Sermon on the Mount | Kingdom Re-Action | Matthew 5:38-45 | Week 7

We are exploring the Sermon on the Mount this summer as a community.  We are sort of in the middle of Jesus's teaching, it's in the gospel of Matthew.  Matthew, one of Jesus's disciples, records a collection of Jesus's teachings in one place.  It's probably the most famous sermon given EVER!  If you have your Bible, you can open to Matthew 5.  Over the last few weeks, we've explored some really light, fun subjects like adultery, lust, divorce, remarriage, being people who are honest.  Jesus decided to lighten up a little bit on us and today we're talking about loving our enemies.  That should be easier, right?!  This is one of those passages that probably isn't all that difficult to understand.  It's just really difficult to live out.  It's difficult to apply.  Let's pray and ask Jesus that he would, by the power of his Spirit, open us up to what he would say.  Lord, we long to not only hear, but to obey, because we know that that's where the foundation of our life is formed.  Father, that's our posture today.  Would you move, would you convict, would you lead us to righteousness for our joy and for the sake of your name?  Amen.  

The year was 525 BC, and King Cambyses II of Persia marched his army toward Egypt.  He knew something interesting about the Egyptian people. . .they had a deep love for cats.  They (the Persian army) carved into their shields an outline of a cat.  They brought with them hundreds of cats onto the battlefield.  In Egypt, it was a capital offense to kill a cat.  This battle was called the Battle of Pelusium, Persia vs. Egypt.  The Persians went onto the battlefield with hundred of cats.  Since the Egyptians so revered cats, they had a god named Bastet that was formed and shaped into the image of a cat.  They didn't want to kill a cat so the Persians were throwing cats into the faces of the Egyptian army.  {For 38 years I've been wondering what good a cat is and now we've figured it out.}  What's fascinating is that the Persians won this battle, hands down, without much of a fight at all, because the Egyptians were so nervous about hurting the cats.  Afterwards, to scorn and shame them (the Egyptians), they took the cats and rubbed them in their face after they won the battle.  I thought, "What a strange battle tactic!"  Can you imagine the strategy session?!  What a strange, ridiculous strategy!...