March 12, 2023
Matthew 5:21-30
“The Heart of the Matter is the Condition of the Heart”
Service Overview: More than just admonitions against murder and adultery, these words from Jesus reveal something important… that what’s lurking in our heart is just as important to consider as what we do through our actions.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9 (NIV)
Background Insights:
- The name geënna derives from the Valley of Hinnom (Hebrew gê hinnōm) outside Jerusalem which had once been the site of human sacrifice by fire to Molech (2 Kgs 23:10; Jer 7:31). There is a later tradition that the city’s rubbish was dumped and burned in this valley; if true, this would provide a vivid image of “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (25:41). (R. T France, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew, 231)
- In the popular Greek version of [the Bible in] Jesus’ day the tenth commandment began, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,” and used the same word for “covet” that Jesus uses here for “lust.” In other words, Jesus reads the humanly unenforceable tenth commandment as if it matters as much as the other, more humanly enforceable commandments. If you do not break the letter of the other commandments, but you want to do so in your heart, you are guilty. (Craig S. Keener, IVP New Testament Commentaries, Matthew, 106)
- The Pharisees had created all kinds of ingenious ways of working around the intentions of God’s Word. For example, they found ways to harbor bitterness and hatred toward their neighbor while remaining innocent in their own eyes with regard to murder. They may have lusted after their neighbor’s wives, but so long as they didn’t commit adultery, they felt themselves to be holy, technically speaking. In general, they felt justified in blurring the edges of the truth. (David Platt, Exalting Jesus in Matthew, 110)
- The expression “fire of hell” (geenna tou pyros, lit., “gehenna of fire”) comes from the Hebrew ge-hinnom (“Valley of Hinnom,” a ravine south of Jerusalem once associated with the pagan god Moloch and his disgusting rites [2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chron 28:3; 33:6; Jer 7:31; Ezek 16:20; 23:37], prohibited by God [Lev 18:21; 20:2-5]). When Josiah abolished the practices, he defiled the valley by making it a dumping ground for filth and the corpses of criminals (2 Kings 23:10). Late traditions suggest that in the first century it may still have been used as a rubbish pit, complete with smoldering fires. The valley came to symbolize the place of eschatological punishment (cf. 1 Enoch 54:12; 2 Bar 85:13; cf. Matt 10:28; 23:15, 33; and 18:9 for the longer expression “gehenna of fire”). Gehenna and Hades (11:23 [NIV mg.]; 16:18) are often thought to refer, respectively, to eternal hell and the abode of the dead in the intermediate state. (D. A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible commentary: Matthew, 149)
What is Jesus trying to get across here?
- Mankind’s problem is deeper than many admit.
(vv. 22, 28 | 1 Sam. 16:7; Prov. 14:12; 21:2; 28:26; Jer. 17:9; Mat. 15:18-20; Gal. 5:19-21)
The Pharisees said that righteousness consisted of performing certain actions, but Jesus said it centered in the attitudes of the heart. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 20)
Jesus presses beyond behavior specifically punished by law to the kind of heart that generates such behavior. (Craig S. Keener, IVP New Testament Commentaries, Matthew, 104)
In every case Jesus contrasts the people’s misunderstanding of the law with the true direction in which the law points, according to his own authority as the law’s “fulfiller”. He makes no attempt to fence in the law but declares unambiguously the true direction to which it points. (D. A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, 148)
- God’s righteous standard is humanly unattainable.
(vv. 22, 28 | 2 Sam. 22:31; Mat. 5:48; Rom. 3:23; 5:6; 8:1-11; James 2:10)
The righteousness God requires, God also gives. It cannot be deserved, earned, or accomplished, but only accepted. By offering Himself for sin, Christ “condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us” (Rom. 8:4-5). God gave the impossible standard and then Himself provided its fulfillment. (John MacArthur, MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Matthew 1-28, 325)
So demanding are Jesus’ alternative rulings that those who fully grasp his intention often declare them to be unworkable in the real world. (R. T France, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew, 226)
- Resisting sin is important and worth every effort.
(vv. 29-30 | Mat. 26:41; Mark 7:20-23; Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 10:13; Gal. 5:19-21; Titus 2:11-14; James 1:13; 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9)
There is no point in praying for victory over temptation if we are not willing to make a commitment to say no to it. (Jerry Bridges, The Pursuit of Holiness, 93)
God does not forbid sexual immorality because He wants you to be miserable; God forbids it because sexual immorality leads to brokenness, sadness, emptiness, death, and hell. (Heath Lambert, Finally Free, 63)
Obviously, our Lord is not talking about literal surgery, for this would not solve the problem in the heart. The eye and the hand are usually the two “culprits” when it comes to sexual sins, so they must be disciplined. Jesus said, “Deal immediately and decisively with sin! Don’t taper off—cut off!” (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 21)
Conclusion… What is the way of Jesus in light of what he says here?
A. Guard your heart, and keep your feelings on a short leash.
(Ps. 37:4; 90:12; 119:11; Prov. 4:23; 16:32; Jer. 17:10; Mat. 5:8; 6:21; 22:37; Rom. 8:6)
No matter how just your words may be, you ruin everything when you speak with anger. (John Chrysostom)
Imagination is the hotbed where this sin is too often hatched. Guard your thoughts, and there will be little fear about your actions. (J.C. Ryle, Thoughts for Young Men)
Our minds are mental greenhouses where unlawful thoughts, once planted, are nurtured and watered before being transplanted into the real world of unlawful actions… These actions are savored in the mind long before they are enjoyed in reality. The thought life, then, is our first line of defense in the battle of self-control. (Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness, 138)
B. Promptly seek to make peace whenever possible.
(Ps. 34:14; Prov. 12:20; Mat. 5:9; Rom. 12:18; 14:19; 2 Cor. 13:11; Col. 3:12-15; Heb. 12:14; Ja. 3:18)
Throughout the ages the church has understood that the most significant manifestation of true faith is love. Faith without love is not faith, only speculation or knowledge or mere intellectual assent. The fruit of authentic faith is always love. (R.C. Sproul, The Purpose of God, 37)
Grace is the free bestowal of kindness on one who has no claim to it. (Louis Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 71)
C. Don’t ignore or face your struggles alone.
(Rom. 12:2; 12:10; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:8, 13; Col. 3:16; 1 Thes. 5:11; 2 Thes. 3:3; 2 Tim. 1:7; Titus 2:11-14; Heb. 2:18; 4:15; 10:24-25; 1 Pet. 5:7-9; 1 John 4:4; 5:3-5)
Behavior modification that’s not empowered by God’s heart-changing grace is self-righteousness, as repugnant to God as the worst sins people gossip about. (Randy Alcorn, The Grace and Truth Paradox, 37)
Cutting off or gouging out the offending part is a way of saying that Jesus’ disciples must deal radically with sin. Imagination is a God-given gift; but if it is fed dirt by the eye, it will be dirty. All sin, not least sexual sin, begins with the imagination. Therefore what feeds the imagination is of maximum importance in the pursuit of kingdom righteousness. (D. A. Carson, The Expositor’s Bible commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, 151)
We do not always choose our temptations. But we do choose our reactions to those temptations. (David Platt, Counter Culture, 168)
Gospel Application…
God’s righteous standard is humanly impossible to attain, but God’s grace is more wonderful and powerful than we ever hoped or dreamed.
(John 1:16; Rom. 3:20-24; 5:8; 6:14; 11:6; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:9; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 2:11-14; James 4:6)
No child of God sins to that degree as to make himself incapable of forgiveness. (John Bunyan, A Puritan Golden Treasury, 110)
For the gospel does not expressly demand works of our own by which we become righteous and are saved; indeed it condemns such works. Rather the gospel demands faith in Christ: that He has overcome for us sin, death, and hell, and thus gives us righteousness, life, and salvation not through our works, but through His own works, death, and suffering, in order that we may avail ourselves of His death and victory as though we has done it ourselves. (Martin Luther, Preface to the New Testament)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- How would you respond to someone who asks, “How can I live out the kind of righteousness Jesus is talking about in this sermon?”
- How does (or should) Jesus’ philosophy on anger impact you? How are you at controlling your own anger?
- How does (or should) Jesus’ philosophy on lust impact you? What does his “prescribed remedy” tell you about the seriousness of it?
- How can Jesus’ followers take practical steps to guard their hearts in avoiding, not only unrighteous anger and lust, but any other kind of sin?
- How does it feel to know Jesus lived a perfect life so that you could get the credit for it by turning to, and placing your faith in him alone?
Quotes to note…
Jesus’ grace to change you is stronger than pornography’s power to destroy you. Jesus’ grace is stronger than your own desires to watch sex. (Heath Lambert, Finally Free, 28)
Imagination is a God-given gift; but if it is fed dirt by the eye, it will be dirty. All sin, not least sexual sin, begins with the imagination. Therefore what feeds the imagination is of maximum importance in the pursuit of kingdom righteousness (Phil. 4:8). (D.A. Carson, Matthew, 151)
Perfect holiness is the aim of the saints on earth, and it is the reward of the saints in Heaven. (Joseph Caryl, A Puritan Golden Treasury, 142)
Every single one of us has a heart that tends toward sexual sin. These tendencies produce different temptations in each of our lives. Some of us experience sexual desire for the same sex, and others of us are prone to fulfill [unbiblical] sexual desire with the opposite sex. Even the ways we want to fulfill those sexual desires vary among us. Without question, part of the mystery of this fallen world includes why certain people have certain desires while other people have other desires. We do not always choose our temptations. But we do choose our reactions to those temptations. (David Platt, Counter Culture, 168)
The difference between heart belief and head belief is the difference between salvation and damnation. (George Sweeting, Who Said That?, 93)
Faith must be free in order to be genuine. Authentic belief requires authentic choice. Human dignity necessitates personal discovery – the opportunity to search for truth apart from threats, to settle on faith apart from force, and to come to conclusions apart from coercion. (David Platt, Culture, 217)
A popular proverb goes, “Sow a thought and reap an act. Sow an act and reap a habit. Sow a habit and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny.” That process perfectly illustrates Jesus’ main thrust in this passage: No matter where it ends, sin always begins when an evil thought is sown in the mind and heart. (John MacArthur, 350)
Lust is antithetical to true love: it dehumanizes another person into an object of passion, leading us to act as if the other were a visual or emotional prostitute for our use. (Craig S. Keener, IVP New Testament Commentaries, Matthew, 108)
Jesus affirmed God’s law of purity, and then explained that the intent of this law was to reveal the sanctity of sex and the sinfulness of the human heart. God created sex, and God protects sex. He has the authority to regulate it and to Matthew 5 punish those who rebel against His laws. He does not regulate sex because He wants to rob us, but rather, because He wants to bless us. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 21)
The law was given in a context of grace, to a people already saved by God from bondage (Exod. 20:1-2). To make it a system of gaining favor with God in order to be saved distorts its meaning. (McCumber, 37)