Monday, March 26, 2018

Keys to the Kingdom – The Sermon on the Mount - 06 RESPONSE-ABILITY


What could be sweeter than revenge? So much in our society, especially the movie and entertainment industry, promotes personal, angry, hateful revenge. The audience is led to want the hero to be filled with rage and adrenaline, and to strike the villain personally, painfully, and brutally. And the viewers feel a sense of satisfaction when that happens.
Is that right? What does Jesus teach His disciples on the mountain?
God ordained judicial retribution. If one broke the law, the judges were to carry out God’s prescribed punishment that fit the crime. They were to act swiftly, decisively, and impartially. They would thus express God’s authority and deter others as well. But the Jews had heard that they could personally be vindictive and return evil for evil. What would Jesus say?
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Reading: Matt 5:38-42
Mt 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 “If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
God’s Prescription: Lex Talionis
Latin for the law of judicial retribution.
What you take you will lose: no more, no less. Eye, tooth, hand, foot, burn, bruise, wound.
Key: godly judges, not incensed individuals.
Ex 21:22-25; Lev 24:17-22; Deut 19:16-21
Matt 5:25-26; 7:1-2; 25:31-46
Rom 13:1-7; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20:11-15
Ex 21:22 “If men struggle with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. 23 “But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty 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.
Le 24:17 ‘If a man takes the life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death. 18 ‘The one who takes the life of an animal shall make it good, life for life. 19 ‘If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to him: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him. 21 ‘Thus the one who kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to death. 22 ‘There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.’ ”
Note especially Deut 19:16-21, which specifies that the Lex Talionis was to be administered, not by angry individuals, but by appointed judges. (Our nation’s founders followed this principle in setting up our system of judges and courts.)
Dt 19:16 “If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, 17 then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. 20 “The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 “Thus you shall not show pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
Jesus recognized the proper role of the judge and the court as well.
Mt 5:25 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
Jesus insisted that God is the ultimate Judge who will impartially carry out the Lex Talionis.
Mt 7:1 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
Jesus taught that sheep would be rewarded and the goats cursed, again with the idea of fair judgment.
Mt 25:31-46 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats …
Paul by inspiration also emphasized the judicial role of God-ordained governing authorities.
Rom 13:1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
Paul wrote of the great Day of Judgment to come.
2 Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
John saw the books and the Book of Life.
Re 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Note the statue of Lady Justice, always blindfolded.
Multiple warnings to judges in Scripture re: no partiality, no bribery, etc.
God’s Provision: Fairness
A way to judge evil acts objectively and blindly.
A way to fit (yet limit) the penalty to the crime.
A way to deter others with fear of punishment.
Deut 13:11; 17:13; 19:20; 21:21; Eccl 8:11
A way for victims to seek and ensure justice.
A way to prevent personal, hateful revenge.
Dt 13:11 “Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.
Dt 17:13 “Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again.
Dt 19:20 “The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.
Dt 21:21 “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.
Ec 8:11 Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.
God’s Precaution: Non-Retaliation
Pr 20:22 Do not say, “I will repay evil”. Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
Pr 24:29 Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
1 Th 5:15 Never repay evil for evil …
1 Pet 3:9 No insult for insult, but blessing …
1 Th 5:15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
1 Pe 3:8 To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
God’s Preventive: Love
Apparently the scribes and Pharisees had minimized the following commands, given by God to prevent the very thing that they wanted to justify – hateful revenge.
Lev 19:17 “You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”
5358 נָקַם [naqam /naw·kam/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1413; GK 5933; 35 occurrences; AV translates as “avenge” 18 times, “vengeance” four times, “revenge” four times, “take” four times, “avenger” twice, “punished” twice, and “surely” once. 1 to avenge, take vengeance, revenge, avenge oneself, be avenged, be punished. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to avenge, take vengeance. 1a2 to entertain revengeful feelings. 1b (Niphal). 1b1 to avenge oneself. 1b2 to suffer vengeance. 1c (Piel) to avenge. 1d (Hophal) to be avenged, vengeance be taken (for blood). 1e (Hithpael) to avenge oneself.
5201 נָטַר, נָטַר [natar /naw·tar/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1356; GK 5757 and 5758; Nine occurrences; AV translates as “keep” four times, “keeper” twice, “reserve” twice, and “grudge” once. 1 to keep, keep guard, reserve, maintain. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to keep, maintain. 1a2 to keep, guard.
Man’s Perversion: Revenge
“Do unto others as they have done unto you.”
“Don’t just get mad. Get even!”
“To overcome evil, become (more) evil!”
“Hate, don’t wait! Settle the score plus more!”
“Gun them down! Beat them up! Blow them out!”
Isaac or Herodias?
Gen 26:12-25 – Conflict Over Wells
Isaac: “Let it go! Re-dig another well!”
Mk 6:14-29 – Conflict Over Marriage Law
Herodias: “Let it grow!” “Chop off John’s head!”
What Isaac and Herodias share: Response-ability.
Christ’s Pro-Action: Response
When insulted with a slap, turn the other cheek.
When sued for one’s shirt, offer your coat also.
When coerced into service, go a second mile.
When begged for money, give, do not turn away.
Whatever happens: response-ability.
Christ’s Practice: Salvation
Lk 23:34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
1 Pet 2:23 … while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross …
1 Pet 2:21 “an example … walk in His steps …”
The ultimate example of response-ability is Jesus Himself. Even when beaten, blindfolded, spit upon, and ridiculed, He was still response-able – able to choose His response. The result? Our salvation from sin, and our model to follow when we are mistreated.
Possible hymns:
None of Self and All of Thee
More Like Jesus
Angry Words
Lord, Speak to Me

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