The Gospel of Matthew 5:21-26

 ²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. ²³ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Commentary

Vs. 21-22 ²¹ “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ ²² But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

The Lord Jesus Christ now presents to us His Kingdoms law and morality on hate and murder and their intimate connection. Now under the Old Covenant we learn that murder is punishable by death, that the one who lies in wait to kill his neighbor is a murderer, and the murderer was to be put to death by the community, or delivered over to avenger of blood, there was no city of refuge were they were permitted to flee (Exodus 20:13; 21:12-13; Lev. 24:17; Num. 35:9-34; Deut. 19:11-13; 27:24 etc.). Even before the Law had been given, God made it clear that to murder another individual was to be punished with the death of the murderer (Gen. 9:6). Therefore the people were well versed in that reality; they all understood that murder is a most heinous crime to be punished with the death of the offender (to put away the guilt of innocent blood from the people and the land, Deut. 19:11-13; 21:9). And so Jesus here re-affirms the moral position of God on murder and states that …“whoever murders shall be in danger of judgment…” That is be subject to the punishment that God has decreed for such a crime. Now most people have never murdered, and will never murder, and so they can feel quite confident in of themselves by that measure they are basically “good” people. That said Jesus didn’t stop there, He simply used that as a precursor to reveal that though one may not have murdered with their hand, they may very well harbor murderous thoughts about someone within their heart. And it is the heart where the Kingdom of heavens law and morality always seeks to reach and change. And so Jesus now states: “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”

 There is then a wrath that originates within the human heart that is not the basis of having been wronged, or of having seen or heard of an injustice or wrong; all which is to be dealt with before it poisons ones whole being with hate or bitterness (consider Matt. 18:15-17; Eph. 4:26-27 etc.). And so there is an anger that originates within, that is often justified within, that hates another without a cause. And so though someone may not have murdered another directly, by having and harboring such anger within themselves reveals that they only have the heart of a murderer (consider 1 John 3:13-15); something which Cain had before he killed his brother Abel (see Gen. 4:1-15). Therefore Jesus says in His Kingdom those who are angry at their brother (i.e. fellow believer) without a cause shall be in the danger of the judgment, because having such evil anger within themselves they are only harboring murder within their hearts, and it is from within the heart where all sins begin, and are worked out from (Jer. 17:9-10; Matt 15:16-20). Now the next thing Jesus says’, which is directly related to His warnings about anger, is: “And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council.” Now this word Raca in Jesus’ day meant “empty head” (NKJV margin) or “empty one” (BBC), it was used as an expression of utter contempt for those whom it was spoken at. Thus from hatred within the heart to now it’s expression through the mouth, we see that by harboring such feelings in their heart, and then speaking such words against them with their mouth, they are only sowing the seeds for justifying their harm, within their own heart, or the hearts of others. Therefore Jesus makes it clear that in His Kingdom those who do so shall be in danger of the council; which in Jesus’ day referred to the Sanhedrin counsel which was made up of the Jews religious rulers who were to render God’s judgment, verdict, and when necessary His punishment on those brought before them.

 Therefore in following the Lord Jesus Christ no one is ever to take the utterly arrogant position of asserting and assuming a position of “superiority” over anyone else, and thereby justifying in their own hearts (or the hearts of others) so terribly mistreating and denigrating (and thus harming) their brother with their words; for that is a position that they do not have, nor will they ever have. And as Jesus warns us all here if we do, we will be in danger of facing God’s heavenly council! And I do not think anyone would want to stand before the Lord and try to justify saying such things about their brother in the Lord. Now the next thing that Jesus warns us about in relation to murder; which itself was only a progression in the denigration of that person, is that of calling someone a “fool.” Now what Jesus is referring to here is more than just calling someone a dunce or stupid (which itself is wrong). Rather what Jesus is referring to here is calling someone a moral fool, which in Jesus’ day was an expressing that someone should be dead, and a wish that they were !(BBC). Thus Jesus’ most severe warning He reserves for that, saying those who say to their brother, “‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” Those then who feel it is alright to denigrate another believer with their words because they are not breaking God’s commandment and murdering them with their hand are only deceiving themselves. For if it is wrong to murder a man who has been created in the image of God, it is also wrong to denigrate another person to the point of saying that they have no value in the sight of God, and thus either their persons or their life is “expendable” (consider James 3:8-10, vs. 9).

 Vs. 23-24 ²³ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

 Having then warned us all about the seriousness of verbal offenses, Jesus now makes it clear when such things occur (such as when one loses their temper and says things they shouldn’t to another) that the offender is to seek reconciliation with the offended. In fact so important is reconciliation in the eyes of God that Jesus says that even before ones brings their offering or gift to God we are to first be reconciled with our offended brother or sister and then come offer our gift to God. God then does let such things just pass by, for when we have offended or deeply hurt others, God wants us to first be reconciled to our brother, and then come and offer our gifts to Him. Therefore we are to shun all natural tendencies of shying away from acknowledging the harm we have caused, and go and seek reconciliation with those brethren we have offended. Because to needlessly delay doing so may mean that God will have to intervene on behalf of the offended.

 Vs. 25-26 ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

 And so it is that that Jesus leaves no room for denying (or excusing) in anyway, shape, or form, the wrong one has done. For Jesus now states that we will come under God’s judgement if we do, therefore He warns us all: “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. ²⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.

Here then Jesus uses the analogy of two persons, the offended taking the offender to court, the offender though has not settled with the one whom they have offended, and is still holding out on repenting and confessing their sin to them. And so now as both parties appear in court the offender quickly finds the judgment (i.e. God’s judgment) that they were trying to avoid by not acknowledging and confessing their trespass to the offended. Therefore the offender is handed over to the officer and sent to prison, (which is analogous with saying that they are now being punished or chastised by God) until justice is served for the offence, until all is paid (even the last penny), and all because they did not properly settle with the one they offended outside of court. Therefore Jesus’ is making it clear that we reconcile with our offended brother (or sister) while we can because to delay doing so may mean that we will pay the very last penny for the offence which we have caused.

Scripture Quotations

The New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

 

Additional Resources Consulted

Vs. 22 moros (Str. 3474), Kittel, Gerhard, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964–.

 Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.

MacDonald, William. Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. Edited by Arthur Farstad. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995.