The Life of Christ: Six
Antitheses
This morning we come to what are known to the world of New
Testament Studies as the six antitheses.
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus compares the typical
understanding of his days taught by the Scribes and Pharisees in order to
contrast it with a right understanding of God’s Law.
The Pharisees had narrowed the meaning of God’s law so that a part
represented the whole. Jesus is showing
how their “part” represents something much larger. It is the principle of synecdoche.
Synecdoche is a figure of speech wherein the part of something
represents the whole or when the whole is used to represent the parts. It is a manner of expression to make an
important point. In Matt 5, Jesus is
even comparing his method of a broad ethical internal use and interpretation
with the narrowness and self-serving use and interpretation of the Pharisees.
There are four types of synecdoche which are found in
Scripture. Most often it is where the
part represents the whole. The heart of
man is but a part of the entire man, yet, the heart is used in many places to
represent the entire man. “TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART” does not mean
with just the pumping organ in the chest cavity.
When we read the rest of the verse we see things attributed to
what the heart REPRESENTS that must be understood as the heart meaning the
entire being. AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING--A FUNCTION OF THE BRAIN
AND MEMORY AND WISDOM--IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE--ANOTHER COGNITIVE AND
VOLITIONAL ACT--AND HE WILL DIRECT YOUR PATHS--IT IS NOT THE HEART THAT SOMEHOW
ESCAPES THE BODY IN ORDER TO WALK DOWN A PATH.
The heart poetically represents the entire man through this use of
synecdoche. We do the same thing in
English. What does it mean when we say
something like, “She stole my heart?” We mean someone stole someone’s attention
and affection--items that entail much more than the heart. This manner of expression is very common in
life and in the Word. There are times
when it is used to make a rhetorical point about God and his work among
men--divine overstatement as well, as divinely inspired understatement. A part can represent the whole, or the whole
can be used to represent a part.
Synecdoche is an important figure of speech, especially with reference
to God and his Law. Jesus shows us the
use and righteous requirements of the Law are broader than the distortions of
man.
I find it interesting that even though the Pharisees sought to
make the Law so that they could “keep” it, their laws were found to be a
burden. A right understanding and use is
not a burden to those who belong to the one who breathed them out or wrote them
with his own finger. Two more
synecdoches --the finger and breath of GOD--presented as anthropomorphism where
an attribute of God is given human qualities.
But, we’ll get to that at another time.
Where the Pharisees had attempted to constrict the Law for their
own purposes, Jesus gives a right understanding of the breadth of the Law.
Remember the context:
—Jesus has given his first principles of life in God’s Kingdom to
his newly called disciples.
—He used two illustrations to show them how they are to be: Salt
and light.
—He spoke of not destroying, but fulfilling the Law. These are his
words:
Matt. 5:17-20 “ ¶ Do not think that I came
to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to
fulfill. 18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and
earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till
all is fulfilled. 19 “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of
these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you, that unless your
righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will
by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus goes on to talk about the jots and tittles metaphorically
speaking, the details of the Law that had been lost in his day among the Jews
because of the False Teachers--the Scribes and Pharisees. His disciples are to keep even the least and
they are to teach others so to do. But,
let’s look at these contrasts and what relevance they have for us today.
The wrong understandings from the six antitheses were:
Antithesis #1 The Sixth Commandment--MURDER
Matt. 5:21 “ ¶ You have heard that it
was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
Antithesis #2 The Seventh Commandment & Adultery
Matt. 5:27 “ ¶ You have heard that it
was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
commit adultery.’
Antithesis #3 The Seventh Commandment & Divorce
31 “ ¶ Furthermore it has been
said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let
him give her a certificate of divorce.’
Antithesis #4 The Commandment concerning the Oath an extension of
not bearing false witness.
Matt. 5:33 “ ¶ Again you have heard that
it was said to those of old, ‘You shall
not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’
Antithesis #5 The Commandment concerning retaliation
Matt. 5:38 “ ¶ You have heard that it
was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth.’
Antithesis #6 The Second
Table of the Law Summarized --Love is a timeless principle for Disciples.
Matt. 5:43 “ ¶ You have heard that it
was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.’
All six have an appearance of being in harmony with things God has
said and many of them seem to have a certain wisdom about them. But, the Jews of the day would have equated
the teaching of the Scribes and the legislating of the Pharisees with these
words. Here is an example of how they
would have been understood in that day:
Antithesis #1 The Sixth Commandment--MURDER
Matt. 5:21 “ ¶ You have heard that it
was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
It is wrong to murder someone yourself, but it okay to incite
others to murder for you. Isn’t this
what the Pharisees were already doing with respect, or disrespect to the Lord
Jesus. They had already plotted against him with their sworn enemies.
Antithesis #2 The Seventh Commandment & Adultery
Matt. 5:27 “ ¶ You have heard that it
was said to those of old, ‘You shall not
commit adultery.’
Adultery had been narrowly defined in specific ways so that people
could engage in deviant acts while believing themselves to have not technically
committed adultery. We still find this
sort of wrangling over words today--and its interesting that Jesus words have
the answer for the problem.
Antithesis #3 The Seventh Commandment & Divorce
31 “ ¶ Furthermore it has been
said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let
him give her a certificate of divorce.’
Divorce with a certificate based on arbitrary reasons. The man would give his wife a certificate
making her free. As long as the husband
grants a certificate, he is off the hook. Jesus gets to the heart of this
misunderstanding.
Antithesis #4 The Commandment concerning the Oath an extension of
not bearing false witness.
Matt. 5:33 “ ¶ Again you have heard that
it was said to those of old, ‘You shall
not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’
The Scribes and Pharisees taught a hierarchy of swearing
oaths. If you swore by heaven you were
bound to the promise forever, if you swore by the earth, you were bound in a
temporal manner, if you swore by the hairs of your head, you were bound as long
as they grew, if you swore by the Temple, you were bound to keep your promise
with certain religious provisions, etc.
The more creative you could be, the more you could get away with.
Antithesis #5 The Commandment concerning retaliation
Matt. 5:38 “ ¶ You have heard that it
was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth
for a tooth.’
They believed in a quid pro quo form of retributive justice taken
out by men and families upon those who had offended. Instead of seeing the original intent as
teaching justice and mercy within ethical standards of what was right.
Retaliation often escalated into all out feuds.
Antithesis #6 The Second
Table of the Law Summarized --Love is a timeless principle for Disciples.
Matt. 5:43 “ ¶ You have heard that it
was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor
and hate your enemy.’
It sounds good, but it was wrong. In the Scriptures we find much
of hatred, but it is never commanded of God’s people to hate anyone. Most of the occurrences of hating are
references to the actions of men with regard to God or his people. They hated me.... They hated Israel.... These statements report the attitude of heart
of God’s enemies. In very few instances
do we find legitimate hatred in return.
Yet there is a holy hatred for the right reasons. The Pharisees did not teach Israel to hate
her enemies for the right reasons.
Those are but a few examples of the restricting of God’s Law for
their own purposes. And, it was powerful
enough so that the Pharisees actually believed they had kept their own
standards of righteousness. After all,
there kind of righteousness was exemplary and it had to be excelled by Christ’s
disciples. But, as we saw, man’s
righteousness according to his own standards and God’s righteousness are
contrasted not in degree, but in kind.
The disciples needed an excellence in another kind of righteousness--the
righteousness of God.
Remember the words of another ancient rabbinical Pharisee?
There are many striking parallels between the two sections:
Philippians 3:1-19 Finally,
my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not
tedious, but for you it is safe. 2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil
workers, beware of the mutilation! 3
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the
flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone
else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the
stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning
the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning
zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But
what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things
loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I
have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may
gain Christ 9 and be found in
Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is
through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power
of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to
His death, 11 if, by any means, I
may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
12 ¶ Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but
I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid
hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not
count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things
which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the
prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are
mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal
even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already
attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.
17 ¶ Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so
walk, as you have us for a pattern. 18
For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping,
that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 whose end is
destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame — who
set their mind on earthly things.
This is what Jesus taught in line with that righteousness that
does not come from men by works, but is wrought by God in believers by faith.
Antithesis #1 The Sixth Commandment--MURDER
Right
understanding #1 22 “But I say to you that whoever is angry with
his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever
says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in
danger of the council. But whoever says,
‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
23 “Therefore if you bring
your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something
against you, 24 “leave your gift
there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother,
and then come and offer your gift. 25
“Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him,
lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the
officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 “Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no
means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Murder, don't even be angry, that leads to murder and defiles just
as badly. Don’t sacrifice, don't bring
an offering, get reconciled with your brother quickly. The adversary will quickly seize upon your
differences and do you great harm. Don't
be bitter. Deal with your anger, control your rage. You’ll discredit God and you ministry if you
don’t.
Antithesis #2 The Seventh Commandment & Adultery
Right Understanding number 2 28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a
woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his
heart. 29 “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck
it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your
members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30
“And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from
you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than
for your whole body to be cast into hell.
It’s not everything up to an act of adultery that is allowable, it
is everything that leads up to it including the lustful thoughts of the
heart. That’s where adultery began. Entertaining such thoughts can lead to
escalating acts of further indulgence.
David was up on the roof looking down where women came to bathe when he
saw Bathsheba. There was a
predisposition present in his sin--he had not guarded his heart. Yet, when Joseph was offered forbidden
delights by Potiphar’s Wife, he ran from the house without the clothes she had
clung to. He was predisposed to do what
was right. Joseph was willing to suffer unjustly
for doing what was right and being misunderstood for it.
If you have a propensity to a particular sin, it is better to cut
that off, than to indulge. Is it a sin
of the eye, take the opportunity to sin with your eyes away. Is it a sin of the
hand, cut off even the opportunity to indulge. In our day and age it may mean a
change of occupation if the one you are in gives you the tools to indulge your
sin. Jesus means business. Kill it, or it will surely kill you. Don't wait for the sin to grow into an
uncontrollable monster. Put it away
while it is in your mind and your have your sanity to act.
Antithesis #3 The Seventh
Commandment & Divorce
32 “But I say to you that
whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to
commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
God hates divorce! With
clears and unequivocal speech God says, Mal. 2:16 “For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s
garment with violence,” Says the LORD of hosts.
There is no way around it. God
hates divorce. Man cannot do anything to
make it completely “fault-free” or righteous. God allows it for certain
reasons, but even that is given due to the hardness of men’s hearts.
Jesus does not just limit the possibility of divorce to only
“TECHNICAL ADULTERY” HE EXPANDS adultery to include all “porneia” all sexual
perversion. That is the exception in
this passage. The man in giving the certificate of divorce makes or causes the
woman to commit adultery through this process of easy divorce. It is the one pursuing the certificate of
divorce that causes the other to break the commandment in God’s eyes. There is no divorce for irreconcilable
differences and reasons like that according to God’s standards of righteousness
for his disciples. And, it also says, whoever marries the woman causes her to
commit adultery. Do you see Jesus point,
DIVORCE ought not to be an easy thing--it is destructive. Highly destructive.
People call quite often to ask about our view on divorce. When they hear it, they don’t come because if
we are right, they are wrong and in sin.
We want God’s standards of righteousness to be found among his people as
faith is operative in them that they might reflect the character of God. He said, Jer. 31:33 “But this is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and
they shall be My people. We want to be his
people following his word, not to gain his favor, but in response to the grace
he has given to us, especially due to that great gift of faith whereby we take
him to be our God and we pledge ourselves to be his people.
Antithesis #4 The Commandment
concerning the Oath an extension of not bearing false witness.
34 “But I say to you, do not
swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35
“nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is
the city of the great King.
36 “Nor shall you swear by
your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black 37 “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your
‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than
these is from the evil one.
When you speak, speak the truth from the heart. If it is to your shame, or ends up in your
demise, trust the end result to God, just speak the truth. Honesty is the best
policy, as we used to sing in grade school, no matter what the consequences be,
it’s the very best policy. That is the
simplicity of Jesus’ kingdom ethics.
Antithesis #5 The Commandment concerning retaliation
39 “But I tell you not to resist an evil person.
But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 “If anyone wants to sue you and take away
your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go
with him two. 42 “Give to him who asks you, and from him who
wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Be gracious! Give to others what they do not deserve, just as God
has given so much to you. If someone
wants to abuse you and the privilege, be blessed--knowing it is God’s
will. Freely give to him who asks. Don't be angry people asserting your rights
and retaliating tit-for-tat. Show grace,
undeserved grace.
Antithesis #6 The Second
Table of the Law Summarized --Love is a timeless principle for Disciples.
44 “But I say to you, love
your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and
pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45
“that you may be sons of your Father 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 have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47
“And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others?
Do not even the tax collectors do so?
Don't hate your enemies, love them, bless them pray for them even
when they spitefully use you. Why? That
you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father in heaven. He treats the
evil and the just in the same way touching the common grace we find in the
world. You should too.
There is no grace extended to love those who are just like you, it
is when your faith is challenged and you love that you show what family you
truly belong to. The way of
righteousness shows forth the character of God, his righteousness worked in his
people. It is about showing his forth to
a lost and dying world, even to our enemies.
It is no wonder that Jesus concludes this section with the words....
48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your
Father in heaven is perfect.
It isn’t about us, it is all about Him, his glory, his majesty,
his dear son and his righteousness he works in his own sons and daughters by
faith. That is what it is all about.
Are you in his family. Is
he at work in you to bring these things to pass.
Do you see yourself as being destitute of grace and in need of his
aid?
Do you hunger and thirst for this type of righteousness?
Do you mourn over your sin turning to Christ for his forgiveness?
Do you willingly accept the reproach of men for the sake of the
Lord Jesus Christ?
Do you live as to be salt to cleanse and preserve in order that
God’s work might be found among men?
Do you live as light to show forth the brightness of the work and
ways of God?
Do you seek to follow his commands and to teach others to do
likewise?
Do you sense your need for the righteousness of Christ through
faith, just like the Apostle Paul?
Therein is true righteousness to be found, not having our own of the law
or our own motivations or actions, but that which is through faith in Christ,
the righteousness which is from God by faith;
That is the only kind that can make men’s surpass that of the
Pharisees. It is a completely different
kind provided by God for men. It is what
we need.
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