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| Carl block: The Sermon on the Mount (1877) |
Pastor Tom Johnson, February 12, 2023
I’ve seen stop signs blatantly ignored from time to time before moving here. But around here many barely slow down. Growing up in Indiana, I got a ticket for a “rolling stop.” The cop reprimanded me. The octagonal shape of the sign says “stop.” The color red says “stop.” It even says “S-T-O-P” in all capital letters. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law—to get rid of stop signs. He came to fulfill the Law—he came to teach us the true meaning and spirit of considerate driving.
I hope you don’t miss Jesus’ humor here. He begins by saying, “You’ve heard it said ‘You shall not murder.’” “You’ve heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’” This is understatement: “You’ve heard it said.” These are two of the Ten Commandments—written on stone tablets—by the anthropomorphic finger of God. They were carried down Mt. Sinai by the great prophet Moses and given as a divine charge to the people of God. You’ve heard it said, “do not murder” and “do not commit adultery,” Jesus says, “but I say to you.” Who does Jesus think he is to speak with the same authority as the great prophet Moses and even God himself? Jesus’ words of great authority are not flowing out of arrogance and self-interest but out of love and compassion. He wants us to understand the spirit of the Law. He wants us to get out of the rut of self-righteousness.
You’ve heard it said “do not murder” but I say to you if you say just a hurtful word or have one hateful thought…you are guilty of this capital crime. That is why when we confess our sins we say we have sinned “by thought, word, or deed.” We have not kept this command when anger and hatred remain in our hearts and on our lips. Jesus helps us see that we have failed to love our neighbor. That is why he does not even want our worship until we try to reconcile with one another.
You’ve heard it said “do not commit adultery” but I say to you if you take a second look at a person with lustful intent, have an emotional affair, or do not honor yourself or someone else sexually…you are guilty of heartbreaking betrayal. We have not kept this command when lust and objectifying others remains in our hearts and minds. Jesus helps us see that we have failed to love our neighbor.
Jesus is not just telling the letter of the Law—but the spirit of the Law—the heart of God and what he wants for us—how he manifests his love in and through our lives—to be who we truly are in Christ in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. Just like a stop sign. It says “stop” by its shape, color, and in all caps. But the spirit of the law is to be considerate when you drive, to be mindful of other drivers, and cautious while steering thousands of pounds of steel. Jesus reminds us that we can come to a lawful, complete stop and still drive like maniacs and jerks.
So Jesus wants to overhaul our religion. He wants us to recalibrate our spirituality. Think of it as a spiritual tune-up. Or for you lovers of technology—think of it as an upgrade to your software. It is not merely out with the old and in with the new. It’s far better. Jesus wants us to get us out of the spiritual rut we find ourselves in. He wants us to get unstuck. One of the most common places where we get stuck is in our relationship with the Law. It is hard-wired in our brains that God is deeply disappointed in us—that he does not like us very much because we are flawed. And so we think he loses interest in our pathetic little lives because we are beyond hope. We see his commands as transactional. We think, “If I learn to be more obedient, I will please God. He will take notice let me out of the penalty box for my good behavior.” We see our spiritual lives as win or lose—and just as bad, we see those around us as either winners or losers. Jesus says you cannot win—no one can win. There is no way any of us could obey even two of the ten commandments. Jesus has raised the bar so high, he has guaranteed that we will all fail by our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. Just a few sentences later in the same sermon, Jesus will say, “You must be perfect—as your heavenly Father is perfect.” It is impossible. We cannot win God’s attention and love by our obedience. It is impossible to be perfectly obedient. Only Christ came to fulfill the Law. He alone is perfectly obedient.
Remember that our reading today is just a middle portion of Jesus’ sermon. He has already said in this same sermon that you are the salt of the earth. You are light of the world. God makes you shine. Jesus does not want to crush our spirits but to crush our transactional religion. He crushes the idea that we can justify ourselves before a holy and righteous God. He moves us from religion that is transactional to transformational. He loves us by telling us how completely we fail to obey his commands. He loves us by telling the hard truth that we could never be perfect. He loves us by telling us the true meaning of the Law—which is to love God and one another with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength. And so Jesus says our transactional view of God is a dead-end. We cannot win the love of God. But we do not have to win the love of God. We do not need to win the love of God. We already have the love of God.
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