Action steps from Jesus’s sermon on the mountainside
On the journey to follow Christ and to become His disciple we are faced with the challenge to follow His commands and to do the will of the Father in heaven. To emulate Jesus in our very lives. This, however, can be a very difficult and confusing task as there are many different voices trying to tell us what Jesus said and what it means to follow Christ. Because of the difficulty I have found in getting a straightforward answer to what Jesus said I have decided to lay them plain here. To take what Jesus said and put it in the simplest terms I can for my benefit and hopefully yours as well.
This is done with the goal of applying these words to real life and as such I will be sticking as close to the general obvious meaning of Jesus’s words. As a starting point for further application, these basic tools are to be taken and refined by real world practice with the Holy Spirit. With that, let us begin on our journey through what Jesus said.
Be who you are
“‘You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
‘You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Matthew 5:13-16 NIV
Here we begin, after Jesus concludes His introduction of those who are blessed, He starts into His teaching, and we get our first actionable point: Allow yourself to be who God has made you. In these few verses Jesus covers three main points, two of which are declarations and one of which is an action point for us to do.
Jesus leads with two main statements of identity; you are the salt of the earth, and you are the light of the world. He did not say you were like salt or like light; He declared who you are and at the same time what you are like. It can be helpful to understand light and salt to gain a better idea of the qualities we are to possess in this world, however for this post I will stick with the simpler point that these qualities are innate to salt and light. Salt is salty and light shines; they do not have to try to be salty or try to shine it is simply part of what they are. In this same way Jesus is not asking us to try and strive to achieve saltiness or to work towards shining, no Jesus tells us we are salt, and we are light He did not set a goal for us to achieve but stated who we already are in Him. With these declarations come some warnings, warnings that since we are salt, and since we are light, we have to be careful not to become contaminated or to hide who we are because then we are useless.
Jesus’s third point holds the action we can apply to our lives. After His warning about losing or hiding who we are He tells us to let our light shine before others, He is telling us to be who we are, children of God, and in doing so others will glorify God because of the good deeds they see. The action step is not to try harder and live up to expectation but to lean into who Jesus says we already are and for us to not give into the temptation to hide, diminish or dilute our Christian qualities. In conclusion Be who you are, don’t strive for action or accomplishments, strive to be who Jesus says you are and don’t hide that from anyone because the world needs you to be who God made you to be.
Practice and Teach
“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 tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 5:13-16 NIV
First, Jesus addresses what was, and still is, a misconception on the purpose or mission of the Messiah (Jesus); this being the dismantling, tearing down or replacing the Law and the Prophets (Gods commands and words in what we refer to as the Old Testament). Jesus instead states He would complete the Law and would not be removing anything; in fact, His second point states the Law will not be changed until heaven and earth are destroyed. Emphasizing that not only will Jesus not be removing the Law, but it’s not going anywhere. Thus, making the Law more real than reality itself. It is a strange concept but if you take reality to mean everything you see and know in your life then the vast majority of it, the car you drive, the work you do, the places you go, the food you eat, the body you have and the way things work, will all be gone before any of God’s word is changed and or destroyed. It will be in effect beyond the lifespan of both heaven and earth, it’s not going anywhere, and we will have to deal with it in one way or another.
With those two points made, that Jesus fulfilled the Law and Prophets and that they will be around longer than our reality, there are two main conclusions that Jesus draws and one key actionable point. The actionable point is as follows, practice and teach. Jesus is very clear, stating that we are to practice and teach these commands, referring to the Law and Prophets. The conclusions that Jesus draws from the reality of God’s word is if any of us reject or ignore even the smallest part, we will be of low standing in the kingdom of heaven verses any who practice and teach all of God’s commands being of high standing in the kingdom of heaven. I mean this seems pretty clear, to be considered great in God’s kingdom we have to practice and teach all of His commands, however although this is pretty simple it is really difficult to implement correctly because we want to make things easier for ourselves
Practice and teach, being the core point we can implement into our lives, can go awry quite easily and quickly. This is because order matters. The order that is stated is the proper order of operations in our lives. We are required to practice Gods commands and then teach other to do likewise. First, we practice then we teach. This keeps us from becoming hypocritical and doing what the pharisees apparently did in Jesus’s time; where those they taught were getting into heaven, while they, the teachers, apparently were not. When you teach others, only teach what you know to be true and practice yourself as we are only responsible for putting into practice the commands we know. I say this because, Jesus said those who set aside, not those who don’t know the least of these commands. The emphasis seems to be on practicing everything we know of God’s commands. It seems to be more important that we practice everything we know than trying to know everything we need to practice. So, the first step in this point is to go and practice the commands that you already know, especially the ones that you are reluctant to follow.
I think that idea, of prioritizing doing what you know rather than knowing what to do, is part of the warning that Jesus gives at the end of this section. He warns that unless your righteousness is greater that the professional preachers and teachers than you will not get into heaven. While the points before were not about salvation this part certainly is. This warning is tough, but needed, He says there is a greater righteousness that what is seen from the teachers and preachers. It is emphasizing being righteous before teaching righteousness.
Reconcile immediately
” ‘You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. ‘Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift. ‘Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Matthew 5:21-26 NIV
To Jesus’s previous point He starts a theme of expanding on the Law and adding to it further. He begins by comparing one of the ten commandments which is also a fairly universal moral statement, you shall not murder, and expands on it. Where originally those who murder will be subject to judgment Jesus expands that list to include those who are angry with another believer (my interpretation of brother and sister). This seriously changes how we see anger and discontent with other Christians. I mean being angry with one another makes us subject to judgment and calling someone a fool puts us in danger of hell, that is quite a strong statement to include this with the consequences of murder. All this lead up makes his actionable point even more strange.
Jesus uses this concept that anger and calling people fools leaves you in danger or judgment and hell to tell us to reconcile immediately, regardless of what we are doing in the moment. Here he uses an example of even if you are just about to do something important for God, go and reconcile. Jesus said to leave the gift in front of the alter, which is a difficult event to translate to our present culture. In our context if you are about to step into church, about to start praying, about to begin something to worship and sacrifice for God. You have it all ready and are about to begin, everything is in place, and it is time to give God praise and worship. Right as you are about to start, in that moment, if you remember that you have hurt, slighted, let down, or overstepped with a fellow believer; go and reconcile with them before you start. It seems more important that we reconcile with one another than to enter into a moment with God while there is unresolved conflict.
The interesting part is that this is not about forgiveness, this is not what to do when someone wrongs you, but what to do when you realize that you have wronged someone else. Which can be even more difficult for us to both admit and act on the idea that we have done something to hurt or anger someone else. This also is not dependent on our perspective, Jesus says that if we remember that someone else has something against us, not only if we have wronged someone. This is wholly dependent on someone else’s perspective which means it’s not only if we know we have done something wrong but also if someone else was slighted by our methods or actions. In short, the action tied to do not hate a fellow believer is to reconcile as soon as you realize anyone has something against you, whether you think you did something wrong or not.
Jesus continues with the imagery of making peace on the way to trial, while you and your accuser are still on the way there, otherwise you may be found guilty and will pay the full penalty. This encompasses the second part of the warning, for starters anger can bring judgment much like murder and secondly when someone has something against you, make peace before you are handed over to the judge. In both these ways do everything you can to reconcile when you know someone has something against you. We are to be constantly seeking peace with all people, especially fellow Christians even when they are offended by our actions or mannerisms. This seems to be for both their sakes and ours that no one would be in danger of judgment.
Purge Everything leading to sin
” ‘You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. ‘It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Matthew 5:27-32 NIV
Jesus again pulls from the ten commandments, with the command of you shall not commit adultery, and expands beyond the technical definition. Jesus puts the line way further back for committing adulty from an action to an intention, looking at a woman with lust is committing adulty in one’s heart. This changes the game because you can’t hide behind good conduct, the line has come all the way home and all the loopholes have been closed. The problem has gone from something only some people do to something everyone does, the command that was once only broken by some is now condemning everyone.
From this expanded definition of committing adultery Jesus give us our actionable point. In the context of lusting after someone being a form of adultery, He tells us to cut off and throw away our right eye and our right hand if they cause us to sin because it is better to be in partly in heaven than to be wholly in hell. It is difficult to know how much is hyperbole and how much is serious, however as a practical starting point we can take the main idea and apply it to our lives. Jesus uses the example of what is typically the dominate eye or hand, which are some of the most useful to our daily lives. Being able to see and being able to work with our hands really define a lot of what we do on a day-to-day basis, yet these, although being very dear to us, Jesus says are not worth keeping if they leave us vulnerable to sin. We are to purge ourselves of anything, no matter how valuable or important to us and our identity, so that we are not condemned. This can be difficult to see how it applies without some examples. If anything including, the shows you watch, the computer you use, the company you keep, the places you frequent, the hobbies you have, the music you listen too, the content you relax to and the habits you have; if any of these leave you open for sin they must be gotten rid of lest you are in danger of falling away and condemned. Things that we must remove from ourselves, no matter how painful, are not worth keeping if they cause us to lose all that Jesus has for us. Whatever it is, it’s not worth it.
In this way Jesus adds on commentary about marriages. Apparently, what you can do for your eyes and hands you cannot do for your spouse. They are not to be purged from your lives even if they cause you to stumble, He only leaves on option for divorce, sexual immorality. This thought flows from the previous and shows how important marriage is to God, both those who divorce and those who marries the divorced spouse are in trouble with relation to adultery. Jesus does not leave much out of this point, purge anything leading to sin from our lives because it’s not worth it, save for our spouses which are connected to us closer than our own bodies; we can, and should, cut off a part of ourselves, if they cause sin, long before separating husband and wife.
Keep Your Word
‘”Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:33-37 NIV
Jesus references what appears to be a common phrase based on the Law with “Do not break your oath but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.” and seems to contradict it by stating you should not make an oath at all. Instead of reducing the seriousness of our words Jesus elevates them, instead of drawing lines between binding words and non-binding words, all agreements are to be binding. Our vows are no longer resigned to special statements, everything you say yes to you are agreeing to and everything you say no to you are disagreeing with. Although this seems to be reducing our ability to convey to others how serious we are, this forces us to marry our words and our actions. All our words matter, we are to act as an undivided person, and we can no longer say one thing and act in another. There is no distinction between words we have to follow and words we don’t. We are to be people of complete integrity, where our words and agreements are to be as solid as the earth itself, just as Jesus’s word will outlast the world itself. As we are to follow Jesus in all ways, we are to emulate His quality of integrity and inherit the strength of His words.
Give and do not Take
“‘You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
Matthew 5:38-42 NIV
In this section He gives us three examples ending with the general actionable point. This is rather extreme what Jesus is talking about and it is easy to skip over His words and take the meaning that we would like from this passage. Previously He has been talking about fellow believes and those who are in your adopted family, now He talks about those who are not only not family but are hostile to you. Jesus tells us how we are to act when we are faced with evil people who are intending to harm us in some manner. He takes what is stated in many places of the Old Testament regarding punishment for crimes and draws attention to the area of justice with the phrase ‘eye for eye and tooth for tooth’, which is still commonly heard today. His response, however, counters this idea by saying do not resist an evil person and to more over give to those who wrong you.
In this opening, Jesus is quite clear when He says ‘… Do not resist an evil person…’. He says we are not to take revenge or justice for ourselves, we are not to take eye for an eye or tooth for a tooth, instead we are to give more than what was asked or done to us. His examples cover three different types of wrongs that we may encounter, of which all are wrongs done to us not merely requests made of us. Jesus is saying His people are not allowed to fight for themselves, instead to actively give more than is demanded of them. This includes physical assault, lawsuits, and governmental oppression. When struck we are to turn our other side to be struck, when taken to court we are to give twice as much, when forced into mandatory service we are to serve twice as much. The crazy part is that these are not if we like the service, these are all examples of offences and wrongs done to us. If we are found in these places Jesus is telling us that as Christians, we are not only to acquiesce to these transgressions we are to lean in and give twice as much than was demanded of us.
Jesus ends with an open statement to give to people who ask of you and not to turn away anyone who want to borrow from you. This is radical extreme levels of generosity and trust in God, we no longer hold the option to take anything into our own hands, just as Jesus didn’t raise and objection to His own crucifixion. Those evil people demanded from Jesus His own very life and Jesus allowed it, If He went through that and willingly laid down everything to the evil that wanted to take it, who are we to take justice into our own hands? As Christians we are called to self-sacrifice just as Jesus did and sacrifice is loss, so if this feels like we are losing then that is what I would expect as we are called to willingly lose, just as Jesus did.
Love and Bless Enemies
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:42-48 NIV
Jesus continues His though from the previous section and goes even deeper and more challenging. This time He challenges the phrase ‘love your neighbor and hate your enemy’ by saying love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you. His actionable point is right in His response; however He gives three supporting points that are worth walking through to expand on the reasons He says to love your enemies.
After His actionable point He starts off with His first supporting point stating as we do this, we are to be children to our heavenly Father, and as children we are to learn from and do what our Father does, because that is what children do, they learn from their Father. This raises the question, what does our Father do? Well Jesus is right there with the answer, He lets the sun shine and the rain fall on both the good and the bad, the righteous and the wicked, He loves and blesses them both. As He does this we are, as His children, supposed to do likewise. Jesus’s Second point asks this question, what reward is there in loving those who already love you? Apparently, the outcasts and unrighteous people do this so what is the difference between them and God’s children? His third point is a continuation on this question, if we greet only those we know how are we doing more than anyone else? How are we the salt of the earth and the light of the world if there is nothing different between us and those not in God’s family? What difference is there between us and the world if we only love those who approve of us? If there is no difference, if the salt loses its saltiness, what good are we? Will we not be tossed aside?
Jesus ends this section with the conclusion from these questions, be perfect as God is perfect, or be complete as God is complete. We are to work towards maturing and growing into complete people as God is already the full completeness that we are working towards. This takes things to a whole new level, instead of the last section where Jesus tells us to act and give to enemies, now Jesus tells us to love and pray for them. Our attitude towards people matters especially those who are not fellow believers but actively hostile to us, and we are not only act lovingly towards them but to genuinely love them from the inside out. It is our attitude, perspective and heart towards those who seek and actively harm us that Jesus is getting at. He is going much deeper and more personal than behavior; it is our whole being that He is after.
Practice Privately
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:1-18 NIV
This section Jesus talks through many examples around the same idea, getting at the heart of why we pursue righteousness. He really confronts our tendency toward pride and our desire for others to validate our behaviors. He starts this section with the actionable point of Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others in order to be seen by them, or in other words practice righteousness privately. We will see as we unpack Jesus supporting examples and points that show us just how deeply this idea goes even to our perspective of ourselves. He starts with the main support of if you practice righteousness for others, you will not be rewarded by the Father, presumably because you did not do it for Him in the first place. It is not only that you practice righteousness it is whom you practice for those matters, your audience determines your applause.
The starting phrase of be careful indicates this is a pretty nasty trap and we are to be on alert lest we fall into it unwitting. You have to be careful not to slip on a wet floor rather than be careful not to slip on the wing of an airplane. We are not being asked to simply not do something, we are told to guard against an easy tendency. While the call is to trust God in that He both sees and rewards, we can easily begin to turn to self-reliance whereby we look to gain the short-term rewards as we wait for the long-term benefits. It is difficult to trust God with our righteousness and for all that work to seemingly go to nothing, so in the meantime we might want to hedge our bets and work for God by showing others and gaining their notice that we are working. It is a simple thing, God rewards in the long term and we can help Him in the short, but this is simply distrust and rebellion against God and His ways. God sees all things and know what is done for Him and what is done for others, we cannot do something for both God and others, no matter how much we would like to be able to. When we start to do things for others, we let go of doing things for God because in turning to others we are saying that we believe He is no longer enough.
Jesus uses three specific areas as examples in what it looks like to practice privately. He talks through giving, prayer and fasting. All of which were both common and expected as the markings of following God. These areas Jesus assumes they are going to be done. They all begin with the same phrase, when you rather than if you, implying an expectation to do these activities because they are good for us to do. They all have the same middle phrase “Truly I tell you; they have received their reward in full” showing how they have already achieved what they desired, hoping to get both short term and long-term benefits, rather than the call to sacrifice our own ways in trust that God will both see and reward. In this way Jesus also ends each section with “Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” in a way reinforcing the idea that how you are practicing is linked to who you are practicing for.
Pray this way
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Matthew 6:7-14 NIV
Sandwiched in Jesus talking about practicing privately He has a point on prayer, well He lays out the manor and patter of prayer. He states that we should pray in this way, to follow the wording that He has laid out. Whether you take it as a pattern or as a word for word the idea is still there, pray like this. We are to walk through the outline and cover those ideas.
Put your Treasures in Heaven
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Matthew 6:19-24 NIV
From the conversation about practicing privately and about doing things for the purpose of others notice, Jesus continues onto the idea of where you put your value, trust, identity or treasures. This topic covers similar ideas from the past although it goes a bit deeper. Here Jesus talks about where we put our treasures, the things we value, and what that shows us about ourselves. It is one thing to not act for others to notice, it is quite another to not desire the affirmation of others. This is where Jesus hits close to home, our treasures tell us a lot about what we are hoping in and what we are valuing and ultimately who we are serving. This passage goes deep and can be easily overlooked.
Jesus Starts right out of the gate with His actionable point, “… but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…”. Sounds pretty straight forward, store treasures in heaven where things are safe rather than things on earth that are destroyed or stollen. Makes sense, why would this be an issue for us, something that seems pretty clear? I mean we do a pretty good job of putting our hope in heaven, right? I think some of us are more aware than others where our treasures are, while some think they are just fine, others know they do not have their priorities straight. The truth is this is hard to do and can be even harder to spot for some. Jesus, fortunately, gives us some pointers on how to determine where your treasures are and why where they are is important in the first place.
Because where your treasures are your heart will also be. Your security, value, identity and mush more is wrapped up in your heart and what you treasure. These things have a large amount of control over your perspective and well being, your state of mind and confidence all are effected by the safety of your treasures. It is for this reason that Jesus tells us to put our treasures in heaven, not because having treasures in wrong or that our treasures have control over us in wrong but that this is the way we were designed. He is giving us what we need, a safe place for our treasures so that we can live in this corrupted world with peace knowing our treasures and heart will never be effected by the decay and stealing that pervades this world.
Your eyes have an impact on you in a significant way, they give light to your entire body as a lamp in your house. How they see determine the light your house has, if they are clear, healthy or singular in their devotion they will be a light for you. Otherwise if they are unhealthy or evil they will only be darkness and what was supposed to be light will only be darkness and what was supposed to bring light will only be darkness.
From these ideas Jesus brings forth the example of serving masters, your can truly only serve on master, just as you can only truly put your treasures in one place. When they are at odds you will have to decide which master to follow and at the end you can only truly follow one.
Seek God First
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:25-34 NIV
This sections opens with “Therefore I tell you, do not worry…” which sounds a lot like an actionable point and is quite a common line for Jesus, however it is pretty difficult to actively not do something. It is in the same vein as telling someone not to think about an elephant, don’t think about their large grey ears, long snout and large ivory tusks. Don’t think about them, see its not that easy and kind of paradoxical to ask people not to do something without giving them something to do instead. In the same way Jesus not only tells us to not worry but He does, at the end of the passage, give us what we can do instead of worrying which will end up getting us what we are looking for in the first place. He tells us to seek first the Fathers kingdom and righteousness. If we do that, we are going to be given the things we need, because we have a good Father who already knows everything we need and will ever need. He has planned for it and already knows the ways which we will receive them.
In this Jesus combats one of our greatest problems in following Him to know the Father, worry or fear. He gives us what we can focus on instead of worrying about tomorrow and how things will play out. We are to focus on and seek towards knowing and fulfilling His kingdom and His righteousness, and as we do, He is faithful to give all that we need and more, all for His glory and our benefit. This is who we are, children of the most High God who is ruler, creator, sustainer and sovereign over all.
Cleanse yourself, then help others
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Matthew 7:1-6
Jesus offers us a warning in this section to point to His actionable point. He starts off stating do not judge for the way you judge others will be the way that you are judged. This is really difficult to conceptualize much less to do well. A command to not do something is rather difficult to follow without having something to do in its space, much less this command that involves our interaction with the world around us and people who are not doing good or healthy things. How can we help and bring the good news to the world if we cannot determine or say anything about the wrongs they are committing. In this way Jesus continues with His story to help us understand how to interact with people who have issues in their lives. In this he talks about two people who have something in their eyes, which presumably affects their vision. Both people have a similar ailment, albeit one to a much greater extent, where the one who notices the problem in another is blind to the greater problem that they themselves have. Jesus provides a good point to follow, cleanse yourself of your issues before helping others to their issues. When we see other people with issues in their lives we are to stop and self-examine if we are dealing with the same issues, then to deal with those issues all before helping others with that issue. In this case both parties can see clearly rather than only one. It is interesting the order that Jesus puts forth in this passage as He first states not to judge, then to examine oneself and deal with our issues, and lastly to help others with their issues. This indicates there is a difference between judgement and helping a fellow believer with identifying and dealing with issues in their lives.
This distinction of what to do with fellow believers is drawn even further in the last part of this passage as Jesus warns against giving pigs and dogs things that are sacred and valuable. It is a rather odd section to put in a teaching about judgment and correction, however I think that helps us to understand what Jesus was referring to with this warning. Jesus talks about helping other believers by adjusting and correcting in order for both parties to become more whole and complete, but these teachings and corrections do not seem to apply to those who are unbelievers. In our context that would indicate that we are not to offer the correction and ways of Jesus to those who do not know Him, these are holy things and are good for those who believe. In our context when we interact with the world doing something unhealthy or wrong, we are not to offer the correction that we would to a believer, we are not to engage them with Jesus’s teachings as a way of helping them, instead we are to show them Christ and if they become a believer then they will be able to appreciate and treasure the goodness that is the direction and correction of fellow believers. This short section shows insight into the methods and ways that we can interact with different groups of people and how to best show love and care for each party, for ourselves to be free from all imparities, for other believers to help once we are clean, and for non-believers to realize that they will have no use for the good things that we have in Christ.
Do for others what you want
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 7:7-12 NIV
This actionable point covers the golden rule, do onto others what you would have them do for you, however Jesus doesn’t lead with that He leads from a quite different approach that solves the greatest problem that arises when we try to live out this rule on our own. This idea is one that we have all over the place in our culture, the golden rule as it is known, and it can be very difficult to follow through on this rule because of the mindset and perspective that the world gives. See when we try to give other what we are looking for ourselves we are risking being used, overlooked, or sacrificing the chance we have to get something that we may truly need for ourselves. This mindset, a scarcity mind set, is something that makes the golden rule extremely difficult to follow through on because we do not believe or know if we will get what we desire from other people. Because of this doing things for other people is problematic and a fairly silly idea if we are all fighting for the little resources that seem to be available, or if we do things for others we can easily become bitter when other people do things for themselves as we have sacrificed in this cut-throat world and they are supposed to do the same, they become wrong and bad people because they did not do the things that you did and now you are left without the thing that you expected and depended on to continue to follow through on helping others. Both of these issues, scarcity leading to selfishness and bitterness from unfulfilled desires, expectations, and needs, are answered by the way Jesus sets up this passage.
In this section Jesus starts off with a statement about the world that the general consensus would agrees is simply not true. If it were anyone else besides Jesus, we would write them off as being delusional, but it is God Himself telling us something about the way His creation works so we should probably pay attention. Jesus tells us that anyone who asks will receive, anyone who seeks will find, and anyone who knocks the door will be opened. This is not the way we typically experience the world, we do get what we ask for, we don’t always find what we are looking for, some doors don’t open, so what reasoning does Jesus offer for this ridiculous claim? He points to the difference between us and God, where God is perfect, and we are evil. He points out that even though we are evil we not only know what a good gift is, we give our children those good gifts, especially the ones that they ask for. So in this case, with God as our Father, we do receive, we do find, and the door does open. Not because of who we are, but because of who God is. This is the basis for Jesus’s view of the world, that the Father gives every good thing to His children, and they are never without. It is an abundance mindset where everyone not only receive what they need but also receive good gifts from the Father. From this perspective it is much easier to do for others what we would want them to do because we are not depending on others to meet the needs and desires we have. We are able to depend on God for everything and the more that we do the greater that we know just how generous He is. The more that we understand the goodness of the Father and the more we experience the good the easier and easier it gets to be focused on others because we do not need to worry or concern ourselves with our own well-being. Just as having a tether enables you to enjoy a high ropes course, Gods generosity allows us to help others around us in any way that we can.
Enter the Narrow Gate
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
Matthew 7:13-14 NIV
In this short section Jesus talks about the various pathways and gates in life. There appear to only be two options in this statement, life and destruction. The ways that lead to destruction are many and easy to find, while the way that leads to life is only a single path and it is a narrow one at that. This brings up Jesus’s point to make sure to enter through the narrow gate, the only gate that leads to life, instead of mistakenly thinking that there are options involved. There are many options and ways to find destruction, it comes in all colors and fits your style perfectly, however the narrow path has no such options, it does not cater to our needs, we need to change to enter the way. Just like a fancy restaurant, a famous concert, or an important meeting, we are to change or pay for the opportunity to make it to life. This is the opposite of what we want in our day to day, we don’t want to change, we assume that we have life already, I mean we are alive right now. We do not understand what is being offered and because of that we do not want to sacrifice for something that we don’t think we need. This although is foolish as we really have no concept for what is being offered, it is not that the offer is too small to be of any value, rather it is to large for us to comprehend the benefits until we are on the path itself. This is unfortunate but true, not many find this path because of the vast plethora of ways that there are, of which the path to life is only one of the vast array of paths and ways to go. Because of this it is easy to get lost and forget about the narrow path, and the narrow gate. Jesus is warning us that at the end of the day, when all is said and done there is only one way to life and there is no wiggle room in the gate, you either enter through it or you do not.
Be alert for false prophets
“‘Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
Matthew 7:15-20
Jesus starts out with His actionable point in the form of watch out for false prophets. Jesus tells that these prophets will appear as sheep, like one of the flock, however will be wolves on the inside only seeking to fill their own appetite or destruction of the flock. While the command is to watch out for the false prophets the method is very different than would be expected from Jesus. He does not give us outward actions to look for, or tests that we can administer, or techniques, or theology, no instead he tells us to watch for their fruit. This is a much different idea than what would be expected because this is not something we can take action on or make judgments on, we simply wait long enough until there is fruit and we see if the fruit is good. Which flies in the face of how we would like to determine if someone is true or false.
Also, from this stance we cannot look to the outward appearance to determine if someone is a true or false prophet. Jesus says that outwardly they look like good sheep, but it is the inner part that mean they are not true prophets. This can work the other way as well we cannot assume that someone is a false teacher simple because they do not fit into the outward mold that we have constructed for ourselves. It is the inward portion that determines a true prophet, and their fruit is the outward showing of their inward stance. This takes time and there is no short cut, however there is no hiding or masking the fruit, it always reflects the truth of if someone is a true or false prophet. We have to be careful not to assume too early that someone is true or false because only over time will that be shown.
Practice these Teachings
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
Matthew 7:21-27
Jesus finishes out His sermon with a warning and final actionable step. He begins with a story, a story of what will happen when all is said and done. In this story people come to Jesus calling Him Lord and yet are not able to enter the kingdom of heaven because they did not do the will of the Father. People will say to Him, look at all we have done and the things we have accomplished for you, in order to earn or show their affiliation with Christ; however, His words are damning by telling them to leave because Jesus never knew them. This story can be extremely frightening on its own because if those people who have done so much are not able to make it, how can we hope to make it? This cuts to the heart of our perspective of what it means and looks like to follow Christ and to be a Christian. In many cases we are looking to do enough to prove that we are God’s children, and we may not truly believe or trust that God really saved us so, to sooth the ache in our souls, we look to our accomplishments to prove to us that we are really saved. Our results indicate if we are a part of the kingdom of heaven or not. I mean if we prophesy, drive out demons, and perform miracles all in the name of Christ, God has to be with us, He has to know us, right? If not, how would He? How else do we know if God really saved me unless there are tangible results for people to see. How else can you be sure that you will get into heaven. But this is not what Jesus states, He states that those who get into the kingdom of heaven do the will of the Father. It is not about performance or metrics it’s about knowing and obeying God’s will. This can only be done when we know and are known by the Father, and Jesus, because this is the response that Jesus gave to those who came to Him, I never knew you. That is scary to think, we can be so consumed by accomplishing things for Christ we missed eternal life, we missed the kingdom of heaven, knowing Jesus. This also implies that the will of the Father is not only the accomplishing of things, like prophesy, driving out demons, and performing miracles. While some may do these things it is implied that following Gods will is more important than performing anything outwardly. We do not have to compare ourselves to others only to know the Father and carry out His will, which can not only be determined from the expectations set in His word or our own experiences.
This sets up Jesus’s actionable point and while this section does not have a spot where Jesus explicitly states to do something, He does implicitly give us an actionable point right in the middle of the section. He describes what a wise person would do, they would put Jesus’s words into practice. Here Jesus contrasts the difference between those who practice what He says and those who don’t. The people who do not practice what Jesus says are similar to those who build houses without proper foundations, when issues or challenges come up their work is destroyed, while those who practice are like those who build houses on a solid foundation, when issues come their work remains intact and is a safe place for them and others. This is not because of the quality of the work but of the quality of the foundation.
To put the two stories together those who did not get into heaven performed for Jesus, they built immaculate houses and splendid dwellings, however all their work came to nothing as they were not built on the foundation and in the end, they were left with nothing. On the other hand, those who built on solid ground, whether their houses were beautiful or not, their work paid off and they were left standing. This shows us the part that matters is following Jesus by practicing what He says for ourselves and in turn knowing Him better as we seek His guidance in exactly how to do that. At the end of the day, it is not our accomplishments that will be standing only that which is built on the solid rock, Jesus’s teachings and the practice of them.
Simply Difficult 