Series: The Sermon on the Mount
May 2, 2021 - David Stockton

How’s everybody? Yeah? We doing okay? We’ve got the month of May now, which is fun. You heard new service times for the summer. Woo? You don’t have to woo it. It’s just business. Yeah, for the summer we’re going to do 9 and 10:30, so you right here will have to split. Somehow figure out what you’re going to do. The 8 am is easy, they’ll just come at 9 am. The 11 am it’s easy, 10:30. But you guys have the big decision. Which way you gonna go?

But, we’re doing that not next week. We’re doing it the week after because next week is Mother’s Day. And Mother’s Day is the day we’re expecting the mothers to use all the power of Mother’s Day to bring their families together for church next week. And I mean that jokingly, but I also mean that sincerely because I know there’s a lot of division within families, there are a lot of people who have decided different things over topics last year. I know the heart of a mother is to see everybody join together. I really do encourage you to have them join together and come to church, whether they like it or not. You’ve got power. Be bold. Be courageous and use that power wisely to bring your family together and we’ll have a good time next Sunday. Then the following Sunday we’ll get down to two services for the summer and see how that goes.

Thanks for everybody tuning in online. You do whatever you want to do. You can go to both services, you can do one service. You can just watch it later, too. No problem there.

We’re going to be in the Sermon on the Mount again today. This is our fourth message on the Sermon on the Most. If you want to grab a Bible and turn to Matthew chapter 5. You’ve got Bibles in the pew in front of you or you could use your phone app Bible if you want, as well. Matthew chapter 5. We’re going to be talking about murder and adultery today. Woohoo! Yeah!

This has been a real fun message for me to get all prepared for. Yeah. So let me read the words of Jesus. Don’t get mad at me. If you’re going to get mad, get mad at Jesus, it’s his words. Just sharing his words. But yeah, here we go. Jesus is teaching on murder and adultery. Ready for it?

"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago…

Think Moses’ day, bringing the Ten Commandments…

'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother [or sister] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca, '

Anybody done that recently? It means ‘idiot’ or ‘moron.’ “You idiot!” “Oh, they’re just such idiots!” They didn’t have cars back then. “Idiot!” You know? Yeah.

is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.
Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part 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. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

And continuing about adultery…

"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Yeah. How’s everybody doing? Yeah? Are we done? Are we done already?

So, a couple of things before we start to unpack this a little bit, that I think it’s important for us to remember. First of all, that Jesus just said prior to this section, “I have not come to abolish the law.” Now, if you spent time with Jesus, if you listened to the teachings of Jesus, you probably would start to think because he’s not like the Pharisees, because he doesn’t teach like the Pharisees and teachers of the law at that time, that he doesn’t even care about the law of God.

But Jesus is saying, “Hold on a minute. I have not come to abolish the law. I’ve come to fulfill it.” Because Jesus’ understanding about the law of God given through Moses was that it was good and it was right and it was true and it was helpful. And he’s later on said this little passage that many of us have heard, that it’s the truth that sets us free. So Jesus is making sure that his disciples understood, “I am not messing with the truth. I am not diluting the truth. I am not changing the truth. I’m not giving you a new truth. It is the truth that sets you free and I don’t want to give you anything but the truth because I really want to see you free.”

In our world today, we’ve talked about this much, we are wanting to minimize the truth or dilute the truth, or because the truth that comes through God’s word is hard, we want to decrease it a little bit. But what we need to understand is, if you mess with the truth, you mess with your freedom. If you decrease the truth, you decrease your freedom.

And what Jesus says is that those who want to relax on God’s law and teach others to do that, they are the least in the kingdom of heaven. But those who hold on tight and teach exactly what Jesus taught, they’ll be the greatest in the kingdom.

And then you have the Pharisees, who are teaching about God’s law in a way that’s going to keep them out of God’s kingdom. Some big time words, where Jesus is really trying to teach that the righteousness of God, the righteousness that is taught in the Law, the way of God taught by the Law is good and right and helpful for us learning about righteousness and living in righteousness.

So that’s the first point. The truth is important. So even though emotionally or culturally we want to shrink the truth a little bit, or be a little bit sheepish about the truth, then we’re really just shrinking people’s freedom and being sheepish about the freedom. If you want someone to get healed of a disease, you give them the full medicine and treatment. And you tell them to take that treatment even after they feel better, right? Finish that antibiotic round. You don’t lighten it up, because you really to see them whole.

So that’s what Jesus is doing here. He’s trying to really help people understand the truth and get the truth in them. That’s the first thing we need to understand.

The second thing we need to understand is that Matthew 7:28 is the verse that comes after the Sermon on the Mount. Don’t ever forget this. If you don’t get anything out of this whole series, just remember this, Matthew 7:28 says that, after the people heard the words of Jesus, they heard the sermon, it says they were amazed at his words, that he didn’t sound like the Pharisees who always made them feel bad and far away from God. Instead, his words were substantial and actually gave them hope that maybe, just maybe they could be close to God.

So we have to remember that. After we read through some of these things, we’re going to be like, “Ugh, that’s heavy. Whoa. I don’t know if I should be here anymore. I think it’s time to leave or check out, because he’s describing me right now, but it’s not the good way, it’s the bad way.”

But that’s not the way these people heard the words of Jesus because of the smile on his face and the tone of voice that he talked with. They heard Jesus teach these things and they thought, I think he’s teaching us because he thinks we can actually get it right. Which, for these people, no one had ever done before.

Now think about this: Jesus is on the side of a mountain and he’s talking about the Law of God. He’s teaching those who are gathered to him as disciples. Matthew’s made a really big deal of talking about the genealogy of Jesus and how he’s a king. He’s talked about Jesus actually going to Egypt and coming out of Egypt into his ministry. So Matthew is really trying to connect Jesus to Moses. And Moses, if you remember, when he was talking about the Law and he was interpreting God’s Law for the people and sat in judgment, he continued to tell the people about this One that would come and help them know fully what God was talking about when he gave us the Law.

It’s called that prophet. There’s kind of this theology of that prophet. There’s this prophecy, this promise given way back when that there would come One who would be that prophet. And he would come and he would make clear what are the ways of God.

So Jesus, on the side of this mountain, who has come out of Egypt, is teaching his disciples in a very Mosaic type way. Jesus is stepping into his role as the Master Rabbi, the actual authority on the way of God, who’s now coming as that prophet, fulfilling that scripture, to help make it clear what is the way of God for people.

And in that moment, Jesus is doing something really special. And the people he’s talking to are — I was trying to figure out the best way to describe these people. Anybody here ever been to Gila Bend? Why are you laughing? There are people who live in Gila Bend and you’re laughing because I said Gila Bend. No, I get it. They’ve got the Space Age Lodge there. Right? Which has been there forever. And the Space Age Lodge, believe it or not, I know a guy who took his wife there honeymoon night and they’re still married. The Space Age Lodge. Too much?

Gila Bend is about — we’re starting to get to a little bit of who Jesus is talking to. These are not people from the big city of Jerusalem. These are people kind of from the outskirts, back woods, hillbillies, who, all their life under Roman oppression have had nothing but extensive taxation and poverty. Their souls have been beaten down. Any time they do anything good it’s ripped right from them by Roman oppression. And, not only that, but any kind of hope they’ve had to be right in God’s eyes have been completely stripped away from them by a Pharisaical hierarchy of religious system. And they’re just out there, completely impoverished.

And remember, Jesus was talking about “Blessed are the poor in spirit”? These people were poor in every way imaginable, including spirit. And Jesus talked about those who are hungry for justice. These are the people who have experienced nonstop injustice for generations. And he comes to them and he teaches them about the Beatitudes, basically saying, “Hey, just so you know. God’s really paying attention to you. And you’re a lot closer to the kingdom of heaven than you think.”

And then he starts to teach them and give them time, give them attention. The way he’s teaching them is making them think, He’s telling us to come closer. He’s calling disciples to follow him and if they follow him then he’s going to lead them into God’s kingdom. Us? Gila Benders, Bendites, Gila Bendonians, I don’t know what you call them.

Again, when they heard this they were amazed. “No one has ever talked to us like this before. Every time the Pharisees come out we just feel like we get a whooping. But when Jesus talks to us, it’s still truth, and actually even more intense, but it makes me believe. It fills me with hope that maybe, just maybe no matter how broken or messed up I am, if I stay close to Jesus, I might end up in the right spot.”

That’s the way we have to hear this. Even the intensity of what’s being said today. Really, Jesus is trying to give us the difference between the true righteousness that God desires, the lesser righteousness, and then the actual fake righteousness of the Pharisees. So he kind of gives us that little teaching in verse 17 through 21, Kenny talked about that last week, and now we’re going to get examples of what he’s talking about.

The fake righteousness, or the lesser righteousness is that which is external. You’ve heard it said if you don’t murder, you’re righteous. That’s great. But I want to talk to you about something much more. So I’m going to tell us a few things about the true righteousness. Five things, actually.

True righteousness, first of all, if you’re taking notes, is internal over external. It’s the inside out kingdom, remember?

The second thing is true righteousness doesn’t delay. There’s an urgency to it.

The third thing is true righteousness seeks rewards in the next life over the now life, which is really hard for us, especially living in America and the prosperity that we have.

Someone texted me after first service. I’m saying it because I should have said it in the first service, but I didn’t think of it. He said it. So now I’m saying it to you and maybe you’ll think, Wow, that guy is so smart. But it actually came from somebody else who texted me because my message didn’t have it in it. It’s the concept that we, as Americans, in right desire we seek for our children that they’ll be successful, they’ll be powerful, they’ll be safe. But really, what God is interested in is making us holy and righteous. And there’s a reason for all of that. But seek rewards in the next life over this life.

Then true righteousness brings peace. We’re going to see that in a really special way.

And true righteousness comes from staying close to Jesus.

1: True righteousness is internal over external. We have Jesus’ examples here. It’s very simple. He says, “You’ve heard it said that if you don’t kill someone, if you don’t murder someone, then you’re righteous.” And Jesus is like, “Well, that’s a lesser kind of righteousness.” He’s not saying that it’s okay to kill people. He’s saying that’s not the whole deal. The true righteousness, the kind of righteousness that God is wanting to produce from our lives and see from our lives is an internal righteousness.

And so he goes on to say, “Hey, if you have anger in your heart toward a brother or sister, in God’s eyes, you’re committing murder. If you’ve lashed out at someone and called them an idiot, in God’s eyes, you’re guilty of murder. If you in your anger have lashed out and called someone a fool, you now have the judgment of God on you as a murderer.”

I’m just saying what Jesus is saying here. And there’s a reason for this intensity, because God really does want us to be holy. In just a bit, Jesus is going to say, “Be ye perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” So we can’t go lightly on this stuff. We can’t say, “Well, it’s not that big a deal that I have this,” or whatever. No. Jesus is going after your heart because he wants you free.

Right now in our culture of virtue signaling, where if I wear the shirt or if I post the post, or something like that, I’m somehow accomplishing the righteousness of God or justice. The Pharisees were the best at that. And Jesus is saying it’s a real empty righteousness. God’s coming for your heart.

2: True righteousness doesn’t delay. Here he says, “Don’t wait.” When he talks about if you’ve found yourself with some of that trouble with the neighbor, an adversary that wants to take you to court. “Do it while you’re still with them on the way.” Don’t wait. Don’t delay until you get to the court. Don’t wait for the judge to tell you what’s righteous. You know what’s righteous. Go ahead and do that right now. And if you wait, it’s not going to go good. It’s not going to be right. You need to do it now.

When I think of this kind of urgency to this, I think a little bit of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I don’t know if you know his story. He grew up as a contemporary of Adolf Hitler in a lot of ways. And he grew up and kind of was watching what Adolf Hitler was teaching and he was watching the church and their response to it and realizing that none of that was good. He came over to America because he was brilliant and he was teaching ethics here in America, and really talking about the right way and what is good and what is pleasing to the Lord, and all these different things. The whole time he was hearing reports about what was happening to the Jews and what Hitler was up to and what the church was not doing in Germany. He eventually decided, “I can’t stay here. I can’t stay here in this place. I need to go back.”

So he left and went back to Germany. And it ended up costing him his life. But he came back and was trying to wake up the church to the urgency of the matter at hand, that evil had come and they needed to rise up and stand against it.

I think also Martin Luther King, Jr., if you ever read the letters from the Birmingham prison, they are so incredible, not only what he does with words and the literary excellence of it; but, basically what was happening was the pastors around him were saying, “Just chill out, Martin. Chill out. You’re in too much of a hurry.”

His response was so beautiful. “How long are we supposed to wait? Don’t you know that the righteousness of God has an urgency to it? It demands that we act. We don’t wait until it’s convenient. We don’t wait until it’s comfortable. We don’t wait until we can figure out how to make it come out to our good. We do it and we do it now to see that justice come.” There’s an urgency to it. That was true of Jesus, as well.

3: True righteousness seeks rewards in the next life over the now life. This is where we go to the part that’s so fun about it’s better for you to lose part of your body now than for your whole body to miss out on what’s next. Even gouging your eyes out or cutting your hand off. Whoa. I see everybody’s got two eyes in here today, so you haven’t really taken this verse literally Everybody got their hands, you know? Maybe not everybody. I have both of mine, just so you know. I have both eyes, both hands.

But what Jesus is getting at here is just really trying to help us shift our priorities. There are things in this life that you should go without because it will affect your next life. And you should have an intensity to this. I mean, obviously — I have to be very careful here — the Holy Spirit will make you understand what it is he’s wanting you to rid yourself of. But obviously you could think of things like Netflix. Maybe Netflix is something that does cause you to stumble. It causes you to kind of have some thoughts or some feelings that you don’t want or shouldn’t have. Just cancel it. I don’t have stock in Netflix. Just kidding. Just cancel it. It might be your phone. Maybe your phone. It’s like it’s so convenient to have your phone and all these things, and to put all those different blocks and all those things are so inconvenient. A little inconvenience in this life could have great impact in the next life.

Jesus is saying you need to be serious enough about this stuff, intense enough, that it would almost be like you would cut out your own eye to try and help out; so that you don’t stand before God every day as an adulterer.

There are things that we need to cut out of our lives to help us in our pursuit of righteousness. No doubt about it. Jesus is teaching that. We don’t hear the story of his disciples going and cutting out their eyes or cutting off their hands. So, obviously there’s more to it than just that. But there needs to be an intensity to this. There needs to be an evaluation of what’s in the next life over this life. Because that life is more real than this life. Remember we talked about the rope? This seventy years is just a blip on the radar compared to everlasting life. So we do lose things in this life to gain things in that life. That’s true of the righteousness of God.

4: True righteousness brings peace. Here again, Jesus is talking about the anger in your heart. He says that if you have this anger in your heart toward your brother or sister, you need to make it right. If you’ve been calling people idiots, if you’ve been calling people fools, you need to deal with that. Even if you’re not killing them. Even if they don’t know about it. God does. The true righteousness that he wants to see in the world and produce in your own soul is something that really does resist and fight against those things so that you can be free of those things.

When I think about this, I think about how easy it has been this last year to foster contempt for “the other.” Whatever the other might be. The other could be the other side of the aisle. You continue to watch certain news or listen to certain podcasts and it just breeds more and more “Raca!” You fool! They’re so stupid! They’re idiots!

I’m not saying there isn’t right and wrong. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be passionate about those things. I think there is. But we just can never do it motivated from anger. Paul the Apostle was a guy who was very zealous for the Law, zealous for the Lord. And Jesus came and slapped him in the face one day and said, “Your zeal is driven by your murderous anger in your heart, not from the Spirit of God.” And we’ve got to watch that.

Now, again, there is right and wrong. So when you’re persecuted for righteousness’ sake and that stirs up anger and frustration, that’s different than if you’re doing something wrong to somebody and it’s causing you the frustration. So the Beatitudes give us that little caveat. Blessed are you when you’re persecuted for righteousness. So if someone has something against you, but it’s not because you’ve done anything, and you have no anger in your heart, that doesn’t mean you have to go make it right. Instead, you can rejoice with a quiet confidence that God is with you in that moment. Then you have to keep watching out that your heart doesn’t pick up anger, contempt or bitterness or pride in that.

Here’s what the scriptures say about the righteousness of God. In Isaiah 48, it says:

Thus says the Lord,

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you to profit,

who leads you in the way you should go.

Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!

Then your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like the waves of the sea”

The righteousness of God produces peace in our lives and through our lives like a river.

Isaiah 32:17

And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

And then, lastly, from Hebrews 1:9 (ESV):

You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness. Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.

The true righteousness of God produces peace in the face of anger and adversaries, and joyful, quiet confidence in the face of lust and unwanted desires. That’s the righteousness of God.

As I’ve said things, I think all of us are feeling a little more unrighteous maybe than we came in with. That’s okay. We’re face to face with Jesus. And everybody in the Bible who comes face to face with Jesus, you know what they do? They fall on the ground and they say, “I’m an unclean person with unclean lips.” And it’s not a bad thing for us to have that. Our hearts get pricked and feel the need for repentance, when face to face with the true righteousness. How far we are from it.

But remember, these people, after Jesus was done, did not feel like they had no options. Did not feel like they were stuck in their unrighteousness. Did not feel like Jesus was telling them, “There’s no shot for you.” Instead, somehow what they heard from Jesus was, “Okay. He sees me. He knows me. He’s not playing games. I can’t trick him. He knows what’s really going on in my heart. He knows that I have anger and lust there that I’ve been trying to get rid of on my own and haven’t been able to do it. He knows that stuff is there, and yet, he’s still spending the time with me. He’s still talking to me. He still has that look in his eyes and that tone in his voice that makes me think if I stick around him long enough, maybe I’ll be able to see myself the way he sees me.”

The reason that Jesus was able to feel that was because Jesus knew what was going on. Jesus knew he had to teach them about the true righteousness. But Jesus also knew that he was going to make a way for them to become true righteousness.

Now, remember, we’re on this side of Jesus. We’re looking back to the life of Jesus, so we have the New Testament perspective. We have the cross. We have the resurrection perspective. So Jesus is teaching this message. It’s heavy, but Jesus had this hope in his voice that caused these people, especially the twelve, maybe seventy, maybe one hundred and twenty, that were disciples gathered around him that were saying, “Hey, we’re going to try and follow him and spend time with him.”

Because Jesus knew that he was going to do something to make righteousness possible for them. He knew that he wasn’t going to be dependent on them getting it right. He wasn’t dependent on their energy, or effort, or wisdom, or smarts, or skill, or self-control to produce that righteousness. He said, “I haven’t come to abolish the law. I’ve come to fulfill it.” And here’s how Jesus makes you and I accomplish the righteousness of God. You ready for it?

First of all, we are made righteous by the work Jesus did in his daily life of fulfilling the Law. So first of all he came and walked it out so we could know what it looks like. So we could know and understand the righteousness of God. It’s important for us to learn the Law of God, the commands of God, the decrees of God. It’s important for us to rejoice in all of those things so we can better fully understand the righteousness of God, especially when everyone is telling us what the righteousness is, what the high moral ground is these days. We really need to see Jesus and walk with Jesus so we can know the righteousness of God.

But secondly — please don’t miss this — we are made righteous by his death on the cross where he paid for all of our unrighteousness. This is a really big deal. Jesus was talking to these people, teaching them the way of God, teaching them about righteousness, not so they would never get there. But he knew there was coming a day where he will have fulfilled all righteousness and was going to lay down his life as a payment for all of their unrighteousness and ours as well.

The way the New Testament says it is, He who knew no sin became sin, dying on that cross so that you and I could become the righteousness of God. So, somehow, because of what Jesus did on the cross, all of our unrighteousness is forgiven, it’s washed away, it’s cleansed, it’s gone, it’s removed forevermore. Actually, “Your sin and iniquity I will remember no more,” God says. He doesn’t even remember it. This is the good news of the cross. This is why Jesus could share with these people in a way that invited them in closer. Because he was going to pay the price for all their unrighteousness past, present and future.

So, first we’ve got to learn and understand the righteousness of Jesus. And when we do, we all fall short and we all go, “Oh, no.” But then we’ve got to understand that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, which gives us a fresh start every single day, to walk out in his righteousness. But he didn’t stop there. He rose from the dead. He rose from the dead and he poured out his Spirit on anyone that would come to him.

What his Spirit does is his Spirit comes into our lives and continues to teach us the way, continues to remind us of our forgiveness and then gives us the power to get it right sometimes. He gives us the power to overcome our sinful nature and disordered desires.

So, ultimately, Jesus has done everything we need. So here’s the really complicated thing for you and me. How do we walk in this? How do we navigate this? How is it hopeful for us? If you’ll just stay close to Jesus, he’ll make something beautiful out of your life. That’s what these people heard.

“I don’t get exactly all he’s talking about. Am I supposed to cut my hand off now?” They didn’t get all the intricacies of all Jesus was saying bout the Law. These were unlearned and ignorant people in some ways. But what they got from the Sermon on the Mount was, “This guy knows what he’s talking about. If I stay close to him, maybe, just maybe I’m going to find the kingdom of God.”

And, sure enough, at least twelve of them did. Eleven of them. Sorry. And those eleven “Gila Benders”, they literally turned the world upside down. You and I are in this church building today talking about Jesus, seeking Jesus because of those “Gila Benders.” Not because they mustered their own strength, not because they finally figured it out. No. It’s because they stayed close to Jesus and for them it got a little weird. Right? They stayed close to Jesus in person, in the flesh. But then Jesus died, rose again, showed up in this new form. And they received the Spirit of God, Acts 2. And they stayed close to Jesus by walking in the Spirit.

Walking in the Spirit, which is what we are trying to learn how to do. We don’t get the opportunity to be with Jesus in the flesh like they did, but we get to walk with Jesus in the Spirit, which Jesus and the disciples all attested to that it was better. It’s better what we have because God is with us everywhere we go. And he can produce in us a heart of righteousness. And our world so desperately needs people who are living out true righteousness. Not the fake or the lesser kind. We got a lot of that last year and it didn’t bring any peace. Stay close to Jesus and you’ll find the true righteousness.

Let’s pray. Again, just a reminder that, when we say “let’s pray,” it doesn’t always mean “Let’s talk.” A lot of times it’s a lot more listening than it is talk. Right now it’s important for us to listen, to listen to see what the Spirit might say. Those of you who know Christ and have the Spirit living inside of you, maybe he’ll bring up the name of someone, a brother or a sister, or maybe even an adversary that you’ve got some anger or contempt or bitterness for. He’s wanting to meet you there, wanting to give you his righteousness and help you walk in it to overcome the unrighteousness.

Maybe you’ve got a lot of lust in your heart and you’re losing the battle in your mind. Please hear what Jesus says. He’s not saying therefore you’re an adulterer and there’s no hope for you. He’s saying, yes, it’s true, and it’s going to lead you to less freedom, less flourishing and destruction. But if you take his hand, you’ll find his wisdom, you’ll find his forgiveness, and you’ll find his power to live a different way when you stay close to him.

Maybe some of you don’t even have the Spirit of God in you. You’re kind of new to this thing. Well, today would be a great day for you to say: Jesus, come into my life. I need your help. You can whisper that prayer even now and know that he hears and loves to take that which is unrighteous and make it righteous, that which is broken and make it beautiful.

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