Jesus continues on by speaking of yet another thing the hypocrites do. He said that WHEN you fast (not if but when) do not be like the hypocrites who put on a show so that everyone will know they are suffering. Jesus says to continue on with your day…this is a moment for you and God.

This goes hand in hand with the other teachings that came before this one. But the question is why? Why are you fasting? Is it to enhance your relationship with God and your reliance on Him? Or is it just to be seen as impressive? You think this is a weird question but many operate in regards to the latter. WHEN you fast…don’t let anyone know but you and God. Make its purpose worth it.

Jesus continues on with the hypocrisy by talking about prayer. He says that you shouldn’t pray in public so that everyone can be impressed with your prayer. Instead, when you pray, you should do so in your closed room where you’re alone. Also, you shouldn’t babble to impress others with your eloquent words because God already knows what you need.

Jesus then gives an example prayer:

“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”

Matthew 6:9-13

Then Jesus wraps up this section by explaining that if we want forgiven by God…we must be willing to forgive others. This to me is one of the scariest verses in scripture.

So what does all of this mean? Jesus is saying we should pray to speak to God…not to be seen by others. Also, we should lift up His name, ask for what we need, and seek protection from the evil one. But then Jesus throws something is that goes hand in hand with what He has been teaching on leading up to this.We must be willing to forgive because we love. If we can’t forgive, we will not be forgiven. Let that sink in a moment…God will not forgive you if you’re not willing to forgive another…NO EXCEPTIONS. Take your prayer time seriously…pray with purpose. And go into your time of prayer having loved…so that you can experience forgiveness.

Jesus begins a section of teaching where He compares the righteous to the hypocrites. He starts off by saying do no practice your “righteousness” in public, because if you do you will have no reward from God.

He also says that if you are going to give to someone in need, do so in secret. Don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. If you do this in public, you have already received your reward in full. But if you do so in secret, God will reward you for your righteousness.

Why do so in secret? Why not let everyone know what you’ve been up to? I believe it comes down to a simple thought…who are you doing it for? If you’re only giving so that you can be seen and thought well of by others…who are you loving, your neighbor or yourself? Doing so in secret confirms that you are thinking about the individual and not yourself. God wants us to love others…that’s hard to do when we are only focused on self. It’s not that God doesn’t want you to be rewarded…He just wants you giving because of the person, not because of self.

Jesus refers back to loving your neighbor and hating your enemy as He begins His next section of teaching:

“Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18)

Jesus, of course, as He has been doing, takes this teaching a step further. He says not only should we love our neighbors, but we should also love our enemies…even pray for those who persecute us so that we can be called children of God. It’s almost as if how we treat others determines who we are living for.

Jesus says that if we only love those who love us back, or who are easy to love, it would make us no different than the pagans and the tax collectors. Even they love those who love them…but we are to be different and love those who do not love us back.

Then Jesus finishes up by saying to be perfect as God is perfect. How can we be perfect? John refers to God as perfect love in his first letter. Could it be that Jesus is asking us to pursue perfect love in our life by loving our enemies?

Being a follower of Jesus is not always the easiest path. Loving our enemies does not always sound like fun. But let me ask you…have their been moments you have done wrong against God? Have their been moments you didn’t stand up for His name, you were disobedient, or even rebellious in your sin? God loves us in spite of all of the moments we don’t choose Him. He has already given us the example…now it’s time for us to follow through.

Jesus opens up by using scripture about a eye for an eye:

“eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot…” (Exodus 21:24)

“fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury.” (Leviticus 24:20)

“Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” (Deuteronomy 19:21)

Jesus, as he has been doing, takes it further. He says if someone slaps you on the cheek, turn to them your other cheek. If someone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give them your coat as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go two. This seems like the complete opposite of what the law has said…

Then Jesus says if someone asks for something, give it to them. Also, if someone asks to borrow something, do not ignore them.

So what does all of this mean? Jesus is saying that we are to meet the act of anger, envy, and pride with love. Love through resistance, love through generosity, and love through obedience. It goes back to the oaths as well…we are not above another…we are all equal and God’s eyes. Knowing this…we have no right to seek revenge for ourselves…only God can do that.

This might be one of the most difficult lessons for Christians to grasp…why? Because it requires us to relinquish control. If we allow God to lead our lives, we won’t be focused on revenge and retaliation…but only in loving God and loving others.

Jesus speaks of how they’ve always been told to make sure they fulfill their promises before the Lord. But Jesus goes further…He says that we shouldn’t make an oath at all.

He explains how we have no authority in have on which to swear by. We have no authority on earth, or even our own community to swear by. We don’t even have authority to swear by our own head because we don’t get the say on whether our hair is white or black.

Jesus says instead, just let yes or no be enough because anything more than that comes from the evil one.

Why is that? Why should we not swear an oath by something? It comes down to the fact that we truly do not have the authority over anything on which to swear by. We are the created being…God is God. We don’t get to decide everything about our future or even the present. When we think we do…it’s because we are more focused on serving self.

It’s not necessarily a matter of being petty about what we can or can’t do…it’s about the fact that we have no authority to do so. Remind yourself today of who is in control. Even ask yourself…who has the most control of my life right now…and if it’s not God, then you can bet the enemy is close.

Jesus quotes from the law in regards to how to divorce:

“If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from the house…” (Deuteronomy 24:1)

So Jesus quotes this scripture and then expands on this idea of divorce. He speaks of sexual immorality being the only thing that should be means for a divorce.

Jesus even goes so far to say that if a divorce occurs by any other means, the woman is then considered an adulterer, and any man who would marry the woman in the future would also be considered an adulterer.

The issue here, to me, is not necessarily the topic of divorce itself, but in how serious we should take the covenant we made before God when we get married. It should be taken seriously beforehand, and should be taken even more seriously after. A marriage is built on the promise before God that their relationship would continue to grow and be lead by God. Our marriages are important to God…make sure they are in a healthy place.

Jesus again quotes from Exodus to bring everyone’s attention to the commandment against adultery:

“You shall not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)

Jesus adds to this commandment, though. He says that even if you look at a woman lustfully you have already committed adultery in your heart. It’s a heart issue.

Jesus then adds that if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out because that would be better than Hell. If you hand causes you to sin, cut it off because that would be better than Hell.

Jesus highlights the terrible misery of Hell. He warns us that living in sin will in fact lead us to this awful eternity of punishment. But what’s more, He speaks on our sin really becoming a heart issue. How can we truly love others the way God has called if we are looking at them lustfully? The connection can be made for all sin we find ourselves wrapped up in. When we act in sin, love is not found.

Consider today how your sin isn’t just a wrong action, thought or word…and how it is changing your heart and making it more difficult to carry out the love you have been called to share.

Jesus quotes what was commanded long ago from Exodus 20:13:

“You shall not murder.”

Seems to be a pretty clear cut command. But Jesus adds to this command by saying that even if you find yourself angry at a brother or sister you are subject to punishment.

In fact, Jesus says if you are offering a gift at the altar but have something against a brother, drop the gift and take care of the brokenness between you and the individual. Then you can come and offer your gift to God.

Jesus says to settle matters quickly or you could be handed over to the judge, who hands you over to the officer, who throws you in prison.

I believe the point of this teaching from Jesus is to show us that relationships should be very important to us. Reconciliation and forgiveness should be important to us…why? Because Jesus has forgiven us and reconciled with us. If we are to be the image of God, we must be willing to forgive and move on as He does.

Is there someone you are angry with that you need to forgive today? Let God live through you today and go and reconcile with that person. It’s important to God that you do so.

Jesus informs that He dis not come to abolish the law…He came to fulfill it. He warns that everyone must continue to obey all of the law or they will be considered least in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus then goes on to say that our righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. In fact, He says that if it doesn’t, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

At first this seems a little harsh. But let’s look at what Jesus was really saying. The Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were very obedient to the law, but that is where their faith began and ended. Jesus explains that yes, we must obey law, but our faith should go beyond just being obedient to law. We should love one another, forgive, etc. We must be salt and light. Those aren’t laws but we understand them to be critical to our relationship with Jesus.

Following Jesus is more than just a checklist to accomplish. It’s what we do with every word and every action of our life. May your righteousness surpass the law today and everyday.