Matthew 5:21-26 Murder

[hotcoffee]

Murder

Chapter 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister[b][c] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’[d] is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

From the Sermon on the Mount.... Raca means empty headed....

Jesus is talking about more than laws here. He's talking about character.

[cheezgrits]

This is important and a valuable lesson today. Basically, let me try to sum this up, but I'm not as good as you and Radiant.

Be nice to each other, remember that golden rule, settle things at the lowest level possible and in a mature way.

[Radiant1]

[21] Cf Exodus 20:13; Deut 5:17. The second part of the verse is not an exact quotation from the Old Testament, but cf Exodus 21:12.

[22-26] Reconciliation with an offended brother is urged in the admonition of Matthew 5:23-24 and the parable of Matthew 5:25-26 (Luke 12:58-59). The severity of the judge in the parable is a warning of the fate of unrepentant sinners in the coming judgment by God.

[22] Anger is the motive behind murder, as the insulting epithets are steps that may lead to it. They, as well as the deed, are all forbidden. Raqa: an Aramaic word reqa' or reqa probably meaning "imbecile," "blockhead," a term of abuse. The ascending order of punishment, judgment (by a local council?), trial before the Sanhedrin, condemnation to Gehenna, points to a higher degree of seriousness in each of the offenses. Sanhedrin: the highest judicial body of Judaism. Gehenna: in Hebrew ge-hinnom, "Valley of Hinnom," or ge ben-hinnom, "Valley of the son of Hinnom," southwest of Jerusalem, the center of an idolatrous cult during the monarchy in which children were offered in sacrifice (see 2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31). In Joshua 18:16 (Septuagint, Codex Vaticanus) the Hebrew is transliterated into Greek as gaienna, which appears in the New Testament as geenna. The concept of punishment of sinners by fire either after death or after the final judgment is found in Jewish apocalyptic literature (e.g., Enoch 90:26) but the name geenna is first given to the place of punishment in the New Testament.

New American Bible Copyright © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved.

[Radiant1]

So, anyone who says "you blockhead" or "you fool" in anger are in danger of the fires of hell. I briefly think of the OT prophets who were prone to do that a great deal. No doubt the prophets were released from Sheol at Jesus' death and resurrection (and therefore saved), so I'm thinking maybe this passage isn't quite as literal as it first seems? I don't know.

Reconciling with your brother before giving your gift pretty much implies to me that you really need your act together prior to coming before God. Perhaps your gift doesn't mean as much if you have something hanging over your head and you aren't exactly "pure". From a Catholic standpoint, we participate in the sacrament of Reconciliation and get all that stuff straight before coming before Him at Eucharist.

It seems obvious that verse 25 is referring to the coming judgment and that motivation matters so we need to watch out for that. In light of that, what does "pay the last penny" mean? When looking at the verse both literally and figuratively it means that one cannot escape just punishment, but how does that equate if one is "saved"? As a Catholic we believe in Purgatory where such things are corrected; however, other Christians don't believe that, so does that even mean anything for them?

Jesus gives three examples of "murder" taking the OT commandment thou shalt not murder further than previously believed. We find in scripture that Jesus often reiterates something three times when He wants to ram a point home so to speak. Three being a mystical number of course; one for Father, one for Son, and one for Holy Spirit perhaps?

At any rate, again, Jesus is telling us that righteousness is not just following the letter of the law, but that right relationships with our fellow man are important. As hotcoffee said, He's talking about character.

[hotcoffee]

I asked the Holy Spirit to tell me what to say this morning. I may have done us a disservice by splitting up this chapter. We may have lost the context a little.

The Sermon on the Mount all started with the Beatitudes.

"He said:


3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you"

I think what Jesus was saying in verses 21-26 was a continuation of the character we should display as Blessed followers. If a person, any person, were to follow the beatitudes, they would be living within the law [presuming the law was written to insure civility].

Jesus was well aware that we couldn't be perfect. He understands anger. After all His Father was angry before [Noah comes to mind]. The human spirit is prone to anger. If we get angry and loose our temper [Caine did it] we tend to do things we regret, even if the anger was only name calling, it's still harmful and although the consequences are not as severe as the consequences for murder, there are still consequences.

If we owe someone an apology, if we've hurt someone, it grows. Let's say I called someone a blockhead in anger. That hurt and anger may grow, it might spread to others, who may then use that in their dealings with us. In other words, if I call Jane a name, and Joe finds out.... and I owe Joe a debt of some kind.... Joe might find me unworthy and call the loan, rather than forgiving it.

We need to make things right. We're going to slip up... but when we do we need to make things right... within ourselves.... and with those we have harmed.