The Heart of Anger
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
This morning, we have a lot to cover, so we want to jump right into the text. Look with me in your Bible to Matthew 5. Let’s stand as we read together our text from vv. 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.
Pray
1. The Reality of Anger (vv. 21-22)
1. The Reality of Anger (vv. 21-22)
Anger shares the same origins as murder.
Anger and murder both start in the heart and seek to harm another person
Jesus quotes from the Law of Moses (remember the backdrop of the Sermon on the Mount) in Exodus 20:13
13 “You shall not murder.
The word used in Exodus for murder is a word that means an intentional act of slaying someone. This is premeditated murder.
In the Old Testament, God commanded the people to take murder seriously and capital punishment was the prescribed consequence for the crime.
However, we know that taking a life can happen due to a variety of reasons. It’s pretty straightforward that premeditated murder required the death penalty in God’s eyes and this is further elaborated in the New Testament where Paul says in Romans 13:1-4
1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,
4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
Did you catch that last phrase? “For he is a servant of God, and he does not bear the sword in vain.”
God instituted government to help deter evil and one way they do that is by punishing wrongdoers. At the top of the list are those who murder.
Now back to what we were saying a moment ago, some people may take the life of another for different reasons besides pre-meditated murder. So what happens then?
Self Defense
Self defense was justified homicide and was never punished in the Old Testament.
Non-premeditated Murder
What happens when a fight breaks out and a person kills another, but it was not planned? This person would go before the “council” and be tried to determine guilt. This council later becomes the Sanhedrin when Jesus is giving this sermon.
Accidental Death
There were even prescriptions given for those who might kill another by accident. To understand how serious God views taking the life of another, no matter what the situation may be, we see that in the Old Testament, if a life was taken, even by accident, there were certain requirements for dealing with the loss of life.
Cities of Refuge
Numbers 35 gives instructions on designating cities throughout the land that were equally spaced out so that if an accidental death occurred, the person who committed the accident could flee to one of these cities to find refuge until the death of the high priest.
So for example, if a person is chopping wood in the forest and the axe head flies off and kills a man, he is required to flee to a city of refuge to spare his own life from a person called the “avenger of blood.” This was a close relative of the person that might seek to take the life of the one who killed their family member.
If the person fleeing made it to a city of refuge, they were protected, so long as they stayed in the city. They were allowed to return to their home after the high priest died.
You might wonder why we are taking so much time to cover all of this, but it is important to understand that this shows how serious God views murder.
No one could shorten their stay in the city of refuge by buying their freedom. No one could be saved who had not accidentally murdered someone either.
This person who murdered someone, even in an accident, has their whole life changed by having to move and flee. It could be a short while or a long time before the high priest died.
As a side note, guess what the punishment was that was given when someone got into a fight and struck a woman who was pregnant and it caused the death of the child? Yep! Capital punishment. God views murder in the womb the same as He views all other murders outside of the womb.
Getting back to the text this morning, we see how serious murder is and that it is to be taken serious. Most people, if asked if they have committed murder, would say that they are innocent. I mean, even a lot of prisoners who are guilty claim they didn’t do it. No surprise, right?
What is even more surprising is how Jesus defines murder. He doesn’t nullify the Law, but clarifies it. People thought they were fine and were keeping this commandment as long as they had not physically laid hands on someone.
Jesus pushes back on that idea and says as the famous sports commentator Lee Corso puts it, “Not so fast my friend!”
Jesus then goes on to clarify that murder begins in the same place that hate and slander does - the heart!
Jesus said that if you get angry at your brother you are guilty of judgement - the same judgment a murder would be given.
If you insult your brother by saying, “Raca,” (v. 22), which means “empty head,” you are liable to the Sanhedrin (council).
If you say, “You fool,” you are liable to hell. Hell here comes from the Greek word for the Valley of Hinnom, which was outside Jerusalem. It became a metaphor for hell because it was a place that had been used for child sacrifice and also had become a place for burning refuse continually.
The point Jesus is making in all of these illustrations is that to insult or slander another person, or to hate them, is the same thing in the heart as murder.
God takes what we think about others very seriously. If we look into the heart of every person, we have to conclude that we are all murderers. We all deserve punishment. Thank God that He sent Jesus to save us from ourselves.
I believe Jesus’ death was foreshadowed in the practice of releasing people from the cities of refuge at the death of the high priest. There was nothing special about their death that would free a person, but there is an awful lot that is special about Jesus death. His death is what atones for our sins.
This leads us to the response we should have to anger.
2. The Response to Anger (vv. 23-24)
2. The Response to Anger (vv. 23-24)
Jesus gives the proper response we should have to anger next.
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.
Our heart towards one another affects even our worship. If we are trying to worship God, but we know that someone is upset with us and we are guilty of what they are upset with us about, we have an obligation to go make it right.
Jesus would say to even leave our gift at the altar and go first to be reconciled to them.
Romans 13:8 goes on to say,
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
And it continues,
9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
In Chapter 12 Paul has said,
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
There are a lot of parallels between what Paul has to say in Romans 12 and thirteen about living out our faith and what Jesus is saying about anger in the Sermon on the Mount.
The last thing we need to see is the warning Jesus gives about how urgent it is that we make things right as soon as possible.
3. The Warning Against Anger (vv. 25-26)
3. The Warning Against Anger (vv. 25-26)
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.
There was a practice where a person who was accused could be drug to appear before the council, or Sanhedrin. It was critical that the matter be resolved before you appeared in court. Now, even as you are being drug to court, if you could work it out then the matter could be settled.
What Jesus is saying is that it is critical that you work things out with those you have offended quickly, and that you go to the furthest extent possible to make peace with them.
Conclusion
The truth is, this is what we see with God and our own souls.
We need to know that time is of the essence for us to settle our offenses with God. We have murdered in our hearts. We caused the death of His Son Jesus by our sins. We have sinned in other ways and had a high hand against the God of the universe, the creator of our very own soul.
He has made a provision for us in the death of His Son, Jesus. We are told to look upon Him and believe. Cry out to Jesus and you will be saved.
But suppose you don’t. What happens then. Well, in the Jewish law, a person was put into prison until they could pay the last penny. No one can pay God what we owe.
The Psalmist says this,
7 Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life,
We can’t ransom our own soul or the soul of another. Each person must choose to trust in what Jesus did to ransom our souls if we want to be right with God.
Now just imagine that you scorn what God gave you to make things right. He sent Jesus to take your punishment, but you refuse to accept His help. How dreadful it will be for that person on the day of Judgment when they appear before the Judge.
And sitting on the judge’s bench is the very One who died to save your soul. Oh, the anguish that will fill the soul of the hard-hearted person that refused God’s help when they needed it most.
And, Oh the anger that God will pour out on that person for all eternity because they rejected His grace.
Let me say this for a moment, for those of you who may think this is too harsh for God to act this way. You think too little of the crime you have committed.
You would put yourself in the place of God and claim to be a better, more wise and just judge than the Holy One? God never punishes the innocent. He never pours His wrath out on a victim.
But, friends, we are not victims. We are perpetrators! We are vile offenders! We deserve everything that God could throw at us, and yet God offers you peace. He offers you forgiveness if you will just reach out in faith and take it.
For you who are believers, I say to you what Paul said in Romans 12:1
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Live out your faith as a vessel of this mercy. Do not be angry and do not slander one another.
Remember that the anger of man does not product the righteousness of God (James 1:20)