Brad's Bistro

Text: Matthew6:1-16(NIV)

²¹"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

²⁵"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' ²⁸But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. ²⁹If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ³⁰And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

³¹"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' ³²But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

Discussion Questions

-Read verses 21 and 22. If anger is the result of someone interfering with us achieving our desires, what does this say about the underlying “heart issue” that Jesus is addressing?

-“Raca” and “fool” are both expressions of contempt: statements that deliberately devalue people. What does this say about what Jesus is really concerned about?

-It is relatively easy not to murder someone. But what do we need to do in order to address issues of anger and contempt toward others?

-Read verses 23 and 24. Why do you think Jesus takes the process of reconciling with people and connects it to the act of worship?

-Jesus has been talking about God’s judgment of our inner attitudes. In verses 25 and 26 he speaks of a secular courtroom. Do you think he might be using that as an illustration of how God the judge responds to us in these kinds of situations? If so, what is he telling us about our willingness to reconcile with people?

-Read verses 27-30. What is the issue of the heart in regards to sexual relationships with someone other than our spouse?

-If this whole discussion so far has been about the attitudes of our heart, what is the point Jesus is making in verses 29 and 30 about cutting off body parts to keep from sinning?

-Verses 31 and 32 are presented by Jesus as the ultimate result of anger, contempt, lack of reconciliation, and wrong attitudes toward sex and marriage. How can dealing with our heart issues reduce the chance of divorce?

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.

The Kingdom principle in this passage is that healthy relationships with others come from dealing with the underlying heart issues of selfishness and pride rather than just managing our outward behaviors.

-Read verses 21 and 22. If anger is the result of someone interfering with us achieving our desires, what does this say about the underlying “heart issue” that Jesus is addressing?

Jesus begins the process of going beyond trying to manage external behaviors, as the law required, to dealing with the source of those behaviors in the human heart. Since getting angry at somebody is the result of them having done something that disallows us from getting what we want, then the root issue of the heart is selfishness. Certainly some anger is justified, when our person or property is being threatened, or “righteous anger” when we see someone else being hurt. But much of it simply has to do with having our own desires blocked by someone. And regardless of why we get angry, even beginning the process of directing it toward whoever you feel is responsible starts you on the road toward getting even. The point here is to deal with things internally before they grow to the point of acting them out in ways that are destructive of others.

-“Raca” and “fool” are both expressions of contempt: statements that deliberately devalue people. What does this say about what Jesus is really concerned about?

Raca is an Aramaic insult meant to express something like the word fool when used to denote someone who is stupid to the point of worthlessness. It entirely devalues them as people, and as such is a means by which we elevate ourselves in relation to them. So the underlying issue of the heart is pride which, of course, is very much related to selfishness. Jesus is underscoring that a self-centered attitude is at odds with a kingdom worldview, in which we always see the value of our lives as determined by what we can do for others rather than what we can get them to do for us.

-It is relatively easy not to murder someone. But what do we need to do in order to address issues of anger and contempt toward others?
This is simply an open question to address how we deal with issues of the heart like selfishness and pride. Jesus wants to get at the source of bad behaviors rather than just trying to manage them. This is not so clear cut and easy a thing as just not murdering someone or calling them names. A lifetime of continuing to develop our relationship to God through Jesus Christ in ways that fully access the Holy Spirit is really the ultimate answer.

-Read verses 23 and 24. Why do you think Jesus takes the process of reconciling with people and connects it to the act of worship?

Jesus wants us to deal with bad behaviors by dealing with underlying issues of the heart. Underlying issues of the heart, in turn, are dealt with by developing our relationship to God. We can have the same problem with our worship as we have when we don’t murder someone but are still angry with them: our worship can be externally correct, but internally not in line with who we are as people in the Kingdom. If our worship is just a ritual instead of an expression of a real and growing relationship with God, then we aren’t getting the point that Jesus is trying to make. Also, if we come to worship with hearts full of bitterness and anger toward others, then our worship will probably never get beyond external ritual. Those kinds of unaddressed issues of the heart are barriers to connecting with God.

It can’t be shown absolutely that Jesus is using a secular courtroom as an illustration of the kind of judgment he was discussing in the previous verses, but it makes the most sense in terms of teaching broader principles in regards to reconciliation. Surely he didn’t intend for us to apply these only when a lawsuit was filed. What he is saying, in essence, is too keep short accounts. Deal with conflict as early and as completely as possible, or there will be further costs that you shouldn’t have to pay. This is just good conflict resolution strategy. He also may be saying that before he comes, or one of the parties involved dies, you still have a chance to reconcile, so make sure you take advantage of it while you can.

-Read verses 27-30. What is the issue of the heart in regards to sexual relationships with someone other than our spouse?

The thing to get across here is that Jesus is talking about our intent. The original grammar makes it clear that what is happening is a deliberate evaluation of someone for the purpose of fantasizing about doing something with them which you know is outside of God’s design. It isn’t about looking at someone which leads to desire, or temptation. Even Jesus experienced that (Heb. 4:15). It is helpful to see this teaching of Jesus in the sermon on the mount as not just about unrelated issues, but building on each other. To deliberately lust after someone like this is to devalue them and desire to meet your own needs at their expense, so it is one of the natural outgrowths of a heart with issues of selfishness and pride, just as murder and name calling were.

-If this whole discussion so far has been about the attitudes of our heart, what is the point Jesus is making in verses 29 and 30 about cutting off body parts to keep from sinning?

Clearly Jesus was not suggesting that we actually do these things. Even a blind man can lust. At the very least he is using deliberate exaggeration to make the point that we do whatever we have to in order to address bad behaviors. Since these kinds of behaviors ultimately derive from issues of the heart, then we do whatever we have to in order to make our hearts right with God and in tune with his Spirit. He is probably also making the point that if you really try to deal with these issues by simply managing external behaviors, here is where that approach will ultimately lead you to: being a blind cripple. The alternative he is offering of a real relationship to God is much more appealing.

This question underscores the fact that all of these issues are related and build on each other. Divorce, then, becomes something like murder: the ultimate expression of a refusal to deal with underlying heart issues, especially selfishness. Virtually every divorce involves at least one partner, and sometimes both to varying degrees, asking “What’s in it for me?” Prideful attitudes that treat other people with contempt, or as objects to be used to gratify their desires, are obviously going to lead down the path of dissolving a relationship. The lack of willingness to reconcile early before you have to “pay the price” speaks for itself.

The issue of divorce itself and whether or if it is allowed by Scripture is one of those areas that you can find a lot of disagreement on. As such, my suggestion is always to err on the side of grace. The very use of the term “allowed” assumes that we are asking about law in an era where that has been set aside in deference to walking in the Spirit. A couple of things to keep in mind in regards to this passage in particular, is that divorce in that time and place was a very different thing than we have now. It was always at the behest of the man, and the woman was left in desperate circumstances. Jesus’ intent was not to inform women that they had somehow become sinners (adulterers) because their husband decided to divorce them, but he was speaking to the men and informing them that the situation they are putting their wives in is their fault when they do things like this, including being seen by their culture as sexually “damaged goods.” It is very tricky to bring teaching on this issue that is being given to 1^st century Jews into our experience in the 21^st century and I would certainly avoid letting anyone in your group who has suffered from a divorce feel as if they are in violation of a Scriptural “law”, or are particularly bad sinners just because of that. The bottom line: divorce is not what God wants, and it is another expression of people not dealing with issues of the heart.