As we move on to our third
section on the sermon on the Mount, Jesus continues to teach about what he
expects from his disciples in terms of the Law. The Law being the commands and ordinances God had given to the people of
God to help them understand what it means to be a people to live in
such a way that they reflected the character of God to the world around
them.
Jesus has said elsewhere
that the Law can be summed up in one two-part command:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus at point is elaborating on what it means for us to not only
Love God, but for us to love one another in the manner in which God
would have us love, that is to live the love we experience from God in
all our relationships with others. In this particular section of the Sermon on
the Mount in his teachings, Jesus mirrors the commands
found in the latter half of the Ten Commandments, the core of the Law given to God's people via Moses on mount Sinai when the Hebrew people covenanted with God for God to be their God and for them to be the people of God.
The first part of the Ten
Commandments deals with what it means to love God. The second part deals with
loving others. Jesus begins with looking at the command against murder. He
says, “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall
not murder.’” He then goes one to say that if you are angry with someone that a
kin to murder. He also says that speaking unkind words, calling people names is
a kin to murder.
Jesus is explaining that
the command to not murdering others is about more than simply not killing them.
When we respond to those around us in unloving unkind ways we are breaking this
command, whether we would EVER even think about murdering someone or not. Jesus
goes on to say that if someone has a problem with you, even if you realize this
in the middle of making an offering at the temple, you should go seek to make
things right with you. He also says that when you have done something wrong and
someone has a problem with you, you should settle that disagreement as well.
Whether you are at fault or whether you are not, you are to work to set things
right with the people around you.
Jesus then moves on to the command
against adultery. Most people would agree that stepping out on your spouse not
an acceptable thing to do in our society. It is not the proper way to treat a
spouse. Jesus says if you look lustfully at someone else that it is the same as
adultery. Again, this is about how you are treating other people. First of all,
how you are treating your spouse but also how you are treating the people in
the world around you. When Jesus is speaking about looking lustfully at someone,
what he is meaning is more than just noticing someone is attractive. The world
is full of handsome men and beautiful women and most of notice this from time
to time and that is fine. Seeing a person as attractive is not lust. Lust is
when you look at another person as the object of desire. Lust is the line
between noticing someone whose appearance is pleasing to the eye, and
objectifying another human being because they are attractive to you.
Objectifying someone is when you look at them and only see them as the
attractive parts of their body. You notice the attractive waitress, or you
notice a pair of legs. When a person is simply their parts, particularly the
parts you like to look at, you are objectifying them. A person is more than
just the attractive parts of their body, they are a whole being who is to be
treated with dignity and respect. Ultimately lust goes against the loving other
part of loving God and loving other because lust is one of the many ways we can
treat a person as a thing instead of a person.
This is not just about how
you are treating the passerby in the red dress, but it is also about how you
are treating your spouse, when you objectify a stranger, you are also
objectifying your spouse. When your head turns after a tall drink of water who just
passed by on the street, and you turn that person into an object to be admired
(perhaps even possessed) you are turning your spouse into an object as well,
one that does not please you as much as that handsome thing that just walked
by.
Jesus then goes on to say
if it is your eye that is wandering gauge out, if it is your hand that is
wandering cut it off. Jesus believes all people are people not matter how . . .
who they are. People are never things, they should never be treated as less
than human, there is no excuse to keep treating people in ways which dehumanize
them, or objectify them in anyway. Jesus tells us, his disciples should be
willing to go to extreme measures to love others properly at all times.
He then goes on to talk
about divorce. We should begin by noting the words Jesus uses when it comes to
divorce. Jesus talks about a husband dismissing his wife. Jesus is speaking in
a time when all a husband had to do was give his wife a writ of divorce and he
could be done with her, for whatever reason. This is once again about treating
people properly. When you take this in context and remember this is one
sentence after Jesus just warned people about lust, we should assume the two
are connected. When you dismiss your spouse to run after someone else, that
does not make things “right.” Just because you freed yourself up to chase after
the new “object” of your desire, does not make it right. Your spouse is not a household item you can
get rid of when you lose interest or find one that you like better. Again, this
is about treating people with respect and dignity.
Jesus rounds things out by
addressing the final commandment on bearing false witness. Jesus says that we
should speak truth at all times. Our “yes”, should mean, “yes,” and our, “no,”
should mean, “no.” Disciples of Jesus should be people whom others can trust.
We should not have to say, “I swear.” Those who know us, should simply know
what we say is good and right. We should be such people of integrity, that
those around us know that we say what we mean and we mean what we say. The
language we use, the words we use, as well as how we live our lives, should
always be speak in such a way that those around us know that what we say can be
trusted.
Jesus is getting to the
heart of what it means to live, to act to be the people of God. Disciples of
Jesus are people who treat those around them with love, respect and dignity at
all times in all things. What Jesus is doing here is not elaborating on the
commandments, nor is he making them stricter, but instead he is opening up the
heart of the law, exposing the intent behind the simple rules God has laid down
for living. Jesus is teaching us that following the ten commandments, living
the way God wants us to live is not simply a set of commands about doing or not
doing the “right” things. Being a follower of Jesus Christ is not about living
by a certain set standard. Being a Christian is not a checklist of how to live
our lives. It is about loving the people
around us, it is about acting and reacting in kind, loving, caring ways to each
person in every situation. It is about how we treat; how we speak to and about;
how we think about one another. Jesus disciples, Christians, exemplify the love
God has us by living out that love in all we do, all we say, in each and every
action and interaction we have with our fellow human beings each and every day.
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