Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: Don’t Stay Angry; Be Reconciled with your Brother.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgement.’  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:21-22).

We know that murder is wrong (unlawfully taking the life of another human being).  But where does murder come from?  It doesn’t just spring up out of nowhere.  It has an origin.  Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19).  Murder finds its source in the human heart, and the seed of murder is anger.  Anger leads to murder because it just snowballs.  Anger leads to thoughts of revenge or retribution, which leads to, eventually, acting on those thoughts. 

That understanding of how desperately wicked the human heart is, is what forms the basis of what Jesus is teaching here.  The Law of Moses says, “You shall not murder.”  So, if someone commits murder, they’d be judged as a murderer.  But Jesus reveals here, shockingly, that we’ll be judged, not only for what we do to another person, but also for what we think about them.  In God’s eyes, anger towards another person, stored up in our hearts, is the same as, is no different from, murder.  Although we may not actually commit murder, we commit murder in our hearts when we nurse our anger towards them.

Listen, “Whoever says ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the fires of hell.”     
 
In addition, allowing anger to live, rent free, in our hearts until it leads to insults and the act of devaluing another human being who was created in God’s image carries the same penalty as if we were to commit murder!  That’s intense, right?  So, Jesus is saying here, “repent of your anger!  Because if we don’t, we’ll find ourselves under God’s judgement.

Let’s read the next couple of verses,

“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go.  First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matthew 5:23-24).
 
Israelites in those days continually brought offerings and sacrifices to God at the Temple in Jerusalem according to the Law of Moses.  (Christians don’t follow laws regarding sacrifices anymore because Jesus gave himself as the once and for all sacrifice for our sin).  But, Jesus taught that God would not accept someone’s offering if they had an unresolved quarrel with another one of God’s children.  Now though, in light of Jesus’ sacrifice, kingdom citizens understand that our true worship is affected by how we live in relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  These relationships are more important to God than our acts of devotion.  If we love God, and we find our joy in God, we must be reconciled first to our brothers and sisters whenever it is in our power to do so.  Only after we make things right should we practice our acts of devotion, whether that be prayer, Bible study, attending church services, taking the Lord’s Supper, or ministering to others in Christ’s name or in the name of the church.

Let’s look at V.25-26,

“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.  Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:25-26).
 
We should seek to be reconciled with God, and with our brothers and sisters while there is still time, especially when we are the ones in the wrong.  The opportunity for repentance is a narrow doorway that we could miss if we continue to delay, delay, delay.  If we’re unrepentant and allow our relationships with other believers to go unreconciled, we may fall under God’s judgement.  Understand also that you’re bringing dishonor, or disrepute to Christ’s name and you’re dragging the church through the mud.   
 
However, if we are truly followers of Jesus, we do have the Holy Spirit to help us in our weakness.  We can be confident that he will help us to live in a posture of repentance and reconciliation with our brothers and sisters in Christ and to live at peace with our neighbors.  If we are in Christ, walking in obedience to his word, we will desire to live in reconciliation with others the way Christ reconciled us to The Father by giving himself as the once and for all sacrifice for our sin. 

-Don’t seethe in your anger. 

-Be reconciled to your brothers and sisters.

-And live in peace, if possible, with outsiders.

Live as true citizens of God’s kingdom.