Anger

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.”

Righteousness in Christ

We desire the Law. Slaves to sins, we look for the easy way out. None of us attempt to uphold the Law of Moses or look to Leviticus to guide our lives. We create our own law. We do everything we can to find righteousness in anything but Jesus. We look for the approval of others, set boundaries with our boyfriend/girlfriend, attend church, don’t say bad words, and whatever else we can come up with. Doing these things aren’t bad but there is only slavery found in a works based righteousness.

Jesus is much too invasive. See, if we live according to our law we make for ourselves, we keep total control of how much Jesus can see of us. Jesus doesn’t get our whole life but only the works we offer to him.

We either brush off sin because it’s not directly against our law’s standard, or we live in guilt and shame because we believe we can fall out of grace because we think grace is earned.

Adam and Eve externally hid from God while God was concerned with the internal change of sin.

Genesis 3:6-13 “6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate. 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

God then punished them physically (external) but the main sufferings were internal.

Enmity between serpent and woman

Defeat of serpent

Pain in childbearing

Desire of woman to be contrary to man

Man will fight against work

Man will be lazy

Jesus told his disciples the internal is what God judges.

Mark 7:14-22 “14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.”

Jesus begins to redefine the understanding of righteousness. He does not disagree with the Law but rearranges the conclusions that the Jews had come to.

Murder

Murder is addressed (#6) in the Ten Commandments. Coupled with another law, Jesus speaks to the understanding of the people.

Exodus 20:13 “13 “You shall not murder.”

Numbers 35:30 “30 “If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness.”

We love to minimize the Law/obedience (which is a sign of righteousness) to the clearest, black and white ways that are not all that intrusive to our hearts.

Everyone agrees murders should be judged!

It’s easy to criticize the egregious things. We are quick to jump onboard of judgement of the “bad” people by our definitions.

The Heart of Murder: Anger

Jesus quickly attacks the hearts of the people. He speaks directly to their heart condition and internal beings instead of playing the external game.

Some people try to narrow this down to a three step process, with one worse than the next.

Anger, Raca (know-nothing), Fool

It’s best understood that Jesus is simply driving his point home—murder is a heart condition. Murder was never the point, but unrighteous anger was the point!

Two Application Examples

Be reconciled to your brother before worship.

This is not made to be another law. Jesus isn’t setting yet again another rule.

He is suggesting that the heart condition is more important than religious ceremony.

The easiest thing to do is procrastinate self evaluation. We love to find reasons to neglect repentance. We may even use church as an excuse!

Be reconciled to your accuser before court in front of a judge.

Debtors were expected to be imprisoned until their debts were paid. They couldn’t work so someone else would have to pay their debt or they would just stay in prison.

Jesus is not saying to pay debts but is emphasizing the urgency of reconciliation.

The idea that we would delay righteous acts is a sin itself.

Righteous Anger

Jesus shows righteous anger is possible. If you notice, these examples are all dealing with the religious box God had been placed in by the Jews.

Matthew 21:12-13 “12 And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 13 He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.””

Mark 3:1-5 “1 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. 2 And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. 3 And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.”

Mark 9:19 “19 And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.””

Righteous anger is patient, wise, and controlled.

James 1:19 “19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

Patient

Quick to hear

Slow to speak

Slow to anger

Meekness

Wise

Doers of the word

Honest

Consistent

Persevering

Controlled

Bridled tongue

When we get angry

Living a representative [of Jesus] lifestyle can be summarized by three points of focus. As an ambassador [of Christ], I will represent:

The message of the King. An ambassador is always asking, “What does my Lord want to communicate to this person in this situation? What truths should shape my response? What goals should motivate me?”

The methods of the King. Here I will ask, “How does the Lord bring change in me and in others? How did he respond to people here on earth? What responses are consistent with the goals and resources of the gospel?”

The character of the King. Here I ask, “Why does the Lord do what he does? How can I faithfully represent the character that motivates his redemptive work? What motives in my own heart could hinder what the Lord wants to do in this situation?”

- Tripp, Paul David. Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change (p. 107). P&R Publishing. Kindle Edition.