Overcoming Impossible : Well, Yeah, But...

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Good morning!  It’s wonderful to see that you came back after last week’s hard-hitter of a sermon. I knew when tackling the Sermon on the Mount that this would certainly not be easy. You could say it would seem impossible. ;D <-winky face

Anyway, last week we looked at the first part of the Sermon on the Mount, as recounted in Matthew’s gospel. We looked at how Jesus is calling us to do the impossible. In the Beatitudes, Jesus elaborated on the importance of humility. When we discussed this, we thought it seemed impossible, but let me go ahead and tell you, compared to this week’s lesson, humility is the easy part. Before we get too deep into that, let’s dive into the Word. We have a long one this week, and it may benefit you to go back and read Exodus 20:1-17, as well.

           

The Law and the Prophets

¹⁷ “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.¹⁹ Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Concerning Anger

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³ So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

Concerning Adultery

²⁷ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹ If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.³⁰ And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

Concerning Divorce

³¹ “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’³² But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Concerning Oaths

³³ “Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, ³⁵ or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Concerning Retaliation

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; ⁴⁰ and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; ⁴¹ and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. ⁴² Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ 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. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Will you pray with me? Heavenly Father, I ask that the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts together be acceptable in Your presence here today, God. For You are our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Now, I know what you are thinking. “Dang! I prefer it when Jesus can be summed up on a bumper sticker!” Jesus chose to be a little long-winded on the Sermon on the Mount, but it was for an incredible reason. This sermon is so vitally important to us as Christians, because it is the climax of Jesus’ teachings that we get in the Bible. So often, Jesus tells us parables and metaphors and examples, but here we have Jesus laying out for us the law of God.

I don’t know how many Star Wars fans I have here, but this would be like George Lucas laying out the full story of Star Wars in person. Telling all the secrets and spoilers and theories and finally getting the truth out there.

Imagine the biggest conspiracy you have ever questioned, and then imagine it being officially confirmed or denied without a trace of doubt. That’s what Jesus does here.

The Pharisees, the Jews, the religious leaders, the political leaders, the disciples, the followers, the citizens, everyone was wondering how Jesus related to Moses’ laws in Exodus. The rumor mill was pumping out articles as fast as it could. The tabloids would have gone crazy during Jesus’ day. TMZ would not know what to do with them selves with Jesus up to this point.

So, finally, after all of this waiting, Jesus finally spills the beans. Kind of like that moment in American Idol where Ryan Seacrest is just about to announce the winner. If Jesus’ sermon had been broadcast on television, you know that they would have cut to commercial just before he says what he says.

So what does he say? In regard to the laws of Moses, Jesus says the opposite of what everyone expects him to say. He says that he did NOT come to abolish the law. No, he says that he didn’t come to ABOLISH the law at all, but instead to fulfill it. Jesus came to show us how to follow the law. Or to interpret what the law even meant. Jesus came to finish the sentence of the law. Up to this point, we were trying to make a cake but had never seen a cake being made. We didn’t know the order, or the recipe; we just had the final product to base our cake off of. So Jesus comes and he gives us the recipe.

This is incredible news, right?! This means that following God’s laws from this point would be simple?! Right?!?!

Instead of making things easier, Jesus seems to completely pull the rug out from underneath of us and make them so much incredibly harder. These sayings that we read over this morning have been giving the cynical title of the “Hard Sayings” of Jesus. The reason is that they are just exactly that: hard.

Jesus seems to take the already-difficult laws of Moses and tack on addendums that broaden the spectrum of each law to become even more encompassing of our sins. Jesus mentions in the beginning of this passage that the Pharisees of that day and age couldn’t even keep the laws of Moses. The most holy of holy and religious people couldn’t even manage to keep the basic laws and Jesus ups the ante and expects the ordinary folk, the casual followers, to rise above and beyond the religious elite.

It seems truly impossible, doesn’t it? Let’s take a look at some of the things that Jesus challenges us to do, as compared to Moses original command.

Moses starts out by saying a pretty easy one: do not murder. For most of us, that one was pretty easy. Jesus takes it the next step and says not to even get angry with someone else. Whoa! Jesus, I got angry with someone yesterday for not using a turn signal. I can’t just NOT get angry with people. I can’t do that.

Then Moses tells us not to commit adultery. Maybe a little more challenging than murder. Sexual urges can be very convincing, but for the most part, we are pretty good here. Then Jesus says to not even look at someone with lust in our hearts. He then tells us to rip off our limbs or tear out our eyes. I don’t know about you guys, but I happen to really like my eyes. I can’t do that.

Moses tells us not to break our promises. This is a toughie. It’s easy to break promises. We already struggle with this one and Jesus tells us to never even tell a little white lie. Sometimes I say things I don’t mean. I’m a huge fan of sarcasm. I can’t do that.

Next up we stray a bit from Moses and discuss the age of retaliation. That’s something we love, right? Nothing better than Rambo getting back at the people who betrayed him. We love to see an evil person get their just desserts. Like we discussed last week, who doesn’t love seeing Liam Neeson hunt, fight and kill his way to rescuing his daughter? Jesus turns the tables on us and says that we aren’t even supposed to consider revenge a viable option. He says that if someone hits us on one cheek, we should turn and offer our other! If someone steals our jacket, we should offer our shirt. No way, God. If someone breaks into my house, I’m not giving them my shirt, I’m giving them the gift of lead, right? I can’t offer up my precious belongings, God. I can’t do that.

Finally, Moses says for us to love our neighbor. We love to read into this one. Well, who is our neighbor? We can nitpick this one into only being nice to those who are nice to us. Jesus says that is wrong. He calls us to love our enemies. To love those who hate us. To pray for those who persecute us. Whoa, God. That’s too far. Jesus continues by saying that if you only love those who love you, how are you different than anyone else? God didn’t just create the good, but he created those who do BAD.

Jesus then ends this by putting the proverbial cherry on the sundae, the ice cream on the cake: be PERFECT as God is PERFECT.

           

So, Jesus lays it all out on the table. Then we get our turn, right? We get to respond. And what do we say? Well, yeah, but come on God. We start to make excuses for ourselves.

We call out to God and say, well, yeah, but that’s not for me, God. These laws are way above my pay-grade. I’ll leave those things to the pastors. To the Billy Grahams. To the Chris Tomlins. God, I’m just an average joe.

Well, yeah, but I am only human. I agree with all that you are saying Jesus, but I’m only going to do like 50% of the time, because I’m only human. All things in moderation, right?

Well, yeah, but I was raised differently than this. These commands aren’t natural to me. I can’t just change my life completely.

Well, yeah, but God, I just can’t. do. it.

And do you know Jesus’ response to these excuses? Do you know how Jesus would respond to these questions that we struggle with as these laws challenge us?

“You’re right.”

Jesus knows that you can’t do it. He knows how you were raised. He knows the sin that is deep in your soul. He knows that you are human. He knows that are just an average joe.

But Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law. He didn’t come to abolish YOU. He didn’t come to smite you and cast you aside with his righteous sword. No, Jesus came to finish the sentence.

Jesus says that you are right when you can’t do it. But he finishes that sentence. He says that you can’t do it ALONE.

He instead comes to us with open arms. He offers us the gift of transforming grace. As Paul says in his letter to the Romans, Jesus offers us a chance to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We are given the chance to rise above our humanity, to rise above our challenges, to rise above our struggles, and not just talk the talk but to finally walk the walk. Jesus says that we can’t do it alone and we don’t have to do it alone. He gives us grace in a spiritual form and he gives us the church in the physical form to guide us through the impossible. He calls us to be better together and to rise above ourselves as God’s children.

Jesus expects us to overcome the impossible. But, praise God, he doesn’t expect us to do it alone.