorce and then remarriage is the most important view. His opinion is the most important opinion. And so Jesus gives this pretty strict restriction on divorce. Later on in Matthew chapter 19, as Jesus is expressing the same thing, the religious leaders are trying to challenge Jesus and trap him in his words.

And so they're asking him about divorce and is it okay for there to be a divorce? And Jesus, rather than answering the question directly, goes back to the beginning and says, look, God created them to be one flesh. And in marriage, they become one flesh. And so let them not separate because that's not God's design. That's not what God wants.

And so the religious leaders pushed back a little bit in Matthew chapter 9 verse 17. I'm sorry, chapter 19 verse 7. They said to him, why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and put her away? Well, if God just wants people to stay together because they're one flesh, then why did Moses command a certificate of divorce to be given? And Jesus said in verse 8, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. Notice the difference between

Their perspective was Moses commanded give a certificate of divorce. Jesus said, no, Moses permitted. It was allowed, which is different than commanded. And it was allowed because of the hardness of the hearts. But that's not the way that God intended, Jesus is explaining. God intends for a husband and wife, well, till death do us part. That's his desire. That's his design. And there are certain circumstances where it's permitted, it's acceptable, but

Even then, it's not always preferable, but what really matters is what Jesus has to say about it, not what we feel about it, not what we think about it, not what others say about it. 1 Corinthians 7 is another important passage to consider as you consider this whole concept of divorce and remarriage. Paul adds on, he says that there is the case with a believer married to an unbeliever.

It's a different context than what Jesus was addressing in Matthew chapter 19. There's a lot of variables, and this is how life works. When you get people involved, it gets really complicated. And so we need to know clearly what Jesus says, because there can be great complications that take place in our lives that muddy the waters.

We need to go back to that clarity of what Jesus says, what Jesus taught. In 1 Corinthians 7, verse 10 and 11, Paul says, And so here Paul says, hey, this isn't me talking. This is the Lord. Here's what Jesus says.

A wife is not to depart from her husband. And then a husband is not to divorce his wife. This is what the Lord wants. This is the direction that God wants. This is the path that God wants married couples to walk.

Back in Matthew chapter 19, when Jesus expresses, you know, the seriousness of marriage and the escape clause, you know, that this is the case where divorce is permitted, the disciples kind of freaked out. They said, look, if that's the case, maybe we should never get married because that's a heavy standard. You're really going to be stuck with that person for the rest of your life, the disciples said. And Jesus said, I know, that's God's design. That's not the perspective that the world around us has.

That may not be the perspective that you have. But I would encourage you this morning to give Jesus the microphone. Let him have the final word. You are not to depart from your husband. Husband, you're not to depart from your wife. Now, a little point of clarity here. That is, as you look at these different passages, you'll understand divorce itself is not adultery. But it's what happens afterwards. And divorce is the setting up for people to commit adultery.

And that's what is happening here. So that's why Paul says, a wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does, then let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. So God's ideal is not for you to depart. But if you do, if there is reason to or not, but you do, then, well, there needs to be a holding pattern looking for reconciliation, looking for a reunion between the husband and wife. This is what the Lord says.

about divorce and remarriage. There's been a lot of discussion and debate and teaching by different people, even within the church throughout the years about this subject. And it's important to go back to what Jesus said, because sometimes we are very relaxed in our approach to divorce and remarriage. And sometimes we are too harsh and critical beyond what the Lord would be in regards to people's situations. Pastor John Corson puts it this way.

And where do we get that balance? We get it from Jesus. We need to go back to the source.

And if this is something that is pressing upon you or something that is concerning to you, then I would encourage you to be searching the scriptures, seeking the Lord to hear from him directly. What does he have to say about divorce and remarriage, specifically in your context and in your situation? Well, moving on to verses 33 through 37, now we get the fourth thing he wants us to pay attention to. Let Jesus have the final word on what you commit to.

Let Jesus have the final word on what you agree to do or refuse to do. In verse 33, it says, Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but perform your oaths to the Lord. But I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king.

nor shall you swear by your head because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your yes be yes and your no, no. For whatever is more than these is from the evil one. Jesus here addresses something else they've been taught. This time it's from Leviticus chapter 19 verse 12, where the Lord says, you shall not swear by my name falsely, nor shall you profane the name of your God. I am the Lord.

That is, you make a promise and you promise on the name of God, but then you don't fulfill that promise. You shall not do that. Now, again, the instruction that was given in the scriptures was taught, but it was also taught with, well, there was all these caveats. Well, I didn't promise on the name of God. I promised by heaven. Verse 34, but I say to you, do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is God's throne, nor by the earth.

I didn't promise to God. I promised on the earth. I didn't promise to God. I promised by the city of God, Jerusalem. It's kind of like, you know, if you would say, well, I had my fingers crossed, so I didn't mean it. They had this way of sounding like they were committing, promising, making an oath, but they didn't actually mean it. They didn't intend to fulfill it.

And so there was this very impressive oath promise that was given, but not fulfilled. And Jesus here is saying, look, you're trying to get off on a technicality. Well, I didn't use the name of the Lord. I used the city of the Lord, Jerusalem. And that doesn't work because it's still the Lord's and you're still the Lord's. You swear on your own life, you're the Lord's.

And you can't even make one hair white or black. And you try, but you're only pretending. We all can see it. I'm just kidding. You're only pretending. You can't change anything. And so when you swear by your head, you're still swearing by God. You're not getting off on a technicality. You haven't found a loophole that allows you to make promises that you're not going to keep. Instead, Jesus says, but let your yes be yes and your no, no.

Let your yes be yes. When you say yes, when you commit to something, you don't have to have some, you know, outlandish promise, an oath to reinforce what you're saying, but just the fact that you said yes is enough for everybody else to know you will do what you agreed to do. Warren Rainsby says, Jesus taught that our conversation should be so honest and our character so true that we would not need crutches to get people to believe us.

Words depend on character and oaths cannot compensate for poor character. Words depend on character. The weight of your words is based upon your integrity, your character. And if you're not a person of integrity, then making promises can't make up for your lack of integrity. It can't make up for your wishy-washiness and flakiness. Now you need to go back and address the issue. It's like this.

If you're late for church on Sunday morning, does God allow you to speed, to break the speed limit to get to church on time? Is that okay? Is that what God says? He says, okay, look, yeah, you're late. So just go ahead and break the law, be reckless, endanger other people, risk your life so you can get to church on time. And you're like, yes, because I value the Lord so much, I'm going to get to church on time. And the Lord would say, look, you need to back up a little bit. The reason why you're late is

It's because your heart was in a different place, perhaps. Okay, maybe I'm not trying to bring condemnation here. But the point is, look, don't try to fix it by doing something else wrong. No, go back and address the root. Why is it not a priority? Why am I not leaving at the time that I need to leave? That's the real issue, right? In a similar way, I'm saying yes, but nobody believes me. So let me add to my lack of integrity here.

by swearing, by promising, by making oaths, by making some grand thing. And you can't fix your character. You can't fix your history by doing something more than what the Lord has said. And two wrongs don't make a right. You need to go back to the heart. You need to become a person who your yes means yes and your no means no. And anything more than that, Jesus says, that's from the evil one.

Anything more than that, if you're required, if it's required for you to have more than that, that's an indication that there's some real inconsistencies in your life that you need to address and you need to allow the Lord to change. And if what I say yes to, I'm committed to and I'm obligated to fulfill, that's what God says. Well, that should make me pause and say, okay, before I say yes and before I say no, I need to check in with the Lord. Lord, what do you want?

Because when I say yes, God holds me to that. When I say no, God holds me to that. And I'm committed to it either way, whichever way I say, even if I don't promise. God cares about your character, your integrity, and the value of your words. Give Jesus the microphone. Let him say what's important. Let him say what you should be committed to and what you should refrain from committing to.

Well, moving on to verses 38 through 42, we get the fifth point this morning, and that is we need to let Jesus have the final word on how we respond to hurts. How do you respond when someone hurts you? Verse 38, you have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I tell you not to resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.

You have heard that it was said. Again, going back to the scriptures, this time to Leviticus chapter 24. The instruction is given, if a man causes disfigurement of his neighbor, as he has done, so it shall be done to him. Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, as he has caused disfigurement of a man, so it shall be done to him. The same concept, an eye for an eye, is also given in Exodus as well as Deuteronomy.

several times. But what's interesting about it, as you look at those different passages, God is giving instruction to judges. He's informing the legal system of, well, the way that the law should operate and the limits that should be in place on punishment, the guidelines that should be in place for punishment for various crimes. And as Jesus is addressing this, he is addressing it to a people who not only had that

idea in place in the legal system, but also those who had taken it to be a license to bring vengeance or revenge to people who had hurt them. Albert Barnes puts it this way, instead of confining it to magistrates or judges, the Jews had extended it to private conduct.

You hurt me, and so I'm going to hurt you the same way. I want you to pay just like I had to pay. I want you to suffer just like I had to suffer. That was their understanding, and they thought they had the biblical license to do that. I can pay you back because you hurt me. And Jesus says, this is not what God wants. They hurt you, and so they hurt you.

Just take it. He says in verse 39, but I tell you not to resist an evil person, but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. Now here, Jesus is not talking about a violent situation, but the slap on the cheek was a method of insult for them and their culture. And so when someone insults you, how do you handle it? When they offend you, how do you handle it? Pastor David Guzik says, when a person insults us or slaps you on the cheek,

We want to give them back what they gave to us, plus more. Jesus said we should patiently bear such insults and offenses and not resist an evil person who insults us in this way. Instead, we trust God to defend us. Now, everybody around you might cheer you on and say, yeah, get them back, pay them back. It might be normal in society. Someone treats you that way, you treat them that way. They honk their horn at you, you honk your horn at them. But Jesus says, don't do that.

Don't return evil for evil. Now again, he's not talking about the situation where real harm might be committed. There was a situation in Luke chapter 4 where the crowd, the mob, attempted to throw Jesus off a cliff. And Jesus in that situation didn't turn the other cheek and just, well, I guess I just gotta let him throw me off the cliff. No, no. He went out from among them. He escaped. He

He also didn't throw them off the cliff, okay? That's important to point out. But the point is, it's not just, you know, allow yourself to suffer physical harm. That's not what Jesus is saying here. He's saying, look, there's going to be offenses and people are going to rub you the wrong way and they're going to deliberately hurt you. And you need to be the kind of person who can allow the Lord to govern the way that you respond. He goes on to give a couple examples. If someone wants to sue you, if someone compels you to go one mile, then go with them two miles.

That was a Roman law that soldiers could compel people. Can you imagine like you're walking out of your house in the morning, you got to get to work and suddenly here's a Roman soldier and says, okay, you got to walk with me this mile. And you would be offended, upset, disturbed. But Jesus says, no, no, no, don't be offended. Just go another mile with them. Turn it into an act of love and demonstrate the nature and character of God in that way. Let Jesus have the final word on how you respond to hurts.

How you respond to people attempting to take advantage of you, people attempting to manipulate you, how you respond to that. The world might say something different. You might want something different, but give Jesus the microphone and let his voice be the loudest. Well, we're going to finish it up in verses 43 through 48. Let Jesus have the final word on who you love. Verse 43 says, you have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

Here Jesus refers back to Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18.

God says, you shall not take vengeance, you shall not bear a grudge, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. And the teaching of the day was, yes, you have to love your neighbor, but that leaves room for you can hate your enemy. It's okay to hate your enemy, but you have to love your neighbor. And so then they had rules about who you understood as your neighbor, and that would enable you then to hate other people who were your enemy.

And that was the design of the parable that Jesus taught to fight against that concept. Remember the parable of the good Samaritan? When the lawyer is like, well, who is my neighbor? And Jesus essentially said in the parable, everybody around you is your neighbor. In other words, you don't have any enemies. If you're following the Lord, if you'll listen to what the Lord has to say, you don't have any enemies. There are people that might make you their enemy, but on your part, there is nobody that is your enemy. They're all your neighbors. So you're gonna love your neighbor.

You're to love your enemies. You're to look out for their best interests. You're to do good to them and for them. Bless those, he says, who curse you and do good to those who hate you and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you. Those who are outright against you, Jesus says, love them. He's not asking us to do anything that he hasn't done. He relates to us in this way. When people are his enemies and fight against him, he loves us. And he says, be like me.

Father raises the son, gives light to all people, the good and the bad, the just and the unjust. He expresses and demonstrates love to all people and you're to do the same. There's people in your life, they might feel differently about that. They might say, no, no, this is your enemy. You need to hate them. You need to be angry at them. You need to be upset with them. You need to antagonize them. You need to fight against them. You should not

There's people in your life who are saying, look, that political party, that's the enemy. You should be fighting against them. You should hate them. That race, that color of people, hey, this race, we hate that race. And that race, they hate us. And so we should hate each other. Jesus says, no, you don't have any enemies. You are to love every person around you. Give Jesus the microphone. Search the scriptures. Hear from him directly. Let him tell you how to treat people and what you should be spending your time thinking about.

What is right and appropriate for divorce and remarriage? What you commit yourself to and what you stay away from? How you respond to hurts and who you love? Jesus is the final authority on all these subjects and more of your life. Give him the microphone. Let him have the final word and let you know what God desires for you in your life. Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word and the reminders, the important challenges, God, and we get sucked into what we prefer and what we want and what's normal for society and what people around us say. And Lord, we need to be reminded and to come back to what you say, the truth. Lord, and what you say is for our good. And so help us, Lord, to listen to you. May your voice be louder. May your voice carry more weight.

May your voice be the one that we listen to above all others. Lord, that we might be your children to walk with you, to know you, and to be like you as we interact with the world around us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.