Blown Gaskets & Humble Pie

Blown Gaskets & Humble Pie City on a Hill – Part 4 June 16, 2019 Rev. L. Kent Blanton Introduction • We are experiencing an epidemic of ______________ • We live in what some social commentators refer to as the Age of Rage • USA Today reports that Americans who report feeling angry or irritable have increased from 50% to 60% in just two years • A Harvard Medical School study reports that 2/3 of teens admit to having anger attacks involving the destruction of property, threats of violence, or engaging in violence • 1000 children and youth gave their parents a low or failing grade related to anger management at home • The increase in “road rage” incidents all over North America is quite alarming Important Questions • Why are we such an angry society? • What causes anger? • Hurt (Physical, or more often, emotional – e.g. rejection, lack of affirmation, superiority, etc.) • Frustration • _________ • When we experience anger, we need to ask, “What’s the real issue here? • Whatever is behind the anger is what we need to deal with . . . with God’s help Transition • As emotional hurt, frustration, and fear have increased because of the brokenness of our world, so has anger • “Blowing a gasket” is not new to our day • Anger has been present in human relationships since humankind chose to rebel against God and go our own way • In Genesis we see it was anger that led Cain to kill his brother, Abel (Gen 4:1-16) Connection from Last Week (Matt 5:20) “Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt 5:20 HCSB • Matt 5:20 is the thesis for vv. 21-48 • Vv, 21-46 describe the kind of righteousness that surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees (i.e. the kind of godly attitudes and actions found in the lives of those who have embraced the kingdom of heaven and have become a “city on a hill”) • The Jewish religious leaders were focused on legalistic, external obedience, but failed to embrace an inner obedience of the heart • Jesus cites several examples of this hypocrisy and starts each example with the phrase, “You have heard it was said . . . but I say to you . . . • Jesus didn’t reject the OT law; he came to fulfill it. He rejected faulty interpretations and applications of the law. His interpretations revealed the intended meaning and application of the law. Anger Likened to Murder “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire. Matt 5:21-22 HCSB  • Jesus refers to several OT texts in this passage on anger: • Ex 20:13 – Do not ______________ (the 7th of the 10 Commandments) • Other OT texts dealing with the judgment for murder (e.g. Deut. 17:8-13) • Murder in the OT involved premeditation and deliberateness • The OT penalty for murder was always ____________ (Num 35:31) • Jesus goes beyond the crime to the kind of heart that generates the behavior. Anger that would generate murder, if not restrained, is the spiritual equivalent of murder. • 1 John 3:15 – hating someone likened to murder; no murderer has eternal life • In Matthew, “brother” refers not to a sibling, but to a fellow disciple. • Jesus is not excusing anger against non-believers; he’s stressing that anger is most inappropriate against those in Christ’s Body. • Raca (v. 22) which we translate as “fool” was a quasi-swear word in Aramaic and means empty-headed. It was a word of contempt used by an angry person. • Moros (v. 22) which we translate as “moron” also was a word of contempt as it carries overtones of immorality and godlessness, as well as idiocy. • Three various levels of judgment in v. 22: • Judgment = local tribunal or law courts • Sanhedrin = highest Jewish council/court • Hellfire – eternal punishment in hell • Close parallelism among the first clauses suggest a metaphorical understanding of eternal judgment in all the cases mentioned • The phrase “without cause” after the word “anger” is found in some manuscripts. Whether or not they were in the original manuscripts, they provide a correct translation • We know this because Jesus got angry (yet without sin) (and called others fools on a least one occasion • Eph 4:26 – “Be angry and do not sin.” It’s possible to be angry without sinning. • Matt 21:12-27 – Jesus overturns the moneychangers’ tables in righteous anger • Jesus refers to God’s anger in his parables (Matt 18:34; 22:7) • Jesus rightly calls the scribes and Pharisees “blind fools” • Why is anger so onerous to God? Because every human is made in God’s image (Gen 1:26-27). Murder is not the only way to rob someone of life. We commit “identity theft” when we get angry with someone else. Two Illustrations: Responding to Anger • Jesus’ illustration indicate how serious anger is in our lives • The antidote for anger is _______________________ • Jesus’ first illustration refers to situations where we have offended someone else and the other party has something against us. So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matt 5:23-24 HCSB • Acts of worship are meaningless if we aren’t pursuing reconciliation in our relationships. • The phrase “offering your gift on the altar” refers to Temple worship in Jerusalem. This was a dramatic statement for Jesus’ Galilean audience. (It was a 3-day trip back to Galilee from the Temple in Jerusalem where worship and sacrificial offerings took place.) • When another disciple is angry at us, it’s our responsibility to seek out that person and attempt to make things right. We’re not to come to worship with the knowledge that we’ve treated someone wrongly • It’s not enough to control our own temper (though that is important); we must seek reconciliation with others who are angry with us, avoiding the blame game. • What about incidents were the other party refuses to meet or forgive? Forgiveness cannot be forced. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Rom 12:18 NASB • We are obligated to do everything we can to achieve reconciliation, but it may not happen on our preferred timetable. • The uncertainty of reconciliation is why we should be so careful with our words and actions. We can’t take words back and hurt inflicted often leaves lasting scars. • Jesus’ second example focuses upon reconciliation with those outside the church. He uses the word adversary (indicating a non-believer). Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny! Matt 5:25-26 HCSB • Story assumes a Gentile legal setting. We have no record of Jews imprisoning one another for debt. • Jesus says the offender won’t be released until the debt has been paid in full. Because prisoners had no means of income, those incarcerated because of debt would remain in prison forever. • Illustration show how urgently Jesus views the importance of reconciliation How to Deal with Anger • Not by suppression – example of beachball under the water • Not by expression – Venting anger only produces more anger • By displacement Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you . . . Eph 4:31 NASB • Anger is displaced by humility, compassion, and forgiveness Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Eph 4:32 NASB • When we humble ourselves before God and experience his forgiveness, it’s almost impossible for us to be angry with others. When we truly see how much we’ve been forgiven, it produces a humility within us that sends anger packin’ • Humility acts like a welcome mat in front of our heart that invites the Holy Spirit to enter and displace everything that doesn’t look like Jesus, including our anger! Summary • Fulfilling the law’s command “Do not murder” is not accomplished by simply avoiding legal homicide • Inner intent of the law is to safeguard and nurture relationship • As his disciples, who have embraced kingdom-rule in our hearts, we must have a daily urgency about displacing anger and pursuing healthy relationships, both with fellow disciples and with non-believers • Anything we do that strips away the personal distinctiveness of another person is sin • It’s our responsibility to actively and quickly seek reconciliation • How do we repair blown gaskets and prevent new blow-ups? We eat more pie . . . humble pie.