Introduction

We have mentioned before that Jesus expounds on some of the Ten Commandments. The first example of such exposition is the Lord’s treatment of the sixth commandment, "you shall not commit murder" in 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.' 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. ²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

There is a collage of topics in this text: anger, judgment, hell, worship, and prison but they all relate very closely and tightly to the sixth commandment. Our Lord brings all of these topics together to show us the righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees who had a meticulous way of applying the sixth commandment. However, they missed the spirit of this command. They missed its true depth.

Jesus shows us that like all the commandments of the Decalogue, the sixth commandment, "you shall not commit murder," is a summary statement. It summarizes many aspects of the conduct required of the new covenant saint. It says much more than the letter. It goes beyond the overt act of murder to the attitude of heart that leads to murder. It is like saying that when a bricklayer builds a corner lead, he in effect implies the placement of two walls because that corner "leads" the way for the two sides of the building. Similarly, the sixth commandment is like a corner that leads the way in the construction of a good life. Perhaps we might compare it to the proper lay out of a building for which you need the lengths to each corner and the measurement across the corners in order to make the building square. Likewise, we need many details and implications of the sixth command to get the job of living done right.

In Matthew 5:21-26 we have both the depth and breath of the law because Jesus points us to both attitudes and actions that the sixth commandment implies. The attitudes are anger and its opposite, say, at least a tranquil and calm heart. He discusses two actions and these make up the two points for this message: we are to curb our anger toward others and we are to curb the anger of others toward us. How Jesus presents these things is both interesting and challenging. If we are awed at the spectacle of holiness displayed at Mount Sinai (giving the Ten Commandments), we are doubly awed at the majestic glory of God displayed here in the Sermon on the Mount.

1A. First, we are required to curb our anger toward others

The Lord Jesus firmly connects the theme of anger with the sixth commandment. It seems that murder is a secondary issue, almost irrelevant and unimportant. It is secondary but it is not irrelevant and unimportant. What Jesus does is point us to the source of murder deep in the human heart. Therefore, He tells us that included in the command against murder is a command against anger. This is phenomenal; it is a profound point and extremely important to consider. This is a command of the Mosaic Law, "do not harbor anger toward one another." God gives us this commandment against murder, "do not be angry with your brother." Jesus commands, "do not commit murder, and do not harbor the seeds of murder in your heart." To make this point stick, we should cover the following things: the problem with the rabbinic tradition (v. 21) and the contrast with the rabbinic tradition (v. 22).

1B. The problem with the rabbinic tradition (v. 21-22a)

The standing tradition is in view in the reference to what has been heard and passed down from ancient times (v. 21a). At first glance, it is difficult to see anything wrong with the teaching. It quotes the sixth commandment, "You shall not murder" and liability to punishment is unquestioned. When we consider the contrast in verse 22, it will become clear that the problem with the rabbinic tradition is in its omissions. As we will see, omissions pertain to both the crime and the punishment. Jesus hints at the problem initially but when He lays out His contrast (but I say), we get a better look at the problem. "But I say to you that everyone that is angry" indicates that the teachers of the Law put all the emphasis on the overt act of murder. They failed to ponder and apply the spirit of the Law in the depth of its requirement that we not only avoid murderous actions but also that we avoid murderous intentions.

2B. The contrast with the rabbinic tradition (v. 22)

This is a difficult passage and a forceful one because of the strong rhetoric. At first, it seems to be the case that there is a progressive intensification of sin and a corresponding progressive intensification of punishment. There appears to be progression from attitude to action (from anger to abusive speech, Raca) and from one kind of abusive speech to an even greater kind of abusive speech (from Raca to Fool). Correspondingly, the punishment is thought to ascend from judgment in a local court, to judgment in the Sanhedrin court, and finally to judgment from the ultimate court. The idea of a local court comes from the contrast with the council or Sanhedrin (cf. Murray, Principles of Conduct, 160). The thought is that the punishments ascend from court to court and the ultimate punishment is hell (literally "Gehenna of fire" or "fiery-Gehenna").

However, it should be easy to see that the point is not a progression of sin with a corresponding progression of punishment for a number of reasons. 1) There is no separation between anger and abusive speech as a crime against the sixth commandment. 2) There is no difference between insulting someone by calling him "Raca" and by calling him a fool. "Raca" is a term of insult that means something like empty-headed. We might put it like this: the first term refers to someone as stupid but this insult has moral overtones and the second term stresses moral stupidity. These are nuanced ways of calling someone a fool. 3) There is no necessary difference between judgments in the lower human court and the supreme human court of the Sanhedrin. The level of the court does not determine degrees of punishment.

So what is going on in this text? It is not a contrast between sins on an ascending scale and between judgments on an ascending scale but a contrast between the view of Jesus and the view of the Pharisees per the ancient rabbinic tradition. The Pharisee restricted the crime and its punishment. The crime was restricted to the overt act of murder and the punishment was, we may safely assume, physical death. Thus, in effect, they said, "Whoever commits murder deserves the death sentence whether he is tried in the lowest or the highest court." The problem is that they did not look deep enough or high enough.

Contradicting that view, Jesus pointed out that they forgot the depth of sin forbidden in the commandment, anger. He also pointed out that they ignored the severity of the punishment, eternal judgment. Notably then, the punishment they assigned to the overt act (physical death), Jesus said is justly due to the heart intent. What they forgot with regard to murder, Jesus assigned to anger! Murder merits the fires of Gehenna and we should not be surprised to discover that anger merits the fires of Gehenna.

The penalty for murder is properly severe in whatever court, but before God, it merits the fires of hell. If a human court could assign the just penalty for anger, it would be properly severe in whatever court, but before God, anger merits hell fire. So what is anger? This is important to define especially in light of how the Lord condemns it. Anger is malicious contempt (a matter in the heart) that expresses itself in words of ungodly abuse and unholy resentment (Raca and Fool). Forcefully, anger is the doorway, the root, and source of the overt act of murder. Thus, the 6^th Law reaches deep into the soul and commands that we work at curbing anger.

2A. Second, the sixth commandment requires that we curb the anger of others toward us

Further insight into the spirit of the Law comes from this angle regarding others. We are to work not only at curbing our anger toward others but we are also to work at curbing the anger of others toward us. This dimension of the Law comes from verses 22-26 and the opening word (so/therefore) connects these verses with the exposition of the sixth commandment begun in verses 21-22. Jesus states this side of the duty by citing two examples, one from a worship context and the other from a courtroom context. We should not miss the fact that these examples are part of His teaching on the true spirit and intent of the sixth commandment.

1B. The duty to curb the anger of others takes priority over worship (vs. 23-24)

He makes the highly significant point that bad human relations and divine worship do not mix. They are oil and water. Prayer and pious actions mean nothing if reconciliation with others is not on our priority list. The focus of concern is on "your brother that has something against you." Our duty before God’s sixth commandment is to seek reconciliation before coming to worship. Consider this situation: if you get to the house of worship and there remember that your brother has "ought against you," what should you do? You are to desist from worship, leave your gift, and first find reconciliation. After finding reconciliation, then come and offer your worship to the Lord.

We obviously have to work with this passage within the context of the history of redemption. Altars and gifts of sacrifices for those altars were part and parcel of the old covenant that is giving way to the coming of the kingdom. Jesus speaks the language of the old wineskins because the era of fulfillment is coming in stages and has not culminated in the formation of the new covenant church as yet. However, it seems quite simple to adjust our thinking to the time of the new covenant and to thus apply these words to worship that is founded on the sacrifice of Christ. Thinking in this way of continuity and continuance is also part of the spirit of the Law.

I will never forget an example of the inconsistency of piety that operates in association with anger and the severed relationships it causes. As a young person, perhaps even before I became a Christian, I was visiting in a home and at dinnertime, the father exploded in an angry rage at his children. It was shocking and I reeled back on my heels. I did not know what to say. The man’s wife said nothing; she just continued to set the table. Then still red in the face from his rage and near cursing, he said, "let’s pray" and he prayed over the food before eating. At that time in my life, I am not sure of what I understood about the things of God but one thing was very clear: something was very wrong; there was something nasty and stinking about that combination of rage and piety.

What should we think and say about the matter of fault? The text does not say that the one going to worship is actually at fault because of sin. Whatever may have happened, the point is that the other party thinks he is at fault. Jesus teaches that when we have knowledge of another person’s state of mind, that when that person is angry with us and resentful toward us, we have the responsibility to take action. Our responsibility is so great that it takes priority over worship! It means that our worship will be mere lip service if we do nothing. In other words, the sixth commandment requires that we do what we can to curb the harmful thoughts, feelings, and actions of others toward us.

Why are we to do this? It is to preserve their life as well as protect our own.

What should we think and say about those who refuse reconciliation? When this happens, we must balance things with the words of Paul: as much as possible, live at peace with all men. The words of Jesus are foundational to the duty expressed by Paul. However, we should take careful note of the fact that Jesus states this duty in the language of finding reconciliation ("first be reconciled…and then come"). The goal of reconciliation is to dominate all our efforts. We are to be positive and realistically optimistic.

2B. The duty to curb the anger of others applies to the extreme case in the civil court (vs. 25-26)

Jesus is very direct and personal all through this passage (cf. "you" and "your"). Here He puts "you" (and me) in the scenario of facing an opponent in a court of law (you are the accused and the opponent is the accuser). What should you do if you operate in terms of the spirit and intent of the Law, and specifically (perhaps surprisingly), in terms of the Law regarding murder? Jesus tells us: work out your differences, settle the conflict on the way to the courthouse.

Why should we do this? 1) One reason is explicit, if we fail to work matters out we may end up in prison and "never get out" until we pay the last penny. Here the point concerns our own health and well-being. 2) Another reason has to do with the application of the sixth commandment to the well-being of our opponent. Pure and simple, our duty is to seek to curb the anger of others even if the other is an opponent at law! In other words, we are to seek the good of our opponent right in the very context where he is trying to do us harm!

Conclusion

You must surely agree with me that this interpretation of the sixth commandment is a gold mine of wisdom. Jesus is explaining a commandment, a law of God, and we might expect a dark and shadowy picture to emerge but instead we get a sunrise that promises a beautiful day in front of us. This is a storehouse of treasures; it is a storehouse full of things new and old. This is a storehouse with abundant supply for a peaceful, happy, and good life. Note some things about the sixth commandment.

1) It is a call to duty

The sixth commandment powerfully calls us to the duty of curbing anger in our hearts toward others. The severity of punishment that anger merits should awaken us to the depth of guilt that the Lord assigns to holding people in contempt with a resentful heart; it should awaken us to the guilt of lashing out at them when present or about them when they are not present. This should rest heavily upon us stirring up our duty to the Lord Jesus Christ to curb our anger as we live always in His presence (others may not be present but that can never be the case for the Lord). Our thoughts and intentions are an open book to Him: "No creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account" (Heb. 4.13). Notably, the same can be said about seeking to curb the anger of others toward us.

2) It is a warning

The sin of anger is always standing at the door of our hearts and ready to enter. It is a common temptation because of the many ways that we are hurt by others whether by their sins or failures, whether intentionally or unintentionally. We may be angry because we are innocent. Someone has ought against us but this ought not to be the case. Still we react. This sin of anger is not always a nuclear explosion; it is sometimes more like a nuclear reactor. However it may manifest itself given our temperaments, circumstances, and growth in Christian graces, it is a terrible sin. Pure and simple, to be angry in the heart is to commit murder in your heart. There is such a thing as righteous anger that arises because of sin and injustice and that advances the cause of God and truth. However, the temptation to uncontrolled anger is a present danger. This is a serious matter and demands diligence with details and devotion to Christ as both our high priest and sovereign king.

3) The sixth Law is as wide as it is deep

The Lord uses extreme cases to illustrate His point. He refers to "those who have something against us" and to those who oppose us in courts of civil law. This is a subtle a fortiori. Jesus uses an extreme example to teach us what to do in cases not so extreme. If we should try to curb the anger of others who oppose us vigorously, how much more should we try to curb the anger of others in all less difficult and more ordinary circumstances? Ultimately, Jesus is directing us to everyday life; extreme cases point the way to a normal godly life. There is an amazing depth to the commandment against murder.

4) It is a promise of peace

If we take up this duty, in the strength of the Lord and by meditation on this very text, we have the promise of peace. What ever else it may be, anger is an agitation of heart and soul. When we listen to the Lord, think the way He tells us to think, and do what He tells us to do, we have peace and calm rooted deep in our hearts. Godly calm replaces the troubled sea of unrest.