Matthew 5:17-48 Homiletics

 Jesus didn’t come to change the playbook.  Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.  Jesus came to turn the world upside down!  Not one command can be set aside.  God’s Word is eternal!  He gave us the Scriptures so we would know we can’t fulfill them.  He wanted us to know we needed a Savior Who could fulfill them.  Our righteousness must exceed that of the Pharisees to enter the kingdom of heaven.  Seems hopeless, doesn’t it?  Praise God for making a way!  Jesus is that Savior!!!  He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets and died for the sins of the world.  The Lamb of God!  Have you accepted that He paid the penalty for your sin?  Have you prayed to accept Him as your Savior?  If not, check out the left side of this page for a prayer to guide you.  Then get in touch with a Christian friend, a local Bible preaching church, or shoot me a message if you don’t have access to those resources and I’ll try to help you find one.  Only through Christ’s righteousness can we enter the kingdom of heaven.  Without Him, there is no hope!

As Jesus continues, He says some mind boggling things.  Murder isn’t just the taking of a human life with malice aforethought!  Anger will be judged the same as murder.  Relationships are important.  Reconciliation is one of the defining marks of God’s people!  Might someone mistake you for a Christian because of your passion to reconcile?  Don’t let bad feelings fester.  Settle matters quickly (and, we’ll see in a moment, generously).  And about adultery…just one lustful look is all it takes to be guilty!  You don’t have to act on it.  God knows your heart, so confess and bring that sin into the light where the enemy can’t use it on you!  Don’t engage in any activity that will take you near the neighborhood of your sin!  You might have to stop going certain places…or hanging out with specific people…better to lose that one part than to have your whole self thrown into hell!  If we are truly Christians, our priority must increasingly become pleasing God.  God is holy and His people are called to holiness.  Divorce goes hand-in-hand with adultery.  If a man divorces because his wife has committed sexual immorality, adultery has already happened.  If for another reason, he causes her to become an adulteress.  Anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.  First Corinthians 7:10-11 states that divorced people shouldn’t remarry as long as there’s a possibility for reconciliation.  Back to the importance of reconciliation that started this section of Scripture.  Don’t make rash decisions.  Seek unity.  We’ll talk about love in a minute.

Don’t break your oaths.  Fulfill your vows.  Don’t swear.  Just let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no.  No need to embellish to add a punch of false credibility to what you say.  That’s from the evil one.  Just speak truth.  Your words are important.  The loudest voice is often the lie.  Where words are many, sin is not absent (Proverbs 10:19).

This next part has plagued me since the summer when I wrote out the Gospel of Matthew in my Journible!  Don’t resist an evil person!!!  This brought up thoughts of the book and movie “Unbroken”.  How hard is it to not resist those who persecute you?  My flesh wants to find fault with the one who has to be right all the time!  And I get very frustrated – even angry (murder!) – when that person turns out to be right!!!  It should break my heart that the person I’m thinking of does not have a relationship with Jesus Christ!  And sometimes it does.  I have shared my faith with this person, but it is clear to me that they believe they have to earn their way to heaven despite my informing them such thinking is a lie.  This person talks all the time, interrupts, doesn’t listen, is judgmental, has to be the expert on everything.  I butt heads with them constantly and I’ve only ever changed their mind about one thing!  They take credit for the achievements of others.  They don’t compliment others.  They say they don’t need recognition, but act as if they can’t live without recognition.  And when they get going, the vortex they create drags my sinful human self down into the same cesspool where they live!!!  Typing this list and confessing to my own bent to fall in the same hole has been a cathartic exercise for me.  I thought about deleting the list so as not to publish a rant, but thought the list might help someone else come to terms with their own struggles.  Anyway…  LOVE.  Be different.  Be generous.  To your enemies and your persecutors.  Remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers in heavenly realms!  Your struggle is not against a person.  It’s a spiritual battle.  Put on the armor of God.  Know that He loves you and has plans to prosper you, not harm you.  Know He is trustworthy.  When things feel like they’re squeezing you, trust Him.  And ask Him what He’s up to.  He is perfect and He is asking us to be perfect.  Impossible for us.  Totally possible for Jesus!  He will be the perfection we need when we belong to Him!

(the Homiletics below led me to the thoughts above)

 

Content (not sentence, direct verbiage from Scripture, fit on one line):

1.think I cm abolish Law/Proph,fulfill;until hvn/earth disappear,least stroke dis from Law(5:17-18)

2.any1 sets aside least cmd called least koh;unless rtness surpass Phar enter koh(5:19-20)

 

3.you heard murder subj judgmt;any1 angry subj judgmt,any1 says “you fool” danger fire hell(5:21-22)

4.if offering gift remem brosis has something v you;leave gift,be reconciled, come offer gift(5:23-24)

5.settle matters quickly or adversary hand you judge→officer→prison;out till pd last penny(5:25-26)

6.you heard adultery;any1 looks lustfully already committed adultery heart(5:27-28)

7.if rt eye causes stumble, gouge, better lose one part than whole body thrown hell(5:29)

8.if rt hand causes stumble,cut off, better lose one part than whole body thrown hell(5:30)

9.any1 div wife gv cert divorce;I tell any1 divorces except sex immoral mk her victim adultery(5:31-32a)

10.any1 marries div wm commits adultery(5:32b)

 

11.you heard break oath, fulfill vows;swear at all, by hvn, G’s throne(5:33-34)

12.by earth,His footstool,by Jerus city Great King;by head, cannot mk hair white/black(5:35-36)

13.’yes’ or ‘no’ anything beyond from evil one(5:37)

 

14.you heard “eye for eye, tooth for tooth”;resist evil person,any1 slaps rt cheek,turn other(5:38-39)

15.any1 wants sue take shirt,hand over coat;any1 forced you go 1 mi,go 2(5:40-41)

16.give to who asks,turn from one wants borrow(5:42)

17.you heard love neighbor,hate enemy;I tell love enemies,pray those persecute you(5:43-44)

18.you be children Fr hvn,causes sun rise on evil/good,sends rain rteous/unrteous(5:45)

19.if love those love you,what reward,tax coll doing;if greet own ppl,even pagans do(5:46-47)

20.be perfect as heavenly Fr perfect(5:48)

 

Divisions (run-on sentence OK, direct verbiage from Scripture/Principles are Aims for each Division – a truth about God, a truth about man, a truth about God’s relationship to man; a sin to avoid, promise to trust, example to follow, command to obey, truth to believe):

1.Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets (Matt 5:17-20)

Principle:  Jesus fulfills all Scripture.

2.Jesus teaches about murder, adultery and divorce (Matt 5:21-32)

Principle:  Jesus is concerned about our relationships.

3.Jesus teaches about oaths (Matt 5:33-37)

Principle:  Jesus keeps His promises and so should His people.

4.Jesus teaches about how to treat enemies (Matt 5:38-48)

Principle:  Jesus challenges His people to live counter-culturally.

 

 

Subject Sentence (10-word sentence with proper structure showing exactly where you are in Scripture):

Jesus fulfills Law, says “be reconciled,” “fulfill vows,” “love enemies.”

 

Aim (“To Cause My Audience To…” Know, See, Learn, Understand, etc.):

TCMATK God’s way of life does not resemble cultural norms.

 

Application (not yes or no question.  Meant to bring about heart change):

1.How would you encourage someone who is struggling to live out the truths of Scripture as they wait for Jesus’ return?

2.Where has Scripture turned your thinking upside down and how has this transformation helped you in challenging times?

3.How are you fulfilling your promises to others “as unto the Lord”?

4.How is treating your enemies well beneficial to you?  Where are you experiencing challenges to love your enemy and how are you praying to overcome them?

 

The Big Idea (author’s main purpose in writing; the one thing all the other things in the passage is about; if you couldn’t talk about it, you would still understand the passage is trying to convey this):

Live like Jesus: counter-culturally