A Messiah Who Teaches Part 1: If Looks Could Kill
Text: Matt. 5:21-26
Introduction
1. Illustration: A young girl who was writing a paper for school came to her father and asked, "Dad, what is the difference between anger and exasperation?" The father replied, "It is mostly a matter of degree. Let me show you what I mean." With that the father went to the telephone and dialed a number at random. To the man who answered the phone, he said, "Hello, is Melvin there?" The man answered, "There is no one living here named Melvin. Why don’t you learn to look up numbers before you dial" "See," said the father to his daughter. "That man was not a bit happy with our call. He was probably very busy with something and we annoyed him. Now watch...." The father dialed the number again. "Hello, is Melvin there?" asked the father. "Now look here!" came the heated reply. "You just called this number and I told you that there is no Melvin here! You’ve got lot of guts calling again!" The receiver slammed down hard. The father turned to his daughter and said, "You see, that was anger. Now I’ll show you what exasperation means. "He dialed the same number, and when a violent voice roared, "Hello!" The father calmly said, "Hello, this is Melvin. Have there been any calls for me?"
2. Jesus teaches his disciples that we are to live by the spirit of the law and not merely the letter. Most people can say they have never committed a murder, but is that enough?
a. We can murder people with our thoughts.
b. We can murder people with our words.
c. We can murder people with our actions.
3. Jesus gets to the root problem with murder - anger.
a. He tells us how to define it.
b. He tells us how to deal with it within the church.
c. He tells us how to deal with it outside the church.
4. Read Matt. 5:21-26
Proposition: Jesus teaches us that the way to keep from murder is to deal with our anger before it gets out of control.
Transition: First, Jesus...
I. Defines It (21-22)
A. But I Say to You
1. Six times in verses Matthew 5:21-43 Jesus cites Scripture and then, like a good rabbi, explains it.
a. The sort of wording he uses was used by other Jewish teachers to establish the fuller meaning of a text, although Jesus speaks with greater authority than Jewish teachers normally claimed (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
b. Jesus is contrasting his interpretation of the Old Testament with faulty interpretations and/or applications (Wilkins, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: Matthew, 240).
c. Above all, Jesus is going beyond the surface of what the law says to the heart of what it means.
2. Jesus begins this teaching with the sixth commandment when he says, “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’"
a. Here Jesus is quoting Ex. 20:13 “You must not murder."
b. Although Hebrew possesses seven words for killing, the verb used in Exodus 20:13 makes "murder" (rasah) a more accurate rendering than "kill." It denotes premeditation and deliberateness (Wilkins, 241).
c. This goes beyond the accidental killing of a person and shows intentionality.
3. However, we need to pay close attention to what Jesus says next, "But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!"
a. Jesus here gets at the source of murder, which is anger.
b. 1 John 3:15 (NLT)
Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
c. Jesus presses beyond behavior specifically punished by law to the kind of heart that generates such behavior.
d. Anger that would generate murder if unimpeded is the spiritual equivalent of murder.
e. God never really wanted people to obey the rules; he wants them to be holy as he is, to value what he values (Keener, IVP New Testament Commentary: Matthew, 114).
f. Anger alone is a violation of the law and was the original intent of the murder prohibition in the Old Testament.
g. The actual committing of murder is only the outward manifestation of an inward attitude, which is itself worthy of blame, whether or not it actually leads to the act of murder (France, 199).
4. Jesus also shows us that we can murder with out words when he says, "If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court."
a. The word translated "idiot" by the NLT is the Aramaic word "Racca," which means, "empty headed one."
b. This term of contempt was a personal, public affront. Name-calling was highly insulting in Jewish culture because a person’s identity was stripped away and an offensive identity substituted (Wilkins, 242).
c. When in anger, we use terms that degrade and tear down another person, we kill them spiritually and strip them of their dignity and true identity - being created in the image of God.
d. Genesis 1:27 (NLT)
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
e. We need to be cautious of what we call people, because, in essence, since they are created in the image of God, that is what we are saying about him.
5. Jesus takes this one step higher when he says, "And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell."
a. The term that is translated "curse" is literally "fool."
b. This is a translation of the Greek word moros, from which we derive moron.
c. But its meaning did not involve judgment of one’s IQ but rather one’s moral condition.
d. It was applied to those who denied God’s existence and as a result fell to further evil (Preaching the Word).
e. In other words, it is to degrade them spiritually and insist that their faith is worthless.
f. What Jesus is trying to tell us is that we can kill a person without raising a finger against them.
B. Anger Is the Root
1. Illustration: Sins are like circles in the water when a stone is thrown into it; one produces another. When anger was in Cain’s heart, murder was not far off. — Philip Henry
2. Ephesians 4:26-27 (NLT)
And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil.
3. Anger is the cornerstone of murder.
a. Like cancer, if it is not eliminated it will grow and kill us.
b. It will consume our spirits.
c. It will separate us from God.
d. It has to potential to ruin us in this life and the next.
4. Anger can cause us to murder others with our words.
a. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words kill us from the inside out.
b. Harsh words degrade a persons self-esteem.
c. Harsh words wound the heart.
d. Harsh words wound the mind.
e. Harsh words wound the spirit.
5. Anger can cause us to murder with our attitudes.
a. Grudges are debilitating.
b. They debilitate relationships.
c. They debilitate families.
d. They debilitate communities.
e. In the long run, the person that grudges hurt the most is yourself.
Transition: Jesus also tells us about...
II. Dealing With It Within the Church (23-24)
A. Go and Be Reconciled
1. In vv. 23-24, Jesus tells us about dealing with anger in the church.
a. You mean people get angry with one another in church?
b. Whenever there are people there will be anger to deal with, and the church is no exception.
2. Jesus illustrates this by saying, “So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you,"
a. The phrases "someone" (v. 23), and "that person" (v.24) are both translating the Greek word for "Brother."
b. In other words, Jesus is talking about relationships within the church.
c. Anger within the church can not only destroy individual relationships, but also can destroy the church itself and create a dysfunctional atmosphere in the church for years to come.
d. Jesus says the way to keep this from happening is to be proactive.
e. Notice what Jesus says, if you are presenting your gift at the altar and remember that someone has something against you!
f. Therefore, disciples are responsible not only to reign in their own anger but also to take steps to reconcile with others who are angry at them (Turner, 88).
g. Anger can be so destructive that Jesus tells us to deal with it immediately.
3. Notice what he says in v. 24, if you remember that someone is angry with you "leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God."
a. There are a few things that we need to keep in mind here.
b. This saying, presumably uttered in Galilee, thus envisages a worshipper who has traveled some eighty miles to Jerusalem with his "offering",
c. Who then leaves the animal in the Temple while he takes a journey of a week or more to Galilee and back again in order to effect reconciliation with his offended brother or sister before he dares to present his offering...
d. The importance of right relationships demands decisive action (France, 203).
e. Jesus is saying that it has such potential to destroy the church that you must deal with it immediately.
f. Going back to what Paul said to the Ephesians, "Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry."
B. Being Proactive
1. Illustration: "The time for reconciliation, just as the time for salvation, is always now. Tomorrow is often too late. We are not to allow bitterness, anger, hatred, or any other sin to keep us separated from other people, whoever they are." (John MacArthur, Matthew 1-7 , MacArthur NT Commentary).
2. We must deal with anger in the church because of its destructive nature.
a. Anger can kill churches just as easily as it kills people.
b. It can cause division and strife.
c. It can cause spiritual death, for the Holy Spirit will not rest in a place that is filled with strife.
3. We must not procrastinate when it comes to anger in the church.
a. The sooner you deal with it the better.
b. Allowed to fester, the wound becomes infected which makes healing it more difficult.
c. Once it gets out of control it may escalate to the point where it is difficult if not impossible to fix.
d. Anger in the church is like rust on a car; by the time you see it, the damage is done.
e. 1 Timothy 2:8 (NLT)
In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.
Transition: Jesus also teaches us about...
III. Dealing With It Outside the Church (25-26)
A. Settle Your Differences Quickly
1. We should not only maintain healthy relationships inside the church, but also with those outside of the church.
2. Jesus shows us the importance of this by saying, “When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly."
a. In Jesus day, if you owed someone a debt and failed to pay, they could have you thrown into prison until you paid you debt.
b. This was a non-Jewish custom, but Jewish hearers would have known about it among the Gentiles.
c. No mercy would be shown: the amount of money to be repaid extended to the last (literally) quadrans, almost the least valuable Roman coin, the equivalent of only a few minutes’ wages (Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary – New Testament).
d. Notice, however, Jesus refers to this person as an "adversary." This is not a member of the Christian community, but someone who is opposed.
e. The Greek word means a legal opponent such as an opponent in a lawsuit. It also means a common day-to-day opponent like a neighbor who opposes and stands as an enemy against us (Practical Word Studies in The New Testament).
3. Jesus says if we don’t deal with quickly "Otherwise, your accuser may hand you over to the judge, who will hand you over to an officer, and you will be thrown into prison."
a. What Jesus is saying is that if we do not deal with a problem relationship immediately it could cost us more in the long run.
b. More than simply discharging legal affairs, Jesus’ disciples are to seek a kind of reconciliation that creates friendships out of adversarial relationships (Wilkins, 243).
c. He shows us the importance of maintaining a good reputation in our community, because we are a reflection of the Lord.
d. What people see and hear from us colors what they think of Jesus.
B. Testimony In the Community
1. Illustration: W.H. Griffith Thomas reminds us of the importance of a good testimony among our neighbors, He says, “There is no greater foe to Christianity than mere profession. There is no greater discredit to Christianity today than to stand up for it, and yet not live it in our lives. There is no greater danger in the Christian world today than to stand up for the Bible, and yet to deny that Bible by the very way we defend it."
2. Romans 12:17-18 (NLT)
Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
3. As Christians, we are called to go the extra mile.
a. God expects us to lead the way.
b. God expects us to take the initiative.
c. God expects us to love even those who make it difficult to love them.
4. As Christians, we need to display the love and forgiveness of God.
a. We are to love even those who don’t love us.
b. We are to forgive others even if they don’t deserve it.
c. We are to be display the transforming power of Jesus by the way we live among our neighbors.
Transition: If Jesus could forgive those that crucified him, then we can forgive those who offend us.
Conclusion
1. Jesus teaches us:
a. The root of murder is anger.
b. We need to deal with anger within the church.
c. We need to deal with anger outside the church.
2. Do you have a problem with anger?
3. Do you need to be reconciled with anyone?
