To Encourage You

Matthew 5:43-44 “You have heard that it was said . . . But I say to you . . .”

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase, “They say . . . “.  I often wonder who the “they” is referring to when I hear this. It’s so often assumed that “they” know something that we should all know, i.e., that it’s just common knowledge about one thing or another.  Some examples: “They say time heals all wounds,” “They say a picture is worth a thousand words,” “They say love is blind,” and “They say actions speak louder than words.’’  Many of these “they says” may carry some grain of truth, but they’re probably not something we should choose to live and die by.  Again, who is “they” in the first place? 

Interestingly, Jesus Himself had some things to say about the “they says.” In His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 Jesus points out some of the common thinking of his day among the Jews.  He introduces several of His teachings in this sermon by the phrase that appears in the passage above: “You have heard that it was said . . .”  One of the examples He then gave was, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” It was something that people had been taught for many years by the rabbis. It became a traditional teaching – common knowledge, if you will. It carried within it a grain of truth that was taught in the writings of the Old Testament, for “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” appears in Leviticus 19:18. But like many things from the Old Testament Law, the rabbis had twisted this teaching by so narrowly defining who a “neighbor” was that they believed they were obeying this law so long as they loved just those people who were exactly like them.  So Jesus, to their shock, corrects them.  To do this He didn’t point to some other authority. Rather, He answered them with the startling statement, “But I say to you . . . ” which He then followed with the following words: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” 

At the very end of Jesus’ sermon, we are told that “When Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes” (Matthew 7:29).  Of course, the scribes and Pharisees whom He had rebuked by His teaching, took this as a great affront. Their attitude was “So, who does He think He is?!” Of course, the answer is, He is God, the very Word of God incarnate.  And as God, no matter what “they” say, and no matter who “they” are, what He says supersedes it for it is the absolute truth of God for everyone.  It’s the authority upon which one day all the things we’ve been told and believed will be judged. 

So, what are you hearing from the voices “out there”? Whose words are you putting your trust in?  Are there things you believe because they’ve been passed on to you through the generations, although you’ve never examined them for yourself?  What about what the media says, or the president, your pastor, or your friends?  Do you believe what they’ve been telling you? How do you discern if any of it is right or wrong? 

May God help us to compare everything we hear with the Word of God.  You see, one day we will all stand before this One Who will examine the things we have believed and lived by.  He will examine all that “they” said.   But then He will tell us clearly, just as He’s already told us in His Word, “But I said to you . . .”  And if we’ve been listening to them instead of Him, what will we ever be able to say?

So, don’t you think it’s better to listen to the God Who made the universe than to all those other voices, whoever “they” might be?