But I say to you...

Six times in Matthew 5, Jesus uses the phrase "But I say to you". He touches on anger, lust, divorce, promises, personal justice and relational strife. It is interesting that each time Jesus uses this phrase he prefaces it with a statement of a Jewish law or rule that the people would have known and presumably been trying to obey. So, in one broad sweep, Jesus strikes at the heart (not just the letter) of the law, establishes His authority to "ratchet up" God's holy requirements, and lays down a gauntlet that reveals we are all really just spiritual beggars (Mt 5:3).

However, as these six manifestos are reflected on, I think they can expose, through the work of the Spirit, some unfinished heart renovations within each one of us. For example, look at Mt 5:43-48.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But 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. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

How often have I read this passage and thought of enemies and persecutors as people who are openly opposed to my faith or outwardly seeking my harm (slander, lawsuit, etc) ? While this category exists for some folks and these verses apply to those situations, I am not currently faced with anything remotely like it. So, do these verses get shoved in the mental vault until such opposition arises? Or is there something more?

Here is where the Spirit has pressed on me in the last few days: "For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?" Where is my care and concern for those outside of my circle? In my prayers for revival, why do I focus on churches where I have friends and acquaintances? Shouldn't I ache for my city, my state, my country in a similar manner as Jesus ached for Jerusalem?

I think the bottom-line for me is the dawning realization that my perception of Jesus is way too small. Is Jesus for me? Absolutely! Is Jesus for those I know who are believers? Without a doubt! Is Jesus looking to minister to and possibly redeem the person who cuts me off in traffic or the person who empties my trash at work or the person I've never met to blindly attends a nominal mainline church that has no gospel preaching? Yes! Is Jesus seeking and saving the lost, even if those lost people are simply passing me on the street? Yes!

The question becomes, what does God want me to do about it?

I now send forth this post with a deep sense of its many defects; but with an earnest prayer that it may do some good. (JC Ryle)

To God Alone be the Glory