Nobody's Perfect?
Sermon on the Mount • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 2 viewsThis sermon deals with retaliation and one's treatment of enemies.
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48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Maybe you were shocked, as I was, when a I heard the story of a young African American man, testifying at the trial of the Dallas, Texas off duty policewoman, who mistakenly shot and killed his brother in the Fall of 2019. LifeSiteNews reported:
DALLAS, Texas, October 3, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — In an incredible display of human compassion, a young man whose brother was shot and killed forgave the cop who had been found guilty of his murder.
Former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger shot and killed an unarmed man in his apartment, claiming that she had mistakenly thought she was entering her own apartment located one floor below and had encountered an intruder.
After Guyger, 31, was sentenced to ten years in prison for the death of Botham Jean, the judge permitted his brother, Brandt Jean, to address Guyger in the packed courtroom.
What came out of the young man’s mouth stunned those present and has captured the attention of the entire nation.
He spoke deeply from his heart.
“I forgive you,” said Brandt Jean, “and I know that if you go to God and ask Him, He will forgive you.”
“I’m speaking for myself and not behalf of my family, but I love you just like anyone else,” said the young man.
“I’m not going to say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did, but I personally want the best for you.”
“I don’t even want you to go to jail,” he declared. “I want the best for you because I know that’s exactly what Botham would want you to do … and the best would be: Give your life to Christ.”
After wiping away tears, Brandt Jean turned to the judge and asked, “I don’t know if it’s possible, but can I give her a hug please?”
When the stunned judge failed to answer, Brandt again pleaded, “Please?”
The two then met and embraced in the center of the courtroom. Guyger, fell into Brandt Jean’s arms and sobbed as he spoke into her ear. She clearly did not want to let go of the man who had just lightened her heavy burden of guilt.
“The feeling in court changed in that moment,” said a TV journalist who was present in the room.
“... in that moment, everyone was humbled, watching a teenager forgive the person who killed his brother.”
Perhaps inspired by Brandt Jean’s Christ-like forgiveness, Judge Tammy Kemp retrieved her own Bible from her chambers and gave it to Guyger.
“You can have mine. I have three or four more at home,” said Judge Kemp. “This is the one I use every day.”
“This is your job for the next month,” continued the judge. “It says right here. John 3:16. And this is where you start. ‘For God so loved the world …’”
According to Fox4, Judge Kemp then guided Guyger through accepting Jesus Christ into her life. The two prayed together, and during that time, Guyger did just as Jean's brother said he would have wanted, asking for salvation there in the courtroom.
Who does that!?
Who does that!?
Needless to say, Mr. Brandt is made of something special and rare in our world today. His actions remind me of how our Lord instructed us regarding revenge.
Retaliation and enemies are two subjects that you do not hear a lot of messages on. Nevertheless, there appears to be a rise in aggression in our society today.
Consider some statistics:
92% of people witnessed an act of road rage in the past year.
30 people are murdered each year due to road rage in the United States.
Road rage incidents caused 218 murders and 12,610 injuries over a seven-year period.
Nearly 80% of drivers expressed significant anger, aggression or road rage behind the wheel at least once in the previous 30 days.
66% of traffic fatalities are caused by aggressive driving.
We live by our own Golden rule, which is “Do unto others before they do unto you.” But this morning, let us adjust our feelings and understand that...
Retaliation is a choice.
Retaliation is a choice.
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. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Jesus is quoting from the Old Testament. There are three places where such an instruction appears.
Exodus 21:22–25 instructs us in the case of an injured pregnant woman.
“When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
Or Leviticus 24:18–22 in the case of one killing another’s livestock.
“Whoever takes an animal’s life shall make it good, life for life. 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done it shall be done to him, fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. Whoever kills an animal shall make it good, and whoever kills a person shall be put to death. You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.””
And finally Deuteronomy 19:16-21 deals with a malicious witness:
16 If a malicious witness arises to accuse a person of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. 18 The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. 20 And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
In each of these cases, we are dealing with civil laws that were decided by elders of the community. The goal in each is fairness, equity and compensation for wrongdoing.
Such laws were never meant as a license for vigilantism or one’s taking the law into his own hands. It does not pertain to interpersonal dealings or a method of self-judgement.
The New Geneva Study Bible states:
“The original intent is that punishment should be equitable and should fit the crime. These limitations prohibited exacting a greater vengeance or having different penalties for different social classes. Jesus contradicted those who saw in this principle grounds for personal vengeance.” (The New Geneva Study Bible, 1513).
We have such an example In the case of Lamech found in Genesis 4:23-24
23 Lamech said to his wives:
“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
you wives of Lamech, listen to what I say:
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for striking me.
24 If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold,
then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”
You see, Lamech was arrogant and war-hungry. Some are like that. The Old Testament judicial laws are against people like Lamech; and for that we can be thankful.
What is a tunic? Was a simple garment that covered the shoulders down to mid thigh. It was worn by both Roman citizens and non-citizens alike. A cloak went over the tunic to provide more covering, representing a shawl. It was a covering to sleep under at night and could not be taken according to law.
In the case of someone compelled to serve another, the possibility of a Roman soldier coercing a person to serve as a guide or a burden carrier. was real (NGSB, 1513). Remember it was Simon of Cyrene that was ordered to carry Jesus’ cross to Golgotha in Luke 23:26 “And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.”
And so Jesus was instructing us to maintain your kindness to others even in the most difficult of circumstances. Be willing to be spent for God’s kingdom. Open yourself to others and be different. “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Because...
Dealing with difficult people requires Godlike kindness.
Dealing with difficult people requires Godlike kindness.
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? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
“Hate your enemy” as one commentator states: “...is not in the Old Testament, but was a false conclusion in scribal teaching drawn from the narrow understanding of ‘neighbor’ as simply one’s fellow Jew. Jesus shows that the true intent of Leviticus 19:18 extends even to one’s enemies.”
Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
In the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, we are shown that everyone is your neighbor. We are called upon to be people of mercy. In Luke 10:36, Jesus said:
“Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
And the world will take notice of such behavior, because human nature is so different. Kelsey Grammer quote.
“I celebrated with my peers the idea that we could love each other and love well, and that it would enhance our lives. I think that's the most attractive part of this movement still. There's a religious component of it through Christ, "Love your enemies" – I mean, that's extraordinary stuff.” (Kelsey Grammer talks 'Jesus Revolution,' scrapped Alec Baldwin sitcom (usatoday.com))
But too often we want revenge.
I remember a situation down in the city. We were preparing to dispense food items and clothing, when there was obviously an altercation at the back of the line. Two women were about ready to fight. Miss Eleanor took one of the ladies into the kitchen and did a masterful job of counseling her, saying: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
This “no retaliation” approach is exactly what Jesus did on many occasions. When Peter cut off the ear of Malchus in John 18:10–11:
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
Jesus also uttered no retaliation when he was before Pilate, while being flogged or beaten with rods and mocked. He did not open his mouth at all of this. Isaiah 53:7
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
Remember that Jesus said from the cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
And so our prayer should be: “Lord, help me to forgive as you forgive.”
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Pity, don’t punish. Try to understand another’s point of view.
Remember that our struggle is not against other individuals, but against spiritual forces of wickedness. Ephesians 6:12
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
If the urge is too strong, take a walk; create distance; get to a place of objectivity. When you are too close to the fire, you’re likely to get burned.
Conclusion
Conclusion
To this type of attitude, Jesus calls us. “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. who died on April 4, 1968, promoted the concept of nonviolent resistance. And it changed the world.
“In spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace.”
“We adopt the means of nonviolence because our end is a community at peace with itself. We will try to persuade with our words, but if our words fail, we will try to persuade with our acts.”
“We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”
“Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves.”
There was a king who had suffered much from his rebellious subjects. But one day they surrendered their arms, threw themselves at his feet, and begged for mercy. He pardoned them all. One of his friends said to him, “Did you not say that every rebel should die?”
“Yes,” replied the king, “but I see no rebels here.”
That is how God sees us in Christ.