Trinity 6
Mt
5:20-26
7/12/26
The Gospels are theological biographies. They are biographies in
that they tell us true and accurate information about the life of Jesus
Christ. However, they do so with a
theological purpose. They are teaching us about who Jesus is and what he means
for our life.
We need to recognize that since this is their goal, they do not
always narrate what Jesus said and did in a chronological order. Instead, they sometimes group material in
order to convey a truth about Jesus. It
is easy to see this in Matthew’s Gospel. In chapters eight and nine, Matthew
narrates ten miracles performed by Jesus. There is no other kind of material in
this section. We see that Jesus is powerful in deed.
Our text this morning is found in a preceding grouping of material.
In chapters five through seven we find only the teaching of Jesus. So in
chapters five to seven we find Jesus powerful in word. And in chapters eight
and none we find Jesus powerful in deed.
Our Lord taught constantly during the course of almost three
years. Any good teacher finds wording
and explanations that work well and then keeps using them. Surely Jesus was no
different. As he was teaching in different places it’s very unlikely that he
said something completely new every time. No doubt there was a repetition of
material with slight variations.
Chapter five begins with the words, “Seeing the crowds, he
went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.”
These words give us the familiar name for the material in these three chapters:
the Sermon on the Mount. On the other hand, in Luke’s Gospel we find very
similar material as Jesus came down and talked to a crowd in a level place.
This is to be expected – Jesus shared the same basic content many times in
different places.
Our text today is at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. The
Sermon on the Mount has always occupied a significant place in Chistian
thought. We have here three chapters of powerful teaching as Jesus describes
the life of those who believe in him.
So what is Jesus doing here? Is he telling us what we must do in
order to have salvation? After all, the first verse of our text says, “For I
tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is Jesus
describing what we can never possibly do in order to reveal our sin? The answer
to both of these is no – though we will see this his words certainly may
confront the continuing presence of sin in our life.
Instead, Jesus is describing what the kingdom of God – the reign of
God that arrived in our Lord – means for your life. The kingdom of God – or
kingdom of heaven as it is expressed in a more Jewish version in Matthew’s
Gospel – was the central feature of Jesus’ ministry. Matthew tells us about the
beginning of his ministry, “From that time Jesus began to preach,
saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Jesus declared that in his person the reign of God was present that
was overcoming the forces of Satan, sin, and death. When the Pharisees accused
Jesus of casting out demons by being in league with the devil, our Lord
replied, “But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons,
then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Jesus was the presence of the kingdom of God – the reign of God for us. He spoke with the authority of God. Matthew tells us at the end of the Sermon on the Mount: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”
He had authority over demons as he cast them out. They knew who he
was, even if they were confused about why he was present and yet it was not the
Last Day. They cried out to him, “What have you to do with us, O Son of
God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” He had the power
and authority to heal the sick, raise the dead, and even control creation
itself as he stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee.
But the surprising thing is that his great action to bring God’s
reign by freeing us from sin did not look mighty and victorious. After Peter
confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, Matthew tells
us, “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to
Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
Jesus declared, “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” He offered himself as the sacrifice on the cross by which we now have forgiveness before God. But death was not the end. As he had predicted on the third day God raised him from the dead. On Easter the tomb was empty and the angel told the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said.”
This is what Jesus did for you. And
then he brought his saving reign to you through the work of his Spirit. He
called you to faith in his death and resurrection through the Gospel in Word
and Sacrament. He made you a new creation in Christ through the water of Holy
Baptism.
Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount
with the Beatitudes. In the first of these he says, “Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Who are the poor
in spirit? You are. You are because you know that you don’t love God above all
things. You are because you know that you don’t love your neighbor as yourself.
You know that you are sinful. Then, at the same time, you believe in Jesus. And
so in Christ, the kingdom of heaven – the reign of God – is yours. You have
received the forgiveness won by Christ – you are a saint. You have been born of
again of water and the Spirit. You are in Christ, because the Spirit of God is
present and at work in you.
And so the Sermon on the Mount
describes how you now live because of Jesus Christ. Jesus is not describing
what you must do in order to receive salvation. You already have it! He is not
describing what you can never possibly do in order to reveal your sin. Instead,
he is describing how you now live because of what he has made you to be. You have received the reign of God in Christ.
Just before our text Jesus said,
“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.” You have
received God’s saving reign in Christ. And so your life now shows forth was God
has done for you – what God has made you to be.
Our text begins as Jesus is
concluding his introductory comments about how we are to view the law of Moses.
He says, “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.”
Jesus came to fulfill the law. Now, in his death and resurrection, all has
been accomplished. And so the law of Moses is no longer the law that
directs God’s people. Instead, we learn in the Sermon on the Mount that it is Jesus’
teaching that directs our life. There is, of course, continuity between
this teaching and what we find in the Old Testament law. God’s moral ordering
of creation has not changed. That is why Paul could say of the Gentiles, “For
when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law
requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts.” But you
never find Jesus teaching anything about keeping food laws, or being
circumcised, or any other parts of what we call the ceremonial law. These are
things that are no longer binding for Christians.
Instead, our Lord says, “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.”
Jesus says that we are to teach and do what he is teaching, and nothing less.
Then in our text he adds, “For I
tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and
Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is not a
description about how to be saved. You have already received the kingdom of
God. Instead, it means that only by being in Christ as those have received
God’s reign can your righteousness have any standing before God. The scribes
and Pharisees rejected Christ. Their keeping of the law that followed their own
interpretation of it meant nothing before God.
You on the other hand have received the kingdom of God through
faith in Christ. You have been baptized into Christ and his Spirit has given
you new life. It is Christ through his Spirit who now causes you to walk in his
ways. This is the life produced by faith and so it is pleasing to God in a way
that the Pharisees and scribes never could.
Jesus is the Son of God who has brought the kingdom of God. And so
he teaches with authority. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount Jesus
addresses understandings of the law that were present in his day and corrects
them. He gives a full and deeper understanding of the law as he describes how
we will live because of him.
He says in our text, “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.”
Our Lord teaches us that the Fifth Commandment does not simply
prevent murder of another person. I does not even just prevent physical harm.
It means that we do not nurse anger in our heart and we do not speak in ways
that disparage our neighbor. We do not allow anger and hate to direct our
actions.
Jesus makes this point clear as he applies what he has just said to
our lives. He says, “Therefore 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.”
Our Lord describes the setting of first century Jerusalem. The life
of a faithful Jew involved making offerings in the sacrifices at the temple.
But Jesus says that if a person remembers that there is some division or
animosity with another individual he is to leave his gift at the altar. He is
not to follow through in making the sacrifice to God. First, he is to go and be
reconciled to the brother.
Your life in Christ is not ruled by anger. It is not one of seeking
payback. It does not speak ill of others. Instead it is directed by the love
and forgiveness you have received in Christ. So forgive those who have wronged
you. Where possible, seek to be reconciled. As Paul told the Romans, “If
possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”
This is true as you interact with everyone. But it becomes true in
an even deeper way when you come here to the Divine Serivice. The high point of
the Divine Service is the celebration of the Sacrament of the Altar. Paul told
the Corinthians, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation
in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation
in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one
body, for we all partake of the one bread.”
In the Sacrament you receive the true body and blood of Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins. But it is not you alone who does this. So also do all those who are receiving the
Sacrament at the altar. The apostle tells us that the body and blood of Christ
join us together as the Body of Christ. The Sacrament is Christ coming to
you. It is vertical and individual. But
it is also Christ joining you together with those who commune. It is horizontal
and corporate.
The Sacrament of the Altar is the sacrament of unity. It is the
place where Christ joins us together as the Body of Christ. Divisions are
contrary to the very nature of the Sacrament. And so we don’t bring our
divisions there.
This means that before we come to this altar we forgive and
reconcile with one another. The Pax Domini – the “Peace of the Lord in the
liturgy - is a verbal and visual announcement of this fact. The pastor chants,
“The peace of the Lord be with you always” as he holds up the host over the
chalice – as he holds before you the body and blood of Christ. This is a
declaration of the peace Jesus is giving you in the Sacrament. But it is also a
reminder that we need to be at peace with one another if we are to come and
receive the body and blood of Christ. When we have not forgiven one another and
are not reconciled, then that is the time not to commune. And this fact makes all the more clear what
we need to do as we live in Christ. We need to forgive and be reconciled.
Though Jesus does not speak the Sermon on the Mount for the purpose
of showing us our sin, it is law and so it will also reveal the ways that the
old Adam is still resisting the work of the Spirit in our life. They are words
that will demonstrate where sin is present.
Our response then is twofold. In that baptismal life of daily
contrition and repentance we confess it as sin and hold on to the forgiveness
we have received in our baptism. And then recognizing sin for what it is we
arise to live in newness life made possible by the Spirit of Christ.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is not telling us what we must do
in order to have salvation. He’s not describing what we can never possibly do
in order to reveal our sin. Instead he begins by saying, “Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The kingdom of
heaven – the reign of God entered into our world as Jesus Christ died on the
cross and rose from the dead. You have received that saving reign through the
Gospel as the Spirit has worked through Word and Sacrament. The Sermon on the
Mount describes how we now live our lives through the power of the Spirit as we
are in Christ.
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