Matthew 5:21-37 (Epiphany 6a)

Matthew 5:21-37 (Epiphany 6A)

St. John, Galveston 2/12/2023

Rev. Alan Taylor

+ In Nomine Jesu +

Grace and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, in this morning’s section of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, some would say that He’s has gone from preaching to medaling. Preaching, by some accounts, is when a sermon is somewhat comfortable, when it can be held out at arms-length, if you will, when it doesn’t hit too close to home, perhaps when you can leave the sanctuary and say, “boy, Pastor sure let “em” have today, didn’t he?” Medaling, on the other hand, is when the sermon strikes the bullseye, when it convicts regarding the law, when it leaves every one of us with no wiggle room for escape or for self-justification.

By that definition, it does seem that Jesus has gone from preaching to medaling, in that He condemns common sins like anger and lust, two sins of the heart that we are all, to one degree or another, well acquainted with. And not only does He condemn the sins of anger and lust He even equates them respectively to murder and to adultery.

Someone once said to me, “Pastor, you’ll never convince me that anger is the same as murder and lust is the same as adultery.” I said, “that’s fine. I don’t really need to convince you of anything. I’m just telling you what God says. If you don’t believe it, it’s God that you don’t believe, not me.” 

Let me repeat what Jesus says, just so you know I’m not making this up. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Jesus condemns anger, equating to murder. And then, just a little bit later in this part of His sermon, He says, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

We begin this section of Jesus Sermon on Mount then with a bit of a logical quandary. Clearly, the billowing harm of someone’s sinful actions is more destructive and potentially more catastrophic than the unknown thoughts and intents of their heart. Life experience tells us that that is true. That being the case, we tend to judge sins on a scale of least to worst. Perhaps it was a mistaken understanding of the distinction between venial and mortal sins that caused us to do so. After all, when it comes to sin, the Bible says, “a sin is a sin.” Still, we tend to judge sins according to some unwritten rule of severity. Thus, in our minds, some sins are more serious than others. And so, when Jesus equates anger to murder and lust to adultery, we’re a bit taken aback. For many of us, what He says poses a logical quandary.

And yet, for all our insistence that there is a huge difference between sins of action and sins of thought, it’s Jesus who ultimately judges, isn’t it? He is God, after all. And so, none of us can leave here this morning saying, “boy, pastor, you sure let “em” have it today.” To the degree that we have harbored anger or lust in our hearts over the course of our lives, the judgment of murderer and adulterer lies at the feet of every one of us. 

But Jesus isn’t done with us just yet. He’ll medal a bit more. As if convicting us of the sins of anger and lust weren’t enough, He says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” 

As I look around the sanctuary this morning, it appears that none of us have taken these words of Jesus literally. I mean, for the most part, our bodies appear to be pretty much intact. That being the case, we might ask ourselves what we have chosen to do with these words of Jesus. What did He mean when He said we should tear out our eyes or cut off our hands to curb or to check the rule of sin in our lives?

I think we have two choices, two ways we could take these words of Jesus. The first choice is to understand what He says here in a metaphorical since. In that case, He may have been using the human body as a metaphor for the Church, which is, of course, done elsewhere in the New Testament, where we are told that we are all part of the body of Christ and members thereof. Some understand what Jesus says here as an admonition for the Church to practice discipline among its members. The plucking out of the eye and the cutting off of the hand is understood as a call to expel members from the Church who refuse to repent of their sin. Again, that’s one way to understand what Jesus says here about the treatment of the body. I suppose, an added bonus of taking His words in a metaphorical sense is that it softens what He says a bit, in that it takes away the savage image of bodies being mutilated because of sin. 

The other way to understand what Jesus meant, which, by the way, I believe is the correct way, is to take His words as hyperbole. Which means, while He didn’t intend for anyone to literally pluck out their eyes or cut off their hands, He did intend to demonstrate just how serious we should take the sins of our hearts. The savage imagery of the mutilated body should, in fact, remain in our hearts and minds. After all, “It is better (Jesus says) that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.” 

With a hyperbolic understanding of Jesus’ words, that is, with a heightened since of the severity of sin, we are left considering the old adage, that “little sins only require a little Gospel, while big sins, meaning the sins that we can’t explain away, or escape, require a Gospel that is still greater.” Hyperbole means that Jesus magnifies the severity of our condition, such that any sort of rescue, or reprieve, or salvation must also be magnified as well.

And so, Jesus hangs upon a cross! This is the Gospel that meets the corruption of our hearts head on. Jesus hangs upon a cross! His body is mutilated. His hands are pierced. His brow bleeds into His eyes and mouth. Blood and water flow from His pierced side. The Father deemed that it was better that His Son be “stricken, smitten, and afflicted. (That He be) piercedfor our transgressions and (and that He be) crushed for our iniquities; (that) upon him (be) the chastisement that brought us peace. (Indeed, the Father deemed that by the) wounds (of His Son) we (should be) healed.”

Our sins of thought, word, and deed are ever before us and with us. We know that. But greater than our hearts, is the love, mercy, and forgiveness of God. Christ Jesus redeems murders and adulterers, even as He redeems sinners of every sort. His body once pierced remains as the sure and certain sign of His love for you. He says, “Come unto Me all of you who labor and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” As you find anger and lust in your heart, and you hear God’s condemnation of your sin, He says, “Come to Me.” “Come to Me.” “Take and eat (He says), this is My body given for you.” He was body of Jesus that was put forth as a curb of our sins. It was the body of Jesus that was given to restore hope in our lives! The body of Jesus is the only answer to the pesky and meddlesome words of the Law. With that message of forgiveness and grace, God grant that we would all leave here today with new sentiment in our hearts, one of thankfulness and praise. “Pastor, you sure let us have it today.” That is, the absolute certainty of the forgiveness of our sins in Christ Jesus.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +