Sermon Passage: Matthew 5:42
Sermon Commentary Notes
“Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away” (Matthew 5:42).
Ownership is a binding proposition, speaking of responsibility and liability. In a lawsuit against property, the owner of the property is liable. The owner is the person responsible for maintenance, insurance, and property taxes. In the last illustration of our passage, Jesus’ focus is on ownership. In His statement, “Give to him who asks you,” it is assumed you “have” and therefore can “give.” In the second part of the statement, “and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away,” it is assumed you “own” and therefore can “lend.” If I do not own the item you seek, I do not have the right to lend it to you. Ownership is assumed.
To the lame beggar at the Gate Beautiful in Jerusalem, Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give to you” (Acts 3:6). At first, you might think Peter was not telling the truth. He had funds available to him, which could be disbursed to the lame beggar. In describing the early church, the Book of Acts declares, “and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need” (Acts 2:45). But Peter made a distinction between having silver and gold and having the life of Jesus.
Peter makes the distinction by using two different Greek words. “Silver and gold I do not have (huparcho), but what I do have (echo) I give to you.” The first word relates to materialism and the second to the fullness of the Spirit of Jesus. A person does not have materialism in the same way he has Jesus. What is the difference between these two? The Greek word “huparcho,” translated “have,” is a compound word that relates to materialism (silver and gold), and, “hupo” expresses the idea of coming from under. “Archo” is the idea of being first; thus, it promotes the idea of ruling. It carries with it the same thrust as “eimi,” translated “I am.” It highlights the idea of “to be, live, or exist.” A person exists in the state of materialism. You do not have materialism; it has you. Materialism is not something you carry in your wallet or contain in your bank account. Materialism carries you in its wallet. The amount of materialism is not the deciding element. You may have much or little money; it is a state of control and domination. It “has” you!
The Greek word “echo,” translated “have,” is connected to Jesus; it paints a different picture. It defines something “one has in, or about him, including the idea of to bear, carries in oneself, as in the womb.” Matthew described the natural Father genealogy of Jesus as, “she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:18). The Greek word “echo,” translated “have,” is at the heart of this description. Having silver and gold is similar to a veneer covering, but having Jesus is more like pregnancy. What is present in you is not covering you, but shapes, manifests, and participates in your life! Although it is not always pleasurable, it contributes to purpose, life, and privilege. Pregnancy is the picture, the “merger,” expressed by Jesus as the premise of the Sermon on the Mount.
Materialism can become the spiritual state of our being, our dwelling place. I ask you to picture materialism as a house in which you live. A house exists to meet your need. You arrange your living room and design your kitchen according to your desires. You set the thermostat in your house at a certain temperature to keep you comfortable. The house is not evil, but it does perform a function. Materialism is this way. No one proposes the elimination of material things because they are necessary. However, let us broaden the picture. Let us give the house life and make it an organism. Instead of a house existing for your sake, it begins to exist for its own sake. You exist to serve and minister to the needs of the living house. It sucks the life from you for its own survival. The house grows more powerful as you become much weaker. All your actions are determined by and contribute to the house. You are worse than a slave because the house feeds off you.
The Greek word “echo,” translated “have,” has a dominant role in Christian understanding and is used 700 times in the New Testament in a variety of ways. The word is thoroughly and distinctively Christian. The basic meaning of this word is “to possess or own,” and it distinguishes Christianity as a “religion of having.” A long list of Scriptural references is present to describe the various spiritual aspects you could have. In John’s account of the Gospel, he stressed repeatedly that we have (echo) eternal life here and now. This truth elevates the richness of the Christian life from the realm of hope to the realm of present possession. We have God’s love (John 5:42), peace (John 16:33), grace (John 1:17), light (John 8:12), and life (John 3:15).
However, the most startling is we actually have (echo) God! Jesus is the heart of this possession. Two verses in John’s epistles are paramount. “Whoever denies the Son does not have (echo) the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has (echo) the Father also” (1 John 2:23). “Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have (echo) God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has (echo) both the Father and the Son” (2 John 9). We must see “having Jesus” as Him “having us.” His possession of us is understandable. He is the Creator and the Redeemer. He has every right to claim us as His possession. However, the only reason we can claim Him as our possession is because He gives Himself to us! In this interaction between “Him having us” and “us having Him,” redemptive ministry takes place.
You can argue that the only reason we “have Him” is because “He has us.” Jesus can “have us” without “us having Him.” In fact, this argument is a picture of the devil and his relationship with us. He can possess us, but he never gives himself to us; we never possess him. Love is the only motive for God sharing Himself with us. Think of our unique position among all His creation. You and I are the receivers of such love. The old song says, “Now I belong to Jesus; Jesus belongs to me. Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity.”
We must consider our passage in this reality! “Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away” (Matthew 5:42). An evil person initiates an act on us. They want to borrow something that is ours. What they want is not theirs. They have no investment in the object but want free use of its value. This approach is not fair. In the judgment of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,” it is not fair for someone to gain using something for which I have worked hard to own and is valuable to me. However, do material things have you? When a helpless person acquires an asset, that thing owns them; it gives them value (hupacho). When I have (echo) Jesus, He has me. There is no room for any other ownership. The material things at my disposal come from Him. They are His not mine! No one can borrow anything from me because I own nothing. This solves the problem! This would be true if the statement was simply a new rule. But Jesus did not present a new rule, but He presented a merger. My helplessness must merge with the resource of God’s nature. This new Kingdom person is an expression of the redemptive heart of God. I then view this evil person with God’s eyes. I look beyond his offensive evil and see the tragic bondage, which traps him. How can I be redemptive?
Jesus says this strongly in our passage! “And from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away” (Matthew 5:42).
Do not DISMISS
Jesus begins with “and from him.” The focus is on the evil person who wants to borrow from you. The Greek word “apo,” translated “from,” is specific in meaning. It basically means “the going forth or proceeding of one object from another.” “Apo” indicates the separation of a person or an object from another person or the separation of an object from another object with which it was formerly united. Jesus did not propose a rule that requires me to fill every request someone demands of me. He boldly says to use of their contact with my life as a platform of redemption. Do not dismiss them! The emphasis is not to give him everything he wants but to be involved in his life to help him get what he needs. What he asks for may not be what he needs. Augustine rightly noted, Jesus said, “Give to him who asks,” not “give everything to him that asks,” (De Sermon Domine en Monte 67).
How easy it is to dismiss the person who constantly wants to use you for his personal benefit. The fear is that they will continue to take advantage. If any consideration is extended to them, they will increase their demands. However, if dismissal is the policy, how does the redemptive heart of God reach them? If material things have you and are your primary concern, there is no room for sharing the power of Christ. This is the wonderful impact of Peter’s encounter with the lame beggar as we discussed above (Acts 3:1+). The lame man was focused on material gain; he saw Peter and John as the avenue to fulfill his physical need. However, he did not know his real need; it was covered with 40 years of materialistic domination. Peter and John did not dismiss him. They gave him no financial aid but became the redemptive avenue for Jesus to touch his life.
We must see this truth in light of the Sermon on the Mount’s premise. Jesus calls us to embrace our helplessness. We are “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). We are to “mourn” in our helplessness. The reality of no resource is to embrace us as grief embraces one who experiences the death of a loved one. We must never ignore this reality. This presents the possibility of being filled with the resource of Jesus’ nature. If we are not filled with His resource, we must live out of our helplessness. This causes us to guard, protect, and defend all that is ours. Material things become the resource of our lives. What else have we? We cannot risk what we have for the sake of others. It is not fair to lend them my things!
Jesus proposed the new Kingdom thought. This can happen only through the merger of His nature and mine. As a Christian, people consistently bombard me to leverage God for what they do not have. They want answers for their problems, finances in their bank accounts, health for their bodies, freedom from their bondages, peace in their turmoil, and on and on the list goes. They seek only what He can do for or lend to them instead of Him. They are willing to compensate Him with a few dollars or observe a few ceremonies at church. Think of the millions of people who have used this approach to God. How does He handle these evil people? He does not always give them what they want, but He never dismisses them as if they are unimportant. He goes past their self-centered use of Him to bestow grace and more grace upon them. If God does this for an evil person, how will He respond when He merges with me? Jesus urges us not to dismiss this person for the sake of redemption!
Dictate DIRECTION
Jesus continues, “do not turn away” (apostrepho). “Apostrepho” is a Greek word in the imperative, the command of the statement. Although Jesus may suggest that we should not dismiss the evil person who wants to borrow from us, He commands that we “do not turn away.” This verb begins with “apo.” Therefore, it contains the idea of dismissal and highlights this issue as a double emphasis. The second word involved in this verb is “strepho.” Its basic meaning is “to turn.” Although we might perceive the total meaning to be “do not be dismissal,” using the word takes on a strange idea. It has to do with “causing” something in someone’s life. When the evil person interacts with me, demanding to borrow something, my engagement with them shapes their life. I push them in a direction; I influence them for the Kingdom. Jesus raised the issue of “what I am causing in their lives.”
This thought is unthinkable for the self-sourced person. The helpless person acts as if he is not responsible or concerned about how he influences the evil person. His concern is only for himself and how he is affected. This thinking is evident because this verb is in the passive voice, meaning the action of the verb is acting on the subject. Jesus did not command you to do something but to allow something to be done to you! In your helplessness will you allow the Spirit of Jesus to move through your life causing redemptive influence to flow to the evil person who wants to borrow from you? Will you become an extension of Christ’s life that expresses the heart of the Father? Without the merger of your nature with His, this is impossible. He must do this through you!
Let me remind you again of the example of Peter and John in the Book of Acts (Acts 3). These men portray a picture of this truth. Peter and John are apostles of the early church with busy schedules. They do not have time to be interrupted by a lame beggar. They are headed into the temple to fulfill their religious duty during the hour of prayer and sacrifice. The disabled man is obviously an evil person with materialism on his mind. He is not allowed in the temple and is virtually banned from all redemptive influence. As the lame beggar begs for money, the worst Peter and John could do was ignore him. Many religious people in their service to God in temple worship did that. The best Peter and John could do was giving him some financial support, which would fulfill the Old Testament standard. But Peter and John are filled with the Spirit; they are Kingdom people, merged with Divine nature. They do not dismiss the lame beggar, although they did not give him what he asked, they caused something in his life he had never known before. His life was redeemed, physically and spiritually. Peter and John became the instruments to redeem his life.
Redemption is Jesus’ challenge in our passage! What are we causing in the life of the evil person? “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” always approaches the evil person in view of what they are doing to me. The Kingdom person, merged with the Spirit of Jesus, approaches the evil person in view of what can I cause in them? Jesus highlighted this in the illustration of “marriage” (Matthew 5:31, 32). Those of old were looking for justification to divorce their wives. A helpless person sourced by that helplessness would use every means to protect and guard themselves. Their focus was strictly on themselves. Jesus proposed the question, “What are you causing in your spouse?” The Greek word He uses is “poieo.” It is not rule focused or obligation sourced. The word is used for trees bearing fruit. What do I source or cause deep in the inner heart of another person? Do I push my spouse in the direction of prayer and dependence on Jesus? Do I surround them with godliness? The same principle is now being applied to the evil person who wants to take advantage of me. My response causes something in them.
Jesus insists that our interaction with the evil person will have an effect on them. Although they initiated the encounter for selfish ends, our interaction with them provides an opportunity for redemption. Although we may not give them what they want, could we give them what they need? This interaction is an impossible task without a merging with God’s heart. Jesus presented a picture of the Kingdom person, a helpless person filled and merged with the Spirit of Christ. Every encounter presents the opportunity for redemption. We must look beyond the evil, which is to be resisted, and embrace the person who is trapped in their self-centeredness. It will not be difficult to find such situations! How will we respond?