Chap. 5: 27-48
Many that were around the Lord in His day were very punctilious even about tithing the herbs in their gardens, etc. But what were they? They got praise of men, as for a pretense they made long prayers and sounded a trumpet before them, but what is the Lord's estimate? Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites! The Lord is showing the 'searching character of the law; so, of some who might pride themselves on not having committed adultery, what does the Lord say, Who looks on the heart? All this shows how watchful we ought to be of our hearts, and to let the word search us through and through. “The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Whilst, of course, every act of evil demands our condemnation of it in self-judgment, not less should we judge every evil intent in us, and the thought that gave rise to it. Thought, intention, action, that is the order here. Nothing but reality will meet the mind of God. Deep reality should characterize every one of us.
Our right eye may be an occasion of stumbling (ver. 29). Hell is here “gehenna” or the lake of fire. The place where the children were first offered to Moloch was called the valley of Hinnom or Gehenna, and here was burnt the refuse of the city. But we must be on our guard against those who use this to teach unsound doctrine. It is “their worm” —man's own individual conscience—that never dies, and further, the fire of God's judgment is never quenched. All this about the eye and the hand teaches us that nothing of however great value and usefulness should hinder us from self-judgment. A thorough judgment of self there must be, if we would be happy and useful. The more we judge ourselves the less disposed we shall be to judge others, though never winking at evil. There are spheres where we are called to judge, others where we should not. If we are right we should not judge motives. But the world we shall judge by and by-and now, them that are without God judgeth. The world wants a millennium without the personal presence of the Son of God, and such a thought should be abhorrent to us. But He is coming to reign, and a millennium there shall be. And when He reigns on the throne of David we shall reign with Him.
Scripture says “Do not ye judge them that are within.” Oh, what divine wisdom is needed here, for we should remember what is due to Him. Yet the most unsparing judgment should be of ourselves (ver. 31). Israel's sad condition it was that led to this permission, but from the beginning it was not so. But then there may truly be a cause, and where that is, then before God the marriage tie is broken. If one were rightly exercised as to what was due to the Lord, I do not think any would care to marry while the one who had sinned was alive. But if they did, I do not see how the assembly could rightly interfere.
Swearing-(vers. 33-39). I was once in a position where I refused to swear. I was a very young Christian then, and thought I was acting on this scripture in faith. I do not think I displeased the Lord, though afterward I learned I had made a mistake. Paul used a very strong asseveration when he wrote, “I call God to witness upon my soul,” and no doubt it was necessary on that occasion—the expression is only once used in scripture. Then again, take that verse in James 3, “earthly, sensual, devilish.” That word is only used once. Because it is so used it is no warrant for us to be constantly using it. When the high priest put the Lord on an oath, the Lord spoke; and so if the powers that be require us to take an oath (unless that oath is wrong in itself) it is due that we obey, and meet what they require. But in our ordinary conversation we cannot be too simple. Let our words be always with grace seasoned with salt; it is evidently grace that is to govern.
Then in verse 40, it is the spirit of the thing, not the literal turning of the cheek, etc. In the Epistles we have what is even higher—to be forgiving, not self-assertive, meek and lowly, following the Lord, not answering railing for railing (1 Peter 2.). This should be our character; not yielding, however, where there is evil, for then we ought to be as firm as a rock. Yet should it be a quiet firmness, not a lot of clatter like a horse's hoof, but like the clean animal which had a divided hoof (Leviticus 11). There was never one so unresisting as the blessed Savior Himself. Such a spirit is what the world despises, tramples under foot, and thoroughly misunderstands, they put graciousness down as cowardice, yet never was one so faithful as He who is the pattern of grace. Look at Psalm 40:9. The great congregation was Israel, when all the males had to appear before Jehovah and He went up with them. “I have preached righteousness in the great congregation” —the very opposite of cowardice. And quite compatible with the most perfect faithfulness is His meekness and gentleness. The faithful man of this Psalm 40 is the poor man of Psalm 41 I have no doubt, too, the spirit of Christ in the remnant is also there. A greater number have gone astray in the proper understanding of the Psalms than in any other part of the scripture. They call for greater subjection of mind to rightly divide them, than perhaps, any other book of the Bible. We shall be kept right if we have the Lord ever before us, as revealed in the word. Christ is the key to it all.
I have no doubt they were making a misuse of that communication: “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” It was not for them to avenge themselves, but it was given as instruction to the judges in their administration of justice. But we are called to more than righteousness. The Christian standard is vastly higher than the Jewish. “The grace of God that bringeth salvation to all men has appeared, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly [as to ourselves], righteously [towards others] and godlily” [as regards God]. We should never act unrighteously, but graciously, and godlily. The principles of the kingdom of heaven show us we are to act graciously. The kingdom of heaven was “at hand” when the Lord was here; it is in “mystery” now that the King is on high; and by and by the kingdom will be in “power.”
What this chapter presents corresponds to much that we get in the Epistles of Peter. For instance, “not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,” etc. Also “Let your yieldingness be known unto all men.” It is necessary to remember that every truth has its counter-truth; there should never be yieldingness and graciousness at the expense of holiness. “Follow [or pursue] peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord"; so it is guarded: and these guards we need. The Lord Himself is the perfect pattern. He was pre-eminently “the unresisting one; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter! But He Who is the Lamb is the Lion also. And we must remember that now, while we are here and the Lord rejected, we have to show this grace. We shall not always have to show it. What is said of the Lord in Psalm 2, is said of the overcomer in Revelation 2. It is now that we have the opportunity of carrying out these principles which the Lord has revealed as those of His kingdom.
“Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek turn to him the other also” (ver. 39). Of course we must be careful that we understand these principles. This is not the spirit of defiance; for in this there may be real pride. It is non-resistance to evil. Look at the dignity of the Lord Jesus when they smote Him. He did not turn the other cheek. We must seek to understand the principle of the thing. Was Paul acting according to this when he said, “God shall smite thee, thou whited wall"? There was only One Who was the fine flour of the meal offering. The greater the pressure the more the perfection of the fine flour is shown out. Even the blessed apostle there failed; his impetuosity came to the top. In the O.T. we read, “He who ruleth his spirit is greater than he that taketh a city.” A saint of God is not to keep company with an angry man. Grace, however, at once showed itself in the apostle. When they said, “Revilest thou God's high priest?” he said, “I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people:” he bowed to the word at once. Let us remember what Peter says, for it is in keeping with the principle here. A saint suffering for what is right, and taking it patiently is a plain instruction for us. What a splendid testimony we should bear if we all carried out these principles! The infidel could not say then that Christianity is a failure. It is the neglect of the word of God that has brought things where they are. It is not the fault of the word, but of the neglect of it. Ah! better never to have had a revelation than, with the knowledge of it, to have turned aside from the holy commandment. Spite of all the corruptions of Christianity there is a contrast between those countries which have had but the outward knowledge of Christianity and those that are still heathen.
“If any man will sue thee at the law and take away thy coat [thy inside garment], let him have thy cloak also” [the outside one] (ver. 40). I do not think any of us could make any mistake as to the principle here. Under the law they were not allowed to keep it overnight if the man was poor, because it was the covering of the bed. For the Christian to prosecute another is unbecoming; and if himself prosecuted, there is the opportunity to show the difference between the Christian and the worldling. We can always put things into the Lord's hands.
It is a poor thing for the Christian to stand on his rights. If Moses (Numbers 12) had stood for his rights, the Lord would not have stood up for him; and if we stand for ours, He will not stand up for us. The Spirit's testimony to Moses was that He was very meek. He did not resist them, and, in result, Miriam got the leprosy and needed her brother's prayers. As Christians we are forbidden to go to law. I believe that verse 4 in Philippians 4—the book of Christian experience, as it has been called—would cover much that we have here. “Let your yieldingness be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand,” and this in two ways.
In all these verses of our Gospel we have different examples of the same truth. “Whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain” (40). If in verse 39 we have “resist not evil,” here it is “be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Verse 42 has been a puzzle to many who want to act rightly. I have no doubt the meaning of it is that we should be liberal-minded. In the O.T. the blessedness of this is pointed out. Of the Lord it is said, “He went about doing good.” “We are to do good to all men, specially to them who are of the household of faith.” Where we have opportunity to give, let us remember, “Freely ye have received, freely give.”
But would it be right to give, if we knew the person would make an ill use of it? Must we use that as an excuse if we have been victimized? How ready some people are to borrow? Surely there are counter-truths to guide us in all these questions. The good man spoken of in Psalm 112 will not only “show favor and lend,” but “will guide his affairs with discretion.” There is a guard for us. Suppose a thoroughly lazy man, who will not work though able, but lives by borrowing—2 Thessalonians 3:1010For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. (2 Thessalonians 3:10) affords direction for us. That supposes a man who refuses to work when he can. There may be an excellent brother out of work, and in need, and it is a privilege to help such. But Scripture is given us to guide in all cases. It is not a book of rules, though all scripture is the rule to the Christian, and where saints wait on the Lord He knows how to make plain. There are cases for exhortation. The very word that says, “From him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away,” says also, “Owe no man anything.” And a Christian in a right state of soul would not be happy to owe any man anything. A Christian is not governed by the world's standard. If one, for instance, becomes bankrupt and gets a “legal” release from the payment of his debts in full, is he not still before the Lord, morally responsible, though legally acquitted?
There was a man (I don't know if a Christian) who, putting up as an M.P., was found to have been a bankrupt. It is known, however, that afterwards, being very successful in business, he had invited all his creditors to meet him. They did so and found a luncheon provided for them, and, under each of their plates, a check for the unpaid balance due to them respectively, with 5 per cent interest added thereto. I also knew a Christian who came back to England from New Zealand in order to pay all his creditors in full. I would not be hard on a man who had failed and never had an opportunity to repay; we want to be hard on ourselves and not on others.
So in this verse we should show a generous spirit, but we need heavenly wisdom. All these things call for looking to the Lord. “Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion towards him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” We must not forget that side. Yet we must not encourage evil. We may share a man's sin by giving to him, as for instance, if we knew a man would get drunk if we gave him money. There are two words translated “covetousness” in the N.T.: one means desiring more than you have got; the other keeping back what you ought to give. The Lord does not calculate as men do. The poor widow had cast in, according to the balances of the sanctuary, more than they all, though they had cast in something. The Lord still sits over against the treasury.
I think that poor widow is often quoted unjustly. People often say, “the widow's mite"; but she had two mites, all she possessed, and she put in both. We are warned that “the love of money is a root of all evil,” and no doubt Christian communities have been great lovers of money, and ail sorts of schemes have been resorted to to get money. The Lord will not have hypocrisy; He must have reality.
Verse 43. “It hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy.” This latter clause was a deduction, the inference of an evil nature. The law said, “Love your neighbor “; but there was no instruction to hate an enemy. “But I say unto you, Love your enemies.” No one could do this naturally or apart from the grace of God. Only in the knowledge of the grace of God—that when we were enemies Christ died for us, can we do so. Very lovely is this instruction, when we think of Himself, and the unrighteous way He was treated—the crown of thorns, mocking, scourging, and nailing to the cross, and then the cry, “Father, forgive them.”
A little reflex of this we see in Stephen. They cast him out and stoned him, and he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord lay not this sin to their charge. The same grace that enabled Stephen a man of like passions with ourselves—to act thus can enable us. It is very lovely, and meets the Lord's mind. But there is a great contrast between the Master and the servant. Stephen said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” The Lord Jesus could dismiss His spirit. He only.
There is a singular connection between Stephen and the apostle Paul. There you get the beginning of the gospel of glory. The twelve had the gospel of the grace of God committed to them. But Paul says, “The gospel of the glory of the blessed (or, happy) God which was committed to me” (1 Timothy 1:11Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope; (1 Timothy 1:1)). The others had spoken of the exaltation of Christ, but of Stephen it is said, “He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,” and he bore testimony to it. And the Lord lays His hand on him who was standing by and consenting to Stephen's death, and says, “To you I commit that gospel of the glory of God.” One that acts on the principles of this chapter will specially need the Lord's care and protection. How the world would take advantage and seek to tread on them! They need the Lord's protection and they shall get it. Paul says, when all forsook him, “the Lord stood by me and strengthened me,” and he was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And He is the One we also want. And unless there is the realization of that we shall not have power to carry this out.
In verse 45 it is, not children but sons; “children” is always connected with birth. The apostle John in his writings never uses the word “son” for any but the Lord Jesus, with but one exception (Revelation 21:77He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. (Revelation 21:7)). When he refers to the saints of God it is always “children.” In the 1st chapter of his Gospel, verse 12, “as many as received Him to them gave He power to become children of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born... of God.” So in his 1st Epistle (3:1). “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God.”
But when it is a question of “sons” it refers to our position; and is connected with redemption in Galatians, while here it is a question of character. “The sons of your Father” — “your Father that makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good” —not simply God, but your Father, and we are called to have the family character and show the same grace, as sons of such a Father. The one that loves his enemies, and does good to them that hate him, bears the character of a son of the Father who makes His sun to rise on the evil and on the good. Think how He is treated and blasphemed, and of the character of man! Yet He treats them so, and He is your Father.
Verses 47, 48. There ought to be a maturity about us to better show out that family character. There is no such thought here as sinless perfection. The context must always show the meaning of “perfect.” God says to Abraham, “I am El Shaddai” the all-sufficient One; all resources are in Me; now use them and be perfect. Paul says, “We speak wisdom among them that are perfect,” there it is in contrast with a babe. The Lord Jesus says, “I do cures today and to-morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.” Here He means resurrection. And it is used of us too—that they without us should not be made perfect—that is, perfected in resurrection. In Philippians 3:12-1512Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. (Philippians 3:12‑15) the word is used in two senses. “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect, but I follow after,” etc., i.e., he would not be perfect till he reached the Lord in glory. “Let us therefore as many as be perfect be thus minded.”
So there was a sense in which he was not perfect, another sense in which he was perfect, viz., a full grown Christian, and others with him. Then again in Hebrews 6— “leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection.” The principles are the alphabet; we are not always to be in the A B C class, but to go on to full growth. Referring back to chap. 5 we find that they needed that one taught them these principles again. The Corinthians had never been more than babes; these Hebrews had, and had gone back, so that they needed milk again and not strong meal, which belongs to the full grown. So we see by these examples how necessary it is for us to consider the context in all cases.
(To be continued)