Was Jesus contradicting himself?

Was Jesus contradicting himself? Matthew 6.1-4

“Let’s get the record straight, Mrs. Adams—you said . . .” (The attorney asked, with an upraised eyebrow and an emphasis on the word ‘said’), and “now you’re saying something else? Which is it?” We’ve seen courtroom settings where a witness is being grilled with the apparent inconsistency of her statements. ‘Which is true—this or that? Did you mean this, and now you mean something else?! I see--is your memory unclear or are you changing your position?’ Today, Jesus’ statements are being considered from the position of cross-examination.

Jesus said, ‘Be the Light of the world,’ and ‘Let your light so shine that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.’ We just studied that in Matthew chapter five, talking about how Christ followers ought to stand out from others, remember? But now we are turning the page to the sixth chapter, and Jesus says, ‘Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them.’ Isn’t that a contradiction? Hmmm. Step a little closer and let us look at the first four verses of the sixth chapter:

“Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it with trumpet fanfare. This is what hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets in order to be praised by people. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. When you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your contributions privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.” GOD’S WORD Translation, Matthew 6.1-4 Sidebar, please. [While I usually start studying a passage in the New King James Version, I also consult other translations, as doing so gives a broader understanding of the scripture. www.biblegateway.com affords this easy opportunity. Clicking on the icon on the right, that looks like backward brackets, allows parallel viewing of the same passage in different translations.]

Did Jesus have amnesia, or did he have early onset Alzheimer’s? Didn’t he just say ‘let your light shine?’ And now, ‘don’t do your good works in public…’? Was Jesus contradicting himself? Since both themes were in the same sermon, Jesus had not forgotten what he had just said, [Jesus did not have a memory problem that day or ever], nor was he intending to confuse his listeners then, or us, his followers today. Once again,

Jesus is talking about the heart; he is talking motive.

This is not unique to Jesus, this was the heart of the God the Father himself. God has always cared about the intent of a man’s heart, rather than what he did for others to see. Reminds me of a verse, turned song by Keith Green: To obey is better than sacrifice. (the song is attached to the podcast, should you care to listen) God wants our hearts before our actions.

In the Old Testament, where animal sacrifices were required for recompense for sin, God said he would rather have our obedience than sacrifices. 1 Samuel 15.22

Indeed, look at Jesus’ opening line: Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention – his point, do not do good deeds for attention, or to be praised by people, but out of purity of heart. Out of the purity of heart, we serve God and we do good for others too—because we love him! Then we are salt and light in the world. Out of the overflow of love and gratitude we feel, we serve, we are different … because we want to honor God. Not to get praise, not to get noticed or recognized, not to make other people think we are righteous, but because we love God, desire to obey him, and because we are a grateful people. Amen.

Christine

PastorWoman.com