Context
Lawbreaker!
That was the constant accusation being leveled at Jesus Christ. You
refuse to obey the law. His followers have often gone astray in two opposite
directions. Legalism demands that we continue to keep the law and seek to
please God through obedience to it. License says that we have been freed from
the law, therefore as Christians we can live as we please, do as we please, and
sin with reckless disregard for standards of God’s holiness. One doctrine fails
to understand the grace of God and the other his holiness.
But Jesus, in Matthew 5:17-48 made it clear exactly what his
relationship to the law would be. He turned the tables on the religionists who
were accusing him of breaking the law. In verse 20 he said that in his kingdom,
a righteousness like that of the Pharisees was wholly inadequate. That dropped
like a bomb in that crowd. He assured them in verses 17-19 that his purpose was
to fulfill the law, not to abolish it.
- Jesus was the only man who kept every aspect of God’s law fully and completely for every day of his life on earth – from birth to death. He was fully righteous in every way.
- Jesus by his death paid for our unrighteousness and rose to offer us his righteousness as a free gift, so that now we who are sinners can be declared righteous in Christ and made righteous in him.
- Jesus empowers us, by his Spirit, to live the righteous lives that we could not live.
- In these verses, he defines a “law” that is vastly higher, deeper, and more difficult to keep than the law of Moses. This law goes to the heart, not just the actions. This law can only be kept by the redeemed empowered by the Spirit.
- In verses 21-26, he showed that avoiding murder was not enough if our hearts were filled with anger and unreconciled grudges.
- In verses 27-30, adultery was expanded to include a lustful heart.
- Laws concerning divorce were reinforced and ratcheted up in verses 31-33.
- Oaths were discussed in verses 33-37, and the intricate system of oaths were rejected for a simple, honest, “yes or no” – say what you mean and mean what you say.
- The famous Law of Retaliation (Lex Talionis) of verses 38-42 was replaced with Jesus’ admonition of meekness, “turn the other cheek.”
- Finally, the strangest command of all came in verses 43-48. “Love your enemies.” Anyone can love friends but Jesus calls us to love those who abuse and mistreat us.
This is spiritual maturity, God’s work at its greatest. Only through the
One who fulfilled the law for you can you do it.
Devotional - Spinning My Wheels
Have you ever been stuck in the snow? You spin your tires but all you
do is dig a deeper and deeper hole. The same in true if you are in mud in
warmer climates. Round and round the tires go, faster and faster, but the car
is going nowhere.
Does your life feel like that sometimes? You are working and trying and
expending yourself in the service of the Lord, but nothing seems to be
happening. There’s no growth, no progress, no results. And most of all, no joy.
No spiritual vigor. Christian life is just a hum-drum rigmarole.
There can be many reasons for that, but in my experience there is one
that is perhaps the most common, and the source can be found in Matthew 5:44. Love
your enemies. In this sinful world we experience abuse, mistreatment,
abandonment, cruelty, and all forms of sinful behavior. People hurt us and we
tend to hold on to it. We justify it – “if you only knew what he did to me.” We
despair – “There is no way I could ever forgive her after what she did.”
But there are no qualifications in this verse. No excuses. No
exceptions. Think about this. Jesus died to pay for the sins of the men who
held the hammers to nail him to the cross. The men who ridiculed him and spat
up him – his death covered their sins. Salvation was available to Pilate, to
Caiaphas (some think he later became a believer), to the man who drove the
crown of thorns in Jesus’ brow.
But, my friend, you must remember this. Those were not the only enemies
for whom Jesus died. You were an enemy of the Savior. Your sins separated you
from him and put you on the other team. You chose sides and it was not his! But
Jesus still suffered torture and hung and died for you. That was the extent of
his love.
While we were still sinners, Christ died for us!
But that love cannot be received unless it is also passed along. It
must be shared with other – not just family, friends and those who are kind to
you, but your enemies as well. There is nothing more in the spirit of Christ
than loving one who has mistreated you. You are never more like Christ than
when you pray for and reach out in love to one who has treated you like dirt.
Remember, Jesus did not make a request. He did not give a suggestion.
This is a command. And those who disobey, who refuse to forgive and love their
enemies are bound in anger and disobedience. They end up stuck in the spiritual
muck, spinning their wheels but going nowhere.
As long as I carry my grudges, as long as I am burdened by anger and
hate, I will be stuck, bound, hindered from any real spiritual progress.
Father, I thank you that Jesus Christ loved me when I was your enemy, that he gave himself to redeem a sinner like me. I need your grace and strength to pass that love to those who have hurt me, who have made themselves my enemy.
Think and Pray
Is there a person who has deeply injured you, abused you, caused you
great pain? Have you forgiven that person through the love and grace of Jesus
Christ? Do you pray for him or her? Do you seek ways to bless that person?
Think for a few moments and write out what it might look like if you
showed love to that person who has hurt you.
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