We are continuing on with the sermon series based on the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. This week, we are reading verses 38-48. Jesus really hits it hard in this chpater. He tells us that we have to be better than the “super-religious” in terms of our righteousness. Then he challenges us to think about how even the motivations for things what we do can be sinful. Then he tells us that our actions proceed from the state of our spiritual lives. This week he goes even a bit further to tell us that we have to love and forgive those who wrong us. What he really is trying to do is to get us to re-think justice. We look at justice as an eye for an eye and that people deserve to pay for what they do. Jesus calls us instead to forgiveness and restoration. Why would he do that?
Some things to think about:
What happens to our relationship with people when we retaliate?
What happens to ourselves when we strike back at people who wrong us?
How is the way that Jesus calls us to turn the other cheek similar to how we have been treated by God when we have sinned?
