A local family resource centre regularly advertises a seminar for children entitled: A Volcano In My Tummy. The program description reads in part: “This course will teach children…how to handle their anger using the anger rules; anger can then become a motivating force that will help them build healthy relationships and lead successful, happy lives.” As a Christian what do you think of this course’s stated aim? Can anger be managed, even harnessed to build healthy relationships and happy lives? Or in our Gospel Lesson this morning does Jesus dismiss such anger management and instead teach anger banishment? Finding and living the right answer to this question won’t just make you into a person others will like better; it will determine with whom you spend eternity.
But why should we care about what Jesus says? That’s what many religious leaders of Jesus’ day thought. But listen to the way in which Jesus begins our text. He said: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment” (Matthew 5:21, 22a).
Jesus’ audience knew well the laws God had given to Moses on Mt. Sinai fifteen hundred years earlier. Those laws had been received with much trembling, for God had appeared in fire, smoke, and earthquake, impressing upon the people that these were indeed the Ten Commandments and not the Ten Suggestions. Well now, on another mountain (as our text is from the Sermon on the Mount), was the Son of God himself who was further defining those commands given to Moses. In other words whenever Jesus tells us something, we better sit up and listen. His pronouncements might not be accompanied by fire, smoke, and earthquake, but something much scarier awaits those who ignore Jesus: the permanent fire and smoke of hell.
So what does Jesus tell us today that’s so important? He debunks the myth that if you just refrain from the “big” sins like murder, then you are a pretty righteous dude whom God admires. With his opening words to our text Jesus gets to the heart of the matter, quite literally. He explains that sin starts not with the hands but in the heart. To be sure, strangling your brother with your bare hands is a sin which invites God’s judgment, but so does anger even if it doesn’t show its ugly face in the guise of a clenched fist. As the Apostle John put it: “Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him” (1 John 3:15).
I haven’t shared with you anything that you don’t know already, but don’t tune me out. Jesus isn’t done. He is desperate for you to know just how serious the sin of anger is. Jesus went on to say: “Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (Matthew 5:22b).
Nobody seems to have yet discovered what the word raca means. One scholar thinks that it was a filthy four-letter word that would not have found its way into any literature. It was so bad, in other words, that no polite writer would explain its meaning. It’s also been suggested that raca wasn’t even really a word but a sound of disdain one might make with accompanying gestures. Whatever its meaning it was such an insult that you could be hauled before the Jewish court for using the word. On the other hand yelling “Fool!” was mild in comparison (humanly speaking) yet in Jesus’ full disclosure of the law someone who calls a fellow Christian a fool is liable to hell fire!
We might be too polite or perhaps too cowardly to call anyone a fool, idiot, or moron to their face. But if we’re honest, we’d readily admit that these words run through our mind as often as the traffic report on talk radio. And if we’re guilty of saying or thinking such words even once, God treats it as seriously as the Prime Minister’s body guards will if you even threaten to blow up his motorcade.
But how can anger and name calling really be that bad? Didn’t Jesus himself call the Pharisees fools? (Matthew 23:17) Didn’t he on two different occasions explode against the moneychangers in the temple? He did, but consider his motivation: love. Jesus called the Pharisees fools because anyone who veers from God’s Word and the heaven it offers is as foolish as someone who trades a gift certificate from a five-star restaurant for a single Tim Horton’s donut. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to ponder their foolishness for turning from God’s Word and repent of it before it was too late. And when Jesus drove out the moneychangers with a whip he did so because he was concerned by what those moneychangers were doing to those who had come to worship. They were distracting them. And Jesus was also concerned for the moneychangers themselves. He wanted them to wake up and realize that the temple offered a better, more lasting treasure than the gold coins they could squeeze out of the hapless worshipper there.
So where does that leave us? Does Jesus teach anger management or anger banishment? It depends on the motivation of your anger. If you’re angry because your child embarrassed you, or because your boss messed up your weekend plans, or because someone took your parking space, Jesus calls for anger banishment. That’s because in each case you’re angry about the inconvenience that has been caused. You’re angry because you want everyone, no matter who they are, to treat you like king or queen. But the reality is this: Jesus has called you to be a servant. So when your child messes up again, as the parent you have the privilege of calmly teaching her the right way…even if it is for the tenth time. If your boss needs you to work late, it might not seem fair, but think of how Jesus is giving you the opportunity to put someone else’s needs first – just as he always did.
But on the other hand if I read something on the internet, for example, that disparages my Savior and makes fun of his followers, I ought to get hot. But now I need to manage this righteous anger carefully. Consider what the Apostle Paul said: “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:11, 12).
Paul urges me to identify the real enemy. It’s Satan and his temptations which prompt people to say foolish things about Jesus and his Word. I should be angry about this, angry that Satan continues to fight for souls that Jesus died to save. So what should I do about it? I can offer a prayer for the person who wrote those words. I can pray that the Lord would change his heart. I can even pray that the Lord would use me to do that. And yes, if this individual refuses to repent, I can pray and trust that God will deal with him in his perfect justice. But in no way should I take cheap shots and disparage the individual. When we resort to such pettiness, the truth is we do it just to feel better about ourselves, as if our faith in Jesus and trust in his Word was due to some smart decision we made. It wasn’t. It was God’s gift of grace through the Holy Spirit. Listen to what else the Apostle Paul said. “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31). Paul urges us to banish all anger which is prompted by malice.
However, the Bible never teaches that we don’t have any reasons to be angry. We do! People are inconsiderate and sometimes they even purposely say or do things to hurt us. The Bible never tells us to relax because such slights are no big deal. No, sin is a big deal. In fact if we don’t deal with these slights, they will eat away at us as surely as salt eats away ice. Look at how God wants you to deal with such sin. Paul said: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). God wants you to forgive as you have been forgiven. Yes, by extending forgiveness you are giving up what Satan insists is your right to be angry and vengeful. When you think that’s too high of a price to pay, however, consider the price God the Father paid to forgive you: he gave up his Son.
Here’s the bottom line, brothers and sisters: sinful anger must not continue to reside in the heart of an individual who professes to rejoice in God’s forgiveness, just as no parent would let a rattlesnake make its nest in the baby’s crib. Who would quickly become king of that crib if you allowed both a snake and an infant to occupy it? In the same way you cannot harbor anger and profess faith in Jesus. It’s that simple. And it’s that serious.
It’s true that what Jesus demands of us seems impossible to deliver. But remember, this is a God who never calls us to do anything that he doesn’t equip us to do. You have been equipped to listen to Jesus, for through your baptism you were given his heart – a heart of love and forgiveness. And now in the Lord’s Supper Jesus will nourish that heart of love with his very body and blood. You won’t just be filled with his love; you’ll be overflowing with it. That doesn’t mean you’ll feel particularly loving. When you fill up your car with gas it doesn’t feel any different, but there is a difference. You’re now confident you can make it all the way out to the mountains. In the same way having been filled with God’s love you can be confident that you can walk across the room to extend forgiveness. And in this way you’ll be following in the footsteps of your Savior who crossed hell to banish God’s anger against us. Jesus has more to say about anger – much more than I could fit in this one sermon. So we’ll revisit this topic again next Sunday. Until then may God give you the strength to root out and banish all sinful anger. Amen.
SERMON NOTES
Jesus wants us to realize that the sin of anger is as deserving of God’s judgment as the sin of murder. What is often the reason we get angry with others?
In our text Jesus seems to teach anger banishment. But in his life he seemed to practice anger management. What is Jesus’ will for us? Anger management or anger banishment?
Respond: “Jesus is asking the impossible of us sinners. We can’t get rid of anger!”
Your friend says, “Anger is just an emotion. It’s neither good nor bad; it’s what you do with it that’s important.” In what way(s) could agree with that statement? In what way(s) might you disagree?
