Commands of Christ-15a
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A Christian's Righteousness: Avoiding Anger & Lust
November 17, 2021
21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. 23 “Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. 25 “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. 26 “Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
2. In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus places murder and unrighteous anger in the same category. How are they related?
Here is where the KJV has different wording:
22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
How did this happen?
Newer manuscripts include this “without a cause” — not OLDER manuscripts copied closer to the time of the original.
I heard, but cannot verify, that King James wanted this addition.
Hard Sayings of the Bible 5:22 “You Fool!” Merits Hell?
According to the KJV, “whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment,” but the phrase “without a cause” is a later addition to the Greek text, designed to make Jesus’ words more tolerable. The other man’s anger may be sheer bad temper, but mine is righteous indignation—anger with a cause. But Jesus’ words, in the original form of the text, make no distinction between righteous and unrighteous anger: anyone who is angry with his brother exposes himself to judgment. There is no saying where unchecked anger may end. “Be angry but do not sin,” we are told in Ephesians 4:26 (RSV); that is, “If you are angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin; let sunset put an end to your anger, for otherwise it will provide the devil with an opportunity which he will not be slow to seize.”
How are murder and anger related?
Generally before the DEED of murder is committed there is the FEELING (thoughts, etc.) of anger.
If you watch enough murder mysteries you find they are always looking for the MOTIVE behind a murder. Anger is one such motive.
But there are others that are equally evil, such as ...
Greed, lust (not just sexual), pride, etc.
Question 2. The scribes and Pharisees were evidently seeking to restrict the application of the sixth commandment to the deed of murder alone, to the act of spilling human blood in homicide.
If they refrained from this, they considered that they had kept the commandment.
And this apparently is what the rabbis taught the people.
But Jesus disagreed with them.
The true application of the prohibition was much wider, he maintained. It included thoughts and words as well as deeds, anger and insult as well as murder.
Sam Storms goes further by writing:
Jesus makes it clear that simply because you don’t commit the act of murder, you have not thereby exhausted what the law was ultimately designed to accomplish.
The Pharisees mistakenly thought that so long as they did not take another human life they had discharged their obligation to their fellow man.
They believed that as long as their hands did not perform the outward act the inward attitude of the heart was irrelevant.
But Jesus says: “You have been led to believe that it was sufficient simply not to kill. You have been led to believe that your responsibility to others was fulfilled in the observance of the external letter of the law alone. But I say to you that the thoughts and intent of your heart is no less important in the eyes of God.”
In other words, the attitude is equally as important as the act.
Anger, says Jesus, is incipient murder! Real righteousness does not consist in merely abstaining from murder. Real righteousness, the righteousness that must characterize the citizens of the kingdom of heaven, extends to the motive in your heart.
Says MacArthur:
“It is possible for a person who has never been involved in so much as a fist fight to have more of a murderous spirit than a multiple killer. Many people, in the deepest feelings of their hearts, have anger and hatred to such a degree that their true desire is for the hated person to be dead. The fact that fear, cowardice, or lack of opportunity does not permit them to take that person’s life does not diminish their guilt before God” (293).
Jesus is focusing on the source of our behavior. It isn’t enough to focus on what we do. He wants to focus the light of God on who we are.
51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.
If we are prone to anger, what are our feelings towards others?
How is our heart relating to Jesus?
What do we need to do about that?
In Matthew’s gospel, “brother” (v. 22) consistently means a fellow member of the believing community, i.e., a disciple of Jesus (see 5:44; 7:3–5; 12:49–50; 18:15, 21, 35; 23:8; 25:40; 28:10).
“Jesus does not thereby imply that it is all right to be angry against those who are not believers; rather, he applies his injunction first of all to those against whom anger is most inappropriate. That is to say, it is particularly bad for Christians to get angry at other Christians who have themselves also been spared God’s wrath” (Blomberg, 107).
The Sermon on the Mount (A. The Principle Is Announced—5:21–22)
Two words in Greek for anger: (a) thumos = quick burst of temper; the anger that surges and then subsides (as, for example, when we experience an explosive loss of temper);
and (b) orge = the deep-seated animosity that seethes; the long-lived anger over which a person broods and nurses and will not let die.
This is the anger that we fan continually, taking it from a smoldering ember into a raging fire of bitterness and resentment.
We devote energy to keeping the anger active and intense: we constantly remind ourselves of how wrongly we have been treated by others.
It is this latter anger that Jesus has in mind, although he certainly would not approve of the former either.
The Sermon on the Mount A. The Principle Is Announced—5:21–22
“Our problem is that we burn with indignation and anger, not at sin and injustice, but at offence to ourselves. In none of the cases in which Jesus became angry was his personal ego wrapped up in the issue.
Not all anger is evil, as is evident from the wrath of God, which is always holy and pure.
And even fallen human beings may sometimes feel righteous anger, although, being fallen, we should ensure that even this is slow to rise and quick to die down (James 1:19 and Ephes. 4:26-27). The reference of Jesus, then, is to unrighteous anger, the anger of pride, vanity, hatred, malice and revenge.
James 1:12–20 (NASB95)
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. 19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. 25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
3. A. B. Bruce writes: "Raca expresses contempt for a man's head = you stupid!; [fool] expresses contempt for his heart and character = you scoundrel!" Why do you think these thoughts and words would be murder in God's sight (Matthew 5:22)?
Storms says:
There are times when Jesus labels people fools, there are times in Psalms and proverbs we see the word used.
But Jesus is not talking here about stubborn rebellion against God or about theological foolishness.
He has in mind the deliberate and malicious belittling of a person’s dignity as a human being. He is describing that demeaning, denigrating disdain and contempt for another person.
This is a verbal assault on their dignity as someone created in God’s image.
If “raca” belittles the person’s mental strength, “fool” attacks his/her moral substance and personal value.
Says Willard: “In anger I want to hurt you. In contempt [which, being worse, is embodied in the use of the terms “raca” and “fool”], I don’t care whether you are hurt or not.… You are not worth consideration one way or the other. We can be angry at someone without denying their worth. But contempt makes it easier for us to hurt them or see them further degraded” (151).
And then Jesus talks about hell:
A third term to note is “gehenna” (translated “fiery hell” in v. 22), a reference to the valley immediately southwest of Jerusalem that is still visible from the Mt. of Olives. At one time it was there that human sacrifices were made to the pagan deity Moloch (2 Kings 23:10; 2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6; cf. Jer. 7:31; 19:5ff.). When King Josiah brought religious reform to the nation, Gehenna was condemned and came to be used as a garbage dump for the city of Jerusalem. In addition to common refuse, the corpses of criminals considered unworthy of burial were piled there. The smoldering fires of Gehenna never went out, its flames fanned and endlessly stoked by the continuous supply of refuse. In Jesus’ day, Gehenna was a visible representation of Hell. Cf. Mark 9:47–48. Gehenna is used 11x in the synoptic gospels, always on the lips of Jesus.
But how can Jesus speak of such severe punishment for mere verbal assault on another person? I would challenge the adjective “mere”! Our problem is that we have not properly reckoned with the destructive impact of our words. The old saying, “Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me” is simply wrong. Someone once calculated that it takes 9 compliments to undo the painful impact of 1 criticism. Character assassination and the assault on one’s spirit through verbal denigration is often the worst form of pain. I’m reminded of a mother who sent to Dr. James Dobson a note that her 4th grade daughter had received from a classmate at school. I haven’t corrected the spelling errors. As you read it, try to envision the impact on her soul:
“Awful Janet,
Your the stinkest girl in this world. I hope you die but of course I suppose that’s impossible. I’ve got some ideals.
1. Play in the road
2. Cut your throad
3. Drink poison
4. get drunk
5. knife yourself
Please do some of this you big fat Girl. we all hate you. I’m praying Oh please lord let Janet die. Were in need of fresh air. Did you hear me lord cause if you didn’t we’ll all die with her here. From Wanda Jackson.”
4. What do Matthew 5:23-26 teach us about broken relationships?
Question 4. In these verses Jesus proceeds to give a practical application of the principles he has just enunciated. His theme is that if anger and insult are so serious and so dangerous, then we must avoid them at all cost and take action as speedily as possible. We must never allow an estrangement to remain, still less to grow. We must not delay to put it right. If we want to avoid committing murder in God's sight, we must take every possible positive step to live in peace and love with all people.
When we have offended someone, why is it so important that we go to him or her immediately?
Read: Matthew 5:27-30
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 “If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
5. What, according to Jesus, is the full meaning of the seventh commandment: "Do not commit adultery" (Matthew 5:27-28)?
Question 5. There is not the slightest suggestion here that natural sexual relations within the commitment of marriage are anything but God-given and beautiful. We may thank God that the Song of Solomon is contained in the canon of Scripture, for there is not Victorian prudery there but rather the uninhibited delight of lovers, of bride and bridegroom in each other. No, the teaching of Jesus here refers to unlawful sex outside marriage, whether practiced by married or unmarried people.
Similarly, Jesus' allusion is to all forms of immorality. To argue that the reference is only to a man lusting after a woman and not vice versa, or only to a married man and not an unmarried, since the offender is said to commit "adultery" not "fornication," is to be guilty of the very casuistry which Jesus was condemning in the Pharisees. His emphasis is that any and every sexual practice which is immoral in deed is immoral also in look and thought.
6. Some Christians have taken Matthew 5:29-30 literally and have mutilated their bodies. How do you think Jesus intends us to understand his warnings?
Question 6. On the surface it is a startling command to pluck out an offending eye, to cut off an offending hand or foot. A few Christians, whose zeal greatly exceeded their wisdom, have taken Jesus literally. The best known example is the third-century scholar, Origen of Alexandria, who actually made himself a eunuch. Not long after, in A.D. 325, the Council of Nicea was right to forbid this barbarous practice.
The command to get rid of troublesome eyes, hands and feet is an example of our Lord's use of dramatic figures of speech. What he was advocating was not a literal physical self-maiming, but a ruthless moral self-denial. Not mutilation but mortification is the path of holiness he taught, and mortification or "taking up the cross" to follow Christ means to reject sinful practices so resolutely that we die to them or put them to death (see Mark 8:34; Romans 8:13; Galatians 5:24; Col. 3:5).
7. In what situations might we need to "gouge out an eye" or "cut off a hand"?
How might this spiritual surgery differ from person to person?
8. Throughout this passage, how has Jesus challenged a superficial view of righteousness?
9. In what specific areas do you feel the need for a deeper righteousness?
Question 9. This question might be too threatening in some groups. If this is true of your group, you might suggest that people reflect on the question silently.
10. Ask God to help you rid your life of anything that causes you to sin. Pray that you will be able to obey him in your attitudes as well as your actions.
LifeGuide Topical Bible Studies - Sermon on the Mount.
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