§ 6. The Sermon on the Mount (According to Matthew)

Jesus begins here to use this formulation to identify when people were teaching from the Old Testament but were not going far enough in their application.

The commandment is first given at Exodus 20:23, and the rules and punishment for murder are addressed at many points in the Law. A quick review of the passages shows they are all reactions to the fact a murder has already been committed.

Until Jesus said this, there was little teaching being done in the way of prevention and forethought. Many even taught that the only sin was murder itself; as long as you don't kill him, they reasoned, you're OK!

Jesus introduces a way of reading the Law that gets at its original intent. The severity of punishment given for murder was intended to teach us to avoid the road that leads to murder in the first place. Jesus's teaching, then, is that it's better to prevent murder by addressing the anger and disregard for human life that always precedes it than to wait until a murder has already taken place only to punish the murderer—with no remedy that can bring back the victim.

The three examples given are progressively worse stages of anger leading to murder.

In the big picture, we start down the road that leads to such vile things as murder when we start to think we will become God's enforcers.

Romans 12:19

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

The council Jesus here warns the disciples about is the same council—the Sanhedrin—that eventually condemned Jesus to death (Matthew 26:59, 66), beat the apostles for proclaiming Jesus (Acts 5:27, 40), condemned Stephen to death (Acts 6:12; 7:58), and would have killed Paul if Roman authority hadn't rescued him from their hands (Acts 23:1, 10).

In the first example, we may be growing angry over time, feeling provoked and ready to lash out. Ephesians gives the remedy: We should not allow anger to cross over into the next day!

Ephesians 4:26–27

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

The second example, "whoever insults his brother," is literally, "whoever says to his brother, 'You raka!'" "Raka" is Hebrew for "empty," but it is frequently used in the Old Testament for worthless scoundrels:

2 Chronicles 13:7

…[C]ertain worthless scoundrels gathered about him and defied Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and irresolute and could not withstand them.

2 Samuel 6:20

…Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!"

The words of Michal to David are a good example of this idea, where she is angry with David without cause and maligning his character and motives. The mechanism here is to de-humanize someone so as to justify lashing out in anger or even doing them harm.

In the final example, the "fool" is a stupid person. We think this person should know better, and therefore deserves the punishment we intend to mete out. However, the New Testament tells us the proper way to address genuine foolishness is to turn away from it:

2 Timothy 2:23

Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.

Titus 3:9

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.

Jesus wants our hearts to be pure in the eyes of God before we approach Him, and our relationship to our own brothers and sisters here on earth is a good indicator of the state of our hearts, in part because we can see the effects of our love (or anger) here on earth:

1 John 4:20–21

If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

In this verse, Jesus uses another intensifying sequence of events to relate how anger turns to accusations turns to justification for violence.

This verse appeals to our sensibility. Why insist on having it our way when we are facing such serious threats as being imprisoned? Why not come to terms as soon as we can along the way and avoid the worst outcomes?

Some think they see in these words of Jesus a system of paying the debt owed for our sins. But that's the opposite of what He's saying.

People generally did not get out of debtors prison since they couldn't work to earn the money while they were in prison. Even if they could bring some meager income while incarcerated, it certainly would not add up to the total debt owed (plus interest) if the original amount was enough to warrant putting them in prison to begin with.

When He uses this illustration, Jesus means there is no escape. This is a warning!

Is there anything that compares to the value of the blood of God's Son, which was the price for our forgiveness?

Acts 20:28

…[C]are for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

1 Peter 1:18–19

…[Y]ou were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

Jesus's question points out the hypocrisy of understanding consequences in earthly matters but not spiritual. Our own self-interest is at stake. We ought to care about reconciling with God before we get to the last day and the judgment, when it will be too late.