November 17, 2019 How to treat your enemies.
Matthew 5: 43-48
My thesis for the study:
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus teaches us how to live in the world. Jesus gives actual instruction and formation. More than rules or law, the SOM is a set of convictions about moral truth.
43“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the
evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you
love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the
same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,m(3154) what more are you
doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your
heavenly Father is perfect.
Where? Summary: Since all of Jesus actions and teachings show us that he is not interested in mere rule-keeping righteousness, we find that he is working for restoration, and that he places high demands upon those who follow him.
INTRODUCTION
1. What if you were in charge of Santa’s Naughty and nice list? Do you have some people who you would include on the naughty list, no matter what? Or more practically, do you have some names you could quickly put on an enemies list, like President Richard Nixon had?[i] Maybe we don’t want to publically state even the fact that we have enemies at all. Surprisingly, Jesus spends no time wonder if he had enemies or that we have enemies. He knows we do. Here is the big question: How will we treat our enemies?
2. Welcome: Hi Pals, this is Blaine Hill with the Simply Stated Podcast for the Journey Sunday School class at Lake Murray Presbyterian Church in Chapin, SC. This season of the podcast is on Jesus sermon on the mount, in Matthew chapters 5 through 7. Today we are reading Matthew 5:43-38. I’ll try to get the basic ideas of the passage simply stated, then we’ll see what we can learn about the person of Jesus, understand theologically, about eternity and take some ethical guides from the reading.
3. Read 5:43-48
A BLOCK
4. Stating things Simply
a. This is the 6th and final in a series of antithesis: you heard in the past…but I say…. This is the structure Jesus uses in his teaching about how he is fulfilling the law (5:17)
b. The law:
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy
i. Love your neighbor: Leviticus 19:18
ii. Hate your neighbor is not a command of the law, but it is a troubling and fair summary of considerable parts of the Old Testament. A few examples
· The slaughter of the people living in Canaan in the book of Joshua
· Psalm 35:7-9
iii. Let’s be clear: enemies are, by definition, people to hate. The people you hate are enemies. Once again, we find Jesus speaking in powerfull, unsettling ways.
c. So what does Jesus do to fulfill the law?
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
i.
ii.
d. Why in the world would we possibly love our enemies or pray for people who persecute us?
so that you may be children of your Father in heaven;
e. Love based in God alone
for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters,m(3154) what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
f. The end game
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
B BLOCK
5. Person: What do Jesus words reveals about who he is?
· He knows we have enemies. He understands the world better than we would like.
· Compare to Dan Crenshaw. Injunction that our fight is taken up by opposing ideas, not people.
· Jesus understands that there are people who oppose us.
6. Theology: What theological idea can we draw from this teaching?
· Jesus call upon us byflipping what is usuall called theodicy: Why do bad things happen to good people [if god is good and powerful]
· He notes that good things happen to bad people.
· God as our father
7. Eternity: How does this teaching link our everyday life and eternity?
· Father in Heaven.Different point of view.
8. Ethics: What ethical teaching or guide can we take from this teaching?
(Bruner’s little steps; Willard’s dikaiosune –how is a good person to live?)
· We are called ato maturity, not just proper sentiment or behavior.
· We should actually pray for our enemies, especially corporately
· Obey commands because they shape us. Example—my kids care for dog to create in them fulfillment of commitments—to dog, and to me.
CLOSING
Who is on your enemies list?
Thanks for listening to the podcast for the Journey Sunday School class. A Production of Simply Stated from Hey, Vern! Media.
Invite comment or questions
God bless you