...But I say unto you

So now that we understand Jesus’s intent in reinterpreting the Text, we can look at His big point. Jesus takes a handful of positions that are held and taught in His day about Torah, and He declares that, in fact, there is a better way to read it. While I cannot deal extensively with each and every teaching of Jesus on this blog, I do deal with these individual teachings more in depth here.

Suffice it to say, Jesus will suggest that Torah is actually dealing with issues of the heart. This is more revolutionary than most of us realize, because Jewish thought saw the Law as being a fence that controls the external. What happens internally is multifaceted and unbridled, but externally, the Law keeps us in check. Jesus’s understanding invites us to see the Law as something that was designed to change our insides, not just control our outsides.

Jesus will reinterpret the major understandings of murder, adultery, divorce, oaths, justice, and enemies. Let’s start with murder:

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

Contrary to most popular thought, Jesus is not “upping the ante” for God’s expectation. Jesus is claiming that this was always God’s expectation — that the prohibition against murder is actually about anger and hatred in your heart. The same ends up being true for adultery:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Again, I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard that Jesus “raised the bar” of expectation in the realms of lust. In fact, Jesus is claiming this was always God’s expectation, and it has to do with our hearts. It’s about how we see women, not just our outward behavior. We could pull apart each of Jesus’s teachings in this section (and I invite you to listen to my teaching at the link above), but for the sake of space, I will shift to a closing thought.

Jesus claims that God’s always been after a changed heart. God’s been looking for a partner who will see the world the way He sees the world — not just someone who will follow a set of rules. These “rules” have never been about “behavior modification”; they have been about the condition of our hearts. And Jesus claims it has been this way since Sinai.

Truly, Jesus will harken back to Sinai itself when He makes the statement that we are to love our enemies. Check it out:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Jesus claims the very thing that makes us like God is our ability to love our enemies. He points out that everybody loves their friends; there is nothing that sets you apart from others if you love merely your friends. The only thing that sets you apart is if you love your enemies. That’s what makes you like God. Well, wait a minute, what was the story about being like God and showing the world what God is like? Wasn’t that our call to be a kingdom of priests? Wasn’t the role of a priest to put God on display? That would be the perfect teaching for Jesus to make in light of loving our enemies.

And Jesus seals the deal with His final statement. While it is translated from the Greek correctly, it would have been a direct quote from the book of Leviticus. In that regard, the verse would not read as “perfect”; it would read, “Be holy, as your heavenly Father is holy.”

And the definition of holy? To be set apart.

And that quote from Leviticus fits Jesus’s teaching perfectly — much better than a statement about perfection does. (This is one of the instances that makes me think Matthew was originally written in Hebrew.)

Leviticus was the book that invited us to be different, to be “priestlike.” And the thing that will set us apart from the world will be our ability to love.

To love everyone: our neighbors, our friends, our enemies.

It’s the same story. It’s the same story we saw back in Leviticus. It’s the same story we see today.