HOW TO BE PERFECT
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. 28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.” Matthew 7 ESV
Jesus sees a large crowd following him while He is in the region of Galilee. He then goes up to a mountain and begins to teach the greatest sermon ever, the sermon on the mount. He starts with the famous Beatitudes, then teaches on anger, divorce, lust, prayer, oaths, giving, anxiety- he doesn’t hold back.
He says about anger: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
He says about lust: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”
He says about retaliation: “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
He says about our enemies: “I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. ” He also challenges us with the famous golden rule: “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
After all of that, and more, he ends with a famous parable challenging the listeners to not just listen but to obey his word. He says that if you just listen and do not obey, you are like a man who built a house on sand…there’s great destruction waiting to happen. It’s a serious warning to those listening to not just hear him, but obey.
Why did Jesus end the sermon on the mount so intensely…with a call to obey?
Throughout the whole sermon, he raised the bar on the law making it seemingly impossible to fully obey…He intentionally pulled out the principles from the law and amplified them. You might think at the end of this sermon He’d say something like, “Do you see how impossible this is? Come to me all of you who are weary”. He doesn’t do that here…instead, He brings challenge. He raises the standard. He makes it so that you can’t calculate perfection and righteousness. Jesus elevates the law from a matter of the ‘mind’ (a technical guideline) into a matter of the ‘heart’ (a desire to be pursued). He exposes that the law isn’t just a code to abide by, but it’s about the position of our hearts.
Do you want to pursue perfection?
Jesus wants us to build our lives by pursuing the principles and the values of the law. Do you pursue the principles of purity? forgiveness? generosity?…humility? The goal is to pursue being like Jesus. It’s the pursuit that matters. True perfection is for heaven, but, while we’re on Earth, His grace fills in the gaps.
Later in Matthew chapter 19:21, in Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler, He tells him that in order to be perfect, he must give to the poor and then he’ll have treasures in heaven. Notice, Jesus is keying back to the sermon on the mount see Matthew 6:19-21. Go read it. The disciples are astonished after seeing the rich young ruler walk away sorrowfully, “for he had great possessions.” They ask Jesus, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus replies…“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” With God, we can pursue perfection.
Do you want to pursue perfection? In eternity we’ll be made perfect, but while we’re on earth it’s the pursuit that matters. We are like children trying to become like our Father. The parent must lay out a standard, example, and model. The child could never BE their parent while they are a child, but the pursuit is necessary in order for maturity to form.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect”.
Matthew 5:48 (Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount)