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Matthew 5:38-48

³⁸ “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. ⁴⁰ And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. ⁴¹ And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. ⁴² Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸ You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Grace, mercy, peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Jesus says, “You therefore will be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Maybe, you are thinking, “Hold on there, pastor. Didn’t you just read that Jesus said, ‘You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect’? What are you doing? Don’t go changing the Word of God on us.”

Well, the way the ESV translates the verse is the Law way. And as Law, this verse says that you need to use a right measurement when it comes to your good works. So, first, quit measuring yourself by others’ standards. Who cares what Tom, Dick, Harry, Mary, Sheila, or Amber thinks about how good you are? It doesn’t matter if they say you are a good person. There is only one standard of morality that matters and that is God’s.

Stop using the standards of others to determine if you are a good person. And stop comparing yourself to others and their morality. “Well, no one is perfect, so I must be ok. We all get a poor grade when it comes to works. Maybe our professor, Mr. God, will grade on a curve. I’m better than most.” Nope. It doesn’t fly. It doesn’t change your grade in Goodness 101.

First of all, the statement, “No one is perfect,” is false. God is perfect. Jesus, the God-man, was perfect. Never sinned, not even once. And second, God doesn’t lower His standards. He can’t, and He won’t. If you want to be called a child of God, you must reflect who your Father is. Be perfect as He is perfect.

The measuring stick of perfection doesn’t have marks like a ruler or a measuring tape. There’s no such thing as 12 ³/₈^ths perfect. There is perfect or not perfect. Pretty good, trying harder, working on it, making baby steps don’t fall into the ‘not perfect’ category. And if you don’t get to the standard of perfection – sorry.

Remember what Jesus just said in the Sermon on the Mount last week, “You’ve heard it said, ‘You shall not murder.’ But I say to you, if you’ve been angry, same thing. You’ve heard it said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you, don’t even think about it. You’ve heard it said, ‘Don’t lie.’ But I say to you, your lips and mouth are full of lies and deceit. You deserve judgment and damnation. You are of the evil one.”

Are you enjoying this measurement from Jesus? Probably not. But Jesus isn’t done measuring you. Not yet. He’s got some more standards.

Jesus wants to ask you about your enemies. “You’ve heard it said, ‘An eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist one who is evil. You got slapped on your right cheek? Offer him the left. Someone took your coat? Give him the shirt off your back too. Don’t retaliate. Don’t resist.

“You’ve heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you love your enemies. That’s right – love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. I make rain fall on the just and the unjust both. I’m good to those who do not love Me. I’m loving to those who do not fear Me. I give My blessings to good and bad, friend and enemy, alike. You want to be perfect? Do as I do.”

This is life under the Law. Infinite, eternal, constant, consistant perfection is demanded. Nothing less. If you don’t measure up to God’s standard of perfection, you are His enemy.

So repent.

Repent and believe the Gospel. While you were yet enemies, while you were a sinner, Christ died for you.

In Christ, God loved you. Jesus was slapped and offered the other cheek. He was forced to go one mile, but went all the way to the cross and the grave. Jesus was stripped of His cloak, but gave His life for you. He prayed for those who persecuted Him, “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

Jesus did this all to completion. He did it all for you. When it was all completed, Jesus said so. “Τετέλεσται. It is finished.” The very word that closes our Gospel reading. “You will be τέλειοι, perfect, complete, whole, finished as your Father in heaven is τέλειοι, perfect, complete, whole, finished.”

The Law, the must-have-perfection is what is demanded of you from God. The Gospel, the freely-given-perfection is what is handed to you by Jesus. So what are you trusting? Are you trusting your works, your morality, your completeness, your wholeness? Or are you trusting Jesus’ works, His morality, His completeness, His wholeness?

Trust Jesus. Trust His perfect life. Trust His becoming sin for you. Trust His death on the cross. Trust His resurrection and ascension. Trust His giving the Holy Spirit to you in your Baptism. Trust His Body and Blood given to you and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.

When it is all about Jesus, His words, “You will be τέλειοι, perfect, complete, whole, finished, as your Father in heaven is,” are the greatest news you could ever hear.

Everything that Christ has done, He has done for you “that you may be His own, live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness.” You will be perfect, complete, whole, finished. Blessed are you who live in the perfection of Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.