Matthew 5-6-7

The Sermon on the Mount

This is just a "thought experiment" I tried,
maybe worth sharing
(maybe not!)

I was thinking about something I heard (or maybe I just imagined it) something like "don't think I came to condemn the world, neither should you condemn it". When I searched for it in the scripture I didn't find anything, but it doesn't matter because that's not what I wanted to write about anyway, so just ignore it.

The reason I brought it up at all is that it got me thinking...

I accept the premise that Jesus lived a perfect life.
He gives an awesome sermon, teaching me how to live my life.
If we are to emulate Christ,
If Jesus is an appropriate role model for us,
maybe I can gain new insight by turning the text around and seeing how the same teachings apply to his life.

Ok, maybe not profound or even scripturally sound, (so don't quote me on it)
but hey its just a thought experiment, so here goes...

For example, in Matthew 5:11 he says
"Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely...

To me, it seems just as valid to rewrite Matthew 5:11 to say "Blessed is Christ when men revile him and persecute him, and say evil against him falsely. Rejoice, for his reward in heaven is great".

That is no stretch of the imagination, and I believe it.

So what happens if we continue on this "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" adventure?

I started scanning through the entire sermon, reading it as if he was talking about himself, about his own life...

5:13 Jesus is the salt of the earth,
5:14 Jesus is the light of the world
(makes sense to me!)
6:5 Jesus didn't pray like the hypocrites
(he even taught us a new way to pray 6:9)
6:19 Jesus had no treasures on earth
(I doubt if he even had a walking stick)
6:25 He wasn't anxious
7:11 He gave good things to his children
7:14 He took the narrow path
7:20 We know him by his fruits
7:25 He built his house on the rock
(and 2000 years later, nothing has blown it down)

and on and on....

So why am I even bringing it up?

By doing a comparison like this and noticing that almost all of it fits the pattern, what does it mean when one or two things don't seem to fit?

Maybe there is a fundamental difference between the life of Christ and the way I should strive to live my on life
or,
Maybe it means there is something I don't understand about the nature of Christ
or,
Maybe it means I am not interpreting the scripture correctly.

The first one that jumped out at me was:

Mat 5:23 Therefore if you offer your gift on the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,
Mat 5:24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Jesus' gift was his own life, the supreme sacrifice one could leave on the altar. But many people had many things against him. It seems clear to me that he did not postpone his sacrifice until he was reconciled to those people.

So is it the word "brother" that makes this significant? Another memebr of the body of Christ?
Or maybe that somehow it only applies to things that are really your fault, that you need to resolve?
Otherwise I can't see that any true christian would be in the "comfort zone" with the entire world. Jesus certainly wasn't. I have to admit I don't understand this, but I will be thinking about it.

and a similar one:

Mat 5:25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; that the opponent not deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.

Again, let's look at the life of Christ, did he agree with his adversaries? nope.
There are many other examples of those who cheerfully went to prison rather than agree, a guy named Paul comes to mind.
I'm reminded of stonings and burnings and martyrs.
Anyway, strictly looking at the text, Jesus did not resist being delivered to the judge.
This just does not fit my understanding.

I do think I have a greater understanding of Matthew 6:1 by looking at the text in this way.

Mat 6:1 Take heed that you do not do your merciful deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in Heaven.

On my first reading of this, my attention was on the words "before men". But Jesus did MOST of his merciful deeds before men.
Now I'm thinking the key to this scripture is "to be seen by them". Motive, in other words.
And again in 6:2 he warns us not to do the deeds to gain glory from men.
When we get to this:

Mat 6:3 But when you do merciful deeds, do not let your left hand know what your right hand does,
Mat 6:4 so that your merciful deeds may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret Himself shall reward you openly.

I lose the thread again.
I think I know what it means, but what a curious phrase
"your Father who sees in secret Himself..."
I just had a curious thought:
I wonder how many deeds were performed by Jesus in secret that we have not heard about (yet)?
...kinda makes me go "HMMM...."

I can't close without mentioning,

Mat 7:1 Judge not, that you may not be judged.
Mat 7:2 For with whatever judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with whatever measure you measure out, it shall be measured to you again.

oh never mind, my thought on this would take too long to explain. I was going to say that Jesus seemed to see the essence of a situation,
what the rich young ruler needed to hear,
what the woman at the well needed to hear,
and in a way it seems that you can't approach someone without judging them on some level.

But maybe that is not what is meant by judgement.

A former drug addict can know the damage being done to someone who is under that yoke, is that judgement?
Maybe so, and maybe there is nothing wrong with judging, as long as you are willing to be judged in the same way.
After all, Mat 7:5 implies it is okay to help remove that splinter, that speck, once you have removed the beam from your own.

And finally, applying Mat 7:6 to the life of Jesus:

Mat 7:6 Do not give that which is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet and turn again and tear you.

Maybe after looking at it this way I have a better understanding of why Jesus switched to parables once the crowds started polarizing.