Christians as Living Fish (Matthew 5:27-48)

[Stephan Choe]

February 13, 2026

Key Verses:

32:          “But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

44:          “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

Quelle: https://www.theleven.org/news-and-events/migratory-fish-in-the-river-leven/

Many people today live according to their human nature, like dead fish being swept away by the current without resistance. For example, they follow their feelings of false love and destroy their healthy married lives. This is the current state of the world.

How should we as Christians live? Should we conform to this current?

Jesus teaches us that we should not live like dead fish and follow the worldly current without resistance. Rather, we should live like live fish swimming against the current.

Today we want to learn how we should behave like live fish.

1. On Adultery (27-32)

Today we hear about adultery and divorce every day. There are few truly happy marriages. I read the following comment online: "In the throwaway society of Germany, 'celebrities' have once again thrown their marriages on the scrap heap and are now looking for new partners."

Many Christians also follow this trend, so that only a few marriages remain intact.

But Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth. We should not give up that salty taste. What does it practically mean that we retain that salty taste? We should hold fast to the teachings of Christ and lead a blessed married life.

Generally, adultery is understood to mean that a married person has sexual intercourse outside of marriage. And God hates adultery greatly. That is why God said that an adulterer deserves the death penalty (Leviticus 20:10).

Jesus considers not only physical adultery to be wrong but also the lust in the heart. That is why he says, “You have heard that it was said (Exodus 20:14), ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

We should take our adulterous thoughts and feelings seriously as the beginning of adultery and stay away from such thoughts and feelings. If we consider such thoughts and feelings harmless and indulge in them, we have committed adultery in our hearts and are very susceptible to committing physical adultery. Therefore, we should repent of such thoughts and feelings as soon as possible and allow our hearts to be cleansed by the blood of Christ.

However, we should not be quick to condemn other divorced people like the Pharisees. Jesus Christ does not want to condemn them, but to forgive and save them. That is why He gave His life for sinners. We should practice the mercy of Christ and His saving love.

Jesus says in verses 29-30:

“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”

In Germany, the transgression of certain commandments from the Ten Commandments is considered very serious, while the transgression of others is seen as harmless. For example, theft, even of a small amount, is considered very serious. In contrast, infidelity is downplayed as normal human nature. If one were to argue this way, one could claim that theft is also an act of normal human nature.

But we should follow the teachings of Jesus. According to His teaching, both our desire to steal and our inclination towards adultery are grave sins. We should recognize such inclinations as sin and decisively overcome them early on. We must not toy with sinful desires and feelings. Jesus says to us: “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away!” or: “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away!”

May God help us not to play with our sinful desires, but to be resolutely cleansed from them. Our marriage is a little paradise. Through our holy lives, we are to protect this paradise well. That is God's will.

2. On Swearing (33-37)

If people do not keep their word, they cannot trust one another. That is why the Old Testament teaches that one should not make a false oath and should absolutely keep one's sworn oath.

Some Jews swore by heaven or by earth and ultimately broke their oaths, arguing that heaven and earth would also eventually disappear. That was a lame excuse.

Jesus says, "But I tell you, do not swear at all" (34a). Why?

He says in verse 37, "Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and 'No,' 'No.' Anything beyond this comes from the evil one."

We should clearly say "no" when we should say "no," and "yes" when we should say "yes." We don't need to emphasize our "yes" or "no" answer in any special way. We should simply say "yes" or "no" and keep our word. Through the consistency of our words and actions, we can give glory to God and show the world that we are children of God.

3. On Retaliation (38-42)

We advise others not to seek revenge, but to forgive the guilty party. But when we ourselves are struck by injustice, we cannot forgive the guilty party. Rather, we wish that the guilty party would be severely punished. If misfortune befalls the guilty party, we secretly rejoice.

Everyone has this tendency. This tendency has a dual effect: a positive effect and a negative effect. A positive effect means that people are deterred from their evil intentions because of the possibility of revenge. One negative consequence is that this inclination sets in motion a vicious cycle of revenge. To break this cycle, the state does not grant the victim the right to personally retaliate against their offender. Instead, state authorities such as the police, prosecutors, and judges must determine a just punishment.

But despite such legal regulations, we cannot free ourselves from our thirst for revenge. Secretly, we wish that God would punish the guilty party severely, like the principle of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

What did Jesus say to us? Jesus says to us: "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you" (39-42).

But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. For many people, Jesus' words here seem difficult or impossible to follow. There are many Christians who ignore this teaching and behave just like unbelievers. Because of them, God has a bad reputation among unbelievers.

How should we, as Christians, behave? We should confess that we are fallible human beings and have often disobeyed this teaching. We should accept Christ's forgiveness anew and hold fast to it.

Out of gratitude for forgiveness, we should ask God to give us the heart and strength to gladly fulfill the wishes of others. If we ask God wholeheartedly, He will give us a loving heart and strength for our "enemies." We can call this "spiritual warfare" or "living in grace."

Our life of faith is like a double-sided coin: On the one hand, it consists of our good fight of faith, and on the other hand, it consists of the Lord's 100% grace. We should strive to follow His commandments, even though we cannot obey them perfectly. When we try to obey His word, we experience that Jesus Himself helps us with His power to obey His word. Then we understand what it means to live by grace. That is a world of faith.

4. On Loving Your Enemies (43-48)

The Jews had said, “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”

The first part of this saying, “You shall love your neighbor,” comes from Leviticus 19:18. But the second part, “You shall hate your enemy,” is not explicitly stated in the Old Testament. The saying, “Love those who love you and hate those who hate you,” speaks well to our human nature. We tend to love those who love us and hate those who hate us.

Unfortunately, we often consider other people who are actually close to us as our enemies and have a poor relationship with them.

To better understand this, let's look at examples of relationships between nations. Germany has France, Poland, the Netherlands, and so on as neighboring countries. They are, therefore, Germany's neighbors. But Germany has had many wars against these neighbors. This was catastrophic.

Then the EU was created, and the EU, in a broader sense, functions like a state so that national borders would no longer be a source of conflict. Germans aren't bothered that their territory has become much smaller than before, and they have peace with their neighbors.

Russia and Ukraine are actually brother countries. Both are Slavic nations. Both countries have Russian Orthodox as their religion. Ukrainian is a sister language of Russian. But after the Russians annexed Crimea, the two countries became like enemies, and they are currently at war.

Another example: Korea, Japan, and China are neighboring countries. And Korean and Japanese are related languages. China, Korea, and Japan are all influenced by Chinese culture, just as European countries are influenced by Latin culture. China, Korea, and Japan can have a fraternal relationship. Unfortunately, Korean liberation fighters had to fight long and hard for independence against Japan. China fought against Japan, its aggressor, in World War II. China, in turn, fought for North Korea against South Korea during the Korean War. The USA and the EU are allies. But today, there is a dispute between the USA and the EU over Greenland, which belongs to Denmark, because the USA wants Greenland.

Unfortunately, individuals behave not much differently than nations. We often have peaceful relationships with people who are distant from us because we have no conflicts of interest. But with our brothers, sisters, or friends, who are actually our dear siblings or friends, we often have poor relationships. Why? Because we feel hurt by them, or because we have conflicts of interest with them.

For example, some siblings are bitter about their parents' inheritance, so they hardly have any contact anymore. In this respect, Renate and her sister acted wisely, for they declared that they would renounce their claim to their parents' inheritance, so that Martin, their brother, alone could bequeath the family home. Thus, Renate maintains a warm relationship with all her siblings. Unfortunately, such a fraternal solution is rare. I have no obstacle to a good relationship with my brother and sisters because we had no inheritance to inherit.

Jesus says to us: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous” (44-45).

I say that practicing love of enemies is not easy because it goes against our human nature. The saying “Love your friends and hate your enemies” appeals to us more. Often, it is almost impossible for us to obey the commandment to love our enemies. How should we behave? Should we capitulate to this difficulty and love our friends and hate our enemies?

Many Christians do capitulate. Therefore, there is hardly any difference between some Christians and non-Christians. These Christians lack the Christian taste of being the salt of the earth and the light of the world.

But Jesus does not advise us to take an easy, broad path. Rather, he advises us to walk a narrow path. He teaches us to love our enemies and pray for them. And he himself left us a good example. On the cross, he prayed for the people who had crucified him: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 34).

With our own strength, we cannot obey his commandment of love. But if we have decided to obey his commandment and pray to the Lord for it, he helps us through his Holy Spirit to love our enemies. Some may experience his help quickly, and others later. But his help is certain. He gives us the heart and strength to love our enemies. We should not give up our trust in God. We should pray to God that he may help us to love our enemies. He will surely help us. And we can act as salt of the earth and light of the world and bear credible witness to Jesus Christ. Through this, people will come to faith in Jesus Christ and praise God. We should obey Jesus' words, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." May God use us preciously as salt of the earth and light of the world.

Our decision!

We live in a real world. In this world, there are strong currents. Should we follow these currents so that we can live comfortably? Jesus doesn't advise us to passively follow the worldly current like dead fish. Rather, he encourages us to swim against the current, like living fish.

We should wholeheartedly accept and obey Jesus' words about adultery and loving our enemies. In this way, we can act as salt of the earth and light of the world.

God bless you!