MATTHEW 5:21-26, 33-37 LESSON # 5
MURDERING WITH WORDS

I. Introduction:
Previously, we have been looking at the way Jesus handled Old Testament Law. Today we will look further at how Jesus applied the Law to Christians. If you remember, Jesus had a high view of the Law and this is stated in Matthew 5:17-19. Then He made the startling statement in Matthew 5:20. Let’s read that verse one more time together.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 5:20.
Q Do you remember what we discussed about the meaning of this verse? What does it mean?
An = Jesus was saying that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of those who were the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. To enter the kingdom of heaven or the Christian faith one had to go further and exceed the religiosity of the day.
I love what Oswald Chambers says in this regard: “We should have a family resemblance to Jesus Christ”. Just as when people meet us, and we can remind them of our parents, we should be the type of people in our actions and attitudes that remind people of our Lord. His Spirit should be ours. Just as we should be like our parents, if they are good people, in more than a physical outward resemblance, so we should be like God because we are His children.
Q So how do we get there? How do we become more like Jesus and how do we get free of our self-centeredness?
An = Jesus’ way in the Sermon on the Mount is a highly practical one. He showed how to practically grow into the likeness of Him and His father. His program for spiritual growth is two fold: 1) make decisions on specific and concrete issues and 2) act on those decisions in a physical manner. Let’s look at two examples of how to do that.

II. Speaking the Truth: Matthew 5:33-34.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 5:33-34
Q Do you see the previous pattern emerging?
An = He quoted the Law in verse 33, added the words, But I say unto you. Then Jesus began to radicalize the Old Testament in order to “fulfill” or to “complete” the essence of O.T. teaching.
Q What is the issue being addressed here?
An = Telling the truth. Vows were taken to bolster up someone’s verbal claims. That is why we swear in court, “So help me God”.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 5:35-36
Q Why was Jesus adding all these examples or situations where we are not to swear?
An = Jews in that day, would not swear by God and break their word, because that would break Exodus 20:7 or the third commandment of taking the Lord’s Name in vain. So they would swear by lesser objects. Jesus pointed out that this was missing the point. We are not to swear at all, because all of life belongs to God. If we swear by anything, we are swearing by His Name.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 5:37
Q What does this mean?
An = If we really understand the intent of the Law about not breaking vows, or taking oaths, we realize that at the heart of the issue, is truth telling. So if we want to “fulfill” the Law, we merely tell the truth. Our “yes” is always a “yes”. If we say “yes” I will help you, then when the time comes we actually help them. If we say “no” we will not break our contract because our “no” means “no”. We need to say nothing more. The old Christians used to say: “our word is our bond.” When we say something we will not go back on our promises.

III. Murdering With Words.
A. Repetition of the Law and Presentation of the Issue. Matthew 5:21.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 5:21
Q What is the issue Jesus was bringing up?
An = The issue is the prohibition of murder. Jesus repeated one of the Ten Commandments, (the sixth commandment: Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17). He then made a correct deduction: if you murder then you are liable to the highest court.
B. Jesus takes the Law further and radically applied It. Matthew 5:22.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 5:22.
Note: Jesus again spoke His customary, But I say to you. Claiming authority, He expanded the prohibition of murder in three ways.
Q What are the three ways He expanded the Law in this verse?
An = First, He said if you are angry with your brother you shall be guilty before the court. In other words Jesus was saying that if you are angry (and some manuscripts add “angry with your brother without cause”) then it is the same as murder. This is an alarming statement that makes us wonder what He meant. It will become clear as we read further in the verse.
Second, He said if you call your brother “Raca” you are answerable to the Sanhedrin. What Jesus was saying here is if you call your brother an “idiot” (for that is what “Raca” roughly means) you are liable to the Supreme Court of the Land: namely the Sanhedrin of Jesus’ day.
Third, He said if anyone says: “You fool” they are in danger of the fires of hell. In other words calling your brother a fool could land you in hell.
Note: This last phrase is quite upsetting, so let us check a few things in the Greek. If we do this we discover an amazing thing. The word “fool”, the exact Greek word used in 5:22, is found in another place in Matthew: in Matthew 23:17. Let us turn to that passage.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 23:17.
Q Who is speaking here and to whom?
An = It is Jesus Himself. Jesus was speaking to the leaders of His day: the Pharisees and scribes, and He called them “fools”.
Q If Jesus is not sinning here against His own commands, what is He doing?
An = One thing becomes quite clear the more you read Matthew and that is Matthew is quite aware of what he is writing. Matthew is a carefully written book. He is aware that he has recorded the same Greek word for “fool” in 23:17 that Jesus forbids us to use in 5:22. I believe Matthew’s reason for doing this is to help us understand what Jesus was saying: it is not the mere repetition of certain sounds like those that make up the word “fool” in what ever language we speak. Saying the word “fool” is not the issue. He wants us to see the real issue being discussed in Matthew 5:22 is something much different.
Q Is there a gradation of penalties in Matthew 5:22?
An = There seems to be: Liable to court, liable to the Supreme Court and then liable to the fires of hell. However, most scholars say that though there is gradation of penalties involved, these is no gradation in the offense recorded. In other words: there is no gradation from anger, to the word “Raca” to the word “fool”. They must be taken together. When we are angry and we call someone “stupid” or a “fool” in anger we are as guilty as those who commit physical murder. The gradation of penalty seems to be a rhetorical device to let us know how serious Jesus regarded the matter. The offense is best understood as a combination of being angry and verbally calling someone a negative term.
Note: Remember, if you call someone a fool and they are a fool; that is not sin. That is merely speaking the truth. Matthew 5:22 is talking about “anger” and “words”.
Note: When I was in college I took a course in upper division Sociology. It was called “Sociology of Deviant Behavior”. In it we read six books and one of them was about “Call-girls” or the higher class or more expensive prostitutes. In the book this sociologist interviewed a large number of women who made their living by selling their bodies, and he made an amazing discovery. Most of these “call girls” had fought with their mothers when in adolescence and were told by their own mothers: “Well, you are no better than a whore”. The mothers said that to their daughters in anger and their daughters went out and fulfilled prophesy.
Example # 2 When doing academic counseling in an underprivileged area I discovered that they thought they were inferior and so did not aspire to good grades or a better education, a better job or place in society. Words had held them back. For much of their lives the society had told these young people that they were inferior and many of these kids honestly thought they were.
Example # 3 When our children or spouse, relatives, or fellow workers anger us, it is so easy to call them fools or call them stupid or verbally assign them to the position of a lower existence. In certain situations we can be guilty of murder. We murder their soul with words.
Q Has anyone ever done this to you?
Note: If we kill someone’s body we do a horribly wrong thing. However, our bodies were not made to live forever and as wicked as murder is it is not as bad as killing the soul. Our souls live forever, and if we aid in the killing of another’s soul, we are truly murderers.
Q Is not God just in punishing us for the murder of a soul with the damnation of our own soul in hell?
An = Let them discuss this and perhaps add if it is necessary, for Jesus to not condemn us for the murder of an eternal soul, is to cheapen the value of that person’s soul.
Q Let me ask an even more disagreeable question, have any of you put down others with words? <<Do not raise your hands>>
Q So what does that say to us? Where are we all going?
An = This is also rather alarming. If Jesus wanted merely to condemn us in guilt then He would have ended His teaching on this subject with 5:22, but that was not His goal or intention. He wanted us in the Kingdom of Heaven, He wanted us to be like Him, to have a “family resemblance to Him” as Oswald Chambers says. So how do we get there? What do we do? Let’s see!
C. The Way to Become Guiltless. Matthew 5:23-24.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 5:23-24.
Q What was Jesus doing here?
An = He was showing the way to “exceed the righteous of the scribes and Pharisees”. He was showing the way to salvation. Jesus was showing how to be in line with the will of God.
Q Did you know where sacrifices could be offered in Jesus’ day?
An = There was only one place one could make an offering. That was at the altar in Jerusalem. It was in Jerusalem and in Jerusalem alone. In addition, most Jews did not live in Jerusalem. It was a three day walk from Galilee and a four month travel from Rome or six month travel from Babylon. In fact, in Jesus’ day they estimate that for every Jew that lived in Palestine, six and a half times as many Jews lived outside of the country. When Jesus said leave your gift at the altar and return home that would mean by the time you got back it would be rotten.
In other words, even if you are doing the right and proper thing at church it is to be stopped until you have made it right with the offended party. It does not matter what fine and glorious thing you are doing in the house of God, the person we have damaged is more important than our worship of God. If we have damaged someone with harsh, derogatory words said in anger, we are to stop what ever act of service, ministry or worship we are engaged in and first go settle up with the one we have offended.
Example: When I was a teenager I was challenged to read a Gospel completely through in one sitting, and so I decided to do so. Coming to this part I realized that as much as I loved God and the things of God I had hurt my own brother many, many times. I was an average American big brother, and I had sinned. My brother had something against me. So I stopped reading the Bible and went out and apologized to him. It was one of the hardest things I had ever done. I had never apologized to my brother. He was in shock. Looking at me, he did not say a word because he had never heard me do such a thing. I meant what I said though and from then on wanted to build up my brother not destroy him with words.
Q What did Jesus say in 5:24 about after we have reconciled with our brother?
An = He said “come home”. Come and present your offering. I want to receive from you, I want to fellowship with you, I want to be on good terms with you despite your past errors”.
In other words: there is hope for us who have made this error of murdering with words! God wants us home.
D. The Concluding Admonition. Matthew 5:25-26.
Note: Jesus did not end here. He knew how hard a thing He was asking. He knows us well and how hard His commands are, so He gave us another word before He concluded.
>>>> Have someone read Matthew 5:25-26.
Q What was Jesus saying here? What does this metaphor of court procedures mean?
An = He was using a common metaphor of His day about legal matters. It is better to settle out of court if you are guilty, then to be brought to court and wind up with a worse sentence. Jesus was saying settle the matter now with those you have verbally offended and do not wait for the judgment seat of God. If you have hurt others with words, the judgment may be started in this life, or could be, right around the corner.
Note: Notice how Jesus concluded in verse 25. He solemnly warned that payment must be made for our verbal murders. There will be no leniency. He said this not to merely terrorize with the threat of hell, but to urge us on to action. He did not want us to take lightly what the truth is about the will of God and the coming judgment. He did not want us to die, because He loves us.

III. Application:
Q So what do we do?
An = Let me merely add that these are very convicting words for me. I have done a lot of apologizing in my time, and will always have to do so.
1) I would suggest that you think about those you need to write or call or go see if you are the offending party.
2) If you feel guilt and want to improve, let me remind you again of Matthew 5:6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.