The Morality of Jesus

• The poverty of Jesus

• The obedience of Jesus

• The Sermon on the Mount and Christian

Morality

• The healings of Jesus

Jesus and Poverty

• In Jesus’ time, taxes to Rome left

most people in poverty.

• Jesus doesn’t show people how to

escape poverty and be part of the

elite: rather, he embraced it.

• “One does not live by bread alone.” - Lk. 4:4

• “Foxes have dens and birds…nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head.” - Mt. 8:20

• “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of Mine, you did for me.” – Mt. 25:40

• Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Lk.

16:19-31)

• Parable of the Rich Fool

• Parable of the Final Judgment (Mt. 25:31-

46)

• Parable of the Hidden Treasure/Pearl (Mt.

13:44-46)

• The Rich Young Man (Mt. 19:16-24)

• Two Masters (Mt. 6:19-21,24)

• “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” (Lk. 12:33-34)

Where your treasure is, there your heart is

“You can’t take with you anything you stored.

For those who are not rich towards the Lord

And make pleasure and wealth their biggest goal

Will wallets have as empty as their soul.”

Serving two masters• Serve God OR money.

• Not both.

• Period.

• Seriously.

• He wasn’t kidding.

• But nothing.

• These aren’t my words.

Spiritual Poverty

• Just as a beggar KNOWS he

NEEDS from others, we must

know we need God.

• Getting what we want can make

us forget that.

“I had a plan!” – Evan Baxter“Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha!” – GOD

• We tend to believe we KNOW what we need, what is good, etc.

• Often, however, we are like kids who want to eat all their Halloween candy the night they get it.

• Jesus obeyed the Father, coming to earth, dying for us.

THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

• Stretching from Mt. 5-7, The Sermon on the Mount is probably the most famous speech Jesus gives

• It contains the heart of Christian ethics

BEATITUDES• Jewish thought: people are

rewarded/punished NOW.• So if your mom had cancer, you went blind,

your child died tragically, etc., it was because the person broke the Law.

• If you were prospering, you were rewarded for following the Law.

• Jesus: those who are SUFFERING NOW who will be REWARDED IN HEAVEN.

• Poor in spirit

• Meek

• Mournful

• Those who hunger & thirst for justice

• Merciful

• Clean of heart

• Peacemakers

• Those persecuted for justice

Salt/Light• Religion is NOT a private matter.• If everyone was dying of a plague and you

knew the cure, wouldn’t you be obligated to spread the news?

• How much more so if you can help them avoid hell/reach heaven?

• “This little light of mine, • I’m gonna let it shine…”

Love your enemies• Anyone can love friends; virtue lies in

loving those it is difficult to love, esp. enemies.

• “‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.’ Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.” (Rom. 12:20)

But Isn’t That Stupidly Idealistic?• Imagine you live in Afghanistan. An

American bomb blows up your house, killing several members of your family: your spouse, your children. Days later, someone asks you to help him fight “the great Satan.”

• Imagine you live in Afghanistan. On a regular basis, bags filled with food, covered with American flags on the outside, arrive at your village. For the first time in your life, you have enough to feed your family. Someone asks you to help him fight “the great Satan.”

• Charity is not just more moral, it’s cheaper and more effective.

If you look at a woman with lust, you have committed adultery with her in your heart

• Again, morality is INTERNALIZED. We must be faithful to our spouse in our heart, not just with our body.

• These commands against anger and lust are also very PREVENTATIVE.

• Again, one cannot help an attraction to someone else. But do you fantasize, flirt, etc.?

If You Are Angry, You Are Liable To Judgment

• Rather than merely commanding not to kill, or hurt, we are told not to hate, not to be angry with people.

• Anger may be a natural reaction to something, and should not be “bottled up”.

• But one must forgive, no matter how difficult this may be.

Do not swear on ANYTHING

• Odd that, in court, we swear on a book that says not to swear on anything, no?

• “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No’. Anything more is from the evil one.”

Do not practice almsgiving just to be seen Do not loudly pray to be seen

Do not fast to be seen

• Those who do this already received their reward. God needs not repay them.

• Kept it a secret and God will repay you.

• Yet let your light shine.

Judge not, lest ye be judged• “Why do you see the speck in your

neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?”

• Like in The Lord’s Prayer, you will be forgiven, to the extent you forgive.

Golden Rule

• Simple universal ethic: Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Those who Say, “Lord, Lord”• Not every

“religious” person, even “prophets”, get into heaven.

• Only those who do the Father’s will get in.

House Built on Rock

Acting on Jesus’ words is like building a house on rock, rather than on sand