The Divine Standard As Taught By Moses, The Servant Of God, And Interpreted By Jesus, God-Sent Son

Basis: Exodus 20:1-21; Matt. 5:1-48.

SUMMARY:

Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God (Deut 18:13). Ye shall therefore be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect (Matt. 5:48, R.V.).

In the unfolding of divine revelation it is impossible to ignore the unmistakable relationship between two towering personalities -- Moses, Israel's divinely appointed leader, and Jesus, the God-sent Son.

On the one hand they are as diverse as the poles, while on the other hand they stand side by side.

In John's Gospel they are seen by way of contrast: "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).

In the Book of the Revelation the victors on the sea of glass are described as singing the song of Moses and the Lamb (Rev. 15: 3).

Yet even this eternal association only serves all the more clearly to indicate how widely, in reality, they stand apart.

"Moses," says the writer to the Hebrews, "verily was faithful as a servant, but Christ as a Son" (Heb. 3:5,6).

In their respective lives there are some things which are strikingly similar. They are not by any means equal, but similar nonetheless, one being the shadow of the other.

They were alike, and yet very different in the renunciations they made: Moses renouncing the throne of Pharaoh; Jesus leaving heaven's glory and the very throne of God.

They were alike, and yet very different, in the redemptions they wrought: Moses, under God, instituting the Passover and bringing Israel out of Egypt; Jesus, by the blood of His cross, redeeming a fallen world.

They were alike, and yet very different, in the legislations they brought: Moses giving to the people the commandments on Sinai; Jesus giving to His people the Sermon on the Mount.

Our present interest is in those respective legislations. They are interpretative of the holy life.

In each case the location is a mountain: Sinai with its terrors; the Galilean hillside with its simple calm.

Of that first mountain scene the description is startling:

"there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up" (Exod. 19:16-20).

And God spake all these words, saying....

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.....
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy......
5. Honour thy father and thy mother.....
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness. . . .
10. Thou shalt not covet. . . .

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw It, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not" (Exod 20:1-20).

That, with all its attendant terrors, was the official proclamation of God's standard of perfection. The whole may be taken as summarized in the words: "Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God" (Deut. 18: 13).

For fifteen centuries God's ancient people struggled with that law. Those of them who have not seen in Jesus their God-sent Messiah are struggling with it to this day. It was, and still is, God's standard for daily living. To keep it meant blessing; yet those who tried to keep it found in it perpetual difficulty, being concerned primarily with the letter and missing the spirit, which was the vital part.

Centuries later, however, we come to another mountain. The setting is entirely different. Here there is no rolling thunder. Upon it there is no flashing fire. No quaking earth nor terrifying voice startles the hearers as had happened fifteen centuries before.

Here is a humble Carpenter-Preacher surrounded mostly by peasants and fisherfolk. Yet within that circle is being issued a manifesto which is one day to govern the world.

Of that Kingdom manifesto, only one section concerns us here, chapter five. We shall approach it through the rear door, where once again we shall find the word with which Moses summarized the divine demands of his day.

"Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God," Moses had declared (Deut. 18: 13). "Be ye therefore perfect," says Jesus, "even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

It would be safe to say that there are few verses in the entire range of Holy Writ around which there has been more difficulty of interpretation. The reason may be twofold:

a) Failure to realize the relation of this verse to the rest of the chapter.

b) Endowment of this word perfect with imaginary qualities far beyond the ideas in the Master's thinking when He used it. Then, because the practical outworking of the imaginary ideas is obviously impossible, there has been an endeavor to explain away the passage as idealistic -- a standard inviting a perpetual approximation rather than an experience for present realization. Let it be noted that whatever may be the acknowledged meaning of this word perfect, as used both by Moses and by Jesus, in both cases it is something we are required to be. Moreover, it is something which concerns the present life and is so intensely practical that it expresses itself so as to be recognized by all who contact it.

The key to the passage is the word therefore, a word both challenging and provoking, suggesting another word, wherefore. Whenever the reader meets this word therefore in the Scriptures, a pause with the interrogation wherefore will be effective. As we do this, it becomes immediately apparent that the word perfect and the verse in which we find it are not so isolated as at first they seemed to be. It becomes evident that they relate themselves to the entire chapter, and can be correctly interpreted only in the light of its teaching. They are also seen to reach back to Moses and Mount Sinai and therefore possess an importance not at first in view.

The main highway of the chapter may be termed, The Perfect Life in Its Abiding Manifestations. Broadly speaking, it has two main sections:

1. A study in Christian character (vv. 1-16).

In this section there are nine lovely Beatitudes. The word blessed here is interpreted by Dr. Strong as having a threefold meaning. It means, says he, to be supremely happy, specially fortunate, and well off.

Following the Beatitudes are two attractive similitudes, salt and light. The blessed ones are to be as salt, checking the corruption, and as light, illuminating a darkened world.

2. An evaluation in spiritual content (vv. 17-47).

The law with its demands is examined, and its inner dimensions are revealed. Then comes this closing summary: "Ye shall therefore be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (verse 48, R.V.).

It is the second section, verses 17-48, which becomes our present concern. In it, the law's abiding permanence is declared and the law's amazing content is revealed.

I. The Law's Abiding Permanence Is Here Declared.

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Though heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" (vv. 17-19).

Every age has had its respective keynote. In the Jewish age the keynote was law. In the Christian age the keynote is grace. In the millennial age, the keynote will be peace. In the Eternal Day the keynote will be glory.

In this, the age of grace, two extreme positions have developed with regard to law.

1. That of a Christian legalism.

It began early, appearing in the first Christian century. To summarize the position it would be stated thus: Salvation is by grace; but that grace becomes effective only as administered through ceremonial rites and ritual. "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1).

The modern ritualistic position would be in terms of baptism, confirmation, and the Lord's Supper, without which salvation, although by grace, cannot be received.

2. That of a rabid Antinomianism.

Here is a big word with a bad connotation, teaching that faith in Christ for salvation discharges the believer from all obligation to keep the moral law.

This teaching goes back to the sixteenth century where Johannes Agricola in public debate at Wittenberg in 1537 declared: "A man is saved by faith alone without any regard to moral character. If thou believest thou art in salvation."

Today, we hear a continual harping on that Pauline expression, "in Christ" -- a glorious truth, but so often distorted into what becomes a most dangerous error.

In Christ, we are told, all the demands of a broken law are fully met; therefore in Him the law is forever done away. He fulfilled the law for us; therefore, no matter what we may do, the law can make no further demand on us.

This becomes all the more subtle in view of the fact that many of the men who are pushing these ideas are men of fine Christian character and who obviously possess a deep love for their Lord, men who would scorn to do what they insist a believer could do and yet retain his position in grace. Some of these men we know and esteem in the Lord; yet this phase of the doctrine which they hold is to us an error so dangerous that we dare not hold our peace concerning it.

Here are some samples of present-day Antinomianism, which without restraint is flooding our land.

A man will come to us and say, "Suppose you are converted and then go out and sin." Well, the answer Is, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 'But suppose a man is converted and then goes out and kills somebody." The answer is still, "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." "Suppose a man goes out after he is converted and leaves the church and never comes back, and so on, and on, and on, until the day he dies." "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." -- Sermon on I John 1:7-2:2, by Dr. Hyman J. Appleman.

The sinning saint is not lost because of his sin, since even while sinning he has an Advocate with the Father. -- Major Bible Themes, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer.

I have no doubt whatever.... that Ananias and Sapphira were saved people. When death came to them from the hand of God, I believe they went directly to heaven. -- Sermon on Men Whom God Struck Dead, Dr. Donald O. Barnhouse.

The legalistic position is one of bondage. The antinomian position is one of license. Here, however, the Master gives us a clear, balanced statement with regard to law and grace. While through His death on Calvary's tree He abolished the law of commandments contained in ordinances, the moral law was magnified and made honorable. It will last as long as God lasts, for it is His eternal word. It is therefore binding on us today.

II. The Law's Amazing Content Is Here Revealed (vv. 20-47).

The Master now takes up the law, with which His hearers are so familiar and of which the nation is so proud. For their part they had venerated it instead of keeping it. To them, its letter had become a fetish while its spirit had been lost.

When Jesus came, His purpose was to redeem men from the dread results of a broken law, but it was necessary that He should do more. He must rescue the law from the men who had broken it, strip it of the excrescences which had gathered about it, and give to it a spiritual content hitherto unknown. Two things should be noted here:

A. The Supreme Claim Which Jesus Makes for Himself.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said.... but I say unto you." Ten times at least in this chapter do we get this repetition: "But I say unto you."

Here by one sweeping word, on His own authority, He supersedes Moses and claims that:

1. In His own right He is superior to Israel's ancient lawgiver.

2. By His own teaching He is in advance of all previous revelation.

Truly here He speaks "as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

B. The Spiritual Values on Which He Insists.

Thus far the law had been an outward letter relating itself to conduct. He now makes it an inward spirit regulating the motions of the soul.

"Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees," said He, "ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (v.20).

He now begins to select portions of the law which are universal in principle, starting with the lowest point of morality and working His way with amazing skillfulness to the climactic word in verse 48, "Ye shall therefore be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (R.V.).

1. He insists that the emotional urges of the nature must be pure.

Murder was forbidden in the Mosaic code, but Jesus goes deeper. There are inward urges which are responsible for the outward act; these must be dealt with so that the act does not even become contemplated.

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill .. . . but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry . . . . "(vv. 21-26).

John had evidently caught the Master's thought here when he wrote: "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer" (I John 3:15).

Adultery was regarded by Moses as a sin to be punished and despised, but Jesus goes past the act to the desire which prompts it.

"Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh. . . . to lust. . . . hath committed. . . . in his heart" (vv. 27-30).

2. He insists that the intimate relationships of our lives must be held as sacred.

The marriage tie, in the Mosaic legislation, was to be carefully regulated; and where the desire existed that it should be dissolved, reasonable safeguards were prescribed. To Jesus, marriage is much more than a legal contract; it is a divinely hallowed sacrament, which, once celebrated, becomes a fusion of lives so sacred that whichever party violates its sanctity is to be considered as guilty of the most heinous of transgressions.

"It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: but I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saying for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." (vv. 31, 32).

3. He insists that the speech we use be truthful and simple.

"Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but thou shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not at all . . ." (vv. 33-37).

Here, the Master is attacking that subtle evil then existing among God's ancient people concerning the third commandment. A false oath in the name of God was admitted to be perjury; but if by some subterfuge the party taking the oath could avoid the divine name, mentioning instead the heavens, the earth, his head, Jerusalem, the altar, or some other substitute, the oath was not considered binding, and could be broken without guilt.

Without any equivocation our Lord here goes right for the heart of such guilty behavior, whether ancient or modern. Be straight, He seems to say. Have done with double meanings. Say exactly what you mean and mean exactly what you say. Be one whose simple word can be trusted. Anything less than this is unworthy of a professing son of the Kingdom.

4. He insists that our attitudes toward others must be magnanimous.

a. All revenge is forbidden.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist not evil" (vv. 38, 39).

Admittedly we are on thin ice here, for this passage has been the battleground of the centuries. The question immediately raised is, Is this to be taken literally? To which we reply: In some cases, yes! but, for all, it contains an indisputable spiritual principle realizable only through an experience governed by the thirteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians.

b. A self-renouncing spirit is called for.

This is to be worked out by:

1) When smitten, turning the other cheek (v. 39).

Here the inner principle may be stated thus: Trust God to vindicate and defend you, and win your enemies by kindness.

2) When unjustly pressed, letting the adversary take the cloak also (v. 40).

Again the inner principle is evident: Forego, if needs be, your just rights if by so doing you can better manifest the spirit of Jesus.

3) When oppressed, going the second mile (v. 41).

To the Jew that compulsory mile was an everlasting aggravation. Being under Roman domination, any Jew at any time was liable to be called up not only to furnish facilities for travel but if needs be to go himself, carrying the load. Needless to say, in such cases the spirit of cheerfulness was not too prevalent, and one can imagine the exactitude with which the mile was stepped out.

Here, says Jesus, is your opportunity to show an attitude that is different. The principle: Be willing to help even the most demanding and ungrateful, and do it with a cheerful spirit.

4) When facing need, giving to him that asketh (v.42).

Here again is a passage over which there has been much contention. Must we give to all who ask and give all that is asked? If there is a place for discrimination, at what point shall we draw the line? Beggars accost us, some of whom we know will spend what we give them on liquor or even worse. Shall I give my money, which with myself has been consecrated to God, to some sinful rascal who will squander it in vice?

The answer is obviously No! Once again there is a principle to be observed which may be stated thus: Never shut out the cry of need. Maintain and cultivate a compassionate heart.

c. The whole of our inner nature is to be permeated with love.

This love nature is to be manifested even toward those obviously our enemies.

"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?" (vv. 43-47).

Your enemies! Those irreconcilable people. They curse -- hate -- despitefully use -persecute. You are to bless-pray for -- do good to.

Then what could be more striking than that classic illustration of the Father's benevolence? Watch Him, says Jesus, and note how He lavishes the sunshine. See how He scatters the raindrops. You are His sons. Act like it. Be worthy representatives of a good Father. Then, by way of contrast, look at the publicans-giving only where they can get in return. With such a Father as you have, are you content to be like them?

"Ye shall therefore be perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (v.48, R.V.).

Here, then, is the standard interpretation of the perfect life given to us on the authority of Him whom we trust as Savior and honor as Lord.

Theologically, there is much more to develop; but now at least the crust has been broken and we have been made to see that such a life has to do primarily, not with the enforcement of conduct as dictated by codes, rules, prohibitions, and the like, but with an inner principle of goodness which the law could never furnish but which Christ alone through the power of His indwelling presence can provide.