Life’s Instructions
Matthew 5:38-41
Intro. One winter day not so long ago a man went shopping at the local neighborhood mall. When he returned to his car he noticed a rather foul odor coming from under the hood and so he checked the engine. In the compartment he discovered a dead cat rather mutilated from being caught in the fan belt. The poor cat had sought shelter from the snow and cold and didn’t realize the dangers of resting on the engine block. Mr. Jones was lucky though, one of his shopping bags was made of plastic and so he emptied its contents and proceeded to scrape, pull and push the cat corpse into the bag. With a bang he slammed the hood down and walked off to wash his hands, but looking back he noticed something unusual. He had left the bag on the hood of the car. He was about to return and pick it up but just then a lady walks by, looks suspiciously in both directions, she grabs the bag, and with her cart she then speeds off for the mall. "Well this is too good to be true!" the man thought as he laughed at the lady. He decided to follow her and see what would happen next. She went to a restaurant and proceeded to survey her prize. "Yeek!" she screamed as she looked in the bag. And then over she fell. Of course, the management was equally alarmed that a customer had fainted in their establishment and so they called the paramedics. The woman in no time at all was strapped to a cart and ready to be hauled off to the ambulance. But the man couldn’t resist. "Hey lady!" he shouted, "don’t forget your package!" And with that he gently laid the cat corpse filled bag on the lady’s chest, just as the ambulance doors were closing!
. sometimes revenge is just sweet isn’t it?
. As we continue our journey through the sermon on the mount, our passage today addresses revenge and how we should react personally to people when they attack us.
. Our scripture also shows how to live in grace by showing God’s grace to others.
. John Macarthur in his commentary on Matthew 5:38-42 writes that “probably no part of the sermon on the mount has been so misinterpreted and misapplied as 5:38-42. It has been interpreted to mean that Christians are to be sanctimonious doormats. It has been used to promote pacifism, conscientious objection to military service, lawlessness, anarchy and a host of other positions that it does not support.”
. Lets read our scripture: Mt.5:38-42: You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’39But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.40If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.41If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.42Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.
.If you just read this literally it sounds like Jesus is saying that we should just lie down and die. We should just take whatever is dished out and like it.
. We just need to be a door mat for people to abuse.
. This is why this passage has been misinterpreted and misapplied so many times.
. What Jesus is doing here is teaching in what was a common custom at the time called hyperbole.
. Wikipedia says that Hyperbole is a method of communicating or teaching using exaggerations to create emphasis or effect.
. In other words it is an exaggeration to prove a point.
. When Jesus talks about gouging out our eyes or cutting our hands of or leaving our families or hating our father and mother He is using hyperbole to make a point.
. That’s what he is doing here in vs 38-42.
. Again we see Jesus addressing this issue because the Pharisee’s and Sadducees had gotten everything all askew in how they were supposed to treat people.
. In his sermon there on the side of the mountain, much of what Jesus was teaching was brought about because the Jewish people had gotten the letter of the law but they had missed the spirit of the law.
. Today’s scripture is no different.
. They had taken what was the responsibilities of the judges and were taking pride in meshing out punishment and revenge individually.
. There is a nature that is within all of us that wants to lash out when we have been insulted or humiliated isn’t there.
. That’s what Jesus is talking about here in verse 39: ’39But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.
. The slap on the face was and has always been a form of humiliation.
. I have heard many men say that they would much rather someone just ball up their fist and haul off and give them a big roundhouse slug than to be slapped in the face .
. It’s humiliating to them
. It was in Jesus day and it still is today.
. What Jesus is saying is that we need to learn to show God’s grace to those who humiliate us.
. Those who persecute us.
. One summer evening in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a weary truck driver pulled his rig into an all-night truck stop. He was tired and hungry. The waitress had just served three tough looking, leather jacketed motorcyclist - of the Hell’s Angel’s type - decided to give him a hard time. Not only did they verbally abuse him, one grabbed the hamburger off his plate, another took a handful of his French fries and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it.
How did this trucker respond? How would you respond? Well, this trucker did not respond as one might expect. Instead, he calmly rose, picked up his check, walked to the front of the room, put the check and his money on the register, and went out the door. The waitress followed him to put the money in the till and stood watching out the door as the big truck drove away into the night.
When she returned, one of the cyclists said to her, “Well, he’s not much of a man, is he?”
She replied, “I don’t know about that, but he sure isn’t much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot.”
. While these guys did not physically slap this truck driver they did humiliate him.
. His actions were what most of us would have wanted to do.
. Maybe in our minds we applauded what the truck driver did.
. Jesus says that when people try to humiliate you or persecute you, Just turn the other cheek
. Show to others the grace that God has shown to you.
. Earlier here in the Sermon on the Mount in what we call the beatitudes Jesus had just told the people there on the mountain that day that they should be happy in there persecutions.
. He says in 5:10; God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
. When you are slapped Jesus says, turn the other cheek, or to put it another way,
. Show the person who is trying to humiliate you the same grace that God has shown to you.
. In verse 40, Jesus addresses our obsession with possessions.
. verse 40 says: 40If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.
. Jesus is teaching us in this verse that possessions is not what matters.
. When he talks about someone taking you to court to take your shirt that’s what would happen if someone owed a debt that they could not repay they would be taken to court and if they had no other means of restitution, the court could give them, the shirt or tunic right off your back.
. What they could not do is take your cloak or coat .The cloak was what you used to cover yourself during the day and at night it was your blanket.
. Most Jews had only one cloak. Jewish law allowed that a man’s tunic might be taken as a pledge, but not his cloak.
. Ex 22;26-27 says; 26If you take your neighbor’s cloak as security for a loan, you must return it before sunset.27This coat may be the only blanket your neighbor has. How can a person sleep without it?
. A mans cloak was the possession that he needed more than anything else.
. Jesus is saying what is important to you.
. Things or your relationship to your fellow man.
. Giving someone your cloak meant that you value your relationship with them more than possessions.
. I recently read a story about a traveler, who between flights at an airport, bought a small package of
cookies. She then sat down in the busy snack shop to glance over the newspaper. As she read she
became increasingly aware of a rustling noise. Peeking over her newspaper, she was shocked to see a
well-dressed gentleman sitting across from her, helping himself to her cookies. Half-angry and half-
embarrassed, she reached over and gently slid the package closer to her as she took one out and began
to munch on it.
A minute or so passed before she heard more rustling. The man had gotten another cookie! By now
there was only one left in the package. Though beside herself, she didn’t want to make a scene so she
said nothing.
Finally, as if to add insult to injury, the man broke the remaining cookie into two pieces, pushed
one piece across the table to her with a frown, gulped down his half and left without even saying thank
you. She sat there dumbfounded. “Of all the nerve!”
Some time later when her flight was announced, the woman opened her handbag to get her ticket.
To her shock, there in her purse was her package of unopened cookies. She wondered to herself how a person could sit through something like that and not say anything.
. She wondered how a person could have such a sharing heart.
.You see this didn’t insist that these were his cookies. His desire for this possession was not stronger than his desire to show grace to his fellow man.
. Folks we talked about this a few weeks ago on Sunday night and my question to the folks that were there was what defines you.
. Do your possessions define you. Or does your relationship with Jesus Christ and your fellow man define you.
. Would you be willing to give up the possession or possessions that are important in order to show God’s grace to your fellow man.
. Are your relationships with your neighbor important enough to give up your most prized possession in order to help them?
. Jesus said not only are we to give folks the shirt off our backs, if necessary, give them your whole wardrobe.
. What defines you.
. In verse 41 Jesus teaches us another principle to live by.
. Vs 41 says: 41If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.
.This was very familiar to Jesus’ listeners.
. The roman occupiers of Israel had a law that said if a roman soldier told you to carry his pack for him, you were obligated to carry that pack for one mile.
. The Jewish people hated this law. It was demeaning to them.
. Most would have gone in all directions from their home and placed a marker that they would recognize exactly one mile from their home.
. When they reached that mile they would throw the pack down and refuse to carry it one more inch.
. Jesus’ point here is:
. Be willing to go above and beyond the call of duty in order to demonstrate God’s love and generosity.
. Do more than the minimum.
. Most of you know that I coach wrestling at a local middle school.
. I see kids come through all the time that just go through the motions of practice.
. All they do is just enough to get by. Just enough not to get reprimanded by the coach.
. While these guys can call themselves wrestlers, they are not very successful wrestlers.
. I am afraid that we have many Christians in our churches today who only want to go the first mile.
. They hear the words of Jesus Christ. They accept the sacrifice that He gave for them on the cross of Calvary. They are true believers but they are not willing to go the extra mile for Jesus.
. We accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and just sit down and not go the extra mile that Jesus is talking about here.
. The bible tells us that we were created for good works.
. Ephesians 2: 8-10 Says this: 8God ksaved you by his agrace when you bbelieved. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.10For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
. We love to quote this scripture for salvation and we should. These passages give us our definition of grace.
. God’s unmerited favor. It says right here that our salvation is a gift from God. That we can’t work for it.
. We overlook the last sentence where it says that we were created a new creature in Jesus so that we can do the good things He has planned for us.
. Folks we got to go the extra mile.
. There’s more to this than just acceptance of this gracious gift from God.
. He has plans for you .
. He has plans for me. We need to be willing to do more than just the bare minimum.
. When you go to the school and the teacher tells you that your child or grandchild is very smart and capable but all they want to do is the bare minimum.
. You usually go home and talk to them and tell them that the teacher says that they need to put forth more effort.
. That happened with my children as they were growing up.
. What if you were to have a teacher conference with Jesus about your effort.
. Could you say to Him that you went the extra mile.
. That you did the good things that he had planned for you.
. Or would He say to you, You should have went the extra mile.
. Jesus says be strong when people try to humiliate you. Be a witness.
. Do not let your possessions define who you are. Give graciously.
. Go the extra mile for the Lord.
. Invitation
*** To my Christian brothers and sisters, thank you for taking the time to read this sermon. I ask that you take another second and score this for me. I am always open to feedback so that I can continue to grow in the proclamation of God’s word.
May God bless you as you continue to strive to walk worthy of His calling.
Sources;
The Holy Bible, NLT
John MacArthur, Commentary on Matthew 1-7
Michael Luke, Love Your Enemies
Mark Opperman, The Generosity of Grace
Jeffery Anselmi, Going the Extra Mile
