Participants: Glenn Russell & Ranko Stefanovic (Host)
Series Code: MTBOTB
Program Code: MTBOTB000007B
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00:01 We're back in the Gospel of Matthew,
00:02 exploring the meaning of Matthew 5:48. 00:05 Ranko Stefanovic, help us to understand 00:06 a little bit more of the context leading up to this verse. 00:10 So we saw that Jesus is dealing here with popular concept, 00:15 what is right and what is not right. 00:17 And He mentions that the followers, 00:19 His followers, the citizens of the kingdom, 00:22 they don't behave according to the popular concept of morality. 00:27 Their relationship with God, 00:29 the right living is defined by God's standards. 00:33 And now Jesus comes to the last synthesis. 00:37 Glenn, Let's go to verse 48, what He said. 00:40 He said-- Verse 48. All right. 00:41 48, he says, "Therefore you are to be perfect 00:46 as your Heavenly Father is perfect." 00:50 You ask about this text. 00:51 Glenn, what is probably the keyword here in this text? 00:55 Well, the first word "Therefore." 00:57 "Therefore." What does it mean "Therefore?" 00:59 Now many people say the keyword is perfect. 01:01 Glenn, you please very often. 01:02 Can you stand there on the pulpit and begin sermon, 01:05 and you begin sermon "Therefore"? 01:08 We would have no context. 01:09 There's no context, "Therefore" always comes 01:11 after something that was said before and you build it. 01:14 Actually another word for "Therefore", 01:16 it means, in the light of the foregoing 01:18 what we've just said. 01:19 Let me now make a conclusion. 01:21 So it means this word, 01:23 "You are to be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect." 01:28 Is the conclusion, what Jesus said before, 01:30 and it is found in the context of the last, these antithesis. 01:34 So, can you read from verse 43. 01:36 "You've heard that it was said, 01:38 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' 01:41 But I say it to you, love your enemies 01:43 and bless those who curse you, 01:44 do good to those who hate you, 01:47 and pray for those who spitefully use you 01:49 and persecute you that you may be 01:51 sons of your Father in heaven. 01:54 For He makes the Sun rise on the evil and the good, 01:57 and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 02:01 For if you love those who love you, 02:02 what reward have you? 02:04 Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 02:07 And if you greet your brethren only, 02:10 what do you do more than others? 02:12 Do not even the tax collectors do this? 02:14 Therefore, you shall be perfect, 02:17 just as your Father in heaven is perfect." 02:19 Okay, let's address one issue, 02:21 it was number of years ago, 02:23 that some people who read the Gospel they said, 02:26 "You see the Gospel, 02:27 they don't give the historical reality." 02:29 Among the Jewish people at the time of Jesus, 02:31 there was never, never teaching. 02:35 "You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemies." 02:37 However, with the discovery of the Qumran writings, 02:41 it came to the light that those people, 02:44 they really were teaching is 02:46 "You should hate the sons of darkness 02:50 and love only the sons of light." 02:53 So finally it was brought to the light 02:55 that actually this concept was very much present 02:59 among the Jewish people at the time of the Jesus. 03:02 And now Jesus goes on what is that we have here. 03:06 What is the popular standard according to Jesus? 03:09 The popular standard is that "You love your enemies," 03:14 that "You don't love your enemies. 03:15 You just love those who are very, very close to you. 03:19 And isn't that the way much of the world operates today. 03:22 We see many societies and cultures 03:23 that still practice that way. 03:25 Okay, let me tell you, Jesus said, 03:27 if I'm a Christian and I'm white, 03:32 and I love only people who are of same skin color as I am, 03:37 then what is the difference between me 03:39 and those who are not Christians? 03:40 This is what they're doing. 03:42 If I like only people who love me, 03:45 who treat me well, who are very close to me, 03:48 neglect others people, that's what everybody does. 03:51 Yeah. Believe me, even, even the most criminals, 03:55 they know to love their families and to their friends. 03:58 But you see, the difference between Christians 04:01 and those who do not follow Jesus Christ 04:03 is that they love both good and bad people. 04:07 They love tax collectors, they love the righteous people, 04:10 they love everybody because of that love of Jesus 04:13 that is in their life. 04:14 And after that... and then Jesus said in verse 47, 04:19 "If you greet only your brothers, 04:23 what are you better than Gentiles." 04:25 Because they are doing, doing in the same way. 04:29 Verse 46 "If you love only those who love you, 04:33 who respect you, what reward do you have? 04:37 Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" 04:40 It seems, Ranko, that you're saying 04:42 in many cases people were saying 04:44 "Well, let me compare my love 04:45 with what everybody else is doing?" Yeah. 04:47 But Jesus is now entering, introducing a new measurement, 04:51 "Don't measure yourself by what everyone else is doing", 04:54 but here it says, "As your Father in Heaven." 04:56 Apparently the Father loves differently with the rain, 04:59 and the just and the unjust. 05:01 The Father treats people differently. 05:03 You see what we have here is, my Christianity, 05:08 my relations with people is not defined by the popular culture. 05:12 Yes. By the popular behavior, 05:14 and attitude that people have in the world, 05:16 is defined by the way how God treats people. 05:20 And how is that God treats people in verse 45, 05:24 "So that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; 05:27 for He causes the Sun to rise on the evil and the good, 05:31 and sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." 05:34 And now let's go to verse 48, "Therefore," 05:38 if God loves old people, 05:42 good and bad, righteous and unrighteous, 05:45 God loves, therefore you are supposed to be perfect 05:52 as your Father who is in Heaven. 05:54 So verse 48, Glenn, is not about the moral perfection 05:59 as God is sinless, I must become sinless. 06:02 If that's the text, then Jesus puts 06:04 something to us which is impossible. 06:07 Jesus never taught it. 06:09 Actually the same text, you remember that we mentioned 06:12 that there is another version 06:13 of the "Sermon on The Mount" in the Gospel of Luke. 06:15 In Chapter 6, verse 36 of the Gospel of Luke, 06:19 the same statement, the same quote that Jesus made says, 06:23 "Be merciful just as your Father is merciful." 06:30 This is what perfection is. 06:31 It means, treat people, be perfect in your attitude 06:36 toward people as God is with regard. 06:38 You know, there is an old Gospel song 06:40 that has come to my mind as you're sharing that, 06:42 there is a wideness in God's mercy. Yes. 06:44 Sometimes we as Christians haven't reflected that wideness, 06:48 that generosity, that graciousness of God. 06:52 Ranko, we don't have much more time-- 06:54 But Glenn, Glenn, when I know how God is patience, 06:58 patient with me, I know what God did for me, my sin 07:01 despite the fact that I did not deserve it 07:04 and now I had become a Christian 07:07 and I try to put people down, 07:09 because of their shortcomings, because of sins. 07:12 No, Jesus said, "Be merciful as your Father is merciful." 07:19 All right, where else do we need to go? 07:21 We have to go to the rest of the Sermon on the Mount" 07:23 in a few minutes that is left. 07:25 Actually the entire "Sermon on the Mount" 07:27 is it goes according to so called chiastic structure. 07:31 When the first part matches the last part, 07:33 the next one, the next one, 07:35 and we come to the center, 07:36 center usually the most important. 07:38 Do you know what comes at the center 07:39 of "The Sermon on the Mount?" 07:41 I have here this chiastic structure in my notes, 07:43 actually is the Lord's prayer. 07:46 Do you know what is at the center of the Lord's prayer? 07:51 It's how to forgive to people, 07:53 forgive them their debts as God has forgiven to us our debts. 07:59 Actually, this is really what the entire sermon is all about. 08:03 As we are making survey through that is what Jesus, 08:07 Jesus try to show in rest of the sermon is, 08:11 when we have relationship with God, 08:13 when we are the citizens of the kingdom. 08:17 when we pray, it will not be public to make display, 08:22 we are praying to God. Okay. 08:24 When we help people, it will not to be 08:26 because I want my business to prosper, 08:29 because I see human needs, I want to help. 08:32 When I fast, it's because of my relationship with God. 08:35 It's not to make, to make it public. 08:37 When I belong to God, the end of Chapter 6, 08:42 I don't worry about tomorrow, 08:44 I plan my life what I will do tomorrow. 08:48 I try to organize my life but I don't worry 08:51 because all my life is put into God's hands. 08:56 I know that God cares as he cares 08:58 according to the end of this text. 09:00 God cares for birds, 09:02 God cares for grass in the field, 09:04 God cares for flowers, etcetera. 09:08 God cares for me and Jesus said 09:10 "But seek first the kingdom," 09:14 we are the citizens of the kingdom. 09:16 "Seek the kingdom and His righteousness 09:19 and all these things will be provided to you." 09:22 There is this constant balance between 09:25 the vertical and the horizontal, 09:27 our relationship with others, our relationship with God. 09:29 And they are constantly intersecting 09:31 here throughout the sermon. 09:32 And this sorted relationship with God 09:34 always results this sorted relationship 09:37 with fellow human beings. 09:40 Now we have the conclusion of the "Sermon on the Mount." 09:42 All right. Let's go to it. 09:43 Do you remember how we began the sermon? 09:45 There is the difference between those 09:49 whose life is defined by their relationship with God, 09:54 they are blessed, they have a joy in these life 09:58 and from those whose journey these lives 10:02 is defined by external circumstances. 10:05 Now this is exactly how the "Sermon on the Mount" concludes. 10:08 Glenn, can you do it? Very-- 10:11 Okay, let's go to story of the two builders. 10:13 Twenty four. 10:14 Matthew 7:24, "Therefore whoever hears 10:16 these sayings of Mine, and does them, 10:18 I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, 10:22 and the rain descended and the floods came, 10:24 and the winds blew and beat on that house, 10:26 and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 10:30 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine 10:31 and does not do them, will be like a foolish man 10:34 who built his house on the sand, 10:35 and the rain descend, and the floods came, 10:38 and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell. 10:41 And great was its fall. 10:44 And so it was, when Jesus ended these sayings, 10:46 that the people were astonished at His teaching, 10:48 for He taught them as one having authority, 10:51 and not as the scribes." 10:52 So, Glenn, we have here two houses and two builders. 10:57 Okay, one house is built on sand, 10:59 you know, when we were in Israel there. 11:01 To build on the sand it's so convenient, 11:03 you just do quickly there in the sand, etcetera. 11:05 you put there, you can build 11:06 that house very, very fast, etcetera. 11:09 But in Palestine in the time of Jesus, 11:11 if you wanted to have a stable house, 11:13 you have to carry all that material 11:15 on your shoulder there on the rock. 11:16 It was very inconvenient. Yes. 11:18 And finally, you build those two houses. 11:20 There is no difference between the two houses. 11:23 It seems. There is no difference. 11:25 Yeah. They're all etcetera. 11:28 But how do you know about the quality of those houses. 11:30 Jesus said, when the storm comes, 11:34 when the flood comes, only the house that is built 11:38 on the foundation of Jesus Christ on the rock 11:42 because in the Bible God is the rock. 11:45 Jesus is the rock. 11:47 Only the house that is built on him, 11:49 you see the sand are the external circumstances of life. 11:52 If my Christianity, if my happiness is built 11:57 on the popular concept of the world in which I live. 12:01 Build on external circumstances, 12:04 of course, I can be good Christian 12:06 when everything is okay. 12:08 But when hardship comes into my life, 12:11 then the difference will be shown. 12:14 Actually, it is with these two metaphors 12:17 that Jesus makes an appeal to His listeners to tell them, 12:22 "You have to make the choice, what is the foundation? 12:27 On which you are building the house of your life." 12:31 It's a great question for each one of us, Ranko 12:33 to think about how we're building our lives? 12:35 What's our foundation? 12:37 Glenn, I would like to conclude with this, 12:39 to invite our viewers-- is the question is, 12:43 what is the foundation 12:45 upon which you are building your house? 12:49 I know that in my life, 12:51 so many times I built on the external circumstances. 12:55 When accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior, 12:58 everything made the difference. 12:59 Please, choose Jesus Christ today. |
Revised 2023-09-09