Matthew 5:21-26

Let Your Anger Out

Matthew 5:21-26

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· Gift for moms or mothers at heart.

· Moms are amazing. From the 9 months they carry us, birth us, wipe our diapers, feed us, teach us, love us, and to teach us about Jesus.

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INTRO

There are times when I try to tailor my sermon to Mother’s Day. At the risk of getting canceled this sermon is all about anger. I titled this morning “Let Your Anger Out.”

It is true, moms can get angry.

ILL: my mom

· Kevin! Home Alone

· Playing in the mud

As a parent I can confirm that I have gotten angry at my kids.

· Like yesterday

· Mom to birds in bird feeder

This topic of anger natural comes up in our sermon series called “On the Mountain.” There is some thing about meeting with God and mountains.

· Jesus and transfiguration

· Elijah

· Moses and 10 commandments

In Matthew 5-7, Jesus brought his disciples to a mountain

· On the mountain, Jesus told his disciples how to live and how to live differently from the culture around them

· And he talks about how we are to be angry as disciples.

READ Mathew 5:21-22

Jesus quotes from the Old Testament, the 10 Commandments

To understand what Jesus says about anger we have to start with what he says about The Law in general. Didn’t Jesus free us from the Law? We don’t have to worry about the rules in the OT about sacrifices, or festivals, what types of animals to eat. Paul points out that those who are born again are actually released from the Law (Rom 7:1-6; Gal 3:25).

So why go back to the Old Testament?

I.   Jesus came to fulfill the Civil, Ceremonial, and Moral Laws (Matthew 5:17-20)

Last week, Craig did a great job looking at the passage that comes directly before 5:21. And it’s really important for us today.

Matthew 5:17–20 (ESV)

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

JD Greear

What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the Law? It means that every law pointed to him, and he completed everything they pointed to. Thinking of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law helps us see why we keep some of the OT commands and “ignore” others.

· The Civil Laws, for instance, were set up so the nation of Israel could thrive. Jesus actually emerged from this nation, but he started a new Israel—a spiritual Israel, the Church. We’re no longer bound by the civil codes of Leviticus because God doesn’t have a nation-state on earth anymore. Of course, we may wisely look at some of the principles in Israel’s civil laws as we think of our own societal politics (principles about public health, caring for the poor, etc.), but the specific rules were all fulfilled in Jesus.

Examples: The civil laws focus on governing Israel and include laws that deal with judges who apply the law (Deut. 17:8–13), various social conditions such as slavery and indentured servitude (Ex. 21:1–11; Lev. 25:39–55), and other situations that require the regulation of human behavior (Ex. 21:12–26; Lev. 24:17–23; Deut. 19:1–22:8)

· The Ceremonial Laws illustrate for us God’s holiness, our unholiness, and what God would do about it. The entire sacrificial system should have ingrained into Israel’s minds just how large the gap was between sinful humanity and a perfect God—and just how costly it would be to bridge that gap. And as the book of Hebrews shows us, the sacrifices were all fulfilled in Jesus’ perfect life and death. If we accept Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice, we don’t need the lesser sacrifices anymore. In fact, it would actually be offensive to go back to them, because that would communicate that Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t sufficient.

· The Moral Laws are fulfilled in Jesus as well, in that he kept all of them perfectly, every day, always, for his entire life. But unlike the civil and ceremonial laws, which were more time-bound, these laws reflected God’s assessment of good and evil, right and wrong. They reflect God’s character, and since his character doesn’t change, his views on morality don’t either. In fact, whenever Jesus mentioned the moral laws, he either reaffirmed them or intensified them! To follow Jesus is to love what he loved, including the moral law.

Now, even though we still defend the moral laws of the Old Testament, we have to keep in mind that Jesus fulfilled it all. The Christian is not under obligation to keep the moral law as a way of earning her way to God. Instead, she is changed by the presence of God’s Spirit to desire to keep God’s laws. Because God isn’t just after obedience; he’s after a whole new kind of obedience, an obedience that comes from love and delight in God. Christians keep the moral commands, not because “it’s the law,” but because they love God and want to be like him.

So this sets the stage for what Jesus is going to teach in Matthew 5-6.

II.   Jesus taught us to correctly apply the heart of the Moral Laws (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-32, 33-34, 38-39, 43-44)

So, our passage today Matthew 5:21-26 it has this argument to it:

Intro “you have heard, but I say.” This is repeated over and over again:

21-22 Anger,

27-28 Lust,

31-32 Divorce,

33-34 Oaths,

38-39 Retaliation,

43-44 Loving your enemies

He keeps referring back to the moral laws of the OT.

On the one hand, Jesus and God of the OT are the same

On the other hand, Is Jesus saying we should do away with the 10 Commandments? We should unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament entirely?

No. He wants to teach us the heart, the real meaning of these laws, the moral laws. He wants us to be able to apply them correctly.

1. You have heard that it was said to those of old

1) You shall not murder

2. But I say to you

1) Everyone who is angry with his brother

(A) Will be liable to judgment

When Jesus talks about anger, he quotes the 6th commandment.

Jesus says next that spirit of the law is not just about the action, but it is also about the thoughts, motives, feelings, and minor actions that lead up to the major action of murder. 

ILL:

Pharisees were using the Law as binoculars.

We need to use the Law as a mirror.

Jesus takes the law of do not murder and intensifies it by getting at the heart of it.

III.   Jesus taught that anger and insults are equal to murder (Matthew 5:22; 1 John 3:11-18)

In 5:22, Jesus said that anger has the same punishment and consequences as murder, the 6th commandment.

Progression of punishment

1) Everyone who is angry with his brother

(A) Will be liable to judgment

2) Whoever insults (Says Raka) his brother

(A) Will be liable to the council

3) Whoever says “you fool”

(A) Will be liable to the hell of fire

Raka- empty headed

“Raca,” a transliteration of an Aramaic term implying “empty-headed.” This term of contempt was a personal, public affront. Name-calling was highly insulting in Jewish culture because a person’s identity was stripped away and an offensive identity substituted. The significance attached to one’s real name is removed from the person.

You fool - moron

indicating a person who consistently acts like an idiot. To treat one’s brother with such contempt was to strip away his personal identity and wrongly make the person into something he or she was not.

On the one hand, anger and insults can lead to murder. But on the other hand, this is the heart of the issue. Our unrighteous anger God sees on the inside.

1 John 3:11–18 (ESV)

Love One Another

11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

This might raise all kinds of questions for you. Didn’t Jesus get angry?

Jesus got angry

· Turned over the tables in the temple

Jesus called people fools:

Matthew 23:17–19 (ESV)

17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? 18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ 19 You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

Are we never to get angry? Is that even possible?

Chicago Pope

· You might be angry or jealous at me because the Pope was born in the same city I was born in.

· We have a Chicago Pope.

· You might become angry because his favorite sports teams like the Bears or White Sox start winning

Hulk- Smash, always angry

Jesus had a righteous anger.

Sin is crouching at the door (Gen 4:7)

Be angry and not sin (Ephesians 4:26)

The solution

· Let your anger out… in healthy ways

· Spend the hard work of dealing with your emotions

· Anger is unfulfilled expectations

· from 1 John is to love

How are you doing with anger?

Are you letting it out? In healthy ways or unhealthy ways?

IV.   Jesus taught us to seek reconciliation (Matthew 5:23-24)

1. Case study: at the altar - If you are offering your gift at the altar

1) Remember that your brother has something against you

2) Leave your gift at the altar and go

3) First be reconciled to your brother

4) And then come and offer your gift

          Jesus takes a common example from that time period: somebody going to the temple to offer a sacrifice.  This is an act between them and God.  Maybe it is asking for forgiveness, maybe it is an offering of their first fruits.  It doesn’t say exactly what it is, but it is between this person and God.  And when they are about to give the sacrifice over to the priest, they remember something: a brother has something against them.

Brother or sister

Family relationship = believer in Christ

          Drop what you are doing, put a pause on your relationship with God and FIRST go be reconciled, then come back.  It’s so interesting here the order: first, reconcile.  Second, offer your sacrifice.  We often think about worship as being only between me and God, but our relationships between other people are very tied into our relationship with God.  How we treat others matters greatly to God. 

“It is far more important to be reconciled to your brother than to fulfill the external duties of worship.  Worship is merely a pretense if we have offended others in such a way that they are holding grudges against us.”  Kent Hughes 103

If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. (Psa 66:18 ESV)

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (1Pe 3:7 ESV)

I truly believe that we should be professional forgivers and reconcilers, so different from the world that it stands out. But I don’t think we are.

Reconciliation is:

Reconciliation is not:

Forgiveness

Difference between forgiveness and reconciliation

Forgiveness can be one sided, but ultimately should be two sided

Reconciliation has to be two sided

Forgiveness is the first step in reconciliation

Reconciliation cannot happen without forgiveness an repentance

Forgiveness may not be expressed from the offended to the offender

Reconciliation requires words and actions

One sided

Easy

Painless

Only done on the inside (it takes outward action)

Paying back the other person

You scared me so I will scare you

You pranked my office so I will prank your office

A single gesture, action, or statement

About checking off a box

Optional?

Forgetting the past

Stepping back into a harmful relationship

Reconciliation is the restoration of a negative relationship

OR

Enemies becoming friends

 Reconciliation is peace, harmony

EX: Reconciling a bank account or check book

Something doesn’t match up

Making both sides say the same thing

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. (Rom 12:18 ESV)

11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. (2Co 13:11 ESV)

The ultimate example of reconciliation: God restoring us to Himself

20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

 21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,

 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

 (Col 1:20-23 ESV)

18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2Co 5:18-21 ESV)

We have been reconciled, are being reconciled, and will be reconciled.

2. Steps to reconcile

What are the steps to reconciliation?

Pray

Pray for your motives

Confess your own sinfulness

Ask for guidance in what to say, how to approach that person

Pray for that person – pray for goodness and prosperity for them

Pray to love them

ILL: Drop your gift at the altar

· Preparing for Sunday worship

· When you come to worship, do you have something against your brother or sister?

Go to them

Confess your faults

4. Be willing to admit ways you might have contributed to the problem. As Ken Sande writes in The Peacemaker: A Biblical Guide to Resolving Personal Conflict:

Even if you did not start the dispute, your lack of understanding, careless words, impatience, or failure to respond in a loving manner may have aggravated the situation. When this happens, it is easy to behave as though the other person's sins more than cancel yours, which leaves you with a self-righteous attitude that can retard forgiveness (i.e. relational forgiveness). The best way to overcome this tendency is to prayerfully examine your role in the conflict and then write down everything you have done or failed to do that may have been a factor.

ILL: EGR – Pastor Ed

Ask for forgiveness

Confess when you have been hurt

Express forgiveness

Matthew 18: you may need to bring somebody else in to help you reconcile

Ray Ortlund:

The gospel being what it is and always will be, “the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19), our churches should be the most reconciling, peaceable, relaxed, happy places in town. We are so open to enemies, so meek in the face of insults and injuries, so forgiving toward the undeserving — if we do make people angry, let this be the reason. We refuse to join in their selfish battles. We’re following a higher call. We are the peacemakers, the true sons of God (Matthew 5:9).

May our ministries of reconciliation be so obvious, we cause scandal all over town.

Still left with a lot of questions!

Should every Christian be reconciled to one another?

Technically yes.

But most likely it will not happen.

Should every Christian attempt reconciliation with one another?

Yes.

John Newton:

The Lord loves him and bears with him; therefore, you must not despise him, or treat him harshly. . . . In a little while you will meet in heaven. . . . View him personally as a kindred soul, with whom you are to be happy in Christ forever. At that meeting, you will not complain of the way by which the Lord brought you. . . . I hope to hear that all animosities, little and big, are buried by mutual consent in the Redeemer’s grave.

Can we be reconciled with non Christians? Should we attempt to be reconciled with non Christians?

Yes we should always attempt it.

But no, reconciliation is never promised

V.   Jesus taught that anger, unforgiveness, and unresolved conflict can have catastrophicconsequences (Matthew 5:25-26)

1. Case study: in the court

1) Come to terms quickly with your accuser on the way to court

(A) Lest your accuser hand you over to the judge

(B) Judge hands you over to the guard

(C) And you’re put in prison

(D) You will never get out until you have paid the last penny

Progression:

· Judge

· Guard

· Prison

· Never get out

· Paid everything

Deal with it quickly. Don’t let it get out of hand.

Gorilla vs 100 men

· Maybe if we were really angry we could all get him

· Moms would just give it the collective look

· Don’t let your anger turn into a gorilla. Don’t let your hurt become an out of control, Hulk inside of you. Don’t let your unforgiveness, spoil your life

CONCLUSION

I am far from perfect in this.

PRAYER