Anger is Murder in The Heart
November 18, 2022
Commentary
Jesus said that He had come to fulfill the law (v. 17). Where the law had turned into legalism, Jesus took the law beyond outward observance and showed the real spiritual intention of God. The Law is (1) permanent so long as the universe exists and (2) the measure of your status in God’s kingdom. Jesus warned that the scribes and Pharisees weren’t lawful enough for the kingdom (v. 20).
Because man is made in God’s image, the penalty for murder is death (Gen. 9:6). The sixth commandment (Exo. 20:13) specifically forbids murder with intent, while excluding capital punishment, killings in war, accidental homicide, and self-defense. We normally think of murder being strictly limited to the physical act of taking someone’s life, but according to Jesus, all sin comes from the heart (vv. 21-22). Anger doesn’t just lead to murder but is itself murder (1 John 3:15). When you offer a sacrifice to God at the altar and know your brother has something against you, first go and make peace with him (vv. 23-24). Sinful anger must be faced honestly and confessed to God. Then we must go to our brother and get the matter settled quickly (vv. 25-26).
Just as Jesus says anger is the same as murder, He now makes it plain that lusting for a person sexually is as sinful as committing the act of adultery (vv. 27-28). If you eye causes you to sin poke it out (v. 29) or if you hand causes you to sin chop it off (v. 30). It is better to lose one part than your whole body. The, so called “exception clause” is the term which many have used from the words of Christ in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 as it pertains to divorce. These Pharisees had challenged Jesus on the teaching of Deuteronomy 24:1-4 where God gave Moses permission to grant a certificate of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts. In Jesus’s day it was easy for a man to divorce his wife. But Jesus taught that marriage is viewed by God as indissoluble and should not be terminated by divorce papers (v. 31). The Lord never hates the divorcee but loves them just like He does all sinners (Rom. 3:8). He never commands it, endorses it or blesses it. Jesus’s whole point in v. 32 is that divorce leads to adultery. Remarriage after divorce leads to a whole chain of illegitimate and adulterous relationships for all parties involved.
Application
Who do I need to make things right with today? How does this Scripture compare to the "no fault" divorce laws that many states now have?
Matthew 5:17– 32 (NET)
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish these things but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter will pass from the law until everything takes place. 19 So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness goes beyond that of the experts in the law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven!
21 “You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’ will be sent to fiery hell. 23 So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there you remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 25 Reach agreement quickly with your accuser while on the way to court, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the warden, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 30 If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into hell.
31 “It was said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.’ 32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.