An Expositional Study Of The Sermon On The Mount
LOVE’S LONG REACH
Scripture Reading: Matthew 5:43-48 (KJV)
YE HAVE HEARD THAT IT HATH BEEN SAID, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR, 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 SO? BE YE THEREFORE PERFECT, EVEN AS YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT.
What a wonderful passage. What a joy to consider it and hopefully each of us will practice it. Let us pray for one another that we may have grace sufficient for such a high task.
The last of the five instances
We have now come to the last of our five examples, which began back in verse 21, where the Lord began dealing with the old Law. In not one case did He show Himself in opposition to the Law, but only to the unauthorized additions, the inadequate interpretations, the human accretions, the traditions of the elders, that had gathered around it. All this He attacked in order that He may display the hidden beauties of the Law and delineate its true development. All the way through, His line of thought has not been destruction, but development. And now He comes to the Law of Love: “Thou shalt love” (Matt. 5:43). This covers all else, ensures all else. Keep in mind the Lord’s answer to the lawyer in Matthew 22:37, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and will all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Note, how He deals with the matter here; and then consider,
The enlargement of love’s scope
Let us look at the Rabbi's teaching. “Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy” (Matt. 5:43). The Law said something quite different, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Lev. 14:18); but they altered this in a threefold way. First, by qualification: the “neighbor” referred to was, they said, only one of your own race. Next, by omission: leaving out the words, “as thyself”; yet it is the implications of those words in that context which would solve most of our social problems. Then, by addition: inserting the words, “and hate thine enemy” – that detestable gloss; and a sentiment at variance with what the Law did say as can be seen for example in Exodus 23:4-5.
The Master’s teaching
With all this we compare the Master’s teaching. “But I say unto you, love your enemies” (Matt. 5:44). Who are these? “Them that curse you” (Matt. 5:44), that wish you evil; “them that hate you” (Matt. 5:44), detest you, with that loathing which is sometimes aroused in some wicked hearts by a Christian’s sheer goodness toward them; “them which despitefully use you” (Matt. 5:44), threaten and insult us; “them which . . . persecute you” (5:44), speak and act against us, even to physical violence. How should a Christian treat them? Normally and naturally there is only one answer: give as good as we get, pay them back in their own coin, so to speak. But, as we found in our last lesson, that is not what Jesus Christ wants us to do. The proper answer to all this provocative and unprovoked treatment is love. No doubt, to the little company of disciples then sitting at His feet, that Word would cause a jolt; perhaps, in that larger company of listeners in the outer circle, it might almost cause a jeer. But make no mistake about it; this is not pusillanimity, but magnanimity of the highest sort. Love them, period. In loving speech – “bless them,” giving back good words for their evil; in loving action – “do good to them,” taking every opportunity of showing them kindness and everyday helpfulness; in loving prayers – “pray for them,” turning our wishes for them into supplication that God will make the wishes come true. Who ever heard such wonderful teaching? Can it really be done? Well, consider next,
The accomplishment of love’s ideal
Three personal questions arise. Is this hard? Indeed it is. There is a natural love – a love for the members of our personal family circle, a love for those with whom we have an affinity of interests, of character, of temperament. This is not hard; it is just natural affection. There is a Greek word for it; but that is not the word used in this passage. There is a supernatural love – the word generally associated with it is the one used here.
It is a love that is given regardless of conditions or positions. Our Lord gave an unforgettable human illustration of it in His portrait of the Good Samaritan, in Luke 10:30f. His heart went out in loving, practical, sympathy toward that poor fellow lying by the wayside: note the quality of his attitude toward him. It was love – for the unknown. He had never seen him before, knew nothing of his circumstances, character, or merit. It reminds us of those enthusiastic, missionary-hearted folks, whose hearts of love go out to the poor lost souls in Africa, China, India or other difficult areas of the world – and who know only one thing – there are souls there desperately needing the Lord Jesus Christ. They have no thought of color, race or anything else; only a keen love of lost souls. Then, it was love – for the unattractive. All who have engaged in full time service for the Lord know something of the occasional unattractive person in the audience: one feels drawn to most of the congregation, but sometimes there is that one to whom such a feeling is not felt. Perhaps it is someone in Bible School class; that certain one is never made a fuss over, never given anything of a special nature. Yet, how often we see that it is the unattractive one that makes good, that grows in Christian grace, and that is today a keen worker for our Lord, and our lack of attention to that one has makes us the loser – for not doing more at the time. It is abundantly worthwhile to love the unattractive. Moreover, it was love – for the unprofitable. The Samaritan would get nothing out of his kind action: actually he would lose a little money. True love has its reward; but it never seeks for reward – not for repayment, not for anything. Lastly, it was love – for the unfriendly. “The Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans,” says John 4:9. It must have been surprise to the patient, when he “came to” in the Inn, to discover that it was an “enemy” who had done all this for him. Here, verily, was love of the heavenly sort; and the Master ends the story with the words, “Go, and do thou likewise” – love’s long reach.
Family likeness
But do we recognize that this is the family likeness? “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:45) – show yourselves to be such by resembling Him. It is not uncommon to come across physical likenesses between members of a family; but our study shows how Christian’s can bear a spiritual resemblance. God loves all alike. He loves people no more because they are good, and no less because they are wicked. How wrong did some parents use that threat on occasion: “God won’t love you if you are bad.” Anyone who ever uses a statement like this to a child, should read over and over again Romans 5:6,8,10, “When we were yet without strength . . . Christ died for the ungodly . . . while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us . . . when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son.” Even when His perfect Justice has to punish, His perfect love remains, as Dr. William Harrison wrote: “The perfect friend knows all the worst, And loves me just the same. There’s only One who loves like that, He shed His blood and took my curse. Jesus Christ, what a precious Name!”
Augustine said, “Good for good, evil for evil: that is natural. Evil for good: that is devilish. Good for evil: that is divine.” This kind of love is a family characteristic; and so, “We love (not ‘Him’ only, as A.V.; but all) because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 R.V.). “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another” (1 John 4:11). The world may not understand us – “Therefore the world knoweth us not” (1 John 3:1), this sort of love is beyond them, but when they witness it they are highly impressed.
It can be done
We say, “can be,” because He never expects anything of us that can not be done. How often have we been comforted by the spiritual principle that lies embedded in Exodus 18:23, “If . . . God command thee so . . . thou shalt be able to.” Clearly, He expects this supreme quality of love in His children; then, just as clearly we will be able to manage it. Of course, none but His children can do so, and only when they are in the right condition. In the passage, 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:1, there are three men. First, there is the natural man. He is the ordinary unregenerate man of the world, the non-Christian. It would be foolish to tell him to love his enemies, because he “receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him.” Then, there is the carnal man. He is a Christian; but like an undeveloped baby his life is on the low level of worldly environment. He looks at, and judges things as if he were still a natural man. It does no good to tell him to love his enemies – he would not because he does not want to do so. If a prayer for enemies is included during worship, he may inwardly object, but never outwardly. Last, there is the spiritual man. This is the man we want to be. He is a Christian; and lives as a Christian on a high spiritual level. Every Christian has within the gift of the Holy Spirit – “if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Rom. 8:9) – even the carnal man has Him. The difference between him and the spiritual man is that the latter has handed control over to the Spirit. Among children of the Kingdom, it is to those who have come to that happy condition that the command to “love your enemies” becomes a real possibility. The lost of this world cannot do it; the nations cannot do it; but the child of God can.
The measurement of love’s progress
Note here our Lord's mention of the lower stratum of society – “Even the publicans.” His Jewish audience would no doubt think that this was going about as low in society as one could get. They habitually bracketed “publicans and sinners” together; their Rabbis ranked publicans with cut-throats and robbers. In the eyes of the majority of their fellow- countrymen, they had sunk to the low position of collecting taxes for the hated Roman government. Yet, the Lord Jesus loved “even the publicans” – people called Him “a friend of publicans” (Matt. 11:19). How delightful is the record of His dealings with them: think of Matthew and Zacchaeus. What a friend Jesus was to these tax collectors. There was no scorn or sneer in His voice, but a lovely tone of affection when He said, “even the publicans.” The Master would have His disciples grasp that to love people that love them is no great accomplishment – even despised publicans do that much.
A higher standard
The Master has placed before them the higher standard of life. “More than others” – how do we stand compared with that measurement? “If ye salute your brethren only” (Matt. 5:47); think about how protracted an Eastern salutation could be? First, there was the ceremonial, touching the forehead, lips and heart with the hand. Next, there was the greeting, “Peace be unto thee.” Then, the embrace – warm and hearty kissing, that might go on and on. That explains why, in sending forth His disciples on an urgent mission, our Lord bade them “Salute no man by the way” (Luke 10:4). He was not teaching them to be standoff, but that it took up so much time. However, here He places no such embargo on His disciples’ friendliness; but warns them not to retain their greeting for their brethren only. The world has come to expect a Christian to do “more than others.” If we profess to be Christian, then we will find that unbelievers will expect more of us; and even today, one of the excuses sometimes given for avoiding the Lord’s church is the old saying that we are no better than other people. Though we might resent that criticism, still, in this present age it is too often sadly true. The Master expects that. It is sad that in some cases we fail to reach His standard. Sadly, worldly people often seem nicer, kinder, and truer than those whom He expects “more than others.” It is not our aim to be severe, but sincere – especially with ourselves. Let us all test ourselves. For instance, take anger – others fly into a rage if things go wrong, and people upset them; how about us? Take self – there are some Christians who are unselfish, even selfless: but most worldly people are self-ridden: how about us? Take pride – some “others” are eaten up with pride: how about us? Take love – are we more loving-spirited than unbelievers? What a test of our reality, what a measurement of our progress. Are we truly growing in love? In some homes there is a charming little spot on the wall, a succession of marks – birthday growth. A little one would stand up against the wall each year; a ruler rested on his or her head and a mark was recorded on the wall. There would be disappointment and alarm, if year after year went by with no advance being made. Apply the same idea to our measure of love. Here is a good question to ask of ourselves: “How many years have I been a Christian? Am I more loving than I used to be” – “More than others?” – More than other years? – More than other people? In John 21:15, the Master asked Peter, “Lovest thou Me more than these?” He had said: “Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended” (Matt. 26:33) – but, in face of his sad denial, did he really love Him “more than these” others? However, in this lesson we are thinking of love for others rather than love for Him; but the measurement is there for both. How, then, are we doing; is there continual progress? Lastly, consider
The statement of love’s fullness
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). Not perfect in wisdom, power, or holiness, but in love. Sinlessness is not meant. Our view of the meaning of the word “perfect” is: First, the perfection of development. Even at seven, a parent looks admiringly at a child and says, “Isn’t he perfect?” What, at seven? Yes, perfect for seven. When he has grown to youth; perfect for youth; and so on. The child is just right at each stage. Oh, to be just that at our present stage of Christian life, and in love. Or, we might view the meaning of “perfect” as the perfection of capacity. The ocean is filled with water, the cup is filled with water – in this respect each is perfect, filled to capacity. We say to the cup, “be ye therefore perfect (filled full) even as the ocean is perfect” – not the same quantity of water but the same quality of water, each up to its capacity. And the Master says to us, “Be ye therefore filled full with love, even as your Father is filled full” – your capacity different, but your commodity the same. And if the limit of our capacity causes us some depression, we can take comfort in the wise farmer’s prayer, “O Lord, I can’t hold much, but I can overflow lots.” “Out of him shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38).
Summary
Think of the ocean, “That ye . . . may be able to comprehend . . . the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge” (Eph. 3:17-19). These Ephesian verses might be coupled with John 3:16. First, the breadth of the love of God – “God so loved the world”; second, the length of the love of God – “He gave His only begotten Son”; third, the depth of the love of God – “that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish”; and fourth, the height of the love of God – “but have everlasting life.” What a true comment on all that we have considered in this chapter, love’s long reach. Yes, that is the ocean; what of the cup? Again, it is not the same capacity but the same commodity; and the same perfection, love’s fullness. And how? Romans 5:5 supplies the answer, “The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost who is given unto us.” Christians have Him; and when He has all our being, the miracle becomes actual. The same love that fills the ocean, fills the cup to overflowing; with a love that is prepared to go to any length – any cost or endeavor in order to reach and help; a love that does not hesitate to descend to any depth to snatch one lowest-sunk from going down into the pit, a love that in all its exercise has the height of the heavenly as its ultimate aim for all that it helps. Let us, then, daily surrender ourselves to be “filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18), and we will find ourselves filled with love, for “the fruit of the Spirit is love” (Gal. 5:22). That is the secret of love’s long reach.
