Dock Resource Kit
Sunday sermon, 27 October 2024
Summary
This week, Brigid spoke to us about Jesus’ call to “Be Well” by living a life of true righteousness rooted in the heart. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges us to go beyond outward actions, urging us to examine our inner attitudes—toward anger, lust, and the use of power. These “case studies” reveal God’s desire for a transformed heart, one that honours others with dignity and reflects His faithful love. In each example, we’re invited to align our hearts with God’s purposes, allowing His love and justice to flow out into our relationships and communities, leading us to live well and whole.
Dock Discussion Questions
Jesus teaches us to deal radically with anger, even calling us to reconciliation before worship. What steps could you take to resolve any lingering resentment in your own relationships?
When Jesus speaks about lust and faithfulness, He challenges us to honour each person as made in God’s image. How might viewing people through this lens change the way you relate to others in your life?
In what ways might we misuse the power we hold—whether in relationships, finances, or influence—and how can we use that power more honourably?
Jesus calls us to a righteousness that surpasses outward behaviour, starting with a transformed heart. What areas of your life feel hardest to surrender to this transformation, and what could help you invite God into these areas?
Long-form, editted transcript
Be Well: from the Inside Out
Today, we’re about halfway through our exploration of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus outlines His vision for living well—a life that aligns with God’s design for us. This teaching can be seen as Jesus’ manifesto for the “good life,” a life of wholeness and righteousness. Over the course of this series, we’ve seen how God desires for us to be well, and Jesus shows us the path to that wellbeing.
Last week, we reflected on how Jesus didn’t come to abolish the Old Testament law but to fulfil it. The people listening to Jesus were bound by these laws and looked up to the Pharisees, who were known for their strict adherence to them. Jesus set a surprising standard, telling us in Matthew 5:20, “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
What does Jesus mean here by righteousness? Imagine a community where everyone is treated with love, dignity, and respect, and where conflicts are met with a deep commitment to work things out and do right by each other. This is righteousness—living rightly, doing right by others, and honouring God’s design for our wellness. The Pharisees, seen as nearly perfect in their behaviour, exemplified outward righteousness, yet Jesus calls us to something deeper: a righteousness that flows from the heart, shaping both how we live and how we love.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us that true wellness flows from an inner transformation that aligns our hearts with our actions. Today, we’ll examine three “case studies” that Jesus uses to illustrate what a transformed life looks like in practice.
Case Study One: Anger and Contempt (Matthew 5:21-26)
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Here, Jesus speaks not just about the act of murder but about the deeper attitude of anger and contempt that can lead us down dark paths. The term “Raca” translates to something like “empty head” or “fool” and was a common insult of the time. It seems minor to us, but in Jesus’ eyes, even casual contempt reflects a dangerous heart posture. Surely calling someone a fool is not the same as murder, is it?
Jesus emphasises His point by using the image of Gehanna, a real valley outside Jerusalem where the city’s rubbish was burned. Fires constantly burned in Gehanna, making it a powerful metaphor for the destructive nature of anger and contempt. Like rubbish is thrown out and burned, we are to rid our hearts of anger and contempt, because left unchecked, these attitudes are corrosive, eroding not just our relationships but our inner peace and wellbeing.
How Do We Deal With Anger?
Jesus gives us three options for dealing with anger:
Act on it: Allowing anger to control our actions can damage relationships and communities, leading to relational “death.”
Suppress it: Burying anger only poisons our own hearts, filling us with bitterness and resentment.
Express it: Healthily expressing anger, like David does in the Psalms, is essential. Psalm 109 shows David voicing his anger against enemies, bringing it openly before God. When we do this, we release the anger from our hearts, and it loses its power over us.
Jesus further instructs us to reconcile with one another urgently. He says, “If you’re offering your gift at the altar and remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift…go and be reconciled to them.” For those listening to Jesus, this would have meant a journey back home to settle any grudge before offering a gift at the altar in Jerusalem. The message is clear: Jesus takes reconciliation seriously, instructing us to remove anger from our hearts as we would discard rubbish, ensuring our relationships are whole and life-giving.
Case Study Two: Lust and Faithfulness (Matthew 5:27-30)
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out…If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off.”
In this second case study, Jesus addresses lust and faithfulness. Lust isn’t just about physical attraction but about the desire to claim what isn’t ours, reducing another person’s humanity. Jesus reminds us that true righteousness calls for faithfulness, a virtue that speaks to our heart’s commitment to honour others as sacred individuals made in God’s image.
Throughout the Bible, marriage is portrayed as a continuous picture of God’s faithful love for humanity—a steadfast, covenantal commitment that mirrors God’s love for His people. And it’s no wonder today that the concept of marriage is so contested, given how deeply it reflects God’s heart and His relationship with us.
What is Lust Really About?
Jesus urges us to avoid objectifying others, treating them as things for our own satisfaction. Lust persuades us to see others as objects to fulfil our desires, rather than as human beings made in the image of God. When we succumb to lust, we dehumanise others, losing sight of their dignity and value.
In His dramatic statement, Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out.” He isn’t advocating self-harm but stressing the importance of removing anything that leads us to objectify others. Faithfulness, then, is about more than just marital commitment; it is a broader call to honour every individual as precious to God, reminding ourselves that each person has hopes, dreams, and inherent worth. Jesus teaches that by valuing others this way, we align our hearts with God’s design, and true wholeness flows from within.
Case Study Three: Divorce, Power, and Integrity (Matthew 5:31-32)
“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery.”
In this third case study, Jesus speaks to divorce not as a condemnation, but as a critique of the misuse of power that often left women vulnerable. In Jesus’ time, only men could initiate divorce, and some argued that men could divorce their wives for any reason at all—if she didn’t meet his expectations, if she was annoying or inconvenient in some way. This trivialisation of divorce showed how easily power could be abused.
Jesus’ teaching here doesn’t address every modern-day circumstance of divorce, but it challenges the use of legal power to abandon or mistreat another. His message applies to our broader responsibilities today as well, reminding us to use our resources—whether in relationships, finances, or words—honourably. We are called to treat others with integrity, recognising the power we hold and using it to uplift and protect, not to harm.
The Call to a New Heart
In each of these examples, Jesus calls us to a righteousness that goes beyond outward behaviour and reaches to our core motivations. This isn’t a righteousness we can achieve on our own. The standard Jesus sets—“Your righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees”—is too high for us without God’s intervention. But the good news is that God offers to transform our hearts.
In the words of the prophet Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” This heart of flesh beats with God’s love, mercy, and justice—a heart that overflows with peace and wellness, setting us on a path to reflect His goodness in the world.
Jesus’ teachings on anger, lust, and power invite us to turn to God and ask for a heart that reflects His kingdom. When we treat each person we meet with dignity, deal with anger quickly, stay faithful to those around us, and use our influence to serve rather than control, we live out God’s vision for a whole and flourishing life.
Imagine the kind of world we could build if we truly valued one another in this way. Jesus’ announcement of God’s kingdom here on earth reshapes our imagination, inviting us to honour God’s image in every person we meet. It may be counter-cultural, and it won’t always be easy, but it is the way to a life that is well and truly whole.
Concluding Prayer
God, we know our world is not perfect, and we know that we ourselves fall short. But, Lord, we see Your vision for a kingdom filled with righteousness, dignity, and justice. We ask for Your help in being the kind of people who can bring this kingdom to our communities.
Would You start with us? Transform our hearts, Lord, so that we may live out Your purposes in everything we do. Holy Spirit, come and fill us with love, mercy, and dignity for others.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.