“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Matthew 5:21-22 (NASB) What is the significance of “But I tell you?” Jesus was not doing away with the law or adding to it. Instead, He was giving a more complete understanding of why God had made the law in the first place. Moses in Exodus 20:13 said “You shall not murder.” Jesus taught that we should not even become angry with enough to murder. If we do we have already committed murder in our heart. Whereas the Pharisees would read this law and not having committed murder would feel self-righteous. But they were angry enough with Jesus that they would soon plot His death. Rather than them committing the murder they would have someone else do it. It is easy to miss the intent of God’s Word when we read His rules for living without trying to understand why He made them. Killing is a terrible sin, whether it is slaying a grown up or having a baby aborted while in the womb. But anger is a great sin too because it violates God’s command to love. Anger in this case refers to a seething, brooding bitterness against someone. Anger is a dangerous emotion that always threatens to leap out of control, leading to violence, emotional hurt, increased mental stress, and spiritual damage. Anger does not allow us to develop spiritually so that we may please God. Have you ever been proud that you did not strike someone and say what was really on your mind? Self-control is good, but Christ wants us to practice thought-control as well. Jesus said that we will be held accountable for even our attitudes. Jesus spent a lot of time teaching us how to build and maintain right relationships with God and man. He views these relationships as neither unimportant nor extraneous, but as the essence of which life is made. Our personal interaction with God should produce within us the qualities of character that build and sustain all our relationships. Just Jesus equates anger with murder so should we. We are to be very careful in how we speak to others lest hateful words bring us into God’s judgment.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 03:55:18 +0000
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