It’s all a question of motives

In Matthew 6:1-6, Jesus shows that it is possible to do the right thing even with the wrong motives.

The point is that we do not act and believe because of expectations or threats, but because we are fascinated by God’s love and mercy (cf. 1 John 4:18-19).

There is extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. The question is: Do I want to do something, or do I HAVE to do something?

With an intrinsic desire, I am fascinated by something, I want to deepen something, have new experiences, create something. I do things without somebody needs to motivate me to do them. I also do them without being seen. For example: I talk to God because I want to spend time with him.

Jesus says: ‘Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them.’

Therefore, we don’t act in order to be loved, but we act because we have experienced God’s love. That is why the right does not need to know what the left is doing (6:3). We don’t have to count up.

More of sermon on the mount

In Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus makes it clear that you can also kill with words by oppressing and restricting others. Anyone who openly declares that they are angry with their brother or casts the Jewish ban raka (dupe) or fool (madman, godless) on him destroys life.

Likewise, unforgiveness destroys life. Or when guilt is ignored and the other person only comes into his own through judgement.

Anyone who calls someone ungodly, excludes them from the community of believers and robs them of the opportunity to repent is, according to Jesus, counted among the ungodly.

So killing can also be done by agitation, character assassination, silence, evasion, by denying the other person their rights or by refusing to be reconciled.

James even says (4:17): “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

The opposite of killing is not just letting the other person live but promoting them.

Jesus shows us that we have all killed in one way or another. We all need forgiveness and change through the Holy Spirit.

Jesus preaches about the kingdom of God. For Jews, the question immediately arises as to how Jesus interprets the commandments of the Torah.

“I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).

Jesus interprets the law in its original sense. What Scripture predicts must be fulfilled.

Jesus fulfilled all the laws and prophecies about reconciliation with God. John the Baptist says in John 1:29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

The law is not a prerequisite for a relationship with God, but a mirror and guideline.

All ethical commandments that regulate interpersonal relationships retain their meaning.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus reveals his vision of the kingdom of God. After using the beatitudes to show who is at the centre of attention, he uses the image of salt and light to unfold how the kingdom of God will spread.

Life is to unfold in contact with the followers of Jesus. People should flourish. But if you want to hold back faith, then it becomes useless.

Light makes visible what is hidden. Light also provides orientation. Light also stands for one’s own faith. If you suppress it, it loses its purpose.

In all the needy people from the beatitude, it should become visible how God shapes and changes their lives.

The kingdom of God does not spread through arguments, but through people recognising the transforming power of God in us and becoming part of it themselves.

More

• The vision of Jesus 10. June 2024
• Salt and Light 19. June 2024

Jesus opens the Sermon on the Mount with a blessing. It is a paradox.

The need does not end, but we are blessed in it. He does not want to build his kingdom with the strong, but instead focusses on the weak. The kingdom of Jesus gives every person hope and a future again, even if there is still no immediate change.

Those who recognise their neediness before God are given the gift of God’s presence. The Sermon on the Mount does not begin with demands, but with divine promises.

God’s kingdom is built with people who are dependent on God and allow his power to work in them. We do not serve God, but God serves people through us.