"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself and hate your enemy.'" Matthew 5:43, NKJV
This particular passage of Scripture is interesting. Jesus pulls from two different places in the Old Testament. This is not to say that He was trying to misquote the Law, rather He was pulling from their own experience. The Jewish community had been inundated with the Law from a very early age. Jesus was merely coming to a place where they would understand Him. That is what He has been doing all this time.
The first of the two passages is Leviticus 19:18, "You shall take no vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord." And the second verse is found in Deuteronomy 23:3-6. For the sake of just wanting to make a point I will just quote verse 6, "You shall not seek their peace not their prosperity all your days forever." This verse was speaking of the Ammonite and the Moabite, enemies of Israel. As a whole, this collection of verses fro Deuteronomy dealt with those excluded from the congregation of the Lord.
Do you see what the Law had done. It had caused a rift between the Jew and the Gentile. Jesus did not come to destroy but to fulfill. If He fulfilled these verses then all who are not Jewish would be in trouble. So what is Jesus doing? He had come to the earth to fulfill the heart of God. the heart of God is this, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16-17, NKJV)
Was Jesus contradicting the Law. No. The Law was implemented for the Jew. Jesus is speaking to His disciples, He is speaking of a better way. What is the better way?
"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust." Matthew 5:44-45, NKJV
Hard words for anyone to swallow. The idea of self preservation is the same today as it was yesterday and in the days of Jesus. The world teaches to get back at whoever gets you. Jesus teaches blessing for cursing, good for hate, prayer for persecution. As children, we begin to emulate what our fathers are. Imitation is the highest form of flattery. But these new ideas are for the purpose of being called sons (and daughters) of our Father in heaven. Did you catch verse 45? He makes the sun rise on the good and evil and rains on the just and the unjust. Just because a person in evil, the sun still rises for them. Just because a man is just, it still rains on him. We are to have the same attitude with our love and forgiveness for the evil and the unjust.
"For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your bretheren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even tax collectors do so?" Matthew 5:46-47, NKJV
Jesus does something very interesting here, He clumps everyone together with the tax collectors. The tax collector was considered a traitor to his people, working for the Roman government. Things that they did on an everyday basis the tax collectors did as well. Even today for us, those in the IRS do the same thing; they greet their bretheren and love those who love them. Jesus encourages us to go above and beyond, love the unlovable. Through ourselves, we need to allow His Son to rise on the good and the evil and allow His blessings, through us, to rain on the just and the just and the unjust.
To what end?
"Therefore you shall be perfect just as your Father in heaven is perfect." Matthew 5:48, NKJV
We strive for perfection on a daily basis. Whether it be in our work, or in our home or in our walk, perfection is an idea that we constantly go after. Some are admitted perfectionists, others deny it. Either way, everyone takes steps toward that idea everyday. The perfection that Jesus is speaking of is very different. This word "perfect" is the Greek word "teleios" which is used to describe a mechanism which was missing no parts.
Was the idea of being good to the evil the way to perfection? I do not think so. I think that Jesus is referring to the entirety of chapter 5. If man implements the ideas that Jesus has brought forth in chapter 5 perfection will come closer for him. It is not just one thing that brings about perfection in our lives, it is an entire lifestyle. If there was just one thing to do, than everyone could attain perfection. Not all can live the lifestyle that we are called to.
No comments:
Post a Comment