Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text this morning is from the Gospel of Matthew, the fifth chapter:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil... You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you... You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Thus far the text.
Dear friends in Christ,
Here Jesus is saying hard words. They’re difficult. They’re difficult to understand, they’re difficult to do, they’re difficult to reconcile. What if someone is threatening my life? Do not resist the one who is evil? What if someone beating me on the street? If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also? What if someone is trying to steal my things from me? If they’d sue you, give him not only your tunic but your cloak? Not only some of your money but all of your savings? Not only your car but your house?
These words are hard, and I’m not going to pretend that they’re not. These things are expected of the Christian life. These things should have really made us fear for what we’ve done, for indeed we do have faith. If we have faith, we have faith to see that we have not lived up to these things, and that should indeed scare us. If we did not have faith, if we did not believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ, then I wouldn’t expect you to fear, because then you might say, “I’ve done pretty well with these things. Surely it’s not meant to be taken literally to do ALL the time. Surely, it’s just an ideal.” They, without faith, have a false security.
But to the one who has faith, he should say, “Dear Lord, I have not done these things. I have retaliated, I have not given freely, I have hated my enemy, I have valued my own person and possessions over those of another, even over other people.” Faith causes us to hear these things and despair, for that is the point of the Law in this sinful world, to accuse us of the heinous sins we commit. And make no mistake, Jesus here is preaching full-on Law.
It is amazing the things that we people, even we Christians, are able to do. We can build skyscrapers, we can plant fields, we can tame the wild animals, yet we cannot reign in our fists or our mouths. We cannot reign in our hearts. None of us can, for indeed, we all have sinned and fallen short of the glorious perfection of our Father in Heaven.
Let us not fool one another. We are one family in Christ here. Let’s not keep secrets from one another, let us not say that we aren’t that bad, let us not lie and tell each other that we have kept these commandments even within our own congregation here. I know we have not. I know that we have broken these commandments with even the best of intentions, and yet we’ve still broken them. We sin against each other like it’s our drug. We sin against each other without knowing it. And then, let’s talk about how we sin against people outside the walls of this church, shall we? Or maybe we don’t need to. Maybe you know just how badly you mess up there. Maybe you know how short your temper is. Maybe you know how you’d do anything to protect what you view as rightfully yours. Maybe you know just how ashamed you should be.
Because what does Jesus say at the very end of the Gospel reading? You must be perfect. And you’re not, are you? Who here can honestly say that they have done this? Who can say they have kept true religion, to love and serve one’s neighbor because one knows the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Who here can say that?
No one. No one but Jesus. And this is right. Of course we know that Jesus Christ has lived perfectly. Of course we know that Jesus died and was resurrected. Of course we know all this, and we know that the objective, outside-of-us, Gospel is that He has done things for us, and we know this. And this gives some comfort, of course.
But it goes further than this. When we hear the words, 'therefore be perfect,' we imagine that Jesus is expecting us to live perfectly according to our neighbor. But is that what He is really talking about? Heretofore, Jesus has been comparing the Pharisees’ teaching with the Word of God, and the Pharisees have been found lacking, adding to the Word of God in ways that are not expected by God, for reasons God refuses to honor. But, isn’t Jesus seeming to do the same thing here? Isn’t He adding to the Word of God?
Well, first of all, Jesus is God, and He can do whatever He wants. But, if He’s saying all these things, perhaps He has another reason in mind. Perhaps He’s telling us that for the sake of our neighbor, we should obey the laws of the Pharisees, the laws of the land, the laws we even disagree with, because our neighbors are. Perhaps He’s telling us that for the sake of the neighbor, we should give up everything. Perhaps He’s telling us that, according to this world and all its rules and regulations, we should live in such a way that it looks absolutely bizarre to the rest of the world, not resisting, giving in, loving people to our deaths.
Perhaps Jesus is telling us that this is what Christians do, not what they should be doing. Let me say that again a little differently: perhaps Jesus is telling us that Christians are already doing these things based on the fact that they are already Christians. And perhaps Jesus is telling us that these things need not be done in order to win your salvation, because that has already been won for you.
Do you see? Jesus is saying you, dear Christian, this is what you do. When you sacrifice for another, when you give over and above, when you do these things, and above all, when, despite everything else, you love your enemy, this is just what Christians do. You are indeed already doing this even now, dear Christian.
Now, I’m not saying that you are doing this according to your sinful nature. You know you’re not. What I’m saying is that this is according to your new nature, your New Adam, the Jesus Christ who was placed inside of you in faith in your baptism, just as what happened today with Emily. We watched as Jesus washed her sins away with His own hand. We watched as the Holy Spirit delivered to her saving faith. We watched as the Father declared her His own child, beloved as the Lord Jesus Christ is beloved, and reckoned Jesus’ righteousness to her because of her new faith. We saw this, and it should remind you of what has already happened to you. For indeed, you are baptized. This very thing has been given to you in your baptism.
So, when you do evil works, this is because your sinful flesh is asserting itself over and above what has been done to you. Luther liked to call this old nature, the Old Adam, a miserable wretch who truly knows how to swim. And you can see this, right? Though baptized, your Old Adam comes back to life daily, and so we must drown that swimmer.
But, with good works, when these are done, when you do the things of Christ, you do this according to this new nature, the New Adam, that you have within you. You have been redeemed, transformed, cultivated, so that you look more and more like Christ. This is sanctification, and it comes about because of Christ in you.
With Christ in you, you do good works. With Christ in you, you serve your neighbor. With Christ in you, you love your enemy. With Christ in you, you are perfect, because He is perfect.
This perfection is not something that you are able to seek after. In fact, everywhere through Scripture, when perfection or righteousness is mentioned, it is always in the context of what the Lord is or has delivered to you. And so, how then is this righteousness delivered to you? How may you know that you are righteous, that you are perfect? How may you become more righteous and less sinful? How may you become perfectly perfected in perfection?
You receive what the Lord has given to you. You receive the Lord’s Word. You hear it gladly. You turn when the Law convicts you. You have great joy at His forgiveness. You receive the Lord’s washing of baptism, the baptism which brings you into His family, and remember this baptism daily, “I am baptized, therefore I am His own.” You receive from the Lord’s hand His body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and strengthening of faith. You receive Jesus. You receive righteousness itself. You receive perfection.
Because what does Jesus say at the very end of the Gospel reading? You must be perfect. And still, you know you’re not, don’t you? Who here can honestly say that they have done this? Who can say they have kept true religion, to love and serve one’s neighbor because one knows the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Who here can say that?
No one. And everyone. For we indeed seek after the Lord. We make Jesus Christ, the one who lived, died, and was resurrected for us, our refuge. When we sin, we fly to Him. When we need help to love, we ask for His. When we need help to serve, we are served by Him. When we need to know what to do, we listen to His holy instruction. When we need help to not retaliate, we look at the one who said, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.”
Why then, my friends, should we doubt that the Lord will make us gentle, serving, loving, if we give up ourselves to receive His gifts? In Christ alone is our hope in this passage, and until we receive His gifts, that which brings us perfection, that which brings us Christ, we have no hope. So we receive, and we receive, and we receive. And we receive hope, for we receive Jesus.
Our God, our Jesus, is the washing, our Jesus is the body, our Jesus is the blood, He is the host and meal, and He shall strengthen us in His perfection unto life everlasting, where we shall see Him face to face.
In this Resurrection, we shall not need worry about serving our neighbor, about being and remaining perfect, for Christ then, as He is now, will be our righteousness and shall be perfectly perfected forever. Christ gives us this free gift, unto life everlasting and beyond. In Him alone is our hope. Look not to yourselves to keep this Law; look to the one who kept it for you, for your sake. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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