Matthew 5, Luke 6 The Sermon on the Mount pt. 2

 Jesus Teaching the People – the Sermon on the Mount pt. 2

Matthew 5:38-48; 6:1-5; Luke 6:27-36

 

“It says in the Writings of God, ‘Trade an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you, do not stand in the way of those who are evil. If someone hits you, do not hit them in return, let them strike you again. If they want to sue you, let them have what they want, and more. If they force you to go one mile, voluntarily go with them two miles. When someone asks something of you, give it if you have it to give. And if others wish to borrow from you, let them do so.” 

 

“It says in the Writings of God, ‘Love our neighbors and hate our enemies.’ I want us to see this differently, love our enemies and ask God to intervene when they try to harm us. That is the way God’s children will distinguish themselves. He does not discriminate when He makes the sun to rise. He allows His rain to fall on everyone, those who are good and those who are evil.

Listen to me, it is important for us to love the people we do not like and do good things for those who do not like us. We can bless anyone who curses us and ask God to bring good to people who treat us poorly. If someone hits us on one cheek, we should not hit in return, but we need to turn the other cheek to them so they can strike us again. If someone steals our coat, then we need to offer them our shirt as well. We want to be people who give what we have to anyone who asks from us, and if someone takes what we have, we should not expect them to ever give it back to us. In all our living, we need to take care of other people in the same way we desire to be cared for.

 

I am sorry but if we only love people who will love us in return, there is no benefit in that, no real love. People who do not know God know how to do that. If we only do good to people who will do good to us, there is no benefit there either. People who do not know God know how to do that. If we only lend to people who will pay us back, there is no real benefit there either, because the people who do not know God lend to gain interest and get their money back all the time. To be different, to be like God, we need to love even our enemies, and do good things for them, including lend to them, without expecting anything back. God will reward us greatly for this, and we will be His sons because He treats all people with kindness, even those who are not grateful and those who are evil. We are His children, act like it. In the same way that the Father has had mercy on us, we need to have mercy on others around us.

 

God’s children need to excel far above what the world does, we need to live by a more perfect standard.”^[1]

 

Teachings

 

T76 - Luke 6:26; God does not discriminate between people; He loves everyone the same. He sees potential in us all.

T77 - Luke 6:32-33; If we only love and care for those who will do the same for us in return, then we have not done any more than the rest of the world has done. We, as God’s children need to set a higher standard for ourselves.

T78 - Luke 6:35; To be like God, we need to love our enemies, and do good things for them. We need to lend to them and never expect anything to be returned. This is what God would do because He treats all people as with love, even the ones who are not grateful, we are all His children.

 

Commands

 

C18 - Luke 6:27,35; Love our enemies and ask God to intervene when they try to harm us. That is the way we, as God’s children will distinguish ourselves. Since He does not discriminate why should we?

C19 - Luke 6:28; Speak a blessing on those who curse us and treat us poorly.

C20 - Matthew 5:39; Allow those who choose to be evil to do what they choose to do. Do not inhibit them. Do not block their way. Pray for them instead.

C21 - Luke 6:29; Matthew 5:39; Allow those who wish to hit us to do so and avoid any retaliation. Let them do it again if that is what they desire.

C22 - Luke 6:29; Matthew 5:40; When someone sues us, we need to settle out of court and do it for more than they ask for.

C23 - Matthew 5:41; Go the extra mile with people. If they force you to go one mile, voluntarily go two.

C24 - Luke 6:30; Matthew 5:42; Freely loan and share with others who request from you, if you have it to give.

C25 – Luke 6:30,35; Lend to others and do not demand they give back to you. Actually, do not expect to receive anything in return. That way you will appreciate anything they might do.

C26 - Luke 6:31; We need to take care of people in the same way we desire to be cared for.

C27 - Luke 6:36; Treat others with great forgiveness and mercy because it is what the Father in heaven would do.

C28 - Luke 6:36; We need to live with a higher standard than the rest of the world so that we can demonstrate God’s love to them.

C29 – Luke 6:36; Be merciful to others.

 

Revelation:

 

R25 - Luke 6:35; God is gracious, even to those who are ungrateful and to those who are evil. It is in His nature.

 

“When we try to look good to get the attention of others, we do not gain any rewards in the eyes of our Father God. All we get is the fact that people noticed us. When we are giving something away, do not make a big deal out of it. Those who sound trumpets and attract attention to their name and their gift, they get honored by other people, but that is their total reward, they received some attention. When we give things away to others who have a need, we need to try not to let our left hand know what our right hand is doing, if possible. Let’s give our gifts in secret, without the fanfare, and our Father God will reward us in His way and His time. Likewise, there are hypocrites who pray in public for the wrong reason. They are not trying to talk to God but to be noticed by people. Again, they have all they are going to get, someone saw them praying. As God’s children, let’s not pray that way, but instead, find a secret place where we can pray, between us and our Father. And He will hear the prayer spoken in secret and will reward us.”^[2]

 

Jesus begins the next section of His teaching with an apparent reference to the Pharisees who like to be seen for their righteous acts. Jesus says that the only thing a person gains from doing their righteous acts to be seen by others is that they are seen by others, they have no value to God or to other people. There is no heavenly reward or personal spiritual benefit, just the fact that someone might have seen what was done.

 

One act of righteousness Jesus highlights is that of giving to the poor. Actually, the person we give to does not have to be poor, just lacking something we have and they do not. The call is to give, but Jesus emphasizes, give in secret, through the welfare programs funded by our taxes, through the work done by the charities we help to support, and through the way we help others we know who are in need. Give without fanfare or a need for recognition.

 

Another act of righteousness Jesus references in this passage is prayer. Prayer can be done in such a way that we hope others think we are more spiritual. We are not and we should not be looking for the praise of people anyway. The only One who needs to see us praying is the Father in heaven. Jesus suggests that we find a hidden room where we will not be distracted, and others cannot see us in the act. That way we can concentrate on being in the presence of Jesus.

 

Again, the rewards of seeking to be seen are that we get seen, maybe. The lasting rewards of practicing righteousness by being generous and by praying come when God alone sees us act for His purposes and He will reward us in His way and His time.

 

Jesus is not saying we cannot do these acts in public. Sometimes we must give or pray in public. We cannot always avoid it. The concern is why we are doing and saying what we are. Look deeply at the motive. If this is part of our role in ministry, then by all means do so, just ask Him to keep us humble and generous.

 

Teachings

 

T79 - Matthew 6:1-6; Practicing righteousness, i.e., obeying God, with the intent to have people notice and honor us because of what we are doing has a very limited reward. We might have people notice us, and that is all the value that will come from our actions.

 

Commands

 

C30 - Matthew 6:5-6; Pray without fanfare, in secret, in an inner room, seeking to talk with our Father in heaven and not to get accolades and honor from others.

C31 - Matthew 6:4; Give our gifts generously, but do so in secret, without any fanfare, seeking to do the right thing rather than to get honor and credit from others.

Pastor Edd

 

^[1] (Luke 6:27-36; Matthew 5:38-48)

^[2] (Matthew 6:1-5)