Envision, if you will, a mountaintop scene. Jesus is sitting and teaching, and his disciples are sitting around him. It’s a typical scenario 2,000 years ago for a rabbi and his disciples. The disciples are ready to receive wisdom.
But keep in mind that this kind of teaching was often intended to not only to convey truth, but to inspire discussion. It was going to stir up something in the audience. Unsettle them. At times they were going to think, “Of course. I knew it!” Other times it was going to be, “What? Seriously?” When this Sermon on the Mount was over, they were going to talk excitedly among themselves as they dissected and argued what had been said. Perhaps this sermon had pauses built into it so that conversation could happen while the sermon was unfolding.
Think, perhaps, of what we try to do here with Message+. We unpack the message: confirm, challenge, dissect, workshop it together. In fact, I will sometimes say in the sermon, “Let’s talk about that in Message+, but just hear me out for now.” I know there is much more to be said, but to follow all the rabbit trails would distract from the main point.
One way teachers during Jesus’ time accomplished this was through hyperbole, an “extravagant exaggeration.” I like this definition:
“Hyperbole is, without a doubt, the single greatest thing in the history of the universe.”
We use hyperbole all that time. It doesn’t lessen our communication; it enriches it with colorful and thought-provoking images. “I’m so hungry I can eat a horse.” “My feet are killing me.” “Those chili peppers are fire.”
Jesus and other biblical writers are simply reflecting how people talk when they used exaggeration or colorful imagery to make a point.
Mark said of John the Baptist (1:4-5) that “all the land of Judea, and those from Jerusalem, went out to him and were all baptized by him...”
“Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Romans 9:13) is the language of priorities.
The Galatians were so generous that “if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.” (Galatians 4:15)
The Pharisees strain out gnats and swallow camels (Matthew 23).
“The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil… sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” (James 3)
John said that if he recorded everything Jesus did, “even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21)
This kind of hyperbole is at work in the Sermon on the Mount. Here are some obvious ones, three we will cover today and two that will come up later.
Gouge your eye out if it causes you to lust (Matthew 5)
If someone demands your tunic, offer to give the rest of your cloths and go naked (Matthew 5)
Give to EVERYONE who asks (Matthew 5)
“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.” (Matthew 6)
You have a log in your eye (Matthew 7) while others only have a speck.
The point of hyperbole was to make a jarring point about a profound principle by using extravagant language or imagery. Because hyperbole is interwoven with literal language, it takes work to think through how Jesus intends us to understand his language. I think that part of the point. This approach shakes people out of complacency and self-satisfaction and unsettles them, hopefully uprooting them from one place spiritually and moving them to a new place.
It almost certainly drove them to conversation: praying, thinking, reading their Scripture, arguing, agreeing, diving into the simplicity and complexity of what kind of people God would have them be, and what kind of life God called them to live.
So today I want to read from the Sermon on the Mount, starting with the Beatitudes again for context and then moving into new territory. I am going to work in the commentaries with the Scripture to help us better understand how the first audience of disciples would have processed this teaching. There are a boatload (#hyperbole) of footnotes that show my sources and add a ton J of information. Please, please read the un-commentaried version in your Bible in comparison to what I offer so it is clear where I am trying to add helpful commentary.
I’m not going to wrap it up neatly. I just want to let it set. I want us to let it unsettle us, and in that unsettledness drive us to process together in community. To quote myself from earlier, “Let’s talk about that in Message+, but just hear me out for now.” J
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"You are blessed, participating in life with God when you are poor and humbled in spirit, realizing you are no more than a beggar before God's door. The kingdom of heaven is made up of spiritually humbled folks just like you."
"You are blessed, participating in life with God when you are broken-hearted, mourning because you realize how far you are from what you should be spiritually. God will bring comfort by making things right between the two of you."
"You are blessed, participating in life with God when you are willing to meekly have your time and energy harnessed in the Kingdom. You have become one of the true inheritors of the promise of God to humanity."
"You are blessed, participating in life with God when you are hungry for righteousness, with a burning desire for justice for all, for you shall be satisfied in that desire.
"You are blessed, participating in life with God when you reach out to others in merciful compassion, because in your turn you will receive compassion from others and from God in your time of need."
"You are blessed, participating in life with God when you view the world out of a pure heart that only God can give. You will begin to see the world as God sees it, and see Him at work in it.
"You are blessed, participating in life with God when you work to bring true peace and reconciliation, for then you are acting as what you are--a child of God."
"You are blessed, participating in life with God whenever people mock, insult, harass, and lie about you because you belong to Jesus. The kingdom of heaven is made up of people like you.
“You are the salt of the earth, a preservative whose virtuous life God uses to embody His kingdom.[1] Don’t lose this saltiness; it delays decay and compromise in the church and the world. If you lose it, how can its purpose be restored? Useless salt will be thrown on to the roads and be trampled on by people.”
“You are the light of the world, like a city on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a basket or jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in can see the light. In the same way, let your light of God’s truth and hope shine before people in a sin-darkened world, [2] so that they can see your righteous lives and give honor to your Father in heaven.”
Some of you have heard that I am here to overthrow the Law, but that’s not true. I have not come to overturn or do away with the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them, to bring them their intended purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will become void or pass from the law until everything needed to fulfill the purpose of the law takes place.
You know to keep the ‘weighty’ commands (don’t commit idolatry, adultery, murder, etc). Anyone who disregards even the most obscure of the “light” commands (like tithing your garden produce) and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. However, whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Don’t confuse which are weighty and which are light – and be committed to them both.[3] I tell you, unless you understand what matters to God, and why, your righteousness will not go beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, and you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And \now, I will tell you the standard of righteousness that matters to God.
21 As you know, long ago God instructed Moses to tell His people, “Do not take the life of the innocent; those who murder will be judged and punished in the courts.” 22 But here is the even harder truth: anyone who has a vindictive, fixed anger toward his brother or sister, desiring more to destroy the other person[4] than to make an offense right,[5]deserves to go before the court of seven[6] (Deuteronomy 16:18, 2 Chronicles 19:5) for his anger.
Anyone who taunts their friends, speaks contemptuously toward them, or calls them slanderously insulting names will have to answer to the higher court, the Sanhedrin. Anyone who calls someone a morally worthless fool, destructively attacking a person’s moral character[7] to kill their reputation is guilty enough in the eyes of the highest court to warrant the fires of Gehenna[8] in the valley of Hinnom.[9]
Anger contains the seeds of murder, abusive language contains the spirit of murder, and language that kills reputation and self-worth implies the very desire to murder.[10]23 With this in mind, you should also consider the potentially sinful anger that your actions may incite in others.
If you are bringing an offering to God at the temple and you remember that someone is angry at you or holds a grudge against you, 24 then leave your gift before the altar, travel whatever distance it takes to go back home to them (even if it takes days), and be reconciled so that (as much as in your power[11]) you convince them to dismiss their grudge against you[12]. Then return to the altar to offer your gift to God.[13]
If you have done wrong, be quick to admit it and make things right.[14] 25 If someone sues you because you have wronged them, don’t be defensive and make up excuses. Settle things with him quickly. Talk to him as you are walking to court; otherwise, he may turn matters over to the judge, and the judge may turn you over to an officer, and you may land in jail. 26 I tell you this: you will not emerge from prison until you have paid your last penny.
Speaking of wronging people, 27 as you know, long ago God forbade His people to commit adultery. 28 You men sitting here may think you have abided by this commandment, walked the straight and narrow because you never had an affair. Now I tell you this: any man who deliberately harbors a desire to fulfill his lust with a woman who is not his wife[15] has already committed adultery in his heart.[16]
29 If your right eye leads you into this sin, and gouging it out and throwing it in the garbage[17] would save you, it would be better you lose one part of your body than march your entire body through the gates of sin and into hell. 30 And if your right hand[18] leads you into sin, and cutting it off and throwing it away would save you,[19] well, it would be better you lose one part of your body than march your entire body through the gates of sin and into hell.[20]
31 And here is something else to consider when it comes to how we wrong people and incite them to anger. You have read in Deuteronomy that any man who divorces his wife must do so fairly—he must give her the requisite legal certificate of divorce and send her on her way, free and unfettered.[21] You think following the letter of this pleases God, but it was not this way from the beginning.[22] Moses permitted this because your hearts were hard.
32 I tell you this: unless your wife has been sexually unfaithful, you must not divorce her. If you unjustly dissolve the marriage, she will be living as an adulteress when she remarries. Nor are you to marry someone who has been divorced unjustly, for you will be an adulterer when you remarry.
You have been told that God expects us to abide by the oaths we swear and the promises we make. 34 But I tell you this: do not even swear the kind of oaths you are swearing.[23] The Law told you to swear an oath by the Lord.”[24]Now you swear by lesser things, thinking it gives you an out so that you don’t have to keep your word.
You think you can manipulate the oath when you say, “I swear by heaven” instead of the Lord of Heaven—but heaven is not yours to swear by; it is God’s throne. 35 And you say, “I swear by this good earth,” but the earth is not yours to swear by; it is God’s footstool. And you say, “I swear by the holy city Jerusalem,” but it is not yours to swear by; it is the city of God, the capital of the King of kings.
36 You cannot even say that you swear by your own head, for God has dominion over your hands, your lips, your head. It is He who determines if your hair will be straight or curly, white or black; it is He who rules over even this small scrap of creation.[25]
37 When you swear oath its from an impulse to be dishonest and evil, not to establish trustworthiness.[26] Do you think we do not need to be truthful except under the oath sworn to the Lord? [27] Ideally, you should simply let your “yes” be “yes,” and let your “no” be “no.”[28] Let your character speak for itself. You don’t need an oath if you are actually trustworthy.
38 You know that Hebrew Scripture sets this standard of justice and punishment: take no more than an eye when your eye has been taken, or a tooth for a tooth, so that justice is equitable and the punishment does not exceed the crime. 39 But I say this: don’t take personal revenge[29] or seek restitution in court[30] against the one who is laboring in troublemaking[31] against you.
If someone insultingly strikes you on the right cheek, don't take him to court for insulting you[32]; offer him your left cheek.[33] 40 If someone connives to get your inner tunic,[34] give him your outer cloak as well.[35] 41 If a Roman soldier forces you to carry his gear for a mile,[36] walk with him for two instead.
42 If someone asks you for something,[37] give it to him.[38] If someone wants a loan from you, do not turn away.[39][40] Lk 6:30 And do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away.[41] 43 You have been taught to love your neighbor and hate your enemy.[42] 44 But I tell you this: The real direction indicated by the law is love, rich and costly, and extended even to enemies.[43] Love even those who are openly hostile to you.[44] Pray for those who torment you and persecute you.
Lk 6:27 “I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat and persecute you,45 in so doing, you become like the peacemakers: children of your Father in heaven.[45] He, after all, loves each of us—good and evil, kind and cruel. In His common grace He causes the sun to rise and shine on evil and good alike. He causes the rain to water the fields of the righteous and the fields of the unrighteous.
46 It is easy to love those who love you—even a tax collector can love those who love him. 47 And it is easy to welcomingly greet your friends—even the Gentiles do that! Lk 6:34 “And if you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 35But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to ungrateful and evil people.
48 Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect. You are designed for a higher telos, a higher end-goal: mercy and love in the power of the Holy Spirit, which is the consumation of the heart of the law that revealed a lifestyle of spiritual maturity.[46] Lovingly seek the well-being of your neighbor,[47] and thus fulfill the Law and the Prophets.[48]
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[1] Expositor’s Bible Commentary
[2] Expositor’s Bible Commentary
[3] ESV Global Study Bible
[4] ESV Global Study Bible
[5] HELPS Word Studies
[6] Expositor’s Greek New Testament
[7] ESV Global Study Bible
[8] Note the progression: “(1) Feeling of anger without words. (2) Anger venting itself in words. (3) Insulting anger. The gradation of punishment corresponds; liable (1) to the local court; (2) to the Sanhedrin; (3) to Gehenna.” (Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges)
[9] “This is Gehenna, the “valley of Hinnom,” a trash dump outside Jerusalem where fires burned constantly. It was notorious as the location of human sacrifices by fire during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh (2 Chr. 28:3; 33:6). Jeremiah called it the “Valley of Slaughter” a symbol of God’s fearful judgment (Jer. 7:32).” (ESV Reformation Study Bible) The noncanonical book of 4 Ezra describes the furnace of geenna being opposite of the paradise of delight. (NIV First Century Study Bible)
[10] Believer’s Bible Commentary
[11] Romans 12:18
[12] Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
[13] “Again Jesus depicts the situation graphically, since his Galilean hearers might have to travel a considerable distance to leave the Jerusalem temple and then return (vv. 23-24).” (IVP New Testament Commentary)
[14] Believer’s Bible Commentary
[15] ESV Global Study Bible
[16] “Jewish writers often warned of women as dangerous because they could invite lust (as in Sirach 25:21; Ps. Sol. 16:7-8), but Jesus placed the responsibility for lust on the person doing the lusting (Mt 5:28; Witherington 1984:28). Lust and anger are sins of the heart, and rapists who protest in earthly courts, "She asked for it!" have no defense before God's court.” (IVP New Testament Commentary)
[17] “Jesus is not advocating self-mutilation; not the eyes or hands cause lust, but the heart and mind. Christians must not only avoid the act of adultery (“hand”), but also those things that would lead to a lustful attitude (“eye”).” (ESV Reformation Study Bible)
[18] “The "eye" is the member of the body most commonly blamed for leading us astray, especially in sexual sins (cf. Nu 15:39; Pr 21:4; et al.); the "right eye" refers to one's better eye. But why the "right hand" in a context dealing with lust? More likely it is a euphemism for the male sexual organ.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[19] This borrows from rabbinic imagery about when a man should cut off his hand. Note that there is no record of this happening. It’s hyperbole to make a point. “The Jews enjoined cutting off of the hand, on several accounts; if in a morning, before a man had washed his hands, he put his hand to his eye, nose, mouth, ear, &c. it was to be "cut off" (b); particularly, the handling of the "membrum virile", was punishable with cutting off of the hand. Says R. (c) Tarphon, if the hand is moved to the privy parts,"let his hand be cut off to his navel".'' That is, that it may reach no further; for below that part of the body the hand might not be put (d); lest unclean thoughts, and desires, should be excited.” (Gill’s Exposition Of The Entire Bible)
[20] This is hyperbole. One-eyed and one-handed people can still lust. I mean, people can lust quite easily with their eyes closed. If indeed the “right hand” is a euphemism for a sexual organ, it’s still hyperbole: castrated people can lust too.
[21] “Deut 24:1, cited here, spawned a debate between the two main Pharisaic rabbis in Jesus’ day, Shammai and Hillel. Shammai required divorce (and permitted remarriage) only for sexual infidelity; Hillel permitted divorce for “any good cause.” Typically, only men could initiate divorce. Jesus is actually stricter than Shammai because he only permits divorce and remarriage; he does not require them, even for marital unfaithfulness (v. 32), as both Pharisaic positions did.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)
[22] Matthew 19:8
[23] Jesus says not to take oaths (Matt. 5:34-37), but in the Old Testament, God tells his people to take oaths in the name of the Lord; Paul takes oaths at least three times (2 Corinthians 11:31; Galatians 1:20; Philippians 1:8).
[24] Exodus 20:7
[25] “Jesus is particularly concerned about the Pharisaic practice of swearing by something other than God himself to create a lesser degree of accountability.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)
[26] “This passage also forbids any shading of the truth or deception. It does not, however, forbid taking an oath in a court of law. Jesus Himself testified under oath before the High Priest (Matt. 26:63ff). Paul also used an oath to call God as his witness that what he was writing was true (2 Cor. 1:23; Gal. 1:20).” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
[27] ESV Reformation Study Bible
[28] “The Pharisees developed elaborate rules governing vows, and only those employing the divine name were binding. Jesus associates their deception with the very nature of the evil one and teaches that a vow is binding regardless of what formula is used. The use of oaths is superfluous when one’s word ought to suffice. Oath-taking is an implicit confession that we do not always tell the truth.” (NKJV New Spirit-Filled Life Bible)
[29] ESV Global Study Bible
[30] ESV Reformation Study Bible
[31] HELPS Word Studies
[32] NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
[33] Some are insisting that Jesus is to be so understood when he says: "Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matt.
5: 39). But this utterance is only one of a class. Shall we then interpret Matt. 6: 3, 4 as forbidding all organized charity, Matt. 6:6 as forbidding all public prayer, and Matt. 6: 25 as forbidding all plans and provisions for the future?” (“Jesus Use Of Hyperbole,” The Biblical World, https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/472937
[34] “Although under Mosaic law the outer cloak was an inalienable possession (Ex 22:26; Dt 24:13), Jesus' disciples, if sued for their tunics (an inner garment like our suit but worn next to the skin), far from seeking satisfaction, will gladly part with what they may legally keep.” Verse 40 is clearly hyperbolic: no first-century Jew would go home wearing only a loincloth. (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[35] :The very poor might have only a single coat; in such cases, surrendering both the inner and outer garments might leave one naked. In this case, an element of hyperbole might be involved, and/or (as some suggest) it might include shaming one’s aggressor with such extensive cooperation.” (NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible)
[36] NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible
[37] Balance “Give to anyone who asks of you” (Luke 6:30) with “For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘If a man will not work, he shall not eat’ ” (2 Thess. 3:10). #discussion
[38] “A saint of the desert once found his hut being looted of its paltry possessions, and he knelt in the corner praying for the bandits. When they left, the monk realized they had not taken his walking stick. This monk pursued them for many days until he was able to give them the stick as well. Seeing his humility, the bandits returned everything to him and were converted to Jesus Christ.” (Orthodox Study Bible)
[39] Likely has to do with interest-free loans (Ex 22:25; Lev 25:37; Dt 23:19) and a generous spirit (cf. Dt 15:7-11; Pss 37:26; 112:5). (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[40] “Since it is impossible to know whether the need is legitimate in all cases, it is better (as someone said), “to help a score of fraudulent beggars than to risk turning away one man in real need.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
[41] “They are not required to give foolishly (see 7:6), to give to a lazy person who is not in need (2 Thess. 3:10), or to give where giving would do more harm than good.” (ESV Global Study Bible)
[42] Side note: The OT never says that anyone should hate his or her enemy. In this case, “You have heard it said” included not just Scripture, but tradition. “Hatred for one’s enemies was an accepted part of the Jewish ethic at that time in some circles (cf., e.g., the Dead Sea Scrolls work, The Rule of the Community 1.4,10).” (NIV Case For Christ Study Bible)
[43] Expositor’s Bible Commentary
[44] “The fact that love is commanded shows that it is a matter of the will and not primarily of the emotions.” (Believer’s Bible Commentary)
[45] “This must have left Jesus’ audience wondering if he was seriously advocating love of Gentiles, sinners and even Romans. No other voice from the first century quite parallels the radical vision of love outlined in these few verses. This certainly would have made little sense to the isolationistic Essenes or the radical Zealots.” (NIV First Century Study Bible)
[46] Luke 6:36; Matthew 7:12
[47] Tony Evans Study Bible
[48] “The OT prophets foretold a time when there would be a change of heart among God's people, living under a new covenant (Jer 31:31-34; Eze 36:26). Not only would the sins of the people be forgiven (Jer 31:34; Eze 36:25), but obedience to God would spring from the heart (Jer 31:33; Eze 36:27) as the new age dawned. Thus Jesus' instruction on these matters is grounded in eschatology. In Jesus and the kingdom, the eschatological age that the Law and Prophets had prophesied (11:13) has arrived; the prophecies that curbed evil while pointing forward to the eschaton are now superseded by the new age and the new hearts it brings.” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)