JESUS' SERMON ON THE MOUNT SERMON SERIES5. The Undesired Trait of Character |
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"Are you going to let him run over you? Let's see what you are made of!"
It was early August and we were in three-a-day (American) football practices. My coach had the players in two lines and we each had to go head-to-head in competition with another teammate. My turn had come and my coach was looking in my eyes and challenging me to fight hard against a teammate that was older and quite a bit larger than me. As you know, in American football, size and strength are a distinct advantage as you use your body as a weapon and clash with the opponent.
The message from my coach was clear: If you are a man, you will not let someone physically defeat you. O.K., that is on the football field where competition is expected. But what about off the field? What about in the daily walks of life? What does our society teach us about being a man?
In the American culture where I grew up, if someone challenges you physically to a fight, it is cowardly not to fight back. If someone insults you, a "real man" as they say, will not let it go unanswered. There should be a retaliation on your part or you are a coward. This is especially true if you have a woman at your side. If you are married or in the company of a woman and a man challenges you, society expects you to be macho and resist an insult to the point of violence. If you do not, then you are considered cowardly and weak. You are despised or laughed at as someone who has no honor or pride. A woman is supposed to be ashamed to be in the company of a man who will not or does not fight.
What about Turkish culture? What are you taught about being a man? What is the cultural expectation of a man when confronted by another man? I have a good idea that it is exactly the same here as in America.
The American culture is supposedly Christian, but as we said in an earlier sermon, probably one of Jesus' most well know statements is: "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." Matthew 5:39. In other words, what Jesus is teaching is just the opposite of what American culture teaches.
Jesus said,
"Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.
Remember that Jesus began His sermon on the mount by saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Then He said, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." With verse 5 He adds, "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." Jesus is showing a progression in the experience of those who want to enter the kingdom of God. We begin our spiritual experience by being poor in spirit. That is to say we have understood our failings in being righteous. Next we mourn because of our sins. After that we will then desire the meekness taught and exhibited in the life of Jesus.
You will notice that these steps are contrary to the culture we live in. To enter into the kingdom of God you must foster a character trait that is despised and even laughed at by our culture. This isn't new. Patience and gentleness when wronged were not characteristics that were considered honorable by either the heathen or the Jews.
In the Old Testament we find the following words given to the prophet:
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3.
In Moses' time the Jews would not have respected meekness, it would rather be viewed with pity or contempt. When we see a movie about the Ten Commandments, Moses is portrayed as a very macho man. But perhaps it was this meekness that God was looking for in the character of one of the greatest prophets and national leaders of all history. This characteristic of meekness is not encouraged or rewarded in our culture either. Yet Jesus places this characteristic as one of the leading qualifications for entering the kingdom of God.
You might be able to feel your lack of righteousness without anybody noticing. You might be able to be sorry for your sins without drawing the attention of those around you. But if you seek meekness, sooner or later someone will challenge your honor. The cultural expectation of those around you is to be a "real man" and resist insult or injury. You will be expected to be strong, not meek. What will you do then? Will you suffer the reproach and mocking of those around you and "turn the other cheek" or will you retaliate with angry and aggressive words and behavior or even violence?
Jesus existed before He came to this earth in a human body.
By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. 1 John 4:2
Yet Jesus was insulted and scorned and laughed at. What was the secret of His humility? Jesus subordinated all things to the will of God. Jesus said in His prayer to God:
"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do." John 17:4.
In all that Jesus did, self did not appear. Jesus says,
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Matthew 16:24.
The spirit of self-exaltation originated with Satan and makes itself manifest in mankind. Human nature is always trying to show itself off, to express itself. Human nature is always ready for contest, always ready to defend itself. But Jesus calls us to be emptied of self, to forget self-exaltation, not to seek to be first and to leave off pride.
But when the Spirit of Christ is in us, then there is peace because we no longer need to defend self or exalt self. It is the love of self that destroys our peace. It is the love of self that makes us uncomfortable to be meek in front of others. The love of self cannot endure insult or dishonor. But the person who is emptied of self cannot be disturbed because that person is hidden in God and in Christ.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
The spirit of hatred and revenge began with Satan. This spirit will only bring evil upon you if you cherish it.
The other day I entered a narrow point in the road where only one car could pass at a time. I was already in that narrow part when a large van coming the other way dived into the narrow passage in front of me. He then motioned for me to go backwards and let him pass. It is beyond my imagination to think that he didn't do this on purpose because the situation was so clear before him. He could have simply waited for me to pass, but he selfishly put his vehicle there and wanted me to accommodate him. What an insult! What arrogance! What selfishness!
I was all irritated. It was very difficult for him to back up at that point so I backed up and let him pass. But my peace was disturbed. Why? Because of the love of self. Self cannot endure insult and wrong. What the man did was clearly wrong and it is not sin to admonish someone who has done wrong. But the van driver's wrong need not have disturbed my inner peace. It is the love of self that disturbs my peace.
Do you believe Jesus was a prophet? Good. So does Satan, but it does not bring him salvation. To believe that Jesus was a prophet means to believe the message that God gave Him.
Jesus said,
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.
It was early August and we were in three-a-day (American) football practices. My coach had the players in two lines and we each had to go head-to-head in competition with another teammate. My turn had come and my coach was looking in my eyes and challenging me to fight hard against a teammate that was older and quite a bit larger than me. As you know, in American football, size and strength are a distinct advantage as you use your body as a weapon and clash with the opponent.
The message from my coach was clear: If you are a man, you will not let someone physically defeat you. O.K., that is on the football field where competition is expected. But what about off the field? What about in the daily walks of life? What does our society teach us about being a man?
In the American culture where I grew up, if someone challenges you physically to a fight, it is cowardly not to fight back. If someone insults you, a "real man" as they say, will not let it go unanswered. There should be a retaliation on your part or you are a coward. This is especially true if you have a woman at your side. If you are married or in the company of a woman and a man challenges you, society expects you to be macho and resist an insult to the point of violence. If you do not, then you are considered cowardly and weak. You are despised or laughed at as someone who has no honor or pride. A woman is supposed to be ashamed to be in the company of a man who will not or does not fight.
What about Turkish culture? What are you taught about being a man? What is the cultural expectation of a man when confronted by another man? I have a good idea that it is exactly the same here as in America.
The American culture is supposedly Christian, but as we said in an earlier sermon, probably one of Jesus' most well know statements is: "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." Matthew 5:39. In other words, what Jesus is teaching is just the opposite of what American culture teaches.
Jesus said,
"Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.
Remember that Jesus began His sermon on the mount by saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Then He said, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." With verse 5 He adds, "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." Jesus is showing a progression in the experience of those who want to enter the kingdom of God. We begin our spiritual experience by being poor in spirit. That is to say we have understood our failings in being righteous. Next we mourn because of our sins. After that we will then desire the meekness taught and exhibited in the life of Jesus.
You will notice that these steps are contrary to the culture we live in. To enter into the kingdom of God you must foster a character trait that is despised and even laughed at by our culture. This isn't new. Patience and gentleness when wronged were not characteristics that were considered honorable by either the heathen or the Jews.
In the Old Testament we find the following words given to the prophet:
Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth. Numbers 12:3.
In Moses' time the Jews would not have respected meekness, it would rather be viewed with pity or contempt. When we see a movie about the Ten Commandments, Moses is portrayed as a very macho man. But perhaps it was this meekness that God was looking for in the character of one of the greatest prophets and national leaders of all history. This characteristic of meekness is not encouraged or rewarded in our culture either. Yet Jesus places this characteristic as one of the leading qualifications for entering the kingdom of God.
You might be able to feel your lack of righteousness without anybody noticing. You might be able to be sorry for your sins without drawing the attention of those around you. But if you seek meekness, sooner or later someone will challenge your honor. The cultural expectation of those around you is to be a "real man" and resist insult or injury. You will be expected to be strong, not meek. What will you do then? Will you suffer the reproach and mocking of those around you and "turn the other cheek" or will you retaliate with angry and aggressive words and behavior or even violence?
Jesus existed before He came to this earth in a human body.
By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. 1 John 4:2
Yet Jesus was insulted and scorned and laughed at. What was the secret of His humility? Jesus subordinated all things to the will of God. Jesus said in His prayer to God:
"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do." John 17:4.
In all that Jesus did, self did not appear. Jesus says,
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29.
"Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." Matthew 16:24.
The spirit of self-exaltation originated with Satan and makes itself manifest in mankind. Human nature is always trying to show itself off, to express itself. Human nature is always ready for contest, always ready to defend itself. But Jesus calls us to be emptied of self, to forget self-exaltation, not to seek to be first and to leave off pride.
But when the Spirit of Christ is in us, then there is peace because we no longer need to defend self or exalt self. It is the love of self that destroys our peace. It is the love of self that makes us uncomfortable to be meek in front of others. The love of self cannot endure insult or dishonor. But the person who is emptied of self cannot be disturbed because that person is hidden in God and in Christ.
Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
The spirit of hatred and revenge began with Satan. This spirit will only bring evil upon you if you cherish it.
The other day I entered a narrow point in the road where only one car could pass at a time. I was already in that narrow part when a large van coming the other way dived into the narrow passage in front of me. He then motioned for me to go backwards and let him pass. It is beyond my imagination to think that he didn't do this on purpose because the situation was so clear before him. He could have simply waited for me to pass, but he selfishly put his vehicle there and wanted me to accommodate him. What an insult! What arrogance! What selfishness!
I was all irritated. It was very difficult for him to back up at that point so I backed up and let him pass. But my peace was disturbed. Why? Because of the love of self. Self cannot endure insult and wrong. What the man did was clearly wrong and it is not sin to admonish someone who has done wrong. But the van driver's wrong need not have disturbed my inner peace. It is the love of self that disturbs my peace.
Do you believe Jesus was a prophet? Good. So does Satan, but it does not bring him salvation. To believe that Jesus was a prophet means to believe the message that God gave Him.
Jesus said,
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:29.
Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5.