'Irony In Sermon On The Mount'
Loving your enemies does not seem easy, praying for them even harder, and doing both for those who persecute you, practically impossible. Conversely, during the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5:43-48, Christ calls his followers to love their enemies, a calling that perhaps seemed just as contrary to first century culture as today’s culture. However, as seen through Christ’s ministry on earth, he did not call his followers to what seemed easy, but to radically transform their lives to adhere to a higher standard of righteousness. This paper will, through investigating the historical, literary, and theological background of the passage, address Christ’s calling to a higher standard of righteousness, in pursuit of perfection through
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aligning oneself with the nature of God, specifically through loving your enemies.
Matthew 5:43-48 says:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is …show more content…
perfect.”
History
To begin, it warrants notice that the audience of Christ’s exhortation to “love your enemies” appears relatively Jewish. This assumption finds merit through evaluating Matthew 4:24, which states that a majority of Jesus’ early ministry took place in cities like Jerusalem and Judea, as well as other cities known for active Judaism. Additionally, in Matthew 5:47, Jesus refers to “the Gentiles” in a less than positive comparison, which could imply few Gentiles in the audience. Lastly, Christ’s focus on the Torah throughout the sermon, would imply he spoke to a crowd familiar with it.
To further understand the audience of this exhortation, one must backtrack to Matthew 5:1, which states that “Seeing the crowds, he [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him” (Matthew 5:1).
Therefore, people attracted to Christ, possibly due to his growing popularity (Matthew 4:24), composed a portion of the audience, as did the disciples of Christ. One could simply link this large crowd to the same crowd previously mentioned in Matthew 4:25, however “. . . 4:23-25 is a more general summary of major portions of Jesus’ Galilean ministry” (Blomberg 1992:96). Therefore, if Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount compiles several different teachings from different times, Matthew 5:1 might refer to the same crowds. On the contrary, if one views the Sermon on the Mount as a specific scene that took place, the crowds mentioned 4:25 and 5:1 would differ. Regardless, the crowd clearly desired to hear from a teacher who could heal “. . . the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics. . .” (Matthew
4:24).
Christ said to this crowd and his disciples “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’” (Matthew 5:43). Even the most elementary Bible scholar could, in a relatively quick manner, point out that the tail end of this statement lacks a scriptural reference, let alone finds place as a command in the Old Testament Torah. However, that does not mean that the first-century audience did not practice it as such. Although the latter part of the statement cannot find a reference in Torah, it does “. . . represent what would be naturally understood to be the counterpart to its intended application” (France 2007:223). D.A. Carson explains this claim further by stating that “. . . some Jews took the word “neighbor” to be exclusive: ‘we are to love only our neighbors. . . and therefore we are to hate our enemies’” (1990:52). Based on such a mindset, it remains likely that Christ’s call to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. . .” (Matthew 5:44), proved rather startling to the first-century Jewish audience. For example, faithful Jews who waited in anticipation for the coming Messiah that would overthrow Roman rule and establish an earthly kingdom (2 Samuel 7:13), might have found the call to love your enemies quite contrary to what they expected the Kingdom of God to look like.
Furthermore, if the command to love unexclusively did not startle the audience enough, the comparison that followed probably did. Jesus went on to claim that simply loving someone who loves you in return puts you in the same category as tax collectors and Gentiles, who do the same. The significance of this comparison, or rather the offense of it, warrants attention. Regarding tax collectors, D.A. Carson notes that bribery and corruption often surrounded such an occupation, so “naturally, the Jewish tax collectors were loathed, and doubly loathed among the Jews because they came into contact with the Gentiles, the Roman overlords, and thus became ceremonially unclean” (1990:53). In addition, Gentiles did not find acceptance in Jewish society either because of ceremonial uncleanliness, as suggested by Carson. Therefore, Christ likening the crowd’s behavior to that of the people they likely detested, surely left them questioning the oral traditions of the law they practiced.
Literature
Matthew 5:43-48 makes up a small literary piece of an intricate sermon recorded in chapters 5-7 of the gospel of Matthew. In its immediate context, 5:43-48 concludes a series of antitheses taking place from Matthew 5:21-48; more specifically, 5:43-46 falls as the sixth and final antithesis of the sermon (Blomberg 1992:93). Each of these antitheses follow the same general pattern. Christ begins with “You have heard it said. . .” and then continues with an Old Testament command likely well known in Jewish teaching. Then Christ, by saying, “But I say to you. . .” adds to the command, or rather clarifies what the heart orientation behind the command should look like. Blomberg makes the important clarification that “Christ makes clear that he is not contradicting the law, but neither is he preserving it unchanged. He comes “to fulfill” it, i.e., he will bring the law to its intended goal” (Blomberg 1992:103). With such a perspective, one sees that Christ used these six antitheses to accomplish that goal. In a slightly larger context, the book of Matthew, like the Sermon on the Mount, also has a great deal to do with Judaism and the Torah. Talbert notes, “Matthew’s Gospel is clearly set in the context of ancient Judaism. It is usually recognized as the most Jewish of all four canonical Gospels” (2006:3). In fact, a major theme of the gospel had to do with fulfillment of the Old Testament law. Beginning in chapter 1, the gospel displays, through Christ’s genealogy, how his coming fulfilled the covenants made to Abraham and David in the Old Testament (Allen 1969:63). This seem continues throughout the gospel through fulfillment formulas and seen in 5:43-48.
aligning oneself with the nature of God, specifically through loving your enemies.
Matthew 5:43-48 says:
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.
For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is …show more content…
perfect.”
History
To begin, it warrants notice that the audience of Christ’s exhortation to “love your enemies” appears relatively Jewish. This assumption finds merit through evaluating Matthew 4:24, which states that a majority of Jesus’ early ministry took place in cities like Jerusalem and Judea, as well as other cities known for active Judaism. Additionally, in Matthew 5:47, Jesus refers to “the Gentiles” in a less than positive comparison, which could imply few Gentiles in the audience. Lastly, Christ’s focus on the Torah throughout the sermon, would imply he spoke to a crowd familiar with it.
To further understand the audience of this exhortation, one must backtrack to Matthew 5:1, which states that “Seeing the crowds, he [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him” (Matthew 5:1).
Therefore, people attracted to Christ, possibly due to his growing popularity (Matthew 4:24), composed a portion of the audience, as did the disciples of Christ. One could simply link this large crowd to the same crowd previously mentioned in Matthew 4:25, however “. . . 4:23-25 is a more general summary of major portions of Jesus’ Galilean ministry” (Blomberg 1992:96). Therefore, if Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount compiles several different teachings from different times, Matthew 5:1 might refer to the same crowds. On the contrary, if one views the Sermon on the Mount as a specific scene that took place, the crowds mentioned 4:25 and 5:1 would differ. Regardless, the crowd clearly desired to hear from a teacher who could heal “. . . the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics. . .” (Matthew
4:24).
Christ said to this crowd and his disciples “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’” (Matthew 5:43). Even the most elementary Bible scholar could, in a relatively quick manner, point out that the tail end of this statement lacks a scriptural reference, let alone finds place as a command in the Old Testament Torah. However, that does not mean that the first-century audience did not practice it as such. Although the latter part of the statement cannot find a reference in Torah, it does “. . . represent what would be naturally understood to be the counterpart to its intended application” (France 2007:223). D.A. Carson explains this claim further by stating that “. . . some Jews took the word “neighbor” to be exclusive: ‘we are to love only our neighbors. . . and therefore we are to hate our enemies’” (1990:52). Based on such a mindset, it remains likely that Christ’s call to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. . .” (Matthew 5:44), proved rather startling to the first-century Jewish audience. For example, faithful Jews who waited in anticipation for the coming Messiah that would overthrow Roman rule and establish an earthly kingdom (2 Samuel 7:13), might have found the call to love your enemies quite contrary to what they expected the Kingdom of God to look like.
Furthermore, if the command to love unexclusively did not startle the audience enough, the comparison that followed probably did. Jesus went on to claim that simply loving someone who loves you in return puts you in the same category as tax collectors and Gentiles, who do the same. The significance of this comparison, or rather the offense of it, warrants attention. Regarding tax collectors, D.A. Carson notes that bribery and corruption often surrounded such an occupation, so “naturally, the Jewish tax collectors were loathed, and doubly loathed among the Jews because they came into contact with the Gentiles, the Roman overlords, and thus became ceremonially unclean” (1990:53). In addition, Gentiles did not find acceptance in Jewish society either because of ceremonial uncleanliness, as suggested by Carson. Therefore, Christ likening the crowd’s behavior to that of the people they likely detested, surely left them questioning the oral traditions of the law they practiced.
Literature
Matthew 5:43-48 makes up a small literary piece of an intricate sermon recorded in chapters 5-7 of the gospel of Matthew. In its immediate context, 5:43-48 concludes a series of antitheses taking place from Matthew 5:21-48; more specifically, 5:43-46 falls as the sixth and final antithesis of the sermon (Blomberg 1992:93). Each of these antitheses follow the same general pattern. Christ begins with “You have heard it said. . .” and then continues with an Old Testament command likely well known in Jewish teaching. Then Christ, by saying, “But I say to you. . .” adds to the command, or rather clarifies what the heart orientation behind the command should look like. Blomberg makes the important clarification that “Christ makes clear that he is not contradicting the law, but neither is he preserving it unchanged. He comes “to fulfill” it, i.e., he will bring the law to its intended goal” (Blomberg 1992:103). With such a perspective, one sees that Christ used these six antitheses to accomplish that goal. In a slightly larger context, the book of Matthew, like the Sermon on the Mount, also has a great deal to do with Judaism and the Torah. Talbert notes, “Matthew’s Gospel is clearly set in the context of ancient Judaism. It is usually recognized as the most Jewish of all four canonical Gospels” (2006:3). In fact, a major theme of the gospel had to do with fulfillment of the Old Testament law. Beginning in chapter 1, the gospel displays, through Christ’s genealogy, how his coming fulfilled the covenants made to Abraham and David in the Old Testament (Allen 1969:63). This seem continues throughout the gospel through fulfillment formulas and seen in 5:43-48.