Tuesday, February 23, 2016

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 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. – Matthew 5:21-22

This passage is the first of six contrasts that Jesus gives between the traditional teaching or interpretation of the Torah (Old Testament law) and his new teaching of what we might call “kingdom righteousness”. Six times Jesus quotes a traditional teaching (most often from the Torah itself) and six times he demonstrates how there is more that God wants for us. Each time Jesus does this, he uses the same pattern. It goes something like this, “You have heard it said….But I tell you…” 

One of the amazing things about this is that Jesus does not give any other authority to back up his teaching. Other Rabbis and teachers of Jesus’ day would always base their interpretation or teaching of the law on what some other Rabbi had previously said or taught. Jesus never does this; apparently he thinks it is authoritative simply because he is saying it!

This is one of the reasons why, at the very end of the Sermon on the Mount, the people are so amazed at Jesus’ teaching.

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. - Matthew 7:28-29

Here in the first of the six contrasts, Jesus is comparing the consequences of breaking the sixth commandment; Thou shall not kill, with the consequences of having anger and resentment in our hearts. Of course it is no surprise to hear that murder is wrong. However, Jesus implies that to harbor anger and hatred toward another person is essentially to murder them in our hearts. Whoa! Think about that for just a minute…

Jesus is telling us that murder begins with the seeds of anger, resentment and hatred in the human heart. If these seeds are allowed to take root and grow, over time they can lead to terrible consequences.

See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. - Hebrews 12:15

In light of all this, consider this question – Who are you in danger of murdering in your heart?

It is very tempting to rationalize all this and say to ourselves something like, “Come on, let’s not be too extreme here. Oh, sure, I may have a few people that irritate me, a few that I could do without, and some that I just can’t stand, but I am not murdering anybody.” But look at what Jesus says next. He says that we put our souls at risk even when we call somebody a fool! The word ‘Racca’ which Jesus uses, literally means “empty headed”. In other words, whenever we think of another person as a nobody, an idiot, a moron, or a good for nothing, we violate the law of God and we damage our hearts (not to mention theirs).

Take a few moments to consider the following questions…

Have you ever wished any harm on another person?

Have you ever rolled your eyes (even internally) at someone who you thought was just stupid?

Have you ever ignored someone who you just didn’t feel was worth your time?

Have you ever found yourself talking with another person about how annoying or foolish “so and so” is?

Is there someone right now that you despise in your heart?

Confess these things to your Father and ask him for the grace and strength to release you from your anger, scorn and/or bitterness…

Prayer:
Lord Jesus we recognize that you alone have all authority in heaven and on earth, and we know that you alone have the words of life that we desperately need. Forgive our unforgiving hearts and free us from all anger and resentment. Teach us to love others as you love us – Amen.

Pastor Jeff Frazier