More Than External Behavior Pt. 2
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsYou are not righteous, rather you are poor in spirit.
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Open your Bibles to
The beatitudes
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 5:
Salt and light
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matt 5:1
17 “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. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Matt
19 Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
God’s kingdom ethic far surpasses any earthly kingdom.
Specifically the Pharisees in the Scripture
10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly, holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,
“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
7 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’
8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
M
Matt 23:32
And even every other moral system system that we see today
Our priorities have to be ordered according to God’s kingdom ethic.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is reordering our prirotities so as to not line up with the traditions of man, but rather to line up with his word…
Such that we would truly be salt and light in the world
To be agents that preserve and illuminate so that the world might get a glimpse of the holiness of God and glorify him
We are all poor in spirit and are unable to fulfill the Law.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
Keep these in mind as we look at tonight’s text.
God’s kingdom ethic far surpasses any earthly kingdom.
Our priorities have to be ordered according to God’s kingdom ethic.
We are all poor in spirit and are unable to fulfill the Law.
Remember from last week:
Just because a mouse is in a cookie jar, does it make it a cookie?
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’
More than external behavior
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
Prayer.
Prayer.
Last week we Jesus showed us two ways that our righteousness needs to exceed that of the scribe and the pharisees…
Jesus quoted two of the ten commandments
Do not murder
Do not commit adultery
Anger - commits murder
Lust - commits adultery
19 Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
In this week Jesus moves away from the 10 commandments, and moves to two different scriptures from the OT that the scribes and the pharisees relaxed…
19 Therefore whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Matt 5:
The two topics that he addresses in are divorce, and oaths.
Let’s look at the first one
1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, 4 then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matt 5:31
What OT scripture that Jesus makes reference to is
1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house,
1 “When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, 2 and if she goes and becomes another man’s wife,
Here is the practice that was being formed by the pharisees:
If a man found fault with a woman… he could divorce her…
Such faults included if a woman spoiled a meal… a man could divorce her…
If a man found another woman that he preferred… he could divorce his wife
If the man found any fault from the woman in her ability to preform the duties of a wife, the man could divorce her so long as he gave her a certificate of divorce…
Let me read the writing from a man named Josephus who lived around the time that Jesus lived.
Let me be clear this isn’t from the Bible, but an account from a human on his practice of marriage
“At this time I sent away my wife, being displeased with her behavior.… Then I took as wife a woman from Crete.…”
Josephus even adds commentary to moses command from . This is what he wrote:
“The man who wishes to be divorced from his wife for whatever cause—and among people many such may arise—must certify in writing.
“If she does not accept your control, divorce her and send her away”
And the subject of divorce isn’t limited to the Sermon on the mount
1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
Matt 19:10
And things today haven’t changed much since Jesus day
3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
“If she does not accept your control, divorce her and send her away”
And things today haven’t changed much since Jesus day
we hear sayings like
“we’ve just fallen out of love”
“we don’t get along anymore”
and we see situations where husbands or wives just uproot themselves from their spouses and their kids to leave for another person…
Divorce is a result of sin.
Divorce is a result of sin.
A few things we need to address…
Just because you guys aren’t married doesn’t mean you don’t need to hear this…
in fact… it’s crucial that you know what God says about marriage before you do get married
Students, hear this:
6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Let me give you some advice
Don’t date someone who you wouldn’t marry
Don’t date someone who you wouldn’t want to stay married to
Most of us (if not all) are adulterers
Just because some of our parents are still together doesn’t make our parent any less a sinner in need of grace than one who has been divorced
First
My dad got divorced before he married my mom
Jesus also gives permission to divorce on one ground
32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matt 5:
Furthermore, divorce isn’t the only form of adultery… remember last week?
Jesus is showing each of us that we are poor in spirit
3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
Jn 8:3
Divorce is a result of sin.
Divorce is a result of sin.
Even when it is permitted when one is unfaithful… it’s still sin
8 He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
Even if a believer is married to an unbeliever.... it’s still sin
12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.
1 Cor
Even if a spouse is unworthy of love because they have done something wrong… divorce is still sin… because remember earlier
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Divorce is a result of sin.
Divorce is a result of sin.
Let’s continue:
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’
Matt
Matt
Jesus here is referring to the way the Pharisees have interpreted and taught a number of passages referring to promises and oaths.
13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.
3 or has found something lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—in any of all the things that people do and sin thereby— 4 if he has sinned and has realized his guilt and will restore what he took by robbery or what he got by oppression or the deposit that was committed to him or the lost thing that he found 5 or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he shall restore it in full and shall add a fifth to it, and give it to him to whom it belongs on the day he realizes his guilt.
2 If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
21 “If you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay fulfilling it, for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and you will be guilty of sin. 22 But if you refrain from vowing, you will not be guilty of sin. 23 You shall be careful to do what has passed your lips, for you have voluntarily vowed to the Lord your God what you have promised with your mouth.
14 Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
So the scribes and Pharisees took these commands twisted them to their own gain...
Since it was a vow or an oath that needed to be commited to, they made up a foolish way speaking and swearing by objects that made certain promises more binding than others…
Jesus goes into more detail about this in matt 23
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.
matt 123:16
Let’s get back to matt 5
Matt 5:34-
34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
All these things belong to God and are under his control…
Even the hair on our head our out of our control…
so swearing by it no more helps us keep our word than if we simply say yes…
37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
Matt 5:
Failure to keep your word is a sin.
Failure to keep your word is a sin.
What Jesus is telling us is that instead of pronouncing an oath to guarantee the truthfulness of a particular statement, he requires truthfulness in all speech.
Crossing your fingers doesn’t cancel your word
Making promises to your parents and does not cancel the promise you made to your sibling
Making an agreement to do the dishes, and then not doing them because you forgot, is just as great a sin as breaking an oath or promise that you have made with God.
Again, why is all of this important
Why is Jesus teaching these things?
The reason is this: He is showing us how great our need is for grace.
Going back to last week: have you let the sun go down on your anger
you’re just as guilty as a murderer
Have you called a person a fool, or gossiped behind their back?
You are a murderer
Have you blessed God with your mouth and then gone on to curse man with that same mouth?
You’re a a sinner in need of grace
Have you lusted in the secret place of your heart?
You’re just as guilty of sin as an adulterer.
Has your eye lingered onto the image of a woman or a man that it should have avoided all together?
Then you are guilty and death and just as much one that has sinned as one who has divorced their spouse or commited adultery
Have you lied?
Have you fibbed?
Have you cheated?
Have you stole?
Have you deceived?
Have you said yes to something only to go back on your word?
Have you said no to something only to go back on your word?
Have you not kept your word in any way shape or form?
Then you are no different than a lier that has failed to keep an oath that has been made with God.
And when we sin with our mouth....
either in taking the Lord’s name in vain
In in lying, cursing, or anything else, we prove that we have wicked hearts
for Jesus tells us
45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
All this Jesus is teaching us so that we might the following:
God’s kingdom ethic far surpasses any earthly kingdom.
Our priorities have to be ordered according to God’s kingdom ethic.
We are all poor in spirit and are unable to fulfill the Law.
And so when Jesus says:
17 “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. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
We begin to recognize how important it is for Jesus to fulfill and accomplish all of the Law for us.
Jesus is our faithful husband.
Jesus is our faithful husband.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Eph 5:25-
32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Jesus is faithful to his word.
Jesus is faithful to his word.
19 God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat
Jesus is showing us that we lack the righteousness on our own to save ourself…
So that we might not depend on our own works, rather we would depend on the finished work of Jesus…
who has fulfilled the law, and then credited his fulfilment to us!
But he is also calling us, his disciples, to a greater righteousness, and a greater ethic than that of the world
20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
He is teaching us the ethics of the kingdom so that we might be salt and light in a dark and dying world.