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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus

Required Reading

Blomberg, Jesus and the Gospels, chapter 19 (look for the sections on “Ethics”, “Law
and Gospel”)

Recommended Reading

Thomas Yoder Neufeld, Recovering Jesus (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2007), 199-227
Richard Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament (San Francisco: HarperOne,
1996)
Glen H. Stassen and David P. Gushee, Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in
Contemporary Context (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2003), 19-125
Allen Verhey, The Great Reversal: Ethics and the New Testament (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1984), 6-28

The problem

Everybody loves Jesus as a moral teacher

 Thomas Jefferson

 Red-Letter Christians

Jesus as Gandhi

Jesus is not a Moral Teacher

The difference between Aristotle and Jesus

The kingdom is about God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven.


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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus

The Kingdom involves an ethics of eesponse

the most fundamental thesis about Jesus’ ethics, is that they are an ethic of response
to the power of the kingdom that is already making itself present in the ministry of
Jesus. (Allan Verhey)

It is so crucial to understand that Jesus’ ethics given to people who are already his
disciples. Jesus’ ethics are basically for people who have already been blessed. They
are not entrance requirements by which one impresses God. They are not tools or
instruments by which one gets the blessings of the kingdom. They are the response of
one who has already been made a child of God by the coming of the kingdom.

The kingdom makes Jesus’ ethics possible.

The kingdom shapes the priorities and character of Jesus’ ethic.

The Kingdom enables obedience

The tangibility of the rule of God seen in real transformation

The kingdom transforms people to live in a qualitatively new way.

Transformed people living in transformed communities are one of the key evidences
of the kingdom’s power.

13
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be
made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and
trampled by men.
14
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do
people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before
men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (Matt
5:13-16)
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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus

“the church is a demonstration plot in which God’s will can be exhibited” (Richard
Hays)

The kingdom heals bodies, the kingdom casts out demons, the kingdom brings
forgiveness of sins and the kingdom revolutionizes character.

When people enter the kingdom, God makes them able to live a whole new way, the
way of following Jesus.

The Question of Jesus and the Law.

Does Jesus affirm the law? Abrogate it? Ignore it?

The key statement comes in Matt 5:17-20:


17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come
to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth
disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means
disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks one
of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called
least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will
certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

1. Jesus explicitly says he has not come to abolish the law

2. “Fulfill” is not the natural opposite of “abolish”

3. “Fulfill” in an eschatological sense – Jesus offers the true and final


interpretation of what the law was aiming at and he brings into being the kind
of righteousness the law desired.
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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus

Fulfillment involves

 Affirmation – e.g. Mark 10:18 – you know the commandments

 Revocation - Mark 7:19 (purity laws), Matt 5:33-37 (Jewish teaching on the
use of oaths). The rest of the NT will unpack other ways the fulfillment of
Jesus brings an end to certain aspects of the law (cf. Galatians, Hebrews).

 Intensification - Jesus expects the gospel of the kingdom will result in greater
righteousness not less.

 Can grace and obedience go together?

 The six antitheses of Matt 5:21-40. You have heard it said, but I
say to you…..

 Pushing beyond the letter of the law to ask what the point of the
command was.

o The law as boundary

o Righteousness is about living at the centre of God’s will,


not the periphery.

o The end of boundary riding and minimal ethics.

o What is the goal of God’s law?

 Jesus, like a new Moses, announces the true meaning of the law

 The example of the parable of the good Samaritan.

o Not who is my neighbour? but who can I be a neighbour to?

 “The question ‘who is my neighbor?’ is a request for definition;


and the answer of Jesus frustrates the lawyer’s desire to define his
liability (Lk 10:29). … The righteousness which exceeds that of the
Pharisees demands a positive commitment to the well-being of
others; it is an ethic of unlimited liability” (G. B. Caird)
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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus
 The new way of obedience is now defined not by law-keeping but
by following Jesus.

 Christ fulfills the law not just soteriologically, but also in a


discipleship sense. He shows what it means to walk before God in
righteousness.

The problem of grace and obedience within Protestant thought

 Many Protestants try and read Pauline categories onto the Sermon on the
Mount.

 Therefore, the assumption becomes that any statement about human capacity
to do righteous deeds must be a preparation for the grace of the gospel

 Protestant anxiety over:

o perfectionism – claiming too much


o synergism – my works contributing to my salvation in some sense
o idolatry – exalting me as more important

 Not every NT text about works is about “getting in” and justification

 A second problem - The mistake of viewing obedience as a duty or obligation.

o You get to be saved, but you’ve got to obey him as a result.

 Biblical ethics as “get-to” ethics.

 The good news of the gospel is that it not only frees us from our sins, but also
that it liberates us to be the people we are meant to be. To be fully human is to
be righteous.

 The grace of the kingdom brings pardon and power - the transforming power
of his reign in my life.

 But it is an inaugurated reign, not a consummated reign. We see the


beginnings of holiness
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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus

The essence of Jesus’ ethics – more stringent demands because of greater


empowerment.

 Forgive because we have been forgiven

 Love because we have been loved

 the point is that having entered the kingdom, the kingdom enters you and it
doesn’t leave you the way you were. If God is powerful enough to save
you, he is powerful enough to change you.

 God’s eschatological salvation as transformative not just transactional.

The kingdom doesn’t just make people forgiven – the kingdom makes disciples.

The future Kingdom provides shape to Jesus’ present Ethics

 Therefore, Jesus ethics takes its cue from what the future reign of God will
look like.

 the fundamental character and shape of kingdom life is to live in the here and
now in anticipation of God’s ordering of society when his will is done on earth
as it is in heaven.

What does that mean in practice

The future will mean that many who are first will be last, and the last first (Mark
10:31; Luke 14:7-11)
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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus
As Verhey says:

Humble service, then, is a part of the concrete shape of repentance in view of the
coming kingdom and its present effectiveness in Jesus. The juxtaposition of the
disposition to be first and the disposition to serve is the juxtaposition of the old
age and the new age. The promise to the humble, the warning to the proud, and
the command to “be last” both presuppose the futurity of the coming reign of God
and make its power felt in the present.

The future will be a day when people of all nations sit at table together (see Matt
8:11); where children are welcomed (Mark 10:13-16) and where the poor, the
crippled, the blind and the lame (Luke 14:15-23) have as much a stake as
anybody.

The end of racism/ageism/prejudice

The future will be a day when one’s riches will mean nothing (Luke 12:13-21) and
there will be justice and blessing for the poor (Luke 6:20)

Therefore, live a life that holds money loosely and which gives generously to the
poor (Matt 19:21)

The Ethics of Jesus draw have the gracious example of God as their Source
43
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you
may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the
good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who
love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And
if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even
pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matt
5:43-48)

“what God’s sons and daughters are to imitate, according to Jesus, is not divine wrath,
but God’s kindness, patience, and powerful love” (Neufeld, p.216)
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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus

The Ethics of Jesus has love at its centerpiece

Matt 22:37-40

Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the
second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments.”

The uniting of two loves – not the setting off of one against another.

Although, God comes first:


35
For I have come to turn
”‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
36
a man’s enemies will be the members of his own
household.’
37
“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;
anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and
anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever
finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. (Matt
10:35-39)

What kinds of virtues does Jesus kingdom ethics promote?

Forgiveness

Matt 6:12
12
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. ’ 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your
Father will not forgive your sins.

21
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my
brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

e
Micah 7:6
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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus
22
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Open-Handed Generosity to the Poor

See Matt 25:31-46; Matt 19:21; Luke 16:19-31; Luke 18:22.

So normal and habitual is our generosity to be that are we to be that we are not even
self-aware of our own generosity:

2
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth,
they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in
secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you (Matt 6:2-
4)

Meeting of human need should happen even when noone is watching – especially
when one is not watching oneself. Jesus is clearly out of step with much of what
propels philanthropy. (Neufeld, p.221)

Love for Enemies and Peacemaking

23
“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your
brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go
and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift. (Matt 5:23-24)

27
“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate
you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone
strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do
not stop him from taking your tunic. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone
takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to others as you would have
them do to you.
32
“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love
those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit
is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you
expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners,’
expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to
them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you
will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be
merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:27-3)
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Lecture 5 – The Ethics of Jesus

Some Concluding Thoughts

The Ethic of Jesus can only be realized in Community

 who have you forgiven today?

 does someone else need your money?

 who do you hate, right now?

The Ethics of the kingdom promote holiness and hospitality

The same Jesus calls us to cut off sin and invite the marginalized to our parties

Jesus is neither Republican nor Democrat.

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