Jesus is perturbed that the Pharisees have so defined the Law in their own terms that they have missed the point. And so he begins to expound the Law as it pertains to six subjects: murder, adultery, divorce, oath-taking, retaliation, and love for one's enemy. Instead of a litany of commandments, Jesus looks to the spirit of the Law.
You have heard that it was said ... but I tell you ...
Each of these subjects begins with an interesting phrase, "You have heard that it was said ... but I tell you ..." (5:21-22, 27-28, 33-34, 38-39, 43-44). Each of these formulas contain the Greek word errethe (Aorist Passive of lego). This is not the word Jesus uses to quote the Old Testament. It becomes obvious by the time you come to the quotation in 5:43, that he is quoting the oral tradition, the "tradition of the elders," not the scripture directly. (5:43 reads, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy' ..."). Yes, the Pharisees quoted the Pentateuch, but they went beyond it with their own interpretation, limiting and circumscribing its meaning. Jesus is explaining the actual spirit of the Law, as only God Himself can expound it.
Do Not Murder (5:21)
The Sixth Commandment is "Thou shalt not kill" (KJV, Exodus 20:13). Certainly those who murder will be subject to judgment. The "tradition of the elders" would agree.
Anger and Insult (5:22)
But Jesus goes to the heart of the Law as he expounds the motivation behind murder -- anger.
"But I tell you that
anyone who is angry with his brother
will be subject to judgment.
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."
Let's examine the Greek words used:
* phoneuo (vs. 21) - "murder, kill" (p. 864).
* orgizo (vs. 22a) - "be angry" (p. 579).
* rhaka (vs. 22b) - "a term of abuse, as a rule derived from the Aramaic [word meaning 'empty one'] found in the Talmud, 'fool, empty-head'" (p. 733-734).
* moros (vs. 23c) - "foolish, stupid" (p. 531).
* Gehenna (22) - "'Valley of the Sons of Hinnom,' a ravine south of Jerusalem. There, according to later Jewish popular belief, the Last Judgment was to take place. In the gospels it is the place of punishment in the next life, 'hell'"(p. 153)
(Definitions are from Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon (Second Edition, 1979)
A.B. Bruce distinguishes between the word "Raca" and "fool" in this way: "Raca expresses contempt for a man's head -- you stupid!; [The Greek word] "more" expresses contempt for his heart and character = you scoundrel!" (Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels in The Expositor's Greek Testament, 1897, p. 107.)
This ought to scare us. Who hasn't been angry and insulted someone? Of course, we can get legalistic and say that we haven't used the exact word "Raca" or "fool." But that is the same kind of word gymnastics that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for. Jesus is saying that we are guilty before God for a heart that lashes out in anger and venom. Whether or not a person's life is terminated as a result is not the point.
When I was a boy, we would parrot this saying to someone who called us a name:
"Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words can never hurt me."
Unfortunately, this children's chant is false. Words do hurt. Names injure us -- sometimes for life. How many of you or your friends have spent years struggling with what your father or mother said to you -- plagued by it, your self-confidence destroyed. Anger, and the vile venom it inspires, kill the spirit. And those who spew this acid on those about them are not free from judgment. The God who condemns murder also condemns angry insult, for the both come from the same root.
Woe to You Hypocrites!
Man looks on the exterior, the action, but God examines the heart. And in the heart is the root of murder. Legalism is an exterior thing, but the life of a follower of Jesus begins in the heart.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Matthew 23:25-28)
No, Jesus didn't come to abolish the law, but to bring out its fullness, to fulfill it.
The Fire of Hell (22c)
So what of the upstanding moral people who never kill, who drive the speed limit, who never break the law? What of them? Are they to be consigned to the fires of hell for hatred in their hearts? (See the sidebar, "Did Jesus Believe in Hell?" http://www.jesuswalk.com/manifesto/hell.htm) The answer we must come to is, Yes!
Sometimes we labor under the ancient myth that we can earn heaven by our good deeds. No, Jesus would say, we must repent! Jesus taught,
"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean' " (Matthew 15:18-20).
The argument in the passage just quoted was part of Jesus' running discussion with the Pharisees about externals vs. internals. And with us, too, Jesus carries on this continuing discussion. Cleanse the heart, and then the exterior actions will follow.
The Cleansing Process
So often when someone from a rough lifestyle becomes a Christian, we church people are quick to get him to conform to our standards of speech and dress and morals. But you don't learn how to "walk the walk" from learning to "talk the talk." That's backwards. It is the Holy Spirit of God that cleanses us, and he works from the inside out, in an ever-broadening cycle -- conviction, repentance, and change; conviction, repentance, and change. Don't feel you have to do God's cleansing work for him when someone becomes a Christian. Love them. Support them. Pray for them. You expect to change a few diapers with a newborn. "God catches his fish before he cleans them."
Can we live so circumspectly that we do not break the law of the pure heart? Can we live in such a way that we need no forgiveness? No. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?" (RSV, Jeremiah 17:9). Why did Jesus die on the cross? There was no other way but to atone for our sins. "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins," said Jesus (Matthew 26:28). The Law, the Apostle Paul observes, is not intended to bring salvation but "that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful" (Romans 7:13).
So if we are frightened by Jesus' stern condemnation of anger and insult, and we see the flickering flames of hell licking at us for our heart wickedness, then we've gotten the point that Jesus intended. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near," was Jesus' message and that of his cousin John the Baptist. People flocked to them and were baptized, washing away their sins, because they became aware of their heart wickedness and need for cleansing.
"All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John" (Luke 7:29-30).
Which is your heart most like? A repentant tax collector or a self-justifying Pharisee?
First, go be reconciled to your brother (5:23-24)
So if anger, murder, and insult are condemned by the Law as expounded by Jesus, what is approved by the law? What is the positive command we are to fulfill? "Be reconciled to your brother" (5:24).
How do we fulfill this law? If we are worshipping and remember that our brother has something against us, we are to leave our gift behind and first be reconciled to our brother. After we have done that, we can come back and resume our worship.
Does this sound a bit radical to your ears? It sounded radical to First Century ears, as well. Jesus sometimes rammed home his points through hyperbole, over-statement, so they would be unforgettable. Is this hyperbole? Perhaps.
But Jesus' clear point is that worship -- seeking to honor God by bringing an offering -- is a mockery if we don't first repent of our sins and carry out that repentance to its logical conclusion. That point isn't radical. It is taught throughout the Scripture in such passages as:
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22).
"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God..." (Joel 2:13).
"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:16-17).
Is Reconciliation Always Possible?
We need to say, however, that Jesus' words, "First, go and be reconciled to your brother," imply that you have offended your brother and need to make amends. There may well be estrangement that we have little to do with and cannot change. The willingness to reconcile must be shared by the other party. Don't beat yourself up over this. But make sure that you have made right what you need to, and that your anger and insult and self-righteousness about it have been replaced by humility and a willingness to reconcile.
Sometimes we have hurt someone deeply, and it is fully our fault, but when we go to humble ourselves and seek forgiveness we are snubbed. We may be snubbed, but we must still go and see reconciliation.
Lest we think we are in the clear about this, be aware that elsewhere Jesus spoke about another aspect of reconciliation -- our willingness to forgive those who have offended us. "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Mark 11:25).
Reconciliation may be possible if we will humble ourselves. And even if it is not possible, we must make a sincere attempt if we would seek to fulfill the spirit of the Law. After all, the Law is not really about murder and stealing. It is about love and reconciliation. That is the spirit of the Law.
Settle matters quickly with your accuser (5:25-26)
Jesus concludes this teaching on reconciliation with an example from a mini-parable.
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" (5:25-26)
The parable assumes that you owe your accuser a debt of some kind, and to collect on it he is taking you to small claims court. Jesus is saying, Don't wait until you get to court to work out some kind of deal; settle out of court. Because if the court has to decide the matter, you will be thrown into debtor's prison and won't get out until every last cent is paid.
We don't have debtor's prisons today, but they were common in Western jurisprudence until recently. On the surface they seem stupid: If a person is in prison he can't work to repay his debt. But what happened when you are thrown into debtor's prison, was that your family and friends would come up with the money in order to get you out. Then you have to live the rest of your life with your family glowering at you, and never letting you forget the hardship you have caused them.
So in this mini-parable, Jesus is saying, settle quickly, before you get to court. Settle quickly or you'll be stuck for every last cent that is due.
What is the point of the parable in this context? Jesus is teaching his hearers to reconcile quickly with those they have wronged, and not to put it off. The implication is that if they wait for God to settle the matter at his bar of justice, that judgment will exacting and harsh punishment.
You remember that this teaching on murder began with the concepts of accountability and justice: "... subject to judgment ... answerable to the Council ... in danger of the fire of hell." Jesus' mini-parable is only a thinly-veiled picture of us having to stand before God for every one of our sins unless we repent now.
The Golden Center
In a sense, the Law "Thou shalt not kill" is an outpost to regulate the limits of our behavior, but the Golden Center is something else. Is God seeking non-murderers? No. He is seeking those who do not let anger and hatred live in their hearts at all. He is seeking those who will show mercy, those who will forgive, those who will, in a word, love.
Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not to abolish them. One day an expert in the Law asked Jesus this question:
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (22:36-40).
And so what seemed complex to the legalists becomes much simpler to grasp. "Love your neighbor as yourself." That is the aim of the whole law, straight from the mouth of God himself in the Person of Jesus Christ.
An Exposition by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
You have heard that it was said ... but I tell you ...
Each of these subjects begins with an interesting phrase, "You have heard that it was said ... but I tell you ..." (5:21-22, 27-28, 33-34, 38-39, 43-44). Each of these formulas contain the Greek word errethe (Aorist Passive of lego). This is not the word Jesus uses to quote the Old Testament. It becomes obvious by the time you come to the quotation in 5:43, that he is quoting the oral tradition, the "tradition of the elders," not the scripture directly. (5:43 reads, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy' ..."). Yes, the Pharisees quoted the Pentateuch, but they went beyond it with their own interpretation, limiting and circumscribing its meaning. Jesus is explaining the actual spirit of the Law, as only God Himself can expound it.
Do Not Murder (5:21)
The Sixth Commandment is "Thou shalt not kill" (KJV, Exodus 20:13). Certainly those who murder will be subject to judgment. The "tradition of the elders" would agree.
Anger and Insult (5:22)
But Jesus goes to the heart of the Law as he expounds the motivation behind murder -- anger.
"But I tell you that
anyone who is angry with his brother
will be subject to judgment.
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."
Let's examine the Greek words used:
* phoneuo (vs. 21) - "murder, kill" (p. 864).
* orgizo (vs. 22a) - "be angry" (p. 579).
* rhaka (vs. 22b) - "a term of abuse, as a rule derived from the Aramaic [word meaning 'empty one'] found in the Talmud, 'fool, empty-head'" (p. 733-734).
* moros (vs. 23c) - "foolish, stupid" (p. 531).
* Gehenna (22) - "'Valley of the Sons of Hinnom,' a ravine south of Jerusalem. There, according to later Jewish popular belief, the Last Judgment was to take place. In the gospels it is the place of punishment in the next life, 'hell'"(p. 153)
(Definitions are from Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich, Greek-English Lexicon (Second Edition, 1979)
A.B. Bruce distinguishes between the word "Raca" and "fool" in this way: "Raca expresses contempt for a man's head -- you stupid!; [The Greek word] "more" expresses contempt for his heart and character = you scoundrel!" (Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels in The Expositor's Greek Testament, 1897, p. 107.)
This ought to scare us. Who hasn't been angry and insulted someone? Of course, we can get legalistic and say that we haven't used the exact word "Raca" or "fool." But that is the same kind of word gymnastics that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for. Jesus is saying that we are guilty before God for a heart that lashes out in anger and venom. Whether or not a person's life is terminated as a result is not the point.
When I was a boy, we would parrot this saying to someone who called us a name:
"Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words can never hurt me."
Unfortunately, this children's chant is false. Words do hurt. Names injure us -- sometimes for life. How many of you or your friends have spent years struggling with what your father or mother said to you -- plagued by it, your self-confidence destroyed. Anger, and the vile venom it inspires, kill the spirit. And those who spew this acid on those about them are not free from judgment. The God who condemns murder also condemns angry insult, for the both come from the same root.
Woe to You Hypocrites!
Man looks on the exterior, the action, but God examines the heart. And in the heart is the root of murder. Legalism is an exterior thing, but the life of a follower of Jesus begins in the heart.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness" (Matthew 23:25-28)
No, Jesus didn't come to abolish the law, but to bring out its fullness, to fulfill it.
The Fire of Hell (22c)
So what of the upstanding moral people who never kill, who drive the speed limit, who never break the law? What of them? Are they to be consigned to the fires of hell for hatred in their hearts? (See the sidebar, "Did Jesus Believe in Hell?" http://www.jesuswalk.com/manifesto/hell.htm) The answer we must come to is, Yes!
Sometimes we labor under the ancient myth that we can earn heaven by our good deeds. No, Jesus would say, we must repent! Jesus taught,
"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean' " (Matthew 15:18-20).
The argument in the passage just quoted was part of Jesus' running discussion with the Pharisees about externals vs. internals. And with us, too, Jesus carries on this continuing discussion. Cleanse the heart, and then the exterior actions will follow.
The Cleansing Process
So often when someone from a rough lifestyle becomes a Christian, we church people are quick to get him to conform to our standards of speech and dress and morals. But you don't learn how to "walk the walk" from learning to "talk the talk." That's backwards. It is the Holy Spirit of God that cleanses us, and he works from the inside out, in an ever-broadening cycle -- conviction, repentance, and change; conviction, repentance, and change. Don't feel you have to do God's cleansing work for him when someone becomes a Christian. Love them. Support them. Pray for them. You expect to change a few diapers with a newborn. "God catches his fish before he cleans them."
Can we live so circumspectly that we do not break the law of the pure heart? Can we live in such a way that we need no forgiveness? No. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it?" (RSV, Jeremiah 17:9). Why did Jesus die on the cross? There was no other way but to atone for our sins. "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins," said Jesus (Matthew 26:28). The Law, the Apostle Paul observes, is not intended to bring salvation but "that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful" (Romans 7:13).
So if we are frightened by Jesus' stern condemnation of anger and insult, and we see the flickering flames of hell licking at us for our heart wickedness, then we've gotten the point that Jesus intended. "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near," was Jesus' message and that of his cousin John the Baptist. People flocked to them and were baptized, washing away their sins, because they became aware of their heart wickedness and need for cleansing.
"All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John" (Luke 7:29-30).
Which is your heart most like? A repentant tax collector or a self-justifying Pharisee?
First, go be reconciled to your brother (5:23-24)
So if anger, murder, and insult are condemned by the Law as expounded by Jesus, what is approved by the law? What is the positive command we are to fulfill? "Be reconciled to your brother" (5:24).
How do we fulfill this law? If we are worshipping and remember that our brother has something against us, we are to leave our gift behind and first be reconciled to our brother. After we have done that, we can come back and resume our worship.
Does this sound a bit radical to your ears? It sounded radical to First Century ears, as well. Jesus sometimes rammed home his points through hyperbole, over-statement, so they would be unforgettable. Is this hyperbole? Perhaps.
But Jesus' clear point is that worship -- seeking to honor God by bringing an offering -- is a mockery if we don't first repent of our sins and carry out that repentance to its logical conclusion. That point isn't radical. It is taught throughout the Scripture in such passages as:
"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
To obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Samuel 15:22).
"Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God..." (Joel 2:13).
"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise" (Psalm 51:16-17).
Is Reconciliation Always Possible?
We need to say, however, that Jesus' words, "First, go and be reconciled to your brother," imply that you have offended your brother and need to make amends. There may well be estrangement that we have little to do with and cannot change. The willingness to reconcile must be shared by the other party. Don't beat yourself up over this. But make sure that you have made right what you need to, and that your anger and insult and self-righteousness about it have been replaced by humility and a willingness to reconcile.
Sometimes we have hurt someone deeply, and it is fully our fault, but when we go to humble ourselves and seek forgiveness we are snubbed. We may be snubbed, but we must still go and see reconciliation.
Lest we think we are in the clear about this, be aware that elsewhere Jesus spoke about another aspect of reconciliation -- our willingness to forgive those who have offended us. "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins" (Mark 11:25).
Reconciliation may be possible if we will humble ourselves. And even if it is not possible, we must make a sincere attempt if we would seek to fulfill the spirit of the Law. After all, the Law is not really about murder and stealing. It is about love and reconciliation. That is the spirit of the Law.
Settle matters quickly with your accuser (5:25-26)
Jesus concludes this teaching on reconciliation with an example from a mini-parable.
"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" (5:25-26)
The parable assumes that you owe your accuser a debt of some kind, and to collect on it he is taking you to small claims court. Jesus is saying, Don't wait until you get to court to work out some kind of deal; settle out of court. Because if the court has to decide the matter, you will be thrown into debtor's prison and won't get out until every last cent is paid.
We don't have debtor's prisons today, but they were common in Western jurisprudence until recently. On the surface they seem stupid: If a person is in prison he can't work to repay his debt. But what happened when you are thrown into debtor's prison, was that your family and friends would come up with the money in order to get you out. Then you have to live the rest of your life with your family glowering at you, and never letting you forget the hardship you have caused them.
So in this mini-parable, Jesus is saying, settle quickly, before you get to court. Settle quickly or you'll be stuck for every last cent that is due.
What is the point of the parable in this context? Jesus is teaching his hearers to reconcile quickly with those they have wronged, and not to put it off. The implication is that if they wait for God to settle the matter at his bar of justice, that judgment will exacting and harsh punishment.
You remember that this teaching on murder began with the concepts of accountability and justice: "... subject to judgment ... answerable to the Council ... in danger of the fire of hell." Jesus' mini-parable is only a thinly-veiled picture of us having to stand before God for every one of our sins unless we repent now.
The Golden Center
In a sense, the Law "Thou shalt not kill" is an outpost to regulate the limits of our behavior, but the Golden Center is something else. Is God seeking non-murderers? No. He is seeking those who do not let anger and hatred live in their hearts at all. He is seeking those who will show mercy, those who will forgive, those who will, in a word, love.
Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, not to abolish them. One day an expert in the Law asked Jesus this question:
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (22:36-40).
And so what seemed complex to the legalists becomes much simpler to grasp. "Love your neighbor as yourself." That is the aim of the whole law, straight from the mouth of God himself in the Person of Jesus Christ.
An Exposition by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
