Among American conservatives, there is much talk about the Constitution as it applies to us today. And without much doubt, the original meaning of the Constitution country is no longer being applied. The same thing was true in regard to the law. By the time of Christ, the Mosaic Law, the moral law and even the ceremonial law, were not being applied by and to the people of Israel as it had been in Moses day. Christ came – not to continue the destruction of the Law – but fulfill, and to expound its purpose. And to the second point of this purpose He now begins to give us a number of examples.
The first few of those examples, take us back to the Decalogue – the Ten Commandments. It takes us back to the scripture which we studied this morning, and also to its wider context.
It is the duty of the Christian to avoid or control his ANGER.
I hope that you know that the command, “Thou shalt not kill,” means, “Do not murder.” The various ways that humans take away the lives of other humans are not all the same. This is obvious as someone continues to read through the Book of Exodus or on into Deuteronomy – the second explanation of the law. For example, the law provided for the protection of someone who accidentally killed another person. “Thou shalt not kill” has no bearing on the accidental killing of another person. And then there were the demands of this same set of laws in regard to capital punishment. God demanded that the man who accidentally killed some other person was to be protected. But He also demanded that the man who deliberately and with premeditation killed another person, his life was to be taken from him. That execution was not be to be considered in the same way as “thou shalt not kill.” Despite the pontification of the liberals, an execution is not “murder” nor it is “killing” in the sense of that commandment. And then after that, God commanded certain wars for Israel and their homeland. The taking of a life in war is not necessarily the same thing as murder, and it did not come under the command “thou shalt not kill.”
These things have really upset a lot professing Christians down through the centuries. And some of you may even disagree with me on some of these points, as I warned you weeks ago. I am personally 150% on side of capital punishment. While on other side, I am not sure there is a fully justifiable war in our world today. I think that when looking at these things, two thoughts must be kept in mind. In fact, I’ll go so far as to say that these things should be considered about a great many other areas of our Christian lives. First, does God’s Word make any direct statement about this particular thing? Does God say anything specific about capital punishment – the execution of the murderer – rapist? Does God say anything specific about going to war with Canada over the water of the Columbia? Does He say anything about how far our war on terrorism should extend? Does the Lord say anything about killing a man who was trying to steal from us or to rape our wife?
Let me digress for a few minutes thinking about capital punishment. You won’t find that term in a concordance of the King James Bible. But that doesn’t mean that the principle isn’t found in the Word of God. Do you know where the term originated? The term “capital” comes from the Latin “capitalis” meaning “head.” Washington DC is the nation’s “capital” – it is the “head of the nation.” And capital punishment is the penalty for a crime so sever that it deserves decapitation. Does God directly say anything about the execution of those who commit serious crime? Absolutely. At the very beginning of human society – Genesis 9 – the Lord said – “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made he man.” Not to execute the murderer is an attack upon the authority, the creation, and even the person of God Himself. In the context of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 21 we read: “He that smitheth a man, so that he died, shall be surely put to death.” And in verse 29 of the same chapter God says that the man responsible for an animal which knowingly kills another man, should be executed for his lack of control. Could we lawfully extend that to the machine which that man should have controlled? Much to the chagrin of the religious liberals, even the New Testament teaches capital punishment. Paul says that the governor is “the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.” In another place he says “if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die,” but if I haven’t committed a capital offense, you cannot touch me, and I appeal unto Caesar. Of course there are other crimes beyond murder which are capital offenses, but they are not a part of the Lord’s purpose here in Matthew.
Capital punishment cannot be opposed because some people say that it makes human life cheap. Exactly the opposite is true – murderers have victims who were made in God’s image. Any and every human life has eternality written all over it, and it must be protected. Murderers attack, not only their victims, but the rule of God – and therefore they must punished. But it isn’t because I say that they must be punished, it is the Creator, the Sovereign God, who makes that declaration. God has given human government responsibility to punish evildoers – Romans 13. This has nothing to do with the command – “Thou shalt not kill.”
The Pharisees and others, like us, were taking that part of God’s law quite literally. Where do the current Presidential candidates stand on this issue? Those who deny capital punishment should be punished and kept out of office. Beyond that – the Lord Jesus takes the root command and steps it up a notch or two.
Murder is just the tip of a deeper iceberg.
Or maybe I should say that the red hot flame of murder has an even hotter bed of coals underneath. Christ said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”
Just as man-slaughter, or an accidental killing, is not a murder, not all anger is the same kind of anger. “Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” Whose judgment? God’s apparently. And that reminds us of God’s wrath – anger to the maximum degree – but it is anger without sin. God cannot sin. When Christ Jesus attacked those who were commercializing the temple – the money changers and the livestock salesmen – was He angry? I would say that He was, but it was anger without sin. Even fallen sinners like ourselves can sometimes feel a righteous anger over evil things.
Obviously, the Lord Jesus was referring to unrighteous anger, anger “without a just cause.” He was talking about anger which grows out of pride, vanity, hatred, revenge and just plain maliciousness. He is talking about human anger – sinfully based human anger.
He also mentions the use of name-calling in verse 22. “Whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.” “Raca” literally means “empty” and is an insult to a person’s intelligence. It may be like the words “nitwit,” “blockhead,” numbskull,” “bonehead,” “stupid,” and so on. The other day the family was sitting at the table, and Judy used the word “stupid.” It wasn’t in regard to anyone else and wasn’t particularly derogatory. But immediately Sahalie called her hand – or tongue – on the use of that word. Even this four-year-old knows that the word “stupid” shouldn’t be a casual part of Christian vocabulary. “Fool” is the Greek word “moros” from which our English word “moron” is derived. Since even the Saviour used that word, it must have meant more than the scientific description of a simpleton’s mental capacity. There are some who say that“moros” is the translation of the Hebrew word for “apostate.” In that sense, the man who says that his brother is an apostate and doomed to hell, is himself in danger hell fire – if there be no truth to it. And where does that put the person who tells another to “go to Hell”?
Whatever the exact meaning might be, the general meaning is quite clear: Hatred of another person is spiritual murder. Are you willing to hear what I John 3:15 has to say? “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” Don’t try to skirt the issue by some fanciful application of the word “brother.” Anger and insults are ugly symptoms of a desire to get rid of someone. If you are prone to say, “I hate so-and-so,” you might as well say, “I wish he were dead, and if I had a gun, I’d arrange it.” We must not only have high regard for life, but as Christians we should also have a high regard for character as well. And when we use negative or nasty vocabulary about other people, it is not just their character that we are destroying, it is our own as well.
Notice that the Lord Jesus says that such a person is in danger of judgment. Obviously that must be God’s judgment, because no human court is capable of judging mere words very well. Remember that we shall be judged for the things that we say to people. Remember too, that this judgment can lead straight to Hell fire. In other words, hatred is diametrically opposed to Bible Christianity. Name calling must not be found in the mouth of the real child God. A professing Christian may commit these sins just as they may commit murder. But if so, he better check to make sure that he is truly born again. The Lord Jesus took the old law, but tightened and strengthened it.
At this point, the Lord adds a couple of corollaries to His initial precept.
“If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.”
Just to claim to worship the Lord, doesn’t remove the responsibility of our sins – these sins. If you are sitting in the house of God and you remember harsh words that have been exchanged with someone else – go and fix that breach. In other words, under those circumstances, you are spiritually unfit for worship. And it doesn’t matter if that adversary is a fellow Christian or not – brother or enemy – fix it. Do it for the Lord’s sake, if not for yourself or for the sake of that other person.
The thing to notice in verses 24 to 26 is the importance of immediate repair of these problems. As soon as you are conscious of a broken relationship, you must take the initiative toward reconciliation. But is this the way we do things? If we do not, we are not really behaving like Christ or as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.