A Counter Cultural Message: A Higher Calling
“…walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called…” These are the words of Paul as he is writing to the Church in Ephesus. Those who follow Jesus have been called to a higher calling, to live a life that is above reproach, and to pursue righteousness. In the last article, my friend explained that Jesus, in Matthew 5:20, is calling people to pursue a life of righteousness. It is in the verses that follow that we see how one is to live a life that pursues righteousness. In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus takes sayings from the Law found in the Old Testament and explores what righteous living is through a deeper obedience to those laws. It is not even so much a deeper obedience as it is how you are to live. It is a higher calling in life than just to obey the law; it is an upright character way of life, not so much an adherence to the law way of life. Ultimately, an upright character way of life ties to love, which Jesus talks about in vs. 43-48. Everything is tied to love. Another important thing to recognize is that pursuing righteousness and living this upright character way of life is achieved through following Jesus and striving to be like him. Jesus lived this way, and if we make him our focus, then we also live a life that is like his. There are two repeated phrases in the text that we are going to look at. These phrases are, “You have heard that it was said,” and “But I say to you.” Following every “you have heard that it was said,” there is a Law from the Old Testament that Jesus refers to. The same goes for what is said after “but I say to you,” except this is what Jesus teaches about living a life that is pursuing righteousness.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” - Matthew 5:21-26
We will be breaking down each section within our text and exploring Jesus’ teaching. Here in vs. 21-26 we see that “do not murder” is the law that Jesus first talks about. Through the first few of these it is pretty clear that what has been said in the Old Testament is obviously wrong. Murder is a prime example of this, everyone knows that it is wrong to kill someone. Another thing that you may notice is that Jesus, on many of the things that he talks about, is concerned with the root of the action that the Law forbids. In the case of murder, that is anger with your brother. In order to live a life that is of upright character you must live your life in a peaceful way. When things happen that may frustrate you or cause you to become angry with someone you need to relax. Your character is affected by your becoming angry. Jesus wants us to live at peace with everyone and to do so without others’ introjection.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” - Matthew 5:27-30
Again, we see Jesus going to the root of the law that he references. Instead of committing adultery, he talks about lust. Lust is the intention of doing something you shouldn’t. Jesus says that when you lust after someone, “you have already committed adultery with that person in your heart.” Then Jesus talks about what you should do if something causes you to sin. He uses a pretty gruesome example talking about tearing out your eye and cutting off your hand, but there is a principle there. Whatever is causing you to sin, remove that from the situation. DON’T ACTUALLY CUT OFF YOUR HAND OR TEAR OUT YOUR EYE! However, you can remove yourself or an item from a situation that causes you to sin.
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” - Matthew 5:31-32
This is something that I am very unqualified to talk about. As a young, single man, divorce is not something that I have any experience with. This being the case, I will keep my comments short. Scripture is pretty clear: you cannot just go around getting married and then divorced just because. There are valid reasons for divorce, but please try to work things out and choose who you marry carefully. That is all I have to say about that.
“Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil. - Matthew 5:33-37
Jesus teaches the importance of having a good name that is worth your word. He teaches us to do what we say we are going to do and not swear by anything that we are going to do. Just let what you say you are going to do be what you are going to do.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. - Matthew 5:38-42
Revenge is a hard thing to handle. It is easy to hit back or respond to that targeting commit. However, Jesus teaches us to just let it go or even let them keep coming. It is not just about letting it go but helping even those who hurt you and do wrong to you. It is hard, but it shows what it means to do what Jesus talks about next and what everything about living in an upright character manner points to, that being love.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matthew 5:43-48
Finally, we have come to what all of Jesus’ teaching on living with an upright character points to: love. Love is the main thing; it is for love that Jesus came, it is for love that he died, love is the culmination of morality and Christian living, and God is love. If you want to live in an upright manner pursuing righteousness, then pursue love. Notice I said pursue love, not just to love others. Loving others is important, and if you love others, then you will succeed in doing all the other aspects of living in an upright manner. However, if you truly want to be successful in pursuing righteousness and live uprightly, then you should pursue love. Meaning, pursue the one who defines love, pursue God, strive to be like Jesus. That is our higher calling. Jesus was sinless; he successfully lived what he taught, and if we want to live a righteous life, then we must pursue Christ. Our higher calling is to live and pursue Christ. At the very end of chapter 5 we see that God calls us to live perfectly just as our heavenly Father is perfect. We can only do this if we pursue he who is perfect, our heavenly Father!