The Teachings of Jesus: a study for fellowship groups
These are sections from the 'Sermon on the Mount' which supplement the 'Beatitudes' which are featured in Ebe's Autumn 2002 programme of All Age Worship. -revised 21/10/2002

Kingdom principles: 'Things you have heard' reinterpreted by Jesus

We continue with important areas of practical living where Jesus quotes the Law with the words "You have heard that …" and then goes on to say "But I tell you that …" He examines the thoughts and attitudes of the human personality and says that it isn't just doing something forbidden which is sinful, but even entertaining the thought of doing so which is sin

You have heard it said 'Do not commit adultery'. (Mt 5:27-32).

The first century was a bit like the present day in that there was widespread breakdown of marriage. Jews had a very strict law about adultery (Lev 20:10) but this was offset by a very simple process for a man to divorce his wife (Deut 24:1). The grounds for divorce became much more to with the wife 'displeasing' the husband than about 'indecency'. The Hillel school of teaching allowed almost any form of dissatisfaction to be sufficient. A man could issue a writ of divorce in the presence of two witnesses and the marriage was dissolved. By contrast the Roman Empire was built upon the foundation of the family unit. In 500 years there was not one recorded case of divorce in the Empire but after the defeat of the Greeks, Greek influence completely changed all of this, until the family unit became almost unsustainable and this was a factor in the demise of Rome.

God hates divorce (Mal 2:13-16)! Christians need to understand how temptation leads to the undermining of the marriage bond. While the Jews only dealt with actions that broke the sanctity of marriage, Jesus was concerned with the thought processes which preceded the deed.

Jesus was not an advocate of mutilation, but recognised that some people had to deal effectively with avenues that led them into the practice of sin. The Jews had a saying: "The eyes and the hand are the two brokers of sin" and Jesus was aware that their power to control a person's behaviour pattern needs to be curtailed. We need to to be aware when our eye or our hand is leading us into sin.

You have heard it said 'Do not break your oath'(Mt 5:33-37).

Then-current practice among Jews was only to trust aword backed up an oath. If people swore, using God's name, in support of what they said then that oath was considered absolutely binding. An evasive oath was one which stopped short of using the name of God, and such an oath was not to be relied upon to the same extent. It was not a binding oath. Truth is one of the great pillars upon which a good society needs to build and Jesus embodied that (John 14:6). We should live lives such that our words are trusted. We should not have compartments to our lives, in some of which are words are absolutely to be trusted and in others less so. Q1 Can we maintain the same degree of truth in our communications at home, at work and at play?

Q2 The Quakers have a real problem about speaking on oath, even in a court of law, because of these verses? Should we take that strict a view of this teaching or isn't that what Jesus meant?

You have heard it said 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth' (Mt 5:33-37).

This teaching was not Jewish of origin, but Bablylonian about 2250 BC and was incorporated into the Jewish law of the Old Testament (Deut 19:21). Often seen as an incitement to revenge, its purpose was to limit any revenge to proportionality, preventing massacres as a response to individual acts. There is more to Old Testament teaching on the subject than this and we need to see the whole body of teaching taken together (Lev 19:18; Prov 24:29; Lam 3:30). Action taken by society on the one hand, and by the individual on the other, will never be the same. As individuals Jesus wants us to be non-retaliatory.

In an age when almost everyone was right handed, a strike to the right cheek would be unlikely to land with any force (v.39); it would only be an insult and the follower of Christ should be prepared to make himself or herself vulnerable not only to that, but on occasion to the more uncomfortable blow as well. Simliarly, even the poorest had more than one tunic and to lose one would not be a disaster (v.40), but to forgo one's cloak would be a real sacrifice, but one that Jesus says we should be prepared to make.

Q3 How good are members of the group in handling what we perceive as insults?

Q4 Are we ever called to make real sacrifices as Christians? Discuss this.

Giving is an important Christian action. Read Deut 15:7-11 What is needed is to have in one's heart to provide for those in need that will return them to the measure of comfort and supply which they enjoyed before trouble hit them rather than a survival ration. There should also not be a motive to get back a return, something that Jews often did, and often would not do when the seventh year loomed, because the debt might be cancelled at that time.

We need to see all giving as, ultimately, giving to God and this should colour the way we do it.

Q5 What areas of need have members of the group found ways of meeting, that may be helpful to share with the rest of the group?