A Look In The Mirror

M

y love for books is not something I recently developed.  In fact, my fascination with books began when I was a small boy and my parents subscribed to a children’s book company that sent new editions to our home every month.  When the new book of the month came in, my mom would read it to us as we sat, captivated by the stories we heard.  I can still hear my dad reading a story entitled “Scupper the Sailor Dog” to me at night before I went to bed.  I don’t know how many times I made him read that story but each reading made me feel as if it was the first time I heard it.  Although I don’t know whatever became of “Scupper The Sailor Dog,” most of these books are packed in boxes at my parents’ home awaiting the day I can add them to my personal library.

As I grew older, my interests in reading material began to change.  I remember reading some detective stories, some mysteries, some ghost stories, a biography of Julius Caesar, and various other types of writing.  One book I distinctly remember discussed all types of science phenomena and included all types of puzzles and brain teasers.  It had pages of invisible writing that could only be seen with a special red film included with the book and it also had several secret messages written in something called mirror writing.  The messages were written backwards so that when held in front of a mirror, the writing was clear and intelligible.  I spent hours in front of our large bathroom mirror decoding the messages in that book. 

What amazed me most about this type of writing was the fact that I needed a mirror to understand the messages.  I could make out the individual letters and I thought I understood the encoded message.  However, when I held it up to a mirror the message was usually different from what I had imagined.  Working on my own, unassisted by the mirror, took time and the information was never clear when I deciphered it.  But one look in the mirror, one brief moment of submitting the text to the proper vantage point, and everything came into focus—clear as crystal!

This was Jesus’ purpose in the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5-7.  This first sermon of Jesus provides a proper perspective on the true intent of the Law God gave to Moses in the book of Exodus.  Several times in Matthew 5 Jesus uses two different phrases to call attention to a proper understanding of God’s word.   The phrases are:  “You have heard it said…” and “But I tell you that…”  The first of these phrases demonstrates a partial understanding of God’s commandment.  This is the same as looking at a piece of writing that is written backwards.  Without holding it up to a mirror to decipher the message properly, the reader is left with an approximation of what the law means.  However, the second phrase represents a proper view of the law as reflected by the words and teaching of Jesus.

Matthew 5:21-22 provides a good example of this look in the mirror. "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.”  

Here, Jesus provides a clearer and more profound meaning to God’s commandment against murder.  In addition to the taking of someone’s life, being angry or insulting someone is also considered murder as well.  Before Jesus, this view point was not considered as being a part of the law.  What a difference a little reflection can make!

T

here is a great lesson for us to learn here today.  Without Jesus, the Scriptures have only a partial meaning for us.  When we try to understand them apart from Christ, we come away with only a partial understanding of what God is saying.  Jesus said that he had come to fulfill the law and not to destroy it.  So it is only by seeing the Scriptures through the reflection of Jesus Christ that we come to the full knowledge God wants us to have.  The listeners on the mountainside that day went up with one understanding of the law; they came down with another.  Once they had seen God’s truth reflected in Jesus Christ, their understanding of God and of themselves was forever changed.  When was the last time read the Scriptures as reflected in Jesus Christ?  How long has it been since you took a look in the mirror?  You’ll be surprised at what you find there!