Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Righteousness

Kingdom Righteousness: God's will concerning murder

Big Idea: Every aspect of a true believer’s conduct must be characterized by a righteousness that surpasses mere appearance.

Periodically, everyone feels the heat of anger, but how you handle the heat determines whether you are misusing it. The small flame that lights a cozy campfire, if left unchecked, can just as quickly ignite a fierce forest fire. Conversely, the initial spark of anger that could be used for good, if snuffed out, can keep anger from accomplishing its designated purpose. Evaluate whether you could be mishandling your anger.

Matthew 5:21-26 ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 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. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 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. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

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

In each of these six cases Jesus first related the popular understanding of the Old Testament, the view advocated by the religious teachers of His day.

In this verse He introduced it by saying, “You have heard that the ancients were told” (NASB). This was an expression that the rabbis of Jesus’ day used when they referred to the teachings of the Old Testament.

Jesus quoted the sixth commandment and combined it with Leviticus 19:17. The “court” in view was the civil court in Israel.

Lev 19:17 ““You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him.”

Matthew 5:22 “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 contrasted His correct interpretation with the false common understanding of this command

“But I say to you” (vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44) was not a common rabbinic saying, though it did have some parallels in rabbinic Judaism.

When God gave the sixth commandment, He did not just want people to refrain from murdering one another. He wanted them to refrain from the hatred that leads to murder. Murder is only the external manifestation of the internal problem.

The scribes and Pharisees dealt only with the external act. Jesus showed that God’s concern ran much deeper. Refraining from homicide does not constitute a person righteous in God’s sight. Inappropriate anger renders one subject to judgment at God’s heavenly court

The relationship is an extension of the fact that God is the Father of believing disciples. Thus all believers are brothers in the spiritual sense. The early church’s use of the term reflects that of Jesus.

“Raca” is the transliteration of the Aramaic reka. It means “imbecile,” “numbskull,” or “blockhead.”

Jesus said the offender is guilty enough to suffer eternal judgment, not that he will. Whether he will suffer eternal judgment or not depends on his relationship to God.

The word “hell” translates the Greek geenna, which is a transliteration of the Hebrew ge hinnom or “Valley of Hinnom.” This was the valley south of Jerusalem where a fire burned continually consuming the city’s refuse. This place became an illustration of the place where the wicked will suffer eternal torment.v

Jesus’ demonstrations of anger were appropriate for Him since He was God, and God gets angry. His anger was always righteous, unlike the anger that arises from unjustified hatred. It is possible for humans to be angry and not sin

The way you respond and express this emotion determines whether or not you allow your anger to become sin.

Eph 4:26 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,”

Col 3:8 “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”

James 1:20 “for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Traditional Christianity tends to squelch all anger as sinful.

Such an attitude has caused many believers to grow up emotionally undeveloped, unable to be honest in their hearts with God, people, or even themselves.

This attitude leads to some of the worst forms of hypocrisy.

Anger is a valid human emotion, especially when it is felt because of some offense against God.

Offenses against oneself and others can be valid causes for anger. In all cases, the anger must be short-lived, or it will turn into harmful and sinful bitterness

Matthew 5:23-24 “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

Jesus gave two illustrations of anger, one involving temple worship (vv. 23-24) and the other legal action (vv. 25-26).

Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

Both deal with situations in which the hearer is the cause of another person’s anger rather than the offended party.

Why did Jesus construct the illustrations this way? Perhaps He did so because we are more likely to remember situations in which we have had some grievance against another person than those in which we have simply offended another.

Moreover Jesus’ disciples should be as sensitive to making other people hate them as they are about hating others.

The offerer would present his offering at the brazen altar in the temple courtyard. It is more important to lift the load of hate from another brother’s heart than to engage in a formal act of worship.

Ritual worship was very important to the scribes and Pharisees, and to all the Jews, but Jesus put internal purity first, even the internal purity of another person (cf. 1 Sam. 16:7).

1 Sam 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.””

Reconciliation is more important than worship also in that it must come first.

How many of our churches would or should be temporarily emptied if these commands were taken seriously?

But Jesus remains concerned that we still offer correct worship. The Christian sacrifice is first of all one of trusting in Christ, but true discipleship will necessarily lead to reconciliation with fellow believers. Neither one without the other can save a person.

1 John 1:8-9 “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 2:9 “Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.”

Matthew 5:25-26 “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. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.”

The second illustration stresses the importance of making things right quickly.

Two men walking together to the court where their disagreement would receive judicial arbitration should try to settle their grievance out of court (cf. 1 Cor. 6:1-11).

The offender should remove the occasion for the other man’s anger and hatred quickly. Otherwise the judge might make things difficult for both of them.

The mention of going from judge to officer to prison pictures the red tape and complications involved in not settling out of court.

Likewise God will make it difficult for haters and those who provoke hate in others if they come before Him with unresolved interpersonal disagreements.

Malicious anger is evil, and God’s judgment is certain. Therefore disciples must do everything they can to end inappropriate anger quickly (cf. Eph. 4:26).