Anger, Insults, and Reconciliation
Matthew 5:21-26
Let’s turn to Matthew 5 verse 21. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Matthew 5:21 is on page 810 in the Bibles we are passing out.
Here’s an overview of what we’ve covered so far in the Sermon on the Mount. In vv.1-12 we have the Beatitudes, in which Jesus lays out how spiritually poor people can be saved from our spiritual poverty – it’s by coming to Him and admitting that we are spiritually poor – which means we trust Him to do the work – to forgive us through the Cross, change us by His resurrection power, and satisfy us by the gift of the Spirit. Then the rest of the beatitudes spell out how saved people will live.
Then in vv.13-16 Jesus explains that as saved people our purpose is to be salt and light – to have our words and lives give people a taste of Jesus’ goodness – helping them see the light of Jesus’ glory – so they would turn to Christ and be saved.
Then next, in vv.17-20 Jesus explains that He’s not abolishing the Old Testament. Quite the contrary, He is fulfilling the Old Testament. In fact, every single letter of the Old Testament is meaningful to us until the end of history – because it’s all pointing to what God will do in Jesus and His people.
So that brings us to vv.21-26 – what is Jesus saying here? Let’s take a look --
21 You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother 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.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
It’s clear in the first two verses that Jesus is correcting something. Notice that v.21 begins with “you have heard that it was said” – and then in v.22 he says “but I say to you.” Jesus is clearly correcting something. So what is Jesus correcting?
You could think Jesus is correcting the Old Testament. You could think He is saying that the Old Testament was just focused on outer actions like murder – but that we need to deal with our hearts.
But I don’t think that’s what’s going on, because the Old Testament also dealt with our hearts. Leviticus 19:18 says “love your neighbor as yourself.” And the Old Testament has lots to say about the danger of anger.
So if Jesus isn’t correcting the Old Testament – what is He correcting? I think He’s correcting the way the Scribes and Pharisees had distorted the Old Testament. They ignored the Old Testament focus on the heart – and focused just on outer actions. They implied that as long as you didn’t actually murder someone – it was OK to be angry at them, scoff at them, insult them.
So Jesus isn’t correcting the Old Testament – He’s correcting the Scribes and Pharisees’ distortion of the Old Testament.
So with that in mind let’s ask -- what is Jesus calling us to do?
First of all, notice that three times in these verses Jesus uses the word “brother” --
- V.22 – everyone who is angry with his brother;
- V.23 – you remember that your brother has something against you;
- V.24 – be reconciled to your brother.
Why the emphasis on your brother? When Jesus talks about our brothers, He’s talking about our believing brothers and sisters. He’s talking about fellow-believers. So here Jesus is especially talking about our relationships with our believing brothers and sisters.
What he says applies to all of our relationships. But He especially wants us to be thinking about our relationships with other believers. And He calls us to four actions.
The first action is at the beginning of v.22 –
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…
The point is – don’t be angry with your brothers or sisters.
What is anger? It’s when you are upset, frustrated, or ticked off at someone. Imagine that someone in the home group tells everyone that your new haircut is dorky. Or that you at home group in line for the potluck – eyeing the spaghetti and meatballs – but the guy in front of you takes it all for himself. Or imagine that you were going to meet a sister at Starbucks and she completely forgot about it and wasted your time.
In all of those cases you could easily have been angry at the other person – been upset, frustrated, ticked off at them. So think about it. Have you recently been angry at anyone?
Now there is something called righteous anger. In Mark 3 we read that Jesus was angry. He’s in the synagogue on the Sabbath and meets a man with a withered hand. And Jesus knows the Scribes and Pharisees didn’t think Jesus should heal on the Sabbath. And Mark says Jesus looked at them with anger (3:5).
So when is anger righteous and when is it unrighteous? Anger is more likely to be unrighteous when it’s about me and my well-being – and it’s more likely to be righteous when it’s about God’s glory or others’ well-being.
So when Jesus is angry because the Scribes don’t want this man healed – who’s that about? The man with the withered hand. So Jesus’ anger is righteous. And when I’m angry because you took the last of the spaghetti and meatballs – who’s that about? Me. So my anger is unrighteous.
Here Jesus is talking about unrighteous anger – read v.22 again --
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…
What judgment? Notice that He talks about being liable to judgment, being liable to the council, and liable to the hell of fire. So he’s not talking about human judgment. He’s talking about God’s judgment.
Now one of our commitments is to preach the Bible as it is – and not water it down. And this is one of those passages that’s tempting to water down. But we must not do that. Jesus says that if we are angry then we will face God’s judgment.
Now of course if we will bring our anger to Jesus, and admit that we are poor in spirit, and mourn for our sin before Him – trusting Him to forgive and change us – He will – and He will free us from anger.
But to motivate us to do this Jesus wants us to understand how serious it would be to let anger go and not bring it before Him. Why is anger so serious? Well think about the spaghetti and meatballs. If I am feeling angry at you for taking the last of the spaghetti and meatballs – at that moment what am I trusting for my soul-satisfaction? Spaghetti and meatballs. And what am I not trusting for my soul-satisfaction? Jesus.
And so if my life is marked by unrighteous anger without any repentance and without any change – that shows I am not trusting Jesus for my soul-satisfaction. And if I’m not trusting Jesus for my soul satisfaction – then I’m not saved. Which is why I will face God’s judgment.
But the good news is that I can turn to Jesus as I am – as someone who is poor in spirit – and He will forgive me for my anger and free me from my anger.
So first – Jesus calls us to not be angry with our brothers and sisters.
Then second, Jesus says don’t insult your brothers of sisters. Look at the end of v.22 - 22b … whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.
Wow. How often do we do this? Let’s say someone in your home group plans an outing to go miniature golfing but doesn’t call ahead – and you all show up and the place is closed. Do you walk away muttering -- “what an idiot”?
This might sound like nothing. But Jesus says it’s serious. Look again at what He says -
22b … whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire.
That’s serious. Now if we will come to Jesus poor in spirit and mourn over this sin – He will completely forgive us, and He will change our hearts so we grow in not talking this way.
But Jesus’ point is that if we don’t bring this to Jesus – we will face judgment. Why? Think about the miniature-golf outing. If when we get there and the place is closed and we get back in the car and say to yourself – “what an idiot” – at that moment what are you feeling in your heart? You are feeling angry, proud, arrogant. You are not humbled before God, trusting God, delighting in God.
And if I continue in this pattern – angry, proud, arrogant, not humble before God, not trusting God – that would show I’ve never been saved. Which is why I would face God’s judgment.
So what should we do? We should turn to Jesus as we are – see how poor in spirit we are – mourn over our pride and arrogance – and as we trust Him – He will completely forgive us – we won’t face judgment – and He will change our hearts so pride will lessen and humility before God and others will increase.
So first Jesus says don’t be angry. Second, He says don’t insult. And then third He says seek reconciliation. You can see that in vv.23-24 –
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
This would have shocked Jesus’ listeners. See, back them the Jewish temple was still standing – and people brought gifts to the temple to express worship.
Let’s bring it into today’s setting. Let’s say you are on your way here on a Sunday morning to worship God – and on the way you remember that you hurt someone who used to be part of this church. You hurt them – and they ended up leaving and going to another church.
So what would Jesus say to do? Stop your car. Turn it around. Drive to their church. Find them – and do whatever you can to be reconciled with them. Express your love to them. Apologize to them. Explain to them what happened. Then -- once you have done whatever you can to be reconciled – head to Mercy Hill and worship.
So – is there anyone in your life who has something against you – and with whom you have not sought reconciliation? Jesus’ point is – there’s nothing more important – not even worship. Put everything else aside – and seek reconciliation. Call them today. Go seek them today.
Then last, Jesus says make amends. That’s in vv.25-26. This is a puzzling passage – because it sounds like Jesus all of a sudden has shifted focus to secular law courts. Let’s read the verses – then I’ll give my take on what’s going on –
25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
I think Jesus is using the law courts as an illustration of how important it is to make amends with those we’ve hurt.
In that culture – if you owed someone money you could go to jail. So it made sense to pay up before he takes you to court. Jesus’ point is – make amends to those you’ve hurt. If you have wronged someone and there is something you can do to make amends – do it quickly – as soon as possible.
Let’s say your lawn mower broke and your in-laws are coming this weekend so you quick borrowed a lawn mower from someone in your home group and got your lawn looking all spiffy. But then your son ran over that lawn mower when he was backing out of the garage – and destroyed it. And you told the owner of the lawn mower you were sorry – you could tell he was ticked – but you got busy and never did anything about it.
What should you do? Make amends. Go to the owner of the lawn mower and give him money for a new one. Of offer to go buy him a new one. Go to the person you hurt and give your apology. Do whatever you can to make amends for what you have done to others.
If – in that culture – it was important to pay back people to whom we owed money – it’s all the more important to make amends to those we have hurt. So make amends.
Questions?
Now what does this mean for us?
We should live this way in our workplaces and neighborhoods. But here Jesus is especially thinking of our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ.
So think of what it would mean to be part of a Christ-centered community in which –
- No one was angry at anyone else.
- No one insulted anyone else.
- Everyone immediately sought reconciliation when there was tension.
- And everyone quickly made amends with those they have hurt.
Wouldn’t that be powerful? Think of the love. Think of the unity. To be part of a group of people like that would be powerfully counter-cultural. To have our home groups function like that would display Jesus’ supernatural love. And then – when you invite people in who do not know Jesus – here on Sundays or in our home groups – they would see Jesus.
But again – how can we do this? Only one way. By admitting that we in ourselves can’t. By coming to Jesus poor in spirit, mourning over our sin, and trusting Him to forgive us, change us, and satisfy us in Himself. When we experience His forgiveness – and His love pouring into our hearts – we will be so filled that we won’t be angry, we won’t insult, we will seek reconciliation, and we will make amends.