A study of the Gospel of
Matthew
We are continuing to look at the Sermon
on the Mount. We have outlined the principles, looked at a few case
studies, and thought about what it means to live as citizens of God’s
Kingdom. In the next section the sermon takes a look at four pathways
that lead us away from the Kingdom rather than towards it. They are:
- Visible Piety
- Material Success
- Misused Authority
- Listening to False Leaders
VISIBLE PIETY
We begin with Matthew 6:1-18
Matthew
6:1 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before
men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your
Father in heaven. 2
"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with
trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets,
to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their
reward in full. 3
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what
your right hand is doing, 4
so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what
is done in secret, will reward you.
5
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love
to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be
seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in
full. 6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your
Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you. 7
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they
think they will be heard because of their many words. 8
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you
ask him.
9
"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in
heaven, hallowed be your name, 10
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11
Give us today our daily bread. 12
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. '
14
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you. 15
But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not
forgive your sins.
16
"When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for
they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you
the truth, they have received their reward in full. 17
But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18
so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only
to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done
in secret, will reward you.
‘Be careful’ says Jesus, ‘Not to
do your acts of righteousness before men, to be seen by them’. It
is a very natural thing to want to be appreciated. It is a healthy
thing to want to be a leader, bringing others to know God. But there
are religious games that people of every age play, which draw them
away from the Kingdom.
In Jesus day one game was to have a
trumpeter announce whenever someone give alms (charity) to the poor.
The poor would come along, and so would a host of admiring observers.
They would watch as the giver gained a reputation for piety and
generosity.
Another game was played with prayer. A
person would stand and pray where they could be noticed, in a
well-attended synagogue or on a busy street corner. The prayer would
be long and wordy so as to give evidence of piety and breeding. In
contrast Jesus offers us a model of praying in the words of the Lords
prayer, a simple prayer that covers all the bases and is linked to
the intentions of the heart, particularly when it came to reflecting
the forgiving nature of God.
The same game was played with fasting.
Those who fasted made sure everybody could witness the pains they
were going through. Some would even rub dirt on their faces so all
could see how committed to their task they truly were.
All these games were not played with
God in mind, but in order to boost the individuals earthly standing.
They gave the impression that the Kingdom of God could be found
through imitating such acts. It was easy for an honest seeker to be
attracted to such a seemingly pious lifestyle. Jesus by contrast
suggests the practice of ‘secret giving and doing’.
As we have seen throughout the sermon,
once again the attention is upon the inner motives rather than the
outward acts. Who are we giving for? What is it we are expressing
through our giving? Self-promotion or the love of God? Are we being
generous so others will think well of us or because we are moved by
God’s love to respond to the needs that we see?
By instructing us to practice our
generosity and spirituality in private we are being instructed to
allow the Kingdom to grow in us so as we may be the salt and of the
world. There is a song the children sang one Sunday “Let there be
peace on earth, and let it begin with me”. It begins by reworking
our motives and challenging our allegiances. We are invited to dig
deeply and ask whom we are serving through our actions of piety. Our
self? Our neighbor? Our Father who art in heaven? The great benefit
of doing things in secret is that it helps us clarify where our
priorities lie!
We move to another dangerous pathway.
Matthew 6:19-33
MATERIAL SUCCESS
19
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20
But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust
do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22
"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your
whole body will be full of light. 23
But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the
other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
25
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not
life more important than food, and the body more important than
clothes? 26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away
in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much
more valuable than they? 27
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the
field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29
Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed
like one of these. 30
If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here
today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more
clothe you, O you of little faith?
31
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we
drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32
For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them.
33
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well. 34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about
itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
It was widely believed in Jesus day
that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. The rich man was close to
God, the poor man was somehow under God’s judgment. Jesus provides
a new frame of reference in which to place our material concerns. 19
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”
Jesus says ‘Do not store up
treasures’ because such is a practice that leads to a darkened eye
and divided heart. The eye is the organ of perception through which
the whole personality is guided. If we focus our vision on what the
world calls success our perception will become distorted and the
light of God’s revelation will be blocked out. Our whole
personality will be darkened.
Worse still our will shall be affected
as well. ‘God’ and ‘Success’ will compete in our
personalities and ultimately one or the other will shape our values.
“You cannot serve God and money” v24. But Jesus takes us
beyond that, encouraging us to not even be anxious for the most basic
necessities. We are to ‘Seek first the Kingdom of God’.
But surely that is kind of difficult? Where do we find the courage to
live like that?
Jesus answers by talking about birds
and flowers. God looks after them. God gives them their beauty. Don’t
you think God can take care of you? He challenges our lack of faith,
comparing us to pagans and unbelievers. Sure, every day will bring
troubles, but trust God and don’t take on unnecessary baggage!
As we move into chapter 7
we are warned of another dangerous pathway (7:1-14)
MISUSED AUTHORITY
NIV
Matthew
7:1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with
the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye
and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?
4
How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your
eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you
will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
6
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to
pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then
turn and tear you to pieces. 7
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock
and the door will be opened to you. 8
For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who
knocks, the door will be opened. 9
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
10
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to
your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good
gifts to those who ask him!
12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,
for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. 13
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad
is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and
only a few find it.
“Do not judge others” is a
warning directed against those who sought to exalt themselves above
and beyond their other ‘brothers and sisters’ in the faith. The
Kingdom was a community and there were certain actions that if
embraced could quickly destroy any sense of true fellowship.
In human society there is always a
pecking order. Who’s the Queen Bee? Who’s the Boss? Within the
Kingdom there are different functions but only One Lord. Paul would
later give the picture of the church as being the body of Christ, a
unity in which every part was equally valued and essential to its
health.
Whilst it is important to have some
folk in positions of authority, it was equally important that in the
Kingdom it was recognized that with authority came great
responsibility. Authority was an avenue to greater service, not to
lording it over others! This verse about ‘judging’ is in relation
to the abuse of authority.
Within any community there exist power
struggles. Even the first disciples debated as to which of them
should be Jesus right and left hand men when He came to power. Not
surprisingly He told them that they didn’t understand what they
were asking!
Sadly much of Church History is often a
testimony of power struggles and fights for control over others, in
the name of religion. From the power of cardinals and popes in the
Middle Ages to the petty disputes that can cripple the smallest of
congregations, it seems we are slow to grasp the message about not
judging others.
One of the more subtle ways of seeking
to mask judgmental attitudes we call gossip, or in old English
‘murmuring’. The reason people jump on the rumor mill is to make
themselves look better. By saying ‘Can you believe what so and so
is doing?’ often the subtext is ‘We wouldn’t possibly behave
like that. We are above that kind of thing’. People exalt
themselves through smearing others.
If we are to find the Kingdom, Jesus
suggests we abandon the right to judge. Instead He teaches humility
and servant-hood. He talks of asking, seeking and knocking, of
approaching Kingdom life with a deep sense of our need for God’s
good gifts and with full confidence that our God is able to supply
what we need. ‘Blessed are those who know their need for God, for
they shall be satisfied’. He talks of God’s loving intent towards
us; “Would a father give a son a stone if they asked him for
bread?”
He seems to say, ‘Would you like
others to judge you? No? So treat others like you would like them to
treat you; you have responsibilities towards your brothers and
sisters in this new Kingdom’. He also recognizes that this is not
an easy road to follow, speaking of it as being through a narrow gate
and a road which many choose to ignore.
Our final warning continues on the
theme of authority and appears to focus particularly on those in
leadership. Matthew 7:15-23
LISTENING TO FALSE LEADERS
15
"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's
clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from
thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17
Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad
fruit. 18
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good
fruit. 19
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into
the fire. 20
Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is
in heaven. 22
Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?' 23
Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!'
Jesus warns us that not everybody in
leadership, even in our sacred communities, is there for the right
reasons. But how do we discern the righteous from the rogues? ‘By
their fruits you will recognize them’ is the perspective we are
offered.
An early Church Manual, that dates back
to 100 AD, known as the ‘Didache’ (or Teaching) has a passage
that deals with visiting ‘missioners and charismatists, itinerant
preachers who would instruct the faithful. It provides examples of
how the early church sought discernment.
“Every
missioner who comes to you should be welcomed as the Lord, but he is
not to stay more than a day or two. If he stays for three days, he is
no genuine missioner’ ‘While a charismatist is uttering words you
are not to subject them to any tests or verifications. Nevertheless
not all who speak in trances are charismatists, unless they also
exhibit the manners and conduct of the Lord. It is by their behavior
that you can tell the imposter from the true. ‘If speaking in a
trance he says ‘Give me money (or anything else) do not listen to
him. On the other hand if bids you give it to someone else who is in
need, nobody should criticize him” (Didache Part 1:12)
Jesus speaks of those who will say
‘Lord, Lord’ and offer to lead the way to his Kingdom. But the
false prophets will bear their own kind of bad fruit.
- A faith marked by public rather than private piety
- A concern for material things over and above spiritual things
- A judgmental attitude towards their sisters and brothers in Christ.
Such leaders are to be avoided because
they cannot lead us in the ways of the Kingdom, no matter how
wonderful the signs and wonders performed at their hands may be.
Again we are back to the intentions of the heart. In a leaders heart
must be the desire to be a servant, not to be a ruler. Be they a
Sunday School Teacher, hold a position in a church organization, be a
deacon or elder or pastor the example all are called to follow is
that of Jesus who came amongst us as the Servant king.
Chapter 7 closes with a simple yet
powerful illustration that focuses on the importance of hearing the
Word and doing the will of God as the way of the Kingdom. Matthew
7:24-27
THE HOUSE ON THE ROCK
24
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them
into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the
rock. 26
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into
practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27
The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat
against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
I always hear the Sunday School song …
“The rains came down and the floods came up…” playing in my
head every time I hear that reading. The point is crystal clear. Life
brings many storms our way. We can only withstand them by building
our lives on genuine Kingdom teaching and principles.
In Matthew 5 we heard the marvelous
words of the Beatitudes and saw Jesus starting to explain their
implications through a number of case studies on such questions as
anger, adultery, divorce and revenge. All the time the focus is upon
our inner lives as being the place where our relationship with God
and the principles of God’s kingdom are to be established.
In chapters 6 & 7 this teaching is
built upon by showing right and wrong ways of building Kingdom
values: Play acting religion; focussing on material wealth rather
than spiritual vales; holding onto judgmental rather than humble
attitudes; listening to false leaders.
Whilst there is so much teaching and so
many themes in these chapters there strands that seem to hold them
together.
- To adopt kingdom values means abandoning all concern for whatever others may think of us and concentrate instead on our relationship with God.
- To adopt Kingdom values requires trust in God’s ability to meet our deepest needs.
- To adopt Kingdom values means walking gently one with another. We are called to be encouragers not judges, to practice discernment not condemnation and recognize our mutual need for the love of God to renew our lives.
Such are ways we walk in the footsteps
of the King.
The impact of the sermon on the mount
cannot be over-stated. Even after 2000 years it still challenges our
complacency and calls us to examine our values. It remains as radical
to us today as it ever was! Such is well captured by the final two
verses of chapter 7: 28-29
28
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed
at His teaching, 29
because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers
of the law.
Chapters 8 through 11 continue on the
theme of ‘authority’ and offer us examples of how Christ’s
authority developed. But more of that next time….