You Have Heard it Said

Matthew 5:17-48

Have you ever had a conversation or a disagreement about something and after some discussion, you realize that what the person was saying was not what they were talking about at all? Maybe it was a totally different subject, but more likely, there was something deeper. When we get to this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is, but isn’t, talking about what he is talking about. I have heard sermons about all of these paragraphs in the rest of Matthew 5, sermons on anger, adultery, divorce, revenge, and so forth, but each of these vignettes is simply one of Jesus’ examples to make his point.  The key verses that tell me this are verses 20 and 48. Jesus uses a literary device called inclusio which bookends or brackets the material to add emphasis to it and to help the audience see how it holds together. So how does it hold together? He starts and ends with a similar concept: perfection.

The unasked question that Jesus is addressing is similar to one that is asked in our culture. In fact, many Christians today have unfortunately fallen into this unchristian doctrinal trap. Though they don’t use the words, many are asking, “how good do I have to be to get to heaven?” To make it practical, this is what’s happening. When people look eye-to-eye at the Law, they begin to realize that they don’t stack up. Just as an exercise, let’s see how we rank:

1.      No other gods.

2.      No idols.

3.      Don’t misuse God’s Name.

4.      Keep the Sabbath holy.

5.      Honor your parents.

6.      Do not murder.

7.      Do not commit adultery.

8.      Do not steal.

9.      Do not lie.

10.  Do not covet.

Most of us would affirm that we’re OK. Most of us don’t worship Ba’al. We don’t build idols. We don’t misuse God’s name much. We sometimes honor our parents. We have never murdered anyone. Yeah, we have more plus points than minus. So doesn’t that qualify us for something? So, Jesus, I’m in, right? I’ve been more good than bad. Jesus says, “No. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks 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 practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:18-19)

In other words, we are responsible to follow even the smallest rules. Every one of them. And if we break one, we are as guilty as if we had broken them all. This is why Jesus goes on to say: For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

This is not a pretty picture. The Pharisees were the picture of holiness. They not only followed the rules, but they made more rules to ensure that they would not accidentally break one. Yet Jesus says, to get to heaven, you have to be even more righteous than the Pharisees.

At first glance, you might think this is impossible. After all, the Pharisees were the most righteous people there were. Self-righteous, anyway. So Jesus gets deeper. “You have heard it said…, but I say…”

Now, before we get into what was said, you have to understand the ridiculousness of what Jesus is doing. Rabbis of his time worked in certain ways – they would always let the disciple know by whose authority they were speaking. If you notice, Jesus never does that. And furthermore, the “you have heard it said” statements aren’t just things that people have been saying; some of these things he is talking about are things that God said. And by what authority is Jesus speaking? He is speaking on his own authority, which is, in effect, Jesus placing himself on the same level as God. Now, we don’t find that ridiculous, because we know that Jesus is God, but it was audacious for Jesus to do this.

So, what was it that Jesus said?

·         You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’

·         You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’

·         It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

·         Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’

·         You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’

·         You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

Jesus is here taking on some of the central teachings to Judaism, teachings they had definitely heard, and teachings they had lived by. He says, “you are careful not to murder. Fine. But what is in your heart?” “Sure, you love your neighbor… right… but how does this set you apart from the nations around you?”

We can fall into the trap of trying to understand just how far we’re allowed to go and then sitting there on the line. So as long as I don’t take the knife and stab someone to death, I’m off the hook. Or as long as I don’t have a physical sexual affair with someone, I’m within the bounds. I can exact revenge, there are even times and circumstances when I can make promises I have no intention of keeping, and I can hate my enemy. For the Bible tells me so. But Jesus is saying, “No, it’s not simply a matter of keeping the rules. It’s a matter of the heart.”

What does your heart look like? Do you look at what is the least you can do and still get by? When my dad taught school, he structured his class this way: each student entered into a contract for the grade he or she wanted to achieve. If you wanted an A, you had to achieve a certain standard. If you wanted to get a B, you had to do less work, but still work to a particular standard. The same for a C, or even just to pass. Some students simply looked and said, “What is the least I have to do to still pass the class?” and they only did that amount of work.

This is what Jesus is dealing with. So he starts with the example of murder. Instead of thinking, “I haven’t killed anyone” the question should be, “Do I have anger or hatred in my heart?” So Jesus offers a practical solution: if you are in church, going about the churchy things that we do in church, and you remember that there is an issue between you and another Christian, stop going about the churchy things you’re doing and make peace.

Some of us might have some work to do.

Jesus then goes on to the issue of adultery. Now, this is a hot-button topic. I know I’m not the only pastor who has dealt with this in the congregation – of course, sometimes the pastor is the one committing adultery. But Jesus is pointing at the people who are saying, “hey, I’ve never committed adultery” yet they’re spending their time looking at pornography or reading romance novels or drooling over TV or movie stars. There are Christians who need to get rid of their computers and who need to toss their TVs. Why? For two reasons: One is because they’re hypocrites, claiming sexual purity, all the while straddling the line of what’s pure and what’s not.

Jesus brings up divorce – we can’t talk about divorce in our culture anymore because over 50% of marriages, in or out of the church, end in divorce, and we don’t want to accidentally offend somebody. But in Jesus’ time, it was a male-dominated culture, and the woman was always the “bad guy” in the divorce. Men could divorce their wives for basically no reason. They’d just write up a certificate of divorce and send her on her way. Jesus is saying to the men, “You think you’re so righteous – you are now causing someone else to sin.” Which is worse, sinning, or causing someone else to sin? Which is worse, willfully violating God’s Law, or causing someone else to violate God’s Law against their will?

Jesus brings up taking oaths, coming to the conclusion – just do what you say. If you say “yes” then do whatever it was you said yes to. And likewise, if you say “no” then let your no be no. Your word should be good enough, because you have the integrity that gives your word authority.

Then we get to revenge, which is a justice issue. Moses’ Law simply recognized that justice is essential for God’s people. So the rules regarding justice were set out. But Jesus recognizes human nature – if you hit me and I hit you back, you don’t feel like you have received justice. So you have to hit me for hitting you back. And so a feud begins… Jesus says, “Yes, justice must be served, but let God be the one who metes it out.” And he extends this, not only to friends and family, but to enemies.

I could have split this into six or seven sermons, and I have seen this done, but that might not be the most helpful way to deal with this passage. Why not? Because what it tends to do is go from a situation where we are looking at murder, divorce, adultery, and other issues, where we as Christians can say, “I’m not doing those things. I’m ok,” and then instead justify ourselves by saying, “I’m not angry at my brother,” or “I’m not looking lustfully,” all the while ignoring the evil that lurks in our hearts.

What I’m saying is this: if we focus on the minutia of these examples Jesus gave, we can tend to end up in the same place the Pharisees were. We can say, “Oh, I’ve got that covered,” all the while, our hearts are in the wrong place. For example, I can turn the other cheek, but once someone has struck me on both cheeks, then it’s on. I can be just as Pharisaical in following each of these examples as the Pharisees were about following the Ten Commandments and Torah and Mishnah. But the heart of what Jesus is saying is this: what is in your heart?

Jesus concludes this section with the standard he expects: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48).

How does that sit with you? You need to know that Jesus was absolutely serious here. There are some among us who still wonder how much they have to do to get to heaven – have they done more good deeds than bad? – or they base their claim to heaven based on their pretty decent adherence to the Ten Commandments. But the Ten Commandments are the starting point, and perfection is the standard. Can you imagine someone who is applying to elite colleges saying, “well, I got a 250 on the SAT – that should be good enough” (when 2400 is a perfect score)? Can you imagine saying to your boss, “I went home early every day this month, but at least I showed up half the days.” Last week we gave you a copy of the names we read for membership removal at charge conference, and there are people who say, “No, I never attend the church, I don’t give my money, no, I don’t participate at all, but I want to stay a church member.” It doesn’t work that way! And it doesn’t work that way in the kingdom.

God’s standard is perfection.

Is that good news or is that bad news? I would pose that it’s good news. It’s good news because it helps ease the confusion about how good is good enough. And it erases the question, “How little do I have to do to get in?”

It’s good news because for God to allow less than perfection is to compromise God’s integrity and to dilute heaven. For if less than perfection is allowed, would it still be heaven? Think about it – we’d love for our imperfections to be allowed, but what if it’s someone else’s? And what if their so-called imperfections happen to come at our expense?

But more than these reasons, God’s expectation of perfection is good news because God himself, in the Person of Jesus Christ, provides the sure means for such perfection. That perfection is found in Jesus, and Jesus actually makes us perfect. In our baptism, in our acceptance of what he has done for us, God actually makes us perfect. So it’s never about our level of goodness; it’s all about him. And he is good enough. Good enough in every area.

So to answer the question: how good do we have to be to get to heaven, I would pose that the answer is this: the question is wrong. The real question is: have you accepted that it is only through Jesus that you can go to heaven?