A. INTRODUCTION
1. Today we will consider the first of "Six Antitheses" to pharisaical understandings of certain deuteronomical laws presented by Jesus during what is called the Sermon on the Mount. The subject is the Sixth Commandment.
2. Each of the six sections in Matthew 5:21-48 is set apart by Christ's unique introduction to each topic: "You have heard it said.....but I say unto you...".
a. At the close of Matthew's record of Christ's teaching on the mountain, he states: And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ( Matthew 7:28-29 )
The authority of Christ as "Lord of Scripture" is asserted purposefully whenever He adds "...but I say unto you...." to an established teaching or known truth.
b. Note that Matthew informs us in Matthew 7:29 Jesus' teaching style was unlike that of the scribes (or the later rabbis), who always taught from tradition or the scholarship of others. Jesus -- the L __ __ __ __ __ W __ __ __ who came to f __ __ __ __ __ __ the law -- taught directly from Scripture with His own authority. The teaching of Christ as recorded in the Gospels encompasses three great themes:
(1) the k __ __ __ __ __ __ of God ( a.k.a. the "kingdom of heaven" ) which had been first announced by J __ __ __ the Baptizer and to which Jesus persistently called all believers;
(2) the presentation of Himself as the promised M __ __ __ __ __ __ and the declaration of the sacrificial work of s __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ which He had been sent by God the Father to accomplish; and
(3) m __ __ __ __ and ethical instruction to those who have entered the kingdom of God by f __ __ __ __. It is this third category within which Matthew 5:21-48 falls.
B. TEXT: Matthew 5:21-26 [ NKJV ]
"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.' 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. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 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. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny."
1. KEY TERMS
a. 'You shall not murder...' ( v.21 )
(1) Jesus quotes from the deuteronomical law (see Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17). "Murder" here appears as "kill" in the KJV, and most of us remember the Sixth Commandment as: "Thou shalt not kill." But "kill" in the law never means simply "the taking of a life." It always means what we call "homocide" -- the intentional taking of a life for personal reasons.
(2) Some well-meaning Christians use the Sixth Commandment as the basis for arguments against capital punishment. As it is stated in the original language, that commandment does not suggest this. In fact, God Himself ordained and established capital punishment as part of His "new world order" after the Flood. This is recorded in Genesis 9:1-6, a passage to which dispensationalist scholars point as marking the beginning of the "Dispensation of Human Government."
(3) Jesus did not "overrule" the law of Moses regarding murder, which:
- f __ __ __ __ __ __ the taking of human life by murder, and
- dictated that murderers be brought to j __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
Jesus, in the verses immediately preceding our text passage, declared plainly that He had not come to a __ __ __ __ __ __ the law, but to f __ __ __ __ __ __ it.
b. angry ( v.22 )
(1) According to Jesus, one has not comformed to the "better righteousness" of the kingdom simply by refraining from homocide. The angry person, too, will be subject to judgment (Greek "krisis") -- the judgment of God.
(2) Anger, according to our Lord, is the r __ __ __ of murder; anger in murderous in p __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. So Jesus declares that one who is angry with another is made liable for the same judicial scrutiny as one who is guilty of murder!
(3) It should be noted that the phrase "...without a cause..." in the KJV and some other translations is not found in many ancient manuscripts.
(4) It is interesting to hear Christ's words here in light of the three New Testament passages which chronicle His own anger.
ref: Matthew 21:12-19
Matthew 23:16-22
Mark 3:1-5
c. "Raca" ( v.22 )
(1) This term has its roots in the Aramaic tongue which Jesus most likely spoke. As close as scholars can determine, its meaning would be similarto "worthless fellow" or "good for nothing" or even "idiot."
(2) What is more damning about the term "Raca" than its probable meaning, however, is the tone with which it was surely always spoken: utter c __ __ __ __ __ __ __.
(3) According to Jesus, to call one "Raca" constitutes a more serious offense than "mere" anger. To be brought before the council was to appear before the Sanhedrin, the highest judicial and religious tribunal allowed the Jews in Judea by their Roman overseers.
d. "You fool!" ( v.22 )
(1) The Greek word here is "moros," and it implies more than just "fool," which might be a more fitting rendering of "Raca."
(2) "To call a man moros was not to criticize his mental ability; it was to cast aspersions on his moral character; it was to take his name and reputation from him, and to brand him as a loose-living and immoral person." - William Barclay: Matthew
(3) The chief means of communicating that someone has been "acting foolishly" or "exibiting questionable behaviour" is via r __ __ __ __. "Raca!" was spoken to one's face; one was described as "moros" in "discreet" whispers to others, mouth to ear, behind the back of the one so-characterized.
(4) It is noteworthy that Jesus pronounced His strongest warning against this expression of contempt.
e. hell fire ( v.22 )
(1) The Greek word here is the proper noun "Gehenna," a name given to the Valley of Hinnom, a trash dump outside the city walls of Jerusalem where refuse was burned continuously. During the reigns of Ahaz and Mannaseh it was used for offering human sacrifices to pagan gods. ( see 2 Chronicles 28:1-3 and 2 Chronicles 33:1-9 ).
(2) In Scripture "hell" is described as:
- an unquenchable f __ __ __ ( Mark 9:43 )
- second d __ __ __ __ ( Revelation 2:11; Revelation 20:6, 14
- bottomless p __ __ , literally "the pit of the abyss" ( Revelation 9:1-2 )
- outer d __ __ __ __ __ __ __
- Matthew 25:30 (reserved for the " u __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ servant)
- 2 Peter 2:17 (reserved for f __ __ __ __ t __ __ __ __ __ __ __ )
- lake of f __ __ __
- Revelation 19:10 (reserved for S __ __ __ __ )
- Revelation 20:14 (reserved for "d __ __ __ __ and h __ __ __ __" )
- s __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ from God and Christ
- Matthew 7:21-23
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9
2. In Matthew 5:23-26 Jesus gives His disciples two illustrations which expose the seriousness of anger. In both cases the anger in question is held against a disciple by someone else for a wrong which has not been properly dealt with.
a. v.23-24
(1) SETTING: w __ __ __ __ __ __
(2) AT ISSUE: unresolved anger involving a fellow b __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(3) IMPLICATION: Unconfessed and unforgiven anger limits the ability of a Christian to worship God in S __ __ __ __ __ and in t __ __ __ __.
b. v.25-26
(1) SETTING: a l __ __ __ __ matter
(2) AT ISSUE: unresolved anger involving an a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
(3) IMPLICATION: Unresolved anger with those outside the kingdom of God may well place the Christian at r __ __ __.
C. APPLICATION
1. Jesus begins our text passage by stating something which was equally true under both Mosaic and pharisaic law: murder is forbidden, and murderers will be brought to judgment. These statements reveal the l __ __ __ __ __ of the law, do they not? The law is limited by its inability to deal with the beginning, or r __ __ __, of a transgression. The law can only address the o __ __ __ __ __ __ of a sin, the overt, external end of law-breaking.
2. Remember Matthew 5:17-20, where Jesus flatly declared that He is calling believers to the kingdom of God, where the righteousness of the Pharisees must be e __ __ __ __ __ __. God looks beyond the external; He sees the h __ __ __ __. Christians, who have been given the m __ __ __ of Christ, and who are guided into all t __ __ __ __ by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit Himself, must do no less.
ref: 1 Samuel 16:7b
Romans 2:28-29
1 Corinthians 2:6:16
John 8:31-36
John 16:5-16
Jeremiah 31:31-33
3. All too often in the church Christians misuse the "mind of Christ" they have been given.
a. Sometimes we limit our exercise of it to being offended by the "sins" of others.
b. Sometimes we try to use it to "see the heart" of others by j __ __ __ __ __ __ their motives against our convictions or, even worse, our suspicions.
4. What we must do is use our r __ __ __ __ __ __ minds to judge ourselves against the only viable standard available in the kingdom: "the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ." The best place to start, as always, is by studying the Word of God.
Hebrews 4:12-13 [ NKJV ]
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
5. When we Christians read of "murder" and, to a lesser extent, "hatred," our first response is to dismiss it as being far from our own situations. We would never murder anyone, and, when you get right down to it, we don't really hate anybody. Yet Jesus makes it clear that the root of murder is anger, and He implies that anger is not always expressed with violence or temper. It often goes around in the guise of hatred, which is usually disguised itself as dislike or contempt. We are being less than honest if we do not acknowledge the existence of a great deal of dislike and contempt in ourselves and, therefore, in our church. They spread like a virus through the local body of Christ, and the "carrier" is nearly always hearsay, rumour or innuendo.
Sometimes we hold on to and even "cherish" bad feelings toward people since, we are sure, it is the only "Christian" way we can deal with them. We know what we'd sure like to tell 'em, but, since we won't or can't, we "do our best" to display civil behaviour toward them publically while harbouring ill feeling toward them continually. We may think we're "killing them softly," but it constitutes Murder in the Sanctuary on Sunday mornings, and the real victim, we might be surprised to learn, is the one who believes he is inflicting the punishment. He is badly hurt: no longer able to worship God; no longer able to pray with power (the Spirit being quenched); no longer able to see clearly nor think freely; unwilling and now unable to speak the Truth in love. How long can one stay alive while so mortally wounded? How can a church thrive and even continue to exist in such a deadly environment?
D I S C U S S I O N G U I D E
1. Some Christians see the entire Sermon on the Mount, recorded in Matthew 5 - 7, as designed for the future, when Christ will establish His millenial kingdom on the earth.
a. Why might one make such an assumption?
b. What is your own belief regarding the application of this passage to your life?
c. List some important historical, literary, or grammatical details of this passage which should be used in interpreting it.
2. Read Genesis 9:1-6 and Deuteronomy 21:1-9. What do these passages suggest about how God views the sin of murder?
3. (OPTIONAL) Read Numbers 35:9-34.
a. What constitutes the difference between "murder" in vs.16-21 and something less than murder in vs.22-24?______________________________________________________________
b. What point is made by requiring one who is guilty of an accidental slaying to remain in one of the cities of refuge?
c. What do vs.31-32 mean, and what do they imply?
4. Read Matthew 5:21-22. How does the inclusion or removal of the phrase "without a cause" effect the meaning and impact of these verses?
5. Read Matthew 21:12-19 and Mark 3:1-5.
a. Is Jesus' anger in the first passage justifiable? _______ Why, or why not?
b. Would the action He took be justifiable for you to take? _______ Why, or why not?
c. In the second passage, why did Jesus "look around at them in anger?"
d. Comment on this statement: "Christ healed the withered hand as an act of provocation." (Read Matthew 2:23-28 before you answer.)
6. Read the referenced passages about "hell" in the study guide, then also read the following:
Jude 7, 13
Luke 16:9-23
Matthew 25:41-46
Write a brief description of what you imagine hell to be, based on what is included in all these verses.
Try to find out what is meant by these understandings of God's judgment of sinners after death.
a. The doctrine of the second chance
b. The doctrine of the annihilation of the ungodly
