Good morning, church.
Would you turn with me to Matthew chapter 5?
Matthew chapter 5.
As we continue our series in the Sermon on the Mount,
we're looking at Matthew 5, verses 21 through 26.
Let me pray for us, and then I'll read our passage.
Father in heaven,
we have just sung a prayer of how great we need you.
Lord, we acknowledge that even knowing you
and hearing your word
is something that we don't have the capacity
in and of ourselves to do,
that you must grant us in your grace.
Faith.
And ears to hear.
And hearts to receive.
So we pray that you do that now.
Do that because you're faithful to your promise.
Do that because your character is consistent
with what we see in our Lord Jesus Christ.
That you are good in all your ways.
We pray this in his mighty name.
Amen.
All right, Matthew 5, 21 through 26.
Jesus says this,
You've 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.
So remember where we are
in the Sermon on the Mount.
Now, Jesus has just made the stunning claim
that he has come
not to abolish the law,
but to fulfill it
and to inaugurate the kingdom of God.
And Jesus has said to his followers
that participating in this kingdom
will mean living out a righteousness
that exceeds even the righteousness
of the Pharisees.
What an incredible claim.
The Pharisees
were the extra, super, holy people.
They were serious about religion.
They were serious about dotting their I's
and crossing their T's.
How could anyone
have a righteousness greater than theirs?
But you see,
the righteousness of the Pharisees
was wide,
but it wasn't deep.
They covered everything
with a religious rule
or a pious principle,
but it didn't penetrate to the heart.
They had all the right words,
all the right external actions,
but it didn't go deep.
And Jesus says to his followers
and to us,
I'm calling you
to a greater righteousness than that,
a righteousness that's deeper,
a righteousness that goes down
through your whole person,
a whole life,
a whole heart righteousness.
This isn't going to be
like adding more religious stickers
to the outside of a shirt
to make it look nice.
This is going to be
like dyeing the whole fabric,
changing the whole color
through and through
from the inside to the outside.
And isn't that what we're really longing for?
That whole life,
whole heart righteousness.
Isn't that what we're longing for
in ourselves,
in our leaders,
in our relationships?
Not just external rectitude
or propriety,
but whole heart character.
And this greater righteousness
is what Jesus begins to explain
in our passage.
In fact,
that's going to be the theme
of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.
But in the rest of chapter 5,
if you scan over that chapter,
you see that he gives us
six illustrations or examples
of what he means,
of the sort of life
he's calling us to live.
And the first illustration
or example of this
whole life righteousness
has to do with anger,
with contempt.
Let's look again at verses 21 and 22.
You've 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 we're going to live
into this greater righteousness,
here's the first point.
That you must confront your anger
and not excuse it.
Confront your anger.
Don't excuse it.
Jesus begins by quoting
the sixth commandment.
You shall not murder.
And it would be easy,
wouldn't it,
to look at your life
to look at my life
and say,
well,
I haven't murdered anyone
recently,
so I guess I'm good.
I guess I'm living the life
God intends me to live.
Don't murder.
Check.
Righteousness achieved.
But is that all
God intended
in this commandment?
Jesus helps us to see
otherwise.
You have heard it said,
but I say to you.
What stunning words.
Jesus has come
with utter authority
over the law
to interpret it
and apply it perfectly.
You see,
every other human being
is rightly under God's law.
Jesus is not.
He stands
over God's law.
You have heard it said,
but I say to you.
How could that be?
How could he be
over God's law?
Well, friends,
there's only one
who is over God's law.
There's only one
who commands God's law,
and that one
is God himself.
You see,
Jesus is not just
a new Moses
delivering a fresh law
from God.
Jesus is God
in the flesh
before our eyes
explaining
and applying
and delivering
God's law
in its purest form
and interpretation.
And he's telling us here
that merely
avoiding murder
isn't the sort
of righteousness
God intends
for us
as image bearers.
It goes so much deeper.
It's about
our whole regard,
our whole disposition
to our brother
or sister,
to our neighbor.
Okay,
you haven't
taken their life.
That's good.
But do you
harbor anger
against them?
Do you insult them?
Do you hold them
in contempt?
Are you willing
to confront
not just murder
but even your anger?
It's easier
to excuse it,
isn't it?
In fact,
we're very good
at excusing
our anger.
We might begin
by remembering rightly
that anger itself
isn't necessarily bad.
In fact,
God himself
expresses anger
at sin.
So yes,
there is
righteous anger.
And yes,
we too
can share
God's proper
opposition
to sin and wrong.
We can,
as the Apostle Paul
says in Ephesians,
be angry
and sin not.
Yes!
But look at our hearts.
Is it not true
that our anger
is much too often
directed
not at wrongdoing
but at the wrongdoer?
If we truly
shared the heart
of God,
we would be
opposed
to wrongdoing
but have hearts
of mercy
toward wrongdoers.
In fact,
part of our opposition
to wrongdoing
would be for the sake
of the wrongdoers,
longing for their
repentance
and healing
and restoration.
But sadly,
the anger
in our own hearts
is not so.
Anger too quickly
becomes
almost immediately
animosity
and contempt
toward those
who have wronged us
or hurt us
or disappointed us,
toward those
who have stood
in our way
or made our life
difficult.
So that's one way
we try to excuse
our anger
by saying,
well,
all anger
isn't bad.
It's very hard
to excuse
our anger
that way.
How else do we
try to excuse
our anger
and contempt?
Well,
we try by comparison,
don't we?
We tell ourselves,
well,
we're not as bad
as so-and-so.
This is just a trifle
compared to what
they're guilty of.
Or we tell ourselves
that, well,
our situation's different.
Ours is the exception
to the rule.
If you only knew
how terrible
so-and-so treated me,
you would realize
how justified I am
in my anger of them
and my hatred of them.
But friends,
rather than excuse
our anger,
Jesus invites us
to take a look at it,
to confront it,
to acknowledge it,
to bring it out
into the open,
to see it
for what it is.
First thing we see here
is we see that
anger grows.
Look at how anger
grows.
We get angry
with a brother
or sister in Christ.
They've hurt us.
They've disappointed us.
They've wronged us.
But the anger
doesn't stay there.
It grows.
Notice the progression
of verse 22.
The animosity
in the heart
becomes an insult
in the mouth.
It bubbles up.
It blurts out.
The Greek there says,
you say raka
to your brother,
right,
which is sort of
this term of derision
that just sort of
comes out.
We might even
surprise ourselves
at what comes
bubbling up.
But it doesn't
even stop there.
From anger
to insult
into a settled
contempt.
In our eyes,
as our anger grows,
that person
has become
nothing but a fool.
Not worthy
of our attention.
Not worthy
of God's attention.
Nothing to do
with them.
They've become
worthless to us.
You can see now
why the apostle John
says,
everyone who hates
his brother
is a murderer.
1 John 3, 15.
In your mind,
in your heart,
you have consigned
them to death.
This is how
anger grows.
But Jesus also
shows us here
where anger
goes.
What does it
lead to?
And here Jesus
is again very clear.
Anger and contempt,
these things are not
mere trifles.
Rather,
they make us
liable
to God's judgment.
Confronting our anger
means realizing
that it's far more
serious and more grave
than we'd like to admit.
It's not a thing
to be played with.
Too often,
we kind of nurse
animosity
in our hearts,
thinking that no one
sees,
thinking that it
does no harm.
But God sees,
and His judgment
is just.
One commentator
translates the end
of verse 22
like this,
the man who tells
his brother
that he is doomed
to hell
is in danger
of hell himself.
Friends,
Jesus doesn't put it
this way lightly.
He wants us to see
the seriousness
of our sinful contempt.
Anger is like a fire
that grows.
It starts small
but left unaddressed.
It turns into
a massive blaze,
and suddenly we're
thinking and saying
and believing things
that put us
at odds
not just with that person
but with God Himself.
So we must confront
our anger,
not excuse it.
But Jesus
doesn't just want us
to see how dangerous
anger can be.
The greater righteousness
that Jesus is calling us
to doesn't merely
stop there.
It's not as if
Jesus is simply saying,
well, yes,
you should avoid murder
but I'm going to add to that,
you should avoid hatred too.
You see,
it's not just about
not doing something.
There's a positive response
we're to take.
Yes,
we can respond to anger
destructively.
We see that in verse 21
and 22.
It grows like a fire
into contempt and hatred
but we can respond
to anger constructively
as well.
The greater righteousness,
the kingdom righteousness
of Jesus
isn't merely about
anger management.
No,
it's actually
something radically different.
So how do we respond
to growing animosity
in the heart
toward a brother or sister?
If there's a destructive pattern,
what's the constructive approach?
Well,
Jesus lays it out for us
in verses 23 through 26.
Rather than letting anger grow,
he says,
go
and be reconciled.
Repair the relationship.
Pursue
eager
reconciliation.
So if the first point
of our passage
is that you must
confront your anger,
the second point
is you must
pursue
your accuser
and be reconciled.
Let's read again
verses 23 through 26.
So if you're 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're 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'll never get out
until you've paid
the last penny.
Eager
reconciliation.
That's what Jesus
is calling us to.
Leave your gift
at the altar
and go.
In other words,
even external acts
of worship,
even those external acts
prescribed by God,
those external acts
that are good
for our souls,
those are not
more important
or urgent
than pursuing
reconciliation.
So rather than letting
wrongs
and hurts
and disappointments
grow into anger
and animosity
and contempt,
Jesus says,
go.
Go deal with the wrong.
Go deal with the broken
relationship
before it grows
and consumes
both you
and them.
Verses 23 and 24
don't just make the point
that we ought to be
urgent about this.
Leave your gift
at the altar
and go.
But they also tell us
that there's no
substitute for this.
You see,
we often think
that if we do
some good things
over here,
it'll make up
for the bad things
over there,
right?
We think,
well,
if I say a harsh word
or if I wrong
a Christian brother
or sister over here,
well,
I can make it up
to God
by serving more
or reading more
or praying more.
But those extra acts,
as good as they may be
in themselves,
aren't going to change
the fact
that the relationship
needs to be repaired.
Reconciliation needs
to happen.
You need to admit
where you were wrong
and ask for forgiveness.
Of course,
in this passage,
it sort of sounds easy,
doesn't it?
Go and be reconciled,
then come on back.
And you know,
the truth is,
if we are eager
to do the work
of reconciliation
early and often,
it is much easier.
It's much easier
to sort of stamp out
a couple coals
that spit out
of the fireplace,
right?
Than to stop
a blaze
in the whole house.
It's when we let
these things grow
and fester
that they become
so much harder
to untangle
and address.
And that will often happen.
So the truth is,
the process of reconciliation
may take time
and effort
and help.
It may take the help
of a mutual friend.
It may necessitate
the help
of an older,
trustworthy Christian,
like an elder
or a pastor
or maybe a small group leader.
and you know,
sadly,
in this fallen world,
the truth is,
not every relationship
will be reconciled.
We may go
as far
as we can
but find
that the other person
simply doesn't want
to be reconciled.
what do we do then?
Well,
friends,
we forgive
the other person.
We pray
for their good.
We entrust them
to the Lord's care.
We vow
not to speak evil
of them to others.
We tend
our own heart
from the seeds
of bitterness
through ongoing prayer
and forgiveness.
And then,
if the opportunity
does arise
in God's grace,
in God's timing,
then we will be ready
to complete
the reconciliation
when the time comes.
Of course,
one of the things
that makes reconciliation
hard
is that it's rarely
ever a one-way street,
is it?
Often,
there has been
mutual hurt,
mutual disappointment,
mutual wrongs,
mutual animosity.
And our hearts
can often recoil
at this call
to eager reconciliation
because we think
that the other person
has more to apologize
for than we do.
And you know what?
That may be true.
Perhaps they did
have a bigger part
to play in the wrong.
But still,
you must own
your part.
You must obey
your Lord
regardless of what
the other person
has done or not done.
Consider the illustration
that Jesus uses
to close this section.
On the one hand,
it's another illustration
that encourages us
to be eager
in our pursuit
of reconciliation.
Jesus is saying,
look,
you wouldn't let a lawsuit
get all the way to court,
all the way to conviction
if you could help it,
right?
No,
you'd be eager
to settle
and find a solution
before you're standing
in front of the judge.
Better to work hard
at a settlement
out of court
than to end up
in debtor's prison.
In the same way,
Jesus is saying,
be eager to pursue
reconciliation
with your brother
or sister.
But you know,
it's more than
just an illustration
encouraging us
to be eager
and quick to reconcile.
It's also a reminder
that we're all debtors
of one sort or another.
So if you owe anything,
even the smallest amount,
pay it.
Perhaps in a broken relationship,
you think you didn't have
the greater part to play,
but friend,
figuring out
who has the greater share
of the blame
shouldn't be your concern.
Do you owe something?
Then make it right.
Did you say a harsh word?
Did you give a cold shoulder?
Did you fail to give credit
when due?
Did you offend or ignore?
Then make it right.
Perhaps in your view,
they did ten times
the offense,
but that, friend,
is between them and God.
You must obey
what God is calling you to do.
Settle quickly
before you get to court.
Everything you owe,
you will have to pay.
So pay it.
Don't make the mistake
of holding on to your debt,
because you think
the other person owes more.
What will happen in that case?
You will still be
the one in prison.
Your soul will still be locked
behind the bars of anger
and animosity.
You will still owe a debt
to them and to God.
So settle quickly,
no matter what you owe,
no matter how big
or small in comparison.
don't delay.
Don't delay.
So here
is the greater righteousness
to which Jesus
is calling us,
his first
sort of example
of this greater righteousness.
It means not just
avoiding murder,
but addressing
the anger and contempt
in our hearts
through concrete practices
of reconciliation.
reconciliation.
But where,
oh where,
do we get the strength
for this?
If we're going to
confront anger
in our own hearts
and not excuse it,
if we're going to
pursue our accusers
and not avoid them,
how will we get
the power to do that?
Because if you think
about it,
it's easy
on some level
to practice
the righteousness
of the Pharisees.
I'm guessing
few of us
have literally
committed murder
in this room.
Most people
can meet that mark
in their own strength.
But if we're really
going to live
the way God
intends us to live,
it's going to take
strength from outside
of us.
And this is where
we need to zoom out
from the Sermon on the Mount
and put this passage
in the context
of the whole gospel.
Because in order
to live the Sermon
on the Mount,
you need to look
to your Savior,
not to yourself.
Specifically,
you need to look
at what Jesus
has done for you.
That's the only thing
that will really
enable us to turn
from anger and hatred
and pursue reconciliation.
That's the only thing
that will really enable us
to settle quickly
with our accusers,
even if we owe
so much less
in comparison,
we think.
Because before
the cross of Christ,
we realize
that there is
no comparison.
At the cross,
we see that our debt
was infinite.
That the Son of God
left heaven
to pursue reconciliation
with me,
his enemy.
And he paid the debt
that I owed.
My debt
was paid
by another.
So now,
the debts
that others owe me?
How could I possibly
treat them
with contempt?
Have they hurt me?
Have they wronged me?
Yes,
but there is a Savior
who covered
my every wrong,
who mended
my every hurt,
who took
my place
in love
so that I could
walk out
of the prison
of my sin
and judgment
free of charge.
How could I
not now
treat others
with the mercy
and patience
that I have received?
But you know,
in the gospel,
we receive not just
this sort of new
status,
this new freedom
from our debt
of sin
that is life-changing.
We receive not just
a new status,
but we receive
a new heart.
Through faith
in Christ,
the Holy Spirit
gives us
a new disposition.
Our old disposition,
what does it want?
It wants
only my rights.
But the new disposition
wants something greater.
It longs
for God's glory.
It longs
for the beauty
of the Savior
to be magnified.
And what will display
the glory of Christ
more
than the radical
act of forgiveness,
of reconciliation.
And this new disposition
that loves
not just God's glory,
but it also
has a genuine love
for our fellow
brother and sister
in Christ.
The Holy Spirit
enables us
to see past
the wrongs
someone has done,
past the hurt
they caused,
so that we might
see them
in their humanity.
That even though
they are a sinner,
even though
they may have
sinned against me,
I can still view
them as a creature
made in God's image.
And if a Christian,
then a child of God,
and yes,
a brother,
a sister in Christ,
we can love them
in this new disposition
we have through the Spirit.
For Jesus' sake
and for their own sake.
So in Christ,
we are given a new status
and a new heart,
but also a new hope.
there is a day coming
when every wrong
will be made right,
when every broken
relationship
will be healed,
when every hurt
will be mended,
when every tear
will be wiped away,
when every loss
will be returned.
And because of
the resurrection
of Christ,
this hope
is not some wish
or some dream.
It is as solid
and secure
as an anchor
rooted to the ocean floor.
In the hope
of the gospel,
you and I
are completely safe,
completely secure.
You need not fear.
Will it be costly
to pursue reconciliation?
Will it be hard work?
Will it require sacrifice
and time and energy?
Of course.
But you have nothing to fear.
Your future is secure.
The end of your road
is determined.
Your destination
has already been won.
He's gone to prepare
a place for you.
There's no need
to hold
so tightly
to your rights,
to your wrongs.
Why would you sit
in the prison
of anger
and bitterness
all the days
of your life
when the doors
of heaven
have been flung
open for you?
Why demand payment
from those
who wronged you
when the treasures
of heaven
have been opened
for you?
Even the great losses
of this life,
the deep hurts,
are nothing
compared to what God
has prepared for you.
So open your hands.
Settle quickly
with your accuser.
Live in light
of the hope
you have.
Christ is risen.
Christ has reconciled
you to God.
You will enjoy
his peace
now and forevermore.
so let go
of your anger.
Go.
Be reconciled.
And then Jesus says,
come and live.
Because, friends,
this truly is
the way of life.
The way of greater
righteousness
that only the gospel
brings.
This is the way
of salt and light.
Henry Nouwen
once wrote,
and we'll close with this,
he said,
so much of our energy
and time and money
goes into maintaining
our distance
from one another.
Many, if not most,
of the resources
of the world
are used
to defend ourselves
against one another,
to maintain
or increase our power
and to safeguard
our own privileged position.
Imagine.
Imagine all that effort
being put
into the service
of peace
and reconciliation.
Would there be
any poverty?
Would there be
crimes and wars?
Just imagine
that there's no longer
fear among people,
no longer rivalry,
hostility,
bitterness,
or revenge.
We say,
I can't imagine.
But God says,
that's what I imagine.
a whole world
not only created,
but living
in my image.
Let's pray.
Father,
by your spirit,
make us a people
who turn away
from our animosity
and contempt
and who pursue
your way
of peace
and reconciliation.
We know
all too well
how hard this is,
but you have not
left us
to do it alone.
You have canceled
the debt we owe
at the cross.
Now make us
those who are eager
to cancel debts
and be reconciled,
eager to admit
where we have been wrong
and to seek forgiveness.
And would our life
as a church
and our life together
be a sign
of that coming day
when your peace
will reign
over all the earth.
In Jesus' name
we pray,
our reconciler,
our redeemer.
Amen.