Written by: Andrew Wooding
Matthew 5 v 23-24
“So when you offer your gift to God at the altar, and you remember that your
brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there at the altar.
Go and make peace with that person, and then come and offer your gift.”
Notes
Oh dear. The words of Jesus can be so difficult sometimes. I wish he just said
nice fluffy things that make me feel good, but that is quite clearly not the
case. Here he is giving out some practical, challenging instructions that, to
be honest, I have to remember nearly every time I go to church or meet with
other Christians.
Jesus is saying that to get the vertical right, we first need to take care of the horizontal – in other words, before we worship (our vertical relationship with God), we need to sort out any differences or conflicts we might have (our horizontal relationships with our brothers and sisters).
I really like “me and God” experiences – when I pray alone at home, or go for a walk and talk to God. But as Christians we also need “us and God” experiences – worshipping together as a family of God, as a community, as brothers and sisters.
Who are my brothers and sisters? They could quite literally be my family members. They could also be my Christian friends, colleagues, and fellow church members. So, if church is about a community of believers worshipping together, and if communion is about expressing our togetherness, aren’t I being a bit hypocritical if I don’t have this togetherness with some of my “brothers and sisters”? Jesus seems to be saying this.
What a responsibility. If I’ve had an argument with my wife, been a bit snotty with someone during the week, or have a problem with a fellow Christian, I need to sort this out before expressing Christian “togetherness” – because otherwise this “togetherness” is just a lie. As Jesus said: “Go and make peace with that person”.
Is there someone you need to make peace with before your next Christian meeting or visit to church?
Prayer
Lord, will you please bring to mind any of my “brothers and sisters” who I have
something against, or who might have something against me. Help me make peace
with these people before I next meet with others to worship you. Amen
Matthew 5 v 25-26
“If your enemy is taking you to court, become friends quickly, before you go
to court. Otherwise, your enemy might turn you over to the judge, and the judge
might give you to a guard to put you in jail. I tell you the truth, you will
not leave there until you have paid everything you owe.”
Notes
We hear about court cases on the news every day. Some of the more high profile
ones involve politicians or celebrities, and they often tend to drag on for
months. Thankfully, I have never been involved in one, and as far as I know
I don’t have any enemies who want to take me to court.
So, this practical advice given by Jesus – do I just file it away in case it ever happens to me in the future, or is it something that can speak to me today?
I think a key word in what Jesus is saying is “quickly”. Sometimes it doesn’t take long for problems to escalate. I remember hearing (although I’m not sure how true this is) that World War I started after an argument about a chess game. If only the two chess players had sorted out their differences quickly, there and then. But, if the story is to be believed, it escalated and grew out of all proportion, until it turned into a full-blown war that spread throughout the world.
It can be the same in our relationships, whether with friends, family or acquaintances. The smallest argument can soon turn into full-blown conflict – the example that Jesus gives ends in a court case, a prison sentence and bankruptcy!
Sadly, arguments and conflict are part of life, even with Christians. Sometimes people just can’t help rubbing each other up the wrong way. I know that I can say things humorously that people take wrongly, and I can all too easily get my anger buttons pushed.
The advice to us as Christians, then, is to sort these conflicts out “quickly”. For you and for me, that might mean today!
Prayer
Lord, please give me the courage and wisdom to sort out quickly any conflicts
I might be involved in, before they grow any further. Amen
Matthew 5 v 27-30
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You must not be guilty of adultery.’
But I tell you that if anyone looks at a woman and wants to sin sexually with
her, in his mind he has already done that sin with the woman. If your right
eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one
part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. If your right
hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better to lose one
part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
Notes
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild. Always wears white. Lover of children. The person
who goes after lost sheep. What a nice, fluffy image.
I don’t know if you’ve ever had this view of Jesus, or heard it preached. Of course, parts of it are true, but Jesus was also an outspoken, hard-hitting speaker, and he wasn’t afraid to go for the jugular or to say difficult things when they were needed. His words today are especially hard-hitting.
Stop for a moment and think about what he is saying. Imagine a group of people so desperate to escape the awfulness of hell that they painfully mutilate themselves or gouge their eyes out. Thank you, Jesus – what a lovely edifying image to start the day with!
So, what are we to make of today’s verses? Does Jesus really want us to chop bits of our bodies off? I think not, otherwise all of our churches would be full of amputees, including myself!
The view of hell that was held by the people Jesus spoke to was pretty horrific. Jesus used this view to illustrate to his listeners the seriousness of sin.
I don’t know about you, but I’m extremely good at self-deception. “No one will miss that biro I took home from work. It’s nothing in the grand scheme of things.” “It’s not that big a deal to gossip about someone. Everyone does it.” “Who cares if I take a quick look up at the covers of those top-shelf magazines. I’m only human, aren’t I?”
But despite my self-deception, Jesus uses very strong words and images to show that in the eyes of God, sin is very serious … always.
Prayer
Lord, will you please show me where I am guilty of sin and help me to understand
how serious it is to you. Thank you that you still love me, in spite of the
wrong things I do. Amen
Matthew 5 v 31-32
“It was also said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written divorce
paper.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife forces her to be guilty
of adultery. The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if she has sexual
relations with another man. And anyone who marries that divorced woman is guilty
of adultery.”
Notes
There have been hundreds of books written about Jesus’ words on divorce and
remarriage, and most of them disagree with each other! I can’t cover all this
in a 300-word study, but I can throw out some points for thought.
The first is that Jesus was not about condemning people. He was merciful to the woman caught in adultery (John 7 v 53 to 8 v 11), and to those who were all-too-eager to judge her, he pointed out that no one is blameless. You might have heard the saying: “Whenever you point the finger at someone, three of your own fingers are pointing back at you!”
Secondly, God is a God of second chances. Jesus said to forgive people seventy times seven times (Matthew 18 v 15-35). Yes, marriage should be for life, many marriages involve vows to God, and marriage break-ups are bad news for all concerned. However, in the imperfect world we live in, it happens. But God specialises in working with failures, and he can forgive us and give hope for a new beginning.
Finally, if you look closely at what Jesus is saying, he is talking to the men and not the women. My understanding of New Testament times is that men could divorce women, but not the other way round. So Jesus was saying: “Don’t put your wife in a difficult situation where you force her to sin.”
Surely this is a lesson to all of us today. If you are a boss in an office, don’t force your employees to copy a CD illegally or to lie to someone on the phone. If you are in charge of anyone – whether at church, in a youth group or anywhere – think carefully about your actions. Don’t cause the people you are responsible for to sin.
Prayer
Dear Lord, thank you that no matter how much I have messed up in my life, you
can always work with me and give me another chance. You still love me, even
in the midst of my failure. Amen
Matthew 5 v 33-37
“You have heard that it was said to our people long ago, ‘Don’t break your promises,
but keep the promises you make to the Lord.’ But I tell you, never swear an
oath. Don’t swear an oath using the name of heaven, because heaven is God’s
throne. Don’t swear an oath using the name of the earth, because the earth belongs
to God. Don’t swear an oath using the name of Jerusalem, because that is the
city of the great King. Don’t even swear by your own head, because you cannot
make one hair on your head become white or black. Say only yes if you mean yes,
and no if you mean no. If you say more than yes or no, it is from the Evil One.”
Notes
I don’t know if you have ever been along to a major court case. I haven’t, but
from a lifetime of watching courtroom dramas on the telly and at the movies,
there is the well-known ritual of witnesses being asked: “Do you swear to tell
the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?” As if this is not enough,
they then have to guarantee that they are telling the truth by swearing on the
Bible.
So what do Jesus’ words say to us today? Apart from the above example, I don’t see many people going around swearing oaths these days: “I swear on Tony Blair and George Bush that I am telling the truth!”; “I swear on the head of Elvis Presley”; “I swear on this Mars bar”! It just doesn’t happen…
I think part of what Jesus is saying is that Christians shouldn’t need to swear on anything in order to be trusted. Christians should be seen as trustworthy and reliable on their own merits. If they say yes, you know that they mean yes. If they say no, you know that they mean no. Whatever they say, people should know that they are always honest, decent and true.
(Pause here for a guilty cough.)
Yes, well, erm… I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I am always honest, decent and true. I don’t lie as such, but I’m extremely clever at bending the truth, or conveniently forgetting to communicate bits of the truth when it suits me.
Once again Jesus’ words have challenged me. I need to go away and seriously think about how I come across to other people. I want people to know Jesus through how I live, behave, and how I can be trusted.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, I desperately want people to know about you. I pray that people
will know I am a Christian by the fact that I can be trusted. Please will you
show me the areas in my life where this is not the case. Amen
Matthew 5 v 38-42
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for
a tooth.’ But I tell you, don’t stand up against an evil person. If someone
slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other cheek as well. If someone
wants to sue you in court and take your shirt, let him have your coat as well.
If someone forces you to go with him a kilometre, go with him 2 kilometres.
If a person asks you for something, give it to him. Don’t refuse to give to
someone who wants to borrow from you.”
Notes
I have to be honest here and admit that sometimes I struggle with the above
verses. What Jesus is saying is very admirable and all that, but the last thing
I want is for Christians to be seen as pushovers or easy targets. Growing up,
I sometimes thought that Christians were wimps, and that going to church was
a crutch for weak people. Now that I’m part of this whole Christian thing I
know that I was wrong and this is mostly not the case.
But imagine it. All the robbers in an area know you’re a Christian and find out where you live. One by one they knock on your door and say, “Oi, Jesus said you’re not supposed to stand up to me. Give us your telly and your microwave. Oh, and by the way, could you carry it to my van?”
But looking at this more closely, what Jesus is saying is extremely radical and is nothing to do with weakness. In fact, it takes a stronger person to put his words into action. He is not necessarily saying that we should always give people our shirts and coats, or if people want to slap us we should let them. I think he may have been exaggerating to make a point, and I believe his point was this:
If you pay back evil with evil – “he punched me so I punched him back” – the evil won’t stop. It will just be a continuous, never-ending circle. At some point that circle needs to broken, and it stops when we don’t retaliate, and instead we show love, forgiveness and understanding to our enemies.
Has someone insulted you recently? Don’t insult them back. Show them kindness, and see what happens. Are you strong enough for the task?
Prayer
Jesus, help me to put your radical words into action. Please help me not to
return insults or fight back at people – to repay evil for evil. I want to overcome
evil with good, in your name. Amen
Matthew 5 v 43-45
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemies.’
But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do
this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven. He causes the sun
to rise on good people and on evil people, and he sends rain to those who do
right and to those who do wrong.”
Notes
“Why do bad things happen to good people?” “Why do bad people sometimes succeed?”
You might have heard these questions before? You might even have asked them
yourself. It sometimes seem so unfair.
But what Jesus says at the end of today’s reading is just common sense: good things (like the sun rising) happen to both good and bad people: and bad things (like the rain falling) also happen to good and bad people. This is just the way it is. In many ways, we’re all in the same boat, all part of the same world.
As for what Jesus says at the beginning of today’s reading, let me tell you about a form of prayer I was introduced to recently that has helped me very much. Before I pray this prayer, I need to bring to mind someone who I have problems with or see as an enemy.
Then I need to sit down and think long and hard about this person. I have to try and see them the way God sees them. I need to realise that maybe they have a wife or a husband who loves them, a mum and a dad, or children who depend on them and look up to them. I have to think that maybe this person has been through some bad stuff at some point that makes them they way they are. I need to realise that they are in the same boat as me, with both good and bad experiences in their life. And finally, I need to pray for them. By the end of each prayer, normally those people aren’t my enemies any more.
Jesus said to “love your enemies”. Why not think of an “enemy” today to pray for.
Prayer exercise
Have a go at the above exercise, bringing to mind someone you have problems
with, then thinking about them and praying for them
word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken
from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993
by Word Publishing Milton Keynes