Text: Matthew 5:21-37
Date: Epiphany VI + 2/13/11
Lutheran Church of the Incarnate Word, Rochester Hills, MI
“Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
And he opened his mouth and taught them” (Mt. 5:1-2).
“The crowds” consisted of all sorts of people “from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan” (4:25). Today those “crowds” are of every land and nation throughout the world. “His disciples” were those who were following Jesus more closely, many to become His chosen apostles. Today those “disciples” would include you and me. His first major sermon or discourse, the Sermon on the Mount, is for all who would believe on Him and become His disciples. And all who would be such must enter through this door first, the Beatitudes. It is the preaching and teaching of Jesus, after all, His Word entering your ears and eyes, your mind and heart, that has the power to draw you to true repentance and faith. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” that is, those who have come to know and to admit and confess their desperate need of God. How many people, on the other hand, are there walking and driving and running around us every day today, and who are maybe sleeping in this morning or doing other things all because they don’t know, don’t admit their desperate need of God? But you are blessed. And now today we become, more than ever, the blessed who mourn over what sin has done and continues to do to us and to the whole world, as Jesus has us look more closely to the Law of God! Only those who have entered the Kingdom of heaven through this door of humble contrition and faith in Jesus are able now to hear and understand aright the rest of the sermon. Especially today Jesus illustrates what He meant when He said He did not come to abolish the Law of God but to fulfill it; that Law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, which, if you are to be salt and light in the world, you dare not relax, ignore or fail to teach.
To illustrate what He meant when He said He came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it, Jesus immediately addresses the subjects of the 5th and 6th Commandments, the issue of marriage, divorce and remarriage, and the law of oath taking. More accurately He is addressing the current Jewish interpretations of those Laws by the scribes of the day, some of which were misleading at best. Notice the crowd’s reaction at the end of the Sermon as Matthew reports their astonishment at His teaching, “for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Mt. 7:29). Therefore Jesus begins each section with the words, “You have heard that it was said to those of old.” He then contrasts what they have heard with His own authoritative teaching beginning with the words, “But I say to you.” He emphasizes His authority saying, literally translated, “But I myself say to you.” This, of course, is an important issue. For this is no mere man or charismatic teacher elevating himself over God’s Word for his own benefit. Jesus is the very God of very God who gave the Commandments in the first place, and as such is the only authority to interpret and teach them.
Now so much could and should be said about each of these commandments and laws that we don’t have time for in one sermon. Before getting into the details, however, I would have you notice the shape of a heart printed on the first page of your service folder. For what Jesus is here revealing is “the heart” of God’s Law and our dark hearts. How appropriate on the day before St. Valentine’s Day! For, as we have said before, while the primary function of the Law of God is to control outbursts of sin and to accuse us and reveal our sin, at its heart the Law of God reveals God’s good and gracious will for life. So Jesus, at once, reveals the real issue or heart of sin as well as God’s gracious design.
I said that today we are being addressed as those of the second Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn” (5:4). That is because our review of these commandments ought to have the effect of making us tremble as we consider all the ways in which each and every one of us has sinned against them. Jesus in no way softens the condemnation of God’s Law against us. But that’s why it took nothing less than His own bitter suffering and death to satisfy God’s Law. Apart from Jesus’ atoning, bloody, agonizing death, we all stand condemned, guilty, hopeless. We are sorry. And we mourn.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’” Even today in the secular world murder is a capital crime punishable by death. Yet even today we play around with defining “degrees,” whether a murder is first degree, second degree, voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, and other splitting of hairs. Though it is nothing less than murder abortion is redefined as only a medical procedure. But the fact that you very well may not have actually physically murdered another person does not let you off the hook. For, Jesus says, “I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” So now where do you stand? ‘Ever been angry with your brother, or with anyone for that matter? How angry were you? Are you still angry? All of this is to call to mind what the Apostle James wrote so clearly, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). In other words, murder begins in the heart, whether or not the hand is motivated to actually cause bloodshed. The guilt, the punishment is the same. “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need” (Small Catechism). None of us are exempted. All the hatred and anger our hearts and minds have embraced speaks and testifies against us. We are guilty. And we are sorry. And we mourn.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’” But we haven’t heard that very much…at least these days! What we have heard is exactly the opposite! Item: “Oh we decided to live together first until we are sure about marriage.” Item: “Well-known congressman resigns after affair with another woman is made public.” Item: “The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world. One-third of girls get pregnant before the age of 20. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 81 percent are to unmarried teens.” Well, maybe we think we’ve ducked the 6th commandment like we’ve ducked the 5th, until…. “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Yeah, I remember President Jimmy Carter saying that, and we all laughed. But seriously, just a look? I distinctly remember my dad suggesting “looking” was not only okay but even expected! You’ve got to be kidding, right?
Again, it’s not only the outward act that is the problem, but the heart that conceives the act. Like anger I’m afraid none of us are off the hook from the wandering eye, the private imagination, the diversion of the otherwise God-created sex drive to only selfish or illicit ends. This is why Jesus eliminates the excuse of blaming your eyes or your hands or bodily members. “We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.” All the lust of our hearts and minds testifies against us. We are guilty. And we are sorry. And we mourn.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’” That’s what was said. It’s in the Bible! From the 6th Commandment follows all the madness of man’s putting asunder what God has joined together in holy marriage. There is much more than is stated here about the subject of marriage, divorce and remarriage in the Bible. Those who have survived so far, who have never been divorced, thanks be to God for your faithfulness. Those whose lives have been bruised by divorce can look to God for support, forgiveness, mercy and grace. Jesus’ “But I say to you” summarizes God’s view. Sin means separation. Divorce separates. “The Lord, the God of Israel, says that he hates divorce,” Malachi 2:16. There was provision in the Old Testament but only “for the hardness of your heart.” “But from the beginning it was not so” (Mt. 19:8). The bottom line: quit spending all your energy trying to figure out how to get rid of each other and, rather, learn what love and faithfulness is really all about. Again, our conscience testifies against us. We are guilty. And we are sorry. And we mourn.
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’” In the words of the 8th Commandment, “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” But what do we hear day in and day out, especially in the realm of politics? Twisting and turning and hiding and deception and lying. It’s called an oxymoron (or as William F. Buckley used to pronounce it, “ok-symoron”!); what is? “Truthful politician”! But any child already knows the art of denial. “I didn’t do it!” “She made me do it!” And what about gossip, or building your own defense by tearing down someone else? “We should fear and love God so that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation….” And we remember all too easily those times when we lied, betrayed, slandered, hurt…and our conscience testifies against us. We are guilty. We are sorry. And we mourn.
But now what did we hear? “Blessed are those who mourn.” Blessed? “For they shall be comforted.” Oh, not now, not yet, except by the faith that waits and hopes for that great day when all sin shall be wiped away in the comfort of the eternal mansions with Christ. Until then we fail and fall so easily, and we remember so vividly. And we do try, under the power of Christ to be reconciled, to be faithful, to be honest, to let our yes be yes and our no be no and to fight and stand against the Evil One. But until then we mourn and we believe, we wait and we hope.
Blessed are those who mourn. For those who do not mourn, who attempt to justify themselves, excuse themselves, contradict God’s Word and judgment that sin is sin. But a “put on a happy face” scenario or any and all denial cannot last and certainly cannot comfort eternally. But to mourn is to wait and hope in faith; faith in the God who sent His Son, who, by His blood and death and resurrection and now His dwelling in us releases us from the slavery of sin and creates a new heart and a right spirit within. In that comfort of faith we walk through all trials with a quiet confidence that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. “Blessed are those…who walk in the law of the Lord!” (Ps. 119:1).