INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• In Matthew 5:20 Jesus tells us that unless our righteousness exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees, we will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
• In verses 21-48 Jesus gives us six examples of how our righteousness can exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees.
• The first example deals with the issue of anger.
• 10 seconds can change the course of one’s life, just 10 seconds is all it takes for our temper to get the best of us.
• We can do some crazy things when we allow our anger to take hold of us.
• Have you done things while you were angry that you wish you could take back?
• Anger can be one of the most destructive things in our life.
• Today we are going to look at the devastating effects that anger can have us.
• We are going to start in verse 21 to see how the ancients viewed the issue of anger.
• SLIDE #2
• Matthew 5:21 ( ESV ) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’
• From the sixth commandment we learn that we are not to murder.
• The Old Testament Law dealt more with actions than attitudes so we see from verse 21 that actions were more important that attitudes.
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Actions were more important than attitudes.
• In verse 21 Jesus points to the sixth commandment that in found in Exodus 20:13. He says that the ancients were told.
• This means that Jesus is speaking of the commandment itself, not the interpretation of the commandment as the KJV implies by translating the passage.
• SLIDE #4
• Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
• It is important for us to understand this seemingly subtle difference. If Jesus is dealing with the current interpretation of the Law, He is not replacing it, He is just adding a new interpretation of the Law whereas if He is dealing with the Law itself, He is replacing it.
• The Ancients were TOLD BY GOD not to KILL.
• The religious leaders thought they were in great shape if they did not kill a person. Jesus says that if our righteousness is going to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, we are not to get angry to the point of sinning.
• SLIDE #5
• Ephesians 4:26 ( ESV ) Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
• If we are going to be citizens of the kingdom, not murdering a person is not the correct standard by which we are to judge ourselves.
• As we look over the next few weeks at the six contrasts between the Old Testament Law and the Law of the kingdom of God (the Gospel) we will see the theme of a higher standard of conduct and thought being set before us.
• WE need to understand that putting on a smile while harboring anger and resentment toward another is not what Jesus calls us to do.
• Under the Old Covenant as long as you did not kill a person, you had not violated the Law, but through the rest of the message, let us examine what Jesus expects from us, let us see what Jesus replaced the law with!
• Let’s examine verse 22.
• SLIDE #6
• Matthew 5:22 ( ESV ) But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
• Jesus tells us that an angry attitude is as bad as an angry action.
• SLIDE #7
II. An angry attitude is as bad as an angry action.
• Jesus said that according to the Old Testament Law, if you murdered someone, you were sent before the court for judgment. To murder someone is to take a life with malice and aforethought.
• The court could do one of three things with you.
• Send Case to Sanhedrin.
o Confine to city of refuge. If it was an accident
o Execution if found guilty.
• Jesus explains that the attitude is as bad as the actual action.
• Jesus rightfully points out that before the actual action takes place, there is a progression of anger, this progression is what Jesus explains and condemns.
• Jesus starts by saying that everyone who is angry with his brother we be liable to judgment.
• This is basically the same prescribed punishment as killing itself!
• In 1 John 3:15, John builds on this thought.
• SLIDE #8
• 1 John 3:15 ( ESV ) Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
• Jesus deals not only with the act of murder but the attitude behind it.
• When the anger is not there, the sin of further consequence will not happen.
• Kansas University football player Dion Rayford was arrested after getting stuck in a drive-thru window. When employees at a Taco Bell forgot his chalupa, he tried to go in after them. The 6’ 3", 260-pound man did not quite make it through the tiny drive-thru window. Rayford was charged with several misdemeanors and was suspended from playing in the last game of his career.
• The second step in the progression is contempt.
• The ESV says that whoever insults his brother is liable to the council.
• There is not a real good word in the English to translate the thought expressed here. The gist of the statement is that you are saying something with great contempt towards another person.
• The first step in the anger process is a silent anger, which then manifests itself in contemptible speech, hateful speech towards another.
• When you get to this point, then you go to the higher court. We need to understand that Jesus is using a literary device to give us a way to understand the varying degrees of severity. It is apparent from the scriptures that there are degrees of reward and punishment.
• The third step in the dangerous progression of anger is a settled hatred.
• The ESV says that whoever says YOU FOOL will be liable to the hell of fire!
• The term “you fool” is a translation of a statement that denotes a fixed and settled hatred for another person.
• In this most serve form of anger, Jesus switches from the illustration of where the punishment is ordered to the punishment itself.
• Anger is a form of murder because its desire is to destroy anyone who blocks our paths to satisfaction or assaults us or who makes us look bad.
• If you are harboring anger, you are not just crossways with the person you are angry with you are hurting yourself and you are putting yourself at odds with God.
• Let’s turn to verses 23-24
• SLIDE #9
• Matthew 5:23-24 ( ESV ) 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.
• WE see from here that an angry attitude impacts our worship!
• SLIDE #10
III. An angry attitude impacts our worship.
• As we look at verse 23, you will see a shift in thought. The shift goes from you to others. Jesus tells us if we know of a brother (in Christ context wise) that WE are to go to THEM and try to settle the issue. The focus is on the OTHER person, not YOU.
• In the context of verses 23-24, to us today, Jesus is saying, “if you are going to church to worship God” and you know of a brother who has something against you, stop, go to them, ATTEMPT to fix the problem and then come to church and worship.
• The ‘therefore” of verse 23 ties theses verse with the consequences of having an angry spirit.
• Jesus is telling us that if we are angry or if we have caused another to be angry with us; we cannot properly worship God until we have tried to make it right.
• Verse 23 really puts us a course of reconciliation. We are not responsible for the way people react to our efforts, but only for our effort.
• I used to take this to deal with only communion or offering time, but Jesus says that when we are angry with others or they have issues with us, our VERY worship is affected in a negative way. WE will look further at the course of reconciliation in a moment.
• In Verse 24 Jesus gives us the first step in the reconciliation process. Go. Jesus tells us to go be reconciled with our brother. This means that we need to recognize what we did and that we are to be Christian enough to go to the person we wronged and try to make it right.
• It will be up to the other person to forgive, but that is not your problem.
• WE cannot truly worship God when we allow anger to go unresolved. The anger will always be in the middle of the relationship.
• Anger affects our worship because when we are the reason that a person is angry, if that anger is not resolved, we are jeopardizing their eternity. How can we sing praises to God when we have done something to cause another person to stumble?
• The language implies that the person has some legitimate issue with you. You have done something to wrong them. We know this from verse 25 where it speaks of making friends quickly with your opponent at law.
• Anger has such serious effects that Jesus tells us to deal with it before we come to worship or give an offering to Him.
• Let’s finish with verses 25-26
• SLIDE 11
• Matthew 5:25-26 ( ESV ) 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.
• An angry attitude can cost us dearly.
• SLIDE #12
IV. An angry attitude can cost us dearly.
• Make friends quickly with your opponent at law. This verse shows that the brother who has something against you has a legitimate issue.
• In Jesus day, if you had an issue with someone, it was up to you to get them to the court of law.
• Jesus says as this is happening, make friends quickly with them.
• B.R. Holt, Caldwell, ID relates the following story. Fighting rush-hour traffic from suburban Maryland to Washington D.C., can cause its share of near misses and irritating moments.
• One morning, a young lady darted her compact car from a side street into the stream of traffic immediately in front of a driver just a few car lengths ahead of me, forcing him to brake sharply. He avoided hitting her by inches and was obviously furious.
• Within seconds, traffic stopped at a red light, and I watched him pull up behind the offender, leap from his car, and stride angrily toward hers. Clearly, he intended to give her a royal bowling out. Seeing him coming, the very attractive young lady jumped from her car and ran to meet him--a big smile on her face!
• Before he could say one word or know what was happening, she had thrown her arms around him, hugged him tightly, and planted a passionate kiss on his lips! Then she was back in her car and driving away, leaving her antagonist standing in the middle of the street still speechless and looking somewhat confused and embarrassed--but no longer angry!
• She knew how to make friends quickly. Maybe others who saw this will try to let her cut them off also.
• Verse 25 tells us that just as with earthy problems, it is better to resolve them before the judgment comes.
• If we carry an angry attitude to the bitter end, we will regret it.
• If you have a problem with a brother, PLEASE deal with it before judgment time.
CONCLUSION
• In a 1994 article, "Wars’ Lethal Leftovers Threaten Europeans," Associated Press reporter Christopher Burns writes: "The bombs of World War II are still killing in Europe.
• They turn up--and sometimes blow up--at construction sites, in fishing nets, or on beaches fifty years after the guns fell silent. "Hundreds of tons of explosives are recovered every year in France alone.
• Thirteen old bombs exploded in France in 1993, killing twelve people and wounding eleven, the Interior Ministry said. "Unexploded bombs become more dangerous with time. ’With the corrosion inside, the weapon becomes more unstable, the detonator can be exposed.’" What is true of lingering bombs is also true of lingering anger. Buried anger will explode when we least expect it.
• How many people do you know who have been blown up by old bombs left behind by you?
• Jesus wants our hearts to be pure as well as our actions, he desires worship, not just merely outward religion.
• I hope that this morning if you are harboring hatred or anger toward another brother so sister in Christ, or if you know a brother or sister has something against you, that you will take the high road and make reconciliation efforts.
• Harboring anger has devastating effects on your life, your relationship with God and the lives of others.
• DO not let anger tear you apart, let it go, give it to Jesus.
