If you read the first part in the newspaper, skim down to the dotted lines to read more.
If you would like to listen to the full sermon, you can download it.
Download: Matthew 5 - Anger in the Kingdom of HeavenWhenever Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven, he says it will start small, you won’t notice at first, but it will grow into a fullness that will be hard to believe.
So rather than entering into the Kingdom of Heaven suddenly with a death, Jesus is saying that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. You can move in that direction now, though at first, it may seem like… nothing.
Like nothing -- it’s hard to see at first. So come with me into the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t like from cloud to cloud, it is a city, and the river of life flows through the city. It’s a surprising combination of the best of nature and urban structures – an architectural triumph!
The river is a strong river. Its current powers through the heart of the city. I’m tempted to dive in, but I’ve never been much of a swimmer and this river makes the Mississippi look the Embarrass.
I’m walking the path alongside the river of life. I can feel the exhilaration of life filling me as I pass. (You can read about this in Revelation 22.) I feel so blessed (an inner satisfaction and happiness) as I walk that path toward the center of the city where God’s throne sits right in the midst of his people.
Along this path are trees. The Bible says the leaves are for the healing of the nations. And the fruit looks so good. Unlike Adam and Eve, God wants me to eat this fruit. This isn’t a tree of knowledge or life. It is a tree for the healing of relationships long since broken.
What does it do to your heart when I suggest a tree whose fruit is for the healing of relationships long since broken? Do you long for such a tree? Or does it not move you either way? I guess the question is where have you put your feelings about broken relationships in your life?
I reach for a beautifully ripe fruit, longing to take a bite… and then… I see him. He is ahead of me on the path. I duck behind the trunk of a tree. It isn’t one of those skinny trees just planted. This is a serious trunk of a tree, right in the prime of its life. There is more than enough room to hide.
Right there, on the shore of the river of life, healing fruit hanging right above me, I cower in the heavenly city hoping not to be seen… not by him… Oh he wasn’t the worst of guys, but I had listened to enough of his stories, enough of his complaints. He was always right, others always wrong, and yet his life was always a mess.
He was one of those guys that just needed to do the right thing, but according to him, never had the opportunity, and I had had enough. I had written him out of my life long ago. I began to ignore him. It was as if I never saw him, or at least I hoped he thought I didn’t see him. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings.
I waited behind that tree for what seemed like an eternity… well it was heaven… I could have literally crouched behind that tree for eternity, waiting for Doug to leave.
I eased up and peeked around the tree… Doug. He had waited… for eternity. It was heaven. He could do that.
But it was different. He was great. I was the jerk. I had judged him… for all time it seems. I could not imagine Doug being great, and yet did I expect Doug to be annoying even in the Kingdom of God?
And if “Annoying Doug” is different in the Kingdom fullness, what about other people? What about others I have separated out in my mind?
And if the Kingdom of God is sneaking up on me rather than coming all at once, what does that say about my relationship with Doug today?
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When you are angry, you want to hurt someone. But when the anger develops, you don’t care who hurts them. You write them off. What happens when you run into them in the fullness of God’s Kingdom?
Are there people you are going to be embarrassed to see on the other side?
“Hey Mr Fletcher, sorry about the flaming bag of dog poo I left on your door that day. I still think my final English grade should have been a bit higher.” (Aside: “A bit higher? I’m being nice because this is heaven, but this guy thought Shake Spear was an African warrior.”
… [Fletcher looks at me… remember this is heaven… The blood drains out of his face… but then he erupts into a smile. “That was you?”
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Read Matthew 5:17-22
Jesus is talking about the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were given as more of a bill of rights than they were a “Don’t Do” list.
The Israelites had been slaves to the Egyptians. They were treated mercilessly.
A man could be killed simply because his master chose to kill him.
A man could be bred with a slave woman, as if these people were more like livestock than human beings.
They weren’t allowed to have any possessions and anything they had could be taken from them for any reason.
They weren’t allowed any days off. They worked seven days a week.
And then God gave them the Commandments. You can’t kill. You can’t commit adultery. You can’t steal. You can’t work all seven days.
These Commandments were a gift from God. And life was to revolve around God because God is the one from whom all blessings flow. The good life comes from God!
But religious people, even people like us, have a tendency to turn good things into bad. And so rather than representing freedom, the Commandments of God become a chain around our neck. They remind us of our sin rather than our freedom.
And so Jesus says, “I have NOT come to get rid of the Commandments. I have come to fulfill them.” Jesus wants us to become Kingdom of Heaven type people -- people who have open hearts and people who can see what others will look like in the Kingdom.
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I was talking to a relative of mine, and she was telling me about a time in her life right after high school. Two of her classmates had been in an automobile accident and were killed. They were popular, well liked kids. It bothered her. It broke her up.
Home for the weekend, she called her pastor and said she wondered if they could talk. Well, he was pretty busy. Did it have to be today?
Sometimes even ministers need to be reminded to open their hearts and love people.
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Read Matthew 5:21-22a
Don’t be angry. I’ve talked before about how the church has taught us to be nice, when it should have taught us to be good. There is a difference between nice and good. Nice people never get angry. Good people get angry about the right things.
Nice people feel bad that poor people starve. Good people get angry.
Figure out what Jesus is saying. Murder cuts people out of your life… permanently. Jesus does not want you to cut people out of your life. Anger begins that path when it is directed at individual people.
Read Matthew 5:22
Jesus gets more specific. Raca is a term for contempt. Stick with me here, contempt is when that anger turns into something worse. You have no use for the man. He is a waste of space. She is breathing someone else’s air. The law said you weren’t to use this word.
But Jesus says if you use any word of contempt, you should be in fear of living your life outside of the Kingdom of Heaven.
“Fool” here isn’t the word we would use today. Think about how many awful words we have to describe someone’s worth, their race, their heritage…
Now I’m serious, Jesus isn’t calling you to be nice. You don’t have to be overly polite and listen to people whine. You will get flares of anger, and sometimes you should, but this “anger with your brother…”
Never, ever write someone off your list. Never come to the point that you apply the name of worthlessness to them. Never say words of worthlessness.
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Jesus gives two examples. And they aren’t what we would think. They surprise us. At least they surprise me.
Read Matthew 5:23-24
Jesus is saying that relationships are more important than ceremony. What he is describing here is a holy moment. For us it would be like if you got to take Holy Communion once a year, and this was your day, and as you were about to take this sacred element into your hands, you remembered… not that you were mad at somebody, but that they were mad at you.
He says, “Don’t take the communion.” Ceremony, even sacred ceremony, is just that… ceremony. It isn’t more important than a relationship. Take relationships seriously.
Perhaps Jesus shouldn’t have given this example to such a dramatic society as ours. We like drama. Jesus is just highlighting the importance of restored relationship. He isn’t suggesting we turn our lives into drama.
Then he gives another example.
Read Matthew 5:25-26
These examples seem backward. Someone is taking you to court. You’re getting sued. Take time before the court date to work out the relationship.
I thought this was about my anger. Why is someone suing me? That’s irritating. But people are like that. People will sue you out of their own selfishness and greed.
You know what they ought to do with people like that?! … Uh oh. What did I just about do there?
We read verses like this, and say, “Well, Jesus never wants us to go to court. Jesus never wants us to sue anybody.” You’re missing the point.
For example, you may get sued. Your business may have failed. You may have accidentally plowed into their car. And rather than getting angry, rather than replying, “Talk to my lawyer,” you need to understand that relationships are more important than money, and God wants you to at least attempt to do the right thing in the situation.
In a book I’ve been reading about the Sermon on the Mount, Dallas Willard points out that a person living in the Kingdom of God finds out they have nothing to lose by engaging someone who is attacking them. You literally have nothing to lose. Everything you could ever want is right there in the Kingdom.
Jesus says in the middle of this Sermon on the Mount,
19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:19-21
Read Matthew 5:27-30
Jesus says not to look lustfully. It messes up relationships. It isn’t that God hates sex. It’s that lust for someone other than your husband or wife only leads to messed up relationships.
Read Matthew 5:31-32
We get all hung up about the right and wrong of divorce. What can a man or woman do or not do after they get a divorce? Jesus is hung up on one thing – don’t sever relationships. He doesn’t want a man or woman to get beat up in a relationship. He doesn’t want you get cheated on in a relationship.
And in those days, a man could just get a piece of paper from the court and hand it the woman and say, “We were never married.” And she would be left out on her own.
This wasn’t just about “We can’t get along.” This was also about women getting dumped out of their lives and into the streets. And Jesus said, “No.”
And in a divorce you usually get to that point of contempt to say, “I may not hate you, but I want to be separated from you.” What will that look like in heaven? There will be no contempt.
Read Matthew 5:38-48
Divorce, heck, Jesus says to love your enemies.
Love is the way in the Kingdom of Heaven. Open Hearts. Open to relationship. He couldn’t be more clear.
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