Matthew 5:42

We looked yesterday at one specific application of this verse, but today, I would like to take a broader look at the truth contained in it.  The verse is all about generosity.  There is a fake “generosity” that gives in hopes of receiving.  This is true generosity that gives, hoping for nothing in return.

Generosity is not part of human nature.  Human nature is to get as much as possible and keep as much of that as possible.  Giving doesn’t make sense to the natural man, which is why we need the help of One greater than us.

“Give to him that asketh of thee…”  We are supposed to give to people.  It’s that simple.  If someone asks something of us, we are to do our best to give them what they require.  It may not be convenient for us.  It may not be financially beneficial.  But it is an example of generosity.

“…and from his that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”  Financial planners all tell us “don’t loan money to ____.”  And, if we look at everything from the standpoint of dollars and cents, it would make sense to never loan money to ____.”  However, if we were to follow the advice of the Lord, we would look to Proverbs 19:17, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”  That is an interesting promise – the poor person who asks for something is a bad credit risk.  There is a good chance that he will not “pay again.”  But how good of a “credit risk” is the Lord Himself?  It is said that he that gives to the poor “lendeth unto the LORD.”  That is incredible.

Would we be willing to “lend unto the Lord?”  We have been told just how to do that.  “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.”

Matthew 5:42

Whenever I read this verse, I can’t help but think about seeing beggars on the street.  I know that this is not the only application, but that’s the one that always comes to my mind.  Whenever we are in a ”big city,” my wife and I will see people who others would call “bums”, “drifters”, “winos,” etc.  You know the type.  They are there, sitting on the sidewalk, dressed in not much more than rags, usually dirty, and usually with some kind of a cup for money.  Since I don’t live in an area like that, it’s always kind of shocking to see people living that way.

It might not be right, but we always give them money.  I know; some people might say that “they’ll just use it for booze or drugs.”  And that might be true.  But whenever I see someone like that, I think of a couple of things:

First, I think of the old quote: “But for the grace of God, there go I.”  The only reason that I am not lying in the street somewhere is the grace of God.  It is certainly not because of anything that I have done.  When I see a man lying in rags on the street, I don’t think “what a bum,” I think “but for the grace of God, there go I.”

Second, I think of verses like this.  “Give to him that asketh of thee…”  The beggar on the street is “asking of me.”  According to this verse, I should not turn him away.  Maybe I am not applying this verse correctly, but we are commanded to give over and over again.  I know that there is only so much we can give and only so many people we can give to, but we are commanded to be generous.

I applied this verse a little more specifically today than I usually do.  Tomorrow, we will look at the general principle a little more in depth.

Matthew 5:41-42

As we continue to look at these hard-to-follow verses dealing Jesus’ higher level of righteousness, we come to the “go the extra mile” verse.  I always find it interesting when I find the root of a common phrase in the Bible.  It is interesting just how much God’s Word has influenced our entire society, even down to the language we use.

I do not know how true this is, but I have read that, in the Roman Empire, private citizens could be conscripted into ”postal” service.  They could be “compelled” to carry whatever was needing delivered for a mile.  This was obviously a hassle and an inconvenience for those thus conscripted.  It would be like coming out of your house to run an errand and being forced to deliver all the mail on your street before you could go on.  People didn’t like doing this, and likely complied with a less than perfect attitude.  However, in light of this being an annoyance and a great inconvenience, Jesus again told His followers to follow a higher way.

The “law” would say to go the mile that you are compelled.  At that point, you have done your duty and are free from the responsibility.  But Jesus says to go further.  If you are compelled for one mile, go two (and do it with a good attitude).  If someone asks you to do something, do more than is technically required.

How often have we been “compelled” to do something annoying or inconvenient, and have fulfilled our duty but nothing more?  How often have we really “gone the extra mile?”  The next time we are inconvenienced by someone, let us remember the words of our Lord and let us consider His exhortation to “go the extra mile.”

Matthew 5:40

This verse continues with Jesus’ theme of a higher righteousness.  This is a tough verse.  It goes against our ingrained human nature.  Human nature is to fight for our possessions and what we own.  We are especially prone to fight for our own interests when  they are being threatened by a lawsuit.

The hardest part about this verse is the fact that it doesn’t say anything about whether or not this is a legitimate lawsuit.  The person in the verse might have been falsely accused of something (can you think of the most famous example of Someone being falsely accused?).  The person might have been accused of something of which he was guilty.  We don’t know.  All we have is the instruction to “let him have thy cloke also.”

I do not profess to understand all about this verse and how it relates to modern lawsuits and the like.  But I do believe that a definite application can be made dealing with us, our possessions and our attitude toward those possessions.

The verse says that, when demanded to give up a possession, we should be willing to give up more than was demanded. Our possessions should not control us.  They should not define us to such an extent that our testimony or witness is hindered by them.  They should not have such a hold on us that we are not readily willing to sacrifice them for the cause of Christ.

While this is a tough verse to follow, it does shed some light on a couple of important principles: meekness and generosity are good things and are becoming to the gospel.  Greed and vengeance are not.

Matthew 5:38-39

To me, the last verses of Matthew 5 are some of the hardest verses in the entire Bible to live.  But they are also, in my opinion, some of the most important for living our day to day lives.  There is a hymn entitled “Higher Ground,” and this passage reminds me of it: “…my prayer, my aim is higher ground.”  This entire chapter is about the fact that Jesus is bringing a higher righteousness than that of even the Pharisees.  Part of that higher righteousness is living above the law.  Following the letter of the law is one thing, but following the spirit of the law with your heart is another.

Verses 38 and 39 are the classic “turn the other cheek” verses.  The law said “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.”  Jesus said that, instead of seeking revenge, we should be “turning the other cheek.”  We are to meekly and patiently submit to indignity.

Jesus was, of course, our greatest example of this spirit.  On His way to the cross, He suffered every indignity imaginable.  They lied about Him.  They hit Him.  They mocked Him.  They beat Him.  They whipped Him.  They spat upon Him.  They continued to mock Him until the very end.  He could have called on the Angels to destroy them.  He could simply have spoken and destroyed them.  But, He endured it all; meekly and patiently He endured it all.  He even went so far as to pray for His tormentors.

Jesus Christ had a higher righteousness.  That higher righteousness is available to us.  Are we living in that higher way?

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
Where rivers of pleasure I see.

Refrain
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life with the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord,
He taketh my burden away;
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved,
He giveth me strength as my day.

Refrain

With numberless blessings each moment He crowns,
And filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture, oh, glory to God
For such a Redeemer as mine!

Refrain

When clothed in His brightness, transported I rise
To meet Him in clouds of the sky,
His perfect salvation, His wonderful love
I’ll shout with the millions on high.

Refrain

This is another great hymn from Fanny Crosby.  I don’t know how many of her hymns I have put up here, but there have been several.  Every stanza is great, but the refrain is my favorite part: “He covers me there with His hand…”  What a comforting and encouraging thought: we are hidden in Him and covered with His hand!  That will bring comfort no matter what storm we may be going through!

Isaiah 6:1,5 

Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

Psalm 141:3

Isaiah chapter six was the subject of a sermon at church the other day.  One of the things that struck me was the importance he placed on his lips (his speech) immediately after seeing the Lord.  Isaiah had just seen the Lord “high and lifted up.”  He got a tremendous view of the glory and majesty of the Lord.  Immediately afterward, his first words are “Woe is me!”  Next, he says that he is unclean and undone.  The specific he gives for this is that he is a “man of unclean lips.”  He also says that he lives among a people of “unclean lips.”

Of all of the reactions to seeing the Lord, this one was surprising to me.  Of all the areas in which he could have thought about being unclean, he singled out the area of speech.  That just goes to show how important our speech really is.

Psalm 141:3 gives us a great prayer in this area: “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”  Think of how much improvement our lives would see if this were true of us.  Think of what a difference it would make if the Lord Himself kept our lips.  Think of the help we could be to others if we allowed the Lord to control every word we spoke.  It would be life changing.

Often, we might neglect our speech and our words.  But, like Isaiah, when we see the Lord, we will realize the importance of our words and our speech.

Matthew 5:21-22

In the New Testament, we find a higher righteousness than that of the Old Testament.  In this passage, Jesus mentions that a righteousness higher than that of the Pharisees is needed.  The Pharisees had an outward righteousness that kept a strict outward adherence to the law and to their traditions.  But there is a higher level.

“Thou shalt not kill.”  That is a fairly simple commandment.  Don’t kill.  That is easy to follow.  It is an outward commandment.  There is no mention of attitude or heart.  Just don’t kill somebody.  You can “technically” hate people, make fun of them, mock them, and be an overall jerk to them.  You just can’t kill them.  The Pharisees had that one down.  They didn’t kill anybody.  They were “good” people.

But then Jesus comes along with something a little higher.  He tells the people that, not only are you not supposed to kill people, you aren’t suppose to even hate them.  You are not to be “angry with his brother without a cause.”  That is a far higher level of righteousness than that of the Pharisees.

Not killing somebody is one thing.  Not being angry at a brother without a cause is an entirely different animal.  That is not quite so easy to accomplish.  That is going to require some serious help.

Psalm 142:6-7

In this Psalm, David was very discouraged.  In fact, he was even more than discouraged: he was downright depressed.  He was overwhelmed and persecuted by those stronger than him.  It was a dark time for him.  But I drew encouragement from this passage because even in the darkest hours of his life, he could still have hope in the Lord.

David was “brought very low.”  He was held captive by strong persecutors.  He felt as though his soul was “in prison.”  Yet, in spite all of that, he said that he wanted the Lord to release him from that prison so that he could praise His name.  How often is that our attitude?  How often do we ask the Lord to deliver us from some trouble so that we can praise Him?  That is a wonderful attitude to have and a wonderful thing to do.  So often, the Lord helps us and delivers us and we just move on, forgetting about Him and His help.  David had the right attitude.

Also, in the midst of all of this trouble, David said that “the righteous shall compass me about; for thou shalt deal bountifully with me.”  He had confidence in the Lord.  He had asked the Lord for help and deliverance, and was already thanking Him for His answer.  That is faith!  Despite being brought low, persecuted and in prison, he knew that the Lord would “deal bountifully with him.”

No matter what we may be facing or going through, we can take solace in knowing that He will help us and that He will deal bountifully with us!  What a comforting and encouraging truth!

Psalm 142:1-3

I was reading the Psalms the other day, and these verses stuck out to me.  So often, we want to complain to other people.  We want others to listen to our problems, even if they really can’t do anything about them.  Some of us pay psychiatrists to listen to us and help us with our problems.  Some of us like to “vent” to our spouse or friends.  Sometimes, we just feel the need to “get something off my chest.”  We need a someone who can listen to our problems and can hear about our complaints and our troubles.  The problem is, we usually turn to the wrong source.

While there is not anything necessarily wrong with telling someone else about your problems and troubles, it often doesn’t do much good.  Usually the person to whom we are complaining can’t do anything about the situation.  However, there is One Who can help us and has promised to help us.

In these verses, the Psalmist tells us that he “cried unto the LORD.”  He “poured out my complaint.”  He “shewed before him my trouble.”  Why would David do that?  Because he knew that God could and would help him.

Instead of complaining to others and sharing our problems with them, why do we not more often take them to the Lord and share them with Him?  He has told us to “cast our cares upon Him…”  And He has promised to be our help in time of trouble.  We have a great and mighty resource at our disposal.  Let us remember Him the next time we need to share our troubles with someone!