Kingdom People: Motivated by Love
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Transcript
Good morning! Again I want to welcome our guests and families that have come in to town today to celebrate and remember that there is in fact an empty tomb. The grave could not hold him and because of that we have a great and sure hope!
Now typically on an Easter Sunday you would hear a sermon on a resurrection passage. As a matter of fact we did that last year, and what a good and appropriate thing to do!? But as I prayed about it this week and studied this passage I felt like it what appropriate for us to remain in our series on Kingdom People. So today we’re going to be in Matthew 5:38-42. Don’t worry, this passage will take us to the tomb! If you have your Bibles go ahead and flip there and we’ll read, pray, and dive into it. If you don’t have your Bibles, no worries, it’ll be on the screen.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 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. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
This is the Word of the Lord. Let’s pray.
Risen Savior, what a joy it is this morning to gather with your people in this place to remember that death has no sting and the grave has no victory. In you their is life & joy & hope & peace. Today we celebrate that; we remember that. I pray as we do that through this passage that you would help us. Spirit of God show us where we tend to rise up in selfish retribution, and grant us repentance to instead be a people who are motivated by love. Would you empower the preaching of you Word to change us today? May you put your thoughts in my mind, your words in my mouth and your meditations on our hearts. Grow us, change us, bring salvation today. For the sake of your glorious name, Amen.
Has anyone in here seen the Parent Trap movie? The newer one, not the older version. I actually didn’t know there was an older version till recently. If you’ve seen it I’ll try not to butcher the story line, but remember the movie is about these two sisters who are separated at birth. They’re totally unaware that either one exists. It just so happens that their parents send them to the same summer camp and at this camp they get into a fencing duel to top all fencing duels. The kids from the camp surround them as they traverse over all sorts of obstacles trying to win when finally one sister trips the other one up and she falls into a water trough. They remove their masks to see the face of the competition and lo & behold they’re looking into a mirror. Now, despite seeing their doppleganger the two sisters don’t just hit it off. The war of retaliation sets off. One sister puts the others beds on top of a cabin. The other doesn’t get mad, she gets even. She booby traps the other sisters cabins so that she wakes up covered in honey and is feathered when the fan kicks on. Back & forth they go till they’re forced to move into the same cabin together and work it out. In the cabin they realize they’re long lost sisters who’ve been raised on separate continents. Now their revenge isn’t toward one another, but towards their parents. The whole point of the movie is to see the parents reunited and the family rejoined, but I think you could say the way it’s accomplished, at least initially, is through deception and revenge.
Now it’s a cute movie that makes us laugh, but so much of it—especially the funny parts—is built on the adage “I don’t get mad, I get even,” or if you were to put it in the terms of our context today, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” But here’s the problem with this perspective: who’s it all about? It’s about me! What I deserve!
Jesus comes along and says this is not what my followers are to be like. Because of who he is and what he’s done his people are to be different. While revenge may come naturally to us, what Jesus is calling us today is something way different than what we’re used to doing. The main point of this passage is this, Because of the empty tomb Kingdom People love others more than they love themselves.
Now just like the past 4 sermons we’ve been through in this series, this topic isn’t any easier or any less personal. One of the things we’re going to see is that in and of ourselves it’s impossible to live out! It’s only because of the empty tomb that we have the promise of living according to Christ’s calling. But before we get there, what exactly is Jesus talking about here? This passage is challenging and there has been a lot of misinterpretation of it. So I’ve got four points to hopefully help us understand exactly what Jesus is saying and to help us understand exactly how this applies to our lives. Our first point is a question:
Who do you love?
Who do you love?
If you’re like me you’ve probably used this Old Testament command to argue for your actions in seeking justice. Matthew 5:38
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’
This is called the lex talionis. That’s latin for the law of retribution. This was a direct quote of the law given to Israel and can be found in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. God gave this law to Israel to bring order out of chaos. (You could say that God gave all of the laws to bring order out of chaos, but that’s not our point today.) What had happened in the OT was that things were getting so out of hand between people seeking to exact justice and going so overboard, God in his mercy set up nations and within those nations he established courts to handle all matters of injustice. This law was given so that the courts would be fair in executing justice and not going overboard one way or another. The purpose of this law was to stop both personal vendettas and showing favoritism. You can go back and look at the context of Ex. 21, Lev. 24, and Dt. 19 and see that this was given to the courts, but one of the other ways we know that this was about exacting justice and not seeking revenge is that the law of God in Lev. 19:18 explicitly forbid people seeking vengeance.
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.
Even in it’s original context, lex talionis was given so that the people of God would treat one another with love, not vengeance. But the problem was in Jesus’ day that the Pharisees had taken this law that was given to the courts and started using it to justify their own personal vendettas. Once again the Pharisees have taken the word of God and misapplied it so that they could gain from it. But church, don’t we do the same thing?
I mean the heart of “I don’t get mad, I get even” really is built on anger & seeking our own form of justice. But it’s not just statements like that. In small group this week I asked everyone to help me think of ways in which we seek retaliation, without really knowing that we’re seeking retaliation. Here’s what we came up with:
We retaliate through being passive aggressive. So when my wife offends me in some way or doesn’t do what I’ve expected of her what is my tendency? I swell up with anger and give her the cold shoulder. I didn’t get what I want so I mistreat her by ignoring her or communicating as minimally as possible.
We retaliate by being giddy when people “get what’s coming to them.” That car that’s been riding my tail for the past 20 miles and finally flies around me only to be pulled over 15 miles down the road. How do I feel? Or maybe that car that pulled out in front of me and is only driving 65 in a 75. I fly around them and slow down just to “execute justice.”
We retaliate through gossiping. You did something wrong to me so what do I do? I go and talk about you to other people. I belittle or build a sense of distrust and dishonor about you with others.
Sometimes we retaliate by taking it out on the wrong person. You’re kid said something mean to my kid, so now I’ve got a problem with you.
We retaliate by being full of anger. So now you’ve crossed a line and hurt my feelings so my heart just burns with rage. I can’t stand to be around you or anyone that associates you. We’ve already talked about the problem with anger a month ago, but here we see it in conjunction with retaliation.
We retaliate by not letting go. Anyone in here have trouble with “burying the hatchet?” You keep a grudge for a reason and 20 years goes by and you’ve still got an issue over the color of paint that was picked for the living room.
We retaliate by being disobedient. Kids, any of you ever get asked by your parents to go and do something, but you don’t want to do what’s been asked of you. So you not only don’t go clean your room, but instead you go dump another basket of toys you were supposed to clean up.
Now surely this list isn’t exhaustive! This is what we came up with in about 10 minutes of time of small group!
I started listening to a book last week entitled Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World to which I’m sure all parents nod their heads and go, how appropriate. Here’s the thing, revenge or retaliation, is all rooted in what I think I deserve—entitlement. What is entitlement? It’s ultimately idolatry. It’s thinking that I deserve something because of who I am or what I’ve done or the experiences I’ve had. I’m entitled to being treated a certain way or having certain things or life going a certain way. And when what I don’t get what I think I deserve I retaliate. My sense of justice has been violated so I snap back. Church hear me clearly, the heart of retaliation is idolatry. It’s idolatry because we believe we’re entitled to certain things. We believe we are the king on the thrones and it is our job to hand out justice. We are the decision makers of what is right & wrong, and we will determine exactly what one deserves, namely ourself.
Where is that heart focused? Who does that heart love the most? So before we ever step into the call of Jesus, we must stop and ask the question: who’s the king of your heart? When you look at your disposition towards other people whenever they cross you, how do you respond? Your actions declare who you worship. For us to take the Scriptures, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is to apply to our own personal issues is to use the Scriptures in a way that they were never intended to be used. When we do that we’re just like the Pharisees. And how does Jesus describe them? Hypocrites. Blind guides. White washed tombs. A brood of vipers.
There’s not a person in this room that hasn’t retaliated at some point in the past. Having studied this I’m actually surprised at how often I do retaliate. If that’s true, and that’s who we are, then what? That brings us to our second point:
Christ’s call to a greater love
Christ’s call to a greater love
Craig Blomberg in his commentary said, “Not only must disciples reject all behavior motivated only by a desire for retaliation, but they also must positively work for the good of those with whom they would otherwise be at odds.” Look back with me to Matthew 5:39-42 and we’re going to see 6 illustration Jesus gives in which his disciples are to live with a greater love.
Matthew 5:39–42 (ESV)
But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil.
I tell you what, let’s just do one by one. Verse 39 in particular has caused a lot of discussion over time. “Do not resist the one who is evil.” What does Jesus mean here? Is he calling for pacifism? I mean if a guy walked in here and started shooting we would undoubtedly say he was evil. Is Jesus saying here that we just let him have his way because we aren’t supposed to resist him? Is Jesus against war in totality? The short answer is no and here’s why.
Remember the context in which this law was given. This is about a merciful God whose actually trying to bring justice in an unjust situation. He is in the business of bringing order out of chaos. This is why he established laws and nations and put in place people to carry out those laws. So the original context of lex talionis was to prohibit gross injustice.
Moreover, we can look at the rest of the NT and see that pacifism in not the argument here. Paul, Peter, & James all tell us to resist the evil one. Now they’re specifically speaking about the devil, but we know the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. So when someone walks in to murder, I think you could argue they’re doing Satan’s work.
“Do not resist the evil one” does not mean that we encourage injustice, dishonesty, or vice. It means that we do not seek revenge. As John Stott says, “How can those who seek as their first priority the extension of God’s righteous rule at the same time contribute to the spread of unrighteousness? True love, caring for both the individual and society, takes action to deter evil and to promote good. Christ teaches not the irresponsibility which encourages evil but the forbearance which renounces revenge.” Let me illustrate this—I actually think I may have gotten this from Stott’s book on this passage:
If someone breaks into your house at night and you catch them and make a citizens arrest. What is the most loving thing to do to that person? It might be to make them a meal after you’ve called the cops. To let them roam free doesn’t actually serve them at all.
You see Jesus charge here is the law of love. We’re to love those who wrong us greater than we love ourselves. This sense of entitlement that we just talked about should never be found among God’s people.
So when you come into a situation where self-defense might be necessary, the question you must ask yourself is, what is the most loving thing I can do for this person?
Do you see the shift in focus here? Your eyes are no longer on yourself. Paul does this to Peter in the book of Galatians. In Galatians, Peter stopped eating with the Gentiles because he was afraid of what the Jews might think of him. So Paul “opposed Peter to his face” and rebuked him for his racial prejudice he was showing.
Jesus actually did this to the guard of the High Priest in John 18:22-23. Don’t flip there, but Jesus was slapped because he responded to the High Priest and the priest’s guard slapped him because he thought he was being disrespectful. Jesus called the guard out for ignoring the law and striking a person. Jesus called out and didn’t stand for injustice.
So to “not resist the evil one” doesn’t mean we lay down and get run over. It means that our focus isn’t on our sense of justice, but what serves the other person greatest.
The next illustration is found in the second half of this verse. Mt. 5:39
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.
Now imagine you’re standing here in front of me. I’m right handed-most people are. For me to slap you on the right cheek with my dominant hand would mean that I backhand you. This is what Jesus is referring to here and in his culture to be backhanded was not only painful, but extremely dishonorable. Jesus says that his followers are not only to not fight back for their honor, but to turn the other cheek.
What better picture of this do we have than of Jesus himself? Ironically, the only other time this word is used in Matthew is when Jesus is slapped during his execution. “He was mocked, spat on, beaten with sticks, slapped, scourged, and nailed to a cross. Nevertheless He endured this all without retaliation and even with forgiveness on His lips. Never is the disciple more like the Savior than when he responds to abuses graciously and without retaliation.” (Quarles)
Whatever honor you think you need to defend, how much more so did the creator of the universe have when he was beaten, mocked, and scourged? Yet bowing to the Father’s will he took a crown of thorns.
Follower’s of Jesus, Kingdom People, turn the other cheek.
The third illustration Jesus uses is found in Mt. 5:40
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
In this illustration you’ve actually wronged somebody and they have the right to sue you and take your tunic. This would’ve been your undergarment and the piece you wore closest to you. Legally, people could do that. But here Jesus doesn’t just allow justice to occur, he says in order to make wrongs right his followers should go above & beyond what is required of them. This is a radically unselfish attitude!
Then, in Mt. 5:41, Jesus says,
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
Who were the occupiers of Israel during Jesus day? The Roman Empire, right? Soldiers had the right to force Jewish citizens to carry their packs for them up to a mile. How do you think they felt about that? Jews hated it! Who wouldn’t!? Obligation dictated them to go the first mile, but compassion directs them to go the second.
Look there are times in life in which we’re forced to serve in a way that we don’t want to. Maybe it’s the low man on the totem pole job that we know we’re better than. We don’t want to do it, but in order to keep our job we have to. You see what Jesus is aiming at is the heart of that perspective that we’re better than doing what we’re forced to do and instead saying don’t just do what’s commanded, instead serve in the same way I came to serve you. Just real quickly, does the way you work and the way you serve reflect the way the risen savior has served you?
Jesus then in Mt. 5:42 says,
Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
Now there’s technically two different illustrations here but they run very closely together. Jesus isn’t saying here that we just give indiscriminately. Later in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 Paul instructs the church that if one is not willing to work that they shouldn’t eat. What Jesus is calling his followers to consider is do we care more about our stuff—time, talent, or treasures—more than we care about the person who is truly in need? When someone really needs help what is your knee jerk reaction to what you see or hear? Are you quick to jump out and give a hand, or would you rather keep on going and let someone else handle it? If someone needs to borrow something, or if you have something that’d be helpful in helping someone else are you happy to let it go, or do you try to hang onto it. Ultimately the question is this, does the way you treat those in need display your love for God & them, or does it show your love for your stuff?
Now, we can hear all of these calls from Jesus: Do not resist—love others more; Turn the other cheek—don’t worry about your honor; let him have your cloak—give generously; go two miles instead of one—serve charitably; give & don’t refuse to those in need—which mean live both free from your stuff & with an eye of compassion towards others. We can hear all of those calls and begin to go, how in the world can I do all of those things? That brings us to our third point which is that question:
How is this possible?
How is this possible?
Look if you hear the call of Jesus and go, geez, I gotta do all of that stuff it will wear you down. Trying to do all of those good works so that you can say your one of Jesus’ followers is creating for yourself another law. It’s saying that if i don’t do those things then God won’t be pleased with me. If that’s your perspective and your understanding of what Jesus is saying here then you’re right. It is impossible. While we may be able to do some of these some of the time or maybe even most of them most of the time, the natural man’s initial response is to bow up whenever our “rights” are violated. In and of ourselves to obey the call of Jesus is impossible. How are you going to just immediately stop that initial burst of anger & desire to retaliate whenever a coworker puts a firecracker on your forklift and you weren’t paying attention? That thing goes off and after you’ve checked yourself immediately your trying to think of how you can get them back. How do you get rid of that desire? Or your desire to retaliate by slandering someone? You get around a group of people and all you want to do is let them know about so and so. How do you get rid of that desire?
You can’t. The desire to retaliate is part of our fallen nature. The only way for us to get rid of this nature is for it to die. You see the thing about an empty tomb is that it took a cross. In order for you to obey the call of Jesus, your nature must be nailed to the cross. This is why Jesus would later say in Matthew 16:24
Matthew 16:24 (ESV)
“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
You see to be a follower of Jesus means that we must come to him recognizing that in our nature, we’re poor in spirit. In and of ourselves we don’t want what he wants. We have nothing to boast of. Instead, we’re weak & we’re selfish. We like to sit on the throne of our hearts and determine what is right and wrong, but we make for bad kings. When we recognize our state and confess it to him, Christ in his mercy & love covers us. When we let Jesus be the king of our life we can join with Paul in saying, Gal. 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
You see what Christ did on the cross was he took the shame, he took the selfishness, he took the retaliation that we deserved for our self-centeredness. He did not resist the evil that our sin had brought about. He could have called a legion of angels, as if he needed them, but he didn’t. He was wrongly persecuted, yet he didn’t resist. He turned the other cheek when they slapped him. They took is tunic and in mockery threw a purple robe on him to signify his kingship. They forced him to carry the cross up the hill and he went as far as he could till they forced someone else. He gave. Oh did he give of him very self, king of creation, lacking in nothing & having everything now nailed to the cross.
But through his death on the cross he satisfied God’s wrath towards our sin. Now the debt is paid it is paid in full by the precious blood that my Jesus spilled. Now the curse of sin has no hold on me whom the son sets free oh is free indeed! The question for you today is have you recognized your inability to satisfy the wrath of God for your short comings, for your self-centeredness, for your desire for retaliation and looked to the one who did?
He loved you and gave himself for you. Our problem is that we haven’t loved him back. We have loved ourselves. The only way to fulfill the commands of Jesus is to replace our love for ourselves with a greater love. One that begins with the Father and comes to us. His love came in the person of Jesus. As we submit to and follow him, his love changes us so that our focus is no longer inward, but outward. When we submit to him, the life we live is no longer ours. Our old nature is crucified with Christ. But here’s the thing, the cross wasn’t the end of it. There’s an empty tomb that brings with it new life. That brings us to our fourth point:
The Empty Tomb’s Promise
The Empty Tomb’s Promise
Christ death on the cross satisfied God‘s wrath toward our sin, and his walking out of the grave brought with it new promises. The first promise is there is a holy kingdom that will endure. Because they grave couldn’t hold him we know that death doesn’t have the final word! The kingdom that he initiated when he came will last forever because he still sits on his throne! As we talked about on Friday night as we observed the Lord’s Supper, Jesus promised that one day he will come back to drink with us again the fruit of the vine. There is a day when we will sit around the supper table and we will enjoy the king face-to-face. We will see him clearly! Rev. 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
His kingdom of righteousness will reign, and we will live in harmony and peace with one another for all eternity. It will be the king and his people in his place for all of time.
Because of the empty tomb the second promise we receive is a holy people who encourage. God doesn’t just save you to walk through the brokenness of this life alone. He places you into a group of people who have the same identity: broken, weak and short of meeting God’s righteous standard, but have now been changed by the God who loved them and gave of himself for them. Now you don’t have to endure the trials and tribulations that we face alone. You don’t have to seek a group of people to be friends with. God in his mercy gives you one! They may not look like you or have the same background as you, but you share the same new nature and the same King. Now this group of people can encourage you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
That leads to the third promise of the empty tomb: we receive the Holy Spirit who enables. You see when we submit our life to Jesus, and our old nature is crucified on the cross what God does for us, and in us, is he gives us a new nature, one that is empowered and indwelt with his Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit now leads us so that we’re meek; he enables us to be a people who extend mercy when we’ve been wrong and be peacemakers in the midst of conflict. Now when people treat us unjustly, we don’t retaliate. We don’t have to because Christ suffered for all the injustice that’s ever occured. Now because he suffered, we can look to love them as we’ve been loved. Not only can we look to do it, we can do it because we have the Holy Spirit inside of us! The same power that conquered the grave now lives in us!
Church we have a great hope because of an empty tomb! There is a kingdom that will endure, but until he returns he has left us with a holy people who encourage—that’s you! That’s the church! And he’s given us a Holy Spirit who enables us to be a people who love others greater than we love ourselves.
So as we close, I want to invite the musicians up and as they make their way up I want to give you a little space and time to reflect. I’ve got two questions for us to meditate on:
Who do you really love?
Have you found all you need in Jesus so that you can live according to his call?
Here at Liberty we don’t really have an invitational time, so I’m not going to offer a formal invitation. However, if the Spirit of God is impressing upon your heart that you have lived a life full of love for yourself, one that is quick to retaliate, and not a life of love for him, then I’ll be waiting up here after the service to meet & pray with you. Will you respond in obedience to what he’s calling to do, or will you love yourself more? There’s no shame in appearing weak before everyone. The thing is, we all are. In and of ourselves we are incapable of being who he’s called us to be. Church, Because of the empty tomb Kingdom People love others more than they love themselves. What kind of love characterizes your life?
Let’s pray.