Encounter Jesus – Matthew Week 5

What are Jesus’ Standards for Kingdom Living?

Matthew 5: 1-12

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Week 5: Kingdom Life

AUDIO

OUTLINE

Recap of the Sermon on the Mount / Beatitudes

  • Sermon on the Mount = Kingdom Teaching
  • Beatitudes = Kingdom Values

Kingdom Living – The Sort of Thing That  Gets You Persecuted

  • Read Matthew 5: 13-16 (Salt & Light)
  • The “you” in 13 and 14 are emphatic – specifically Christ followers
  • Salt (verse 13)
    • Salt is flavor and even more important, preservative in a world without refrigeration
    • Pure salt can’t lose its saltiness, but they didn’t have pure salt – always mixed with impurities
    • Over time, the salt could leach out while the other stuff stuck around – so you had salt that had lost its saltiness
    • Once it was not salty, they would mix it into dirt. Still done in modern Israel to pack flat dirt roves where people play and gather.
    • Jesus is still talking Kingdom purpose – We are all salt
      • We’re to flavor and preserve our culture and community. Kingdom of Heaven is present, here, now – we’re to be out there in the world trying to impact it.
      • If we aren’t doing that – if we aren’t part of the culture, trying to make it better by teaching, proclaiming good news, and healing, we’re useless
      • This comes with the risk of persecution – verses 10-12
    • Light (verses 14-16)
      • We know the truth and represent the light (Matthew 4: 15-16, quoting Isaiah 9: 1-2)
      • Jesus is the light and now We are the light according to Jesus
      • The light must be visible – Jesus speaks of impossible/foolish things to do with light.
        • A brightly lit city on a hill, like Jerusalem, would be visible for miles
        • Houses were dark & dim without electricity. You set your one lamp up high so it would fill the whole house and you certainly don’t cover it.
        • We live in a dark world – each of us may just be a small oil lamp, but we each have a role to play in illuminating the world
      • We’re told to shine the light of Christ – How?
        • Verse 16 – Our ACTIONS that point to God so that He gets the glory, not us
        • We have to be doing stuff. Jesus didn’t say to shine the light by beating people over the head with the Bible. Or endlessly talking only with other believers. We have to be out. We have to be active.
        • But we don’t just do good deeds – we do good deeds and make it clear WHY we are doing them – to serve a good and holy  God.
        • You know what group of people this approach works for? Postmodern millennials – the people surrounding this church!!!
        • People with reasonably decent lives don’t really want to hear about out God. But if we show up and care about improving this world they care about, and make it clear we’re doing it because God cares about this world, and that the ultimate sign of His caring is Jesus, then they get interested in what we have to say.
      • If we live out the Kingdom values from the beatitudes, we’ll be salt and light.

Christ’s Standard

  • Read Matthew 5: 17-20
  • Verse 17 – Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament – we talked about what that means – completion and perfection
    • For some elements He is the perfect exemplar – sinless, moral, priestly
    • For others He is the completion – Old Testament sacrifices
    • He is what is predicted and pointed to by the entire Old Testament
  • Verse 18 – iota and dot – smallest characters in Greek and Hebrew. The Law doesn’t go away, but some parts were completed in Jesus Christ.
    • Nothing will pass away until all is accomplished – Jesus accomplished through his life, death, and resurrection.
  • Verse 19 – Whoever does and teaches – will be great in the Kingdom of Heaven
    • Foreshadowing of the Great Commission – teach them to obey all I commanded
  • Verse 20 – Nobody’s righteousness could exceed the scribes and Pharisees!!!
    • They were the most righteous people his listeners could imagine
    • And that isn’t good enough to get into the Kingdom
    • Message – You will never be good enough to get into the Kingdom!!!
    • Why? See verse 3 – the Kingdom of Heaven is for the Poor in Spirit – those who know they have  no righteousness and cry out to God and so Jesus gives them His righteousness.
    • If nobody can get in, you need another way – the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
  • This sets up the next section, commonly called the Antitheses because of the formula Jesus uses to begin each principle.

 Kingdom Standards – the Antitheses

  • He explains that righteousness isn’t just what you do or don’t do – it’s your heart, and that’s really hard.
  • I’m just going to specifically talk to these – I urge you to read them this week and really reflect on how far you fall short of Jesus’ standard!
    • Come back with questions, because I’m sure you’ll have some!
  • We’re going to look at 2 things related to these
  • First, listen and think about how impossibly high the standard of Jesus Christ is for Kingdom citizens:
    • verses 5: 21-22 – Murder -> Anger, Insult = Damnation
    • verses 5: 27-28 – Adultery -> Lust = Adultery
    • verses 5: 31-32 – Certificate of Divorce -> Don’t Divorce
    • verses 5: 33-35 – False Oath -> Don’t Take Oaths
    • verses 5: 38-39 – Retaliate -> Don’t Retaliate
    • verses 5: 43-44 – Hate Your Enemy -> Love Your Enemy
    • verses 5: 48 – Be perfect like God is perfect
  • Second, listen to Jesus’ phrasing – “You have heard it said…But I say to you…”
    • verse 5: 21 – That’s the 6th Commandment – He’s raising the standard God gave by saying the heard is the crux of the issue, not the action
    • verse 5: 27 – That’s the 7th Commandment – God again
    • verse 5: 31 – Deuteronomy 24: 1 – He’s raising the standard from the Mosaic Covenant
    • verse 5: 33 – Leviticus 19: 12 – Again, Mosaic Covenant
    • verse 5: 38 – Exodus 21: 24 – Again, Mosaic Covenant
    • verse 5: 43 – Extends Leviticus 19: 18 that only requires loving your neighbor
  • In every case, Jesus is taking the clear commandment of God and teaching of Moses and saying, actually I’m telling you it’s much higher.
    • He is placing Himself above Moses and on par with God – this is a God claim!
    • He knows He is speaking Scripture!
  • I want us to remember and reflect verse 5: 48 – the Kingdom’s standard is PERFECTION
    • We will NEVER achieve that. We have NO ability to get in on our own.
    • We must recognize that we bring NOTHING to the table with God and rely 100% on His grace and mercy.
    • When we do that, we become Poor in Spirit – blessed are we, for ours is the Kingdom of Heaven, through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!