I'm offended (Matt 5:25-26)

Matthew 5:25-26

Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly I say to you, you will never get out until you pay the last penny

The selfish anger that Jesus attacks in this section of the sermon on the mount can drive a wedge between people. Christians will hurt each other, we will get offended and cause offense - that is guaranteed due to the remaining sin in our lives. However churches should be full of people who are seeking reconciliation when those things happen. Instead, churches are too often full of people holding onto grudges against their brothers and sisters or being more willing to stop attending church than attempt reconciliation. We, enemies of God, have been reconciled to God through Jesus death on the cross, should be seeking reconciliation with others. We, who have been shown mercy, should be showing mercy to others.

Jesus says our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. They were pleased that they didn't murder. We can not be satisfied that we managed to not hit/slap/bite/shout but repentant for the anger/contempt/passive aggressiveness that is in our heart and cry out to God for mercy.

anger affects your worship (Matt 5:23-24)

Matthew 5:23-24

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Jesus has already pointed out that we are all guilty of selfish anger but we often feel like it's alright to hold onto it as long as it is internal and we don't act, or at least keep our angry acts to a minimum. But the person who holds a grudge and nurses an offense who faithful attends church, gives financially and never misses a bible study has not done enough good to offset the bad. Jesus says that person should work for reconciliation and come back to church later. To God, the anger that we have in our heart is more important than the outward show of religious practices that we might be able to maintain.

anger (Matt5:21-22)

Matthew 5:21-22

You have heard that it was said to those of old, "You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgement." But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brohter will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council and whoever says "you fool" will be liable to the fire of hell.

Not being a murder is often our favourite way of justifying ourselves. Start talking about sin and sooner or later someone will say "well, at least I haven't killed anyone". Jesus offends all of us when he says that anyone who is angry is guilty of the same sin - which makes all of us guilty.

This is not talking about righteous anger because Jesus himself got angry. But our anger is rarely righteous, it is much more likely to be self-centered - someone said something we didn't like, someone didn't treat us in the way we thought we should be treated etc.

there is a place for burning with anger at sin and injustice. Our problem is that we burn with indignation and anger, not at sin and injustice, but at offense to ourselves. In none of the cases in which Jesus became angry was his personal ego wrapped up in the issue... Let us admit it - by and large we are quick to be angry when we are personally affronted and offended, and slow to be angry when sin and injustice multiply in other areas.
DA Carson

  Jesus points the finger at this selfish anger - insulting others, calling them fools (Jesus called the Pharisees fools [Matt 23:17&19] but calling somebody a fool as a fact is different to saying it in contempt, in the same way that warning someone of the dangers of hell is different to saying "go to hell"). Indeed, we are assumed to be the guilty party in the applications - your brother has something against you, you are likely to be found guilty in the court room.

We are guilty of this anger and are in the same position as the murder before God, without excuse. But, while our anger is selfish, Jesus' anger was selfless. He was so angry with our sin that he dealt with it, out of love, by going to the cross. That sets us free, we no longer need to be enslaved to the selfish anger that bears grudges and gets offended.

you have heard it said (Matt 5:21)

Matthew 5:21

You have heard that it was said....

... But I say to you...

Jesus is not contradicting God's law or changing it, but showing that it goes deeper than they thought. The hebrew language had died out, people were reliant on the communication of God's law to them by the Pharisees. Jesus shows that the communication of external behavioural principles was not at the heart of the law, the law penetrates to the attitudes of the heart. The prophets of the OT would stand up and say "thus says the Lord". Jesus says "I say to you". This is not a man's speculation on God's will but God himself speaking. We should listen.

be more righteous (Matt 5:20)

Matthew 5:20

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This would have been a shocking statement for Jesus' disciples and the crowds to hear. We might be used to thinking of the Pharisees as the bad guys in the story but, at the time, there would have seemed to be no group of people more committed to following and serving God. The Pharisees devoted their entire lives to God's law and went to whatever lengths necessary to avoid breaking it, making laws around the laws to avoid going anywhere near sin.

So if Jesus is saying it is necessary to be more righteous than that, who stands a chance? Exactly. I have not tried as hard as the Pharisees to be righteous and neither have you. But they were not righteous enough. The greater righteousness that Jesus talks about is not about going further than them - follow 700 laws instead of 600 hundred - but about going deeper. The righteousness that the Pharisees were concerned with was about modifying behaviour but Jesus looks beyond that into the heart. As he will go on to explain, Jesus says that it is possible to obey a command externally but break it internally with our attitudes. If you thought you're actions were ok, there's a deeper level were you fail. If you already thought your actions were bad enough, it's worse than you thought!

That is why it's such great news that God made him who knew no sin [Jesus] to become sin, so that , in him, we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21)

pick and mix (Matt 5:19)

Matthew 5:19

Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven

Jesus condemns the pick and mix attitude we often have to the bible. We take a hard line on the bits we think we can do, or that we think others should do, and we ignore or "reinterpret" the parts we don't want to do. That has the knock-on effect of teaching others to do the same, whether that is explicit instruction or implicit through our lifestyle. Jesus is clear in his high view of God's law. God defines righteousness and sin, not us. He speaks, we listen.

god's law (Matt 5:18)

Matthew 5:18

Truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law until all is accomplished

Why should we believe the old testament? Because Jesus did. Jesus seems to think that every word matters - he says that neither the smallest greek (iota) or hebrew (dot) letter will pass from the law until everything has been accomplished. He says that heaven and earth will pass away before God's law - God's law being the constant by which we evaluate the culture of the particular time and place we live in, not our culture evaluating the bible. Treating the bible as our highest authority is unfashionable and counter-cultural, even in churches! But that's the attitude Jesus had and we should follow.

fulfilled (matt 5:17)

Matthew 5:17

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

When Jesus refers to the law and the prophets he is referring to the Old Testament. If Jesus came to abolish the OT then it would be of no use to us and it shouldn't be in our bibles, but he makes it clear he has not come to abolish it. If the Old Testament law still applied to us in it's entirety we would be on a path to despair as we tried to keep it, or would be forced to ignore parts, picking and choosing the sections we want to obey. But Jesus came to fulfill the OT, so it is not a burden and it is not pointless. It enriches our understanding of Jesus and the gospel.

We are no longer under the curse of failing to keep the moral law because He fulfilled it and died for our failure to keep it.

We do not need the sacrificial system because Jesus is our priest, our temple and our sacrifice. 

We don't need a king - Jesus is our King

shocking atitudes

The beatitudes turn the world's idea of happiness upside down. they also turn the religious establishment's idea of happiness upside down!

True happiness is found in:

• having no confidence in your own performance NOT self-esteem or self-righteous "achievements"
• being grieved over sin and repenting NOT ignoring and justifying our sin
• putting others first NOT looking after number one
• recognising our total dependance on God NOT self-sufficiency or God as a co-pilot
• showing mercy NOT demanding justice
• examining internal attitudes NOT perfecting external behaviour
• seeking peace NOT seeking comfort
• enduring difficulties because of an eternal hope NOT relying on present circumstances

Jesus says it isn't the self-sufficient, it isn't the self-righteous, it isn't the proud, it isn't the strong, it isn't the capable, it isn't the courageous, it isn't the confident, it isn't the satisfied, it isn't the angry, the powerful, the rebellious...who are going to come into the kingdom, it is rather the broken, the mourning, the meek, the hungry, the thirsty, the merciful, the pure, the peacemakers and the persecuted and the reviled and the slandered who make up His kingdom. They're the real kingdom citizens. Well, this is an absolutely shocking message. John Macarthur

light (matt 5:14-16)

Matthew 5:14-16

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The world is in darkness and needs to see the light of God's self-revelation, culminating in Jesus. God's plan for that to happen is for the church to be salt and light in the world. Jesus is the true light. he is the sun, we are the moon, reflecting his light, but the moon still stands out in the darkness. Christianity is not designed to be a private faith- the church is to be a city on a hill, a lamp on a stand. Standing out as different and proclaiming the gospel so that the result is that some will glorify God. Is your christian community visible to others? Do others see the reflected light of Jesus, or are we ignoring the maker's instructions and putting the light under a basket because it feels a bit safer?

salty (Matt 5:13)

Matthew 5:13

you are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost it's taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet

Single grains of salt do nothing by themselves but as a community of Christians, the church should be like salt in society.

• purity - The church should hold up an example of purity. The Holy Spirit's work in our hearts does affect our behaviour, and that should be noticeable. But one of the main changes that should occur is in our attitude towards our own sin. Because we recognise our own sin is great, and our need is great, but we have been forgiven by a great saviour, we do not need to cover up our sin, we do not need to try and pretend that we are living a better life than we actually are. unfortunately, the church is often seen as pointing the finger at other people's problems while glossing over it's own. The example of Christians being progressively sanctified, not least through ongoing repentance, confession and reconciliation, stands out in an impure world.
• taste - The "life" outside of Jesus is not really life, it is just existence. You cannot really live outside of the kingdom of the author of life. Do people look at the church as people who have tasted and seen that the lord is good? As Jesus said in the previous verses, we can expect persecution and suffering, but Christianity should be characterised by a deep joy, the true happiness that Jesus describes in the beatitudes. "men have nothing in them but what is tasteless, till they have been seasoned with the salt of heavenly doctrine" Calvin
• thirst - The life of the christian community should create a thirst in those exposed to it for more. "I want what you've got" may sound like a cliche, but do people looking at the church think that they are missing something or do they think that they are better off without it?!
• preservative - The church should be a positive influence on society. Serving others, being generous, loving our enemies. If your church closed down, would the community miss it?