sermon on the mount

“Do not retaliate? What? Are you talking to me?” Yes, I’m talking to you. And Bob the bloodhound is barking at both you and me. Here is what Jesus said about non-retaliation:

“You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21). But I say to you that you must not oppose those who want to hurt you. If people slap you on your right cheek, you must turn the left cheek to them as well. When they wish to haul you to court and take your shirt, let them have your coat too. When they force you to go one mile, go with them two. Give to those who ask, and don’t refuse those who wish to borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42, Common English Bible)

We might read these words of Jesus and think he’s off his rocker. This is non-sense. “People don’t really live that way,” we believe, “and if they did, they would be stepped on and have their rights trampled!”

We need to take these words of non-retaliation to heart and live by them. That’s because living this way brings Christ to the world and embodies the gospel of Jesus as salt and light – it is the way of grace.

Jesus Didn’t Retaliate, Neither Did George

There was once a man, George (not his real name) who left work one chilly night in February. He headed toward the subway, not noticing the teenager lurking in the shadows. The young man stepped out with a knife in hand and demanded money. George pulled out his wallet and handed it over. As the teen began walking away, George did something extraordinary. He hollered after the boy, “Hey, wait a minute.  You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”

The awestruck teenager couldn’t believe his ears. And a few minutes later the two of them were sharing a warm meal together at George’s favorite diner. The youngster not only returned George’s wallet but handed him his holdup knife as well. The conversation was dominated by the young man’s questions as to why George was so nice to everyone. The answer is that George is a follower of Christ who takes the do not retaliate of Jesus to heart.

Jesus upholds the moral and ethical intent of the Old Testament by communicating that retaliation is not an option for his followers. Instead, Christians are to demonstrate grace through peace and peacemaking. Christians are not to work toward advancing their own rights in their own petty earthly kingdom. No, they work toward serving the interests of King Jesus in the kingdom of God. That means clothing ourselves with love and grace, not retaliation and judgment.

An Eye for an Eye

“If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” (Exodus 21:22-25, New International Version)

This legislation is not meant to be interpreted as a literal giving back to someone what he did to you, as if it were all about retaliation or revenge. The passage continues with an example of what is meant by the “eye for eye” legislation:

“An owner who hits a male or female slave in the eye and destroys it must let the slave go free to compensate for the eye. And an owner who knocks out the tooth of a male or female slave must let the slave go free to compensate for the tooth.” (Exodus 21:26-27, New International Version)

This calls for proper justice to occur. The punishment must fit the crime. This prevents an escalation where two parties get back at each other. The principle guiding this law was restitution rather than retaliation. The law was given to eliminate retaliatory practices such as blood-feuds and tribal warfare, in which groups of people seek revenge for a wrong done.

Do Not Resist an Evil Person

In other words, do not retaliate when you’re personally insulted or degraded. Instead, be a peacemaker.

Jesus is not saying we stand back and be passive in the face of exploitation, oppression, or injustice. Nor is he saying we should have no police force, army, or judicial system. Pacifism isn’t the point (although Bob and I respect those who take such a stance).

People who perpetrate sexual assault, murder, and break the law need to come to justice by the laws of the land. The point, however, Jesus made is this: Do not take the law into your own hands through vengeance when you are insulted or violated. Don’t try to get even. Do not retaliate. There are times we need to confront another. Yet, its not our job to mete out the punishment. That is God’s job. The New Testament is clear:

Don’t hit back; discover beauty in everyone.  If you’ve got it in you, get along with everybody.  Don’t insist on getting even; that’s not for you to do.  “I’ll do the judging,” says God.  “I’ll take care of it.”  Our Scriptures tell us that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person lunch, or if he’s thirsty, get him a drink.  Your generosity will surprise him with goodness.  Don’t let evil get the best of you; get the best of evil by doing good. (Romans 12:17-21, The Message)

Do Not Retaliate: 4 Examples

First Example

“If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.” A slap in the face is a gesture of insult. When we are personally insulted, avoid focusing on a perceived right to vengeance. Sins of the tongue (malice, lying, backbiting, arrogant whispering, false accusations, gossip, flattery) are ways of getting back at someone for something they said which offended me. Turning the other cheek is Christ’s way of saying to both refrain from vengeance and give back with something good.

“A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.” (Proverbs 15:1, New Living Translation)

Second Example

“If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.” The tunic and the cloak were what people wore in the ancient world. They didn’t have several outfits and changes of clothes. To take those two items was to leave most people naked. Jesus says it is better to go around with no clothes than to retaliate. He is saying that peacemaking is more important than possessions. So, how do you want to be remembered?

“A good reputation and respect are worth much more than silver and gold.” (Proverbs 22:1, Contemporary English Version)

Third Example

“If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” Roman law allowed soldiers to conscript Jews to carry their pack and walk one mile.  Jesus is saying to not only do this for a soldier without retaliation, but to go ahead and walk another mile. This was a terrible degradation to Jews, but Jesus says it is better to go than say “no.” For us, we are not to walk the first mile repeatedly with a bad attitude. Instead, we are to relinquish our perceived rights to our time. When someone doesn’t help another, it is typically because they don’t have time. Jesus wants personal retaliation to be replaced with personal sacrifice. People are not interruptions; they are providentially brought our way by God for us to extend our time and attention. People we don’t like are put in our lives by God to bring goodness and grace.  We will likely be frustrated and angry until we get ahold of this truth.

“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.” (Matthew 5:44-45, New Revised Standard Version)

Fourth Example

“Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Jesus is saying it is better to give than to refuse. It’s good to lend without asking “what’s in it for me?”  Jesus is getting at our perceived right to our money. There is a difference between being frugal and being cheap, being wise with money and being a hoarder. The question is not how we will use our money, but how God wants to use his money through us.

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24, New International Version)

Jesus is telling us to quit focusing on our rights and seek peace, not retaliation. Through four examples, Christ challenges the standard of rights and fairness we employ. He insists we do not have a right to vengeance, a right to hold onto what we have, a right to time so that we refuse to help, and a right to miserly hold onto our money.

Conclusion

Do not retaliate is an expression of grace. The big idea in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount is grace. Grace is extending mercy, goodness, and kindness to all, whether they deserve it, or not. Thus, grace doesn’t make any sense. It isn’t fair. And it isn’t based on merit. Grace cannot be domesticated. Grace is free, but not cheap. Jesus cares about grace. And here is how we show it:

  • Speak words of blessing to someone who curses you.
  • Give to the person who takes from you.
  • Spend time with someone who is your enemy.
  • Give money to whomever is in need, no matter who they are.

Do not retaliate. God is calling us to leave the realm of fear, revenge, and self-protective behavior. To step out by faith and be an agent of grace in the lives of all kinds of people, not just to those we deem worthy to receive it – because then it wouldn’t be grace.

So, may you know the God of grace, the Jesus who has extended grace to you, and may you spend your resources overcoming evil with good.

See you on the trail!

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Being salt and light for the world is more than a nice idea. Being salt and light is a necessity.

Unlike Bob the bloodhound, who can smell his way through a lot of darkness, we humans need light. And much like Bob, salt makes a lot of food better. Although Bob and I will eat most anything without salt, it sure is better going down when there’s some flavor to it.

There is a world of people, in our sphere of influence, who need to see that Christianity is real and that it works. For the sake and the life of the world, we need to be salt and light.

The way this happens, for Christians, is through living the Beatitudes of Jesus.  The Beatitudes cause followers of Christ to stand-out in the world. Persecution is the effect of the world upon the Christian. Conversely, being salt and light is the Christian’s effect upon the world.

Jesus used the two metaphors of salt and light to help his followers understand their role in society and their effect on the world. Here is what he said….

Matthew 5:13-16

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening-up to others, you’ll prompt people to open-up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (The Message)

Salt

In the ancient world, there was no refrigeration.  So, salt was used to preserve food, with the added result that it brought some flavor when the food was eaten.  Christians, therefore, are meant to be a preservative in the culture.  Without folks who embody the Beatitudes of Jesus, the world decays and rots.

Salt Is a Preservative

If you feel the temptation to complain about eroding morals in our world, sad situations in public institutions, or the declining value of religion among people, remember that we are the ones who can remedy the situation. Being salt in the world preserves the world.

Jesus says if we lose our saltiness, if we are no longer impacting society, we are useless to our surrounding culture. We then might just as well be thrown out into the street. Two-thousand years ago, there were no garbage dumps. The street served as the place where everyone tossed their garbage. The traffic of both people and animals trampled the waste into the ground.

The church does not exist solely for itself. Christians are on this earth to be the continuing presence of Christ in the world. We are meant to be a blessing wherever we are, and with whomever is around us. Believers have far too much going for them to be useless in this old fallen world.

Salt Is Flavorful

Jesus isn’t exhorting us to be salt because we already are salt. Rather, it’s a matter of allowing the world to taste us and find us flavorful.  It is okay to have some flavor in everything you do. A bland monotone person isn’t very appealing. Being salty and flavorful leads us to respond to circumstances differently, to view the world with compassion, not indifference or hate.

There was once a church that discovered a new housing project was going up behind their property. The bland and flavorless person said, “We need to build a fence so the kids won’t wander over into our property.” But the salty person, full of flavor, said, “Cool! Do we have enough money to build a sidewalk so the kids will wander over here?”

To drive his point home even deeper, Jesus used a second metaphor to describe what our relation to the world is to be like….

Light

In the ancient world, there were no artificial lights. So, when it was night, it was black. I grew up in the rural Midwest, far from any city lights. If you didn’t have a flashlight at night, you’d likely fall into a ditch, or something worse. In the pitch black, any light makes a real difference.

You might mistakenly think your life does not make that much of a difference. Yet, it does!  Being characterized by the Beatitudes of Jesus causes a person, and a church, to be visible. It shows the world who Jesus is, and what he is like. The issue is not being perfect in everything we do and say. Instead, it’s much more about being real, genuine, and authentic. We let our light shine, which means not trying to hide our flaws and imperfections.

Letting Our Light Shine

How can we let our light shine in this world?  What are some tangible ways to express the Beatitudes of Jesus? The following are what the church has always done throughout its history:

  • Taking in unwanted children. Infanticide was a reality in the ancient Greco-Roman world. And there have always been orphans and abandoned children. Foster care and adoption were first practiced by Christians wanting to be salt and light in the world.
  • Ministering to the sick and dying. During times of plague and disease, most villagers and townsfolk fled to avoid the epidemic. Christians, however, stayed. They cared for people. The afflicted did not die alone.
  • Visiting those in prison. For most of history, prisons did not provide anything to prisoners, including food. Prisoners were dependent on family members to bring them meals. So, Christians began providing food and companionship to those who did not have families. Otherwise, they would starve and die.
  • Extending help and kindness to the poor. The church was attentive to the immigrant, the stranger, and the widow, when no one else gave such persons the time of day.

It is important to take a proactive approach to being salt and light in the world. Simply having a reactive policy of waiting for needy people to come to us will not do. Rather, the light searches for lost people, identifies them, and meets their needs.

Letting My Light Shine

What can you and I do as individuals? Here are just a few things Bob and I have done:

  1. Using my giftedness, what I am good at, to do good works for others (all spiritual gifts in the Bible are either speaking gifts or serving gifts). Some examples: giving a book to young married couples who just had children; helping college students move in and out of dorms; spending time with the elderly; offering car and/or home repairs; or running errands.
  2. Developing new relationships and friendships. Join a virtual class or club. Do prayer walks around the neighborhood at the same time every day. I sometimes ask these questions of people: What do you think is the greatest need of this neighborhood? Why do you think most people stay away from church? If you were looking for a church, what would you look for? What advice can you give to someone who really wants to be helpful to people?
  3. Sharing my God story. Let others know what God has done for you, and what your life is like with Jesus. Be curious about another’s spirituality. Be judgment free.

In my experience, Christianity works. It is a cohesive and genuine way of living, that is, if we let it be that. Christians are meant to taste good to the culture, and be a gracious light, shining the love of Christ for others to see.

May we be salt and light for the life of the world. May it be so to the glory of God.

See you on the trail!

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The Beatitudes of Jesus are so much more than a Christian thing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Bob the bloodhound rolling his bloodshot eyes when he hears supposed Christians trying to force their brand of righteous living onto others.

The world needs authentic and real relationships from Christians, grounded in Christ’s Beatitudes. (Matthew 5:3-10)

Genuine righteousness isn’t self-righteous and condescending. It isn’t outward showy religion. No, the kind of righteousness Jesus set forth were Beatitudes, inner spiritual dispositions of the heart. The Beatitudes of Jesus care about why we do what we do.

The follower of Jesus hungers and thirsts for righteousness. (Matthew 5:6; Luke 6:21)

God specializes in filling empty hearts and healing broken spirits. The person who hungers for right relationships does not look at righteousness as optional, or something nice to have; they cannot live without it.

Righteousness is a relational term. It is the continuing desire for a right relationship with God, and with other people. Honest relations result in harmony with God and neighbor. The righteousness of Christ’s Beatitudes is how God intended people to live.

People who strongly desire Jesus and his righteousness are not hard to spot. They:

  • Crave and devour God’s Word, so they daily read Scripture.
  • Can’t talk enough about Jesus, so they pursue fellowship.
  • Want to know Christ better, so they pray a lot.
  • Desire proper relations with others, so they make things right with others.

God will fill and bring satisfaction to those who seek righteousness.

3 Beatitudes grow out of hearts being filled with righteousness….

The Merciful (Matthew 5:7)

Mercy is a loving response to someone who is in misery due to some sort of hardship, trauma, oppression, or bad decision.  The merciful person demonstrates grace and accepts others because he knows that he himself needs mercy. The merciful know God has shown them mercy, therefore they show mercy to others.

Those who are merciful will be shown mercy. If we treat others harshly and unmercifully, we should not expect to receive mercy from God. Gracious folk are gentle folk. They are bent toward offering mercy, not judgment. The one filled with righteousness responds with mercy. (Luke 10:25-37)

The Pure in Heart (Matthew 5:8)     

Pure hearted folk are those who recognize their guilt and shame, deal with it, and have a clean conscience before God and the world. Such persons acknowledge their wrongs, limitations, weaknesses, and shortcomings. They keep short accounts with others and are above board in everything.

The pure of heart will see God. They know they cannot make themselves pure, so they keep looking to Jesus for their forgiveness because they hunger for righteousness.

Sin cannot be whitewashed or tossed into the utility closet. It must be dealt with. Sometimes we struggle with purity of heart because we are focused not on Jesus, but on our own performance and perfection. We need to let God fill our hungry hearts with pure divine love.

The Peacemaker (Matthew 5:9)

Peace is more than the absence of conflict. Peace is harmonious relations with God and others. What’s more, Jesus was describing not only the presence of personal peace but of being a peacemaker. They

  • Show others how to relate to God because they know the process of being humbled before God and being filled with righteousness.
  • Do not create problems but listen carefully and seek solutions.
  • Spread good news, knowing that through Jesus there is true harmony between God and people.

Peacemakers will be called children of God because their character reflects who God is.

Conclusion

Arrogant pride keeps us appearances. It avoids authentic feelings and the shadows of one’s heart. It sweeps sin under the rug. The Beatitudes are righteousness which cares about our relationship with God and others.

If we find ourselves rationalizing our behavior rather than owning it; living impure lives; inflicting punishment and not mercy upon others; or creating disharmony instead of peace – the solution is to come humbly to the foot of the cross, letting the presence of Christ fill us. (Colossians 1:19-20)

May you find in Jesus a righteousness of mercy, purity, and peacemaking which is secure and enduring.

See you on the trail.

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Those who are in Jesus Christ become living beatitudes, walking, talking blessings to the world.  Those who live with Jesus in his kingdom have a destiny to be witnesses to another subversive, yet wonderful, way of life, where the last are first and the greatest are the least.

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