WEBVTT 00:00:07.280 --> 00:00:12.480 This sermon was recorded at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Grand Forks, North Dakota. 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:36.399 Now, if you have a Bible or if you have a device that you use for your Bible, I encourage you to open it and turn to Matthew chapter 5. 00:00:36.560 --> 00:00:44.079 If you don't have a Bible, you can use one that is in the seat back in front of you and turn to page 810. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:48.640 We've been working our way through this New Testament book of the Bible. 00:00:48.960 --> 00:01:06.239 The last several weeks we've been in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus himself is speaking, he's delivering a sermon, teaching us a little bit more about what God intended from His Word in the Old Testament. 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:11.920 And this morning we find ourselves in Matthew chapter 5, beginning in verse 38. 00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:24.000 If you have a Bible, if you would follow along as I read, it says, Jesus speaking, You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:28.239 But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil. 00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:32.480 But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 00:01:33.280 --> 00:01:37.680 And if any one would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:42.560 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:48.959 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 00:01:49.760 --> 00:01:50.400 Amen. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:02:07.120 I have to say that after our first service this morning and preaching through this text in their first service, I received more questions and comments about this passage of scripture than I have in quite some time. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:16.319 So I want to tell you that there is a lot of application from this passage of scripture that you're going to have to wrestle with. 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:28.319 We could spend hours upon hours upon hours going back and forth, having discussion about how this passage of scripture applies to various situations in life. 00:02:28.719 --> 00:02:31.199 You're going to need to do some of that wrestling. 00:02:31.439 --> 00:02:34.080 I encourage you to do it, and the Lord will help you through it. 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:36.080 We can even help you through that a little bit. 00:02:36.159 --> 00:02:44.159 We have a Sunday school class on Sunday mornings that will be wrestling with those various application details of our sermons. 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:46.560 I encourage you to check that out. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:59.360 But what we need to understand is that first and foremost, this is about following Jesus and being like Jesus. 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:03.199 This is hard, hard stuff. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:12.960 When we start talking about turning the other cheek and going an extra mile, it's difficult stuff, and sometimes it's hard to make that apply to situations in life. 00:03:14.159 --> 00:03:15.759 How do we do that? 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.240 Well, first we look to Jesus. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:24.080 And secondly, we seek to follow him no matter what he says, even if it might be difficult. 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:27.759 Now, with that being said, let's let's think a little bit more clearly about this. 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:35.840 And as we do that, I want you to remember that today is a day in which we as a church remember what the Lord Jesus has done for us. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.639 So if if you are checking out this Christianity thing, it's gonna get a little weirder. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:57.039 Um we we do this thing where we remember that Jesus died on a cross and we we eat some bread and we drink some liquid to remind us that a body was broken in death and blood was shed because we believe that it paid the price for our sins. 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:05.439 We're gonna do that together in a little bit, and that's the core part of our faith, symbolizing what Jesus did for us. 00:04:06.080 --> 00:04:10.560 And as we progress through our time this morning, you need to understand that's where we're headed. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:17.199 It's like we're we're climbing towards a pinnacle, and that pinnacle is remembering what Jesus has done for us. 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:26.000 And in his providence, he has arranged for us to look at this passage of the Sermon on the Mount this morning because it leads directly to that point. 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:30.560 It leads us right to the foot of the cross. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:38.879 Now, our subject matter in this passage of Scripture is retaliation, or maybe better, non-retaliation. 00:04:40.480 --> 00:04:43.600 Taking vengeance on an offense. 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:55.360 I think most of us would agree that the natural response that we have to some kind of hurt is to give hurt in return. 00:04:56.160 --> 00:05:00.480 I remember quite clearly my very first fight. 00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:02.879 It was with my best friend. 00:05:03.519 --> 00:05:05.360 And it was a fist fight. 00:05:05.680 --> 00:05:10.639 I don't remember exactly how old we were, probably third, fourth, fifth grade, something like that. 00:05:10.800 --> 00:05:12.800 I don't even remember what the issue was. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:20.399 I just remember we had some sort of argument, we had some sort of disagreement, and of course he he he he slung the fist first. 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:24.959 And I responded in kind. 00:05:26.879 --> 00:05:28.399 That's what we do. 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:34.079 Somebody hurts us, our natural inclination is to give hurt back. 00:05:34.879 --> 00:05:37.759 Pain for pain, hurt for hurt. 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:44.000 Someone has hurt me, then I want to hurt them. 00:05:44.319 --> 00:05:48.639 And that was the pattern 2,000 years ago when Jesus described this situation. 00:05:48.959 --> 00:05:51.839 A little bit different than our situation today. 00:05:52.079 --> 00:06:05.199 You see, in Jesus' time, the situation wasn't just prominent that people would seek to take vengeance, but their situation was rooted in their history. 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:10.720 In fact, it was rooted in God's law, and thus it was a religious situation. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:17.920 It was a pattern that had been followed ever since God laid down the Old Testament law. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:25.519 You see, he established a law, a set of guidelines to guide proper responses to unjust treatment. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:33.040 In effect, the law that he set out limited the response that we could give to hurt. 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:39.920 So if someone gouged out your eye, you couldn't kill them. 00:06:41.120 --> 00:06:42.399 That was not just. 00:06:42.560 --> 00:06:43.920 It was an eye for an eye. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:45.920 So it set parameters. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:49.279 It said the punishment has to meet the crime. 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:52.079 Thus, an eye for an eye. 00:06:52.879 --> 00:07:00.160 But now, here in this passage, in a surprising move, Jesus says that for those who follow him, that's not enough. 00:07:01.040 --> 00:07:03.199 That's not sufficient. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:09.040 They must exercise, he says, extreme grace. 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:27.920 That's why I'm borrowing the title of my message this morning from Don Hagner, who wrote of this passage that Jesus is addressing the poor in spirit from verse 3, those who understand that they have come to Jesus in an unworthy sense, hungering and thirsting for his righteousness. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:35.040 And as they've received his righteousness, they've received and experienced the surprise of unexpected grace. 00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:41.199 When we come to Jesus, there's unexpected grace. 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:48.000 You see, to not retaliate is an act of grace. 00:07:48.720 --> 00:07:55.759 To retaliate, to return an act for an act, hurt for hurt, is to give someone what they deserve, right? 00:07:55.839 --> 00:07:57.199 Isn't that what goes on in our minds? 00:07:57.360 --> 00:07:58.720 I'm going to give them what they gave me. 00:07:58.800 --> 00:08:00.160 That's what they deserve. 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:06.079 To be gracious is to give what is not deserved. 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:08.639 Maybe an example will help. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:16.319 Tahom is a Cambodian Christian who had some of his property taken away unjustly. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:23.920 He had some neighbors who bribed a surveyor to alter the property line so that they could take a half acre of his property. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:26.720 And his first response naturally was anger. 00:08:27.360 --> 00:08:28.800 How could they do such a thing? 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:39.039 And so determined that they would not get any of the produce from the property, he went out one night with a machete to cut down every tree of value, every banana plant. 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:46.000 But as he did so, he couldn't carry out his plan because he realized that Jesus would not be happy with that. 00:08:46.320 --> 00:08:50.320 So he asked the Lord to forgive him and help him turn the other cheek. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:54.960 And so the next morning he went to his neighbors and said, You've taken my land. 00:08:55.679 --> 00:08:58.480 I'll give you my house too if you want it. 00:08:59.039 --> 00:09:03.279 I will go to Boshwain and help the pastor there spread the good news of Jesus. 00:09:05.679 --> 00:09:06.639 That's grace. 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:11.759 Most of us, though, are like Sandy. 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:14.000 Sandy was a Canadian lumberjack. 00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:21.200 He was a big, big, rugged Scotsman who believed in Jesus and took his faith very seriously, held it very, very deeply. 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:23.919 He was generally a good-natured man. 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:30.960 He wasn't quick to get angry, had a had a high boiling point and was slow to get there. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:33.120 But you could push him there. 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:41.440 And one day, apparently he pushed somebody else to that point, and a co-worker of his punched him in the face. 00:09:42.080 --> 00:09:46.799 Sandy restrained his anger and silently turned his head. 00:09:46.879 --> 00:09:56.720 So the other cheek was facing his attacker that kind of caught the guy off guard for a moment, and then he swung again. 00:09:56.960 --> 00:09:59.120 Hit Sandy on the other side of the face. 00:09:59.600 --> 00:10:03.360 And then Sandy began to pummel him. 00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:09.759 Because he thought, I've turned the other cheek, now I'm gonna get my own. 00:10:11.200 --> 00:10:12.879 Isn't that what we do? 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:17.039 We try to justify everything in our lives. 00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:22.879 So we think I can do this, I can follow Jesus and get my vengeance at the same time. 00:10:23.120 --> 00:10:26.320 I can do what Jesus said and I can have my own way. 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:31.840 I can have my cake and I can eat it too, but isn't that exactly what the Pharisees were doing? 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:38.320 And Jesus has told us again and again and again, your righteousness has to go beyond that. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:47.600 See, these accounts simply illustrate for us the principles that Jesus lays out here in these verses. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.600 Principles that are so difficult for us to put into action. 00:10:51.919 --> 00:11:04.240 And I think some of our difficulty in answering questions as to, well, what if this happens or what if this happens are because we struggle to simply do what Jesus says. 00:11:04.720 --> 00:11:06.960 Our self gets in the way. 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:13.440 We want our own desires, we want our own way fulfilled while we follow Jesus. 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:19.360 Now, as with so much of the Sermon on the Mount, this section has two parts. 00:11:19.679 --> 00:11:23.759 The first part reminds us of the popular practice at the time. 00:11:24.159 --> 00:11:28.399 And the second then goes on to detail the proper understanding of God's word. 00:11:28.720 --> 00:11:32.559 Let's think first a little bit about the popular practice at the time. 00:11:33.120 --> 00:11:35.759 And this is really as easy to understand, I think. 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:39.279 Jesus says, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:45.919 It might sound to you very much like modern-day personal injury attorneys. 00:11:46.399 --> 00:11:49.440 Heard on the streets of Jerusalem, day after day. 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:51.279 Have you been injured? 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:54.480 You know the law grants you certain rights. 00:11:54.639 --> 00:12:01.840 Come to attorney so-and-so, and we'll get it all straightened out, an eye for an eye. 00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:04.159 They were a little different, though. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:16.720 In Israel, the rights of persons were not simply considered legal rights, founded in law, but perhaps more importantly, religious rights. 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:22.799 Personal injury issues were grounded in Israel's religious law. 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:30.240 So getting my vengeance, an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth, was not simply taking what I could in the law. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:33.200 It was God expects me to do this. 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:40.960 I can do this and I should do this because God has put it out there in his law. 00:12:41.279 --> 00:12:49.519 So they were known as laws of retribution or vengeance laws, instituted originally to protect from overaggression. 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:52.480 That's what God intended to do. 00:12:53.039 --> 00:12:55.759 Jesus references several Old Testament passages here. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:57.200 We'll look at a couple of them. 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:59.600 First, Exodus chapter 21. 00:12:59.919 --> 00:13:08.399 Situation where Moses recounts a situation in which two men are fighting and they injure a pregnant woman in the process, and because of that injury she gives birth. 00:13:08.559 --> 00:13:27.759 Here's what it says When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman so that her children are born, but there's no harm to the one born, then the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the husband's husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:39.600 But if there's harm to the infant, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:41.919 Now what's going on there? 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:50.639 Well, whoever hits a pregnant woman, Moses said, and causes birth with an injury to the child should receive the same kind of injury. 00:13:51.840 --> 00:14:02.000 That preserved the sanctity of life, on the one hand, and it enforced and regulated proper justice. 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:10.960 The penalty was predetermined and limited to the extent of the original injury. 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:14.960 Similar passages in Leviticus chapter 24. 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:21.440 If anyone injures his neighbor, as he has done, it shall be done to him. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:25.440 Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. 00:14:25.600 --> 00:14:30.000 Whatever injury he has given a person shall be given to him. 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:33.279 Again, same same same situation in principle. 00:14:33.440 --> 00:14:37.440 Whoever injures his neighbor receives the same injury in return. 00:14:37.600 --> 00:14:45.200 That too preserves the sanctity of life, and it enforces as well as regulates justice. 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:50.720 You can look at another one on your own, Deuteronomy chapter 19. 00:14:51.440 --> 00:14:54.879 It's a situation regarding a malicious witness. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:15:07.039 Someone who's a witness to a case or an argument or a disagreement or to a crime, who in some way intends evil to come from his witness, from what he has to say about it. 00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:14.639 The malicious witness is to receive the same thing that he intends somebody else to get. 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:20.720 So we get then why it says eye for eye, tooth for tooth. 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:28.639 God is wanting to protect life, but at the same time, he wants to protect people from sin. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.360 And he knows how sinful we are in wanting vengeance. 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:38.240 So he keeps us from going too far. 00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:43.360 Personal vengeance was rarely permitted. 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:46.000 Sometimes it was in certain situations. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:55.759 But community vengeance, or more accurately, community justice was ordered in these situations. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:01.440 Moses said, if this circumstance happens, here's what you are to do. 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:08.399 There was immediate and swift response designed to limit sin and limit retaliation. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:15.200 By Jesus' time, retaliation for anything was legalized. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:34.639 So the phrases, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, were lifted out of their original context, effectively removing them from any kind of proper interpretation, proper guidelines for use, and they were made to stand all on their own, giving them a meaning that God never intended them to have. 00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:42.639 So rather than rather than being used as a means of proper justice, they were used to get my way. 00:16:44.080 --> 00:16:47.440 They were used as a means of selfishness. 00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:52.559 Yeah, I'm gonna make sure that justice is done, but I'm gonna get what I deserve. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:17:02.480 And in response, Jesus says that his followers must not simply do what the law commands, but they need to go beyond the law by being unexpectedly gracious. 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:04.400 And let's start there with our application. 00:17:04.559 --> 00:17:09.759 I had some questions this morning about well, what what if the law says that you can defend yourself? 00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:11.119 What if the law says this? 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:12.640 What if the law says that? 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:17.279 First thing we need to understand is Jesus never says, disobey the law. 00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:19.519 He never says that. 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:21.039 What does he say? 00:17:21.200 --> 00:17:24.319 I came to fulfill God's law. 00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:28.880 So first we need to understand the principle that God expects us to follow his law. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:38.720 What Jesus is saying is simply doing what God's law tells you to do, that doesn't give you the righteousness that you need to get into Jesus' kingdom. 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:42.160 He expects more than that. 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:48.880 What then is the proper practice that Jesus expects? 00:17:49.519 --> 00:18:02.960 We see here familiar passage to many of you giving us illustrations that emphasize a response to hurtful situations, painful situations. 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:18.160 These illustrations that Jesus give us show us that we are to extend a surprising amount of grace when retaliation is the expected response. 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:27.440 Now we've we've said again and again and again throughout the Sermon on the Mount that much of what Jesus said here can be summarized by the command love your neighbor. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:29.039 Love your neighbor. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:32.000 Now it's easy to talk sentimentally about love. 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.599 It's easy, easy to express that most of the time. 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:47.119 Sure that the Nelsons, congratulations on Alexander, are able to express that sentimental love for newborn Alexander. 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:55.279 It's much more difficult for us to express love for our neighbor practically when they have hurt us. 00:18:55.920 --> 00:18:57.519 What does that look like? 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:02.720 Jesus says, here's what it looks like. 00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:06.400 You extend surprising grace. 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:07.920 Now look what he does. 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:11.200 He talks first about personal retaliation. 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:14.400 He says, do not resist the one who is evil. 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:15.519 Don't resist. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:17.119 He says, Don't hold your ground. 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:22.640 Don't stand firmly planted in the ground saying, I'm gonna be here no matter what you do. 00:19:23.519 --> 00:19:26.160 Just don't resist the evil one. 00:19:26.480 --> 00:19:28.319 Now remember, he's not doing away with the law. 00:19:28.480 --> 00:19:32.000 Verse 17 tells us he's come to fulfill the law. 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:42.079 The law gave very strict allowances for the community to retaliate in order to uphold the sanctity of life and establish justice. 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:51.599 Now, the expectation of Jesus' time would be that you would seek your retribution, your vengeance through the court system. 00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:52.880 Just like today. 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:55.119 You hurt me, I'm taking you to court. 00:19:55.279 --> 00:19:56.160 Let's go. 00:19:56.799 --> 00:19:57.680 Get even. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:07.599 That's what the Pharisees would say. 00:20:07.759 --> 00:20:11.839 Yes, if you've been injured, get an eye for an eye, but make sure you do it properly. 00:20:12.720 --> 00:20:16.720 Make sure you follow the patterns that God has laid out and everything will be okay. 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:22.000 But Jesus says, offer astonishing grace. 00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.039 Don't rush to get even. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:29.440 Instead, give an offender what they don't deserve. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:34.640 Now notice that there is a spiritual level here, a spiritual content. 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:37.920 He says, Don't resist the one who is evil. 00:20:38.480 --> 00:20:43.839 These are people whose actions are not driven by the Spirit of God, but by the spirit of the evil one. 00:20:45.039 --> 00:20:51.119 We're not talking simply about breaking the law or breaking God's law. 00:20:51.599 --> 00:21:02.319 We're talking here about personal offenses, when somebody has offended you, when someone has insulted you and your sensibilities, your view of what is right and wrong. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:22.400 So Jesus says when we are impacted by the sinful actions or the sinful words or even the attitudes of another person, we're not to let our own sin well up inside of us and respond with a desire for vengeance, but instead to respond with grace. 00:21:24.240 --> 00:21:26.079 Let them hurt you again. 00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.640 Let them inflict pain again. 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:36.319 Do they deserve that? 00:21:37.839 --> 00:21:38.160 No. 00:21:39.519 --> 00:21:40.960 And that's the point. 00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:46.240 To allow them to hurt you again is astonishing. 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:53.039 It's a surprising, unexpected grace, and Jesus says that's what it means to love your neighbor. 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:58.640 Saint Augustine said it well. 00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:02.160 Have learned how to offer the other cheek. 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:09.359 But not too many of us know how to love the one who hit us in the first place. 00:22:10.079 --> 00:22:13.680 Most of us are like the lumberjack Sandy, aren't we? 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:18.559 Oh, I can I'll I can learn to turn the other cheek, but just wait until I'm done with that. 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:22.240 Jesus says, No, wait a minute. 00:22:22.559 --> 00:22:26.640 If somebody's offending you personally, it goes a step beyond that. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:32.400 So he talks then about personal insult. 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:38.640 If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:46.000 Now, we see here the sentence that we're all familiar with, turn the other cheek. 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:56.640 Now, some have used that passage to teach pacifism, the idea that Christians should not go to war, that Christians should not participate in an army. 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:02.799 Some have used this to teach that a Christian should never defend himself in any way or any situation. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:16.160 I have a personal pastor friend who believes that, who has a conviction that he should never participate in a conceal and carry law because he should not be in a position to defend himself. 00:23:16.240 --> 00:23:17.920 He lets God defend him. 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:20.960 Is that what this is teaching? 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:29.599 What does this say about security at a local church? 00:23:30.400 --> 00:23:35.519 What does this say about ISIS burning churches with people inside of them? 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:39.200 How does it apply to those situations? 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:46.400 Those are all questions that we can wrestle with that we don't have time to answer this morning, but I do want to point out this to you. 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:51.440 This verse does not teach pacifism, and it does not teach us to not defend ourselves. 00:23:51.599 --> 00:23:54.160 In fact, it's not talking about that at all. 00:23:55.279 --> 00:24:01.279 If we seek to answer those kinds of questions from this passage, we might end up simply frustrated. 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:07.440 Because what Jesus is doing here is referring to a deeply cultural issue. 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:15.200 Striking someone on the cheek in the first century was one of the greatest insults that you could give someone. 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:23.359 Other than physical harm or personal injury, it was one of the most grievous insults of that era. 00:24:23.599 --> 00:24:31.359 So much so that both Jewish and Roman law permitted prosecution if somebody hit you in the side of the face. 00:24:32.960 --> 00:24:35.119 It was a personal insult. 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:42.319 It wasn't something that was coming at you for your life or saying that, hey, I disagree with you or I don't like what you believe. 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:44.160 It was insulting you. 00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:54.720 So Jesus says if someone insults or offends you in the worst possible way, let them do it again. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:56.960 And again. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:05.039 You may even be allowed by law and culture, expected by culture to retaliate, but don't. 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:22.079 See, before coming to power, he had been thrown into prison and kept in chains and dungeon. 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:31.119 Later, when he did become king, he was urged by all of his counselors to take vengeance on those who had put him in that position. 00:25:31.359 --> 00:25:39.440 Instead, what he did is he had a scroll prepared and he had all of the names of those who had hurt him and offended him listed out on that scroll. 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:47.039 And then he personally took a pen and used red ink and put a cross after each one of those names. 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:51.599 Now, when those folks heard about that situation, they were afraid for their own life. 00:25:51.759 --> 00:25:53.119 They thought they were going to die. 00:25:53.279 --> 00:25:54.640 But then the king explained it. 00:25:54.720 --> 00:26:10.079 He said, The cross which I drew beside each name was not a sign of punishment, but a pledge of forgiveness extended for the sake of a crucified Savior who upon his cross forgave his enemies and prayed for them. 00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:15.119 That's what Jesus says his people are like. 00:26:17.200 --> 00:26:22.880 When it's expected that you get your own in return, you don't. 00:26:23.359 --> 00:26:24.880 That's surprising. 00:26:25.599 --> 00:26:27.519 Then he talks about personal property. 00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:33.279 Verse 40 if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:39.920 Now, most people in that time, especially the poorer classes of people, possessed only two garments, just two. 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:43.279 They didn't have full wardrobes like we do today. 00:26:43.599 --> 00:26:46.400 They had an inner garment called a tunic. 00:26:48.079 --> 00:26:51.119 They had an outer garment called a cloak. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:27:00.160 And under Jewish law, theft of either one of those pieces of clothing would lead to legal action. 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:05.279 They were considered extremely important, in fact, vital to the life of a person. 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:08.400 So you could not steal those pieces of clothing. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:14.400 They even went so far as to describe what a creditor could take. 00:27:14.559 --> 00:27:21.759 A creditor could not come and take the outer garment, the cloak, from a person if they owed them money. 00:27:22.079 --> 00:27:25.440 Because that might be a person's only blanket. 00:27:26.240 --> 00:27:30.480 That was taken from Exodus chapter 22, where Moses really lays this out. 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:37.440 He says, if you ever take your neighbor's cloak and pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 00:27:37.920 --> 00:27:41.599 Well, it's a long time to have something in pledge, isn't it? 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:44.960 You can take it in the morning, but make sure he gets it back at night. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:47.119 So there's a limit there. 00:27:48.400 --> 00:27:49.440 Why would he say that? 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:52.160 Well he says, because that's his only covering. 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:54.319 It's his cloak. 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:57.119 He says, it might be his only blanket. 00:27:58.559 --> 00:28:03.920 And if he cries out to me that you've taken his only blanket, I'm gonna hear him. 00:28:04.160 --> 00:28:05.839 We'll hear what he has to say. 00:28:07.039 --> 00:28:08.480 Prime compassionate. 00:28:09.599 --> 00:28:19.279 So Jesus says, if someone sues you and takes what he's allowed by law to take, that's the inner garment. 00:28:19.920 --> 00:28:22.640 He can't take the outer garment, but he can take the inner garment. 00:28:22.720 --> 00:28:29.599 He says, if he sues you and takes what he's allowed to take, give him what he can't take as well. 00:28:30.799 --> 00:28:32.160 Go a step further. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:34.480 Jesus says, be willing to give it up. 00:28:34.640 --> 00:28:44.000 Jesus is telling us here to value gracious responses to those who offend us more than we value our own possessions. 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:53.200 If someone wants to take from you everything they possibly can, then go ahead and give them everything they possibly can take and more. 00:28:54.160 --> 00:28:56.079 Give it to them, let them have it. 00:28:56.319 --> 00:29:05.119 Be willing to stand before the judge naked, having given away your most basic possession as an act of surprising grace. 00:29:09.440 --> 00:29:16.960 You've probably heard the expression always borrow from a pessimist because he doesn't expect it back. 00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:24.559 More likely we should follow what Elizabeth Babesco said. 00:29:24.880 --> 00:29:30.559 Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting. 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:35.920 Exercise astonishing grace, unexpected grace. 00:29:36.640 --> 00:29:41.440 When people expect you to put up a fight, don't give to them. 00:29:43.279 --> 00:29:45.599 Wow, what's going on here? 00:29:45.839 --> 00:29:50.319 Well, he has another illustration related to personal freedom, verse 41. 00:29:50.559 --> 00:29:54.480 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:56.880 Here's another cultural issue. 00:29:57.200 --> 00:30:12.960 Roman soldiers had the legal right, the legal authority to conscript labor, to use civilians for their purpose, to use civilian animals for their work, or even to take food from local residents for themselves. 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:20.960 They could even force civilians to carry their packs or their gear for up to a mile. 00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:36.880 So they grabbed a man from North Africa, Simon of Cyrene, to carry his cross. 00:30:38.240 --> 00:30:42.559 Roman soldiers were viewed by the Jews with bitter hatred. 00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:54.720 Jesus steps in and declares, your personal freedom shouldn't be of concern if you belong to my kingdom. 00:30:57.039 --> 00:31:06.000 I would suggest to you that perhaps this is the most difficult item in this list for Americans to grasp. 00:31:07.680 --> 00:31:16.160 We have lived so long and so well with personal freedoms that it's difficult for us to comprehend giving them up. 00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:24.559 If you're forced to do what you hate to do, then do double. 00:31:33.359 --> 00:31:40.880 Show them that being obedient to the Lord is more important than your personal freedom, your personal free time, or your own resources. 00:31:42.400 --> 00:31:54.400 Jesus says, listen, my people who have my righteousness display loving, gracious service to those who oppress them, to those who offend them, to those who insult them. 00:32:05.279 --> 00:32:08.720 Where the apostles demonstrated this in life. 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:13.119 The apostle Paul said, When we were reviled, we blessed. 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:15.759 When we were persecuted, we endured. 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:18.079 When we were slandered, we entreated. 00:32:18.240 --> 00:32:22.640 He goes on and on and on saying, when this happened to us, this is how we reacted. 00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:25.359 We didn't take vengeance, we didn't seek retaliation. 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:30.079 Instead, we sought to extend surprising grace. 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:34.319 Do you think this kind of action would be surprising today? 00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:37.039 I think it'd be astonishing. 00:32:37.519 --> 00:32:39.599 I think it would be astonishing. 00:32:40.079 --> 00:32:41.839 Jesus doesn't stop there though. 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:44.640 He goes on to talk about personal belongings. 00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:51.359 Verse 42 give to the one who begs from you and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. 00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:56.400 So if someone asks you for something, if you have it to give, then give it. 00:32:56.960 --> 00:32:59.920 If someone wants to borrow something, let them borrow it. 00:33:00.160 --> 00:33:02.400 And notice that there's no questions asked. 00:33:02.640 --> 00:33:04.640 He doesn't say, make sure you have a list of questions. 00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:05.680 How are you going to use this? 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:06.720 How long are you going to have it? 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:08.240 When are you going to return it? 00:33:08.400 --> 00:33:10.960 Make sure you sign on the dotted line. 00:33:13.680 --> 00:33:16.240 I have a hard time with this with my books. 00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:19.599 My books are my friends. 00:33:20.240 --> 00:33:21.839 I interact with them. 00:33:22.079 --> 00:33:22.880 I talk to them. 00:33:23.039 --> 00:33:23.839 They talk to me. 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:26.079 I underline them, I circle. 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:32.240 Sometimes it's hard to lend out a book and not expect it to be returned. 00:33:34.960 --> 00:33:41.599 See, the point here is that things don't matter to the resident of the Lord's kingdom. 00:33:43.119 --> 00:33:44.960 Possessions don't matter. 00:33:45.200 --> 00:33:49.759 That's why the early church was said in Acts chapter 2 to have everything in common. 00:33:49.920 --> 00:33:52.960 They weren't trying to establish a socialist kingdom. 00:33:54.880 --> 00:34:01.759 They weren't establishing a pattern for everyone to follow from time memorial onward. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:08.079 No, it's that they were able to meet one another's needs because people were more important than things. 00:34:08.239 --> 00:34:13.840 Living out the grace of the kingdom was more important than hoarding or holding back. 00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:20.960 They said, we want others to be more important than anything that we possess. 00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:36.000 We have been afforded an immense blessing by our God by being placed in a place that has the privilege of certain freedoms, many freedoms. 00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:46.159 In fact, our Declaration of Independence proclaims that we have certain unalienable rights given to us by our Creator that are to be upheld in our country. 00:34:47.360 --> 00:34:56.320 I would suggest to you that as Christians, we have sometimes taken those freedoms to the extreme and are now neglecting the commands of the Lord Jesus in this passage. 00:34:57.039 --> 00:35:02.000 Sometimes I wonder if we're more like the Pharisees than anyone else. 00:35:02.960 --> 00:35:07.840 We may play the part of the righteous Pharisee and say, you know what, I don't take people to court. 00:35:08.159 --> 00:35:08.960 What are you saying? 00:35:09.199 --> 00:35:11.039 I don't sue anybody. 00:35:13.280 --> 00:35:16.639 I don't retaliate to my unkind neighbor. 00:35:17.199 --> 00:35:18.800 They're mean to me, they're cruel. 00:35:19.119 --> 00:35:21.360 They toss their trash into my yard. 00:35:22.079 --> 00:35:23.679 I don't get back at them. 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:26.400 Well, that may be true. 00:35:27.599 --> 00:35:29.440 But the Pharisees do that. 00:35:31.519 --> 00:35:35.039 Do you then show surprising grace to them? 00:35:35.199 --> 00:35:39.519 Do you go beyond the expected hurt to be exceedingly gracious? 00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:47.199 The author, Sir Walter Scott, apparently had difficulty with this passage of scripture. 00:35:48.639 --> 00:35:55.039 Told the story of one day throwing a rock at a stray dog trying to chase it away. 00:35:55.280 --> 00:36:00.400 Except he made a mistake and his aim was a little straighter and his delivery a little stronger than he had intended. 00:36:00.639 --> 00:36:04.480 And he hit the dog in the leg and he broke the dog's leg. 00:36:05.280 --> 00:36:11.840 But instead of running off, he says the dog came limping up to him and licked the hand that threw the rock. 00:36:13.440 --> 00:36:20.800 Sir Walter Scott said, That dog preached the Sermon on the Mount to me as few ministers have ever presented it. 00:36:24.719 --> 00:36:39.519 I can imagine the Lord Jesus saying to us today, Since when did you, your desires, your thoughts, your rights, your property, your possessions, your funds become more important than showing my grace to someone else? 00:36:41.280 --> 00:36:49.199 I can imagine him saying to us, lay aside your own selfishness and consider others as more important. 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:59.039 Commit to showing others the divine grace that you have received and showing it in an unexpected way. 00:37:00.320 --> 00:37:10.320 Now I fully, fully anticipate that our response to this passage of scripture and hearing Jesus say these things is going to be, really? 00:37:12.960 --> 00:37:13.599 Really? 00:37:14.559 --> 00:37:16.639 That's going too far, Jesus. 00:37:18.880 --> 00:37:23.599 And when we get to that point, then we're starting to understand what Jesus intends. 00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:29.679 He wants us to grasp that stretching. 00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:39.119 Because if he is our Lord, if he is our King, then our righteousness must go beyond that of the Pharisees. 00:37:41.039 --> 00:37:48.719 We are recipients of His surprising grace, and He calls on us to display that to others. 00:37:49.280 --> 00:37:53.519 So we're not being asked to give something that we don't possess. 00:37:53.679 --> 00:37:57.440 We're not being asked to do something that we have not ourselves experienced. 00:37:57.599 --> 00:38:05.599 We're being told not to hoard what we have been given by Jesus, but instead to have open arms and to give it out. 00:38:16.400 --> 00:38:23.280 I like to paraphrase it as when we were in the act of slapping Jesus in the face, he died for us. 00:38:24.800 --> 00:38:27.760 That's unexpected grace, my friends. 00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:30.960 That's what we did not deserve. 00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:32.480 That is surprising. 00:38:32.559 --> 00:38:38.639 While we were in the act of sinning against a holy God, he extends surprising grace to us. 00:38:38.719 --> 00:38:49.760 And now he says to us, those who have experienced my surprising grace, extend that same surprising grace, especially to those who hurt us, insult us, and offend us. 00:38:50.000 --> 00:39:04.559 You see, a citizen, a citizen of the kingdom of God, Jesus is its king, has been transformed by King Jesus and now begins to exhibit the characteristics of the kingdom. 00:39:04.960 --> 00:39:09.920 And we place others in positions of greater importance than ourselves. 00:39:11.039 --> 00:39:19.519 We are to consider others more significant, even at great cost to ourselves. 00:39:22.960 --> 00:39:28.480 I told you that we're heading to the cross. 00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:33.760 As we do that, I want you to see Jesus. 00:39:35.039 --> 00:39:39.519 Because first and foremost, ultimately, over all of this, this is not about you. 00:39:39.599 --> 00:39:42.159 It's not about me, it's not about what we do. 00:39:43.119 --> 00:39:45.679