Last words from the mount

The last portion of the Sermon on the mount deals with perspective.

Jesus starts in Matthew five with pointing out the good in his listeners, and explaining that his message was new, he was not destroying the law, but enhancing it. In Matthew six he speaks of the individuals relationship with God, emphasizing that the relationship is personal, not private. In Matthew seven he speaks about that perspective, God will judge, it is not our duty on Earth to be judges of the relationship anyone else has with God.

He begins “7 Judge not, that ye be not judged.² For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again“. For something that is stunningly clear to me, this may be one of the most misused verses in the Bible. What constitutes sin is between you and God, I may not approve of your actions, but it is not up to me to condemn them.

Continuing this lesson, he says “³ And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?⁴ Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?⁵ Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye“. This takes two applications of understanding. We are not to look upon the failings of others until we have no failings of our own is the first part. The second part comes from understanding that once we have overcome our failings, we will not be judging others. That mote in your brother’s eye requires a different approach than you thought it did.

“⁶ Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you” is a reminder to not force your knowledge on others. It is a waste of energy to share precious things with those that cannot appreciate them.

Verses seven through twelve advise that seeking God’s help will result in receiving God’s help. While many people tend to interpret these verses along the lines of “Oh Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz” and I have actually seen Priests say “God will give you your heart’s desire”, meaning Earthly possessions. Your heart’s desire should be knowledge, a greater understanding of life.

Jesus goes forward with a parable about entering heaven, “¹³ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:¹⁴ Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” which I see as a reminder. You’ve been given control of your path, don’t lose your way.

Next is a reminder to be aware. “¹⁵ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.¹⁶ Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?¹⁷ Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.¹⁸ A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.¹⁹ Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.²⁰ Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them“. Be critical of those that promise a shortcut to heaven. Cast out those that are dishonest. That you continue to read my analysis would indicate that you have evaluated my logic, if you haven’t, please do so. Do not be gullible and accept someone’s word without checking the facts for yourself.

And then we get to the key. The summation of all the lessons, and the consequences of failing to understand. “²¹ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?²³ And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity“. Your relationship with God is not about your actions. It is about your soul. The key is to know God. You do not marry a person you do not know, why would you expect to spend eternity with someone you do not know. He continues with the analogy of the foundation of a house, “²⁴ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:²⁵ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.²⁶ And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:²⁷ And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it“. Your foundation is your relationship with God. It isn’t a once a week hobby, it is a lifetime of understanding. You may not be “good” every day. But you know what good is and you work towards it. This is understanding. Constantly striving to be better. 

The sermon ends. “²⁸ And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:²⁹ For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

He spoke as the Son of God, not someone repeating what they had read. He spoke with authority that was recognized on hearing. By his fruits they knew him.

Still on the mount

Never wanting to leave a story unfinished, I’ve decided to continue with the “Sermon on the Mount”. I really want to get this out there because these are the fundamental teachings of Christianity, and most Christians don’t understand or even know them.

In the sixth chapter of Matthew, Jesus continues the lesson. He says “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven“. Do you hear that televangelists? Prayer is between the individual and God, it isn’t a performance piece.

He continues to reinforce the lesson, saying that attracting the attention of men will not attract the attention of God. The seventh verse, “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking“, says you should be mindful of your words, reciting words is not a prayer. It is simply chanting.

This is where people become confused. Verses nine through fifteen are commonly referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer”, or by those used to reciting words without meaning, the first two words of the prayer, “Our Father”. The important part is the first verse, “⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name“. After this manner. He does not say “Use these words”, he has just said “Use not vain repetitions”. Understanding means understanding every word, not just “getting the gist of it”.

Then again in verses sixteen through eighteen he reinforces the lesson of not making your prayers for public recognition. It would occur to me that this must be a very important lesson, for him to repeat it three times in succession. He gives an analogy in verses nineteen through twenty one, “¹⁹ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:²⁰ But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:²¹ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” You can see this as still pounding in the lesson. Most likely because he was attempting to reach people who had practiced the opposite all of their lives.

Now he builds into the next lesson. “²² The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.²³ But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” To bring this into my own “language”, I would reference “Rockman” from “The Point”. You see what you want to see. If you see darkness in people, that is all you will see, and if the darkness is inside you, everything will be dark.

And then, the focal point of this section. “²⁴ No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Do not misunderstand. This has been the theme from the start of the chapter. He says you cannot serve both. You have to make one or the other your priority. In doing so, the following verses come naturally.

If you have decided to serve God, your life on Earth is secondary. God knows what you need and will provide it. Verses twenty five through thirty three explain the difference between what you need and what you may want. Finishing with “³⁴ Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Do not worry about tomorrow, there is enough to deal with today.

You may not be here tomorrow anyway.

Enemies

It’s comfortable to live in a black and white world, but even with that there are shades of grey that provide definition. We tend to see good and bad, friend and enemy, liberal and conservative as opposites, like black and white. In our hearts we know differently.

I tend away from favorites. Last week a friend asked what my favorite Beatles song was, I had no answer. I can’t say my favorite food or wine or beer, it depends on the moment. I try to appreciate all the facets of the things I enjoy, and by looking at life in that manner, I often find facets that are positive in things I don’t generally like.

The fifth chapter of Matthew illustrates this point. Matthew is my favorite book of the Bible, and this is one of my favorite chapters, because it contains so many of my favorite verses. It is part of what is commonly referred to as “The sermon on the mount” (along with chapters six and seven). I’m going to work from this chapter today, not in linear order but by cross referencing the verses.

I want to start near the end, the summation of this lesson, verses 43 and 44, what I believe is the center of Christ’s teachings. “⁴³ Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.⁴⁴ But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”

In these verses, it is clearly stated “That was then, this is now”, “Love everyone”, and “What matters is not who loves you, but who you love”.

Reinforcing this is verse 45, “⁴⁵ That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

From this I take that our Earthly existence is as equals. The sun shines and the rain falls on all of us. Illnesses and disasters are not punishments from God, “Good fortune” is not his reward. These things are only elements of life, how we deal with them will be the measure by which God judges us after this life.

The remaining verses of the chapter explain once again the logic of the lesson, “⁴⁶ For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?⁴⁷ And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?⁴⁸ Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”

Two translations here. “Publicans” were the tax collectors, “Perfect” is taken to mean “Complete”. Other Biblical translations use different words in those places, this is the King James Version, which I always use to remain consistent throughout my writing.

The chapter had started by addressing the crowd, and identifying them as special. Not as a crowd, but as individuals, various shades of grey. The verses (two through eleven) that begin with “Blessed are the…” are in this section.

The next section (verses twelve through sixteen) speaks his message, starting with “¹² Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” In simplest terms, your reward is not on Earth, but in heaven. He also states that the message is to be shared, by remaining true to the virtues of the lesson “¹⁵ Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.¹⁶ Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Then, he separates the Old Testament from the New. Not by destroying the old, but by fulfilling the prophecies of a new teacher. “¹⁷ Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” This is important to reflect upon. Many people reject the Bible because they say it contradicts itself. Jesus is merely fulfilling the prophecies of the Old Testament, refining the message for a “modern” audience.

The next part includes what I interpret as the quality of mercy, “¹⁹ Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Failing to be “perfect” may not mean failure to enter heaven. But it should not be considered a good thing to see how much you can get away with.

This is followed by several verses giving thought to the concepts of responsibility, forgiveness, and shades of grey. Some of the most misunderstood verses are these “³¹ It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:³² But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” The example here is about the responsibility of the male. When you cast away someone who has not done you harm, their reaction is your responsibility.

He finishes with a message about charity. “⁴² Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.” I justify my lack of absolute adherence to this teaching by saying “I can only give so much”, but the message is we are not to determine need, but give when asked. Today, we are so overwhelmed by need that we can pick and choose to whom we give, That should not prevent us from giving freely. You will be taken advantage of, your charity will be abused, but God isn’t interested in that. In the final measure, you will be judged by your charity. Those that abused your charity will be judged for their actions. Taken with verses 31 and 32, abusing charity prevents those with need from receiving charity.

If you interpret the Bible with love in your heart, it is easy to see the love in the messages. If you do not have love within you, you will not understand, you will interpret the verses to suit your desires. This is the message of earlier verses, “²³ Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;²⁴ Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.²⁵ Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.” Read that as a parable, you do not know the number of your days, or when you may face judgement.

You are not expected to be without flaw, you are expected to do your best despite your flaws.