Douglas Jacoby Podcast

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

43 “You have heard that it was said,‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?47 And if you greet only your brothers what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?” (Matthew 5:41-47)

• We are called to actively love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.
• Do these words of Jesus nullify the Law? No, because the Law never commanded Israel to hate its enemies—although it only commanded them to love their neighbors (Lev 19:18). Still, there are multiple examples of love shown to enemies in the OT.
• We are challenged to go far beyond the minimum standard of social / familial decency (kindness to friends and family). We are to love even our enemies!

The early church held to this teaching for three centuries:

• Justin Martyr: “We used to hate and destroy one another. We would not live with men of a different race because of their peculiar customs. However, now, since the coming of Christ, we live intimately with them. We pray for our enemies and endeavor to persuade those who hate us unjustly to live conformably to the good teachings of Christ.We do this to the end that they may become partakers with us of the same joyful hope of a reward from God, the Ruler of all.” First Apology 14. Also: “We who formerly murdered one another now refrain from making war even upon our enemies.” ANF 1.176.
• Clement of Alexandria: “It is not in war, but in peace, that we are trained.” ANF 2.234.
• Tertullian: “We willingly yield ourselves to the sword. So what wars would we not be both fit and eager to participate in (even against unequal forces), if in our religion it were not counted better to be slain than to slay? ANF 3.45. He adds, “The Christian does no harm even to his enemy.” ANF 3.45.
• Cyprian: “Wars are scattered all over the earth with the bloody horror of military camps. The whole world is wet with mutual blood. And murder—which is acknowledged to be a crime in the case of an individual—is called a virtue when it is committed wholesale. Impunity is claimed for the wicked deeds, not because they are guiltless, but because the cruelty is perpetrated on a grand scale!” ANF 5.277.
• Lactantius: “The Christian considers it unlawful not only to commit slaughter himself, but also to be present with those who do it.” Divine Institutes ANF 7.153. Also: “How can a man be righteous who hates, who despoils, who puts to death? Yet, those who strive to be serviceable to their country do all these things. ...When they speak of the ‘duties’ relating to warfare, their speech pertains neither to justice nor to true virtue.” ANF 7.169
• Aristides: “They comfort their oppressors and make them their friends. They do good to their enemies.” ANF 10.276.
• Origen: “We are taught not to avenge ourselves upon our enemies. We have therefore lived by laws of a mild and wise character. Although able, we would not make war even if we had received authority to do so. Therefore, we have obtained this reward from God: that He has always fought on our behalf. On various occasions, He has restrained those who rose up against us and desired to destroy us.” Against Celsus 8.
• Lactantius: “Torture and godliness are widely different. It is not possible for truth to be united with violence or justice to be united with cruelty. …Religion is to be defended—not by putting to death—but by dying. It is not defended by cruelty, but by patient endurance.” Divine Institutes (ANF 7.156-157).
• The Didache: “If you love those who hate you, you will not have an enemy.” Didache 3
• Chrysostom: “You should feel grateful to an enemy on account of his wickedness. This is so even if he is evil to you after receiving from you ten thousand kindnesses. For if he were not exceedingly evil, your reward would not be significantly increased. You may say that the reason you do not love him is because he is evil. However, that is the very reason you should love him. Take away the contestant, and you take away the opportunity for the crowns.” Homilies on Hebrews 19.5.

Paul taught the same:

• 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ... 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Rom 12:14, 17-21).
• To illustrate, when the early Christian leader Polycarp was arrested, he first directed that food and drink be brought to the soldiers who were about to bring him to execution. Martyrdom of Polycarp 7:2

The observation of Ammianus

• Roman soldier and historian Ammianus Marcellinus (c.330-400 AD) noted that rival Christian parties exceeding wild beasts in their hostility toward one another.
• What changed in the 4th century? The state and the church become inseparably connected.

From the disastrous 4th century till the present day

• In the fourth century, most of the Roman emperors professed to embrace Christianity. Nevertheless, they continued to kill their opponents (even family members) and to wage war—ignoring the teaching of Christ.
• At first, Christians refused to fight in their armies, as in earlier centuries, soldiers who became Christians refused to kill. However, in time the state church relaxed its teachings on nonresistance.
• Eventually, Augustine (354-430 AD) came up with a rationalization to defend both personal vengeance and war: It’s permissible to kill enemies as long as we still “love” them!
• As a result, fighting, killing and revenge became the norms in medieval “Christian” Europe.
• Professing Christians waged war against Muslims, pagans, and fellow “Christians.” They persecuted heretics (real or imagined), tortured people, and oppressed the weak in the name of God.
• Not surprisingly, Catholics and Reformers alike persecuted those genuine Christians who refused to go to war and who spoke out against torture and oppression.

Some practicals:

• Act lovingly towards enemies, strangers, and people we do not like.
• Take some time to compare Paul’s teaching with Jesus’s.
• Invest in learning some early church history, and how the church embraced the teaching of the world regarding enemies.
• Refuse to take credit for behaving kindly and decently to friends and family.
• If you’re disturbed by any of these teachings, take time to pray.

Tomorrow: Perfection

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

38 “You have heard that it was said,‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’39 But I say to you,Do not resist the one who is evil. Butif anyoneslaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.40 Andif anyone would sue you and take your tunic let him have your cloak as well.41 And if anyoneforces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.42 Give to the one who begs from you, anddo not refuse the one who would borrow from you” (Matthew 5:38-42).

Non-resistance

• This isn't just a doctrine promoted by Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Amish.
• Not non-resistance to evil (which we always resist), but towards evil people.
• One well-known proponent of non-resistance states, “Of course, the life of a Christian is one of continually resisting evil. But Jesus commands us not to resist evil through physical, earthly and carnal means. Instead, we resist evil through the power of love and holiness. Nonresistance is ultimately the way of love and the way of the cross—two things exemplified by Jesus. As such, nonresistance is one of the defining characteristics of the historic faith.”—David Bercot
• It is not so much a doctrine as a lifestyle

The church of the first 3 centuries

• Tertullian: “… If injured, we are forbidden to retaliate, lest we become just as bad ourselves. Who can suffer injury at our hands?” Apology 37
• Irenaeus: “The new covenant that brings back peace and the law that gives life have both gone forth over the whole earth, as the prophets said. …Christians have beat their swords and their spears into plowshares and pruning hooks for reaping grain, that is, into instruments used for peaceful purposes. So now, they are strangers to fighting. When they are struck, they offer the other cheek also.” Against Heresies 34.4
• Justin Martyr: “We used to be filled with war, mutual slaughter, and every kind of wickedness. However, now all of us have, throughout the whole earth, changed our warlike weapons. We have changed our swords into plowshares, and our spears into pruning hooks.” First Apology (ANF 1.254). (See Isa 2:4, Joel 3:10, and Mic 4:3.)
• There’s also a good deal on the subject at my website, for those inclined to engage in further study.

Passivity?
Although nonresistance may sound passive, it is actually a proactive response.

• The Law prohibits private revenge—it’s not the individual who should exact justice.
• Jesus goes one step further and eliminates all revenge.
• Once again, he was not nullifying the Law, but broadening it.
• Jesus gives four illustrations: turning the other cheek (v.39), giving the one who sues for your tunic your cloak as well (v.40), going the “extra mile” (v.41), and giving to the one who asks (v.42).

Our commentator, again: “With His teaching of nonresistance, Jesus brings to a pinnacle much of what He has said up to this point in the Sermon on the Mount. The meek who will inherit the earth are the nonresistant. Nobody can truly be pure in heart without being nonresistant. The peacemakers are the nonresistant who have first made peace with their own enemies. At the same time, nobody will be able to live a nonresistant life unless they have first learned how to control their anger, their tongue, and their passions. That is why Jesus gave His teachings on those other subjects before He introduced the concept of nonresistance.”

Did the early church really believe in such an unusual doctrine?

• Lactantius: “We do not resist those who injure us, for we must yield to them. … If anyone is so brazen as to inflict injury on a good and just man, such a man must bear it with calmness and moderation. He will not turn to revenge. Rather, he will leave repayment to the judgment of God. He must always remain innocent in all places” The Divine Institutes17. And further, “When provoked by injury, if a man returns violence to his assailant, he is defeated.” The Divine Institutes 6.18
• Irenaeus: “We should not grieve when we are defrauded, as do those who are unwilling. Rather, we should rejoice as those who have given willingly. We can treat it as though we are conferring a favor upon our neighbors rather than merely yielding to necessity.” Against Heresies (ANF 1.477).
• Tertullian: “He who does not fear to lose his possessions does not find it burdensome to give. Otherwise, how will the one with two tunics give one of them to the naked? Similarly, how else can he offer his robe to one who takes away his tunic? How can we make for ourselves friends with mammon, if we love it so much that we cannot endure its loss?” On Patience “Shall the son of peace take part in a battle, when it does not become him even to sue at law?” ANF 3.99. Re: lawsuits, see also 1 Cor 6:1-8.
• Athenagoras: “We have learned not to return blow for blow, nor to go to law with those who plunder and rob us.” Plea for the Christians (ANF 2.129)
• Chrysostom: “Now if you give someone what they ask and thereby refrain from being sued, you have sought only your own advantage. But if you give him some additional item, you have also made him better. You have sent him away improved. For this is the nature of salt, which is what Jesus wants us to be. For salt not only preserves itself, but it also preserves all other objects with which it comes in contact.” Homilies on Matthew2.
• Irenaeus: “Jesus says, ‘If anyone compels you to go a mile, go with him two.’ This is so that you will not follow him as a slave but as a free man. This way, you show yourself to be kindly disposed in all things… This way, you make yourself like the Father, ‘who makes His sun rise upon the evil and the good and sends rain upon the just and the unjust.’ As I have already observed, all these precepts were not the injunctions of One doing away with the Law, but of One fulfilling, extending, and widening it.” Against Heresies13.3.
• Didache: “You shall not hesitate to give, nor complain when you give…” Didache 7-8.
• Barnabas: “Do not hesitate to give, nor complain when you do so. ‘Give to everyone who asks of you,’ and you will know who the good Rewarder is.” ANF 1.148

What about wrong motives?

However, what if the one asking is not deserving? Well, in the first three applications, the persons were not deserving. That may also be the case in the fourth instance.

Clement of Alexandria: “Do not try to judge who is worthy or who is unworthy. For it is possible that you may be mistaken in your opinion. As in the uncertainty of ignorance, it is better to do good to the undeserving for the sake of the deserving—than by guarding against those who are less good to fail to provide for the good. By being sparing and trying to test who deserves to receive or not, you may neglect some of those who are loved by God.” ANF 2.600

Next: Enemies

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

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 (Matthew 5:33-37).

Introduction

• While we may not swear by Jerusalem, or by our own heads, modern people often do swear on their mother’s grave, or (Muslims) by the beard of Muhammad. But we shouldn't need to swear by anything, if we are really men or women of integrity.
• Jesus has already addressed the 6th and 7th commandments (murder and adultery). Now he swings round to the 3rd commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain” (Exod 20:7).
• Many falsely imagine this is a prohibition of profanity. In reality, it is about using God’s name in promises that we do not keep (or intend to keep). (It also has applies to using the divine name in magic.)
• First-century Jewish writers Josephus and Philo confirm this understanding of oaths.

Integrity

• Do I take oaths?
• Is my word my bond?
• Would I be ashamed if I reneged on a commitment? (But see Prov 6:1-5.)
• Do people trust me?
• Do I respect deadlines and time tags generally? Am I punctual?
• Do I skimp on work hours (arriving late, leaving early, stretching the lunch break)?
• Do I complete assignments?
• If I am a student, do I am to please the Lord Christ (Col 3:24)? Am I determined, in terms of integrity, to be an exemplary Christian student?

Learning from history

• The Apostolic Constitutions state, “He formerly made a law about swearing truthfully. And he forbade perjury. However, he has now charged us not to swear at all."
• Jesus’ commandment was not just a new standard for Jews, but also for Gentiles. The Roman satirist Juvenal writes: “It is so simple and easy to disregard heavenly witnesses if no mortal man is privy to the secret. Hear how loudly a certain fellow denies the charge! See the assurance of his deceitful face! He swears by the rays of the sun, the Tarpeian thunderbolts, and the spear of Mars.” Satire 12.
• Even after the access of Constantine, for many decades Christians continued to obey Jesus’ words about swearinguntil Augustine (c.400 AD).

Next lesson: Retaliation

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32).

The Jewish world

• There were grounds for divorce besides adultery, including failure to provide food and clothing for one’s spouse and failure to offer conjugal love. The ancient rabbis understood this to be the case because of Exodus 21:10-11 and other passages.
• Legitimate grounds for divorce did not, however, necessarily mean one should divorce his or her spouse.
• A divorced person was expected to remarry—under strong social pressure.
• In the 1st century there were two schools of thought about divorce:
  • Shammai—a matter of indecency (Deut 24)
  • Hillel—“any cause”—the kind of divorce Joseph was intending to offer Mary (Matt 1:19).
  • “Any cause” divorce was by far the norm in the 1st century.
• When the Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce in Matt 19:3-9, they want to know which side of the debate he is on: just cause or “any cause.”
  • He is certainly not on Hillel’s side!
  • God’s intention is for marriage to last a lifetime.
  • However, Matt 19:9 has been misunderstood. “What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate” doesn’t mean that we cannot dissolve a marriage through divorce, but that we ought not. Divorce is a last resort, but necessary in some cases.

Exod 21:10-11

If he takes to himself another woman, he may not reduce her food, her clothing, or her conjugal rights. If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

• This passage describes the rights of a slave wife: food, clothing, sexual love—that is, material support as well as emotional support.
• If her husband reneges, she may be released from the marriage. The rabbis correctly saw that if a slave had such rights, so did a free woman, who implicitly expected his faithfulness as a husband.
• If any of these four rights is neglected, there are grounds for legitimate divorce. The grounds are withdrawal of physical support (food or clothing), withdrawal of emotional support (manifest in sexual engagement), and (implicitly) adultery. This does not mean there should be a divorce, only that if the innocent party initiates proceedings, she may be legally divorce.
• Marriage has historically been understood as contractual. (Contract is the same word as covenant.) To fail to feed, clothe, and love constitute unfaithfulness to one’s marriage vows. And neglected marriage vows justify (though do not require) divorce.
• Divorce for broken marriage vows (once the infidelity was proven in court) was still practiced up to 70 AD. However, by Jesus’ day no-fault divorce (“any cause”) was predominant.
• Deut 22:13-18 implies that in O.T. times groundless divorce was not permitted, or else it resulted in severe financial penalty.

The Roman world

• Like Jewish marriage contracts, pagan contracts also included vows to provide physically and sexually for one’s spouse.
• Separation = divorce. (This is the culture into which Paul is speaking in 1 Cor 7.)
• Divorcees, widows, and widowers were required to remarry by law.

All together

• Most Jews practiced easy, “any-cause” divorce. The divorce certificate allowed one to remarry.
• The pagans simply walked out on their spouses. This was tantamount to divorce.
• Podcasts to come – by March 2020.

Matt 5:31-32

• For the Jews, this would be shocking. Any-cause divorce was standard.
• In the broader Roman world separation was Thus Jesus’ words would have been shocking to Gentiles, too.
• Readers unfamiliar with the 1st-century context could easily misunderstand Jesus—but then that is the case with many of Jesus’ teachings.
• Note: Paul accepted neglect (abandonment) as grounds for divorce and remarriage. He refers also to withholding of conjugal love. The promises of the marriage vow are in the background of everything he writes.
• Remarriage when still married to your original spouse is adultery—a repudiation of one’s marital vows.
• Of course if one is unlawfully divorced and remarried, he has provided grounds for divorce to his (former) spouse. (The NT does not teach that one must return to one’s first spouse.)
• No 1st century Jewish group prohibited remarriage after divorce. In the Roman world, remarriage was mandatory after 18 months; not to remarry was to break the law. Thus it would be quite strange if Jesus and Paul taught against remarriage.

Learning from history

• The original debate between the Shammaites and the Hillelites was quickly forgotten after the Jewish War (ending in 70 AD).
• Many church fathers were unnecessarily harsh in a number of biblical areas, and divorce is one of those.
• As strange as this may sound, in some ways we are better positioned than the 2nd century church fathers to understand what Jesus and Paul meant, since we have access to multiple sources to which they were not privy:
  • Dead Sea Scrolls fragments on divorce
  • Newly discovered Jewish divorce certificates from the 1st and 2nd centuries
  • Over 200 Aramaic, Greek, and Latin marriage and divorce papyri
  • Rabbinic evidence datable to the 2nd century
  • Divorce documents from the Geniza of the Cairo Synagogue
  • These documents have all been discovered in the last 150 years.

Conclusion

• Keep your marital vows!
• Without grounds, a second marriage is adultery. (Both the OT and the NT allow four grounds for divorce: desertion, adultery, failure to provide/protect, refusing conjugal love.)
• Divorce should be the last resort.
• Note: “We cannot appreciate fully the social implications of Joseph’s decision to take Mary as his wife in an honor/shame world. In a difficult social circumstance, Joseph moves beyond even the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 19 to pursue the way of mercy. We might summarize the story of Joseph using the formula of Matthew 5:21-48 this way: “You have heard it said that you may write Mary a certificate of divorce, but I say to you do not be afraid to take her as your wife.” – Mark Love of Rochester University (Leaven 176)
• Fidelity is far more than not having sex with someone who is not your spouse. We are called to be faithful to our marriage vows. That includes much more than merely avoiding adultery.
• Jesus taught selfless, sacrificial love in the marriage (Eph 5:21-33).
• Further: If you want to grappled with the issues for a better understanding of the background situation of the 1st-century Roman world, take a look at David Instone-Brewer's work.Or listen to my series on Divorce & Remarriage.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, 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. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, 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 (Matt 5:27-30).

Introductory matters:

• Lust is not only sexual—though it is in this passage. (See, for example, 1 John 2:15-17.)
• Lust is the evil root from which the bitter fruit of adultery grows.
• There is an element of hyperbole (deliberate overstatement for effect) in parts of the Sermon on the Mount—yet still we are to take Jesus’ teaching seriously. As Athenagoras told the pagans, “We are so far from practicing promiscuous intercourse that it is unlawful among us even to indulge a lustful look.” A Plea for Christians 32. Such an attitude was as rare back then as it is today.
• The early church contended for the faith in a sexually saturated society – pornography, prostitution, theatre, art, the baths, orgies, dinner parties, sex with slaves, homosexuality, pederast, bestiality, mistresses, x-rated poetry…

Solutions

• Do not look at unclothed / immodestly dressed persons.
  • Early Christian writings contain numerous warnings against going to the public baths when members of the opposite sex were present. “What of those virgins who patronize indecent baths? .... They who disgracefully look at naked men and are seen naked by men—do they not afford enticement to sin?” ANF 5.435
  • Just like those of today, the theaters and spectacles of the ancient world were typically indecent. The Apostolic Constitutions instructs, “Avoid indecent shows, that is, the theaters and the ceremonies of the pagans.” ANF 7.424
  • Tertullian writes, “Are we not commanded to put away from us all immodesty? On this ground, we are excluded from the theater, which is immodesty’s own peculiar home. ... Is it right to look on what it is disgraceful to do? How is it that the things that defile a man in going out of his mouth, are not regarded as doing so when they go in his eyes and ears?” ANF 3.86-87
  • Novatian laments, “I am ashamed to talk about the things that are said on the stage. In fact, I am even ashamed to denounce the things that are done—the tricks of arguments, the cheating of adulterers, the immodesty of women, and the indecent jokes. ANF 5.577
  • They even avoided gazing at the modestly clothed!
• Avoid obscene talk.
  • Talking about the opposite sex in a sensual or obscene manner invariably leads to lust (Eph. 5:3-4).
  • The Apostolic Constitutions teaches, “A Christian who is faithful should neither repeat a pagan hymn nor sing an obscene song.” ANF 7.442
• Dress and behave modestly. 
  • Clement writes, “On the one hand, we must keep from exhibiting and exposing parts of the body that we should not exhibit. And on the other hand, we must keep from looking at what is forbidden.” ANF 2.251.
  • Modesty is more than merely refraining from exposing or exhibiting parts of the body (1 Tim 2:9). Moreover, true beauty is inward (1 Pet 3:3-4). 
  • Tertullian asks, “See how many women there are who earnestly desire to look pleasing even to strangers? On that very account she takes care to have herself painted out—yet, denying that she has ever been an object of carnal appetite?  …Why, therefore, excite toward yourself evil passion? Why invite the very thing to which you profess yourself a stranger? …Are we to paint ourselves out so that our neighbors may perish? What happened to the words, ‘You will love your neighbor as yourself’?” On the Apparel of Women 2.1-2
  • A woman can also attract the attention of men by the way that she walks and conducts herself. Clement writes, “Some women practice the mincing motions of dancers and conduct themselves in society as if on a stage. That is, they go around with voluptuous movements, gliding steps, and pretentious voices. They cast languishing glances around.” ANF 2.287 (See also Isa 3:16.)
  • Price tags may be “obscene” (offensive to decency); modesty is more than simply sexual chastity.

In sum:

• Refuse to look at immodestly dressed persons. This has big implications for parties, fashion, television viewing, movies, going to the beach…
• Have nothing to with obscene talk. Let’s not kid ourselves: words do affect us.
• Live modestly: standard of living, behavior, dress…
• Let’s not be overconfident. Remember, lust undid the strongest man, the purest man, and the wisest man (Samson, David, Solomon).
• Consider the seriousness urged by Origen (3rd century AD): “When we hand over our body not to the Lord but to fornication, what do we hand over? We hand our whole body into Gehenna! Yet, when I say these things, they are held in contempt. Why? Because faith is lacking. However, what if today you were told that a worldly judge was going to burn you alive tomorrow? Suppose after hearing this that you had only one day of freedom. What would you do? …Would you not hand over all your money to those by whose intercession you might escape this punishment? Would you not give all that you had for the redemption of your life? What if someone were to try to delay or impede you? Would you not say, ‘Let all be lost for my deliverance. Do not let anything remain—if only I may live’?” Homilies on Leviticus 9.7.3.

Next—and clearly related:  Divorce

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

You have heard that it was said by those of old, you will not kill; and whoever kills will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you whoever is angry with his brother rashly will be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, raqa, will be in danger of the council. And whoever says “fool” will be in danger of hellfire. 

Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly while you are on the way with him, lest at any time the adversary delivers you to the judge, and the judge delivers you to the minister and you are cast into prison. Truly I say to you, you will by no means come out from there until you have paid the last penny (Matthew 5:21-26).

From here on Jesus will take up various points of law—the law of Moses. These are entirely non-trivial. The matters Jesus brings up in the next sections— murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, retaliation, and enemies—are all fundamental in their importance and impact on our lives. Of course not every topic is equally important—but all are important.

Anger

• Today’s passage is the first of a series of teachings in which Jesus refers to something in the Law (or in popular Jewish teaching) and then contrasts it with his own kingdom teachings. In each case, he doesn't contradict the Law, but rather fleshes out the purpose behind the law and calls us to an even higher standard.
• The commandment of the Decalogue Jesus begins with is: “You shall not murder” (Exod 20:13). Rather than eliminating the commandment, Jesus now enlarges it. He tells them they must not even be angry at others. “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:15).
• By using the formula "You have heard... but I say to you," Jesus also establishes Himself as the new lawgiver—the second Moses (a large theme in Matthew's gospel). He has no hesitation to modify the laws that Moses gave—again, not to destroy them but to fill them out and complete them.
• Jesus does not condemn all varieties of anger, only anger that is rash or selfish. Jesus himself regarded religious leaders “with anger” because of their hardheartedness (Mark 3:5). There is such a thing as righteous anger. Paul urges, “When you are angry, do not sin. Don't let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26; see Psalm 4:4).
• Raqa and fool were mild insults; neither constituted profanity. These are disrespectful words. And Christians are not to be disrespectful in how they address others. Our altar is in heaven (Heb 13:10; see also 9:4 and 10:1).
• Unrighteous attitudes towards others affects our prayer. In Rev 8:3 the prayers of the saints are on the golden altar. There is no point in offering a gift to God if our brother has something against us. Even under the Law of Moses, God rejected sacrifices from those with unclean hands.
• This also has application to the Lord's Supper: 1 Cor 11:29 calls us to discern the body. Entirely relational—not that there no vertical, divine dimension to communion. But the focus of the larger section (1 Cor 8:1-11:1) is horizontal—loving our brothers and sisters, especially those who have less.
• There is sort of parallel passage, the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (Matt 18:21-35). (Please read this after the podcast is over.)
• Time is of the essence.

Practicals

• Considering what Jesus said about anger and insults, what are we to do if we have been angry at a fellow Christian, or have insulted them?
• Jesus provides the answer: waste no time in becoming reconciled with him.
  • Are there people we need to initiate with?
  • It may be costly to reconcile—but it is costlier not to reconcile.
  • After all, we are called to be peacemakers (Matt 5:9).
  • At the same time, the Lord understands that our best efforts may be spurned (Rom 12:18).
• Communion: Have we ever not taken communion?
  • While we have likely been conditioned to feel unworthy of body of the Lord for things like laziness or lust, when did we last refuse communion because of unfinished business with a brother or sister who had a problem with us?
  • This is the nitty-gritty work of the kingdom—not getting tangled up in webs of guilt for flagging discipleship or secret sin.
• So when we’re growing angry with someone, warning lights should be going off! Usually (not always) this anger is born of self-interest and is sinful.

Next podcast: Lust

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

"For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20).

Jesus' words would probably have been shocking to many, as the Pharisees were quite respected. The Sadducees, and the priestly class (many of whom were Sadducees) on the other hand, were more resented by the common people. Not all Pharisees were bad people—consider Nicodemus (John 3:1ff.) Overall they were greatly respected among those who loved Scripture. They strove for religious revival, where every home became a sort of "temple," where God was honored. Holiness was not just for priests (many of whom were Sadducees), but for all people.

Thus it is not surprising that the Pharisees believed they were the ones properly fulfilling the Law. Jesus disagrees. There are three faults Jesus identifies in his teaching.

Hypocrisy

• Many of Pharisees only played at holiness.
• Pretense, pomp characterized their prayer on street corners (Matt 6:5), which was more for public approbation than to honor God.
• They tended to look down on others who did not maintain the same set of roles—whether biblical, like giving a tithe during OT times, or nonbiblical, like fasting twice a week (Luke 18:9-14).

Manmade laws

• They claimed Moses received two sets of law on the mountain: the Torah itself (Exodus 20-Deut 33) plus the oral Torah (their traditions).
• The Mishnah (c.200 AD) put the regulations of the oral Torah into written form.
• They tried to build a "fence" around the Law, so that no one would even come close to violating it. Yet they ended up taking their guidelines far too seriously—as though they had the same status as scriptural commands / prohibitions.
• Discussions about what was legal—e.g. what constituted "work":
  • Sabbath violations: Wearing prosthetic limbs? Shoes repaired with nails? Spitting (which disturbs the dust on the ground and might constitute "plowing")? Swatting a fly ("hunting")?
  • Women looking into mirrors (she might see a gray hair and pluck it out)? Writing in invisible ink?
  • Other laws, like their tradition of Qorban (Matt 15:1-9), which undermined the very purpose of honoring parents (5th commandment).

External religion

• The scribes and Pharisees were meticulous in obeying the outward commandments of the Law (Matt 23:23).
• However, Jesus teaches us that we must not only control our outward actions, but our inward ones as well. The Law forbids murder and adultery; Jesus forbids anger and list. Jesus enables people to change from the inside out.
• In our day, such change will not be accomplished by a “Christian legalism”!
  • Teaching we must exceed the 10% offering (old covenant)—giving at least 11%, since we are under the new covenant. Or that we should fast at least 3x/week, since the Pharisees fasted 2x/week (Luke 18:12).
  • Telling people how many minutes to pray, how many people to evangelize, etc.
  • It’s not about quantity, but quality.

Conclusion

• Jesus is saying, in effect, that the religious system as a whole is misguided.
• We will never accept his radical teachings (Matt 5:21-7:27) if our hearts are misaligned with God’s will.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

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.

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."

The Old and the New
 

• Jesus is about to deliver the new "legislation" of the Kingdom of God. He knows that, at first glance, some of these teachings may sound as though they are contradicting what Moses said in the Law.
• Thus he explains in advance that he is neither annulling nor opposing the Law.
• The "commandments" are his commands, found throughout the gospels.

What is "fulfillment"?

• It is not obedience – although Jesus did obey the Law.
• It is not annulment — although it is true that we are no longer living under the Law.
• It involves more than loose verbal connections with the details of prophecies.
• It is completion—in the same way that Christianity is the fulfillment and extension of Judaism.
• Think of a jigsaw puzzle. The OT gives us the frame, and several sections of the puzzle are nearly completed. But we're missing the box with the cover picture!
• Examples of fulfillment:
  • Divine presence: Tabernacle – Temple – Body of Christ — Church — New Jerusalem
  • Sacrifice: Animal sacrifices etc. — Christ, the perfect and complete and final sacrifice.
  • Holy times / occasions; now, all time holy.
  • Anointing (Messiah = anointed one)
    • Prophet
    • Priest
    • King
    • [Further material in our series Christ Through the Ages]
• David Bercot: "The early Christians understood Jesus to be saying that he was filling out the Law. He was completing some parts of it, while amplifying other parts of it. He was both reshaping it and sometimes widening it." (The Early Christian Study Bible)

Not an iota?
 

• The iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, and is equivalent to the Hebrew yodh and the English lower case i.
• The entire OT Torah is important!

When is the time of fulfillment?

• The Cross? This is what I used to teach, referring to John 19:30 ("It is finished") and Col 2:14 ("canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands"), and to some extent this is true. But more likely, the meaning is:
• Until Christ returns, the Law will not pass away. Nevertheless, the NT teaches that we are no longer bound by the ritualistic and temporary requirements of the Law—a large part—since they have already served (fulfilled) their purpose.
• However, the Law itself is still very relevant.
  • Christ is both typified and specifically prophesied about in the Law.
  • The Law contains a large amount of background material, without which we would be disoriented as we read the NT.
  • Although the ceremonial provisions of the Law have served their purpose and are no longer binding, we are still under what Paul calls the “righteous requirements of the Law” (Rom. 2:26 NKJV). That is, we are under the righteous moral precepts taught by the Law. 

Commandments?
 

• The commandments (v.19) are Jesus’ own commandments, not the commandments of the Law.
• Those who disregard them are called “least in the kingdom of heaven”; the Law of Moses Law did not pertain to the kingdom of heaven.
• Jesus is telling His listeners that he expects them to honor his kingdom commandments with the same (or greater) honor that the ancient Jews rendered to the Law of Moses.
• Some object that there are no laws or commandments in the gospel. Yet “He that has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he that loves me shall be loved by my Father, and I will love him and will reveal myself to him” (John 14:21). See also John 13:34; 14:14, 21; 15:10, 12.
• Of course not all commandments are equally important—as with the Law of Moses (Matt 23:23). Some requirements of the Law were weightier than others. But the lesser ones were not to be neglected. Obedience is expected.

Challenge

• We need to take the OT seriously. Most Christians have never read the entire OT.
• We also need to pay close attention to how the OT is completed in the New.
• When it comes to obeying God’s commands, there is no room for slackness!

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do men light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand. And it gives light to all who are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).

God said, “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3). God is our light (Psalm 27:1). Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). God’s word is a light for our feet (Psalm 119:105). And we are called to be enlightened, and to reflect his light—not the lightheadedness of Eastern bliss, but the truth of God and his Word.

Lifestyle, not just evangelism

• Being the light of the world isn’t so much about evangelism as about lifestyle.
• In the later 2nd century, the Christian apologist Athenagoras declared to the Romans [in particular, the emperor, Marcus Aurelius]: “Among us you will find uneducated persons, craftsmen, and old women, who, if they are unable in words to prove the benefit of our teaching, yet by their deeds demonstrate the benefit arising from their conviction of its truth. They do not rehearse speeches, but instead exhibit good works. When struck, they do not strike back. When robbed, they do not go to law. They give to those who ask of them and love their neighbors as themselves.” A Plea for the Christians 11 (ANF 2.134).
• Light involves things we do, but also things we don’t
  • How we react—or do not react—when wronged.
  • What we don’t participate in—worldly activities.
  • We are oriented towards the Kingdom of God—and away from not the kingdoms of men.
• The Sermon on the Mount focuses almost entirely on how we live, not on theology.
• Throughout His ministry, Jesus taught that our salvation is dependent on how we live / obedience to His commandments.

Others will see

• Works are positive – beware the Protestant over-reaction against “works-righteousness.”
• The Bible nowhere says that our righteous deeds—acts of obedience to the will of God—are filthy rags! Check out Q&A 1291.

Good works are essential to salvation

• Contrary to what many church people imagine, Paul too taught the necessity of obedience for salvation: (Rom 2:6-10). In fact, Paul uses the expression, “good works,” even more often than does Jesus.
• Peter wrote, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12).
• [The teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is especially reflected in the letter of James.]

Our challenge

• To provide sight for the spiritually blind in our world.
• And to do so without hypocrisy (Rom 2:17-24).

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt becomes foolish, how will it be salted? It is thereafter good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men” (Matthew 5:13). 

The next 2 podcasts are on salt and light—the stuff of Christian discipleship.

Flavor, or function?
 

• Whereas in modern times we usually associate salt with taste (something that enhances flavor), it was different in ancient times.
• Back then salt was more functional. It was a common preservative, and even served as a disinfectant for wounds. In other words, salt was necessary for everyday life.

How are we to be salt?

• Christians preserve the world through the power of their example, faith, outreach, and prayer.
• In the later 300s, John Chrysostom writes, “For this is the nature of salt, which is what Jesus wants us to be. For salt not only preserves itself, but it also preserves all other objects with which it comes into contact.” Homilies on Matthew 18.2.

Salt becoming "foolish"?

• Most English translations read, if it loses its saltiness / taste. Yet the original reads “if the salt becomes foolish" (Gk. mōranthēi—from mōraíno).
• The metaphor refers to people, not literal salt.
• Origen, writing in the first half of the 200s, explains: “If the reason in us sins and we do something foolish, then we must be fearful of that statement of the Savior which says, ‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt becomes foolish, it is of value for nothing except to be thrown out and trampled on by men.’” Homilies on Leviticus 1–16. 
• Paul uses this same word (emōránthēsan) when describing how humans have turned away from God (Rom 1:21-24).
• Jesus used a form of the same word (mōrōi) in describing the foolish one “who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them”—building his house on sand (Matt 7:26)—and again in Matt 25:1-12, in describing the five foolish (mōraí) virgins.
• So too, if we, the salt, become foolish, then Jesus cannot use us. We are not fit for anything but to be cast out and “trampled underfoot by men” (Matt 5:13). (See the porcine / canine trampling of Matt 7:6, again not literal, but metaphorical and referring to people.)
• In short, the Lord calls us not to lose our identity—our Christian distinctiveness. So let's not make "discipleship" about attending meetings and counting conversions. It’s our spiritual influence, flowing from a holy and godly lifestyle.

Application

• Let's be spiritually wise—not foolish.
• Let's also be conversationally strategic—and gracious (Col 4:6).