A Fresh Look at the Sermon on the Mount Pt.3

OK, time to dig into the "meat" of what is probably the most influential speech ever given in the history of humanity, the Sermon on the Mount. Thus far, we've established one very important set of principles that will guide our reading of the rest of the sermon:

Jesus is calling for a change in attitude by His followers. He didn't come to add more legal restrictions, nor did He aim to to foster licentiousness. He plead for His disciples to get back to the holy attitude desired by God. This is not a behavioral handbook. Jesus provides a few relational examples to illustrate His point.

Jesus first discussed how we are to treat one another. The essence of Jesus' instruction is consistent with his thesis: don't just follow the letter of the law, adopt the spirit behind it. Now he will go on to talk about another relational issue: how we treat our spouses.

Throughout His ministry, Jesus used marital references to illustrate His concepts. As Jesus presented it, there was no earthly relationship that more closely resembled that which God desired with His creation than marriage. The unconditional love, the passion, the commitment, the intimacy; these are all ideals presented throughout scripture describing how God desires to relate to us. The problem was, in Jesus' time (and ours), the people had lost the essence of what the marriage relationship was supposed to be. Like with other matters, the people had become concerned with legalistic obeisance rather than faithful following. Not surprisingly, that created incentives for finding loopholes.

Jesus again begins with His rhetorical motif: "You have heard..." Once again, Jesus contrasts the letter of the law with an instruction to go beyond the mere letter. This is a section where many contemporary legalists get bogged down. On one hand, they want to use this section as a literal command for how marital relationships should be: monogamous and lasting. No doubt, that is what God wants for our relationships. But it is clear also that Jesus is using hyperbole to illustrate the need to act beyond the law; He is not advocating a literal justice system.

Rather than looking at this as a proof text for disciplining or disfellowshipping the sexually immoral and/or divorced, let's look at this text as Jesus' intended. It's not enough, Jesus' says, to merely avoid an adulterous sexual relationship. If our minds are drifting toward sin, our bodies will soon follow. He then instructs us to engage in acts of dismemberment to prevent our sin. Literal? I think not. It's pretty obvious if we look at this passage in its rhetorical context that Jesus is instructing us to "go the extra mile" to stay faithful to Him, and that was based in how we relate to each other. The essence of this passage is simple: don't treat one another as sexual objects. It doesn't matter whether we "did not have sexual relations with that woman." What matters is our attitude toward that woman, and our commitment to our marriage vows and God. It does not condemn or prescribe punishment, rather it convicts the offender toward repentance and reconciliation.

Similarly, Jesus' proscription of divorce in verses 31 and 32 is not intended to be interpreted as legal code. The Jews had developed an elaborate system to circumvent the requirements for marriage. Countless loopholes had been developed that allowed a man to divorce his wife. In this patriarchal society, that was as much as a death sentence to a woman who was no longer chaste and had no means to provide for herself. No, Jesus says, unless this woman breaks her vow, then the man must keep his. There is no getting out of the commitment simply because she's grown older, or another attractive woman has caught one's eye. The loopholes of the Mosaic system might have saved the husband from accusations of adultery, but it was disastrous for those left behind. It's also important to note here that Jesus was not adding anything new here. His was merely stating the status quo, reminding them that the consequences of their behavior didn't just impact themselves.

The rest of the Sermon on the Mount follows the same pattern. Jesus reminds the audience of the Mosaic commands, and then illustrates the attitude behind the commands. Jesus, from beginning to end, is instructing us in how to live a "fulfilled" life. Sadly, rather than accentuate these attitudes, many have adopted the Pharisaical attitude of trying to make this sermon into just another legal code. It's so much more than that.