29 Sep Jesus and the Four-Way Stop

Matthew chapters 5-7 are some of the most daunting pages of the Bible: The Sermon on the Mount. It is here that Jesus tells us what being a Christ-follower looks like. We tend to find this instruction daunting because we misunderstand Jesus. He’s not telling us what to do. He’s telling us who to be. Let’s take just two examples:

“If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” (Matthew 5:39)

“If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” (Matthew 5:40)

First, it’s important to understand the context here. Jesus’ Jewish audience will clearly understand that both commands reference occupying Roman soldiers. Sometimes they slapped Jews, well, because they could. They also could force people to carry their equipment for one mile. Let’s be honest, that had to sound ridiculous to Jesus’ Jewish audience. It is, without the power of the Holy Spirit in you. As Oswald Chambers put it:

“Jesus Christ demands that His disciple does not allow even the slightest trace of resentment in his heart when faced with tyranny and injustice…The Sermon on the Mount is not some unattainable goal; it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has changed my nature by putting His own nature in me. Jesus Christ is the only One who can fulfill the Sermon on the Mount.”

Let me share a recent, rather mundane moment, in my life, where I missed the opportunity to let Jesus fulfill the Sermon on the Mount in me.

I was approaching a four-way stop while driving the church van. As I came to a stop, the vehicle to my left proceeded through the intersection. As I went to take my turn, the next motorist to the left decided he was going to jump my turn and go. I continued to go and this resulted in a very brief game of chicken in which he finally jumped on the brakes and, YAY for me, I win! I regretted my actions before I made it through the intersection. Why?

Because this was an opportunity to either go the extra mile or turn the other cheek. (I’m not sure which one fits best, maybe it’s a tie.) In the church van, with the church name on it, I had a choice: I could do things the Jesus way or take the legal right of way. In that moment I chose to be perfectly human. It’s not about what I did, it’s about who I was in that moment. More precisely, it’s about who I wasn’t: a child of God who lets the Spirit of God have His way in all things. I tried to do the Sermon on the Mount and not be who Jesus calls me to be in the Sermon on the Mount. I was a pushy church person who had to have their own way.

The beautiful thing is that even when the Spirit dwells in us, Jesus knows we won’t get this right every time. I am thankful that Jesus lovingly corrected my effort to fulfill the Sermon on the Mount on my own. There will be more opportunities to show who I want to be in Christ. I pray that I don’t miss them. I pray that you don’t either.

Pastor Jerry Bader