So In Everything

Day 32

So In Everything

(Guest Post By David Campbell)

‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.’

Matthew 7:12

 

Jesus was speaking to a people on this mountainside … to God’s people … to His people, Israel.

He was speaking to a people who had a strong sense of their identity, an identity formed over many years.

We know someone who went to the land of Israel on a study tour a few years ago, where they were able to engage with the stories and teachings of Scripture in the places where those stories and teachings first happened.

One evening, after a day walking through the crowded streets of Jerusalem, their local guide said to the group; “There are no 30 year old Jews.”  The group looked very confused by this statement, thinking that it could not possibly be true. Of all the people they had seen that day there were some who looked very much like they must have been around thirty years of age. Seeing the confused expressions, and with a defiant smile, the guide repeated emphatically; “No! There are no 30 year old Jews!” After a moment’s silence he then said; “There are only 4,000 year old Jews.”

Jesus was speaking to a people on this mountainside … to a people who had a strong identity … 2,000 years strong at the time.

There were two things that sat right at the centre of their identity. The story of them becoming the people of the law, and the story of them being called back to this identity again and again by the prophets.

So when Jesus says, “this sums up the law and the prophets”, He is saying; this is what it means to be us, to be God’s people, to be the people our whole calling set us apart to be.

What he says what “sums up” their calling, their purpose, their identity, is for them to; “do to others what you would have them do to you”.

That’s it.

For all who follow Him, that is what sums up our calling, our purpose, our identity.

As we have seen, this summary comes right after fourteen specific teachings. Let us look back one more time at these teachings in summary form. We have mentioned a three-part-pattern in earlier posts. There is the covenant righteousness that God’s people know about … then Jesus’ diagnosis of the vicious cycle that keeps us trapped … followed by the transforming initiative where God will meet His people in their obedience, and help break the cycle.

So we could sum up each teaching as follows:

1. You know not to murder … but the problem is anger, and saying of a brother, You fool! … so go, be reconciled.

2. You know not to commit adultery … but the problem is looking with lust … so remove the cause of temptation

3. You know not to divorce … and the problem is that moving from partner to partner involves you in adultery … so (be reconciled)*

*(Jesus does not actually say, in the Sermon on the Mount itself, what the initiative should be instead of divorce. However, what He has said implies that we are to aim to be reconciled, and we know from 1 Cor 7:11 that he teaches reconciliation.)

4. You know not to swear falsely … and the problem is that swearing by anything involves you in a false claim … so let your yes be yes, and your no be no.

5. You know about eye for eye, and tooth for tooth … but the problem is violently or vengefully resisting by evil means … so turn the other cheek.

6. You know to love your neighbor and hate your enemy … but the problem is that if you love those who love you, what more is that than the Gentiles do? … So give your tunic and cloak, go the second mile, give to beggar and borrower, love your enemies, and pray for your persecutors; because your Father in heaven is like this.

5. You know to give alms … but the problem is blowing a trumpet like hypocrites … so give in secret. Your Father will reward you.

8. You know to pray … but the problem is making a show like the hypocrites … so pray in secret. Your Father will reward you.

9. You know to you pray … but the problem is babbling like Gentiles, thinking the fancy words will be heard by God … So pray like this: Our Father …

10. You know to fast … but the problem is appearing gloomy to others, like the hypocrites … so dress with joy. Your Father will reward you.

11. You know not to pile up treasures on earth … the problem is moth and rust destroy, and thieves steal … so pile up treasures in heaven.

12. You know not to serve two masters … the problem is that you are not able to serve God and wealth, without being anxious about food and clothes … So seek first God’s reign and God’s justice and righteousness.

13. You know not to judge, lest you be judged … the problem is that the measure with which you judge, you will be judged … so first take the log out of your own eye.

14. You know not to give your best to dogs, nor to pigs … the problem is that they will trample them, and tear you to pieces … so do not give your trust to the unholy ways and people of the world, give your trust to your Father in heaven.

In each of these teachings Jesus is calling His people to be proactive, to take initiative … ‘to do to others what you would have them do to you’. 

He is forming His people into a community who live like they belong to a different Kingdom. A people who have a strong identity … around 2,000 years strong.

 

 

(This next one is an acquired taste)

 

 

Journaling the Journey 

Make a list of people who you have not treated the way you expect or want to be treated.

Pray for them and reflect on practical ways you can change this.

 

Today’s Mountainside photograph was taken on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.