But I say...

Meditation May 18, 2020

Matthew 5:21-26

21“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, ^a and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

23“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

     I was overly optimistic when I began this. I soon discovered that there is far too much here for one sitting so I will only cover verses 21 and 22 in this post.
 We come now to a section of the Sermon on the Mount, in which Jesus deals with what is often referred to as sins of the heart although they are not, as we will see quite just that, and although none or few actually say they are thus not quite of such serious consequence as sins committed in the flesh, the general attitude is that such is the case; that somehow they are not quite as iniquitous and if not entirely justifiable at least defensible. One may control his deeds but who can control the thoughts that pop into his mind?

Jesus clearly teaches on the contrary that sins of the heart are no less offensive to God and consequently no less punishable by God that are deeds done in the flesh. Thus, rather than taking this section of His sermon as a whole, it will be profitable to take each sin separately as He addressed them that we may better understand their scope against which scope we may judge ourselves to repent and seek forgiveness as needed. After all, as the scriptures teach, it is only by the law, by understanding the scope of the law, that we know sin and it is only in knowing sin that we flee to Christ. Self-justification for sins of the heart damn no less that those done in the flesh.

Thu, Jesus begins, “You have heard…” There are few, if any, places where Christianity has gone this is not true. Those who have heard may not agree, but they have heard. If by nothing else we know they have heard by the all too often justified charges of hypocrite they like to cast against those professing to be Christian. Among believers, it is without question “you have heard”; that it has been taught and preached to you. When Jesus says “you have heard” He is referring to the common interpretation; one that is not different then that it is now.

You have heard that it was said to the ancients, it was spoken or told to men from the beginning, from as far back as can be remembered, you shall not….. The Jewish people, those to whom he was speaking had been taught the law all their lives by the Scribes, Pharisees, priests etc. But, by what follows we know they had been taught the law only as it applied more or less to violations done in the flesh. As taught elsewhere, Jesus is about to clarify for them that while man looks only on the outward, God judges the heart. Thus, of the Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus say woe to you for while you refrain from sin in the flesh, you keep the law in your actions, inwardly you are full of corruption.

“You have heard (as may be said of us) that it was said to the ancients, ‘You shall not murder’”.  We know by that which follows that then, as now, murder was presumed to refer to the act of unlawfully taking the life of another person, to bodily killing them; putting them into a grave. That was the law as they had been taught and as we are taught. Jesus does not deny that is the law, nor, as some were wont to think, as previously noted and denied, had He come to abrogate or replace the law. He is rather about to speak to them as the Lawgiver. You have heard, they the ancients have said, in that they are correct insofar as they go. They have said but I say….

One can only imagine the astonishment (Matt. 7: 28-29) of the people and the consternation of the religious teachers on hearing thsi. All their lives the revered religious teachers had told taught this is the law; this is what was said to them. The Rabbis and religious leaders spoke to them as authorities but as authorities speaking on the authority of another. Throughout the Old Testament we hear “thus says the Lord.” Jesus speaks to them as one having authority of Himself, as one Himself having His own authority to speak for Himself. He does not say “thus says the Lord”, rather He says, “But I tell you….”  Jesus does not say to the people that the ancients did not hear this or that they heard but misunderstood, that would have been astonishing enough, but He speaks as the One giving the law and says to them as it were, yes, that was said to them, “but I say to you….” The law given Moses was interpreted and taught to apply only that actually done in the flesh. Its spiritual meaning, if ever fully comprehended was had been lost; thus, the rich young ruler could say to Jesus, I have kept all the law from the time I was a child.

Such law you have heard, by such law you govern yourselves; and such law you keep and by such law you judge yourselves and we alike with them; Now Jesus says, listen up, that is what you have heard but this is what I say. It is as if he had said to them you have been taught that and that is right but now, we are going to get to the heart of the matter.

I say to you, whoever is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. In some manuscripts the phrase ‘without cause’ is not included. Whether it belongs or does not belong to the original is somewhat a moot point. Whether included in the original, righteous anger is accepted and approved in the Bible. With this Jesus puts meaning on the fifth commandment that was not until then embraced and is little embraced even now. Whatever is entailed in “anger” is something that is outwardly expressed else it could not be subject to judgment.

To understand this, it is needful to know that in each city the Jews had a local court. These were the courts mentioned e.g. in Deut. 16:18. These courts were composed of twenty-three men who heard and decided complaints, were charged by God with judging the people fairly and who had, before the Roman government governed Judea, the authority to punish by strangulation or beheading. This was referred to among the Jews as ‘the judgment.’

Capital punishment was reserved for those who took the lives of others. That, however, encompassed more than putting another into their grave as was commonly understood then and now. It included any unjustified ruination of another person’s life. The Westminster catechism catches the meaning when it observes that ‘you shall not kill’  includes obstructing, “neglecting or withdrawing the lawful and necessary means of preservation of life (thus)… all excessive passions…provoking words, oppression, quarreling…and whatsoever else tends to the destruction of the life of any.” In short, whatever course you might let unfettered passion (anger) take that would take away another person’s lawful preservation of their own lives which would include such as would prevent their gainful employment by which they provide sustenance for themselves and their families.

We begin to see how serious a matter can be unbridled tongues. Let them but run to anger and quickly they may run to the ruin of the lives of others and consequent judgment against one’s own life. And note that Jesus does not say such should be subject to the judgment but that they will be so. Thus, he indicates whether or not justice against unjustified anger is exacted by the courts of men or not, there will be a judgment against it.

Being sentenced to death by the courts may seem to us extreme but we can see justice in some punishment against those who let their passions ruin the lives of others. Jesus, however, is going to take it yet to a something that never occurs to most of us to be a violation of the sixth commandment and to that he is going to assign a still harsher judgments.
We should take seriously the exhortation to be angry and sin not, i.e. to be certain our anger is justified on God's basis, and then be certain the judgment is suitable to that about which we are angry lest we discover we have let ourselves run contrary to meek peacemakers and thus contrary to Christian character.