“The Law of Love ”
Matthew 5:17; 20-37
Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, February 12, 2023
This morning we continue our series on the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7. Each of the four gospels presents a different perspective on the life Christ, in part because each writer had a different audience in mind. Mark wrote for Gentile converts, people who were not Jewish. He explains a lot of Jewish customs that weren’t familiar to his readers. On the other hand, Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish Christians. He includes many quotes from the Hebrew scriptures, and often explains how Jesus fulfilled Old Testament prophecies.
Above all, Matthew makes a case that Jesus is the promised Messiah. He hearkens back to Deuteronomy 18:15, when Moses addresses the people of Israel: “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall listen to him.” In Acts 3, Peter refers to this verse, saying that Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy. Based on this understanding, Matthew sets out to show that Jesus is the one Moses promised would come.
Matthew shows his readers how Jesus was like Moses. His Gospel is the only one that includes how King Herod sought the life of Baby Jesus by putting to death all the male infants in Bethlehem. Similarly, Moses narrowly escaped Pharaoh’s plan to kill all the male babies of the Hebrew slaves. As Moses passed through the Red Sea, Jesus passes through the waters of baptism. At Mount Sinai, Moses gave the Ten Commandments, and here, at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus ascends a “mount” to reinterpret that law. The parallels between Moses and Jesus are striking. Matthew wants to convince his mainly Jewish audience that Jesus is, indeed, the promised Messiah.
According to early church tradition, Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount from a hill overlooking the northwestern shore of Lake Galilee, near Capernaum, where Jesus was staying. Jesus begins with the Beatitudes, which we discussed two weeks ago. Some say they are the foundation for all of his teaching. The Beatitudes teach God’s love and care for the lowly and forgotten of the world, and God’s blessing on those who help others: the merciful, the peacemakers.
Jesus then tells his disciples to let their lights shine; we are meant to show God’s love in a world that is often dark. We are the salt of the earth; much as salt prevents food from spoiling, Christians are to be an influence for good on those around them.
This week we see Jesus as the new Moses, the new lawgiver. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us about the laws of God. He says that he has not come to do away with the Law, but to emphasize that God’s laws are given for our good, to be carried out in love that liberates, not in a legalism that causes human suffering.
Early Christians must have wondered, now that the Messiah has come, do we still need to follow all the details of the Law of Moses? By the time Matthew was written, Christians had decided to do away with circumcision, and had decided the Jewish dietary laws were no longer binding. Yet, Jesus taught that the heart of the law is still intact. He doesn’t want to do away with the Law. Rather, he wants us to understand that the Law is about justice, mercy, and love. That is what he means by saying that he did not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.
Jesus respected the Ten Commandments, yet he broke the Sabbath laws in order to heal the sick. His disciples plucked grain on the Sabbath when they were hungry. The laws against working on the Sabbath were not meant to keep a sick person from being healed. The law against reaping grain on the Sabbath was meant to keep landowners from forcing their servants to work on their day of rest, not to keep hungry people from eating. The Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath. Jesus reminds us that the Law was given for our benefit, that we might have fullness of life; he teaches that there is more to faith than just blindly following rules. Later he will sum up all the commandments by saying: “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” If following the law results in a loss of compassion, we have misunderstood or misused the law. Jesus invites us to live by faith, not by a rigid adherence to religious laws.
This past week, Joe and I watched the Oscar-nominated film, Women Talking.
It is based on the true story of a Bolivian Mennonite colony, where women and girls were being attacked and sexually abused on a regular basis. The women were taught that their salvation depended on obeying the male elders of the community, and if they disobeyed or left the community they would not be able to enter heaven. Sadly, nearly all the men, including the elders, took the side of the perpetrators, defending and protecting them. They told the women that they must forgive their attackers. The women met to decide whether to stay in the community, and follow the laws of their religion, thus risking more abuse for themselves and their daughters, or to leave, thus removing themselves from danger, but disobeying the laws of their religion. One of the most powerful moments comes when one of the women challenges God to judge her if she leaves. Another woman says, “Our faith is stronger than the rules.” Jesus invites us to live by faith, not by a rigid adherence to religious laws. When Jesus says that our righteousness should exceed that of the legalistic scribes and Pharisees, he means that righteousness consists of being in right relationship with others and with God, and I would add, with creation itself.
Jesus begins his teaching on the Law of Moses, by saying, “You have heard it said, “You shall not murder,” but I say to you if you are angry, you’re liable to judgment, if you insult someone you’re liable to the council; for name-calling, you are deserving of hellfire.” Wow. Jesus is basically saying that being angry with someone is killing them slowly. Of course, anger, if not controlled, can literally lead to murder. Jesus saw that someone might ask, “As long as I don’t murder, is it okay if I still hate?” I think he answered that one.
And for those who thought that giving an offering is a sign of holiness, but who had an unforgiving spirit, Jesus says, “Get your priorities straight. if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” Jesus is saying that relationships are more important even than generosity, and other religious obligations. Forgiveness and reconciliation are critical. Mending relationships is more important than going to church, or tithing. Asking someone’s forgiveness is as important as seeking God’s forgiveness.
Jesus continues, “You have heard it said, “You shall not commit adultery,” but I say to you, if you look at a woman with lust, you’ve already committed adultery with her in your heart.” C.S. Lewis is supposed to have said, “He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it, hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart.” Both lust and covetousness are forms of selfishness – wanting more for me, viewing someone as an object one wishes to possess. We may sometimes fool others, but God sees the heart.
Then comes this strange verse, “ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away… And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.” Jesus did not mean this literally. There’s no evidence that Jesus’ disciples mutilated themselves. Jesus is exaggerating to make a point: if something tempts you to sin, cut it out of your life. If certain friends always lead you astray, find new friends. If driving by a bar makes you want to stop and go in, choose a different route, and so on.
Jesus moves on to another sticky topic: divorce. This passage has been used to hurt a lot of people. We cannot equate 21st century Western marriage with first century Middle Eastern marriage. There was no such thing as equal rights between men and women in antiquity. Marriages were often arranged, and the woman had no say. A woman was considered to be her father’s property until married, at which time she became the property of her husband. Women had no right to divorce, but men could divorce their wives for nearly any reason, even on a whim. Jesus wanted to protect the rights of wives not to be thrown out of their own home. And of course the children belonged to the husband, so she would lose her children, too, if that happened.
Our situation today is quite different. Women have rights they did not have in Jesus’ day. I am certain that God does not want to see people stay in abusive marriages, whether the abuse is physical or emotional. That does not fit with “loving one’s neighbor as oneself.” Again, we should not use the law of God to harm people, but to show love, compassion, and mercy.
Jesus also says, “You have heard it said, ‘Do not swear falsely,’ but I say to you, don’t swear at all. Let your yes be yes, and your no be no.” Jesus may be referring to the commandment not to bear false witness against your neighbor, or he may have been speaking out against merchants who falsely swore that their weights and measures were reliable, when they had their thumb on the scale. Is it OK to break a promise or tell a lie if we aren’t under oath? Jesus encourages us to be people of integrity. Don’t lie, whether under oath or not - not in court, not in everyday conversation. Let your yes mean yes, and your no mean no. It’s too bad some politicians were not in attendance at the Sermon on the Mount, not to mention any names, but George Santos.
Jesus is not telling people it’s OK to disobey the Ten Commandments, but rather that the Law of Love – love of neighbor and love of God – should govern our interpretation of all God’s laws. God doesn’t want slavish obedience; God wants changed hearts. God wants us to love our neighbor from the heart, so that we might be children of our heavenly Father. God is not an angry judge, but a loving parent.
God loves us with an everlasting love, and wants us to love each other, and ourselves, as well.
To conclude, hear words of St. Paul in Romans 13. He sums it up pretty well: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”
One final thought: All of us have sinned. All of us have broken God’s law, in one way or another. But because God forgives us in Christ, we are still the light of the world. We are still blessed. “And now faith, hope, and love remain, these three, and the greatest of these is love.” Amen.
With thanks to Bishop Mike Rinehart for his inspiration: https://bishopmike.com/2020/02/09/the-heart-of-the-law-the-six-antitheses-part-1/
And to Diane Butler Bass: https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/sunday-musings-7a5?utm_source=substack&publication_id=47400&post_id=102299714&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true
Deborah Troester © 2023