A week or so ago, I decided to read the four Gospels beginning to end. This was at first intended as a first step into reading the whole of the Bible, tackling relevant groups as whole portions rather than the piecemeal jumping around I had done in the past, with the aim of reading the Scriptures in their proper context. My goal was to read the Gospels, and then move onto the Letters of Paul, and then perhaps read the Torah etc. Shortly into the Gospel of Matthew however, I realized I would be putting off this larger goal for a while in order to dig deeper into these incredible books. I have only just begun to realize how badly I have neglected the Gospels all my life.
I have read them of course, but like many Christians my reading was through the thick lens of my tradition. I was raised a fundamentalist and read the bible as a fundamentalist, making fundamentalist assumptions, with a fundamentalist exegesis and echoing in my head the various sermons and commentaries I had heard over my life. I was not reading, I was screening, looking for proof texts, hearing what I had been taught, not what the text was teaching.
What the text teaches is incredible, not least the Sermon on the Mount. In order to better understand this amazing text, I have written a personal analysis of the sermon, a commentary. I am by no means a scholar, or a pastor, and perhaps some of what I say may be a misinterpretation, oversimplification or even misunderstanding of the text, but I believe it is important as a Christian that I work to understand the hard, yet beautiful teachings this sermon contains. I will mark where I am confused or uncertain; I will be as honest as possible here. May God have mercy.
The Beatitudes
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
(Mat 5:1-2)
Here Christ is speaking to an assembled crowd of followers, with his disciples coming up to him, listening. I almost picture the closest disciples sitting as his feet. This is a teaching to the Disciples of Christ, not only them but us, the self-professed Christians. The teachings of Christ are of course relevant to all people, but this seems particularly addressed to followers.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
(Mat 5:3-12)
These blessings can be read as statements of fact, that God blesses those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn those who are meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness etc. I think these blessings can also be read as challenges. You want mercy? Be Merciful. You want to be called a son of God? Emulate the Son of God, the Prince of Peace, make peace in the world.
Another way these can be read as challenges is in enacting the blessing. We are the people of God called to do God’s work. As emulators of the Christ, perhaps we should also be blessing the poor in Spirit, those who mourn. Not only be Gentle (meek), but bless the Gentle. Not only say that the poor in spirit are blessed, but have an active part in enacting the blessing.
I am by no means saying that I know all this entails. I am not saying I live up to this challenge. But I am saying that I think it’s time many Christians start at least consider taking on the challenge, rather than just skimming through these sayings and thinking “oh gee, that’s nice” and moving on. I include myself in this complaint.
The comments regarding Persecution and Reviling stand out to me. Note the context of the statement. After speaking about meekness, mercy, righteousness and purity of heart, THEN he speaks about persecution. This does not apply to hatemongers, the self-righteous, the violent or the arrogant. When we are called out for being assholes, it is not persecution for Christ. When we are attacked for jingoist Nationalism, it is not persecution for Christ, when we are resisted for being cultural bullies (as we sadly often are), it is not persecution for Christ. It is only persecution for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, when we are persecuted for living out the life that Christ intends for us to live. We can’t act, and preach, and live contrary to the Gospel and then complain that we are persecuted for the Gospel.
Salt and Light
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
(Mat 5:13-16)
The Salt comment, in our context is just… weird. Be salty? One Study Bible I own, states that salt was used as a preservative, and the church could have a preservative effect on the world, combating sin and death etc. I don’t know how accurate this is, but it’s the only explanation I’ve heard that makes some sense.
The second Simile is clearer. Christians are called to be a light to the world. We are to shine the Light of the Gospel to those around us, not only through our preaching but through our lives. If the world sees a community of people who live by the standards Jesus gives us in this sermon, or at least strives to, this will cause the world around us to see Christ and respond, to His Greater Glory.
These two similes seem to be a why to the sermon’s what, a reason for the commands. We do these things to point to the Master, to pronounce his Gospel, the Salvation of the world.
The Law
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes 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. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
(Mat 5:17-20)
This passage has caused some headaches. A basic Christian concept is that of freedom from the Letter of the Torah Law. It is also confusing in that later in this same Sermon Jesus modifies the Law (in this case making it stricter, dealing with the heart) and in Mark 7:17-23 Jesus proclaims foods clean through his teaching on that which comes out of the mouth.
It is possible that in the Law, he is speaking of the moral law underpinning the Torah. The Comment about iota and dot makes this questionable, but his speaking of “these commands” strengthens this idea. I have to admit ignorance here and move on.
Of note is the comment about surpassing the righteousness of the Scribes and the Pharisees. These people were obsessed with the letter of the Law, but not the spirit thereof, twisting it hypocritically.
“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.
(Mat 5:21-26)
Following from his discussion of the Law, Jesus begins to discuss several laws and placing the problem in the human heart, rather than the acts themselves. This first teaching is on hatred. The Torah condemns murder, the taking of a human life. Christ says we need to be concerned about the root cause of murder, hatred. Hatred is unacceptable for us. We are called to shine the Light of Perfect Love in the world, not to further the hatred and rancor that has infected the human race so deeply already.
Christ’s teachings on peace and love often get thrown around in a feel good context. But many people don’t realize just how far we are to go with this love. Although this teaching in particular speaks of loving our “brothers”, elsewhere in the Gospels Jesus commands us to love others, including our enemies, and those who persecute us. We are commanded not only to love our brothers, but those who hate us, who put us to the sword, those who burn down our churches and slay our leaders, those who crush us because they can.
What if we were known as the people who love? What if we were known for praying for our enemies, not in a condescending judgmental manner, but in earnest compassion for them? What if we were known not as the people who scream about who God hates, but rather those who love as God loves? What if we sacrificed ourselves for tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners? What if we stopped rattling our sabers, and beat them into plowshares?
I feel when Jesus here speaks of leaving our gift at the altar and reconciling with our brother, he is echoing the Prophet Isaiah. Reconciliation, forgiveness and grace seems to be part and parcel of an acceptable relationship with God. We are ordered to forgive as we have been forgiven.
Adultery and Lust
“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.
(Mat 5:27-30)
Something must be said about Lust. Many interpret “lust” to mean something along the lines of sexual attraction, sexual response. I don’t think this is a wise or logical way to read this text. After all, God made us sexual creatures, desiring sexual contact not only for procreation but for intimacy, affection and bonding. God made sex, and like all things God made, it is good. We are wired to desire sex, and responding naturally to stimulus cannot be a sin by any sort of logic.
The Greek word used here for “lust” is ἐπιθυμέω, which according to Strong’s (I am not a Greek scholar, so I trust others here), has a meaning of “to set the heart upon” to “long after”, related to covetousness. This seems to support my argument that lust is more than sexual attraction. It seems to lust is to fixate upon something (or in this case someone), to obsess.
It seems it is this obsession, this fixation, this covetousness that leads to adultery. Is a man tempted to commit adultery because he sees a beautiful woman walking down the street? Or is he tempted to commit adultery when he fills his mind with a woman not his wife? It is the secret temptations that are allowed to fester and grow and dominate the mind that are the danger here, not the fleeting glance of a machine built to procreate, but rather the focused gaze of the covetous heart, who wills to take what is not his to have.
Verses 29 and 30 speak of us throwing away that which causes us to sin. I don’t know if this is a general statement or connected to the teaching on adultery, but I would argue that either way it works generally. That which causes me to stumble, which enables my weaknesses, which feeds my sinful heart needs to be cut off and destroyed for the sake of servitude to Christ and his Kingdom.
“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.
(Mat 5:31-32)
Marriage is sacred to Christians. Unlike the culture around us we cannot treat marriage as a stronger form of dating, we cannot throw people away when we don’t like them. If we take the plunge, we make a solemn commitment. Serial Marriage is unfortunately common in our society, including those within the Church.
“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.
(Mat 5:33-37)
If we swear, we are in essence saying “I really mean what I’m saying” meaning there are other times when we don’t mean what we are saying, meaning we are not trustworthy. We are called to be a truthful people, truthful to the point that every word from our mouths is as solemn and powerful as a vow. We are the people of Truth, so we must love the Truth, and honor it in our telling. If we will lie for personal gain, for emotional comfort, and for relational ease, then how can the world trust us not to lie for Christ?
We are often considered a dishonest and hypocritical people. If our yesses were yesses and our noes, noes, how many more would be willing to hear our message? How much more would our testimony be heard rather than thrown off as the lies of an untrustworthy and unreliable people?
“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.
(Mat 5:38-42)
Retaliation is something we crave, we are not allowed it. If we are slapped across the cheek, we do not fight back, we take the shame and the insult, and instead do good. If someone steals our jackets, we give them our shirts.
Give to those who beg and need to borrow. How many Christians whine about beggars and make excuses not to help those in need? “They’ll spend it on booze”, “it really won’t help” etc. We are not given such luxuries.
“”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.
(Mat 5:43-48)
Persecution here does not mean what many comfortable westerners think it means. Its not about mockery, it’s not about “taking prayer out of schools”. The Persecution Jesus is predicting for his followers involves death, dismemberment, terrorism.
And we are told to love the people with their swords at our necks. We are to pray for them, do good to them. Christians, myself included have mocked and attacked those around us who do not share our values and our views. If we are called to do good to those who seek our lives, the hatred we show to our neighbors is inexcusable.
Christ, and Him Crucified 