The Need for Grace

Tonight in my Theology of Scripture in Ministry class, we spent some time digging into the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5:1-8:1.  As part of the study I ended up in a group handling the following case study:

You have been asked to assist in the preparation of 7th and 8th graders for their Confirmation at Easter.  As a layperson you and others from your church have been asked to explain what The Sermon on the Mount has meant to you in your walk of faith as a personal testimony.  You are sitting in a very informal group setting in a circle with these young people, the pastor and several other laypersons.  What would your understanding of The Sermon on the Mount contribute to this group?

As I started nonchalantly tossing around my thoughts on Confirmation (there’s a topic for another post) and 7th and 8th graders in general, something started to churn inside of me.  As I began a simple distillation of the Sermon on the Mount (a la junior high lingo) I began to see the sermon in a new light.  Now, there’s a lot to be said about the Sermon on the Mount – it’s probably one of the most well known sets of teachings given by Jesus in any of the gospels, and it includes a number of “all time favorites” (The Beatitudes, the “you are the light of the world” discourse, the Lord’s Prayer, etc.).  Right along with these “all time favorites” there is some pretty hard-to-handle stuff in there.

In Matthew 5:21-48 Jesus presents a number of discourses which include the phrase “You have heard that it was said… but I tell you” in which he essentially takes various Old Testament commandments and then heaps on additional seemingly impossible to achieve commands.  For example:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Do 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 sin, gouge it out and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.  It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell.” (Matthew 5:27-30)

Now, as I was trying to figure out how to explain this series of “You have heard that it was said… but I tell you” statements to a group of 7th and 8th graders, I drew this comparison:  It’s kind of like if your teacher would say to you, “Your teachers last year taught you not to plagerzie, but I tell you that you can’t even look at another source while you’re writing a paper.  Don’t read anything.  Don’t listen to anyone speak on the topic.  Don’t talk to your classmates about the assignment.  For if you do any of these things you have already plagerized in your mind.”  There were a number of other examples that came to mind to use with junior highers, but basically you get the idea.

So what’s the point?

Jesus takes some old school commands, which although difficult, are obeyable.  One could reasonably go through life without murdering, committing adultery, divorcing his or her spouse, etc.  However, the instant Jesus gets a hold of these commands they become seemingly impossible.  I don’t think Jesus’ point here is to completely discourage his followers by making them believe that what he requires for discipleship is impossible and thus it shouldn’t even be attempted.  Rather, Jesus is demonstrating exactly what Paul has so beautifully stated in Romans 3:23 “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…”  We need grace.

If we didn’t need grace, there would be no reason for Jesus to have come, died and risen in the first place.  There’s some beauty in the fact that we can’t live up to what Jesus teaches.  It means that we need him.  We need his grace.  I need his grace.

What a beautiful truth to reflect upon in this Lenten season.