Living In The Kingdom Part 8
Scripture: Matthew 4:17; 5:21-26; 15:19; Romans 7:14; Mark 11:25
This morning we will continue with my series “Living in the Kingdom.” I want to thank Pastor Fulks for covering for me the last two Sundays while I was traveling. As I shared with you the last time I stood before you, this morning we will begin looking at how Jesus began to address the issues of the heart. It will become very clear during the remainder of this series that everything we deal will is related to what we hold or don’t hold within our hearts. In our verses today we will see how murder begins in the heart and how Jesus expands their understanding of the commandments to include anger in general. Now as a reminder, Jesus did not teach the law. He taught principles of the kingdom of heaven as we see in Matthew 4:17. “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Let’s begin our reading today at verse twenty-one of Matthew chapter five.
“You have heard that it was said by them of old time, ‘You shall not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment. 22But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca’, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, ‘You fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.’ 23Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you; 24leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. 26Verily I say unto you, you shall by no means come out of there, till you have paid the last penny.” (Matthew 5:21-26)
As we look at these verses, I want you to see how Jesus contrasts what they have heard (“You have heard it said”) versus what He will be teaching them (“But I say unto you”). Jesus has already established that Moses and the prophets were still to be their rulers and not the scribes and Pharisees. In these verses, Jesus proceeds to expand on the law in some instances while also separating its true purpose from the corrupt and ungodly applications their religious leaders had placed on them. He did not add anything new, but addressed some of the abuses that had been taking place in how the Law was being interpreted and administered. In His sermon, Jesus shows the breadth, strictness, and spiritual nature of the law which made being obedient to it clearer. In these verses, He explains the law of the sixth commandment, according to the true intent and full extent of it. The sixth commandment says, “You shall not kill.”
Jesus begins this part of His message with “You have heard that it was said by them of old time…” He speaks to them who know the law, whose fore-fathers had Moses read to them in their synagogues every Sabbath-day. He tells them “You have heard that it was said by them” (or more accurately “said to them…”), to your forefathers the Jews, “Thou shalt not kill.” The Jewish teachers of the law were comfortable teaching the people what had always been taught through the generations. Based on their interpretation of the commandment, they taught that anyone who killed someone else would be in danger of the judgment, meaning that willful murderers were liable to the sword of justice, while unintentional ones to the judgment of the city of refuge (cities where a person who kills someone else unintentionally could flee to from those seeking vengeance.) During this time the courts of judgment sat in the gate of their principal cities. These judges were empowered to try, condemn, and execute murderers, so that whoever killed someone was in danger of their judgment. Their understanding and administration of this commandment was faulty because, first it suggested that the law was only external and forbid no more than the act of murder and addressed nothing of the internal anger and lusts (from which wars and fighting originates) that often causes the killing to happen in the first place. In their teaching of the law, the Jewish leaders believed that the divine law prohibited only the sinful act, not the sinful thought. They never looked at, evaluated, or taught the spiritual meaning of the commandment. Paul, while a Pharisee, was the same and also did not consider the spiritual meaning behind the law until he was saved. Divine grace led him into the knowledge of the spiritual nature of the law which he captured in Romans 7:14 where he wrote “For we know that the law is spiritual….” Their second mistake was to believe that the law was merely political and public, given for them, and intended as a guideline for their courts, and no more. Jesus let it be known that their interpretation of “His” laws were lacking.
In the Ten Commandments, killing was forbidden; which would include, killing ourselves, killing another person, directly or indirectly, or being any way an accessory to it. I know many people stop here and use this verse to ban all killings including those that take place in wars. They also use this verse to explain why they feel that the Bible is wrong and God is not just as He commands that we do not kill while also demanding the Israelites to do just that – kill their enemies. The Bible is full of killings and thus full of breaking this commandment. But Jesus, in these verses, takes us to the heart of the issue and explains what is truly behind this commandment. He says, “22But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca’, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, ‘You fool’, shall be in danger of hell fire.’” Jesus expansion of this commandment addresses the heart of the issue. He takes their understanding from the comfort of knowing that they had not actually killed someone to the uncomfortable place of knowing that they possibly have been angry with someone without just cause. And then He brings in the forgiveness piece which oftentimes does not partner well with our anger. Did I mention that anger kills? Stay with me and you will understand this concept.
Jesus explains, spiritually, what this commandment truly means. He lets it be known that this is a heart issue. He tells them that rash anger is heart-murder. Whosoever is angry with his brother (anyone, not just our flesh and blood family member) without a cause (without a legitimate reason) breaks the sixth commandment. Anger is a natural passion and there are cases where it is lawful and commendable; but Jesus says plainly that it is sinful when we are angry without cause. Now some of you may be wondering how someone could get angry with someone with having a cause to be so. Well it happens all the time. But let me give you an example that you may be able to relate to. Have you ever gotten angry with someone for something that could not be helped? You’re working in your office and the ink runs out of the printer and you get angry at the closest person to you because they just happen to be there. Or, your child comes to you asking for something to eat, but you’re working from home and are dealing with a stressful situation so you get angry at the child for being hungry and bothering you. Or someone cuts you off in traffic and you get extremely angry and then take it out on your family when you get home. All of these examples are examples of breaking the sixth commandment based on how Jesus explains it. Again, it’s a heart issue. When we are angry at someone for something that we ourselves might easily have been guilty of, and for which we would not have been angry at ourselves for doing then this anger is misplaced. Do you remember the story of Cain killing his brother in Genesis chapter four? Cain's killing of his brother began in anger; he is a murderer in the account of God, who knew his heart, whence murder proceeds. Jesus says in Matthew 15:19, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” So Jesus expands their interpretation of the sixth commandment not to only include the act itself, but the actual anger that precedes the act even if the act does not follow.
Before I move on to what Jesus said about forgiveness, I want you to see something that could be easily overlooked in these verses. When Jesus is addressing the anger in the heart, He gives them three examples. He tells them that they cannot make light of these sins by explaining the repercussions of them. He said that he that is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment and anger of God. Then He said, he that calls him “Raca,” which is a scornful word and comes from pride which Solomon calls proud wrath in Proverbs 21:24, shall be in danger of the council, of being punished by the Sanhedrim for reviling an Israelite. Finally, He says whosoever says, “You fool” (You profane person, you child of hell), shall be in danger of hell-fire, to which he has condemned his brother. It is believed that Jesus used these three examples alluding to the penalties used in the several courts of judgment among the Jews. Christ shows that the sin of rash anger exposes men to lower or higher punishments, according to the degrees of its proceeding. In His examples, the penalty grew worse based on the offense.
The Jews had three capital punishments, each worse than the other; beheading, which was inflicted by the judgment; stoning, by the council or chief Sanhedrin; and burning in the valley of the son of Hinnom, which was used only in extraordinary cases. It signifies, therefore, that rash anger and reproachful language are damning sins; but some are more sinful than others, and accordingly there is a greater damnation, and a sorer punishment reserved for them. Christ showed which sin was most sinful by showing which punishment was most dreadful. Anger is very dangerous, especially when there is no cause for it or it is used as a form of pride to demonstrate authority. But there is one more piece to this puzzle, forgiveness. Anger without forgiveness is a surefire way to end up in hell as the Bible spells out throughout the Old and New Testaments.
I will not go into everything that Jesus says about forgiveness in this message, but I do want to highlight the importance of it based on what Jesus said in verses twenty-three and twenty-four. We will also revisit forgiveness when we get to chapter six. In Matthew 5:23-24, Jesus informs them that “….if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you; 24leave there your gift before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” In these two verses Jesus clearly spells out that preserving Christian love and peace with our brothers (and sisters) is more important to Him than our financial offering. I want you to understand what I just said. You cannot purchase grace from God for your unforgiveness with your financial offerings. As a matter of fact, Jesus said if you remember that someone has something against you that you have not settled, keep your offering until you do get it settled. Imagine a Church telling you that you cannot give your money in their offering plate if you have unforgiveness in your heart. Imagine any Church having a policy that says before you can give your offering you must make sure you have forgiven those who have hurt you and release any anger that you may have. If that was a policy many Church would go broke within weeks. People give money to Churches faithfully while not speaking to someone in the Church because they are angry with them. Well New Light, I am here to tell you: If you are angry with someone and you’re not speaking to them, go get that situation straightened out before you give your offering. Not because Pastor Rodney said so, but because Jesus did!
This is how important forgiveness is to Jesus. He’d rather us forgive someone who has hurt us before we bring Him our offering! Jesus said the same thing as it relates to our prayer life. In Mark 11:25 Jesus says, “And when you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any: that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” I believe the point that Jesus is making here is that there is no need for us to pray if we have unforgiveness in our hearts because our unforgiveness negatively impacts our prayers being answered! And, most important, if we are not willing to forgive, God cannot forgive us of our sin and we know the impact of that. And we see this in Matthew 6:15: “But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” If we are not forgiven of our sins then we cannot enter into heaven because our sin remains. We can only enter heaven when our sins are forgiven and our sins are forgiven when we forgive others. The Bible is very clear on this. Consider these verses:
Revelation 21:2 & 27: “And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband…...27And there shall in no way enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they who are written in the Lamb's book of life.”
Galatians 5:19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, strife, jealousy, wrath, selfishness, divisions, heresies, 21envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of which I tell you beforehand, as I have also told you in time past, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
I want to close with what Jesus says in verses twenty-five and twenty-six. He says, “25Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison. 26Verily I say unto you, you shall by no means come out of there, till you have paid the last penny.” Under Roman law an adversary could force his opponent to go before the judge. If he could settle the issue on the way to the judge, he would not be tried in court. In the natural (flesh), if we have committed an offence to our brother (to him bodily, his property, or reputation) through which he may recover considerable damages, it is in our best interest and the interest of our family to find a way to settle it peacefully without going to court. This will oftentimes require some humility and admission of wrong on our part but the goal is to reach an agreement without involving courts. This is what Jesus was recommending in these verses because once the courts are involved, the damages will greatly increase. There have been many people who have ruined their estates by being obstinate in the offences they have caused when a simple admission of wrong and request for forgiveness would have been all it took to settle the case.
In these verses Jesus makes it clear that while the sixth commandments forbids killing, God looks at the heart. The anger that we carry within our hearts is an issue with God because lingering anger is a symptom of unforgiveness. When we are angry without a just cause that is problematic for we are to always be demonstrating the love of God and that cannot be done through unjustified anger. The sixth commandment says we shall not kill – physically. Jesus said we shall not be angry without anyone unjustly as to do so is the same as killing. And, don’t forget, even if you have a reason to be angry, you still must practice forgiving the one who made you angry. The next time you get angry, ask yourself do you truly have a reason to be mad. If the answer is no, repent and ask God’s forgiveness and move on. If your anger is just, deal with the situation, forgive the person who angered you, release the anger and move on. No one can release you of your anger – that can only be done by you.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
(We are once again conducting live services on Sunday morning beginning at 9:15 a.m. We will continue to broadcast live on Facebook Live at 10:00 a.m.. Please tune in to "New Light Christian Fellowship Church" and like our page if you wish to watch our broadcast and be notified when we go live. If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. We also have Thursday night Bible study at 7 p.m. via Zoom that you are also welcome to attend – please email me for the link. Also, for use of our social media, you can find us at newlightchristianfellowship on FB. To get our live stream services, please make sure you “like” and turn on notifications for our page so you can be notified when we are live streaming. We also have a church website and New Light Christian Fellowship YouTube channel for more of our content. If you would like to donate to our ministry you may do so through our website: newlightchristianfellowship.org by clicking on the PayPal or Cash App buttons. May God bless and keep you.)
