“The Way, the Truth and the Life”

Scripture: Matthew 7:1-29

Today is our 6th and final week in considering Jesus’ teachings in his Sermon on the Mount. He has taught us what it means to be his disciple; he has given us his thoughts on trusting God, as well as the consequences of putting our trust elsewhere; and he has told us about the right way of living a life that professes a relationship with God. The entire focus of his hillside message is to establish the basis for his ministry to the people of earth.
He challenges us to set aside the worldly ways that we are so accustomed to, as well as those things that we are completely comfortable with, in favor of living a righteous life that will bring honor to the Lord. People will readily follow Jesus for his healing and feeding and his protection, but when he begins to teach about accepting the completeness of a walk in faith, that is when many folks begin to fall away. Cheap grace, cheap faith, cheap salvation - those things that we receive from the Lord is all that most people want from Jesus – the costly aspects of this relationship, those things that we must sacrifice, those things that we must leave behind, are not so interesting to most people.
But for a true and fulfilling life in Christ, we have to be all in – nothing missing, nothing held back, nothing of the world. It is either his High and Exalted Way, or our low and shameful way – there is nothing in between. In John 14:6, Jesus tells us that He is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” And that “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Today, we see his teachings on how we are to live that righteous life in him.

Read Matthew 7:1-6

The church’s failure to follow the teaching in this passage is why the world calls us “hypocrites”. We want to not only tell others about the right way of living, we also want to pronounce the judgment of condemnation on all who don’t do what we say! And all too often, our teaching itself is a bit marginal. We like to interject our own take on what Jesus is all about, and without a complete and careful study of his words, we will always fall far short on our pronouncements. And the reason? Because it is always easier to see the shortcomings in others than it is to see and acknowledge the ones in ourselves.

But aren’t we to be aware of sin and its effects in our lives as well as those in the lives of others? Aren’t we to help others to leave their sin behind? Yes, of course we are, but that isn’t the point that Jesus is making. He says that we are not to “Judge” others. We are not the ones to determine and declare the sentence for the sins of earth! In John 12:44-50, Jesus says that he will not judge the world in this life; that he has come to save the world. But he continues with the thought that “the very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.” What he has taught is the truth that all will be judged by. And he is also telling us that when we are living the righteous life, it is only then that our vision will be sufficient to help others to leave their sinful lives behind, too.
And who are these “dogs” and “pigs” in verse 6? There is a lot of controversy over this, but it is very possible that Jesus is not offering these words against the gentiles, but rather against those in the church who would profane his word by taking it out of context, or applying it in an unholy way, or using it for their own advantage. Regardless, if we judge others, we will certainly be judged by that same standard. If we happen to judge too harshly or improperly or incorrectly or out of context, then our acceptance into Glory will hang on that same balance.

Read Matthew 7:7-12

Ask, seek and knock. This isn’t about looking for, and receiving, the things of earth! It’s all about receiving the goodness of God. These three commands are about prayer, and Jesus tells us that we should never pray to win the next multimillion dollar lottery, never pray that God’s wrath will fall on a person who you don’t especially care for, never pray for forgiveness if we have no intention of ending the practice, never to ask the Lord to make you look good in the eyes of others. Verse 12 sums up the intent of this section – do for, give to, bless, honor, benefit others in the same way that you would have them treat you. Give to others first, and then let that be the prayer for our own lives.
This is no less a vital commandment than is Love the Lord with your entire being (Deuteronomy 6:4-9), and love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:17-18).

Read Matthew 7:13-14

The wide road, the glitzy street, the big crowds, the fun way – that’s what we want! And not only don’t we believe in narrow gates, we don’t like gates at all! This is the way of universalism – that no one should be excluded from the Kingdom. Heaven should be open to all of creation, not just a few who satisfy some arbitrary and narrow standard. We want Heaven to be a place of joy and celebration and endless partying with our friends from the first life, not just a place of eternal praise and glory to God. We hope that it will be the ultimate utopia that we envision every day of our life.

But Jesus says that this is not the truth - that the way is narrow, like a mountain trail – no room for maneuvering, no room to deviate, no room to pass, and that the gate that we must pass through will be equally narrow. For Israel, the concept of “gate” could generate a couple of different visions. The first might be that of the city gate. It was a place where decisions were made, as well as a place that could be closed to protect the populace. The second would be the image of the gate for a sheep pen that would be protection for the flock. Jesus compared himself to this gate - that any predator would have to get past him before they could attack his people, but also a gate that his flock could easily pass through.
Either way, it was not a place that everyone would be allowed to enter. Our journey in faith through this life is not a broad and beautiful path – it is narrow and perfectly well defined. The entry into glory is equally narrow, and, as a gate, is controlled by God Himself, who has defined the gate as his Son, Jesus the Christ, being able to know and rejoice in his own.

Read Matthew 7:15-29

They will come as “wolves in sheep’s clothing”! How many knew that it was Jesus who coined that phrase?
These wolves are the false prophets that we read about over and over in Jeremiah 23:9-40. We read about them in 2 Peter 2 and again in 1 John 4:1-6. But the most telling passages are throughout Revelation. We read about the Satan (the false god), and the antichrist (the false savior), and the false prophet (the false spirit). And every being who relates false information regarding the Lord is immediately condemned.
And we have to understand that the false prophets that Jesus is speaking about aren’t those who are on the outside of the church – they are the ones who are part of the fellowship. They are the radical right as well as the radical left. They are the ones who claim to understand everything that God would have us know, and they are the ones who claim that scripture is only a nice story and at best, is only a suggestion for life. They are the ones who read scripture so narrowly that there is no room to breathe, and they are the ones who would throw open the gates of heaven so wide that no one will be left out. And Jesus says to beware of them all.

Jesus wants us to know that while we may be deceived by their words, we will be able to see the truth by watching what comes from their lives – “by their fruit you will recognize them.” And Galatians 5:19-26 reveals what is good and what is not. Acts of the sinful nature are listed, as are the Fruit of the Spirit, and these verses are an excellent guide in ferreting out the perpetrators of lies.
But Jesus doesn’t end with his cautions regarding the lies that come from the world. He tells us what the truth truly is. He is the foundation of rock that will never fail us, and the lies that are of the sand will only bring a sense of false security to our lives. In him, we will be able to withstand the tempest of earth, and without him, we will fall.

And his marvelous sermon ends with the comment from Matthew that the people were awed by his teaching, because he spoke as one who had authority – unlike the Pharisees. And as we enter into this season of Lent, we need to remember that Jesus is, and will always be, our authority – on life, on truth, on the way to eternity. “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus’ words, Jesus’ redemption, Jesus’ touch, Jesus’ Spirit – these are the only hope that humanity will ever have.
Learn his words well, live them well, and share them well.

A joyful Lent to you all.