Jesus Fruit: Self-Control - Matthew 5:21-37 (Wednesday Night Reflection)
It is perhaps one of the most
famous ad campaigns ever. Depending on
who is doing the ranking, it tends to swap laces back and forth with “Diamonds
Are Forever.” The first we saw of it was
80-year-old runner Walt Stack in 1988 and the campaign continues with some
interesting ads from “Down Under” this year. It is Nike’s 30-year ad campaign:
“Just Do It!” Ironically enough, Nike
almost didn’t do it. When the
advertising campaign was first presented to Nike in 1987 it was met with
complete silence…Nike executives initially felt that the “Just Do It!” campaign
was too heavy handed, but they were eventually won over and the rest is
advertising history.
Some might say, from our Scripture
reading this evening that Jesus was coming across as a little heavy handed in the
Sermon on the Mount…
“You have heard that it was said
to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall
be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother
or sister, you will be liable to judgment…”
“..if you insult an brother or
sister, you will be liable to the council…”
“…if you way, ‘You fool,’ you will
be liable to the hell of fire…”
“…everyone that looks at a woman
with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
“If your right eye causes you to
sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your
members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
“…if your right hand causes you to
sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your
members than for your whole body to go into hell.”
“…you have heard that it was said to those of
ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows made to the
Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the
throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for
it is the city of the great King. And do
not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.”
Nike had the “Just Do It!”
campaign…
Here, Jesus on the Mount of
Olives, introduces his “Just Don’t Do It” campaign…
…Just don’t be angry with your
brother or sister…
…Just don’t insult your brother or
sister…
…Just don’t call anyone a fool…
…Just don’t lust…
…Just don’t divorce…
…Just don’t swear…
And elsewhere in this Sermon on
the Mount…
…Just don’t resist an evil doer…
…Just don’t refuse anyone…
…Just don’t show off what you are
giving to church…
…Just don’t show off in your
praying…
…Just don’t look dismal when you
are fasting…
…Just don’t store up treasures on
earth…
…Just don’t worry…
Although Jesus began His sermon on
the Mount with the wonderful world-flipping promises of the Beatitudes, it
would seem, with all of these “don’t’s” that Jesus has become one of the most
negative sounding preachers to have ever taken the pulpit. It seems to underscore the stereotype that
many outside the faith have—that being a Christian is about following a bunch
of rules that tell us that we can’t do anything—you know, that image of God as
the cosmic killjoy whose number one commandment is “Thou shalt not do anything.”
Why would Jesus take up this “Just
Don’t Do It” campaign? Maybe Peter,
because we all know how quickly Peter is to talk without thinking about what He
is saying, came up to Jesus and said, “You know Jesus, I’m going to be like
You. I’m just going to be a New
Testament kind of guy. I mean, You came
to fulfill the Law and everything, so we can toss all that stuff in Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy can’t we? We
don’t need that Old Testament stuff anymore do we? I despised having to memorize it as a kid.”
In all actuality, it probably
wasn’t Peter, but somewhere, somehow, the idea began circulating that Jesus had
come to abolish or toss the Torah. Jesus
makes it very clear as He continues His teaching that anyone who would follow
Him is as much an Old Testament person as they are a New Testament person:
“Do not think I have come to abolish the law
or the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass
way, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until it
is all accomplished. Therefore, whoever
breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the
same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and
teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus says, until we find
ourselves in New Jerusalem, standing face to face in the Father’s presence, the
Law stands. So, does that mean that all
the critics are right, that we are just a part of a “Thou Shalt Not” society?
Well, if we go back and look, Jesus also gives
us a lot of “Just Do It’s” as well.
“…whoever does these commandments
and teaches them as well…”
“…go…be reconciled to your brother
or sister…”
“…Come to terms with your
accuser…”
“…turn the other cheek…give your
cloak as well…”
“Give to everyone who begs from
you…”
“Love your enemies…pray for those
who persecute you…”
“Be perfect…”
“…store up for yourselves
treasures in heaven…”
With the “Just Don’ts” and the
“Just Do’s” it all amounts to Jesus expecting those who are looking toward the
Kingdom of Heaven to practice “self-control.”
“Self-control” is our ninth and
final characteristic of Jesus Fruit. We
began with “love” and acknowledge that a love of God and neighbor was the primary
aspect of the Fruit (not fruits) of the Spirit, for without love, nothing we do
is worth anything. We turned then to
joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and gentleness. And now we find ourselves considering “self-control.” And while “love” may be the core of Jesus
Fruit, “self-control” becomes the visible skin that wraps about the Fruit.
What does that mean for us? It means that we cannot use the excuse, “I can’t/couldn’t
help it.” Jesus and Paul both say, “You
can help it, now control it.”
My brothers and sisters…love is
not always easy…it is not easy to love our enemies like Jesus tells us to…it
requires self-control to not fall into hatred of others like the world does…
Joy is not easy…depression is
easy, especially in our society these days…but being joyful in all things and
at all times requires self-control…
Peace is not easy…it is easy to
get restless…it is easy to worry…peace requires a practice of self-control…
Patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, and gentleness all fall into the same pattern…to live out these characteristics
of Jesus Fruit in our lives, we have to practice self-control…
Are there ways that we have fallen
short of living out God’s Word and done things we should not have done? Jesus says, “Just don’t.” Are there times where we have not done things
that we ought to have done? Jesus says,
“Just do it.”
It sounds easy, but we know it is
not…Paul even struggled with the issue of “self-control.” He wrote the church in Rome and said, “For
I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.”[i] Paul went through his own, “I can’t help
its,” just like the rest of us.
If
someone like Paul struggled with “self-control,” how are we supposed to control
ourselves? How do we practice the
self-control that Jesus and Paul call us to, even when Paul admits that he has
trouble with it himself? It is in
realizing that it is not self-control at all, it is about God-control. It is about surrendering our lives to God and
allowing His Spirit to bring Jesus Fruit out of us, including the skin of
self-control. Jesus-Fruit is what will be
exhibited in our lives if the Holy Spirit give up control of our lives to God. We bear the Fruit of Christ as we live
abiding in Christ and Christ abiding in us.
It is letting the Holy Spirit transform us so that when we encounter any
given situation, whether it is something we are to avoid or something we are to
embrace, it is not longer us reacting, but Christ in us reacting…our
self-control, in reality, is giving Christ control.
Remember
these words of Jesus from the Gospel of John where all this began: “I am the
true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit He prunes to
make it bear more fruit. You have
already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by
itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in
me. I am the vine, you are the
branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart
from me you can do nothing.”
My
brothers and sisters, may we abide in the vine…every moment of every day…that
Jesus Fruit may grow from every aspect of our lives…
In
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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