Matthew 7:24 (NASB)
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
This key verse for the Sermon on the Mount tells us to hear and act on those words. It is easy to give mental assent to these words but it is another thing to actually live them out in our daily lives. Some of these words are very difficult to understand let alone follow or act on.
Our text for today has some of the most difficult words we can hear, understand, or attempt to follow.
Matthew 5:38-48 (NASB)
[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 an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
[40] "If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
[41] "Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
[42] "Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
[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 causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
(This verse is a statement of God's love for everyone, the good and the evil.)
[46] "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
[47] "If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
[48] "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Look at some of these words and phrases. Does anyone besides me find some of these unreasonable? These are not the reasonable actions of a human being, these are divine actions. And you and I are being asked to hear and act on these words.
As we go through this list, remember the words at the start of this list:
WOW! When any reasonable person reads these their first thought is probably: "that's impossible". Then we spend the rest of our lives trying to justify why we don't or can't keep these hard sayings of Jesus.
The command is that we are to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. God is not perfect because He does everything just like everyone expects or wants Him to do things. God is perfect because when He does something it is complete, full, wanting in nothing.
I think it is easier to do the impossible when we understand some basics about the command. There are 3 basics that will help us with these difficult sayings of Jesus.
If we look carefully, we will see these three basics in an Old Testament example.
Look at how King David treated and evil person, an enemy in his life.
1 Samuel 24:1-15 (NASB)
[1] Now when Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, saying, "Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi."
[2] Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.
[3] He came to the sheepfolds on the way, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the inner recesses of the cave.
[4] The men of David said to him, "Behold, this is the day of which the LORD said to you, 'Behold; I am about to give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'" Then David arose and cut off the edge of Saul's robe secretly.
[5] It came about afterward that David's conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul's robe.
[6] So he said to his men, "Far be it from me because of the LORD that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD's anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, since he is the LORD's anointed."
[7] David persuaded his men with these words and did not allow them to rise up against Saul. And Saul arose, left the cave, and went on his way.
[8] Now afterward David arose and went out of the cave and called after Saul, saying, "My lord the king!" And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground and prostrated himself.
[9] David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of men, saying, 'Behold, David seeks to harm you'?
[10] "Behold, this day your eyes have seen that the LORD had given you today into my hand in the cave, and some said to kill you, but my eye had pity on you; and I said, 'I will not stretch out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD's anointed.'
[11] "Now, my father, see! Indeed, see the edge of your robe in my hand! For in that I cut off the edge of your robe and did not kill you, know and perceive that there is no evil or rebellion in my hands, and I have not sinned against you, though you are lying in wait for my life to take it.
[12] "May the LORD judge between you and me, and may the LORD avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.
[13] "As the proverb of the ancients says, 'Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness'; but my hand shall not be against you.
[14]"After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog, a single flea?
[15] "The LORD therefore be judge and decide between you and me; and may He see and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand."
David and his men have been running and hiding for their lives. Saul and his men have been pursuing them as King Saul wants them dead. Now David has the chance to kill Saul, his men even encouraging him, even quoting the words of God to help him decide what to do.
With the law in mind, "an eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, life for life, David's men fully expect him to kill Saul because Saul has tried to kill him. Here is the chance they have been waiting for, looking for.
David, slowly and very quietly, rises from his hiding place deep in the cave. He moves slowly toward King Saul. As he approaches Saul he slowly, quietly, draws his knife. Closer and closer he comes to his enemy. David's men are ready. As soon as Saul falls into a pool of his own blood, they will move quickly to engage Saul's men and put an end to this manhunt.
David is there, he is right behind King Saul now. With his outstretched arm he moves his knife toward the King. Then suddenly David reaches out and quickly cuts off a piece of the edge of Saul's robe. Unnoticed by Saul, David moves back to his hiding place in the cave.
Now think for a moment. Put yourself in the place of David's men. Can you imagine how they felt? Here was the chance of a lifetime, a chance to put an end to this ungodly pursuit of their lives. At David's command, they quietly settle down to wait in their hiding places.
David has done the unexpected. He has shown compassion, mercy, and love to his enemy. But more importantly he has shown the highest respect for the position of a king. A position he would one day occupy. And finally, above all these things, he has shown respect for the sanctity of a man who was anointed by God, even though that man turned out to be an evil person.
An act unexpected by man but not by God. This was a divine act, executed through a man who is described as "a man after God's own heart". This is what Jesus is trying to get across to us in this portion of the Sermon on the Mount.
The sayings of our text today are impossible to enact on our own, but if we are men and women of God, God can act through us to show our enemies love.
The reaction of King Saul to David's love for him shows us the motive for such divine actions of love.
1 Samuel 24:16-20 (NASB)
[16] When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" Then Saul lifted up his voice and wept.
[17] He said to David, "You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you.
[18] "You have declared today that you have done good to me, that the LORD delivered me into your hand and yet you did not kill me.
[19] "For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safely? May the LORD therefore reward you with good in return for what you have done to me this day.
[20] "Now, behold, I know that you will surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hand.
King David shows us that indeed a man or woman of God can keep these difficult sayings of Jesus. King David did not do it alone. He was able to live out these difficult sayings in this world because of his relationship with God. David chose to be a man after God's own heart.
King Saul's reaction to David's love show us the clear reason and motive for such love for an enemy. Jesus' command for this kind of love in the Sermon on the Mount, is to turn the hearts of people toward God.
There are many examples of this kind of love but the supreme example is seen in Jesus Christ.
The incredible thing about his crucifixion is that He looked down into the hateful faces of those who cried out for His crucifixion, made fun of Him, and eventually killed Him, and He forgave them. He loved them, and yet they were His enemies.
He also loved us while we were yet sinners. This is what Jesus wanted to get across to all who would hear His sermon. This is what we celebrate this morning as we take communion together.
NASB - New American Standard Bible (NASB). Cedar Rapids: Laridian, 2002.
I want to thank my research assistant, Debi Peck, who does hours of research to provide many of my resources. I also want to thank Vonda Watson-Bostick and Robyn Harper, who help me with editing.