The Law and the Prophets (Part 2c)

When Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment,” He was referring to the various Old Testament verses regarding murder, the procedures for determining guilt, and the penalty.13 The Mosaic Law was clear about not committing murder, but Jesus taught us to go deeper than what was prescribed by the Law, to what was behind the act of murder.

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother14 will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

The principle Jesus was teaching is that actually committing murder is only the outward manifestation of an inward attitude.15 He speaks of anger and insults, saying that those who demean others with insulting words will be judged by God. Some translations render the sentence about insults as whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council.16 Raca, an Aramaic word, is only used in the Bible this one time and is an insult understood to mean an empty-headed or stupid person. Other translations render it as good-for-nothing, a fool, an idiot.

Murder is an act which proceeds from the intent of one’s heart. Hatred, anger, or contempt generally precede such an act. Jesus makes the point that people might feel they are in right standing with God because they haven’t committed murder, but in order to correctly understand and interpret the meaning of this commandment, we have to go to the root of the intent. He’s causing the hearers to face questions such as, have they ever been unjustly angry with someone, hated them, or held them in contempt, verbally abused or degraded them, or committed character assassination? Have they ever wished someone were dead? If they have, then they are guilty of sinning against God and others, even though they did not go as far as the actual act of murder. His point is that it’s not enough to simply obey the written code of the Law; what’s in the heart and mind matters as well.

There are some examples in the Gospels of Jesus getting angry. When He asked the Pharisees if it was lawful to do good or to save a life on the Sabbath and they refused to answer, He looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.17 He showed anger when He drove out those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of money-changers.18 He even called the Pharisees blind fools when He was castigating them for being hypocrites.19 Was Jesus being inconsistent?

13 Exodus 20:13, Numbers 35:30–34, Deuteronomy 17:7–13, 19:1–13.

14 Older Bible translations include the phrase “without a cause,” so that it reads “… who is angry with his brother without a cause.” Some ancient manuscripts include this phrase, but the oldest manuscripts don’t. It is likely that at some point this was added by a Christian scribe. The addition reflects the understanding of the point Jesus was making. He wasn’t condemning righteous anger, but anger which was unwarranted.

15 France, The Gospel of Matthew, 198.

16 Matthew 5:22 NKJ.

17 Mark 3:1–5.

18 Matthew 21:12.

19 Matthew 23:17.
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"For thou shalt hear a voice beside thee saying, 'This is the way, walk ye in it!'" (Isa.30:21). Help us to mind those voices, Lord, even though it may seem unreasonable or ridiculous, and we wonder why. If we have any check in the Spirit at all, Lord, help us to mind it, knowing that You know why. -- Give us wisdom, give us strength, give us safekeeping, lead and guide us by Thy Word and Thy revelation. We thank Thee, Lord, for how You have!







Director's Corner TFI