Matthew 5:21-26

Rachel Workman: 21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell. Yikes, this includes me. I am guilty I deserve judgment and condemnation. But because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross my slate has been wiped clean.

23 “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. This is still good advice. Advice that I don't follow very often.

25 “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly. Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 And if that happens, you surely won’t be free again until you have paid the last penny. There is no better day than today to get things right with God. Putting it off until tomorrow could cost you your salvation. We are not promised another day on this earth.

____________________________________________________________________________________

John Burnett:  ²¹ “You have heard that ^[a]the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be ^[b]liable to the court.’ ²² But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be ^[c]guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘^[d]You good-for-nothing,’ shall be ^[e]guilty before ^[f]the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be ^[g]guilty enough to go into the ^[h]fiery hell. ²³ Therefore if you are presenting your ^[i]offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your ^[j]offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your ^[k]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 ^[l]cent.

Jesus’s standards are perfection and I see a lot of language that I have used in my lifetime.  If we are angry at our brother, we are guilty of murder in our heart and in the eyes of God.  Unless of course you belong to Jesus, then all the Father sees is Jesus’s record on your account.  Jesus is the only one who lived a perfect life and kept the law to this high standard.  Without His imputed righteousness we are guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.  We are to also be reconciled to those who we have wronged.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Allen Michaels:  ²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

But when Jesus said, “But I tell you,” he was not doing away with the law or adding his own beliefs. Rather, he was giving a fuller understanding of why God made the law in the first place. For example, Moses said, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13); Jesus taught that we should not even become angry enough to murder, for then we have already committed murder in our heart. The Pharisees read this law and, not having literally murdered anyone, felt righteous. Yet they were angry enough with Jesus that they would soon plot his death, though they would not do the dirty work themselves. We miss the intent of God’s Word when we read his rules for living without trying to understand why he made them. How often do we keep God’s rules but close our eyes to his intent?

Killing is a terrible sin, but anger is a great sin too because it also violates God’s command to love. Anger in this case refers to a seething, brooding bitterness against someone. It is a dangerous emotion that always threatens to leap out of control, leading to violence, emotional hurt, increased mental stress, and spiritual damage. Anger keeps us from developing a spirit pleasing to God. Have you ever been proud that you didn’t strike out and say what was really on your mind? Self-control is good, but Christ wants us to practice thought-control as well. Jesus said that we will be held accountable even for our attitudes.

My posting today proves what a hypocrite I really am. The entire time I typed this I have been dealing with an employee that just annoys the he11 out of me. People who think that there is no such thing as a stupid question have never met this guy. Of course, this is the exact situation that Christ constantly places me in so I better start dealing with it as Christ wants me to.

²³ “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

Broken relationships can hinder our relationship with God. If we have a problem or grievance with a friend, we should resolve the problem as soon as possible. We are hypocrites if we claim to love God while we hate others. Our attitudes toward others reflect our relationship with God (1 John 4:20).

²⁵ “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. ²⁶ Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

It is our practical advice to resolve our differences with our enemies before their anger causes more trouble (Proverbs 25:8-10). Even small conflicts mend more easily if you try to make peace right away. In a broader sense, these verses advise us to get things right with our brothers and sisters before we have to stand before God.