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Text: Matthew 5:33-48(NIV)

³³"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' ³⁴But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

³⁸"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' ³⁹But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴²Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' ⁴⁴But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Discussion Questions

-Do you think verses 33-37 are telling us to “affirm” rather than “swear” in court, or is there an underlying heart issue that Jesus is referring to?

-Re-read verses 38-42. For each of the following, explain how they are examples of someone who is living life in the Kingdom rather than just the world:

-Do verses 43 and 44 sound like Jesus just wants us to be a “doormat” and let people step on us without any reaction?

-Everything in this lesson implies that it might cost us something. How can verses 45 and 46 help if we get into that situation?

-In verse 47 Jesus suggests that we do “more than others” would. How does that put us in control of the situation?

-What do these examples of Kingdom behavior by Jesus tell us about what his expectation of “perfection” is as described in verse 48?

Each study on the Sermon on the Mount is based on the fact that God has translated us into the Kingdom of God, with all of the benefits and expectations being things that should currently characterize our “life in the Kingdom.” Each lesson illustrates an important Kingdom principle that, when taken together, will help achieve a “Kingdom worldview,” in order to live healthy and significant lives while we await the complete fulfillment which will attend the second coming of Christ.

Review of Kingdom principles so far:
5-12 (Beatitudes): The eternal perspective on our lives which comes from living in the Kingdom should be able to transform our attitude toward life because we have constant access to what is really important.

13-16 (Salt and Light): Good works are not the means to God’s salvation, but are still critical in order to accomplish Kingdom ministry and mission in this world.

17-20 (fulfilling the law): We cannot keep the law of God by trying hard—we keep it by becoming the kind of people who naturally live in accordance with what God desires for us.

21-32 (sex and violence): healthy relationships with others come from dealing with the underlying heart issues of selfishness and pride rather than just managing our outward behaviors.

The kingdom principle in this passage is that the confidence we have as children of God and citizens of the Kingdom who have a different value system allows us to be in control of situations where other people are trying to control us.

-Do you think verses 38-42 are telling us to “affirm” rather than “swear” in court, or is there an underlying heart issue that Jesus is referring to?

This question refers to a way in which some people apply this teaching by refusing to “swear” that they will tell the truth when called to be witnesses in a court of law. While we don’t want to criticize people if they feel strongly about that sort of thing, what we do want to do with this lesson is to remind people that Jesus is not teaching a new kind of law to take over for the old one. He is giving examples of how people should be living if their hearts have truly been changed. Here the issue is integrity. Oaths, of course, are a way of convincing people that they can really trust what it is we’re saying. Jesus says that for citizens of the kingdom, no convincing should ever be necessary.

According to Jesus, if we require anything beyond letting our “yes be yes” and our “no be no”, then that is from the evil one. This implies that if we have the kind of integrity that doesn’t require swearing oaths then it probably has its source in God. That is the whole point to this lesson, and the sermon on the mount in general: to be good citizens of the kingdom, we focus on our relationship to the King in order to become the kind of people who behave according to Kingdom standards. It is not about behavior management: it is heart management.

-Re-read verses 38-42. For each of the following, explain how they are examples of someone who is living life in the Kingdom rather than just the world:
Here again, we want to emphasize that these are not rigid laws that Jesus is laying down, but examples that he is giving. Any of the following can be done with the wrong attitude just to “do what Jesus said to,” in which case we will totally miss the point. It would always be possible to “turn the other cheek” and proceed to knock someone’s head off. You would have followed the “law”, but failed to understand what Jesus really wants to see from people who live in the Kingdom of God rather than just in the world.

This example probably refers to the “back-handed slap” which was (and still is) one of the worst kinds of insults in middle eastern culture. It was (and is) a shame-based culture. To not only put up with that kind of insult but turn the other cheek in order to say, in effect, that they are welcome to insult you twice as much would be unheard of. But people whose lives have been translated into the kingdom of God are people who are completely secure as children of the King. Our self-worth comes from knowing that God himself completely values us. Hence, no insult that comes from the world should have much of an effect.

At that time your tunic was a helpful piece of clothing, but your cloak was what you used on trips to keep out the weather as well as to sleep under. So these two things basically represent clothing and shelter. To not have to hang on to even these basics is to declare your complete faith that God will take care of you. It also says something important about your value system, of course, but that subject will come up again in a subsequent lesson.

Roman soldiers were allowed by law to force anyone they came across to carry their packs for up to a mile, but no more than that. People who live in the kingdom of God find service, even when it is forced on them, to be opportunities rather than obligations. Serving others and not ourselves is what we’re all about. When we go beyond anyone’s expectations or requirements with our service we are declaring to them with our actions a radically different approach to life and a different understanding of what really matters.

The grammar in this verse implies a casual, one-time event rather than being everybody’s go-to person for money because they know you’ll be required by your faith to cough it up. As someone has said, if Christians took these statements as laws the world would be full of broke believers and wealthy thieves and lazy people. The picture is someone who just doesn’t feel very strongly about holding on tightly to what’s in their wallet if the occasion arises when they could share it with someone who needs it more.

-Do verses 43 and 44 sound like Jesus just wants us to be a “doormat” and let people step on us without any reaction?

Here is one of the most important points to make. When we are able to behave in these kinds of ways because of our Kingdom values and perspective, we become the ones in control of the situation. The kinds of examples Jesus describes here are ways in which people attempt to exert their control or worldly authority over us by attacking our self worth, our stuff, etc. To resist them is to play into their hands. To give in with a sense of resignation because we think God calls us to be “doormats” is also to grant them power over our lives. When none of these things matter as much to us because we are already in the Kingdom of God, then we can go way beyond to show crazy love. We don’t just let enemies take advantage of us, we actively love them and pray for them. Then we are the ones calling the shots and making the decisions about what we’re going to do. These are pictures of joyful, confident, citizens of the Kingdom in control of their own destiny which they know is eternal and guaranteed by God.

As an aside, all of these examples are clearly about personal, individual relationships rather than institutions or nations. Jesus is not addressing issues of war and non-resistance in regards to the geo-political relationships between nations.

-Everything in this lesson implies that it might cost us something. How can verses 45 and 46 help if we get into that situation?

Jesus reminds us that we are children of the king, and God loves it when his kids behave according to his value system. People who are desperate for their parent’s approval will do crazy things sometimes. When we are tempted to feel sorry for ourselves for having lost some worldly asset because of our crazy, kingdom behavior, it might help to visualize “daddy God” smiling and affirming our choices. Jesus also affirms for his followers that he has eternal rewards ready and waiting for them which go far beyond whatever it is that people are trying to take away from us in this world.

-In verse 47 Jesus suggests that we do “more than others” would. How does that put us in control of the situation?

This is another opportunity to remind people that these examples are about being in control of situations, not just passively allowing other to control us. It is pro-active, even aggressive kingdom behavior that is all about crazy love being shown by people who know where they really live.

-What do these examples of Kingdom behavior by Jesus tell us about what his expectation of “perfection” is as described in verse 48?

This statement has, of course, caused many people to scratch their heads. We assume perfection is always about a lack of sin in our lives, something which we would never manage to accomplish at God’s level of “perfection”. But that is the old system of law which Jesus has “fulfilled.” With the coming of Christ, it is not first of all what we manage not to do, but what it is we do: show perfect love, and have absolute integrity. You can always trust God to do what he says, and people should be able to do that with us as well. And God will always love, give, and serve in crazy ways. When we do that, we put ourselves on the path toward becoming “perfect” examples for this world of what it means to live according to a Kingdom worldview.