Sermon Discussion Guide: 11/10/24
Sermon Recap
Text: Matthew 5:38-48
Big Idea: The perfection of the Law is an unnatural love.
Summary: As Jesus concludes His six case scenarios of reinterpreting the Law through the interpretation of Christ, He focuses on how love in the Kingdom is to be distinct from the “natural” love found in humankind. The first teaching explores the principle of retribution (an eye for an eye). Jesus presents an ethic of confronting evil in a manner different from the expected 1-to-1 vengeance. He calls for a love that presses into the evil, confronts it, and counters it with goodness. Jesus continues by calling His disciples to a holy love that is unnatural in that it is expressed even toward enemies. This “enemy love” follows the pattern of the Father who sends sun and rain on both the wicked and the righteous. The love of the Kingdom will be what revolutionizes the world.
Discussion Questions
1. How did you understand Luke’s teaching on what it means to “not resist the one who does evil”?
2. Explain the principle of “turning the other cheek.” How does it confront evil in a way that doesn’t return evil for evil? What would be a contemporary application of this?
3. How does giving your outer cloak on top of your tunic confront injustice? What would be a modern example of this?
4. What was the cultural scenario in which someone would be required to “go a mile”? How could this look today?
5. How do you balance “giving to the one who begs and lending to the one who asks” with not enabling sinful habits?
6. How do we navigate “enemy love” with stopping abusers and evildoers Biblically and practically?
7. In what ways have you personally seen “enemy love” displayed? Did it have a redemptive impact in any way?
Text: Matthew 5:38-48
Big Idea: The perfection of the Law is an unnatural love.
Summary: As Jesus concludes His six case scenarios of reinterpreting the Law through the interpretation of Christ, He focuses on how love in the Kingdom is to be distinct from the “natural” love found in humankind. The first teaching explores the principle of retribution (an eye for an eye). Jesus presents an ethic of confronting evil in a manner different from the expected 1-to-1 vengeance. He calls for a love that presses into the evil, confronts it, and counters it with goodness. Jesus continues by calling His disciples to a holy love that is unnatural in that it is expressed even toward enemies. This “enemy love” follows the pattern of the Father who sends sun and rain on both the wicked and the righteous. The love of the Kingdom will be what revolutionizes the world.
Discussion Questions
1. How did you understand Luke’s teaching on what it means to “not resist the one who does evil”?
2. Explain the principle of “turning the other cheek.” How does it confront evil in a way that doesn’t return evil for evil? What would be a contemporary application of this?
3. How does giving your outer cloak on top of your tunic confront injustice? What would be a modern example of this?
4. What was the cultural scenario in which someone would be required to “go a mile”? How could this look today?
5. How do you balance “giving to the one who begs and lending to the one who asks” with not enabling sinful habits?
6. How do we navigate “enemy love” with stopping abusers and evildoers Biblically and practically?
7. In what ways have you personally seen “enemy love” displayed? Did it have a redemptive impact in any way?
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