Messianic Musings in Matthew - "You've heard that it was said."

“You have heard that it was said”  :

Cleanliness is next to godliness.

God helps those who help themselves. 

When God closes a door He opens a window. 

Do you recognize any of these sayings?  They sound just so scriptural and practical.  Would you agree?  Perhaps you would like to jot down the references so that you might highlight them in your Bible or write them on an index card for a future memorization project (hint)?  Sorry to say, while each of these familiar sayings carry some Biblical truth, none of them are found in the Bible. 

How did these sayings come about anyway?  Most likely they were given as a practical lesson to aid in understanding the scriptures.  The earliest record of the first quote “cleanliness is next to godliness” is, in fact, from a sermon preached by John Wesley. 

Our second saying, “God helps those who help themselves” originated with Benjamin Franklin.  Conceptually, there is some truth in the idea of “helping ourselves”.  While we are a helpless people dependent on an all powerful God, the Bible also speaks against laziness.  Context is key for this one.

Lastly, while “when God closes a door He opens a window” isn’t actually found in the Bible, there are many examples of how God protects and guides His people when it seems there is no way out.  He often surprises His children with an option for escape that they never thought of.  I love that about Him.

At least six times in Matthew chapter 5 Jesus says “you have heard that it was said”.   Is that what Jesus is doing here?  Is He fine tuning some faulty theological sound bites that were part of the belief system at that time?  Go Jesus!  I confess I am one of those people who find it hard not to correct erroneous pithy sayings that misconstrue God’s Word.  Like all the “spiritual” sayings plastered over all kinds of purchasable homegoods.  I need special restraint not to whip out my black magic marker and white out. 

Could that be what Jesus is doing?  Not exactly, but similar.  Jesus starts with his teaching in Matthew 5 with the commandment “Do not murder”.   With a closer look at Jesus’ words you will notice that he is not just commenting on the written law (Exodus 20:13) but on something much broader.  In the phrase “You have heard that it was said” , Jesus is actually alluding to what is often called the Oral Torah (law). 

Since the days of Mount Sinai, traditional Jews have largely been in agreement that the Torah (law) Moses wrote down is the inspired Word of God.  However, over the course of the centuries, another body of tradition developed that was the rabbinic commentary on this written law or the Mishnah.  While the value of the Mishnah is essential since its main purpose was to protect the Torah by illuminating its precepts, there is a subtle danger that these commentaries may take almost equal weight with the original scripture. 

For generations, these commentaries (Mishnah) were passed down by word of mouth teaching.  This is what Jesus is referring to when he says “you have heard that it was said”   While Jesus follows with quoting the written law “Do not murder” the subsequent phrase “anyone who murders will be subject to the judgment” could actually be from the Mishnah. Yet Jesus clarifies the substance of the commandment by declaring “But I tell you”.  Jesus cuts right to the heart of the manner.  “Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to the judgment”.  Murder takes place in the heart where all the emotions reside.  The Torah is meant to appeal to the heart.  The handing down of rules through an oral tradition from generation to generation can negate the beauty and grace that the Torah is meant to bring to an individual's life.  Legalism is basically keeping the law without engaging the heart and God is all about our hearts.  Jesus is making it clear; the obedience to the law isn’t what prevents judgment but purity of the heart is. 

God never intended our spiritual lives to be a collection of pithy sayings handed down from generation to generation that bring warm and fuzzy feelings but produce no real change of character.  While we hang them on our walls and pass them on to our children, they will have no real value unless they preserve the original intent of the Torah which is love for God and man.  Rules can’t produce that only a heart surrendered to a Savior can.