43Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. — Matthew 5:43-45 (KJV)
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus offers some astonishing insights to the workings of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the natural, it would seem suicidal to do some of the things He is saying. Are we supposed to endure any hardship from just anyone, because they can quote back to us Jesus said so? Well, no.
Before getting to the message we must consider the recipients, let’s in fact read it from Matthew 4:23-25.
23And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. 24And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with divers diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them. 25And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. — Matthew 4:23-25 (KJV)
There are two important points I’d like to make. First, Jesus began by healing all who were sick, those suffering with various diseases and pains, those under the power of demons, and epileptics, paralytics. Second, nobody was directly excluded from the Sermon on the Mount that came next, but what was required was a kind of active participation, willingness to walk an extra mile.
Ability and motivation
Did you catch that? If we are to meet a crazy person who demands a shirt off our back, we must first get them healed and then see if they still need it. We do not put these burdens on the sick or the elderly who are already struggling by telling them to give away their rights to invading enemies howling at the gate.
The Amplified Bible explains we are to simply ignore insignificant insults or trivial losses and do not bother to retaliate, maintaining our dignity, our self-respect, our poise. The other people’s attitude, or even our own self image does not dictate our behavior towards others or ourselves. God has a standard for loving-kindness, and it is respect for the rights of ourselves and that of the others. We are not to pluck our or anyone else’s eye, it is an idiom meaning “cut that out!”, stop doing the thing that disturbs you or puts you or someone else in harm’s way.
16All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. — 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (KJV)
Perfection in Biblical sense means maturity. For instance, in Luke 22:36 Jesus tells those of His disciples who do not already own a sword to buy one. It is not for summer theater, those who carry a sword in dangerous times must be willing to use it if necessary.
Maturity, not conceptional illiteracy
A chapter taken out of context is a pretext, and we must consider even the peaceful Sermon on the Mount as part of the bigger picture the whole Scripture paints. Our Savior was speaking to His followers, those of us who chose and continue to choose to follow Him every day. Therefore it would be foolish to impose the Sermon on the Mount on all people as official, secular or religious law.
Experts who say the Constitution of the United States and several others are compatible with the New Testament reading of the Bible are correct, but they do not mean these Constitutions are the Sermon on the Mount, or even the Ten Commandments – they mean these Constitutions deliberately enable the practise of these Biblical teachings for each Biblically mature and balanced individual who chooses to do so without harassment or intimidation by the secular or religious powers that be.
Our right to meet our accuser and demand for reliable witnesses also rise from the Bible. Even in Old Testament Israeli servitude was contractual and/or limited to a set number of years. That it continued to exist in New Testament times cannot be used to justify slavery; not slavery based on color or creed, and not slavery for the state.
These freedoms are threatened by people with different agenda, by those who cannot – or will not – understand the difference. They demand that we submit our principles at their altar, by taking our verses deliberately out of context or outright denying them. Let’s make sure our individual, rational and collective attitude spells out NOT ON OUR WATCH.
God bless you, Dear Reader.
Bible Study 