Matthew 5:21-32 – Redirection part one
Last week we discovered that Christ came to fulfill the law. We also discovered the law is holy and perfect. We determined the problem is us and our sin and not the law (which is holy and perfect). We also found that our righteousness should surpass that of the teachers of the law. They looked good on the outside, but the inside wasn’t so pretty. In the next several passages, Jesus looks at several aspects of the law. He starts each off with the phrase, “You have heard it said.” In this part of His sermon, He deals directly with murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, the concept of an eye for an eye, and loving your enemies. In each, He dissects and redirects our understanding of the law. It is “you have heard it said, but let me tell you what it really says.” What I found was a continuation of a theme: God is concerned about the inside what’s in our heart. While I had every intention of getting through all six subjects, I once again found that there was too much to put into one blog. So, this week I am looking at the first three subjects – murder, adultery and divorce.
Murder: “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell. So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!
The first aspect Jesus tackles is murder. On the face of it, murder seems pretty straightforward. The unlawful premeditated killing of another human being. But Jesus unpacks murder in a different way. We find an unrighteous anger toward someone can be considered murder. Jesus says, “everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” That really doesn’t leave anyone out – I certainly can’t say I’ve never had an unholy anger against someone. Then He says, “whoever says to his brother Raca…” I had to stop here and look at the word Raca. What does it mean? Raca is a Aramaic word which means vain, empty, or worthless. It was a word of contempt and is derived from the root word ‘to spit’. Basically, you hate someone so much you would spit on them. The very act of spitting on someone is beyond contemptible. It is degrading and base, and Jesus says it’s the same as murdering them. I was reading an on-line newspaper the other day about a woman here in the U.S. who was arrested for spitting on people in a grocery store. I have read of other instances where people spat on others due to racial or other prejudices. It is degrading and you are considering the person so worthless and empty they no longer exist in your eyes. He goes on to say, if you call someone a fool you are in danger of the fire of hell. The word fool doesn’t seem so bad until you understand it’s true biblical and cultural meaning. To call someone a fool really comes out of a heart of absolute hatred. And this is Jesus’ point. When what we say and do comes out of a heart of hatred or contempt, it is the same as if you were to take a knife and stabbing them to death. It’s not about the act of murder, but what is in your heart. Remember, the outside might look really good, but the inside… God is always more concerned with the inside.
In my church we say the Lord’s prayer every Sunday, as many churches do. There is a portion of the prayer that says, “Forgive us our trespass as we forgive those who trespass against us. I often wonder if we really mean that when we pray it. Do we really want God to forgive us as we forgive others? I know sometimes I don’t. I want God to forgive me in spite of the fact that I have unforgiveness in my heart. Jesus says, if we have something against someone we are to leave our offering at the alter and take care of it – go and be reconciled. We are to settle matters with people quickly. Don’t wait around. If there is unforgiveness in our heart, the offering we are bringing will not be accepted. I need to repeat that last phrase so it sinks into my heart – If there is unforgiveness in my heart, the offering I bring will not be accepted! God looks at my heart. Otherwise, the gift is just for show.
Adultery: “You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of the parts of your body than for your whole body to go into hell!
If you wondered if what I said about the heart really matters to God, look no further than the next subject. Jesus lays it all out on the line here. If you look at a woman lustfully, you have already committed adultery with her in your heart. (By the way ladies, we are not off the hook here). The heart matters. I believe this particular commandment is even more difficult today than in the time of Jesus. I could be wrong about that, but today we live in a world where sex is displayed everywhere. It’s in our movies, books, on the TV, in ads on billboards, etc. You would have to live in a cave in the middle of nowhere to avoid it. So, how can we live pure lives in the midst of the barrage of things thrown at us? Here, Jesus shows us that our very thought life is important. He talks about guarding our eyes and keeping our hands pure. Being careful of what we see, hear, read, and put into our minds. Are we avoiding those things that would cause us to think impure thoughts? What kind of movies do we watch? Books do we read? What kind of TV shows do we consume? Are they filled with images that cause impure thoughts – lust? If so, Jesus says we need to avoid them. In this way, we can avoid committing adultery in our hearts.
As I was reading this passage again I caught something I hadn’t noticed before. It was the reference to the right eye and hand. Jesus doesn’t just say your hand and eye, He specifies the right ones. Why? So, I did a little research and I discovered something significant. To refer to someone’s right hand or right eye was a big deal. For instance, when you blessed someone, the person you blessed with your right hand received the greater blessing. We find this in Genesis. When Joseph brought his sons to be blessed by his father, Jacob placed his right hand on the younger son. Joseph thought his father had made a mistake and tried to correct him, but Jacob knew what he was doing. We also find several passages that refer to God’s right hand. Psalm 16:8: I keep the Lord in mind always because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 16:11 says in God’s right hand are eternal pleasures. Psalm 48:10 says God’s right hand is filled with justice and 63:8 His right hand holds me. Then I found an interesting passage in 1 Samuel 11:1-2. “Nahash the Ammonite came up and laid siege to Jabesh-gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I’ll make one with you on this condition: that I gouge out everyone’s right eye and humiliate all Israel.” Finally, Jesus said of Himself when asked if He was the Messiah, “I am, and all of you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” (Mark 14:62) So, the right side was a cultural symbol of a greater blessing, of power, of eternal pleasures, of justice. To gorge out the right eye or cut off the right hand would be a sign of humiliation and loss of power. Jesus says, to avoid the sin of lust you might need to gorge out your right eye and cut off your right hand. In other words, God is very serious about keeping pure.
Adultery then becomes something more than just the act. It starts with the look, then it turns into the thought, which starts the fantasy, then the act. Jesus wants us to stop it at the look.
Divorce: “It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce. But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Deep breath. Okay, I’m going to dive in. Ready? Divorce – a very contentious subject, but here it is in black and white so, I have to look at it. Jesus has some pretty definite things to say about this subject. Of all the 6 subjects, it’s actually the shortest point He makes. He says, if you divorce someone you cause them to commit adultery and if you marry someone who is divorced you commit adultery. The only exception? Someone who has been sexual immoral. Short and to the point. As I began to research this point I found the Bible doesn’t really have a ton to say about divorce, but, what it does say is consistent. In Malachi 2:10-16, God is speaking to His people about unfaithfulness. In verse 16 he says, “The man who hates and divorces his wife, does violence to the one he should protect.” He ends by saying, be on your guard and do not be unfaithful. In Matthew 19, Jesus has another conversation with the Pharisees. They ask if it’s lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all? Here is Jesus’ answer “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” Then they ask Jesus why Moses said a man could give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away. His answer? “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman he commits adultery.” Wow. Not much room there to maneuver. Basically, God hates divorce and we shouldn’t get one unless there is sexual immorality involved.
Today, we live in a throw away society. Everything is disposable: paper plates, plastic forks, electronics that are more than 2 years old (think your phone), etc. Marriage is just another disposable thing. Getting a divorce is easy and far to common. There is even no-fault divorces. I hear excuses – we’ve just grown apart, or we don’t have the same goals anymore. I use to think it was all about lack of commitment to each other, and that is still partially true. But now, I believe it is more our lack of faithfulness and commitment to God. Again, it all goes back to the heart. Paul lays out how married couples ought to act toward one another in Ephesians 5. We tend to get caught up in the first part of his thought – wives submit to your husbands. There is heavy debate and many have used this portion of scripture to subject women to some pretty terrible things. But as in anything biblical, you can’t just select one verse out of context to hang an entire theology. If we continue to read, Paul also says the husband should love his wife in the same way as Christ loved the church. Wow – stop right there. So, how did Christ love the church? Well, he gave His life for her. His desire was to protect her and bring her to Himself. This is how a husband ought to love His wife. When a husband does not fulfill his calling to be the husband God has called him to be, he is being unfaithful to God. If we want strong marriages and we want to grow together in a way that is fulfilling and loving, we must first commit to righteousness. I believe it is no accident that Jesus first lays out what adultery is and then moves on to the subject of divorce. If we get the commandment against adultery right, we will keep our relationships strong.
Murder, Adultery and Divorce. They have more in common than I thought. Each is about what’s in the heart. Each have more to do with our relationship with God than even the relationships we have with the people around us. When asked what the greatest commandment was, Jesus replied, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. The second was like it – Love your neighbor as yourself. In each, we must keep our inside pure. The only way to do that is through the power of God in us through Jesus Christ.
I want to end this section with an old children’s song I use to sing. Maybe you remember it. It goes like this: O be careful little eyes what you see. O be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love, so, be careful little eyes what you see. The other verses follow the same pattern: O be careful little ears what you hear. O be careful little tongue what you say. O be careful little hands what you do. O be careful little feet where you go. O be careful little heart whom you trust. O be careful little mind what you think. For the Father up above is looking down in love, so, be careful…
Questions to Ponder:
1. Is there unforgiveness you need to take care of right now? If so, what is stopping you?
2. What do you need to curtail, give up and/or change in order to keep your eyes and hands pure?
3. If married, how is your relationship with your spouse? Are you allowing the stuff of the world to divert your eyes and hands?
4. How can you (wife or husband) love your spouse as Christ loves the church? If you did, what difference would it make in your marriage?
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