All right, let's read together from Matthew chapter 5, verses 21 to 26.
This is God's Word.
You have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder.
And whoever murders will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.
Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council.
And whoever says, you fool, will be liable to the hell of fire.
So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there before the altar and go.
First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court,
lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.
Truly I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
This is God's Holy Word.
Tonight, as Cody says, we're carrying on in our series on the Sermon on the Mount.
Last week we were looking at this huge claim that Jesus makes.
He is sitting on top of the mountain, and he tells the crowds,
he did not come to get rid of the law or the Old Testament, but he came to fulfill it.
He came, he says, to give the law meaning, to fill it full of meaning.
And now tonight, we hit the first of six commands, six Old Testament commands,
which we've seen before, which he now elevates and gives their full meaning to, just like he said.
So we're thinking about anger tonight, but if you have your Bibles open,
you see this list from verse 21.
To the end of the chapter, focused on six Old Testament commands,
and Jesus says,
And when he says that, he's not changing the commands.
He's not making them more difficult or harder to observe.
That's not what he's doing.
He's telling the people that he's talking to in his day that the law has been interpreted wrong.
He's telling the crowds, you know, you think you've got it right,
focusing on the external acts, focusing on what you do.
It's not that at all.
It's all about the heart, and it's always been about the heart.
Jesus doesn't abolish the law.
He fills it with meaning.
He says, this is what has always been about, the state of your heart.
And why does that matter?
Why does that matter?
Because that's what God sees.
That's what Jesus forces us to see in the sermon.
You know, one constant problem throughout the Old Testament,
when you see the law being given,
and you see how the people respond to it.
They become obsessed with the outward.
They become obsessed with the external.
And by the time we reach the book of Isaiah,
what does God say?
He says, their hearts are far from me.
Their hearts are far from me.
Jesus comes, and he gives it its true meaning.
He says, this is what the law is all about.
It's about your heart.
God sees it.
He knows what you think, how you feel.
He knows your attitude towards him.
He knows your attitude towards your neighbor.
The law is all about your heart.
And thinking about that has brought a lot of questions to the church throughout history.
This is a really quick blanket summary.
You could read forever about this.
I did this week.
But some commentators today,
and over the last hundred years,
have noticed that throughout church history,
the church has, in large parts,
either evaded the sermon,
or become completely obsessed with it.
So some have tried to evade it by saying that,
you know, these laws are only meant for certain Christians.
They're meant for the super holy,
the clergy.
They're meant for ministers.
They're meant, you know, for Corey,
not for us.
Some have come and said,
well, maybe it's for Christians.
It's for people in the church.
But as soon as you go back to work,
as soon as you go back to your family life,
it doesn't apply anymore.
It doesn't matter.
So in that way, you know,
people have come and have evaded the Sermon on the Mount.
Some obsess over these verses by saying that,
how Christian you are,
and I think this is quite common today,
how Christian you are
depends on how literally you obey these commands
that Jesus makes.
You can never be angry.
You must always turn the other cheek.
You must never swear enough.
And you can see how that gives rise to,
you know, certain groups and certain sects today.
We want to avoid both.
Jesus tells us,
when you read the Sermon on the Mount,
to avoid both tendencies.
This sermon is part of a bigger chapter,
part of a bigger section,
framed by chapters 4 and 9.
And in chapters 4 and 9,
Matthew uses exactly the same phrase
to say that Jesus has been going about
the towns and the villages,
preaching about the kingdom of God.
And when he uses exactly the same phrase
in chapter 4 and chapter 9,
that's his way of saying that this whole section
is about the kingdom of God.
And one way,
one way tonight,
maybe we can describe,
or we can describe the kingdom of God
is by saying
that it's the restoration of life
as it's meant to be
and creation,
which will be completed by God
out of love.
That restoration,
which began when Jesus died and rose again,
it is ongoing,
and it will be completed
at the new creation.
And if you are a Christian,
you know,
if you have repented and believed
like we were telling the kids,
you are tonight a part of that restoration.
This is a long introduction, I know,
but one summary for this sermon I read,
it helped me think about this sermon
and these six commands especially.
One writer says this,
In this way,
the kingdom of God
is the restoration of life.
And it is the Sermon on the Mount
which indicates the road
towards this restoration.
It's not opposed to life,
to nature,
and to the community,
but in truth,
it is for
and in support
of life.
The sermon,
these six commands
aren't for the elite Christian,
and they're not commands
that you obsess over either,
but Jesus
preaches to you.
Jesus preaches
to the church tonight,
and he says,
to practice the life
of the new creation.
This world,
this city,
our lives are broken.
They are messy.
We are surrounded
by disorder and frustration.
God's ongoing work
is to undo that.
It's to undo that.
And we are called to partake,
to be a faint picture
of what is to come.
So specifically,
when Jesus says,
don't be angry,
he's not telling you tonight
to be a better Christian.
He's telling you
your purpose in the world.
He's telling you
what your function is
in the world.
God cares about
the sort of person you are.
Jesus has begun
this kingdom work,
and he says,
don't be angry.
Will you support life?
Jesus asks,
and not be angry.
So just two points
on these verses.
Two points
thinking about anger.
What is anger?
Anger,
and what do you do
about it?
So what is anger?
It's not hard to define,
I don't think.
You can look at a day
this week probably,
or a day this month,
or we can easily
remember a time at least
where we got angry.
We can remember a moment
that we became antagonizing.
We became hostile
towards someone
in words,
or even in thought.
It might involve
screaming,
shouting.
It might involve
insulting someone.
It might all be
in our head.
It might involve
a feeling of resentment
that keeps on returning it.
In psychiatry,
it's called
a non-cooperative response.
Very professional
and kind way of putting it.
I think
it's a non-cooperative
response to something
that has been done
or said to you.
Now,
I'm from the Highlands
and I know
there's some people here
from the Highlands.
And I know,
I know that you know
what it means
to be driving
on a single track road
with a camper van
coming towards you
and it's gone past
the passing place
and the driver
is refusing
to reverse
and you've got
a queue forming
behind you
and a queue forming
behind him
and now the driver
in that camper van
doesn't see you
get out and shake your fists
but your passenger
hears every word
you say about
that camper van driver.
And maybe this driver
thinks everything is fine
but your passenger
knows you're angry.
It's a non-cooperative response.
What about,
you know,
this week,
I'm trying not to think
of too many personal examples
to give myself away
but in the cafe,
you put your order in
for your lunch
or your coffee
or whatever it is
and the one person
that's working
behind that counter
is trying to balance
three orders
and you're saying,
just get a move on.
Just think about
my order here.
Short-term examples
of anger,
long forgotten.
What about your colleague
or someone in your family,
at your family gathering maybe,
who says something
that really hurts you,
says something
that angers you
and you've got to see
this person frequently
and often,
five days a week?
What if that is
an ongoing pain
in your relationship
and your response
is either verbal,
you retaliate
or you keep it inside
but even in moments of joy,
that feeling of anger,
that feeling of resentment
takes over,
even in a moment of joy.
You remember
what this person
has said to you.
In both short-term,
long-term,
verbally or mentally,
we get angry
and what does Jesus say
in Matthew 5?
He says it's devastating.
So in verse 21,
he says,
you've heard it said,
do not murder
for you will be subject
to murder.
And then he says,
no, more than that,
don't be angry.
Do not be angry
for you will be subject
to judgment.
What is he saying?
He's saying that
unrighteous,
insulting,
hurtful anger
has the same source
as murder.
That's what he's saying.
He's saying you can't
bring this down
to whether or not
you have caused
physical harm.
It's not as easy as that.
That's what the Pharisees
want to say.
He says it's not as easy
as that.
It comes from a heart
filled with contempt
for someone.
If it lasts for a moment,
if it lasts for months,
God sees the heart.
Anger comes from
the same place.
If you just look
more precisely
at the way Jesus
describes anger here.
In verse 22,
from verse 22,
there's this movement
from anger
to insulting
to calling someone
a fool.
And a lot of commentators
notice that
there's not much difference
between these three causes
that Jesus gives us,
or at least they aren't
growing in intensity.
In the original language,
Jesus uses this word,
raka,
which means
empty head,
or we would probably
say idiot today.
And compare that
to a fool,
which probably has
something more to do
with someone's character.
So maybe Jesus
is saying here
there's a difference
in the way your anger
can be displayed.
Maybe you're angry
at someone
because of the way
they intellectually
work things out.
Maybe you're angry
at someone because
of their heart,
their character.
anger.
But anger is shown
in everyday
typical scenarios,
if we can call it that.
At the same time,
in each of these three causes
which aren't intensifying,
these are each paired
with a punishment
which is intensifying.
So Jesus says,
anger generally
results in judgment.
Whoever insults
is brought before the council.
If you call someone
a fool,
he says,
your judgment
is the hell of fire.
Why does the punishment
that Jesus describes
escalate
while the cause doesn't?
Why does he speak
in that way?
What is it about
calling someone a fool
that is worse
than insulting someone?
Nothing.
Not much anyway.
And that's not a point
that Jesus is making.
He's saying
that there can be,
there is an anger
that we are liable to.
And we can treat it
very lightly.
It can be expressed
in different ways.
It can be thought or spoken.
It can be harsh and hurtful.
It can be light
and forgotten in a moment.
It can be against
that driver coming towards me
that I'll never see again.
It can be against my colleague
who I see five days a week.
But Jesus is saying
when he gives you
these three different causes
of anger
or three different
ways you show anger
and three different judgments,
Jesus is saying
that you take lightly
what God takes so seriously.
That is what he's getting at.
That's why the punishment
of the hell of fire
is so shocking
when we reach that point
in the passage.
We don't expect it.
He's telling us
how damaging
anger can be
and how serious it is.
What is it
to be angry?
It's to be antagonizing.
It's to be non-cooperative.
And it's devastating
because where God
brings about restoration,
where God promises
to fix what is wrong
in the world,
we are going against that
in our anger,
in our hearts.
it's helpful,
I think,
at this point
to say something
about righteous anger,
something
that most of us
probably think we have
and we probably
don't show it
very often
if we do have it.
Jesus shows us
what righteous anger is.
And if you keep going
in Matthew's Gospel
to chapter 23,
Jesus is speaking
about the Pharisees
and he says,
these people have
shut the kingdom of God
in people's faces.
They've shut it up
in people's faces.
And then he says,
you blind fools.
You know,
why can Jesus
call the Pharisees
fools?
Why can he be angry?
It's because
they are convincing
people
that the law
is about their actions.
What this whole sermon
is about.
They're still convincing
people that way.
It's about the heart
Jesus came to show
that,
to bring out
that truest meaning
and the Pharisees
say, no, no,
it's just about
what you do.
In other words,
they distract people
from what a true,
restored,
beautiful life is.
They distract people
from the restoration
that God is doing.
That's why Jesus
can get angry.
He's angry at sin.
That's what
righteous anger is.
the kingdom of God
which restores
what is broken,
which brings about
all that is good.
They shut it out.
And he's angry
at sin.
And it's something
we rarely
get right.
I read this example
in an article
earlier this week.
It's from a Christian
father
talking about
anger shown
towards his kids.
But I think
we can apply it
in many different ways.
He says this,
there is a difference
between anger
and my kids
for the way
their disobedience
invites danger
and shows disrespect
to their mother
versus anger
at my kids
because the real issue
is that I am afraid
of how their disobedience
reflects on me
as a dad
in the public eye.
The first motive
is godly.
The second motive
is self-centered
and lacking
any real concern
for the good
of my children.
Do you get angry?
And if you do
is it righteous?
Or is it self-centered?
The kingdom has come
Jesus says.
The kingdom has come
and it will one day
come finally.
One day
there will be
no frustration
there will be
no aggravation
there will be
no sadness.
Are you taking part
tonight in that reality
which has been
brought about?
Are you supporting
life?
Are you living
a kingdom life
as God restores
what is broken?
Or is your anger
stopping you
from being the person
you are meant to be?
Secondly,
what can you do
if anger
is your problem?
Jesus gives us
two scenarios
and again
in these two scenarios
he's heightening
the situation.
He's making them
more serious
as he goes along.
He talks about
dealing with your anger
in terms of
settling your case
with your brother
and then with an accuser.
And it seems
like these two
quite random
these two pictures
are quite random
but
they capture
exactly what you're
meant to do
with anger
instead of letting it
simmer in the background.
In the first case
we're dealing
with a brother
or a friend
someone that we
are bonded to
someone that we
are close to
and the relationship
here Jesus says
is hurt by anger
and Jesus says
in verse 23
leave the temple
leave your sacrifice
behind
and go and
reconcile
with your brother.
Leave church
he says.
That's how serious
it is.
Leave church
mid service
if you have to.
Go home
and reconcile
with your brother.
Make right
the relationship
that has been
broken
by anger.
What's Jesus
wanting you to do?
At the least
he's wanting you
to understand
that coming to church
every week
coming here
every week
does not remove
the fact
that we have
a moral duty.
Coming here
worshipping God
is
the best thing
you can do
in the week
and yet
it doesn't
take away
the fact
that you
cannot
leave anger
unresolved
outside that door.
That's what
Jesus is saying.
If you're angry
with someone
that is near to you
and that person
knows it
or
as much as
that breakdown
is dependent
on you
Jesus says
you need to
heal
your relationships.
Church does
not substitute
the need
to fix it.
be reconciled
whether you
need forgiveness
or your
brother does
Jesus
fix it.
Fix it.
And the
second picture
it's different
in that
it's talking
about being
taken to
court by an
accuser.
An enemy
different situation
it's building
on the same
case.
If you are
walking to
court with
your accuser
you better
be urgent
in settling
this matter
quickly.
And not
rashly
not insincerely
but properly
before they
throw you
in jail.
In the
same way
Jesus
says be
quick to
reconcile
be quick
to mend
what is
broken
in your
relationships.
Be
urgent
Jesus
says.
King
Solomon
he gives
us one
reason I
have many
in the
Bible
why we
ought to
be
urgent.
One
reason I
have many.
He says
this in
Ecclesiastes
7.
Be not
quick in
your
spirit to
become
angry
for
anger
lodges
in the
heart.
Anger
left alone
he's saying
begins to
make a
home
in you.
It
lodges in
the heart
and soon
an increasing
amount of
your
relationships
will be
threatened
by this
anger
which
becomes
more and
more at
home in
you
and which
becomes
something
is alive
more and
more.
There will
be more
to be
angry at
you'll
remain
angrier
for longer.
Jesus
says no
settle
this
urgently.
Settle
it
urgently.
Don't
let it
happen.
You're
living
separately
he's
telling
the
people
to
the
way
life
is
meant
to
be
lived.
You're
denying
the
restoration
that
God
is
working
out.
So make
amends as
urgently as
you can.
Don't even
let your
Sunday
worship
take away
from that.
But fix
things
quickly.
I know
that this
is difficult
and
for some
people
here
relationships
have been
broken for
years.
Maybe.
Anger
or resentment
or frustration
has meant
that you're
relationship
with your
close friend
or your
brother
is not
what it
used to
be.
And hearing
Jesus say
you need
to fix
that,
it doesn't
make it
easy.
It doesn't
make it
easy at
all.
We open
with words
from Romans
5,
right at the
start of the
service,
where Paul
says that
we were
once enemies
with God.
And see
that picture
that Jesus
gives us
of walking
to the
court.
The law
is the
accuser
here.
When
we're told
that we're
enemies
with God,
the law
is the
accuser.
We walk
on a
path and
the law
says,
you know,
you've not
been able
to keep
one of
these
commands.
Don't
be angry.
Don't
lust.
Keep
your word.
We are
not able
to do
any of
it,
the law
says.
And
you know,
the hell
that Jesus
talks about
here is a
reality
sin.
Off
that.
And yet,
and yet,
in the
court,
Jesus,
who is
not a
sinner,
walks in
and what
does he
say?
He says,
you'll pay
every penny.
He says,
you'll pay
every penny.
Christ was
blameless.
No one
could point
the finger.
But he
became sin.
He walks
in the
courtroom and
he says,
he'll pay
for it.
He'll pay
every penny.
When you
think about
your broken
relationships
and how
devastating
they can
be,
something
that no
one else
here could
even understand
and something
that you
don't know
how to
deal with,
do you
remember
tonight that
Jesus came
to you?
That Jesus
came to
you?
Do you
remember that
through taking
your punishment,
through his
death and
rising again,
he has
promised to
restore goodness
to you
and give
you life as
it is meant
to be?
Do you
remember that
it was your
anger and
my anger that
put him on
the cross in
the first
place?
The cry to
free Barabbas
and the cry to
put Jesus on
the cross was
my angry
cry.
It was
because my
sin that he
went there.
That's how
far God has
gone to
reconcile you
with him.
Jesus doesn't
reconcile with
you or with
me through a
conversation.
No, he
reconciles with
us through
death, his
own death.
Do you
believe that
though you
stand accused,
Jesus paid
the cost for
your anger
and for
mine?
Have you
trusted in
him for
that?
And if you
have, will
you take
part?
Will you take
part in
that
restoration?
If you're
a Christian,
will you live
out your
kingdom life?
Will you
support life
and not
be angry?
Just to
finish, a few
things we can
think about,
a few things we
can do this
week maybe.
Ask yourself
the hard
questions.
You know,
when I get
angry, is my
anger
righteous?
Righteous?
Am I
angry at
this because,
you know, it's
done directly
against God and
his restoration?
Or am I
angry because
it's upsetting
me?
And because it
offends me or
my needs?
Is my anger
slow to appear?
Is it quick to
disappear?
How often, you
know, how often
does the Bible
say to be slow
to anger?
Is that really,
really the case
for me?
Ask the hard
questions.
Anger,
anger can be
hard to deal
with for some
and others.
Some people
rarely get
angry, for
some, you
know, it's a
bit more
natural and
it's a habit
that needs to
be worked
out of.
One thing
to do, to
gradually work
yourself out of
an angry
heart, is
pursue love
in your
relationships.
no matter
how long
or how
short the
encounter.
You know,
ask, how
can I love
this person?
How can I
interact with
this person
in a way
that is
good for
them?
Maybe
anger is
what defines
that current
relationship.
Settle it,
Jesus says.
Settle it.
And pursue
love in your
relationships.
Imitate your
God who
went to the
cross for
you.
And lastly,
one more
thing.
Remember you
have a kingdom
life.
You have a
kingdom life
if you're a
Christian.
It's not about
being a better
Christian.
It's just about
living the life
you've been
given.
Will you
pursue
restoration?
Will you
pursue what
Jesus has
died for?
Will you
support life
and not
be angry?
Let's pray.
Lord, we
thank you for
your word.
It's
difficult,
Lord.
We acknowledge
that when
we are so
quick to
become angry,
when it
becomes a
part of who
we are.
We ask
tonight,
Lord, that
by the
Holy Spirit,
by his
strength,
by his
power,
we would
become less
and less
angry in our
day-to-day
lives,
whether it
be short-term
encounters,
whether it
be with
our brothers
and our
friends,
where
relationships
have been
so hard.
Lord, we
thank you
that even
despite our
angry cries,
yet Jesus
walks into
the courtroom
and he
says he'll
pay every
penny to
be reconciled
to us.
We thank
you for
his sacrifice.
Help us
to reflect
on that,
we ask
for Jesus'
sake.
Amen.