Good morning.
Connor Coskery:Good morning. It's good to
Jeffrey Heine:see you all. We are continuing our study, the Sermon on the Mount. We, we've been in this study this summer for a couple of weeks now. We're gonna be in Matthew chapter 5. And so if you have a Bible with you, if you wanna go ahead and turn to Matthew chapter 5, we're gonna be starting with verse 38 and making our way through the rest of the chapter.
Jeffrey Heine:It's also in your worship guide if you've got one of those too. Matthew chapter 5. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is giving instruction. And in this particular section that we're in, he's been teaching on a number of different topics. Kind of one right after another.
Jeffrey Heine:And today we're gonna be looking about how we respond to our enemies. So we're gonna be, we're looking at verse 38 through 48. So if you would, look with me and let us listen carefully for this is God's word. You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.
Jeffrey Heine:But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go 1 mile, go with him 2 miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
Jeffrey Heine:But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?
Jeffrey Heine:Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect. This is the word of the Lord. Let's pray. Father, son, and spirit, you alone are God and we are not.
Jeffrey Heine:Will you draw near to us, father, that we might know your love? Jesus, may we receive your great grace this morning. In spirit, may we follow you to all truth. So speak, Lord, for your servants are listening. We pray these things in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit.
Jeffrey Heine:Amen. In the gospel writings of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there's a story about a young man who meets Jesus. Jesus is walking on the street, and a young man comes up to him. And this young man greets Jesus with great reverence. And he says, what must I do to have eternal life?
Jeffrey Heine:And Jesus said to him, you know the commandments. Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, don't cheat. Honor your father and your mother. And this is the part that I've never really understood. The young man, the young urban professional looks at Jesus and says, unflinchingly, Teacher, I have kept all of those commandments since I was a child.
Jeffrey Heine:So he's either lying or he really has kept all the commandments since he was a child. He he never cheated, never stole anything, never lied. My guess is he's lying right now,
Connor Coskery:which is
Jeffrey Heine:one of the things he says he has never done before. But I also think that he believes it. I think that he believes he's telling the truth, that he has kept all these commandments. And Jesus doesn't call the young man out for lying, at least not directly. Jesus doesn't respond by saying, there is zero chance that you have obeyed all of the commandments perfectly since you were a child.
Jeffrey Heine:Instead, Jesus gives this young man a chance to demonstrate that he understands what the law is truly for, what what the law is really setting out to achieve. And Jesus says, okay. Then there's just one thing left. Go and sell all of your possessions. Take that money, give it to the poor, and then come back and follow me.
Jeffrey Heine:You see, obedience to rules without following Jesus is not really obedience. At least it isn't the obedience that Jesus is looking for from you and from me. And following Jesus without obedience misses the mark just as much because that's not truly following. Truly following Jesus means seeking obedience to all that he has commanded. That's the outline and the description of what discipleship is from the great commission, to obey everything that Jesus has commanded.
Jeffrey Heine:After Jesus gave the young man a chance to demonstrate what he understood more than just wrote rule keeping, the young man's face turned downcast. This was the last thing he expected to hear from Jesus. It was the last thing he wanted to hear from Jesus, and so frustrated, he walks away with a heavy heart. And the reason for this great disappointment, it said because the young man had great possessions. Pastor Eugene Peterson put it this way, the young man was holding on tight to a lot of stuff, and he wasn't about to let it go.
Jeffrey Heine:In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is teaching us that righteousness is not achieved simply by managing our outward actions. Behavior modification is not the chief objective of Christian living. One of the main problems with making Christianity just about behaviors is that we start to make a bar we could actually meet. Does that make sense? That's what the Pharisees are doing.
Jeffrey Heine:That's what this rich, young professional is doing. They use the words of the law to set a bar that they could meet. And so in not murdering people, just hating them, In in, not committing adultery, but looking with lust, and in loving their neighbors and hating everyone else, they thought they must be perfect. They explained, we have kept all the rules since we were children, but that was never the point. And in this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is telling us why.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus teaches us that what occurs inwardly in our thoughts, our emotions, our will, our desires, all of that matters too. Sin is not is not merely skin deep. Sin goes deeper into our thinking and our feeling, all the way to our will. And it's it's from that place that our actions find their genesis. In our desires, our will, our inner being, we are vastly complex.
Jeffrey Heine:And when it comes to obedience to God, what is righteous and what is obedient to God, we have to wrestle with the reality that following Jesus is as much about the inside as it is about the outside. If you've been with us over the last few weeks in this summer series, you'll recall that Jesus begins this Sermon on the Mount with the beatitudes. He starts by pronouncing deliverance and blessing. And then Jesus clarifies that he did not come to get rid of the law of God. He came to fulfill the law.
Jeffrey Heine:And then he tells the crowd that unless you are righteous unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, and you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. In a way, Jesus is saying that unless your obedience to God is greater than just rule keeping, and you will never enter the kingdom of heaven, which is shocking to these hearers, his disciples included. Jesus appeals to what the hearers knew about righteousness or at least what they thought they knew about righteousness. And Jesus says, these Pharisees are they're they're a picture of what the culture thought righteous living was. And then Jesus turns his attention to instructing the people on the law about real righteousness.
Jeffrey Heine:And it's not what they expected. It's probably not what we expect either, because some of these Pharisees can manage their outward rule keeping. No murder, no adultery. But Jesus exposes something, something deep in the self, deep inside that's still shockingly broken. And in Matthew chapter 5 verses 21 all the way through 48, Jesus outlined 6 different topics that he gives kind of his concise teaching on.
Jeffrey Heine:Anger, lust, divorce, oaths, revenge, and our enemies. And on each of these topics, Jesus teaches through a structure. It's kind of repeated in each one, a 3 part structure. It goes like this. You have heard it said.
Jeffrey Heine:That's part 1. You've heard it said. That's that's the traditional understanding on that topic. You've heard it said. Then it moves to, but I say to you.
Jeffrey Heine:That's Jesus' teaching, this kingdom instruction. But it doesn't stop there. It moves to a third part, what we can call kingdom action. He actually gives examples of real practical things that that people face and how this this kingdom instruction is to show up in everyday life. It's not supposed to be some radical idea, something that can never be actually done, some high minded ideal.
Jeffrey Heine:It's practical. He moves from what you think about these things to what Jesus has to say about these things, and then how we can live that kingdom action out. We see it very clearly, just as a as an example in Matthew chapter 5 verse 21, the first thing he talks about. It follows this pattern really concisely. Look at verse 21.
Jeffrey Heine:Part 1, the traditional understanding. He says, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. That's that's the traditional understanding. Now he moves into this kingdom instruction. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.
Jeffrey Heine:Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says, you fool, will be liable to the hell of fire. He moves all the way to the most mundane of insults of calling someone a fool. But then he he moves back into this kingdom action, part 3. Look at verse 23.
Jeffrey Heine:So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. 1st, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. This is the sequence that Jesus uses for this entire section. These 6 different topical teaching points in verses 21 through 48. Over the past few weeks, we've looked at the first four anger, lust, divorce, and oaths.
Jeffrey Heine:And today we turn our attention to how to respond to those who are against us, what Jesus calls our enemies. So let's look together at verse 38. Jesus starts with that traditional understanding. You have heard that it was said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Now this is a quote from Leviticus chapter 24.
Jeffrey Heine:It's repeated lots of different times throughout the old testament. But if you've got a worship guide, you can see, Leviticus 24 beginning with verse 17. Whoever takes a human life shall surely be put to death. Whoever takes an animal's life shall make it good, life for life. If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done, it shall be done to him.
Jeffrey Heine:Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. Jesus is not disagreeing with this passage from Leviticus. And we should note that Jesus is saying, you have heard it said, but I say to you, he's not he's not every time setting up a contradictory statement. Most of the time as he's going through in this structure, he's quoting scripture, and he's not saying that it was wrong.
Jeffrey Heine:We will see later that he's he's quoting their interpretation of scripture and proves how that's wrong. But most of the time, these these comments are still heavily connected. They're not antithetical. It's what Glenn Stassen calls hypothetical. These things are extra connected together.
Jeffrey Heine:He's not just saying, oh, there used to be some old laws. Forget about all of that. I've got new things to tell you. No. He's saying building off of that, building off of this old law, there is more.
Jeffrey Heine:There's more than just keeping a rule of not murdering. There's something about hate. And so in this particular section, the law in Leviticus, it's not promoting vengeance. It's actually offering restraint. It's saying that punishment must be proper proportional.
Jeffrey Heine:Do you see that? It's not 2 eyes for one eye. It's one eye for one eye. It's restraining that. Because when we are wanting justice, especially when we are angry and we want justice, we do not think about restraint.
Jeffrey Heine:And when we don't think about restraint, our justice turns to revenge. It reminds me of the opening scene of The Godfather. I'm sure it does for you too. The opening scene of The Godfather, you know, I believe in America, and this conversation between this undertaker and Don Corleone, the godfather. And this man is there because his daughter has been attacked.
Jeffrey Heine:These these young men have beaten her up, and he comes to Don Corleone for justice. And he says, well, what do you want me to do? And he whispers, but we find out. He he wants the godfather to have those guys killed, and the godfather responds and says, oh, that is not justice. Your daughter is still alive.
Jeffrey Heine:See, he wanted revenge. And Don says, no. You say you want justice, but but your daughter is still alive. And so then he says, then I want them to suffer as she suffers. You see, when when we are angry and maybe righteously, rightfully angry, and we want justice to curb sin from begetting more sin.
Jeffrey Heine:We've all experienced that before, right? Sin that begets sin that begets sin. I mean, think of our families. Like, I don't even know all of your stories, but I know all of your stories. Think of your families and how sin begets sin begets sin.
Jeffrey Heine:One person's sin turns into someone else's sin, and that vicious cycle continues. And so this law was given to curb that sin and to say, no. It has to be proportional. It has to be 1 for 1. What is done here is done there.
Jeffrey Heine:But at the same time, there was no mercy. There was no pity. It would be executed. And so Jesus says, you've heard an eye for an eye, but here is my kingdom instruction. Verse 39, but I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.
Jeffrey Heine:The kingdom instruction here is not to seek revenge or to rise up in violence against the evil doer. Jesus is saying that that the kingdom living is trusting in God's certain and his perfect justice. He is saying that revenge is not compatible with his kingdom, But how do we do that? How do we live like this? Well, Jesus gives examples.
Jeffrey Heine:He gives kingdom actions. Verse 39. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go 1 mile, go with him 2 miles.
Jeffrey Heine:Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. You know, there are all kinds of ways that we try to wiggle and worm our way out of what Jesus says. Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, once said, paraphrasing this, The reason that a religion department exists at the university is to make it seem like Jesus is so confusing that we never actually have to obey him. And he he does say this. Terrifying thing to be left alone with the new testament.
Jeffrey Heine:And it is. To be left alone with the words of Jesus can be a very terrifying thing because he's calling us to something here, and wiggling out of it is not really an option. You know, I've even heard it said before, that turning the other cheek actually extends the left cheek, which means they have to hit you with their left hand, which is an insult to them. Which I don't know if you've ever been struck with a left hand before, but it doesn't really seem like an insult to them. No.
Jeffrey Heine:We have to read this honestly, which means that we have to contend with the fact that we might not like what Jesus is saying. Really, we might not like it. And in the tension that comes between Jesus' teaching and our dislike of Jesus' teaching, we have to know that it's not going to be Jesus's teaching. That's going to change. It has to be us, And that means we have to address our dislike of what he is saying, not expect his teaching to change or to somehow not apply to us.
Jeffrey Heine:In this first cultural context where Jesus was teaching, the most common enemy would have been Roman soldiers. And some would abuse their authority against these Jewish families. And Jesus is instructing them not to fight back in violence and vengeance. He mingles together these images of an authority attacking, a common street beggar, and the image of someone who is suing you over a debt and taking your tunic. And in these mingled images, Jesus says that if anyone does these things, don't resist them with violence.
Jeffrey Heine:Just give to them. Jesus says when anyone slaps, takes, forces, begs, or borrows, you are to turn, give, go, and lend. And that doesn't seem right. It doesn't fit my emotions, my desires, my will. I must contend with that.
Jeffrey Heine:Jesus is telling us about his kingdom, not mine, and I have to admit that his kingdom is not like mine. My kids, read a lot of novels that are based in other worlds, Narnia, Neverland, Hogwarts. And when they were younger, they would ask if these places were real. Are there places where you really can fly? Are there places where lions really talk?
Jeffrey Heine:And sometimes when I read about the kingdom of God, especially when I read these kingdom actions, it seems like a fantasy world. There's a place where I'm struck and I turn the other cheek, a place where I don't seek revenge when I'm wronged, where I go another mile for my enemy. Sometimes, that kingdom is harder to imagine than a talking lion. We need to understand that Jesus is describing his kingdom, not ours. And he isn't describing passivity.
Jeffrey Heine:He's describing peacemaking, active. He isn't giving us a call to inaction. It's a call to kingdom action, and that action begins with the willingness to endure. And that endurance is rooted in a trust in Jesus. Letting go of revenge does not mean letting go of justice.
Jeffrey Heine:Revenge is rooted in distrust. It's the distrust that Jesus will actually bring justice and judgment. Turning the other cheek, giving your cloak, going that extra mile, all requires a wholehearted belief in the resurrected and returning King Jesus. Kingdom action requires and demonstrates faith in the king. Turning the other cheek is not a resignation to evil.
Jeffrey Heine:It's not acquiescing to a world gone mad. Turning the other cheek is a demonstration of our certainty of the coming justice of the king. You can turn and give and lend because though vengeance does not belong to you, it does belong to God. And I've said this before, but it bears repeating. There's not one wrong in all of human history that will go unpunished by God.
Jeffrey Heine:Every evil thought, desire, and action, every single one will be judged fully and finally, either through divine judgment upon the guilty person or through the divine judgment carried out on the innocent son of God, who knew no sin, but was made to be sin on our behalf that we might become righteous in him. You can turn your cheek after being wronged. You can give to the one who seeks to take from you. You can because you have been promised justice, and you have been promised Christ himself. Jesus goes on, verse 43.
Jeffrey Heine:The traditional understanding. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. Now that's not scripture. That is a bad interpretation of scripture. But it gives a really good picture of what we human people do with God's words.
Jeffrey Heine:God says, love your neighbor. And we say, where's the boundary? Where's the city limit on who my neighbor is? Because as soon as I can decide where that line is, then I can figure out who I can hate. And that's exactly what they did.
Jeffrey Heine:Love your neighbor. Hate your enemy. You're free to do that. But love your neighbor. That's really what God's been talking about.
Jeffrey Heine:And Jesus says, no. He moves into the kingdom instruction. Verse 44. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. Then he goes on.
Jeffrey Heine:He says, pray for those who persecute you. For he for this father, he he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good. He sends rain on the just and on the unjust. And he goes down, verse 48. You therefore must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.
Jeffrey Heine:In the Psalms, enemies are mentioned over 80 times, and and really, that's because there's this presupposition that the Psalmist make that in life, you will have enemies. So my question to you, who is your enemy? Who is your enemy? For some of you, someone might have come to mind rather quickly. For others, you might be thinking, I'm not sure if I really have an enemy necessarily.
Jeffrey Heine:But to better answer this question, we probably should first define what an enemy is. Then we can determine if there are people in our lives that fit that description. So let's say then that an enemy is a person or a group of persons who want bad for you, ill for you, someone who opposes you, seeks your harm, your hindrance. The word enemy itself comes from the Latin enemachus, in which is not, and amicus which is friend. Not friend.
Jeffrey Heine:So let's consider what a friend is. A friend loves you, promotes your good, seeks your healing, your health, your restoration, your flourishing. A friend extends heartfelt sympathy. A friend rejoices in celebration and will sit with you in sorrow and in pain. And at times, that friend will even endure pain for you by absorbing hurt and offering forgiveness and grace to you.
Jeffrey Heine:That is a friend, and an enemy is a not friend. Now some of you might be thinking you don't really have enemies or friends, and we can we can talk about that later. Maybe it's hard to identify people as your enemy, but you probably have a number of not friends in your life Because those people are a dime a dozen. Right? You can have a lot of not friends in your life.
Jeffrey Heine:People who are not looking out for your good, not promoting your flourishing, your wholeness. And an enemy isn't simply someone who's actively working for your harm. It can also be someone who's not working for your good, especially your good as a follower of Jesus. And if we are honest, we can easily be a not friend to a lot of people. We can want ill for people we are jealous of.
Jeffrey Heine:We can be a hindrance to people we don't like. We can feel malice even in the most mundane things. But we don't always have to be working for someone's harm to be their enemy. We can simply neglect their good. And with that understanding, we start to realize that there there are people in our lives who are enemies.
Jeffrey Heine:And further, we also realize that we can be an enemy to others. Most of us won't have sworn enemies where we have to have a broad sword and a shield, something like that. But instead, think about these people in your life who are a knot friend, a coworker, family member, neighbor, someone who does not promote your good or your health or your relationship with Jesus. One brief aside. At the risk of making Sunday lunch a little awkward for a few of you, if you are dating a not friend, if you're dating someone who does not look out for your good and your health and your relationship with Jesus, Break up today.
Jeffrey Heine:That's not a joke. There is honestly no point in going one day longer dating someone who treats you like a not friend. There there there's zero reason for that. One more aside. Just to be clear, none of what we're talking about today is a mandate to stay in an unsafe situation, especially an unsafe relationship.
Jeffrey Heine:You can turn the other cheek and pray for your enemy and not persist in that place. Leaving those those toxic relationships is often the very best and wisest thing to do, Especially if there are harmful actions, even criminal actions of some kind like abuse, you can pray for your enemy. You can you can pray and turn the other cheek while they are being dealt with. And that could very well mean civil authorities are necessary. There is not a mandate to stay in an unsafe place.
Jeffrey Heine:And if you don't know how to start, extracting yourself from a place like that, that is why there are shepherds, pastors, elders to sit with you, hear from you, care for you, and walk with you through those questions. Okay. Back to understanding our enemies, who they are, picturing this not friend in our lives. When was the last time you prayed for that not friend? Not just about them, like, for them to stop being a not friend, but but when did you pray for them?
Jeffrey Heine:I'll be honest. I don't wanna pray for my enemies. I don't want to pray for them because I don't want good to come to them. I only want bad for them. I I I don't just want to be free from their harm, but I want harm to go to them.
Jeffrey Heine:And they don't want good for me, and I in turn don't want good for them. And and that's not hard to understand. Right? And Jesus says, I understand that. I know what it's like to have enemies who hate me, but that's not how my kingdom works.
Jeffrey Heine:For our enemies, Jesus says to love them and pray for them. But why should we do that? And Jesus says, so that you may be children of your father who is in heaven. But how does loving and praying for our enemies make us like the father? Well, Jesus describes the kingdom actions and saying, he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good.
Jeffrey Heine:He sends rain on the just and the unjust. And he says to us, you therefore must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. Kingdom actions break the cycles of hatred and sin. Your enemy may still hate you and still seek for the very worst for you, but their hate will not subsist. It won't thrive.
Jeffrey Heine:It won't live off of your sins of anger and hatred and revenge. And those prayers, prayers for God to give good to your enemy, those prayers begin to bear holiness and righteousness in your soul. They create empathy, even. And you begin to see the needs and pains and brokenness of even your enemy. And that does not excuse the enemy of their sin, but it helps you to endure.
Jeffrey Heine:Praying for our enemies is like medicine, not some magic medicine that's gonna fix all of our problems. No. It's more like an antiseptic. Prayer for an enemy might sting like iodine, but it will clean out the wounds and promote the healing. You might have heard this comment before.
Jeffrey Heine:Hatred of your enemy is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. Well, prayer for our enemy is like asking God for their health and finding health ourselves. There is serious danger in desiring bad to come upon our enemies. Foremost is the danger that when we delight in the suffering of a bad person, we fortify our self righteous belief that we are not like them. This is the great danger in having an enemy, the danger of seeing someone else as evil, and we begin to think that we are not like them.
Jeffrey Heine:When you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Jesus says, you are acting like your Father in heaven. This connects back to what Jesus said in the beatitudes. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God. It's one thing to love your friends and to pray for your friends. But when you love and pray for your enemies, that is kingdom living.
Jeffrey Heine:That is how you will be known as a follower and disciple of Jesus. That's how you will be known as a child of God. Jesus is saying, you thought you needed to be righteous like the Pharisees, but I'm telling you, you have to be perfect like your father. The thread of connection from the first two topics in this kind of section of the sermon, anger and lust, The the emphasis there is what what is felt and desired on the inside matters just as much as the actions on the outside. It's not just about keeping the rules of don't murder.
Jeffrey Heine:It's more than that. It's about anger and hatred in our hearts. And it's not just about keeping the rule about no adultery. It's it's more than that. And the threat of connection to the next two topics, divorce and oaths, is that what we say, what we promise before God and others matters.
Jeffrey Heine:There's a fidelity to what we say. Words of covenant, words of promise, words of yes and no should be faithful. The threat of connection for our two topics today, revenge and love for our enemies. It's that kingdom living means giving good even to your enemies and praying that God would give them good too. Jesus is saying you thought you needed to be righteous like the Pharisees or the rich young ruler, but I am telling you that you must be perfect like your father is perfect.
Jeffrey Heine:The culmination of this section is found in these words where Jesus has plumbed the depths of the law of God and at its deepest point revealed that the call is to be perfect as your father is perfect. The call is to total, absolute, unwavering, perfect righteousness. And in the story of the rich young ruler, after Jesus had spoken with him and the young man walked off disappointed, disappointed that Jesus hadn't helped him get any closer to eternal life, Jesus turned to his disciples. What Jesus had said to the young man startled, shocked his disciples, and and in their distress and their shock, they turn to Jesus and they say, then who can be saved? Who?
Jeffrey Heine:And Jesus, in a ferocious compassion, looks at them and says, with you, it's impossible. With God, it's not impossible. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is calling us, you, to perfect righteousness. And like those disciples on the road with Jesus, we say, perfect like God is perfect? Like that's where the bar is set now?
Jeffrey Heine:Not like, Hey, I'm kinda like doing a good job without murdering anyone recently. But like the new bar, the real bar is perfect, like the father is perfect, and we turn and we say, then then who can be saved? Jesus looks at you and says, you? Impossible. With God?
Jeffrey Heine:Possible. In Christ, the father provides everything you need to be righteous because Jesus fulfilled the full depths of the law. It is Jesus, Jesus who did not burn with anger against those who rejected and despised him, but he patiently endured in obedience to the father. It is Jesus who didn't look with lust even with the prostitutes, but he befriended them and showed compassion to them, became such good friends with them that they shared meals, and He received scorn for it. It was Jesus who didn't divorce His bride, the church, even though she ran after other lovers.
Jeffrey Heine:But he was faithful, forgiving, reconciling. It was Jesus who did not default on his promises. Not one word of oath was ever broken. He's always trustworthy and true in everything that he said. His yes is always yes.
Jeffrey Heine:His no is eternally no. And it's Jesus who did not resist the evil ones, but was led like a lamb to the slaughter to lay down his life and suffer at the hands of his enemies. And it is Jesus who loved his enemies, you and me. He prayed for those who persecuted him. And we who were his enemies, while we were still enemies, we were reconciled to God by his death and saved by his resurrected life.
Jeffrey Heine:In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, First and foremost, Jesus is actually describing the law that he himself will fulfill. That is primary. More than more than even getting into you need to obey these things, the first word is he has obeyed all of these things. And unlike that rich young ruler, when he says it, it's true. He has obeyed these things, and this is how the impossible becomes possible.
Jeffrey Heine:This is how your salvation is secured in the work and will of God himself. It's because of Jesus and his perfect righteousness imputed. That means given to you. That is how this secondary part of this teaching comes into life, the call to obey. It's because he has obeyed that now liberates us to obey, liberated and empowered to do the impossible, to turn the other cheek, to walk the extra mile, to give and to lend.
Jeffrey Heine:You are liberated and empowered to do the impossible, to love your enemies, to pray for those who persecute you because you were an enemy of God. And in his love, he adopted enemies and made them children. And these children look most like their father when they love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. Jesus is calling you to these kingdom actions. Because of God, you can love your enemies.
Jeffrey Heine:And when you do, when you pray for their good, you look most like your Father in heaven. And in your obedience, you honor and emulate him. He who sends rain and sunshine upon both the just and the unjust, upon the friend and the enemy. And as strange as it sounds, this is not supposed to be radical. This is to be the life of a child of God.
Jeffrey Heine:It's to be as common as the rain. Let's pray. Oh, Lord, we ask that by your spirit, you would help us to turn our eyes to Jesus. To not turn the words of Jesus into some convoluted mess of rule keeping, but that we would hear life, the call to life, living as the children of God, redeemed, restored, kept, saved forever. And in that salvation, liberated to follow.
Jeffrey Heine:Spirit, help us to see Christ our king, to believe Christ our king, to trust Christ our king, and to obey him. We pray these things in his name. Amen.