“You Have Heard It Said”
I love neo-logisms. Those little words and expressions that pop up here and there in modern life – many times to describe something that just needs a word of its own. One of my favorites is “selective listening”. A condition that seems most common among teenagers and husbands, but is really common to all sinners. We all hear what we want to hear, and don’t hear what we don’t, even when it comes to God’s word. And even if you hear it, does it go in one ear and out the other? Do you practice selective listening? Or maybe it’s selective obeying.Jesus touches on four topics today – and with each he begins with the same phrase “You have heard it said” and then contrasts the statement with “But I say to you…” He’s not just offering his opinion on these matters – something that we can take or leave. He speaks with all the authority of the Son of God himself, the Word that has become flesh, the very living Word of God. And so we must not practice selective hearing when it comes to Jesus. We must note what we have heard, and also especially what he then says to us.
St. Paul used another word picture to speak about people who only want to hear what they want to hear – he said they have itching ears. And they accumulate preachers to themselves who will scratch that itch – say what they want, what makes them feel good about themselves, or at least not make them feel bad. Save us all from this kind of preaching, dear Jesus!
So what does Jesus preach about in this last of our readings from the Sermon on the mount? As the Epiphany season winds down, we’ve already heard many answers to the question, “who is Jesus?” Today, Jesus answers a closely related question, “so then who am I to be, as one of his people?” There’s a lot of talk about Christian living, the sort of so-what-now of the faith. And we will do our best this morning to listen to it.
But we will also give ear to the words of Christ which answer his words of law – and consider how the same Christ who speaks the law so that we hear it well, also speaks words of comfort and peace in his Gospel. It’s not a word that comes screaming through in this particular section of the Gospels, and so we may have to make some connections, draw in some other words. But remember the words of any scripture passage are always to be taken in context - and that context is always the whole counsel of God. We never ignore the chief teachings of Jesus, even as we give ear to other things he taught.
So enough introductory stuff. Let’s get to the heart of it. Today in our reading, Jesus teaches us, his people, about anger, lust, divorce, and frivolous oaths. Each of these is forbidden in the Old Testament. Pointing them out as such is nothing newsworthy. Indeed, “You have heard it said”. What’s astounding is that Jesus raises the bar on these laws, makes them even harder to attain or fulfill. And if we recall what he said last week, that’s a bit of a problem, because anyone who breaks the least of these commandments will not enter the kingdom of heaven!
Take first of all anger. Jesus quotes the fifth commandment, prohibiting murder, and applies it also to anger! Anger is murder of the heart. Insulting another – murder of the mouth – calling a brother a fool – even just being angry – makes one liable to judgment, and even the hell of fire! But anger is a breeding ground of sin, and it breaks relationships between God’s beloved children. Who are you to be angry at someone for whom Christ shed his precious blood? Rather, consider God’s own anger at your sin – and rejoice that his wrath is placated by that same blood of Christ. If God’s anger is turned away from you by Jesus, then the Christian can pray forgiveness for our own anger and strength to put such anger away.
Or secondly, lust – Jesus begins with what they’ve already heard – you’ve heard it said – do not commit adultery. But he raises the bar – he sharpens the point of the law – so that this sin extends to the eye and the heart. Like every other sin of thought, word, and deed, we are accountable to God. And the cure is extreme amputation – if your eye or hand causes you to sin – cut it out or off! Better to go into life without them, than with them into hell. Of course the problem is far worse, since all of our members, and even our heart itself contribute to our sin. So how about cutting everything out and off? Does that mean the only cure for us sinners is really death itself? Yes – death, and life. Being buried with Christ in baptism, so also to be raised with him. Dying to sin and rising to new life in Jesus. Living each day by repentance and faith, under the cross of Christ.
And let’s not pass over so quickly the threat of hell! An eternity of punishment that is the just sentence on all who rebel against Holy God. But neither let us forget this is Jesus talking – he who conquered hell. He suffered its pangs on the cross, and trampled its powers under foot, descending there to proclaim victory – for himself, and all who are in him.
His third topic is divorce – here, to, Jesus hammers the law. Even though, already in his day, the standards of divorce had been loosened, Jesus points us back to the law. He equates it with adultery. Breaking a marriage is breaking a marriage. An official document can’t paper over the 6th commandment. If we live and act like divorce isn’t sinful, and if it’s just something that happens like one day it rains and one day it’s sunny – if we relax the law for ourselves or others – we put ourselves at odds with Jesus.
But the Gospel of Jesus is the opposite of adultery – it’s about faithfulness. He is faithful to you. He is faithful to his promises. He keeps them – even until death, and even beyond. One day we’ll see the fruition of all his promises at the marriage feast of the lamb in his kingdom, which has no end. There, and then – all that is broken and adulterated by sin will be forever restored.
And finally oath-taking. Maybe not a sin we consider much in our modern context. It seems in days when oaths were commonly offered, there also many swore falsely. But Jesus says to avoid all that fuss anyway – and just let your yes be yes and your no be no. You ought not swear by heaven or earth or Jerusalem, or on your own head. None of these are yours to swear by anyway. Don’t make grand promises on things you can’t control. Rather, simple honesty, straightforward words of yes and no are the hallmark of the Christian.
Let God take care of the oaths. Let him make the everlasting covenant. The promises that cannot be broken. The words that can never be revoked. God swore by himself to Abraham – that he would keep his covenant. He would bless all nations through Abraham and his offspring. He, God, would make children of Abraham where there were none – he’d make them out of stones if he had to – for his word cannot fail, his promise cannot be broken, his guarantee of Messiah must come true.
And of course it did. The Jesus who was born to fulfill prophecy, who was baptized to fulfill all righteousness, who preached and healed and cast out demons, who came not to abolish but to fulfill the law and the prophets – is the Jesus who died on a cross.
You have heard his Gospel, too. You have heard it said, from faithful pastors and teachers and parents and grandparents. You have heard it said, when you were baptized into the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. You have heard it said, when your sins were forgiven by a servant of the Word. You have heard it said, when Jesus’ own words are spoken over bread and wine that is his body and blood – you have heard it – that this is for the forgiveness of your sins.
So no selective hearing for the Christian, but hear everything God speaks to you. You have heard the law – you’ve heard it from Moses, more strongly from Jesus, and even have it written on your heart. That law speaks only condemnation. It speaks justly. It condemns us all.
But thanks be to God for that other word. You have heard the gospel – the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. You have heard how he fulfilled the law for you. And you have heard that he shed his blood and died for you. You have heard his many comforting promises. Hear that same Gospel again today. Receive the same grace, again, today. And even as you come to his table for the feast – hear those words anew and for you – given and shed for you, for the forgiveness of your sins.
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