Matthew 5:21-26
Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.
“You have heard that it was said to those in ancient times, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of hell fire.” Matthew 5:21-22
“You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13 Our Lord Jesus said He came to fulfill the law, not to destroy it. Relating anger and insults within the heart to murder is one example of how He came to fulfill the law of Moses. Because of the sin rooted within human nature, the law is weak and not able to change a person’s heart. Therefore, Jesus came so that people could wean themselves from faith in the letter of the law to have faith in God through Him. In other words, while people thought He was changing or abolishing the law, He was actually fulfilling it from within the hearts, minds, and souls of people, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:2-4
It sounded like Jesus was saying the law was not necessary because He had something new and different to say about it. He was saying something new to them, something not heard from the written law. He let them know that the anger within themselves put them in as much danger of judgment as what murder did. The people might have refrained from murdering someone, but they were walking around with an angry disposition towards others for no reason at all. As anger separates the heart and soul from the Spirit of God, it is sin, and when it grows roots within a person it blossoms into many crimes, violence, and murder. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.” Ephesians 4:26-27 On those occasions when anger is felt blossoming within, do not allow it to be directed towards belief in God, nor to speak against Jesus, nor to attack the presence of the Holy Spirit, nor to do harm to someone. Do not sin against God and others during moments of anger and do not harbor anger within yourself that carries over from day-to-day.
Our Lord Jesus Christ gave His life on the Cross to wash away the sin of anger, insults, and malice. By the remission of sin, the Holy Spirit is given to us, Who sanctifies our words and behaviors from within our heart, soul, and mind. We know we have the Holy Spirit when we do not speak against Jesus and say that He is Lord, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3 “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, loud quarreling, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:30-32
The word “Raca” means worthless or empty-headed and the word “fool” means about the same. They are angry insults hurled at other people to belittle someone and to run-down their character. There are no specific laws written in the Old Testament against calling someone a fool or saying “Raca” to them, but Jesus teaches that those who insult others in that way are in danger of the judgment and the fire of Hell. Being righteous by the standards of the written law is not righteous enough to keep a person from eternal Hell. A person has to be born-again by the Spirit of God. Jesus Christ was not destroying the laws by turning people to live by the Spirit, he was fulfilling the law. Our Lord Jesus was even giving new commandments in order to make a person’s heart right with God, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35
Today, we live in a culture, which is global, that is filled with those who are filled with anger, insults, and disparaging attitudes, words, and behaviors. People seem to be walking around with a scowl on their face as they come across very unfriendly, which makes it evident that love has gone cold in this world. Their hearts and minds are filled with sin, unbelief in God, and hostility towards others. By no coincidence, they reject the forgiveness of sin that is offered at the Cross where Jesus Christ died. They want no part of repenting and being changed from within by the Holy Spirit. What they do welcome to live within them is the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. Through the beast, they serve the power of darkness and despise anyone who shuns the work that the beast does within them and as a community. They embrace the image of the beast that is given breath/life to speak by speaking and living through them. By what they are given to say and do, they are being conformed to the mark, name, number of the beast.
Repentance! That is what is needed…to repent of anger and insults that persecute and belittle people. Repent means to turn away from those sins and come to God by faith in Jesus Christ in the presence of the Holy Spirit.
“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24
Offering the gifts of money [or “tithes”] and other worldly good deeds means nothing if the content of our heart is not right with God. The gift that God wants is a heart that is right with Him. If anger and insults flow from the heart and are hurled at others, we cannot expect God to accept that as gifts to Him. Those of the Jewish culture were doing all of the right things according to their customs and laws but were doing all the wrong things when they encountered other people. The gifts that they presented to God externally did nothing to prepare a place for Him within their heart.
If we have insulted someone, lashed out in anger against them, or belittled them in any way, we need to repent of doing those things. We need to approach the person we offended, and in the best way we know how, let them know that it will not happen again, that we are sorry those things happened. After we have attempted to make things right with a person that we have hurt, then we can return to the altar of God and offer our gifts to Him. Some people are very unforgiving but that doesn’t change God’s forgiveness of us. The gift we offer to God is a repentant heart. In other words, we cannot live for God and continue to bring heartache, affliction, turmoil, and hurt to others. Jesus Christ went to the Cross to atone for our sin. He was mocked, ridiculed, insulted, subject to anger, yet He opened not his mouth, “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.” Isaiah 53:7 Because of our sins, He suffered those things, and we need to go to Him and repent so that we can be reconciled to God. Click for a post on Isaiah 53:7-9.
“Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.” Matthew 5:25-26
When a person is brought before a judge, it’s because a legal case has been brought against them. If a legal case is brought, it’s because a person did something wrong against another person. If the judge rules in favor of the one who brought the law case, then the person who did wrong will go to prison. The guilty person remains in prison until the sentence is served. Our Lord Jesus wants us to avoid any jail time and to prevent us from ever being brought before a judge. The way to do that is to learn to respect others and not to allow hostile and malice behaviors to be directed towards them.
Bad behaviors towards others are a result from a heart filled with ill-will, greed, grudges, anger, and bitterness towards. Sin leads to all sorts of legal trouble. Our Lord Jesus wants us to learn to put those sins under His blood, a place where bad desires are put in remission to give way to the presence of the Holy Spirit. Our faith in Jesus Christ is the difference between spending time in jail and turning away from committing a legal infraction against others. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, loud quarreling, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:30-32
Those of today’s culture include those of the legal system and they live by the power of darkness through the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. “All who dwell on the earth will worship [the beast], whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelations 13:8 By what they are given to say and do, it’s obvious that the grassroots population have a lust for creating conflict and turmoil. They have an extraordinary skill in causing ill-will, bitterness, anger, envy, and greed to take root within a person. Christians are squarely in their target zone. If we lash out in some way against them, they have a legal right to bring us before a judge. Those judges also serve the beast that gives them what to say, do, think, and feel. When found guilty in responding hatefully and maliciously towards a person, righteous retaliation and claims of persecution is not a defense to them. The judge will condemn the person to the sentence as allowable by the letter of the law.
Repentance of pride is necessary so that in humility we can turn away from potentially harmful reactions from the turmoil of sin that might bubble up within us. On our own, we will not be able to turn the other cheek, but through our Lord Jesus Christ we can.
There is a judgment day coming when our Lord Jesus will be the Judge. For we who live for Him, there is no sentence of condemnation, but those who reject Him, nor believes in God, nor welcomes the Holy Spirit, they will be sentenced to eternal Hell. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit…Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and will not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Romans 8:1, John 5:24
“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
I am coming soon.
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11
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