Matthew 5:21–26
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, 24leave 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.
Focused Thinking:
Notice the contrast between “You have heard that the ancients were told,” and “But I say to you.”
- This is an amazing picture of the PERSON of the WORD interpreting the WORD for us.
We must remember John 1:1–3, 14
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
14And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
WOW! WOW! WOW!—The Words of John 1:1–3, and verse 14 never cease to amaze me. Jesus Christ is the incarnation of the Word of God.
Now when you look at the phrase, “But I say to you” that really means something.
The Author is interpreting the book for us.
The Author is elevating previous interpretations.
The Author is giving us a dynamic interpretation instead of a literal interpretation.
The Author is giving us an internal interpretation instead of just an external interpretation.
The Author is showing us the interpretation of the heart.
What does Jesus say?
“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.
Jesus goes to the core issue, not the symptom.
Is it possible to murder someone without being angry at them?
- No!
It is possible to accidentally kill someone, but it isn’t possible to murder someone without being angry with him or her.
- Anger is a root of all kinds of evil.
If we deal with the anger problem, how many other problems will disappear?
- Do you see the power in this teaching?
- Do you see the beauty in this teaching?
- Do you see how Jesus is going straight to the heart, straight to the core issue?
This concept of the addressing the core issue instead of the symptom is consistent with the teaching of James 1:15:
Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
Do you see the progression?
Do you see how every small sin is determined to be a big sin?
Personal Application:
I need to come back to this teaching tomorrow. This is too powerful to run by this concept today. I need to meditate on this longer in my personal life as well as my leadership.
I haven’t even dealt with the topic of anger much this morning; I’m simply dealing with the issue of the spiritual honesty required behind each teaching of God. When we just look at the external commandment we miss so much of the command. In reality, obedience to the external command is much easier that obedience to the internal command.
Interactive Prayer:
Father, forgive me for all the ways I give myself a pass because I obey the external command, but don’t check my heart against the internal command. Forgive me for the ways I allow myself to remain sinful in the heart, but obeying the letter of the law externally. This is especially true in the area of anger or broken relationships. How many times do we neglect to speak the truth in love to the person, and then speak ugly things to in our heart about that person or speak ugly things to others about that person? How many of us neglect the power of the Ten Commandments because we only look at them externally? Father, forgive me. Father, help me to be honest in my innermost being. Help me teach this life-changing concept to our church. I believe this subject of spiritual honesty and dishonesty needs to be a whole series. Father, help us not be a people who want their ears tickled. Help us be a people who want to be challenged.
Father, protect us from the lies of the devil. Protect our people from resisting us as we challenge them with the Word of God. I pray for our people to receive the Word and not to be merely hearers only, but rather doers of the Word. I pray that our people will take You seriously, take Your Word seriously and take Your mission seriously. Father, give us favor and grace with Your people. Give us the ability to exhort, rebuke and reprove, but with great patience and instruction. Give us the ability to love people up to Your standards. Give us the ability to love people up to Your holiness. Give us the ability to truly make disciples, not attendees. Father, life isn’t about our happiness; it is about You and Your Glory and Your Mission.
Father, forgive us for broken relationships. I pray that You will heal broken relationships within families. Father, heal marriages in our church. Heal parent/child relationships in our church. Father, heal relationships between friends. Help us overcome anger with love. Give us the ability to forgive one another and to love one another. Replace the anger in our hearts with love in our hearts.
Father, I pray for one family’s children in our church and I ask that you remove their anger and replace it with love for Yourself and with love for others. Do a miraculous work of salvation and sanctification in the lives of these children. Please answer the prayers of these parents, others and myself as it relates to these children. Father, remove anger from our families and replace it with love.
Leave a Reply