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‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.” But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one. (Matthew 5:21-37)
We continue looking and learning from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Today's passage is a lengthy one, but an important one that deals with some things that we sometimes take for granted. Jesus has gone beyond what the ancients had said about key things to talk about the seriousness with which God wants us to understand certain parts of life. We have the Big Ten (the Commandments that is) and Jesus begins with the one about killing/murder. Jesus said, "This goes beyond just picking up a weapon and taking the life of someone; this is about taking someone's life and fullness of life by what you think or say or do towards that person, and it's so serious that if you're not reconciled with that person, your worship won't reconcile you with God." Ouch. Then He addresses another from the Commandments and that was the matter of taking someone else's spouse. Jesus says, "If you've looked at a woman/man with lust in your heart, adultery has already been committed." Then He adds the part about self-control. "Keep your eyes from wandering into sin; keep your hands from taking you right into disobedience - control those or cut them out and off! It would be better to enter heaven with one less eye or hand than to go full-bodied into eternal punishment." Then Jesus talks about divorce and how easy some find it to divorce. Jesus says, "Marriage is serious and sacred, but you've let it become something you discard just because you're tired or no longer want to live with that person and want a younger or better looking one." And we do know there are some valid reasons for divorce, but Jesus is taking about those frivolous ones that some use just for their convenience. Finally, Jesus says we are to be persons of our word; say yes when we mean yes, and no when we mean no. We cannot hide behind an oath, such as "I swear to God," or "Cross my heart and hope to die," or the classic, "I swear on a stack of Bibles!" If we do that, we're not glorifying God, we're helping the other guy.
As I shared in the video, we should be people of the Word, not just our word. If we are truly people of God's Word, we will be people who play nice with others, love others, and get along with others. We will help bring in the kingdom by being kingdom people ourselves.
PRAYER: Loving Father, bless me to be a blessing in all the relationships I have. Let me be a person of life, love, and truth. Help me to forgive in the way You have forgiven me. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
