Today I want to look at verses 21-26, once again focusing on who Jesus was speaking to, and on the context of the entire message.
Matthew 5:21-26
(21)“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ (22)But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. (23)So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, (24)leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (25)Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. (26)Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
My premise is that Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, is seeking to restore the God and man relationship to what it should have been beginning in the Garden of Eden, which has been corrupted since the partaking of the forbidden fruit and continuing on through the ages. Here He is some 4,000 years later, and religion has become rules and traditions of men, manipulated to serve man rather than God, especially those in leadership. In the Beatitudes, He outlines behaviors that are almost 180 degrees from what the leaders display. He tells the common people that they are the ones who are the salt and light of the world. I mean, who would imagine that God really intended to set up a religious system where rather than personal accountability and relationship, our accountability and relationship funnels through some other imperfect human being. Such a thought boggles my mind, and maybe yours too now that you have cause to think about it. Then He clarifies that He is not bringing some new kind of teaching, but rather is seeking to uphold what the law was meant to bring about, and He gets into some specifics.
The first thing He addresses is murder. I don't think there are many or even any other sins that would be viewed as heinous and murder. It seems to me that the taking of someone's life by your choice almost puts you up in the place of God. One of the 10 commandments specifically states, "You shall not murder." (Exodus 20:13) But Jesus takes this to a whole new level when He says that being angry with a brother makes you liable to judgment, insulting a brother makes one accountable to the council, and calling someone a fool makes you liable to the hell of fire. In the King James, it says "whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment." I think this is important, because I do believe there may be times that anger is justified. That still is not an open invitation to any type of response, but I do believe there is such a thing as righteous anger. One example of this might be when Jesus turned over the tables in the temple. I just don't see this as a casual thing where He calmly walked over and pushed the tables over. He was angry, upset over the abuse going on in His Father's house.
We have emotions for a reason. They can and do often protect us. Such as fear. When we don't do something because of fear, that is a way of protecting ourselves from making what could be a serious mistake. Imagine if we did not have fear. I am sure that the emergency rooms would be much busier in that event. Emotions can also bring pleasure, such as the joy we might feel upon receiving a gift or hugging a child. But just like most other things, we can take emotions too far. There are irrational phobias, pleasure seeking to the extreme. Even anger has a purpose. If I am angry with someone for a just cause, it should provoke me to deal with that cause. But sometimes we take anger too far. Rather than deal with an issue righteously, we take it to an extreme. Instead of balancing anger with righteousness, we might seek to take revenge, try to make things what we believe is even, or even a bit more than even. This is what Jesus identifies as sin. To be angry for no reason, to throw out insults or slander.
But to equate anger without cause with murder? Is that a fair comparison? Well, let's see. What is the ultimate punishment for the sin of murder when there is no repentance? Eternal judgment. What is the ultimate punishment for anger without cause, insults and slander? Eternal judgment. Yes, it seems fair, because Jesus knew that whatever the consequence we face for any action on earth, it is a grain of sand in a vast desert compared to the eternal consequence of judgment. Have a sacrifice to offer? Don't bother because it won't save you from the consequence of your anger. First you must deal with your issues righteously, then offer your gifts to God. Remember, in Jesus's paradigm it is not the action that creates consequence, but the motivation for the action. Want to lower the murder rate? Then lower the anger without cause rate, or the anger rate for that matter.
Remember when Jesus said that our righteousness must exceed that of the leaders? Mere righteous acts, without the righteous heart that loves God will get us nothing from God in the realm of forgiveness. That is why in all situations, we must see, depend upon and respond to the grace Jesus offers, because it is not our righteousness that paves our way to salvation, but His.
Edited 2/5/2022
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