To this point in the Lord’s sermon He has taken us through the Beatitudes where we learned that genuine salvation begins when we realize our poorness of spirit and spiritual bankruptcy before God. At that point we begin to mourn over our sinfulness. This mourning leads to a meek humbling of one’s self in the sight of the Saviour. Then the sinner begins to hunger and thirst for a righteousness that can only be found in a right relationship with Jesus Christ, they turn to Him in faith and repentance, and receive a free and full pardon from their sin.
Having experienced the joy and spiritual satisfaction of having their sins forgiven, and having tasted of the justifying righteousness of Christ, the saved now begin to hunger and thirst for a righteousness that is sanctifying. They now desire to be everything that the Lord would have them to be. As they grow and mature in their walk with the Lord they become merciful, they develop a pureness of heart, and strive to live in peace with those around them without compromising their beliefs. It is at this point that they discover that not everyone appreciates those who try to live what they say they believe and persecution becomes a reality to them. But they also learn that those who remain faithful to the Lord during times of persecution will be greatly rewarded.
Next the Lord explains the true function of Christians in this world. They are to be salt and light.
The next phase of His teaching dealt with His relationship to Law. This was important because those to whom He was speaking were Jews who had been taught the Law all of their lives. In His sermon, the Lord explained that His intention was not to annul, abolish, or destroy the Law, but rather to fulfill it. Jesus ended His discussion concerning His relationship to the Law by saying to those present "That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."
In the verses presently under consideration, the Lord begins to explain more clearly, using various illustrations, the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees and what it takes to exceed it.
I. A FALSE INTERPRETATION
We must keep in mind that Jesus was not setting His teaching against that of the Old Testament. Instead, He was referring to the faulty interpretation that the scribes and Pharisees had given to it. Had Jesus been contradicting the Old Testament, He would have been contradicting the very Scriptures He had authored.
In ancient times people did not have multiple copies of the Bible as we do today. Their understanding of the Scriptures was primarily gleaned from what they heard the scribes and Pharisees teach and what they saw them practice. They relied heavily upon these men to read and interpret the law of God. The problem with this system was that the religious leaders did not always expound the exact meaning of the text. Beginning in verse 21, Jesus expounds the true meaning of what was set forth in the Old Testament.
A. Observing the Law Outwardly
1. The Jewish leaders had reduced the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill", to the mere act of one person taking the life of another.
2. As long as they were not guilty of actually murdering someone, the scribes and Pharisees were very much at peace with themselves in terms of their keeping the law.
3. Further evidence that the scribes and Pharisees had reduced the sixth commandment to the crime of murder only is provided in the fact that the only judgment to fear was that of the judicial courts of earth. They removed all fear of a spiritual judgment to come.
B. Neglecting the Law Inwardly
1. With His words "But I say unto you", Jesus begins to expound upon the proper meaning and true intent of the sixth commandment.
2. In essence Jesus is saying, "I know what you’ve heard and have been taught, but I’m telling you that the command not to kill goes farther than just the physical act. It deals with matters of the heart as well."
3. We learn from Jesus’ teaching that to be unjustly angry with someone is as evil as actually murdering that individual.
II. A FULLER EXPLANATION
A. Feeling Anger
1. In no uncertain terms Jesus clearly states that to feel enmity in our hearts toward our brother unjustly is to be as guilty of murder as if we actually took his life.
2. The Bible has many condemnations of anger within its pages.
a. Psalm 37:8
b. Proverbs 14:17, 29
c. Proverbs 16:32
d. Proverbs 19:11
e. Proverbs 29:22
f. Ecclesiastes 7:9
g. Ephesians 4:31
h. James 1:19-20
B. Expressing Anger
1. One cannot "feel" anger very long without expressing it.
2. The term "Racca" means "empty or worthless one", while the word "fool" means to be "dull or stupid." There are ways in which men and women can be destroyed short of the physical act of murder. There is such a thing as "character assassination" (Proverbs 18:21).
3. The focus here is not so much on what words we use, but rather the spirit in which they are used. Attitude can be as harmful as actions. Attitudes lay the ground work for actions to follow. Through our attitudes then, we may be as guilty before God as if we had committed the very act.
C. Judging Anger
1. Ecclesiastes 11:9
2. Matthew 12:36
3. Romans 14:12
4. 2 Corinthians 5:10
5. In using the words "the judgment", "the council", and "hell fire", the Lord was reminding those of His day as well as all of us that we will be judged for our attitudes as well as our actions, and that the judgment could be very severe.
D. Classifying Anger
1. Rage
a. "Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry..." (Ecclesiastes 7:9a).
b. Rage in uncontrolled anger and it violates the principle of self-control taught in the Scriptures.
c. Rage is generally displayed when something happens that we don’t like and all of a sudden we erupt like a volcano, spewing out all kinds of destruction, whether it be verbal or physical.
d. Rage is NEVER acceptable, regardless of the situation or the circumstances. Rage is the result of being in the flesh and being in the flesh is a sin against God.
2. Resentment
a. "...for anger resteth in the bosom of fools" (Ecclesiastes 7:9b).
b. Resentment has been called "Frozen Rage." Resentment says "I’m angry, but I’m not going to let you see I’m angry."
c. When a person harbors hatred and resentment in their heart, they are often hurt by the poison of their own malice.
3. Righteous Indignation
a. Righteous indignation is the energizing of our emotions against some form of evil in order to protect that which is right.
b. The Scriptures give numerous examples of righteous indignation.
(1) Psalm 7:11
(2) Proverbs 25:23
(3) Matthew 21:12-13
(4) Mark 3:1-5
c. Righteous indignation does not allow for apathy or indifference on the part of God’s people.
d. Homosexuality, abortion, false doctrine, the obstruction of freedom, all of these should anger us and energize our emotions toward those who promote such acts which pose a threat to all that we would view as sacred.
III. A FAVORABLE RECONCILIATION
A. The Priority of Reconciliation vs. 23-24
1. To try and worship God while harboring anger and bitterness against another is futile. God will not accept such hypocritical worship. Such was the worship of the scribes and Pharisees.
2. Any outward service to God, though deemed acceptable to man, is an abomination to God if it is done while harboring unconfessed sin in our hearts (Isaiah 1:10-15; Jeremiah 7:9-16; Luke 16:15).
3. The Psalmist said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me". It is impossible for God to have any dealings with sin and iniquity. There is absolutely no value or purpose in praying or serving the Lord if we are in a conscious state of enmity against another.
4. The Lord’s instructions are unmistakably clear as to what we are to do if we are made to realize that we have offended a brother. We are to leave off what we’re doing and make reconciliation with our brother a priority. We cannot be right with God until we are right with our brother.
5. Please note that WE are to take the initiative to go to our brother, we are not to wait for him to come to us.
B. The Urgency of Reconciliation vs. 25-26
1. Reconciliation with our brother is not only a matter of priority, but also one of urgency. No time should be wasted on our part when it comes to making things right. Every day spent at odds with a brother is a day spend at odds with God.
2. The Lord uses the illustration of two men going to court one against the other. It would be best for the men to settle out of court while they are on there way to the proceedings. By doing so, they would spare themselves much grief.
3. By the same token, we all have an appointment with the Judge, the Lord Jesus Christ. We would be much better served by making reconciliation with our brother now. Time may run out, and if it does, we will have to stand before the Judge of heaven’s court and give an answer for our failure to make things right. Just as the man in the Lord’s illustration would not be released until he had paid "the uttermost farthing", neither will we be dismissed until we have been thoroughly judged.
