Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount 

A Divine Perspective 

on Human Values 

Matthew 5:38-42 

PSBC 3/26/00 AM

In a nutshell: Christians are called to a higher standard of living than normal human behavior. We are called to non-retaliation when wronged; think in terms of duties, rather than rights; and helping others, even when it infringes on your liberty and comfort. Then, to top it all off, help someone in need, if you can, without thought of what you will get in return.

I. Introduction

A. Illustration: Late one summer evening in Broken Bow, Nebraska, a weary truck driver pulled his rig into an all-night truck stop. He was tired and hungry. The waitress had just served him when three tough looking, members of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang pulled into the diner, and decided to give this truck driver a hard time.

They verbally abused him, then one of the gang members grabbed the hamburger off his plate, another took handful of his French fries, and the third picked up his coffee and began to drink it.

How the truck driver responded is legendary. He calmly rose, picked up his check, walked to the front of the room, put the check and his money on the cash register, and went out the door. The waitress placed the money in the cash register, then followed after him, and stood watching out the door as the big truck drove away into the night.

When she returned, one of the cyclists said to her, "Well, he's not much of a man, is he?"

She replied, "I don't know about that, but he sure isn't much of a truck driver. He just ran over three motorcycles on his way out of the parking lot."

My initial reaction to that story is... "Yesssssss!" It reminds me of old saying, "Don't get mad, get even!"

The problem is, that's not anything like Jesus tells us we should act when we are in situations that beg for retaliation, revenge, or getting even.

B. Real issue

In today's passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us how he expects the people who follow Him to act in these kinds of situations. Please turn in your Bibles to Matthew 5:38.

C. Oldest Law on the books

Matthew 5:38 38 "You have heard that it was said, `Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'

What Jesus is referring to is, literally, the oldest law on the books. As far back as 2285 B.C., during the time of the Babylonian king, Hammurabi, this law has been in existence. It is mentioned in several places in the Old Testament...

Exodus 21:23-25 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.

Leviticus 24:19-20 19 If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.

Deuteronomy 19:21 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

C. Two Things Are True About This Law

But, in all of these cases, whether during the time of King Hammurabi, or during the Old Testament times of Moses, or any of the other people groups who might have followed this principle, two things were true about this law...

1. This law was a form of mercy. The original intent of the law was to limit vengeance. In the earliest days of tribal society, blood feuds were a characteristic. If a man of one tribe injured a man of another tribe, it wasn't unusual for all the members of the tribe of the injured man to quickly move to take vengeance on all the members of the tribe of the man who committed the injury. And usually, the vengeance desired was nothing less than death.

So, what this law does is goes against the natural, tribal, vengeful nature of human beings and limits vengeance. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth lays it down that only the man who committed the crime is to be punished, and his punishment must be no more than equal to the damage he inflicted.

So, you can see, that in its earliest forms, the intention was one of mercy, not vengeance or retribution.

2. This law prevented private vengeance. In every case where this law was on the books–even in its earliest forms in Babylon and in Old Testament Judaism–the grievance was to be handled by a judge. This issue was always decided in court, in an orderly and public way.

This law was never intended to give an individual person the right to indulge in even the least little bit of vengeance. It was, in every case, intended to be a guide for a judge to follow in the assessment of a penalty for a crime that was committed.

D. Jesus' new paradigm

1. Consistent

But Jesus is consistent with every other time He's used this phrase "You heard it said...". He uses the old Law to introduce God's way of doing things, rather than the normal, human way of doing things. Specifically, Jesus addresses three things that human beings value very much, and gives God's perspective on how we are to handle those values: The three things Jesus addresses are...dignity, security, and liberty.

And what we'll see this morning is a divine perspective on these human values, through three word pictures that were very relevant to the original hearers of this sermon, but are going to take some explaining for us, today.

II. 3 New Principles in Three Word Pictures

A. Dignity

Matthew 5:39 39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Because human beings are created in the image of God, a human being has the right to expect basic dignity, respect and consideration from other people. But if we're wise, we know that we won't always be treated with dignity, respect and consideration . In fact, the Bible is very clear that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you can expect to be ridiculed, mistreated and be shown contempt.

2 Timothy 3:12 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

Now, everyone on that hillside in Palestine, listening to these words, knew that if you were a Jew, the most demeaning and contemptuous act you could have done to you was to be slapped in the face. A slap in the face was a direct attack on your dignity, your honor, and your good name.

In fact, a slap on the face to a Jew in Jesus' day was to be treated as less than human. One of the commentators I read this week said, "Even a slave would rather have been struck across the back with a whip than be slapped in the face by his master's hand." (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7)

To strike someone in Jesus' day on the right cheek was a vicious insult. But look at what Jesus says His followers are to do when we are insulted, even in the most vicious way–He says we are to "turn to him the other also".

In that simple statement, Jesus tells us more about what we are NOT TO DO, than what we are to do. Turning the other cheek demonstrates a non-avenging, non-retaliatory, humble and gentle spirit that is to characterize Jesus Christ's followers. And, this falls right in line with one of the opening statements Jesus made in this sermon...

Matthew 5: 7 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

So, in practice, this first word picture tells us that when someone attacks our dignity, we are not to defend it by retaliation. We are to leave that protection and defense to God, knowing that someday we will have that hurt wiped away when we reign with Him in His heavenly kingdom in all it's glory and majesty.

B. Duty vs. Rights

The second word picture addresses the issue of the duties of a Christian, as opposed to their individual rights.

Matthew 5:40 40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

The tunic in Jesus time, was something like a woman's slip, or a man's undershirt. It was a light, semi-undergarment worn for modesty and protection. Even the poorest of people generally had at least two tunics.

But over the tunic a person wore a cloak. The cloak was a blanket-like outer garment. This cloak doubled as two things. First of all, it was the outer robe, during the day. Secondly, at night, when it got cold, it was a person's blanket. Generally speaking, the normal Jewish person only had one cloak.

Now, it was a normal thing for the extra tunic of a person to be given as collateral or bond during a court proceeding. Sometimes, in a serious offense, a person's cloak was even required by the courts to be given to the party bringing a lawsuit. However, God had laid down rules regarding this practice...

Exodus 22:26-27 26 If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, return it to him by sunset, 27 because his cloak is the only covering he has for his body. What else will he sleep in? When he cries out to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

The point is, that in legal proceedings, a person had a right to get his cloak back before sundown. A person's right was that his cloak could not be taken away from him permanently.

So, the picture, through this illustration, that Jesus is giving is simply this: As a Christian, even though you have rights, don't demand that you receive them.

William Barclay makes an insightful application of this in his commentary on this verse (front of bulletin)

"Churches are tragically full of people (who demand their rights), officials whose territory has been invaded, office-bearers who have not been accorded their proper place, courts which do business with a manual of practice and procedure on the table all the time, lest anyone's rights should be invaded. People like that have not even begun to see what Christianity is. The Christian thinks not of his rights, but of his duties; not of his privileges, but of his responsibilities."

Illustration: I lost so much respect for a Superintendent that I served under in another denomination, because he insisted on carrying around a copy of the denomination's Book of Discipline (denominational handbook) to make sure, to use his words, "...that his rights as the leader of the Conference were not being violated."

And friends, Jesus is saying that if your Christian practice has come to that–if you are more concerned with your rights than with your duties as a follower of Jesus Christ–then you've missed the power of God in your life. Your relationship with Christ has sunk to nothing more than fire insurance. And the consequences to that lack of trust in God and what He values is that you'll never experience the abundant and meaningful life that God meant for Christians to experience, for as long as you insist on holding on to your rights.

C. Helping before Liberty or Convenience

Human dignity and human rights have been addressed. Now Jesus addresses human liberty.

Matthew 5:41 41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. The word "forces" in this verse, could better be translated, "Compel". That word has a Persian history to it.

Illustration: We Americans might think that our Pony Express was the first of its kind. But it wasn't. Back during the time of the prophet Daniel, the Persians had an amazing postal system. Each road in the empire was divided into stages lasting one day. At the end of each stage there was food and water for the courier, and water and food for the horses, plus there were fresh horses for the next leg of the journey. But if by any chance there was anything lacking, any private person could be "compelled" into giving food, lodging, horses, assistance, and even made to carry the message or messages himself for one of the stages.

Well, this is the same word Jesus uses here, when He uses the word, "Forces". It was a common practice for a Roman soldier to "force" or "compel" a Jew to supply food, or to provide lodging, or to carry his baggage. Sometimes this was done in a kind way. But most often it was done in a demeaning way, that was met by disgust, anger and grudging service, on the part of the Jewish person.

There is an example of this in the Good Friday account, where Simon of Cyrene was "compelled" or "forced" to carry Jesus' cross by the Roman soldiers, after Jesus collapsed under its weight.

So, Jesus message to his audience was this.. .Suppose a Roman soldier comes to you, when you're minding your own business, you're tired, and you've had a bad day at the office or in the classroom, or on the golf course. And that soldier forces you to carry his suitcase one mile. Jesus is saying, don't be bitter; don't be resentful; and don't pout. Instead, do it with cheerfulness, and offer to carry it an extra mile, if the soldier needs your help.

The principle is this: Don't be thinking about your liberty, your freedom, your convenience, or what you would rather do. Instead, be thinking about your duty and the privilege to be of service to others, and show the love of Jesus Christ through what you can do.

Illustration: One cold night in December, two years ago, when we were living in Missouri, we came home from a Bible study on a Wednesday night. Now, one of my favorite TV programs is "Law and Order", and I wanted to be home in time to see it at 9:00 PM. That was my time to unwind and not be disturbed.

When we pulled into our driveway, about 5 minutes to 9, we saw a car with a young woman in it, parked in our neighbors driveway, with the engine running. Diane thought it might be our neighbor, Terry, and maybe she was locked out of her house, or something else was wrong. While I selfishly went inside, Diane went to investigate. It turned out that it was our neighbor's sister, Victoria, waiting to have Terry and Eric help her with a computer project.

But our neighbors, Eric and Terry, were at a school function for one of their children, and were late in getting home. So, Diane invited her over to our house to wait in the warmth of the family room and get something warm to drink. And I'm thinking, "I really need to just unwind. It's late. I don't want to be with anyone else, I've been with people all day."

You see, Diane was following the principle Jesus was laying down here, and I wasn't.

We can apply that principle to many areas of our life: to ministries in our church; to how we handle and react to our neighbors' needs; to how we treat needy people at work and school; and to how we respond to people who ask for our help. Jesus' point is that if you're going to be His follower, then how you react in these circumstances shouldn't be based on your personal freedom, or your needs or your wants; rather, the issue is your willingness to serve someone in need. How do you measure up?

III. Practical Application

Now, after addressing these three values that human beings hold dear: dignity, basic rights, and liberty..., Jesus wraps this section up with a point of practical application of these issues to a common occurrence in Jewish society.

Matthew 5:42 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Now, Jesus is referring to a shrewd maneuver that was being practiced by the Pharisees, to get around one of God's laws. You see, in the Old Testament, God set down some very specific rules regarding lending money to people who were in need.

Deuteronomy 15:7-10 7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. 9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.

Here was God's law. During every seventh year, all debts were to be canceled that were owed to a fellow Jew. This was how God watched over the poor of His chosen people.

So, out fear of losing what was "rightfully" theirs, the Pharisees of Jesus day were making a practice not to loan any money, or to lend any financial help to any of their fellow Jews during the sixth or seventh year–because they were afraid of not getting back what they perceived was rightfully theirs.

And you see how this all fits practically into what Jesus has been teaching us about rights, about duties and about inconveniences.

If you have an issue with not getting paid back , then you've just taken on a problem that doesn't belong to you. You see, since it all belongs to God anyway, that's God's problem. And Jesus is saying that even your rights to being a shrewd business person, pales in importance when compared to the vital principle of giving up your rights in order to advance His Kingdom.

IV. Conclusion

As you can see, this teaching isn't for "spiritual lightweights". Jesus calls us to a higher standard of conduct and motivation that the rest of the world.

I'm going to leave you with something I came across this recently. I think it sums up this whole issue of my rights verses God's values. It goes like this...

Well, here I am, Lord. You said "Take up your cross," and I'm here to do it.

It's not easy, you know, this self-denial thing. I plan to go through with it, though. Yes sir!

I'll bet you wish more people were willing to be disciples like me. I've counted the cost and surrendered my life, even though it's not an easy road.

You mind if I look over these crosses I have to bear? I'd kind of like a new one. I'm not fussy, you understand; but a disciple has to be relevant these days.

I was wondering -- are there any that are padded? I'm thinking of attracting others, see? And if I could show them a comfortable cross, I'm sure I could get a lot more people to follow you. Got to keep up with what people want, you know.

And I need something durable so I can treasure it always.

Oh, is there one that's sort of small so it would fit under my coat? One shouldn't be too obvious.

Funny, there doesn't seem to be much of a choice here. Just that coarse, rough wood. I mean that would hurt. Don't you have something more distinctive, Lord? I can tell you right now, none of my friends are going to be impressed by this shoddy workmanship. They'll think I'm a nut or something. And my family will be just mortified.

What's that? It's either one of these or forget the whole thing? But Lord, I want to be your disciple, I mean, just being with you; that's all that counts; but life has to have a balance, too.

What's that you say? Read the Sermon on the Mount? I did. But you don't understand -- nobody lives that way, today! Who's going to be attracted by having to give up their rights?

I mean, I want to; but let's not over do it. If I start getting radical like this, they'll take me off to the funny farm. Know what I mean?

I mean being a disciple is challenging and exciting and I want to do it; but I do have some rights, you know.

Lord...? Jesus...? Now where do you suppose He went?

Friends, That's the bottom line. Jesus expects a different standard from us than what the world expects of us. This Sermon on the Mount is a challenge. Knowing it, you're going to have to decide who you're going to follow. 

Amen.