What did HE say? (continued)
Thoughts on The Sermon (Part 3)
In starting this dialogue on the Sermon on the Mount it was not my intention to stay on it for an extended time. However, in looking at the wealth of ideas coming to us from the Christ in this Sermon, I now see that, from my perspective, additional time is required. There is now an additional subtitle to help to make the blog listing clearer as well. From where we are in the Sermon it does appear that every verse or thought will be addressed and this may stand as true throughout. There is really so much here and we are only touching on a small portion of what can be said about the words of the Master.
We ended yesterday with verse 5:24 which discusses giving gifts to the Lord and that you should not leave a gift if you recollect that anyone has anything against you. Commentary on this verse leaves this matter rather unclear mostly because of mans tendency to look at spiritual things though a worldly eye. Gifts at the alter today are unlike what they were in Jesus time; today’s gifts are much more subtle as in prayers and tithes. When we pray, especially in the Lord’s Prayer, we are to forgive all; this is a direct statement from the Master: “and when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:25-26). Assuming that we have forgiven all, and this is a spiritual event, we may still be in need of reconciling with another so that he forgives us as well.
This brings us to the next part in the Sermon which says: “Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing” (Matthew 5:25-26). We should look at this as an extension of the previous verses and see it as the way to avert the very circumstance for which one may have to go and reconcile. If we address issues with others properly at the time that they occur, they do not fester and become bigger issues in the future. If we forgive quickly and obtain agreement quickly, there is no need for the issue to continue. By example as well as reality, Jesus paints for us as the picture of the an of control situation with the judge and the officer and the prison and eventually with the thing costing us much. We should see the connection here between the teaching on anger, on giving and receiving forgiveness and on stopping potentially bad things from continuing once they start as the way to avoid all of the inherent problem. We would not get angry, not need to forgive or receive forgiveness if we had taken care of the issue from the start; and especially if we were to practice and understand the Golden Rule.
Jesus continues His Sermon on a new topic: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28). This is the second of the but I say unto you statements in the Sermon and one that is little appreciated by humanity as a whole; whether in the church or out. Sex is a very powerful passion for the human family but the Master is not reflecting on this in itself, He is reflecting on the act of adultery which is sex with another while married. Adultery is a great sin in the Ten Commandments and here it is given ever greater depth by Jesus. Much like anger and killing, looking at another woman or man lustfully while one is married is equal in Jesus eyes to the act of adultery itself. Why? Because it is what is in the heart that tells the quality of a person. Proverbs tells us to”Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Pr. 4:23) and again that “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Pr 23:7). And this wisdom regarding the heart continues throughout all of Jesus teachings as discussed in the recent posts on The Abundance of the Heart (parts 8 and 9).
Still, even with His emphasis on adultery, more than fifty percent of men and of women in the U.S. admit to adulterous relationships and this number is roughly equivalent to the divorce rate in America over the last several years. With numbers like these and the flavor of the stories in the news, it is evident that this is a major issue in the Christian church as well as in the secular world. And why?
Being human is a complex undertaking and overcoming the lusts and wants of the carnal nature is a difficult thing to do. Remember the strait gate and remember that our hearts are clear of the things of the world only when we place our focus on the things above, on spiritual things. There is no other way but by the renewing of our minds by the changing of the point of focus. Sex is a physical appetite that man has in common with the lower animals; it is a physical ‘need’ that by thought and culture is somewhat controlled in the human family today. Add to these physical urges the emotions that govern the lives of so many and the reasoning of the mind and it can become easy to allow ourselves to spiral downward to a place that we know or should know is wrong. Once it is all set in motion, it is extremely hard to stop. This not only applies to sex but nearly any vice imaginable can be put into this same perspective.
It is interesting that adultery is not a bigger part of the teaching in the churches. It is a rampant issue in the world of men and one that is not readily admitted to. It is also one that sometimes easily hides itself under the cover of love. Not the God kind of Love but the love between men and women. It is also interesting that Jesus teaches directly on adultery in several places in the Gospels but that He never mentions homosexuality except perhaps under the general heading of fornication(s) yet the Christian churches put forth much effort and treat homosexuality as the greater sin. Entire church movements and campaigns against homosexuality and against the new laws emerging on ‘same sex marriage’ leave one to wonder why they don’t think the way Jesus thought on these matters and rail against adultery as well. In many ways homosexuals are treated in ways of prejudice and anger and hatred by the organized church. This is quite contrary to the teaching of the Master concerning anger and what one says about another as discussed in yesterday’s post.
It is what is in the heart that tells what a man is. An adulterer is generally a liar and a cheat who covets his neighbors wife and with committing adultery; he(she) is breaking many of God’s commandments. Other than the promiscuous gay, who is much like the promiscuous straight man or woman in action, many homosexuals are devoted to their partners in monogamous relationships and bother no one. Why then do they receive the ire of the church and of its members? And why do adulterers not get equal treatment? You should not take from this dialogue that this blog is pro gay but you should get that it is pro right and a proponent of treating people, all people, fairly and with dignity and without derision.
Continuing His teaching on the subject of adultery Jesus says: “and if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish , and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off , and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish , and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:29-30). Does this not show the severity that Jesus places on the act of adultery and the temptations to it. If an eye or a hand can cause us to offend or to stumble, which is the rendition of this in other bible translations and which is more sensible for today’s language. Viewing it this way Jesus shows us a choice of putting away the part that causes the offence rather than to commit the offence. To commit the offense will surely kill us spiritually which He likens to our body being cast into the gehenna which is smoldering garbage pit that is translated as hell. Some interpret this literally as hell but Jesus is speaking of casting whole bodies and the real ‘idea’ of hell is a place for spirits and souls. Vincent says of gehenna: …it became the common refuse-place for the city, into which the bodies of criminals, carcasses of animals, and all sorts of filth were cast. From its depth and narrowness, and its fire and ascending smoke, it became the symbol of the place of the future punishment of the wicked****. I can’s speak with certainty as to what the Master meant and neither can anyone else. For our purposes the interpretation should His reference is to the smoldering garbage pit which He has likened to what happens to the spiritually dead in sin.
Note on the Quote of the Day
This daily blog also has a Quote of the Day which may not be in any way related to the essay. Many of these will be from the Bible and some just prayers or meditations that may have an influence on you and are in line with the subject matter of this blog. As the quote will change daily and will not store with the post, it is repeated in this section with the book reference and comment.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:22-26) The fruit of the spirit is what is in our hearts when we focus on the above and have subdued the lusts. We are Christs when the Christ Within, the Soul, the Inner Man is in control of our conscious activity in the flesh. The true answer to all spiritual things is in this saying by the Apostle Paul: If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. We all do live in the Spirit because we are Spirit. Let us walk also.
**** Word Studies in the New Testament; Marvin R Vincent D.D. 2nd edition, 1888
