Matthew - Lesson 5E

• Let’s return to Jesus’ examples illustrating what true righteousness requires  

  • But first, let’s not forget the big picture…

    • Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is a gigantic resetting of Israel’s understanding of what it takes to enter Heaven, or the Kingdom

    • Entering the Kingdom, Jesus said, requires living a life that was even more righteous than that of the Pharisees

    • It required living according to the spirit of God’s Law, not merely following the Pharisees’ manmade “oral law”

  • In the second half of this chapter, Jesus has been giving us examples of what this higher standard requires

    • Last week, we learned that the spirit behind "Thou shall not murder” goes a lot deeper than not taking another person’s life

    • The true intent of that law was to be loving to people! 

    • And when God said thou shall not commit adultery, He didn’t just mean don’t fool around on your spouse

    • He meant stay faithful to your wife with your heart, mind, soul and strength…don’t even let your eyes stray!

  • We still have four more examples in this chapter to study, and as we examine them, we’ll continue to see how they refuted the Pharisees’ teaching

    • But we’ve already seen how the Pharisees were perverting the Law for personal gain

    • And we’ve covered the Mishnah’s impact on leading people astray

  • So for the final four examples, I’m going to focus mostly on the heart of each issue, rather than on the Pharisaic concern

    • And I also want us to consider if we’re thinking about these issues like Pharisees too?

    • That is, are we guilty of setting aside the Word of God and ignoring God’s heart on these matters

    • While we pursue our own rules in place of His?

• So let’s begin with the first of these four examples

Matt. 5:31  “It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;
Matt. 5:32  but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

• So Jesus’ third example compares the Pharisees’ teaching on divorce with God’s view of divorce from the Scriptures

  • Let me begin by acknowledging divorce is a sensitive and emotionally charged issue

    • Many of our lives have been touched by divorce

    • And it’s always a painful and often embarrassing experience

    • Nevertheless, it’s important we understand the Bible’s perspective on this topic…and we will in time

  • But in this chapter, Jesus is using divorce as an example on a larger point…divorce is not His main point, no more than murder or lust was

    • Furthermore, Jesus returns to this topic again, later in this Gospel, in Chapter 19

    • And at that time, Jesus will go into much greater detail on the subject

    • So I will wait until then to address the subject of divorce in greater detail

• So for now, we’ll focus on understanding Jesus’ point in this example

  • Jesus quotes from the Mishnah (“it was said” not “as it is written”) where it paraphrases Deuteronomy 24

    • In that law, Moses commanded that a man who divorces his wife must send her away with a certificate of divorce  

    • But Jesus says, that whoever divorces his wife “makes" her commit adultery

    • To understand how these two statements relate, we need to appreciate the culture of Jesus’ day

  • In the ancient east, women had no legal standing

    • Generally speaking, they couldn’t own land or own a business

    • They couldn’t testify in court or enter into contracts

    • So a woman had no way to support herself in the culture 

    • Moreover, women generally didn’t possess sufficient upper body strength to handle the strenuous effort required to work the land

    • So a woman in Jesus’ day literally had no way to provide for herself through labor

  • Therefore, women relied on men to survive

    • During the first part of her life, a young girl lived under her father’s roof, depending on his support

    • Later, when she married, she was supported by her husband for the rest of her life

    • If she was widowed, she would move in with a son or brother-in-law

• But if that woman’s husband lost interest in her and kicked her out of the house, she faced a desperate situation

  • Not only was her marriage falling apart, but she was at risk of losing her only means of support

    • She would be set out of the house with the clothes on her back and little else

    • There would be no alimony or child support

    • She wasn’t going to get a divorce settlement

    • And generally speaking, she couldn’t return to her father’s house, since she was considered the property of her husband

  • And to make matters worse, the woman was still considered married

    • Which meant that no other man would consider giving her shelter either

    • A respectable man would never spend private time in the company of a married woman, especially in his home

    • That man could be accused of adultery

• Therefore, a woman abandoned by her husband was literally without hope

  • Unfortunately, this happened commonly in ancient life

    • Hard-hearted and cruel men abandoned their wives routinely, simply because they tired of her or wanted someone else

    • They left these poor women destitute and helpless, without a means of support

  • Such a woman was in real danger of starvation or abuse or death by exposure

    • Her best chance for survival was to depend on the mercy of strangers or family members, eking out a meager life as a beggar

    • The story of Ruth and Naomi is an example of such a situation

  • So to correct this injustice, God said to Israel, in Deuteronomy 24:1, that if a man is determined to divorce his wife, he must give her a certificate of divorce

    • The husband couldn’t kick his wife out of the house with nothing

    • He had to give her a certificate of divorce

    • With a certificate of divorce, the woman had a reasonable chance of finding another man to take pity on her and marry her

    • Another man could take her as a wife without fear of being charged with adultery 

• But reading the Law carefully, it’s clear that God was not approving of the man’s decision to divorce his wife

  • The Lord was simply commanding the man to show some mercy to his victim

    • God did not intend Deuteronomy 24 to become a license to engage in divorce and remarriage

    • It’s similar to the case of another law

Ex. 22:16  “If a man seduces a virgin who is not engaged, and lies with her, he must pay a dowry for her to be his wife.

• That Law says, that a man who seduces a woman outside of marriage, must pay a dowry to the family and marry the girl he seduced

  • Scripture is clear that having sex with a woman before you marry her is always a sin…100% of the time…we call it fornication

  • But in Exodus 22, God addresses the aftermath of fornication, because He knew sinful men were going to sin in this way

  • He obligated the man to make amends for his sin by marrying the girl

  • Obviously, Exodus 22:16 doesn’t mean God thinks it’s ok to engage in fornication

• Likewise, just because God made accommodation for divorce, doesn’t mean He approves of it

  • Nevertheless, the Pharisees had taken Deuteronomy 24 to be just that…a license to divorce

  • They assumed God wouldn’t have made allowance for a certificate of divorce if He didn’t see a need for it at times

• So they set about to define in the Mishnah the many reasons that justified a divorce

  • Over the years, the Pharisees invented a long list of such reasons

  • None of these reasons were found in Scripture itself, the rabbis simply imagined them

  • The most ridiculous of these rules stated that a husband was justified in divorcing his wife if she burned his soup

  • With rules like that, it’s obvious that these men were simply looking for any reason they could to end marriage

• But as silly as these rules seem to us, the Pharisees said they were equal to Scripture because they were part of the “oral law”

  • Ironically, their rules were supposedly intended to limit divorce

  • Yet, because of those rules, it became easier and easier for men in Israel to do the very thing God said he hates

  • And all the while, they assumed God approved of their behavior because the Pharisees said it was OK

• So once again, Jesus sets the record straight 

  • In v.32, Jesus says, that despite Deuteronomy 24, and despite the Mishnah, everyone who divorces his wife makes her commit adultery

    • Given the background I gave you earlier, we can understand what Jesus means when He says, a man “makes” his wife commit adultery

    • By ending the marriage, the husband essentially forced his wife to seek shelter under another man’s roof

    • So in that sense, the husband made her commit adultery because her only other option was starvation

  • But even more challenging, Jesus says that when that next man marries the divorced woman, he too commits adultery

    • That probably shocked the crowd listening to Jesus

    • Everyone in Jesus’ day assumed this new husband was in the clear because that woman came with that certificate of divorce

    • But Jesus says that certificate didn’t change the situation from God’s point of view

  • That certificate was simply intended to make the best of a bad situation by preserving the life of the woman

    • That certificate didn’t actually end the first marriage vows…it just gave the woman a chance for survival

    • Because if the choice is between the woman’s death and adultery, adultery is the better of the two

  • That certificate doesn’t mean that the marriage has ceased – adultery is still adultery

    • The husband’s choice to divorce his wife was a sin, and it led to a chain of sin, by his wife and the next man

    • So we could summarize Jesus’ teaching simply by saying, if you want to please God, honor your marriage as a lifelong bond

    • As I might say to my kids…one wife per life, one man is God’s plan

• Now, you probably noticed Jesus mentions an exception in v.32

  • I want to wait until Chapter 19 to discuss this exception in detail

    • For now, simply note that grammatically speaking, Jesus’ exception applies to the second half of that verse

    • We could reword the sentence this way… “everyone who divorces his wife makes her commit adultery except in the case of unchastity”

    • Jesus was simply saying that a husband can’t be guilty of making his wife commit adultery if she beat him to it…if she committed adultery first

  • One last thing, I will say on this topic today…while divorce is a sin, it’s not an unforgivable sin, and it’s not worse than other sins

    • Remember earlier, Jesus said that those who have called a person a fool have broken the sixth commandment against murder

    • And He said that those who have lusted have broken the commandment against adultery

    • So how many of you have hated a person? How many have lusted?

  • And some of us have divorced, but I ask everyone…is the sin of divorce worse than our violations of the sixth and seventh commandments?

    • And more importantly, did Jesus die to cover the sin of divorce, or only to cover your sin?

    • Obviously, He died for all of us because we all have sin, no matter what kind

    • And so, we have no basis for judging anyone in the body of Christ concerning their life circumstances or past

    • We all stand by the grace of God in the atoning work of Christ

    • And so our only priority on this topic, or any other, is to encourage everyone to learn what the Word says so we can all do better in the future

• Let’s move to the next example for today, beginning in v.33

Matt. 5:33  “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS, BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS TO THE LORD.’
Matt. 5:34  “But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
Matt. 5:35  or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.
Matt. 5:36  “Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
Matt. 5:37  “But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.

• The next example begins with our tell-tale phrase “you have heard”, indicating another quote from the Mishnah is coming

  • In this case, Jesus quotes the Mishnah’s command concerning the taking of oaths

    • In the written Word of God, the Lord said in Numbers 30, that we are obligated to keep our vows

    • In Leviticus 27, the Lord warns that failure to keep our vows, even unintentionally, will bring the consequences of the vow

  • In ancient times, written contracts weren’t common, so a verbal agreement was usually the only way business was done

    • Those verbal agreements were solemn, and if a man wasn’t trustworthy, no one would do business with him

    • We have contracts now, but this principle still applies in modern life

  • For example, we vow to pay back a loan

    • We vow to fulfill our enlistment obligation in the military honorably 

    • We take an oath to tell the truth on a witness stand

    • And speaking of marriage, in the ceremony, we vow to remain married for life

    • The Word of God says keep your vows or suffer the consequences

• But of course, the Pharisees took the spirit of God’s Law regarding oaths and tossed it aside

  • In the oral law, they expanded greatly on what God said concerning oaths

    • They invented an array of ways men could take oaths 

    • And they imagined an equal variety of ways that oaths could be broken or excused

  • For example, the Pharisees created an elaborate system for determining whether an oath was truly binding

    • The binding nature of an oath depended upon what the promisor swore by

    • For example, a person swearing by God’s name was always bound to keep his oath because the Pharisees said God was eternal

    • But swearing by heavens and earth was not binding they said, since the heavens and earth were not eternal

    • And if a man swore his oath while facing toward Jerusalem, then the Pharisees said it was binding

    • But if he swore while facing away from Jerusalem, it wasn’t 

  • The effect of these convoluted rules was encouraging deceit and fraud in business dealings

    • A man could construct his oath concerning some manner in such a way that he knew it wouldn’t be binding

    • Only later, would the victim discover that his agreement wasn’t enforceable in court

    • It’s the equivalent of the small print in a contract

  • In Acts 23:14, men take an oath not to eat or drink until they killed the Apostle Paul

    • In the end, Paul escaped, but we never hear what happened to these men

    • They almost certainly didn’t keep their vow, because the Mishnah had an exception for something called, “restraint”

    • These men were restrained, or prevented, from fulfilling their vow, so they were released from it, the Pharisees would say

• Of course, Jesus denounces the Mishnah’s stupid rules on oaths

  • In v.34, Jesus says swearing by Heaven is just as binding as swearing by God Himself, because Heaven is the throne of God

    • Likewise in v.35, Jesus says swearing by earth is equally binding as swearing by God because it’s the footstool of God’s feet 

    • And regardless of which way you face, swearing by Jerusalem is always binding because it’s God’s city in the Kingdom

  • Jesus wasn’t validating the Pharisee’s silly categorization of oaths, He was simply exposing how ludicrous their logic was

    • Once again, God made something clear in His word

    • Then later, in their oral law, the Pharisees took the spirit of what God said and perverted it

  • They contrived a set of rules that turned God’s Word on its head by making it easy to divorce or break a vow

    • They called their rules an “oral law” to fool people into thinking that God would be pleased when they did as they pleased

    • In reality, those rules led people away from obedience and righteousness, and into sin

• So in the matter of making vows or oaths, what does righteousness require?

  • Jesus said it begins with understanding our place in God’s economy 

    • In v.36, Jesus says you shouldn’t make guarantees about things you can’t control…it’s taking a needless gamble and it’s evil

    • Someone might swear an oath upon their own head, meaning they put their own life as a ransom, should they fail to keep their oath

    • But Jesus says you can’t even change the color of your own hair, so how can you assure anyone of what you can do in the future?

  • This example doesn’t seem to work as well today, in our age of hair coloring

    • But the example still applies, because coloring your hair doesn’t change its actual color

    • You’re just covering it up

  • So if you can’t control even the least thing on your own body, why place so much at risk over things you have no hope to control?

    • Jesus’ point is, that God’s Word on oaths wasn’t intended to encourage people to enter into them 

    • And He certainly didn’t want us to set rules for how to make oaths non-binding 

    • On the contrary, the Lord was trying to steer us away from oaths altogether

  • So Jesus says, the spirit of God’s Law was to encourage men to simply state their intentions honestly as “yes” or “no” without need for additional promises

    • If you operate this way, you will never have need to make oaths

    • Because your word will be respected and trusted, based on your history of doing what you say

    • Then, we never have need to put ourselves in jeopardy of violating an oath

    • To operate any other way is evil, Jesus says 

• In v.38, Jesus moves to the Mishnah’s laws on retribution  

Matt. 5:38  “You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’
Matt. 5:39  “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
Matt. 5:40  “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
Matt. 5:41  “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
Matt. 5:42  “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

• Jesus quotes from the Mishnah’s take on Exodus 21:24, where the Lord told Israel that justice should be measured out proportionally

  • The Law uses euphemistic examples to say let the punishment fit the crime

  • An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, so to speak

  • We shouldn’t demand something more valuable than was taken from us

  • An eye is far more valuable than a single tooth, so don’t demand an eye for a tooth

• But of course, you know what the Pharisees did here, right?

  • They took this law hyper-literally, so they could turn it into a license for personal vengeance

  • So according to their Mishnah, a Jew could take personal revenge against someone who harmed them, so long as they only took one tooth or one eye, etc.

• But the Lord wasn’t advocating taking personal revenge, much less maiming people

  • God was placing a governor on our tendency to react in sinful ways against those who offend us, by requiring that we not go beyond what was done to us

    • He was limiting retribution to ensure that punishment didn’t become excessive

    • The true spirit of that law was to encourage mercy

    • Said another way, if excessive punishment is sin, then showing undeserved favor (grace) is righteousness

  • God’s heart is to encourage mercy for those who offend us

    • So Jesus says, if you want to follow the spirit of the Law, you’ll show no interest in retribution whatsoever

    • Let them strike you without striking back

    • Respond to their unreasonable requests by surprising them with your generosity 

    • When they borrow and don’t return, let them borrow again anyway

    • And when they impose upon you by their unreasonable requests, respond as though you wanted to do it anyway

  • Now, if you’re hearing Jesus’ list and wondering if there are any exceptions to these rules, then you’re still thinking like a Pharisee

    • Instead of looking for ways to limit our obedience to God’s Word, we need to embrace the spirit of what God is saying

    • Righteousness means looking like God and not like ourselves

• So the right question to ask is, “How would God respond in these situations? What would Jesus do?”

  • For example, what did Jesus do when they slapped Him on the cheek?

    • Was that attack deserved? Did Jesus have a right to respond against His attackers?

    • Jesus had done nothing wrong

    • So couldn’t He have retaliated and still been righteous?

  • Actually, no…He couldn’t, because it wouldn’t have been in keeping with the Father’s will

    • And that’s the point…it’s the Father’s will, and our obedience to that will, that determines our righteousness

    • Jesus had a right to respond, but righteousness required He do something else

    • Jesus had to go to that cross as the Father determined, so that He could complete the plan of redemption that we all depend upon now

    • Can you live like that? With eyes for eternity…making decisions now that support God’s eternal purposes?

• As you listen to these examples, I bet you’ve been hearing them from the perspective of the injured party…the one offended

  • But have you ever considered that you are the offender? Even more sobering, have you considered you were an offender to God Himself?

    • You were the sinner, the one who offended God

    • And then one day, you came to Christ seeking His mercy

  • In that moment, you were the one demanding things from God that you had no right to have

    • You were the evil person that Jesus didn’t resist when you called upon Him for mercy

    • You were the one who asked Jesus to walk a mile with you, and He surprised you with His generosity

  • Because when you asked Jesus to forgive you for your sins, Jesus went a long way beyond just forgiving you

    • The Bible says that by your faith, He adopted you as a child of God, making you part of the family of God

    • He also has made you a fellow heir in His Kingdom

    • He has promised you a place in His government and a share of His inheritance

    • And He placed His Spirit in you, giving you access to the mind of God by His Word

  • Jesus went the extra mile for us and we certainly didn’t deserve it

    • So how can we refuse our Lord, when He asked us to be His hands and feet to this lost and dying world?

    • How can we refuse to live according to the spirit of His Law when He has already accomplished all that it requires on our behalf? 

• If you’re searching for the big take-away from this chapter, let me say it plainly

  • Heaven is a tall order…taller than you can reach

    • You can’t get there on your own, because you can’t measure up

    • But Jesus could and did

  • So now we live as His disciples, seeking to please Him and represent Him

    • But you can’t do that effectively if you revert to following rules that were worthless in the first place

    • Stop listening to others’ “do’s” and “don’t’s”, or even the ones in your own head

  • Get into the Word of God and stay there

    • And as you do, you’ll be amazed by two things

    • First, you’ll be continually humbled by how far you are from the standards of righteousness that God requires

    • You’ll understand why Jesus had to live and die for you, because you’ll see clearly that you had no chance to do it for yourself

    • And that recognition will serve to increase your appreciation for the grace you’ve received in Christ

  • And then secondly, as you continue in your studies, you’ll be amazed at how much your heart is changing by what you learn

    • You’ll find yourself thinking and acting differently

    • Almost instinctively, you’ll begin living by the spirit of the Word, where before, you couldn’t even follow the letter of the Law

    • And that recognition will serve to increase your love for Christ and your devotion to Him

  • If you want to receive Christ’s righteousness, if you want assurance that you will be in the Kingdom, then place your faith in Jesus Christ