Sermon on the Mount, Part Two

One of the problems with the chapter and verse divisions of the Bible is that they give us more opportunity to rip specific verses from their context.  The most quotable verses are especially subject to the practice of "proof texting."  The Sermon on the Mount is very quotable, so when I read it, I realize that I have memorized a bunch of verses but without knowing the overall message, or I have read them in the context of me and not in the context of Jesus.

Here's a couple of examples:

The first is 5:13ff.  Jesus tells the his listeners that they are salt and light.  We think of these in the context of our culture; that is, we must stand out from the crowd.  We should be different.  Our actions should make the world a better place, sometimes loudly, so that all who know us will receive grace through us.  But we are also careful to not let the left hand know what the right hand is doing, so to speak.  Se we work to balance the two teachings appropriately; we try to be humble but let our good works be known.  

Look at the salt and light passage's preceding two verses.  They both deal with persecution and the blessings that followers receive when they are persecuted because of Jesus and righteousness.  Now it could be that Jesus is changing direction, beginning a whole new line of thought after his introduction of blessings and we should not connect the two thoughts.  If he's not changing thoughts, if he is intentionally talking about salt and light after persecution, then they are related.  Then Jesus' teaching changes subtly to being salt and light in spite of persecution. The message is more like, "Don't give up doing the right thing just because you're being treated badly because you are the best that this world has."  If Christians bury themselves when things get rough, then the world gets hung out to dry.  There's no one left to spread God's fame, or take care of the unfortunate ones. The difference in the two interpretations is mild, but its there.

The other verse is 7:6, the pearls before swine.  We usually interpret this to mean that we should be careful with how we treat what is important to us.  Our faith is valuable and should not be shared with people who are just going to abuse us or use our words to make Christianity look bad.  We should use wisdom and good judgement in our efforts to evangelize.

If we connect it to the verses that immediately follow it (7:7-8), the ask, seek, and knock passage, then we may get a new perspective on it.  The meaning would change to be that we should not trust our lives to the wrong people, put our pearls before swine, because they will not deal with us as our trust deserves.  But if we ask God for help, he can be trusted.  If we seek God, then he will deal with us in a trustworthy manner.  If we knock on God's door, he will answer and welcome us.  Just as before, the difference is subtle but clear.

So don't give up doing good when circumstances are hard.  Trust in God who is faithful, not in men who aren't trustworthy.