Matthew 5:21-26
By this teaching, virtually everyone is facing harsh sentencing. Jesus
is saying: So, you think you haven't sinned? Think again. Can you meet
God's standard? No one, of course, can do so, which is why we need the
Savior. If we could meet that standard, as expressed here and
elsewhere, then we would live forever with no aid from God. But then
our pride would take hold and that would be sin. So we are damned if
we do try to meet God's standard and damned if we don't. You can't win
– at least not by human means alone.21 You have heard that in the old days people were told, Do not kill and that anyone who does must face a court of justice.
22 But I am telling you, Even someone who is angry at a brother must face justice. Whoever speaks unkindly to his brother may face even more serious charges in a higher court. And whoever calls his brother an idiot is looking at hell fire.
23 So if you bring your gift to the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift before the altar, and be on your way. First, reconcile with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 Agree with your adversary quickly while you are still able to do so, in case he has you arrested and the judge sentences you to prison.
26 I mean it when I tell you [PA.X1], you will by no means get out of jail before you have paid off every last cent of your debt.
[Some versions insert the phrase "without cause" in verse 22 but this qualification is almost certainly a scribal gloss.]
To echo Luke 18:26, how can anyone be saved?
I think Jesus is also conveying here the importance of getting right with God. No use putting a gift before the altar if you haven't reconciled with Brother Jesus. You certainly are in a bad situation if that is the case. That is because, where the Savior is not present, neither is the Spirit. So without the Spirit, you will become fiercely thirsty.
In other words, in many cases -- perhaps most -- anger emanates from an inward impurity. How can that disorder be corrected? Who other than Jesus can create in a person a pure heart? So, for those of you who are called, turning to Jesus is a necesssary step in resolving anger problems.
Who are you really angry at when you are angry with your brother? When the Israelites were grumbling over their situation in the desert, Moses pointed out that any dispute they had with him was really a dispute with God. Similarly, when you are angry at your brother, who is it that is really responsible for the events of your life? Up to a point, you are. The rest is in God's hands.
Exodus 16:8-9
Notice that in order to be right with God, one must be right with his
brother. Born-again people who shirk this point will find that God
won't let it slide. He will figure out some way to assure that the
debt is paid. That is, if God has forgiven you your enormous
trespasses, how can you not be forgiving of your brother, no matter
what unpleasantness you have endured? (See Matthew 18:21-35.)
8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the Lord shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the Lord heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the Lord.
9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord: for he hath heard your murmurings.
In any case, God's high standard of purity of motive is what really counts in God's court. The old Jewish law was largely intended to keep order within and among the tribes. A born-again Christian doesn't need to be told not to kill (murder or manslaughter). The law of love is operating in his heart. The unregenerate are the ones who need such laws as are embodied in the Ten Commandments and elsewhere. If we follow the Golden Rule, love our fellows as ourselves and love God passionately, the criminal code shouldn't apply to us.
And so I read the dire warnings of verses 21 to 26 to mean that nearly everyone (excepting perhaps some brain-damaged persons) is teetering on the brink of the abyss. If a person lets his rage consume him, he is in danger of reaping that whirlwind at any moment. Pull back. Don't go there. You are in danger of falling off the cliff.
Have you ever humiliated another person with a nasty insult? I'm sure we all have. But what are you saying when you call someone an idiot, or something of the sort? You are counting that person as worthless. But that is exactly what you are before you are made right by Jesus! God can't take you when you are spiritually dead. You are worth very little. And on Judgment Day, you're worth nothing. So don't endanger your future by failing to forgive your brother, Jesus is saying.
Even if your sentence isn't eternal damnation, you are very possibly deserving of a long and hard term in one of God's prisons for the disobedient. Shake hands with your brother now. Make peace. Let it go, as best you can.
Skeptical? Consider the horrific bondage of alcoholism. Recovered alcoholics say that long-simmering resentments and bottled-up anger are prominent factors in sabotaging all attempts at recovery. One of the most important steps in recovery is to face up to these sore points and then to talk them out with someone. Another major step in healing is for the recovering person to try to make amends with others, to "clean up my side of the street." [PA.1*] (AA places no particular emphasis on Christianity or any form of religion.)
If you ask Jesus to save you, that is a good move. But soon after you do so, start releasing your anger and resentments toward others, even making amends as best you can, even if that person has wronged you. You want eternal life. Why hold on to these earthly grudges?
Sometimes anger is justified, as when the prophets condemned leaders of church and state for giving lip-service to God while oppressing the poor terribly. Anger at the outright refusal of officials to correct gross miscarriages of justice helps to fuel the push for the righting of wrongs. Still, better to have God lead the way, lest you labor in vain at your remodel attempt.
I have a tendency to flare up when provoked. I ask God to forgive anyone and everyone who has wronged me – even though I may FEEL continued anger. I feel it, but I don't own it. I hand it off to Jesus. I also ask God to give good gifts to those who are against me, with some getting into Jesus' kingdom. Fine with me if an enemy is saved and races ahead of me spiritually, leaving me behind in the dust! Go right ahead! I ask God to help people who cause me a lot of trouble. In fact, I realize they are unwittingly doing me a favor.
A hard-learned lesson about anger
As a younger man, I could not contain my rage against a particular group of people outside my family. Nevertheless, my boys heard my frequent outbursts and internalized some of that hurt, even though they well knew I loved them dearly. They paid a price for my intemperance in that regard.
And we know that those wrongs done to us are actually helpful. As Paul told us, "All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).
Paul also realized that even good Christians will sometimes flare up with anger – but, he advised, bury the hatchet before sundown (i.e., be reconciled with your brother quickly). Don't hold on to that resentment. Let it go. Be a peacemaker. If you become angry, sin not: let not the sun go down on your anger (Ephesians 4:26).
Psalms 37:8
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.Psalms 86:15
But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.Proverb 15:1
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
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Mt. 5:27-32. If your eye offends you
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