This week’s Wednesday Word is a summary of Dr. Wellum’s exposition of Matthew 5 given on Sunday, March 8, 2009.
This week in the Wednesday Word we see a portrait of the Kingdom of God through Messianic fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Jesus is pointing to himself as fulfillment saying, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (5:17). This must lead us to ask the question, “What does fulfillment mean?” For example, Matthew writes that Jesus’ flight to Egypt fulfilled the prophecy spoken by Jeremiah (2:16-18). Fulfillment must mean that Jesus is the culmination of all prophetic anticipation (Matt 11:1-6). All types, shadows, and predictions have come to pass in Christ. In his very person, he is the total sum of all prophetic authority and expectation.
It is fitting, then, that upon His own authority we receive the true ethics of the Kingdom of God. By his own authority he says, “You have heard it said But I say unto you.” No prophet in all of scripture ever had that authority and unction. Christ is showing by his own fulfillment the true intention of the Law of God. It is a law of the heart. By this we should not only characterize Jesus teaching but his very person and work. Jesus public ministry really begins in chapter 8, after his inaugural teaching. His standard is perfection.
We see in verses 21-48 new paradigms concerning the Law of God. In verses 21-26, Christ begins the section saying, “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’”. The sixth commandment was not merely anticipating murder but hatred for one’s neighbor. This perhaps is one of the most easily missed verses in Scripture. Hatred, not righteous anger, means one is liable for judgment and hell. The Apostle John later writes, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 Jn 3:15). In verses 27-32 Christ points to the laws concerning adultery. Anyone who regards a women with lust commits adultery in his heart. What God demands in Christ is the purity of heart and mind. Christ even goes as far as saying that it would be better to gouge out the eye or cut off the hand than to lose the whole body in hell. In the ancient church, Origen took a literal interpretation of this passage and dismembered himself. Jesus statements here are hyperbolic, not to be taken literally, but seriously. Lust of heart and flesh means judgment and hell.
In verses 31-32, Jesus dispels the teachings of the Rabbinic schools concerning divorce and the question, “What is indecent?” Here Christ’s highest concern is covenant faithfulness and the preservation of marriage. Breaking the marriage covenant constitutes adultery. In verses 33-37, Jesus gives a stern command concerning vows and truthfulness. He is not condemning oaths or the practice of making oaths. He is saying that our word should be enough. Our yes should be yes and our no should be no. When we say we are going to do something we do it without hesitation. Anything less is a lie. In verses 38-41 we encounter a rebuttal to the lex talionis. Does Christ reject retributive justice and instead condone pacifism? No, instead, we see that Christ is concerned about true justice and retribution. There is no room for vigilante violence. We are to be characterized as people who require justice and who ultimately rely on God’s divine retribution against our enemy (Rom 12:14-21). In verses 43-48, we are required also love our enemy. This is seen in the later parable of the Good Samaritan, when someone asked, “Who is my neighbor?” This love for enemy characterizes God’s people because it characterizes God. Christ demonstrated his love for his enemies by dying for us, we who were at enmity with God.
The Sermon of the Mount is one of the most central passages in the ministry of Christ. The new heavens and new earth require perfection. Christ’s teaching must compel us to repentance and action. We should all recognize in some way, “That is not me.” But must also be compelled to act and must grow in God’s grace. This critical teaching came as the inaugural address of Christ’s public ministry. His life and person would demonstrate his teaching. He fulfilled the requirements of the law perfectly. In him we find our hope. As we look to our future with anticipation let us not forget the demands placed on us, perfection. These commands are not nullified. Let us also be encouraged that in Christ we have a perfection that we could not achieve on our own!
~ RLH