Hey everybody, I'm Matt. This is the 10-minute Bible Hour Podcast. We are in Matthew chapter 5, working our way through the book of Matthew, one little bit at a time. Every weekday in 10-ish minute chunks, I do my best. We get in what we get in. And so we are in Matthew chapter 5. It's called the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus is giving his first public speech, at least it's recorded. He's giving this big grand description of this kingdom with upside-down values and different currencies that people trade in. And it's it's very difficult to wrap one's brain around, but we're far enough into it that we're starting to get a sense that these values are beautiful, that even for somebody who's not a Christian, maybe rejects all of this stuff, there's something really transcendent and right and good about this thing. And so wherever somebody's coming from, I think it's really worth hearing Jesus out on what's going on. Now, where that gets a little bit tricky is that some of you are going to come at this text from a lot of Christian and religious assumptions, theistic assumptions, and you're going to be like, wow, I'm tracking with him on this and this and this. Others of you are going to come at this from the perspective of the beat-up skeptic who would like it if there's a God, but you just don't know quite what to make of it, and you're not prepared to concede all of the points that Jesus is assuming. Some of you are going to come at this from the perspective of, I'm really pretty sure there is no deity anywhere in the universe, and naturalism is the explanation for everything. And you're going to reject a lot of the assumptions behind this passage. But if you're here and you're participating in this, look, I know what kind of stuff I'm putting out. And if you're listening to it from any of those camps, it's because you're a thoughtful person who can think beyond your own set of assumptions to run the simulation of a different set of assumptions and test its merits. I would really encourage you to do that deeply with the Sermon on the Mount stuff while still taking into account that I am a Christian. I think there is a God behind this. I'm a skeptical Christian. I'm the kind that likes to grapple with it. I'm trying to be honest about everything I see here, whether I get it or not. But take that into account as you grapple with it from whatever perspective you grapple with it from, knowing that what we're looking at has shaped a lot of really smart people for a really long time because it seems to be a pretty sustainable, pretty desirable, pretty etched into the lining of each human's heart, no matter how that might have happened, kind of kingdom, kind of system that really has a lot of beautiful, redemptive, desirable, ideal things about it. So, in roughly the last four conversations we've had, we've been talking about something that we would all agree is wrong, murder. We don't want to do that. We've talked about how Jesus expands that idea to say that, well, murder isn't just wrong, but the thing that makes you murder is wrong. Hatred, despising someone else, othering somebody else, getting into the habits of loving only yourself and wanting harm for your enemy, seeking revenge, all of this kind of stuff. I'm kind of getting into other passages there as well. And then just as we wrapped up yesterday, I was like, all right, well, where do we go with this? And I thought I'd take a little more time on this, but I thought, no, it just rolls really neatly into the next little chunk. So the next little chunk is about squaring up accounts after stuff gets weird. And this is another one of those things where no matter where you're coming from, you get this, right? The awkwardness of what it's like after you've gotten into it with somebody, or even if you didn't, if you didn't tell the other person that you were after them, but you gossiped about them or tried to hurt them behind their back, and then they're still being all nice and normal is pretty weird for you. Was watching Captain America Civil War with the kids yesterday during quarantine here. We're not sick, but you know, self-isolation, I guess I should call it. And my friends, that scene when Iron Man tracks down Captain America and Bucky and he pushes open the doors, and he's got that super angry Iron Man face on, and everybody's kind of jumpy, and they tried to murder each other recently. And it's like, are we gonna do more of that? Are we gonna patch it up? And then, of course, it gets pretty nuclear after that once again. And then even after that, after they all fight it out and almost kill each other, and then you know, Captain America, who, my goodness, I like him, he sends that reconciling note to Tony at the end of the movie, and it's like, hey, I know you were here, I was here. I made some assumptions, I thought I was doing the right thing, I wasn't. I'm sorry. I started bawling. I started bawling again. I know you guys are sick of hearing this, like, cry over everything. I started bawling over that. I'm like, I just that is what a good man does. You own it, you apologize for the thing, and you even show care about the other person. He said in that letter, I know I hurt you, Tony. It's like, that's for a man that muscular to be that confident and able to say those kind of things, that is very, very impressive on the part of Captain Steve Rogers. I looked at my wife and she could see that I was a little messed it up, and she was as well. We've seen this movie a hundred times, and I was like, he's just a good man. I just that's how I want to be. I want to do stuff like that. There is something palpable about not reconciliation, and there is something that is balm for the soul about reconciliation. And so Jesus' thoughts on the fulfillment of the law against murder being to love, not just not murder, not just not hate, but to love, those thoughts start to take more shape as we get into the next chunk about reconciliation, and it goes like this Matthew 5.23. Therefore, if you're offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you. Leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer the gift. Settle matters quickly with your adversary who's taking you to court. Do it while you're still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge might hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you won't get out until you've paid the last penny. There's a lot of important stuff unfolding right there. Jesus is saying, we got two levels of importance here. And most of you on this hill listening to me talk, you're thinking of the law, you're thinking that the way the law works is that the most important thing is to honor the ceremonial stuff. You're supposed to wear the right outfit, you're supposed to make the right hand gestures, you're supposed to do things in the right order, and that sacred holy stuff, that is priority. And I know a lot of expressions of Christianity and a lot of expressions of individual Christians, and maybe at moments of me. I don't know. I think I have other problems in this one. Where that thing about actually loving God and doing what's right, the place that that should occupy, it's like the old Indiana Jones swap for the idol, and what goes on the pedestal instead is just perfunctory religious ritualism, doing the right paces and gestures, knowing the right phrases, standing, kneeling, all of that stuff at the right time. And look, if you do a more high church version of church than me and you feel like right now I'm picking at you, uh, I'm not. I know that what you do is transcendent, and I'm in no position to judge what's going on in your brain or your heart or anything like that. What I'm saying is we can all agree there is a perfunctory version of Christianity that you can pick if you want, where you don't actually have to change or do any of the values of the kingdom. You just sort of outsource that stuff and make sure you know all of the gestures and things that look religious and like it follows the religious rule book outside ceremonially. And I think what we're seeing here from Jesus is something that drives much closer to the level of the heart. And he's like, uh, I don't know. Not sure how much I want all your fancy religious stuff if the heart isn't right. Amos 5, 21 through 23. Yeah, that's right. Amos. This is God talking. I hate, I despise your religious festivals. Your assemblies are a stench to me. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs, I will not listen to the music of your harps. Why is God so mean? People are bringing stuff and they're like, we still like you, God. Look, here's the thing. Clearly, what he's saying is there's something screwed up and weird about this. I don't want your stupid ceremony. If your heart is all weird and gross about it, Isaiah 1.13 echoes the same sentiments. Stop bringing meaningless offerings. Your incense is detestable to me. New moons, Sabbaths, and convocations, I can't bear your worthless assemblies. So you read that stuff and you're like, well, we did all the ceremonial things. What do you actually want then? And I think the answer is in this very well-known Psalm 51, verses 16 and 17. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it. You don't take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart. O God, you will not despise. I think the point of all of that harsh language, that harsh rejection from God of these ceremonies and what people were bringing, is that that never was the point. Like I didn't want you to do bad stuff in the first place to have to sacrifice things. It's a concession, acknowledging your weakness, says God, paraphrases mine. What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. What I want is you getting it right, not you coming and being very sorry afterwards for a minute and demonstrating that sorrow by going through proper religious customs and paces. Obviously, God cared about those paces and stuff, or he wouldn't have laid them all out. But I think what he's illustrating with all of those paces from the book of Leviticus is just how different the holiness level, the perfection level of God is, versus the imperfection level of people. You put on all this stuff, you do all this cleansing, you do all these things that symbolize even beginning to make yourself approachable toward me, that's what all of that stuff is about. It's to demonstrate the distance. Oh, if you mistake that for demonstrating just a healthy regard, I think that's pretty incomplete. So when Jesus says, therefore, if you're offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, not even that you have something against your brother, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift. Are you kidding me? What Jesus is describing as an opposite of don't murder and don't hate is be so dedicated to being reconciled and straight and right with the people in your life that you would set aside all religious decorum and all fancy ceremony that you're supposed to do that demonstrates just how very, very reverent you are. Who cares about that stuff? Embarrass yourself if you need to. Buy another sacrifice if you need to, whatever, because you're making a mockery of the whole thing by giving this offering to God while leaving this other thing outstanding that's completely broken, that is fully within your power to fix. If you're so interested in being reconciled to God, go and handle the reconciling that is yours to handle and that is within your control first. And again, it blows my mind that he's talking about your enemy. If your brother has something against you, he's not saying somebody you wronged and your guilt catches up with you right as you start doing church or whatever this thing would have been, an offering. He's saying, go love your enemy before you bring your stuff to the altar. Well, I feel like that comes right back to that thing from Psalms, the contrite heart, the broken spirit. That would seem to be the stuff that is the kingdom value. That would seem to be the stuff that is the opposite or the proactive expression of don't murder. The proactive opposite of you know, don't hate or don't despise or don't be mean. Well, okay, lots and lot of don'ts, but the proactive is hard. I can keep my mouth shut, I cannot say mean things, I can even try to will myself to not think mean things, I'll still think superior things. I can definitely will myself to not murder anybody, but can I actively go out and actually do loving my enemy? Because those are the values of this upside down kingdom. That's very, very challenging, and it's supposed to be. And in saying that, I need to remind you again that we are in a weird place in Matthew chapter five. And if you're thinking like, oh, so the first 110 episodes of this podcast were about like thinking together, and now we tell each other what to do. I'm telling you, that is not my game plan here. This is just where the text is pointing us, and there's no way to avoid the fact that Matthew chapter five gets into your business. And it's okay to let that be in your business, and it's okay to do with it what you need to. I'm not in charge of that. I am because I bought a microphone and decided to be in charge of it, in charge of pacing this thing out. And I've gone way too long this time around, and so we're just going to keep breaking this down as we go. We'll get to it tomorrow. Matt is a 10 minute Bible hour podcast, Mormonana.