The Heart of the Matter

By way of introduction i wanted to examine this quote by Warren Wiersbe who said.

“I have always felt that Matthew 5:20 was the key to this important sermon: “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The main theme is true righteousness. The religious leaders had an artificial, external righteousness based on Law. But the righteousness Jesus described is a true and vital righteousness that begins internally, in the heart. The Pharisees were concerned about the minute details of conduct, but they neglected the major matter of character. Conduct flows out of character.”

Matthew 5:17–20 “ “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Again, Jesus fulfills all requirements of the law and if we cannot unless ours exceeds those of these incredibly religious men. And here I don’t use religion in a bad way, but in a way that speaks of men doing their best to obey God in every way. Who live to obey from waking to sleep.

Now Jesus begins to explore The Heart of the Matter by showing where sin dwells in us.

Matthew 5:21–26 “ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. 23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.”

There are six illustrations Jesus gives here focusing on the heart sin of men. 1. Murder, 2. Adultery, 3 Divorce, 4 Oaths, 5 Retaliation, 6 Love.

Each of these messages begins with You have heard it said, and Jesus says, “But I say to you…”

Jesus talks about the reality of sin, hell, holiness and Justice, and of course, LOVE.

We will break our section today into two sections. 1. Sin in the heart 21-22, 2. Repentance of the Heart 23-26.

Murder here is phoneuse - premeditated killing of one person by another.

Man has murdered man since the beginning. Genesis 4:6–8 “ So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” 8 Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.” Murder was a thing before the law - Genesis 9:5–6 “ Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. 6 “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God He made man.”

We are pretty good at murder ourselves. (TheTrace.png) St. Louis had 88.1 per 100K, New Orleans 51, and one of our favorites, Chicago at 28.6 (Rank 9th) I would say we know what murder is.

1. Sin in the heart

Matthew 5:21 “ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’”

Turn to exodus 20, where we see the 10 Commandments, but specifically we want to look at

Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.” We see expanded of this in Exodus 21:12–14 “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death. 13 However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. 14 “But if a man acts with premeditation against his neighbor, to kill him by treachery, you shall take him from My altar, that he may die.”

Now skip ahead with me to see where the Judgement is determined, Deuteronomy 16:18 “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment.” And for them, its the way it has always been.

So the old testament points to this but-but-but

Matthew 5:22 “But I say to you (who? disciples/us) that whoever is

1.) angry (orgizmenos: wrathful, full of anger) with his brother without a cause (Without cause. There is such a thing as righteous anger at unrepentant sin.) shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother,

before we keep going there is a righteous anger we just have to keep a few things in mind,

James 1:19–20 “ So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” controlling anger is beneficial to ourselves and those around us Proverbs 14:17 “ A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated.”

Ephesians 4:26–27 “ “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.” Our anger at personal insults and affronts should be rather quick and not come with retaliation (which we will see later)

So this build-up takes us to:

2.) ’Raca!’ (arabic: empty skull, idiot) shall be in danger of the council.

slander/gossip was sin equated to witchcraft

But whoever says,

3.) ’You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Fool: moros: moron. We might have been taught sticks and stones but this reminds you and I not to bring arguements ad-hominem, whcih means to the man. We can murder a mans heart and reputation by speaking such words about him. But I don’t think jesus is saying we have to go this except as a guideline. Its showing the depth of holiness needed to resist being even a murderer.

Hell-fire Gehenna - as much as some try to dismiss hell (JW, Mormon) Jesus spoke of it as a real place. Here the word picture he uses is the valley of Hinnom, where refuse was constantly burning. From sewage to dead animals/humans. Other places he mentions eternal suffering burning, etc. Its one reason we share his love.

Jesus takes it from a mere physical act to the heart of each of us that could be a murderer in our heart. Later in Matthew 15:19 “ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”

2. Repentance of the Heart

Matthew 5:23–24 “ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,

When you are bringing your gift to the altar what is that? They brought fellowship offerings to the altar as well as atonement offerings.

What do you remember?

that your fellow saint/jew/brother/sister has something against you.

24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

reconciliation is the behavior expected of the believer. Which can be difficult when we do it on our own.

Jesus here does give instruction to go off and make things right to be able to approach God in truth.

Matthew 5:25–26 “ Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him,

As with leaving our gift, we are to be repentant. And to show works worthy of repentance.

lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. (hell-fire) 26 Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.”

for us to pay to the last penny Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

In accepting Jesus our salvation is secure in Him the day we believe: 2 Corinthians 6:1–2 “1 We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says: “In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

In closing - Remember for our context, we want to keep v20 in mind. Matthew 5:20 “ For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” So Jesus isn't setting the bar that proves your a christian. A guideline that we can strive for (good strive) but not required if you want to say you're saved. If you wanted to be perfect, you would never ever be angry with someone because you murder them in your heart. So what do I do?

Though we want to love each other, 1 John 4:20 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” You cannot earn or keep your salvation by external acts of righteousness. Love God, and Love people. Trust in the grace of Jesus.

It is by grace through faith alone, as you received it. To think we can be saved by or through anything else, is being dum-dum. Galatians 3:1–4 “ O foolish (lacking wisdom) Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have you suffered so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?” An artificial faith based on works cannot save. Only Jesus. So lets just trust in Him.