Becoming Good Trees
Matthew 5:17-30
Sermon
by Charles L. Aaron

Most pastors have seen the damage caused when a purple-faced preacher has sought to scare a person into faith. Pastors counsel with people even into their eighties and nineties who still have trouble feeling love from God because when they were children, someone had frightened them with images of an angry God, ready to smack them down if they didn't behave and believe. Parents will tell us of children coming home in tears from other churches. An adult had gotten in the face of a child demanding an answer to the questions, "What would happen to you if you died tonight?" That is not the most pastoral question to ask a six-year-old.

Fear alone is not a good basis for our faith. An irrational or excessive fear is especially destructive to genuine faith. We have to hold that thought in mind because in chapter 5 of Matthew, Jesus says some scary things. "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). "But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment" (Matthew 5:22). Throughout this chapter we encounter the language of judgment and exclusion. Jesus even holds out the threat of our whole body being thrown into hell (Matthew 5:30).

We must handle these words about judgment carefully. Because Matthew has given us these words, they are for our edification. Yet, they can be dangerous. When we read passages about harsh judgment, we want to avoid two pitfalls. On the one hand, we don't want to turn our faith into a guilt trip, heavy on the fear. A pastor friend of mine once met a man who actually did exactly what verses 29 and 30 call us to do. Throughout his life he had struggled with mental illness. One night in a fit of depression he plucked out one eye and chopped off his right hand. His tragedy is an extreme example of taking these words of judgment too much to heart, of not hearing them in the context of the whole gospel message. We can misunderstand these words of judgment in other, less extreme ways. Many people cannot forgive themselves for their sins. They carry around a burden of unrelieved guilt. Some people cannot be honest with their anger. They paste a smile on their faces, but inside their emotions are churning away. They have read that the Bible forbids anger, so they convince themselves they are not angry. Guilt and fear over judgment can paralyze us. The other pitfall is to dismiss too easily the Bible's talk of judgment. We can assume that God is too indulgent to call us to account. That pitfall leaves our faith too shallow. It cannot lead us to repentance.

Not only does Matthew present us with frightening words of judgment, but the things this passage calls for seem impossible to fulfill. Our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. We probably have such an image of the scribes and Pharisees as nit-picking legalists who always missed the forest for the trees that we don't hear what a tall order exceeding their righteousness is. The scribes and Pharisees were scrupulous in their religious life. They were thoroughly dedicated to living obedient lives, seeking to remain distinct from the world so that they could be God's chosen people. We should not dismiss their diligence lightly. When Jesus calls us to a righteousness exceeding theirs, he calls us to deep obedience. This passage calls us to go beyond merely checking off the performance of the written rules. We in the church must control even our thoughts and impulses. We must follow the law from the inside out. For the people of Israel and for us, the law was God's gift. The law teaches the people of God how to live, how to become the community of faith. Jesus says that he did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17).

Let us look specifically at two of the things this passage calls us to do. Jesus reinterprets two of the Ten Commandments: You shall not murder and you shall not commit adultery. Both of these commandments prohibit actions. We can debate the meaning of these commandments, especially what the commandment for murder means about war and capital punishment. Once we decide on a meaning, however, we can determine clearly whether we have committed the act or not. We either obey the commandments as we understand them, or we don't. What Jesus calls for in this passage makes obedience that much more difficult. We must guard even our thoughts. How can we do that? How can we go through life without becoming angry? It seems a little unfair for Jesus to command us to guard our anger when he never had to drive on the expressway! Jesus can command us not to lust, but he never had to go the grocery store and see eight models on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition! The passage speaks specifically of male lust, but women are not exempt. One of the characters on Grey's Anatomy is nicknamed Dr. McDreamy! Jesus seems to have reinterpreted these commandments so that we need superhuman strength to fulfill them. We fight all the time for control of our emotions, especially anger and lust. After Jesus makes what seems like impossible demands, then he threatens us with punishment if we don't carry out his commands. If we aren't careful, we can end up in despair over this passage.

Even with all of this talk of obedience and judgment, Matthew knows that we are saved by grace not works. In chapter 20 he recounts the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. Some of the workers toil away in the heat for hours. Others work half a day. Some barely break a sweat in a short hour of work. At the end of the day, they all receive the same wage from the owner of the vineyard. That is grace. We do not earn the dominion of God by our obedience. We enter into it by God's gracious act in Jesus.

Matthew is not contradicting himself here with these calls to obedience and these words about judgment. Matthew is teaching us. Matthew is teaching us how to be the church, how to be the salt and the light (Matthew 5:13-16).

Perhaps these harsh words here are something like teaching music to children. Parents who encourage their children to learn music often have to be strict. It is stressful, but it can produce great rewards. One must nag, scold, cajole, and maybe even threaten in order to motivate a child to practice. Eventually, however, if all goes well (and it doesn't always) the child begins to develop some skill at music. Maybe the child hears a song on the radio and learns to play that song. A turning point occurs. After years of strong-arm tactics, the child begins to practice without scolding. The day finally arrives when the child sits down to play because making music brings joy.

If we are able to see Jesus' word here about judgment, prison, and the hell of fire in the context of grace, maybe we can see Jesus motivating us to a life of obedience. Impulses such as anger and lust can be so powerful that we may need something to get our attention. Jesus' long-term goal is our joy.

In an early scene of Plato's Republic, Socrates is at the home of Cephalus having a nice conversation. Cephalus is an old and wealthy man who lives in a suburb of Athens. Socrates asks him what he has learned after growing old. Socrates wants to know what awaits him. One of the things the man talks about is a quote from Sophocles, the author of Oedipus Rex. Sophocles said that when he became old he no longer felt the lusts of his youth. Being freed from his lust was like escaping from bondage to a raging madman![1]

Isn't it true? Don't our anger and lust control us and make us into people we don't really want to be? We know the psychological and medical reasons to control our anger. Anger clouds our judgment. Anger raises our blood pressure and constricts our blood vessels. We run the risk of heart attack and stroke if we don't control our anger. Anger and lust constrict our souls as well. Our anger keeps us from seeing other people as God's children. We do things we wouldn't do if we weren't angry. How much violence has been perpetrated, how many hate crimes have been committed because people couldn't control their anger? Our anger blocks our spiritual growth and our reception of God's grace. Our lust keeps us from seeing people as people. We reduce other people to body parts, assuming they exist for our pleasure. Lust makes us act in ways we never would if our minds were clear. Jesus really is offering us freedom. Freedom from the things that control us really is a joy.

If we look at this passage in light of the whole of Matthew's gospel we can see what Jesus really wants for us. In chapter 7 and in chapter 12 Jesus talks about good trees bearing good fruit (Matthew 7:17-20; 12:33-35). Only we know our thoughts, but our thoughts produce fruit. Jesus wants us to grow in grace so that we control our thoughts and impulses out of the goodness that has taken root in us. Then obedience becomes a joy, like playing music after years of practice becomes a joy.

We in the church support one another, pray for one another, and help each other to live out this new law that Jesus gives us. God's sanctifying grace and the Holy Spirit empowers us. We show the world that our emotions and our impulses do not control us. God's righteousness can go to the deepest part of our souls, transforming even our most basic emotions. Then we can bear good fruit. Then we can become the salt and the light. Then we can build our faith on love, not fear. Amen.


1. Plato, The Republic of Plato, translated with Introduction and Notes by Francis MacDonald Cornford (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960), pp. 4-5.

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Becoming The Salt and The Light, by Charles L. Aaron