2. the social laws we follow:
In today’s Sermon
on the Mount passage, Jesus indirectly touches on many of His past topics to drive home what should be at the “heart” of
the social laws we follow:
Love for God
and
Love for others

3. Matthew
5: 38-48
* Also see
Luke 6: 27-36

4. When loving others gets real…
really hard!

5. His previous pattern, Jesus corrects two common teachings
Following
His previous pattern, Jesus corrects two common teachings
that were found in
the Old Testament:
“Eye for eye, and
tooth for tooth.”
“Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”

6. Exodus 21: 23-25 (Lev. 24: 17-21 & Deut. 19: 18-21)
23  “But if there is serious injury,
you are to take life for life, 
24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn,
wound for wound, bruise for bruise.”

7. Do not say, “I’ll pay you back
Proverbs 10:12
"Hatred stirs up conflict,
but love covers over all wrongs.”
Proverbs 20:22 (also 24:29)
Do not say, “I’ll pay you back
for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD,
and He will make things right for you.

9. 'Thou shalt not rise up against the blood
 "A Jew sees a Gentile
fall into the sea, let him by no means lift him out; for it is written,
'Thou shalt not rise up against the blood
of thy neighbor': but this is not thy neighbor.”
Maimonides
Medieval Jewish Scholar

10. Rather than focus on God’s larger
Call for justice in the Old Testament
(which included merciful behavior),
the Jewish teachers of Jesus’ time focused in on the parts of these commands they agreed with… and ignored the parts that were “hard.”

12. of resistance to injustice:
Jesus uses common issues that would arise from Roman occupancy in Israel to advocate for a non-violent form
of resistance to injustice:
Peaceful Subversion

13. Romans 12:17-21
"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

14. “Heaping burning coals on one’s head” referred to
a mourning ritual
of the Middle East where one puts ashes on their head to symbolize that they are humbled and repentant.

15. God’s hope is that when we
(as followers of Jesus, as His children, as His ambassadors to this world)
choose passive subversion as Jesus did, people’s conscience will be activated… they will repent and turn back to Him.

16. This type of loving others involves much more than what we are typically used to.
It is living at a higher standard, raising the bar, walking on higher ground…
giving up our “rights.”