The Sermon on the Mount (11)
Notes
Transcript
God desires to be in in our hearts— at the center of our being, and when something is at the center it affects everything. Jesus is pointing us to the heart of the matter, the Law was not about actions, but the attitude of the heart, it showed us how desperately we need a Savior. Jesus took six important Old Testament laws and showed the people how they were to be treated in light of the new life He came to give. He does not alter God’s standards, He fulfils them and truly interprets them How God had intended them. The Pharisees said that righteousness consisted of performing, or not performing certain actions. But our Lord said that it centered in the attitudes of the heart. In the next verses Jesus shows His listeners that sin is not just an external action, but it goes much deeper. It is about the motives for our actions. Jesus gives us two illustrations to help us understand how we are to deal with anger.
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.
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’
Jesus is now going to give us some application. Remember He came to fulfill the Law and not to abolish it. He starts with the sixth commandment, and shows what the Law truly means. “you have heard it said to those of of old” This is reference to the Old Testament given to those in the past. The Old Testament was not only passed along in written format but also verbal. “you shall not murder”— what Jesus is fixing to teach harmonizes with the Old Testament. This commandment prohibits the ultimate fracture of human relationships through murder. Then He adds something that goes far beyond the mere preserving of life itself to that of the human relationship.
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.
Jesus now lets us know it is far more than just the taking of a life, it is about our relationship to our fellow man. He speaks with authority “But I say”, this is where He truly defines the Law. “whoever is angry with his brother”— the type of anger He is speaking about is a malicious anger. The only type of anger that is acceptable is what we call righteous indignation— for example Jesus cleanses the temple. The problem we have is that we are quick to get angry at personal affronts, but we are slow to become angry with sin and injustice. “whoever insults his brother” a fellow believer. The word used for this insult would be “Raca” which means empty headed, you insult someones intelligence. The next in the progression is “you fool”— now to fully understand why calling someone a fool will cause us to be libel to the “hell of fire” we need to look at the meaning. The Greek word used here is “moros” from which we get the word moron its original meaning referred to one’s moral condition not their IQ, it was applied to those who denied God’s existence and as a result fell further into evil. Psalm 14:1
1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.
“Raca” expresses contempt for a man’s head and “moros” expresses contempt for his heart and character. Jesus uses these examples to make his point that all such animosity towards people can lead to Hell. He is telling us that just because we have not shed blood, we are still guilty enough, if we have harbored anger and contempt. We have had thoughts that are as foul as murder. It is not just refraining from outward sin— murder— but from the interior sin— anger. We must come to the realization that Christ is our only hope. He has fulfilled all righteousness and offers it as a free gift. We must never think ourselves spiritually superior, and we must never devalue others— we are all made in the image of God.
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.
Now Jesus gives us some examples of what this looks like. Reconciliation is more important than the external duties of worship. When this is the case, we have offended someone, worship is just an act. Martin Lloyd Jones said “We are balancing one thing with another thinking this good will make up for that evil. If we are at odds with others because of our actions and we are unwilling to do anything about it, the attendance of a worship service is an exercise in hypocritical futility. we must strive to make things right. The true believer is first of all trusting in Christ, but true discipleship will lead to reconciliation with our fellow believers. Anger is a valid human emotion, but it must be dealt with quickly or it can turn into harmful and sinful bitterness. “Love your neighbor as yourself”.
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.
Jesus next example deals with our relationships with people other than our fellow believers, He does not use the word brother here. Jesus urges to resolve offenses quickly. If we do not do this the weightier the consequences can become. if we try and reconcile quickly we may see that the person will be much more gracious than the courts would be and ultimately God’s judgment. Jesus tell us that if we do not do this we will be at the mercy of the courts and will pay everything that is owed. This further shows us it is a matter of the heart, if we are not willing to try and reconcile we will face the punishment, it come from the heart. Someone who is stubborn and hard hearted will not be willing to reconcile with their fellow believer or anyone else. If we have Christ’s righteousness, we will not only refrain from shedding blood, but we will develop hearts that are liberated from things that are the cause of murder, like contemptuous anger. As believers we must live as truly righteous people, so that others will see the radical righteousness of Christ and be draw to Him. It is because of Christ that we are no longer like we once were. It is this change through our relationship with Him that enables us to live this life. We must put ourselves aside and live through Him.
18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
Jesus is making the point that it is not what we put into our body that defiles us but what comes from within. Our angry words come from the heart and truly defile a person.
6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
Paul is speaking about how we are live in relationship to one another in this specific section he is speaking about bondservants and masters. We are to truly live out our relationship with Christ, not just making a show.
1 John 3:11-15
The Sermon on the Mount
The Sermon on the Mount
Whether we are dealing with our fellow believers or someone of the world anger can be a bad thing. We see from Jesus teaching that it is matter of what is inside a persons heart, malicious anger ultimately leads to murder, but being angry for the wrong reasons can also lead one to Hell. The only thing we should hate is sin.
