Jesus Tells Us So - Anger

I. Jesus fulfills the law – recap

a. Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it – bring it to pass

b. He was the only one who could keep the law

c. We still keep the moral law – Jesus now brings a deeper understanding of the Law

i. Not really what is new – this meaning was always there

d. The Pharisees were concerned about the superficial – just the doing – But Jesus would probe much deeper and get at the heart

Matthew 5:17-26

II. Murder begins in the heart

a. Jesus begins to teach us how we live out the section we studied last time – Matthew 5:17-20 – why we started in verse 17

b. Series of You have Heard but I say – Jesus is teaching from a place of authority

c. Follows the formula (need a better word)

i. Beatitudes – Blessed are followed by a promise

ii. You have heard

1. But I say

2. Do and or do not do this

d. Just anger with their brother or sister will bring judgment –

i. Again we are seeing the state of your interior life.

1. What control over your emotions do you have

a. Don’t think just a shear act of your will – but where will your emotions take you

2. Anger is often an outflow of some deep wounding or hurt.

a. I am no therapist – but the old saying, hurt people hurt people

b. This doesn’t mean what the person has done to you is not wrong, but it always comes down to how we respond and act

i. Teach kids, my actions should always be on my own deep core values and not based on the actions of others.

e. You see, to address anger – not just murder - we have to recognize the sin in our own heart – we have to remove the plank out of our own eye

i. We are those people!

Anger and insult are ugly symptoms of a desire to get rid of somebody who stands in our way. Our thoughts, looks and words all indicate that, as we sometimes dare to say, we ‘wish he were dead’. Such an evil wish is a breach of the sixth commandment. – John Stott

f. Then Jesus says wait, there’s more.

i. Whoever Insults their brother or sisters – face the courts

1. Insult is now a visible expression on anger – anger escalated

2. Maybe a step down from anger but still a problem

3. The courts would have been the scribes – face the elders again for what you have done wrong

a. Again the other person may have well done something to you first – what matters is your action –

i. Your action is your concern.

ii. Whoever calls someone a fool – subject to hellfire.

1. Seems this may be even worse than anger

a. Again a visible expression of anger – an escalation even beyond an insult

b. Now we see little value of the other person

c. It is a cut their intelligence

d. It deserves to be punished in hell

2. “Tell someone they are worthy of hellfire actually brings upon us that judgement” (John Stott quoting Tasker)

This is not an injunction merely to avoid certain abusive expressions (that would be another form of legalism) but to submit our thoughts about other people, as well as the words they give rise to, to God’s penetrating scrutiny.” – R.T. France

iii. Psalm 139:23-24

iv. Had we caught the anger in our heart and extinguished those first embers we would not have lead to insults

v. Anger can also be an outflow of jealousy, covetousness, thinking we deserved something

1. Stress, tired, lack of sleep

vi. We need to do better 1 Corinthians 3:1-3

III. What do I do?

a. Go first (vs. 23-26)

i. If you hurt someone you make the first move to be reconciled

1. Again if they hurt you first (don’t put yourself in a place to be abused)

2. Side Note – maybe you have not done anything but they hurt you

a. Or they hurt you because they think you did something – you go first

ii. This is how we respond if we have insulted or called someone a fool – see how they all connect

1. This is an addition to offering forgiveness – but it is a time when we need to seek forgiveness.

iii. If you need to leave worship – go – don’t delay – don’t hesitate. Time is of the essence

iv. Unresolved our worship will be hindered. Worship is more than just showing up – making sacrifice in out our time, our service or even our giving

1. Micah 6:6-8

b. Settle first right now! – notice he connects back to the court thing – do what you can to resolve the issue before you have to face the judge

i. Could this also be a call for us to resolve our sin and hurts with others before we stand before Jesus as our righteous judge?

1. This is really an continuation that this is an urgent matter and you should not delay in seeking forgiveness from those you have wounded.

Yet how seldom do we heed Christ’s call for immediacy of action! If murder is a horrible crime, malicious anger and insult are horrible too. And so is every deed, word, look or thought by which we hurt or offend a fellow human being. We need to be more sensitive about these evils. We must never allow an estrangement to remain, still less to grow. We must not delay to put it right. – John Stott

IV. Wrap Up – my story

a. Facebook story

i. Not murder but get angry, not murder but call them a fool

1. Not OK just because I did not murder

b. Let’s deal with our emotions – wounds and hurts

c. Deal with our anger

d. Who do I need to make it right with – today – right now!

e. Altar Call -

Study Matthew 5:17-48 – designed to be read together. Just a lot for us to cover in one morning.

Look for the You have Heard it said but I tell you for each section perhaps write down each topic – there are six of them

Make note of the actions you are called to take – remember this is about you not those people