The Kingdom of God (is about repentance)

(Here are my notes from week 3 of our series on the Kingdom of God that I shared with Missio Dei)

The Kingdom of God is about repentance

The first words of Jesus in the gospel of Mark are “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” These are also the first public words of Jesus in Matthew. This is consistent with the words of John the Baptist. John the Baptist was a figure like an OT prophet who was calling the people to give up their evil ways and return to a right relationship with the Father.

What we need to do is look back at what the people were hearing when John and Jesus called them to “repent”.

The Basic Definition of the word “Repent”

At its most literal definition, repent means to change one’s mind or, better, change one’s way of thinking. But it came to mean a bit more than just to change one’s thinking. It also implied a change of behavior prompted by your change of thinking. Josephus quote?

Old Testament Background

We most often see this term or concept in the OT in the idea of turning toward or away from something and also a sense of returning (mostly returning to God after periods of straying).

Just to get a fuller sense of this word, we see Moses asking God to turn his anger away from his people:

Ex. 32.12 - Why should the Egyptians say, ‘It was with evil intent that he brought them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from your fierce anger; relent and do not bring disaster on your people.

But most of the instances is it a prophet or prominent figure calling the people to turn away from their sin.

King Solomon prays to God that he will respond with forgiveness when the people “turn” from their sin and pray.

1 Kings 8.35 - “When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward this place and give praise to your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel.

Here are few episodes of the prophets calling their people to turn to God and turn away from their wicked ways:

Hosea 6:1 - “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.

Jer. 26:3-5 - Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. Then I will relent and not inflict on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. Say to them, ‘This is what the LORD says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city a curse[a] among all the nations of the earth.’”

Ezekiel 18.21 - “But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die.

The Kingdom of God and repentance

John the Baptist– our gospels begin with John the Baptist coming like one of these OT spokesmen, the prophets, with a similar message, turn away from your sins and turn to God. John was fully expecting God to come as king and judge to conquer all of Israel’s enemies and to rule from his throne in Jerusalem. John quotes OT passages where “a voice of one calling in the wilderness” prepares for the coming of God the Father himself. His role was foreseen by one of the OT prophets,

Malachi (4.5-6) who stated that the prophet like Elijah would come prior to the appearance of God. His message was to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to their parents…

John was calling everybody to repentance that is to turn from their ways of doing things and calling them to new action. This repentance was more than just sorrow for their sins or even more than just mere confession. It was a call to a new way of life.

In Luke’s account of the life and message of Jesus (Luke 3:10-14), John tells the crowd that they need to be generous and share with those who are needy.

He tells the tax collectors (who were hated because they cheated the people) that they were not to collect any more than they were required to do (do your job honestly).

He tells the Roman soldiers of all people that they should stop taking bribes and blackmailing the people.

In Matthew’s account of the same thing, John tells the religious people they need to repent as well. He calls them a pack of snakes and tells them that they are not exempt from judgment. They were relying on their religious practices to make them right before the Lord. John tells them to

Matt. 3:8 to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. That is, you have to give evidence in your life that you are truly following God. It is more than just following a bunch of rules, it involves truly loving God and then, truly loving your neighbor. Jesus would later come and reveal to the religious people that their inner attitude of their hearts was keeping them from truly honoring God and keeping them from being accepted by him. John was warning them first that your religion (or the things that you do that you think make you right with God) were not good enough. They needed truly changed lives and changed hearts.

So, for each group that John the Baptist calls to repentance, it involves the acknowledgment of one’s sinfulness as well as taking on a new pattern of behavior. The symbol of this new life was baptism. In Judaism, it symbolized that a cleansing was taking place and a new pattern of behavior was following from then on. And that was John’s major role, calling people to new lives and providing this symbol of baptism as a visible symbol that there would be change.

Jesus – Jesus continues to call people to repentance, though there was a slight shift in emphasis from John and Jesus. John was calling people to repent because he thought the end was near and that people needed to get right before judgment. Jesus however, saw that the kingdom that he was inaugurating was actually the beginning. God was doing a new thing through his people. He was ushering in, not judgment, but a new age of salvation.

Repentance to Jesus was a change in agendas. It was saying that my agenda and my way of doing things just isn’t going to work anymore. I need to trust God’s agenda and be committed to God’s way of doing things. Jesus reveals to us that God’s way of doing things is following Jesus. Repentance is more than confessing our misbehavior (or sin), or our rebellion against God, it is more than being sorry or remorseful for our sin. It is radically altering our lives to follow Jesus. Thankfully, when we commit to doing that, God gives us the power of his presence that is the Holy Spirit. That is why John says that the one who comes after him (Jesus) will baptize with the Holy Spirit

Turning away:

From sinful ways – this is the most obvious. We need to turn away from the behavior that alienates us from God and shows to the world that we do not reveal Jesus’ character in our lives. There is a wonderful story in Luke’s account of the life of Jesus. In Luke chapter 7, a “sinful” woman interrupts a dinner between Jesus and a religious man. The woman cleans and anoints Jesus’ feet because he had shown kindness on her and offered her forgiveness of her sins. She, in turn, offers a great display of appreciation of Jesus for what he has done. (Discuss the alabaster jar from Luke 7). She is showing Jesus that she is giving up her former sinful way of life because he has offered her forgiveness. This is a picture of repentance.

Another picture of repentance also comes from Luke’s account of Jesus’ life in chapter 19. One of the tax collectors displays faith in Jesus. Tax collectors were hated by normal citizens because they would collect the taxes for the Romans, but they would at times collect more than what was truly owed. So they were seen as collaborators with the Romans and cheaters of their fellow countrymen. This sinful tax collector displays faith in Jesus. He displays his repentance in that he will now make amends. His behavior will now change.

Luke 19.8 – Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount. Jesus replies that salvation has come to his house. Not because he believes the right things about Jesus now. Not because he promised to start going to church. Not because he feels bad about his sin. Salvation has come because he has repented. He is changing his behavior. He is putting his belief into action. He is getting right with God and his neighbors.

From wealth and possessions – It is easy to see how sinful people need to turn away from their evil deeds in order to repent and become right with God. But does Jesus call us to turn away our wealth and possessions in order to turn to him? Is that part of repentance?

One man wanted to know what he needed to do to gain salvation. He followed all of the rules but Jesus tells him that he lacks one thing:

Mark 10.21 – One thing you lack. Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven…

When the rich man went away sad, Jesus told his disciples that it is hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. The wealthy have less need of God than the poor or the needy. They can rely on their wealth. But repentance means that you turn away from your wealth as a source of security and salvation and you turn to God in faith and trust. Look at the disciples reaction:

10:28 – We have left everything to follow you…and Jesus tells them, because of their willingness to give up everything and follow him in trust and obedience that they would receive so much more in eternal life.

From religion – aren’t we pastors trying to get you to always do good and religious things? Isn’t that how we get saved? The more religious things we do like going to church and giving and stopping all of our “fun” things, isn’t that how we get into heaven? Not quite. There were a group of religious people who followed all of the rules and by doing so they felt like they were owed by God eternal life and blessings. They revealed selfish hearts. They didn’t serve God out of love but in order to get paid back.

Jesus confronts them in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life:

Matt. 23.23 – Jesus says to these religious leaders: Woe to you, teachers of the Law and Pharisee, you hypocrites! Sure you tithe but you neglect the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. On the outside you appear quite holy, but on the inside you are filled with greed and selfishness.

Doing religious things does not save you. Jesus told them to turn from trusting in their religious duties for salvation and turn to more important matters like working for justice and showing mercy to your neighbor.

Tim Keller had a great quote about the difference between religion and discipleship. A religious person thinks, “I serve God, therefore I will be blessed by God.” The disciple thinks, “God loves me, therefore I will serve him.” The first performs in order to place God in their debt. The second acts because they have received the mercy of God.

Turning to – discipleship (or turning to Jesus’ way)

We see this played out again in Jesus’ relationship with a tax collector, a bad guy, a sinner. Jesus doesn’t tell him to get his act straight before becoming a follower; he just calls the man to follow him.

Matt. 9:9 – As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Matthew then had Jesus and his disciples over to dinner and it seems that Matthew invited all of his “sinner friends”. Matthew understood repentance. He changed directions in his life and then went and invited his friends to learn more about this man who offers forgiveness and calls people to follow him.

Motivated by God’s grace (mercy) – as we have seen by some of the reactions of those who chose to repent and follow Jesus, they were motivated by his offer of forgiveness. And they were motivated to repent, change their agendas for his because he offered them a new life.

Result: rejoicing and celebration – what is the result of our repentance. Is it watchful eyes who can’t believe it took us this long to turn from our ways to God’s ways? Does God heap new rules on us to keep us in line? No, the response from heaven to our repentance is rejoicing and celebration.

A wonderful picture of how this plays out is in the parable of the prodigal son. A rich man had two sons. The younger one did not want to wait for his father to die to gain his inheritance, he asks for an advance. The story tells us that he wastes his father’s wealth on sinful living. When he comes to his senses, he hits rock bottom, he realizes that instead of making a living doing incredibly menial work, he could at least become an employee of his father. He treats his employees well. He decides to head home and he rehearses his apology to his father and his request to become a hired servant. “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants…

If we could impose ourselves into this picture, we’d probably expect a lecture from our father, a strong speech of disapproval, anger and resentment. But he is surprised in that not only does his father take him in, not only is the father glad to see him, but the father throws a big party when his son returns home.

This is a picture of our God when we repent. We may be sitting here afraid to commit to God because we’ve been too messed up for God to use us. We need to get our act together, become holy, do all the right things first, and get cleaned up before we can approach our heavenly Father. But that is not the case. Repentance is turning to the Father. It is confessing our sins in humility. It is the action of changed life, but we need to realize that this ability to live a changed life comes from God after we turn to him in repentance.

Bestowal of his Spirit that enables us to follow Jesus which is true repentance.

Missio Dei - Introduction to the Kingdom of God

Missio Dei – Kingdom of God (beginning)
Why would we begin our semester with a series on the Kingdom of God?
• The Kingdom of God is a central theme Jesus ministry and teaching. There are 76 distinct “kingdom” sayings in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
• When Jesus’ disciples asked him how to pray, part of his instruction (which we call the Lord’s Prayer) includes the line about praying for God’s kingdom to come (to earth as God has willed it in heaven).
• Jesus said to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.
• Jesus told us it important to “receive” the Kingdom of God. Anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mark 10.15).
• Both Matthew and Mark introduce Jesus’ teaching ministry with sayings about the Kingdom of God: The time has come. The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news (Mark 1.15).

Definition of the Kingdom of God – when we hear the word “kingdom” we need to think of the rank, authority and sovereignty exercised by a king. In what we are talking about in the Bible, “kingdom” is the authority to rule. The kingdom is not a realm, a territory or even a people, but it is God’s reign.
The Hebrew-Christian faith expresses its hope in the terms Kingdom of God. It is deeply rooted in the OT and is grounded in the confidence that there is one eternal, living God who has revealed himself to men and who has a purpose for the human race which He has chosen to accomplish through Israel (and ultimately through Christ’s church).
Abraham?
God’s kingdom is his power. The territory of God’s rule is heaven and earth
Ps. 145.11, 13 – they (creation and God’s people) tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might… Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

Kingdom of God in the Old Testament – In the OT, there are many places that God is presented as king.
Prior to the people of Israel having God select them an earthly king, the people acknowledge that God was their king.
1 Sam. 12.12 – When you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, “No, we want a king to rule over us’ – even though the Lord your God was your king.
Ps. 24.10 – Who is he, this King of glory? The Lord Almighty – he is the King of glory.
Isaiah 6.5 – (after seeing god seated on his throne with his robe filling the temple), Isaiah cries out, “Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord almighty.”
Isaiah 33.22 – for the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king, it is he who will save us.
Zephaniah 3:15 – The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.
Also in the OT, the earthly king was understood to reign as God’s representative and be under his suzerainty. That means that a people group are allowed to rule themselves but under the watchful eye of a greater power. The earthly king was looked upon as the earthly expression of God’s rule.
We see this again in 1 Sam. 12.14 there was the understanding that the people and the earthly king were to obey the Lord and follow Him. If they did that, it would go well with them. If they did not obey (often times led by the king’s example) they were punished by the Lord.
God promised to have a descendant of King David (the greatest of the OT kings) on the throne forever.
2 Sam. 7.12-16 – God promises David that he will raise up David’s offspring to succeed him…God says, “I will establish his kingdom…I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever…Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established.
God wasn't just the king over Israel. We see in the book of Daniel that God moves the kings of all the nations. In
Daniel 1.1-2, we see that it was God who delivered the King of Judah into Nebuchadnezzar’s hands, who was the king of Babylon and the most powerful king in the world at the time. Later we hear testimony from Nebuchadnezzar in
2:47 – Surely your god is the God of gods and the Lord of kings…
And later after he is restored to power after going insane for a period of time, he praises Israel’s God by saying:
4.34-5 - His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.
In the OT, the kingdom was an emphasis on the fulfillment of God’s saving promises. The ruling power of the Lord is demonstrated at the exodus when he destroyed the Egyptians and save Israel. Israel also looked forward to the day when God’s rule would be established and their enemies thwarted. This future kingdom would be realized under a descendant of David would rule in this kingdom.

The situation of the hearers of Jesus’ ministry and their longing –
The Jewish people of Jesus day were expecting God to come in judgment and punish the wicked (Israel’s enemies) and reward the just (Israel). They were longing for deliverance.
There were differing views about how this was going to be accomplished. How was this kingdom to be ushered in? What were the people supposed to be doing to “help” God inaugurate this ultimate kingdom on earth. There were two groups within the Jewish people who thought that if the Torah (the Law of Moses, the 613 laws/commands of the first five books of the OT) were kept more faithfully, God would fulfill his promises. God would usher in his kingdom. So the people of Qumran withdrew from society and tried to become God’s perfect people as they awaited him to justify themselves. The Pharisees held to a strict observance of the Law as well because they saw that in the past, God punished his people because they neglected the Law and instead turned to false gods for worship and security.
There were other groups like the Sadducees who advocated cooperation with the Romans (who were the occupying forces). They even compromised on matters of the faith and allowed Greek culture to blend in with their worship of God.
And yet on the other extreme, there were those who were Zealots who advocated violent rebellion against their oppressors. They felt that they needed a military messiah to deliver them and usher in a localize kingdom based in Jerusalem.

Jesus’ role in inaugurating the Kingdom of God – The kingdom of God lay at the heart of Jesus’ teaching. It had continuity with the OT as well as with those Jewish people who were expecting a conquering King who would defeat their enemies and set up his throne in Jerusalem. But it also differed a little bit. The scope of Jesus’ kingdom was universal rather than limited to just the Jewish nation. It was here and now and present in him rather than just a vague hope for the future. It was connected with him personally and with his ministry.
The coming of the kingdom was the central theme of Jesus’ mission. His teaching was designed to show humanity how they might enter the Kingdom of God (Matt. 5.20; 7.21). His mighty works were intended to prove that the Kingdom of God had come upon them (Matt. 12.28). His parables illustrated to his disciples the truth of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 13.11). When he taught his followers to pray, at the heart of their petition were the words, “Your kingdom come…” (Matt. 6.10). On the eve of his death, he assured his disciples that he would share with them the happiness and the fellowship of the kingdom (Luke 22.22-30). And he promised that he would appear again on the earth in glory to bring the blessedness of the kingdom to those for whom it was prepared (Matt 25.31, 34).
So what is the good news of the Kingdom? What does it mean that Jesus brought the Kingdom of God near? It is this: that God is now acting among humanity to deliver them from the bondage of Satan. It is the announcement that God, in the person of Christ is attacking the very kingdom of Satan. Jesus casting out demons is proof that the Kingdom of God has come among people and is at work among them.

Already/not yet? – The kingdom can be explained in terms of the already/not yet. The kingdom was inaugurated in Jesus’ ministry but not yet consummated. It had arrived, but the full salvation and judgment promised had not yet come.
The kingdom is a present reality
Matt. 12.28 – If it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
And yet it is a future blessing that will only fully be realized when Jesus returns.
It is at the same time a gift of God which will be bestowed by God in the future yet we need to receive in the present.
Jesus showed in his exorcisms that the kingdom had broken into history. Jesus is invading Satan on his turf. Jesus tells us that Satan is the prince of this world and Jesus does great damage to his territory. Jesus went around healing all of those who were under the power of the devil. And yet God’s enemies had not yet been entirely removed and the people of God did not yet possess all the blessings pledge to them in the OT. The Kingdom has arrived and yet there is a day in the future when God will judge all of the enemies of his people and Jesus will be that Judge.

Our role in extending the Kingdom of God –
The story of Jesus is the story of God’s kingdom being launched on earth as in heaven. It is the story in which evil has been defeated and new creation has begun. We, as followers of Jesus, have been commissioned and equipped to put that victory into practice.
Jesus assumes his authority from his Father and invests it into his followers.
In the Great Commission, Jesus tells his followers: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all the nations…”

Now, how do we do this? How can we properly proclaim that Jesus is king and he is ruling from heaven and that death has been defeated and that God’s new world has begun? Doesn’t this seem laughable? But, if we as the church are working on correcting these issues, if we are actively seeking justice in the world and if we are cheerfully celebrating God’s good creation and its rescue in music and art and community, and if our community is allowing that to happen in our midst, forming a new community, then that announcement makes sense.

The kingdom of God burst into the world in the person of Jesus Christ. He came in power, and his death on the cross secured victory over death. The end is no longer in doubt. And yet there is work to be done. The goal of the kingdom is to make things as they should be, restoration of all things, but it is still in process. We get to partner with God in the creation of that kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. God has left us to represent this kind of kingdom on earth and – by the power of the Holy Spirit – to move it forward. When people look at us, the church they should see restored relationships, people made whole, miracles taking place and they should say, “Oh, that’s what the Kingdom of God looks like. The church is a sign and an instrument of the kingdom. It engages in kingdom work for a kingdom agenda. The church is the Kingdom’s tool.

When we look at it that way, then evangelism is not calling people to make a decision for Jesus and be happy with that. If we as the church are engaging in the work of new creation, working toward reconciliation, peace, justice, mercy, then evangelism is a call to invite our friends, coworkers, family members to come work alongside us to extend the kingdom of God.

Your role in this story is to receive the Kingdom. What is received? It is God’s rule. In order to enter the future realm of the Kingdom, you must submit in perfect trust to God’s rule here and now. We must seek first his kingdom and righteousness, that is his rule and reign in our lives.

That’s our hope for Missio Dei. I hope you will join us on this mission.

The Commands of Jesus: Do not worry about your life...

The Commands of Jesus – “Do not worry about your life…” Matt. 6.25-34

In view of Jesus’ words on being a slave to money (verse 24), Jesus says here that if we put trust in God first, God will take care of the rest of life.
Worry is the key word of this entire section: it occurs 6 times (vv. 25, 27-28, 31, 34).
How do we balance planning for the future versus not being anxious?

The need for food: birds do not merely sit back and wait on God to serve them, they work. Yet they are far more dependent on the whims of nature than humans are. God provides for them. If God allows for birds to be provided for (in view also of their ability to work for provision), then won’t he provide for those he created in His image. (This also includes our ability to work for provision).
Also, what really does worry accomplish? Does it motivate us to work for provision? (Maybe). But it is the work that accomplishes the provision, not the worry. Worry doesn’t extend our lives in any way. (In fact, could we say that worry takes away from our quality of life? What does worry do to our emotions and physical state? Does the stress of worry negatively impact us?)
“Do not worry” or “Do not be anxious” here has the sense of being fearful and is associated with sleeplessness. A paralyzing worry can undermine our discipleship.

Clothing: the lilies of the field can be beautiful. More wonderful than the proverbial King Solomon, who had tremendous wealth at his disposal (see 1 Kings 4.20-34 or 1 Kings 3.13). If God gives attention and assigns beauty to such inconsequential things like plants (which have a short life and were often burned for fuel), won’t God provide for our needs. Again, humans were the ones created in God’s image.

Robert Mounce (Bible teacher), basically said that “Worry is practical atheism”. How so?
Anxiety characterized the religions of the day. People were dominated by the fears of a deity who was a despot who had to be appeased constantly. What are the fears of our current society? What do unbelievers (and unfortunately a lot of believers) fear and worry about?

Do we give too much attention to our food and clothing? Those things in and of themselves are important. But perhaps Jesus is saying that we can give too much importance to them and chase after them beyond what we need.
Disciples should not be distracted from their discipleship by an inordinate attention to their ongoing need of what we are going to eat and wear.
If God is the source of our life (and new life), will he not also provide food and clothing? A life dominated by concern for food and clothing (and other things) will lack full commitment to what is really important.

Seek first… When our priorities regarding treasures in heaven (Mt 5.19-20), God will provide for fundamental needs. We seek the Kingdom first when we follow the commands of Jesus.

Problem: hasn’t there been believers who have gone without food and clothing? Isn’t this verse untrue for them? How do we reconcile Jesus’ teaching about our “needs” being met, when there are some who have gone without?
How does this apply? Luke 12.33 – sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.

Perhaps when God’s people corporately seek first his priorities, they will by definition take care of the needy in their fellowships. When we considered that a substantial majority of believers in our world live below the “poverty line,” does that challenge us who have “great wealth” in comparison?

Blomberg – “Without a doubt, most individual and church budgets need drastic realignment in terms of what Christians spend on themselves versus what they spend on others.”

The key to avoiding anxiety is to make the kingdom one’s priority. If God takes care of his creation, he will surely take care of those who participate in his kingdom. This passage does not mean that food, drink, clothing and other necessities will come to the disciple automatically without work. It addresses the problem of worrying about these things and perhaps pursuing them over pursuing the Kingdom of God (the commands of Jesus) and its righteousness (the right relationship which follows the spread of the Kingdom).

The Commands of Jesus: Do not resist an evil person

The Commands of Jesus: Do not resist an evil person… (Matt. 5:38-42)

There is a very iconic phrase in this passage, turn the other cheek. We often use this phrase when someone wrongs us. Instead of retaliating, we “turn the other cheek.” Within this passage, there are some hard sayings to follow if we are to take them literally. We are told:
Do not resist an evil person;
When slapped on the right cheek, offer the other cheek as well;
If someone sues you for your shirt, give them your coat as well;
If forced (by a soldier) to go one mile (and carry his gear), go with them two miles.
How literally are we to take these verses?
All of these verses describe actions that do not necessarily come naturally to us. Especially the first two. Unprovoked assault prompts resentment and retaliation. This is a clue that the lifestyle of the kingdom is more demanding than the Law of Moses.

We need to keep in mind the command of the Law that Jesus deals with here in verse 38, “You have heard it said, ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’” This comes from Exodus 21.24. This sounds bloodthirsty but actually had a merciful aspect to it. It was supposed to limit vengeance. It actually was used in practice by putting monetary value to things and compensating for losses.
The first part about resisting an evil person, I’ve seen interpreted as saying, “do not render evil for evil.” Does that make any difference?

Offer your left cheek? Striking someone on the right cheek would have involved a back hand which was twice as insulting at to hit someone with the flat part of the hand. It isn’t very often that we are slapped on the face but often times we are insulted. Jesus is telling us not to resent insults and not to seek retaliation.
The tunic: The tunic was the inner garment made of cotton or linen to be worn as a liner to one’s outer cloak. Barclay says that even the poorest man would have a change of tunics. The cloak was the great, blanket like outer garment of which most Jews would only have one. Read Ex. 22.26-7, the point being that by right a man’s cloak could not be taken permanently from him.
What Jesus was probably saying is Christians do not need to stand upon their rights; they should not dispute their legal rights. They are not as important as acting with integrity…

Go the extra mile – While living in an occupied country, people can (and are) impressed into service (giving food, lodging, horses, assistance…see the Quartering Act of Revolutionary War time). We saw this with Simon of Cyrene. Jews could be impressed into service at any time. Maybe Jesus is saying don’t go a mile with bitter and obvious resentment, go two miles with cheerfulness and with a good attitude. Think of your duty and privilege to be of service to others. When a task is laid on you, even if the task is unreasonable, don’t do it as a grim duty to be resented, do it as a service to be gladly rendered.

Giving – one should lend to those from whom one does not expect to receive repayment, even if it is to one’s enemies.

This teaching comes in the context of not seeking revenge. How does Paul instruct us in regards to revenge?
Read Rom. 12.17-21
This is very similar. Do not repay evil for evil. God is the one who sees injustice and he is the one who will deal justly. Vengeance is His. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Question: How do we live out these simple injunctions when our time is so different than Jesus’? Are there any examples of this you can think of?

We, in America, even as Christians, are so concerned to assert our rights. It seems that Jesus here is saying that the disciple should not necessarily insist on their personal rights. Plus, the true disciple does more than is merely expected. (How often, especially in work or school settings do we do just enough to get by?) We should be freed from society’s low standards of expectation. We should be better than that.

We can get to this stage when we realize that we also are the unworthy ones who have experienced the good things of the gospel of Jesus. We’ve experienced unexpected grace.
Read Luke 6.34-36 to get a sense of what Jesus is asking here.
Read Rom. 5.8-10 (sinners and enemies is how we are described in our pre-Christian life.)
Hopefully these reminders will teach us to rely on God for justice when we’ve been treated unjustly (yet we should work for justice when the people in the margins are treated unjustly, widows, orphans, immigrants). We also realize how counter cultural Jesus’ commands are. Are they worth it? Can we do it?

The Commands of Jesus: Do not swear an oath at all…

The Commands of Jesus: Do not swear an oath at all…

Jesus begins by summing up a teaching from the OT about swearing by oaths and/or taking vows in the name of the Lord. There are several teachings in the OT about swearing by oaths and taking vows.
Lev. 19.12 - Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
That is, if you swear by the name of the Lord, keep your oath.
Num. 30.2 - When a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.
Deut. 23.21-23 - If you make a vow to the LORD your God, do not be slow to pay it, for the LORD your God will certainly demand it of you and you will be guilty of sin. But if you refrain from making a vow, you will not be guilty. Whatever your lips utter you must be sure to do, because you made your vow freely to the LORD your God with your own mouth.
Thus, you can see that an oath or a vow was a very serious, sacred thing. In fact, this is probably what one of the Ten Commandments was talking about (taking the Lord’s name in vain).

What would cause someone to take an oath or make a vow? There are various reasons, such as in judicial situations. But there were other situations that may prompt someone to take a vow.
Jacob made a vow to God that if He performed an act for Jacob, he would serve him.
Gen. 28.20-21 - Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God
David made an oath that he would not rest until he found a dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant (Psalm 132.1-3).
The people of Israel made a vow that if God would deliver some of their people who had been captured by a foreign king, they would utterly destroy those people (Num. 21.1-3).
One of the Proverbs talks about the importance of fulfilling your vows and oaths.
Prov. 20:25 - It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one’s vows.
Some examples of vows that were not well thought out:
Judges 11.30-31 - Jephthah made a vow to the LORD: “If you give the Ammonites into my hands, whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites will be the LORD’s, and I will sacrifice it as a burnt offering.”
The result: verses 34-35 - When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, who should come out to meet him but his daughter, dancing to the sound of timbrels! She was an only child. Except for her he had neither son nor daughter. When he saw her, he tore his clothes and cried, “Oh no, my daughter! You have brought me down and I am devastated. I have made a vow to the LORD that I cannot break.”
Herod Antipas, when pleased by the dance of young Salome:
Mark 6:22-25 - The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”… At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
The example of a good vow? Hannah and Samuel (1 Samuel 1:10-11).

Why would people make such vows? Often they did so in order to strengthen their resolve to act on a matter. They knew that if they invoked God’s name in front of witnesses, knowing how serious oaths were, they would move heaven and earth to keep their oath or fulfill their vow.

Notice the names invoked when Jesus discusses oaths: heaven, earth, Jerusalem, your head. It seems that, again, religious people were finding ways around the Law. Some people felt that they could get around keeping a vow if they vowed by heaven or by Jerusalem instead of invoking God’s name. They might be serious about keeping a vow, but maybe not that confident. Jesus shows them how silly this is. You still invoke God in your oath in the name of heaven, because Heaven is God’s throne. You still invoke God in your oath in the name of the earth, because the earth is God’s footstool (Isaiah 61.1). If you swear by your own head, you speak against God sovereignty. He is the one who holds the future to your life.

When it comes right down to it, Jesus tells us that oaths and vows are unnecessary. All we need to do is keep our word. Let our yes be our yes. Let our no be our no.
Do you find yourself saying “I promise” after you say you are going to do something? Why? Is it habit? Is it insecurity (you don’t think people believe you)? Is it your past? Do people doubt your word so you feel like you must reinforce your statements with several “I promise” or “I swears”?
Our words should not be frivolous. Especially statements of things we are going to do. We need to be serious in keeping our word. We need to be people that when we say we are going to do something or be somewhere, people know that is what we are going to do and where we will be.
James 5:12 echoes these words of Jesus as well: Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned.

The Commands of Jesus: Go and be reconciled to your brother

The Commands of Jesus: Go and be reconciled to your brother… (Matt. 5:23-24)

Context: This command is from the Sermon on the Mount (found in Matthew 5-7). In Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as a new and better Moses. Moses was seen as the Lawgiver in the Hebrew Bible (received the Law on Mount Sinai). What we find in the Sermon on the Mount, is that often, Jesus quotes one of the commandments or one of the other rules from the Torah (or Law, like 5.21, 27, 31, 38) and he expounds on it, revealing the Spirit that God gave the command in. He wanted to deal with our sinfulness (both external and internal).
Jesus is showing how demanding a holy God is. He cares more about our mere external obedience to a few commands, he cares about our heart. He was dealing with religious people who thought they could justify themselves before God on how they observed certain rituals (the Pharisees, that is). Jesus knows that external sinfulness comes from our internal uncleanness (see Mark 7.20-23). Adultery is obviously sinful but it stems from our evil thoughts. We think we are ok if we don’t engage in the external act of adultery (or any sexual immorality) but we can harbor these internal thoughts. These internal thoughts are what lead to the immoral sinful behavior. Jesus is trying to get us to deal with the source of our sinfulness (our hearts).

When Jesus discusses the “gift at the altar” he is discussing the OT sacrificial system. There were five main offerings in the OT. They ranged from offering animal sacrifice to cover various types of unintentional sins to voluntary offerings (both animal and grain) for thanksgiving, fellowship and worship.
Jesus pictures a person going to the temple to offer one of these sacrifices. The person on the way to sacrifice (or worship as it was known to the OT believer) realizes that someone has something against them. Jesus tells the potential worshiper to go and get it right before offering his “gift” or sacrifice.
Who is responsible to go and make things right? (You are, even if you are not wrong).

Other passages that discuss resolving conflict (within the Christian community)
Matt. 18.15-20 – If someone sins against you, tell that person first (and no one else)
If that is unsuccessful, take along one or two witnesses (involve others to hear the both sides and help to mediate the conflict).
If the witnesses see your side of the matter and yet the person who has wronged you has not repented, then tell it to the community that you are both a part of. If that doesn’t work, expel the unrepentant person out of your community. That is done so that, perhaps exclusion from such Christian fellowship will prompt the unrepentant person to repent, make things right and desire to rejoin the community.
(See 1 Cor. 5.1-5 to see the expulsion of a blatantly immoral person. The goal is ultimately restoration.)
What if the witnesses take the other person’s side? Then you need to be humble enough to examine yourself and repent if you indeed were wrong. Even if you still feel wronged, the right thing to do (I believe) is to repent publicly for the misunderstanding (and in your heart, forgive all involved for the sake of unity. See 1 Cor. 6.7-8, rather be wronged than to sue your Christian brothers and sisters).

What if that person is not a believer that has wronged you? I think the same principles apply (accept for the expulsion from the community).
I think Paul’s discussion in Rom. 12. 16-21 informs us here. Some of the highlights: live in harmony with one another; do not repay anyone evil for evil; be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone; overcome evil with good.

How hard is that, to go to someone who has wronged you? Or, can we apply this passage to an incident where you know a brother or sister is upset at you (and honestly, you’ve done nothing wrong)? Should we go and get things resolved? I do think so. As far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Go and get it worked out. Jesus makes it sound like it impacts your worship. Resolve conflict before you worship.
Read 1 Cor. 13.1-3 – if I can participate in all of these wonderful forms of worship (from an external standpoint) and do not have love (an internal attitude) then I have nothing. My worship, no matter how wonderful the external form might be, is compared to noise in God’s ears. My singing, my preaching/teaching, if not done with love (and love promotes unity and resolves conflict) is worthless.

Can you think of a time that you resolved conflict in a mature manner (similar to the passages in this lesson)? Can you think of times you tried to do things the right way and it was a disaster? Is there anyone out there that you can think of that has something against you (and perhaps you are completely in the right)? Can you begin to pray through a strategy to discuss the matter with them? Do you need one or two witnesses to help arbitrate?

Have you ever thought that your external form of worship could be undermined by your inner attitude, especially if there is unresolved conflict in the Christian community?

Commands of Jesus: Don't Be Angry with Your Brother

The Commands of Jesus
Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. (Matthew 5:22)

The Context: This command is from the Sermon on the Mount (found in Matthew 5-7). In Matthew, Jesus is portrayed as a new and better Moses. Moses was seen as the Lawgiver in the Hebrew Bible (received the Law on Mount Sinai). What we find in the Sermon on the Mount, is that often, Jesus quotes one of the commandments or one of the other rules from the Torah (or Law, like 5.21, 27, 31, 38) and he expounds on it, revealing the Spirit that God gave the command in. He wanted to deal with our sinfulness (both external and internal).
Jesus is showing how demanding a holy God is. He cares more about our mere external obedience to a few commands, he cares about our heart. He was dealing with religious people who thought they could justify themselves before God on how they observed certain rituals (the Pharisees, that is). Jesus knows that external sinfulness comes from our internal uncleanness (see Mark 7.20-23). Adultery is obviously sinful but it stems from our evil thoughts. We think we are ok if we don’t engage in the external act of adultery (or any sexual immorality) but we can harbor these internal thoughts. These internal thoughts are what lead to the immoral sinful behavior. Jesus is trying to get us to deal with the source of our sinfulness (our hearts).

In Matthew 5.21-22, it seems that there may be four different sins denoted here: murder, being angry, calling your brother “Raca” and calling anyone a “fool”. However, he is not discussing four separate sins, but looking at the internal attitudes that lead to destructive external actions. What Jesus is doing here is contrasting our external appearances with our internal attitudes. The point is that in all four cases is that anger, as the root of murder, deserves the same penalty. What Jesus seems to be saying here is that the sin in your heart is enough to put you in danger of eternal punishment. Of course we can believe that committing murder would be serious enough to make us liable to eternal punishment. But Jesus is saying that the attitude of your heart is also sin and enough to keep you eternally separated from God.
Look at 1 John 3.15 – Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
See also 1 John 4:20 –

Jesus points out later that it is from within, our heart that our evil behaviors come from.
Matt. 15:19 – (evil thoughts almost being the heading of what follows)

For Jesus, the inner attitude is of supreme importance. Our inner attitude expresses itself in apparently small acts of unkindness, like calling our brother “Raca”. Raca is an Aramaic word that means empty head. This seems harmless to us today, but we need to remember that names carrying important meaning in Jesus’ day. The same thing works for “fool”.

Gehenna (or fire of Hell) – Gehenna was the Aramaic term for a place southwest of Jerusalem where at one time human sacrifices were offered to the god Molech (ancient Babylonian god, see 2 Kings 23.10; Jer. 7.31 for reference). In Jesus’ day it was basically the landfill area where people took their trash and it was burned. The constant burning there made this area a good metaphor for eternal punishment.

How in the world could my calling my brother “empty head” or anyone else a “fool” make me liable for eternal punishment? What Jesus is doing is connecting our external actions with our internal thoughts and showing us, again, how holy our God is. Our sin, in any faction, will lead to judgment before God. It can be as obvious as murder and as small as harboring resentment in your heart.

What does this have to do with me? We need to differentiate between getting angry once before we became believers and getting angry once after our conversion. All it takes is getting angry once before experiencing Jesus that can condemn us to eternal punishment. God is holy and all it takes is one blemish to keep us apart. (See Genesis 3 for back story here). On this side of conversion, our occasional angry outburst is forgivable, but if it is a lifestyle or it defines your character, that may be evidence that you haven’t experienced the power of the Spirit or that you need help walking you through such issues. It is evidence of a lack of discipleship. Go back to the verses in 1 John and Matthew 15 for support. Look at Col. 3.5-10 to see a list of behaviors that may have characterized your life prior to following Jesus (you once walked in these things). Thankfully there are a bunch of “But now”s in the Bible. You used to live like an unbeliever (because you were an unbeliever). But now, you can behave like Jesus because he has given you his power.

In this passage it shows us that we need to be respectful of not only our fellow Christians (brother of verse 22) but anyone (who you may insult by calling them a fool).

Jesus here penetrates to the spirit of the commandment. The fountain of a person’s conduct is the heart, or inner person, the transforming power of the kingdom must be especially experienced there. Anger and insults spoken from anger are evil and corrupting and call forth God’s judgment, just like the obvious act of murder.