The Right To Be Wronged Series

“The Right To Be Wronged”

Matthew 5:38-42

Dismiss Grove KIDZ

OKAY – let’s do this…

QUESTION – MGCC… are you ready to fed on some God-breathed, Holy Spirit empowered, doubled edged, will not return to Him empty… Word this morning? Sweet, me too…

NOW – Paul wrote the following words from a prison cell.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. – Philippians 2:5-8

And Peter wrote these words to a bunch of Jesus-followers who were suffering some extreme persecution under Nero.

For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong.

But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps. He never sinned, nor ever deceived anyone.

He did not retaliate when He was insulted, nor threaten revenge when He suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly. He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By His wounds you are healed. - 1 Peter 2:19-24

Prayer

NOW THIS MORNING – we are going to unpack the first of Jesus’ final two ‘You have heard that it was said, but I say to you’ illustrations of what it actually looks like to live a life that surpasses the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees.

John Stott writes the following in his study on the SM…

The two final antitheses

(the term scholars use for the, ‘You have… but’ contrasts that Jesus lays out in Matthew 5)

bring us to the highest point of the Sermon on The Mount, for which it is both most admired and most resented, namely the attitude of total love which Christ calls us to show towards one who is evil (39) and our enemies (44).

Nowhere, is the challenge of the Sermon greater.

Nowhere, is the distinctness of the Christian counter-culture more obvious.

Nowhere, is our need of the power of the Holy Spirit (whose first is love) more compelling.

(end quote)

OKAY – here’s our text for today…

A text full of expressions that are still in common use today, and a text that maybe more than any other in the SM, has been both misunderstood and misapplied for centuries.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. – Matthew 5:38-42

QUESTION…

Have you ever heard of the expression an ‘eye for eye, and a tooth for tooth?’ before. YEAH - I think we all have.

NOW - sometimes it is referred to as ‘Lex Talionis’

(Latin.. the law of retaliation)

BUT WE - could also call it…

the law of revenge, the law of getting even, the law of payback, the law of you hurt me… I’ll hurt you back more.

AND B/S – I don’t think I need to tell you that we live in a world, where payback, vengeance, getting even an no justice not peace… rule the day.

AND MGCC – we are far from immune from this influence.

IN FACT – this week while working on this message I got to thinking that my 2 favorite movie plotlines are: an underdog winning or making a comeback, or someone getting revenge.

LIKE – two of my favorite movies are

Braveheart, Gladiator…

My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

YES – revenge and retaliation dot our landscape.

I MEAN – there are even websites dedicated to offering advice on how to get even. I found one this week that gave ideas on how to get revenge: Anonymously; on an Ex; on a Friend; on Family; at School, and on a Co-worker.