There was a difference in the teaching of Jesus and that of the religious leaders. It is emphasized at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, where we're told, "And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes," (Matthew 7:28-29 ESV).
How was Jesus' teaching different? His teaching was characterized by:
A. Confidence.
The Scribes backed up their teaching by appealing to other authorities.
"He was teaching them as one who had authority [to teach entirely of His own volition], and not as their scribes [who relied on others to confirm their authority]." - Matthew 7:29 (Amplified)
Jesus didn't rely on any authority other than Himself. After all, keep in mind, He was the Law giver.
"'Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.' The people said, 'You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?' Jesus answered,
'I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!' At that point they picked up stones to throw at him." - John 8:56-59 (NLT)
Jesus claimed to be the God of the Old Testament, who called Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel; the God who had appeared to Moses in the burning bush, and gave the law to Moses; the law He was commenting on in the Sermon on the Mount. "You have heard . . . But I tell you . . ." He spoke with divine authority.
B. Consistency.
Jesus said this about the Scribes and Pharisees in His day:
"Do not do as they do; for they preach [things], but do not practice them." - Matthew 23:3 (Amplified)
But the life of Jesus was consistent with what He taught; and in every measure pure and holy. About His relationship to the Law, Jesus said:
"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." - Matthew 5:17 (NIV)
The life of Jesus fulfilled the very letter of the law. Therefore, He could teach with consistency, because His walk matched His talk.
C. Clarity.
The Scribes focused on coming up with ways to make sure you obeyed the law. In their desire to uphold the law, for example, they had written rule after rule about what it meant to keep the Sabbath.
Don't look in a mirror on the Sabbath because you might want to pluck out a grey hair and that would be reaping.
If your candles were lit when the Sabbath came (the Sabbath began at sundown), you couldn't blow them out; and if they weren't lit in time, you couldn't light them either.
It was unlawful to wear jewelry on the Sabbath because it meant bearing a burden.
You couldn't wear false teeth on the Sabbath for the same reason.
You were allowed to eat radishes on the Sabbath, but you couldn't dip them into salt because you might leave them in the salt too long and pickle them and this was performing work.
It was fine to spit on a rock on the Sabbath, but you could not spit on the ground, because that made mud and mud was mortar, and that was work.
All this served to complicate their teaching. But Jesus got straight to the point. Such as in our passage for today. (READ TEXT)
Jesus' emphasized the Law’s purpose wasn't to make us perfect so we could get to heaven by good works, but to show how our hearts and our hands are unclean; and we have nothing to commend us before God.
1. Sin is universal - vs. 27-28
This text is directed toward men. Does that mean it's OK for women to commit adultery? No. Jesus addressed men because He was targeting the Scribes and Pharisees. They themselves superior to Jesus because:
A. They thought Jesus was the product of sexual sin.
"They said to him, 'We were not born of sexual immorality.'" - John 8:41 (ESV)
Not understanding the virgin birth of Jesus, they mistakenly thought He was conceived out of wedlock, the product of sexual immorality.
B. They thought Jesus was soft on sexual sin.
Jesus was accused by the Scribes and Pharisees of associating with sinners, including the sexually immoral.
"The religion scholars and Pharisees saw him keeping this kind of company and lit into his disciples: “What kind of example is this, acting cozy with the riffraff?" - Mark 2:16 (The Message)
From the Scribes' and Pharisees' point of view, they thought they had all the advantages. They hadn’t committed adultery. But Jesus reminded these Old Testament scholars of what God told Samuel:
"The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." - 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)
Jesus declared them guilty of committing adultery in their heart. The point being even the most religious among us are guilty before God.
"'Sinner is a present-tense description of everyone . . ." - Edward Welch, When People are Big and God is Small
The title of that book speaks to what often keeps people from coming to Jesus. It's what kept the religious leaders from coming to Jesus. It's what eventually led to their deciding to crucify Jesus. They thought they were big and God was small. They thought God needed their help. No. They needed God's help because contrary to what they believed about themselves, they were sinners like everyone else.
2. Sin is destructive - vs. 29-30
What did Jesus mean here? Some say He was counseling us on how to avoid temptation by taking drastic measures. But Jesus has just said the problem wasn't our eyes or hands but our heart! The real problem is not with any part of my body, but my heart, which is the seat of sin.
"For out of the heart come evil thoughts - murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." - Matthew 15:19 (NIV)
Jesus point is that self improvement, apart from a change of one's heart, is self destructive. Sin is like quicksand, the more you struggle in it the faster you will sink. You can come up with all kinds of rules and regulations and struggle to live by them like the Scribes and Pharisees, but that does nothing to change your heart, the source of sin; and your struggle simply becomes more and more difficult. Instead, the way of deliverance is to ask God to change your heart. In a passage that,
interestingly enough is dealing with avoiding adultery, we are told:
"My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways." - Proverbs 23:26 (NIV)
Conclusion: Jesus calls us to have a holy heart.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean." - Matthew 23:25-26 (NIV)
When we are saved, God gives us a new heart.
"I will give you a new heart." - Ezekiel 36:26 (NIV)
And as one who's received a new heart, victory isn't a work from outside in; it's a work from inside out.
"Suppose that all your life you've had a heart condition. Each morning at work when the healthy employees take the stairs, you wait for the elevator. But then comes a transplant, and a healthy heart is placed within you. After recovery, you return to work and that flight of stairs - the same stairs you had always avoided. By habit you start for the elevator. But then you recall that you aren’t the same person. You have a new heart. Do you live like the old person or the new? Do you count yourself as having a new heart or old? You have a choice to make. Choosing the elevator would suggest only one fact - you haven’t learned to trust your new power. It takes time. But at some point you’ve got to try those stairs. You’ve got to test the new ticker. You’ve got to experiment with the new you.
Religious rule-keeping can sap your strength. It’s endless. No prison is as endless as the prison of perfection. Its inmates find work, but never find peace. How could they? They never know when they are finished!
Christ gifts you with a finished work. He fulfilled the law for you. Bid farewell to the burden of religion. Gone is the fear that having done everything, you might not have done enough. You climb the stairs, not by your strength, but His. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure,” so you can say, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 2:13, 4:13). God pledges to help those who stop trying to help themselves. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Let God change you from the inside out." - Max Lucado
