And as they're leaving, I just thought we could all be honest about something this morning.
All of us get angry.
All of us deal with anger.
And so, you might be like Kilauea.
You know what Kilauea is?
It's the volcano in Hawaii that is constantly erupting.
You have an erupting kind of anger.
People know it when you're anger.
Stuff gets spewed out.
Lava flows.
Things rumble.
Maybe your anger is Kilauea-like.
Volcanic.
Obvious.
Or maybe your anger shows up more like Yellowstone.
Yellowstone National Park.
Beautiful, serene.
Or so it appears until you start thinking about why is Old Faithful here?
Why are there so many warm springs around here?
And then you start to realize underneath this very serene place is one of the biggest volcanoes on earth.
Many of us simmer in our anger.
It's just below the surface.
And it gets vented once in a while.
So some of us are erupting volcanoes.
Some of us are just kind of simmering under the surface.
But all of us have anger.
Now this morning, I just want to make sure,
as we turn to the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5,
He's going to say some things that are incredibly searching.
They're going to search your heart.
He's going to expose something in us all.
And what you need to know up front is,
Jesus is not going to call anger a personality quirk.
And Jesus isn't going to say,
hey, all of us are human.
All of us get angry.
So it's just a common human emotion.
So it's okay.
Jesus is going to bring anger under the sixth commandment.
He's going to call it murderous.
It's not okay.
At the heart of murder is anger.
And anger is this ember
that when aflamed can result in all sorts of destructive actions.
So would you turn with me now to Matthew chapter 5.
We're going to look at verses 21-26.
Jesus says,
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's 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're offering your brother
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 will never get out
until you have paid the last penny.
This morning what Jesus does
is he shines the floodlight
of the sixth commandment on our hearts.
And what he exposes in our hearts
is a murderous anger.
A murderous anger
that will erupt into hateful words.
Destructive words.
And so this morning,
what Jesus helps us to see
is our anger in light of the sixth commandment.
He has come not to abolish the law,
but to fulfill it.
And so he helps us to understand
the true meaning and scope
of the sixth commandment.
He helps us to see our anger
for what it really is.
What Jesus is going to do here
is he's going to expose
our murderous anger
and then call us
to be kingdom peacemakers.
It's amazing what he does.
And so this morning,
I want you to see three things.
First is this.
I want to remind you
who the I is
of the one who said,
but I say to you.
We've got to remember
who's actually speaking these words.
And then the second thing
is the true meaning
of the sixth commandment.
We'll camp out in verse 22 for that.
And then we're going to see
the kingdom implications.
This exceeding righteousness
that Jesus calls us to.
And that's laid out
in verses 23 through 26
where Jesus calls us
to be peacemakers.
Let's look at this
first step.
The I.
Who is this one speaking?
Verse 22, if you'll notice.
But I say to you,
it's red ink.
Jesus is speaking.
Now, if you are familiar
with the book of Matthew,
up until this point,
Matthew's been making a case
about the one speaking.
If you just turn in your Bible
to Matthew 1,
chapter 1, verse 1,
we see the book
of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David.
David.
He is going to...
He's the king.
The long-awaited king.
Son of David.
The son of Abraham.
The one in whom God
is going to bless
all the nations of the earth.
He is Emmanuel.
God with us.
That's chapter 1, verse 23.
He's the one that is worshipped
by pagan kings in 2.11.
He's the one that withstood
the temptations of the devil
with the shield of faith
and the sword of the Spirit.
He did what none of us could do.
And so what you need to know
of this one speaking,
this one who said,
but I say,
this is God incarnate speaking.
And He's speaking to us this morning.
And so when you step back
and you start realizing,
okay,
the king has come.
What we have here
in the Sermon on the Mount
is His inaugural address.
It's Him speaking to His citizens
and declaring to them,
this is how you live for me now.
This is His manifesto of the kingdom.
And so the Sermon on the Mount,
what we have in chapters 5, 6, and 7
is a sermon.
Last week I tried to show you
that the Beatitudes
are the introduction
and the close of the sermon
starts in chapter 7, verse 13,
where He calls us to two ways to live.
He calls us to decision.
And in between the body of the text,
Jesus says,
open up your Bibles
to the Old Testament
and here's my point.
The Old Testament
is fulfilled by Me.
He preaches Himself
from the Old Testament.
And so Jesus fulfills
the Law and the Prophets
in His person.
He's the Messiah.
But He also fulfills it
in His preaching.
He brings the true meaning
of the Old Testament.
What the Law and Prophets
really meant to say.
And that's what we see Him doing
right here.
In the next couple sections,
if you just look at Matthew 5,
starting in verse 21,
you probably have a heading over it
that says,
Anger.
And then if you continue to look,
there's another heading
called Lust, Divorce, Oaths,
Retaliation,
Love Your Enemies.
And in each one,
there's this contrasting statement
that leads that off.
Jesus says something
to the extent of,
you've heard that it was said
about adultery,
but I say,
anyone who lusts in his heart.
And so each time,
each of these six examples,
Jesus is bringing,
fulfilling the true meaning
of God's Law.
He is saying,
what the Pharisees and scribes
are teaching you,
disregard.
Listen to what I have to say.
I am the Incarnate Word
with all authority
to clarify this written Word of God.
And so, this morning,
we're looking at the first
of these six examples.
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.
Remember the one speaking here.
This is God incarnate,
and He's speaking
with all authority
on what murder really means.
And to that end,
let's move to the true meaning
of you shall not murder.
Jesus is essentially saying,
let me clarify
this murder thing for you.
Would you flip back
in your Bibles
to Exodus chapter 20?
I'm guessing that you approach
the command,
you shall not murder,
kind of like the way
I approach,
you shall not murder.
And it's the way
the Jews of the time
approached,
you shall not murder.
So let's go to Exodus chapter 20,
the Ten Commandments,
and let's do a little
diagnostic test.
Okay?
How are you guys doing?
Are you worshiping other gods?
Do you have any other gods
before you?
And you might say,
by and large,
no.
I'm a follower of Jesus.
I'm a worship of the triune
God of the Bible.
I have my moments,
but generally speaking,
I'm living for the one true God.
Check.
So the second question is,
are you making any carved images
of your God?
Are you building anything
in your house
to worship at?
And you say,
no.
Check.
And the next one,
you shall not take the name
of the Lord in your vein.
Are you using Jesus' name
as a cuss word?
No.
Check.
Next one.
Remember the Sabbath.
Are you taking one day of rest?
Rest every week.
Are you resting?
You're like,
most of the time.
Check.
Then we go to the next one.
Honor your father and your mother.
And you're like,
well, when I was young,
not really,
but now I'm doing everything
I can to help them.
Doing everything I can
to honor them.
And then we get to verse 13.
It says,
you shall not murder.
And in our minds,
we think,
I haven't killed anybody.
Check.
And what Jesus is saying here
is like,
no.
Slow down.
Because this command
has more to do
with just shedding blood.
This makes a claim
on the anger in your heart.
But,
at the time
of Jesus teaching this,
the current teaching of the day
was putting some restrictions
on the sixth commandment.
The Jews of the day
were limiting the sixth commandment
to just the physical act
of murder.
Of homicide.
Jesus is not addressing here
death and war.
He's not talking about
capital punishment.
What he's getting at
is intentional homicide.
And so the Jews of the day
were saying,
well,
hey,
it's just limited
to the physical act
of shedding blood.
That's the first restriction
they were doing.
And the second restriction
they were doing
is the kind of judgment.
The consequence
of shedding blood.
And you see that showing up
back in Matthew.
Matthew 5
where Jesus says,
you've heard that it said
you shall not murder
and whoever murders
will be liable to judgment.
The judgment there
is what was being taught.
It was kind of an expansion
of Numbers 35
verses 30 and 31
where the focus was
if you're a murderer,
you go before a human court
and there needs to be
two witnesses
to prove your guilt.
And so the thought was
limited to human judgment.
Human court.
So the restrictions
taking place at the time
were a physical act
and the consequence
was focused on
a human counsel,
a human judgment.
We all do that.
We all tend to think
about murder that way,
don't we?
We all tend to think
about it as the shedding
of blood
and if we do,
then we've got to
stand before a judge
and jury someday.
In walks Jesus.
In walks the fulfiller
of the law
and the prophets.
And what He's about to say
is going to extend
the reach
of the sixth commandment.
Look what He says.
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.
What Jesus is doing here
is extending
the reach
of the sixth commandment
past the physical act
and into our hearts.
And He's addressing
anger in our hearts.
That destructive impulse
in us
that reacts
to when
we are personally offended.
It's like right there.
That's murder.
That's murder at heart.
That's murderous intent.
You're looking to destroy.
He's getting at
anger as something
that is a destructive attitude
within us.
Anger is at the heart
of murder.
That's what Jesus
is getting at.
And so He's putting this
on a continuum.
And so if murder
is the culmination
of something,
anger is the seed of it.
It's the starting point.
It's when we're personally offended.
Where our hearts go.
And it can result in
divisions
and disunity.
Anger can be dangerous.
Anger can be deadly.
Not only does Jesus
extend the reach
of murder
to include
this thing in our hearts
called anger
which we've all experienced.
Jesus extends the reach
of this
prohibition
to murder
to include
your speech.
Look back at
verse 22.
But I say to you
that everyone
who's angry with his brother
will be liable
to judgment.
Whoever
insults his brother
will be liable
to the council.
You see that word
insults?
There's actually
a word underneath there.
The word is
raka.
And what it is
is
it's a word
that basically
if we
use it today
would be like
blockhead.
Doofus.
And what it is
is
it's a word
that is used
to attack
someone's intellect.
And so
essentially
this insult
is a particular
insult.
It's calling
someone stupid.
stupid.
And so
what we see
here is
anger in our
hearts
progressing
to our speech.
Out of
the heart
the mouth
speaks.
And so
when he calls
someone stupid
it's murderous.
You're looking
to injure
them.
Harm
them.
Reduce
their worth.
Continuing on
verse 22
we read this.
Whoever says
you fool
will be liable
to the hell
of fire.
So we've
looked at that
word raka
which means
stupid.
This word fool
is getting at
a different
aspect of
someone.
Their character.
You're calling
someone a
scoundrel.
It's literally
character
assassination.
So Jesus
is saying
when you
call someone
raka
stupid.
When you
call someone
a scoundrel
those words
are murderous
words.
They are
aimed
to destroy.
They're aimed
to hurt.
To reduce
somebody.
Jesus is getting
at a progression
of sin.
Out of the
heart
the mouth
speaks.
Have you
ever said
something in
your mind
or heard
someone said
I wish him
good as
dead.
Have you
ever heard
anybody say
that?
Maybe that's
come out of
your mouth
before.
You see the
murderous intent
behind that?
I wish this
person off the
face of the
earth.
See what's
going on there
through this
grid Jesus
is giving
us?
Jesus
doesn't
just
extend
the reach
of the
sixth
commandment
to our
hearts
and to
our
speech
he extends
the
consequence
of it.
He moves
beyond
human
eyes.
Look at
that last
piece he
says in
verse 22
whoever says
you fool
will be
liable
to the
hell
of fire.
Literally
the fire
of Gehenna.
Gehenna was
a dump
outside of
Jerusalem
and it
was horrific.
The worst
stuff was
put there.
There were
smoldering
fires.
Corpses of
criminals
were put
in
Gehenna.
It was a
nasty,
nasty
place.
And so it
became synonymous
with outcasts,
destruction,
punishment.
And what Jesus
has in mind
here is
divine
judgment.
He's talking
about hell.
anger.
The consequence
of angry
hearts
moving towards
angry speech
that are aimed
to destroy
people,
it's murderous.
And it bears
not only a
human consequence,
but a divine
consequence.
You're offending
God.
Your sinful
anger is
provoking
God's
righteous
anger.
You might be
sitting in your
seat right now
and you're
like, oh
Jesus, come on,
let up.
Seriously.
Isn't there
this thing
called righteous
indignation?
How many
have gone
there so far?
But what
about that?
is Jesus
absolutizing
all anger
right here?
Is He saying
that all
anger for
all time
that comes
out of
every human
heart
is murderous?
Is He saying
that?
He's not
saying that.
Because elsewhere
in our Bibles,
like Ephesians
chapter 4,
26 and 27,
we're told
to be angry
and do
not sin.
Quoting
a psalm.
I mean,
we even see
in Jesus'
very life,
the God-man,
He never,
in His anger
and He got
angry,
He never
sinned.
God the
Father,
His wrath
is a
righteous,
holy wrath
so that we
know that
there is
this thing
called
righteous
indignation.
And so
Jesus isn't
absolutizing
here,
but He
is generalizing.
He's saying
by and
large,
our anger,
we flare
up against
personal
offense.
We take
things
personally.
And we
go
raka.
We go
you fool.
We have
murderous
intent
as a
result.
It's that
incendiary
reaction
when we
perceive a
wrong done
to us.
And Jesus,
so Jesus is
saying here,
you know,
there are
exceptions,
but by and
large,
all of us
know that
our anger
is an
anger that
is unrighteous.
So Jesus
isn't
absolutizing,
but He is
generalizing.
Just a
word of
caution.
If you
find yourself
in a
situation
where you've
got a
cause,
it's a
righteous
cause,
and it
makes you
angry,
and you
know that
this anger
is close
to God's
heart,
like God
is angry
over this,
be careful.
Even your
righteous
indignation
can be
unstable.
It can
result in
thinking of
people as
villains.
Be careful.
all anger
is dangerous.
So what I
want to show
you here is
this.
In Jesus
expanding the
sixth commandment,
this is what
He's done.
He's brought
His ten
pound
messianic
sledgehammer
to the
sixth
commandment,
and He
has just
smashed down
these walls
that have been
built up around
it that were
never supposed
to be there.
And He's
saying,
no,
don't limit
the sixth
commandment
to just
the physical
slaying of
blood.
Don't limit
it just to
the consequences
with man.
No,
no,
no.
Let me smash
these down
so that you
can see
this commandment
and feel
the claim
it makes
on you.
So murder
is not just
an outward
physical act.
It has to do
with your heart.
What goes on
the inside.
Your attitude
towards others.
Murder is not
just the
shedding of
blood.
It includes
this wounding
speech that
diminishes the
worth of
people.
It's the
literal character
assassination
in which we
kill people
with our
words.
And it's
just not the
consequence of
a human
court.
Our
unrighteous
anger provokes
God's righteous
wrath.
And so the
Pharisees had
restricted the
full impact of
the sixth
commandment.
And here Jesus
is the
fulfiller of
all the
Old Testament
saying this
is what it
really means.
Jesus is
fulfilling the
true purpose
of the law.
The law
exposes the
sinfulness of
our sin.
salvation.
It reveals our
hearts for what
they truly
are.
It shows us
that we may
do an initial
glance through the
Ten Commandments
and think we're
okay, we've never
murdered anybody.
But as we hear
Jesus speaking here,
we need to realize
actually we have
transgressed the
sixth commandment.
Why is anger
wrong?
It's murderous in
its intent.
It's destructive in
its intent.
But as David read
earlier, what the
law also does, it
just not exposes our
sin, it leads us
to Jesus.
It exposes our
need for our
Savior.
So listen to this.
This is what's so
amazing about the
one speaking.
Not only did He
come to fulfill
in His person,
in His preaching,
He came to
fulfill,
He lived a
perfect life.
He never sinned
in His anger.
And He went
to the cross
and died
and bore
the righteous
wrath of God
for the
murderous hearts
of those who
would one day
come and believe
in Him.
You and me.
Jesus died for
murderers.
Whether that's a
physical act
or it's the
attitude of your
heart
or it's the
words that you
say.
Jesus
bore the
fire of
hell
for the
anger
of our
hearts.
peace.
Do you know
what the result
of that was?
Peace.
No more
wrath.
No more
hostility.
Jesus brought
peace.
The last
move I want
to show you
in this passage
is in
verses
23-26.
I'm going
to focus
mainly on
23-24.
But Jesus
here calls
us to
a righteousness
that exceeds
the Pharisees
and the scribes.
Jesus calls
us to be
peacemakers.
Blessed are
the peacemakers
for they shall
be called
sons of God.
The two
examples He
brings up
are a
worship service
and on your
way to small
claims court.
So in
verses 23
and 24
we read
this.
So if you
are offering
your gift
at the
altar,
notice where
this is
taking place?
This is
taking place
in the
temple.
People
bringing
their
gift
to the
altar
to worship
God.
And then
what Jesus
points out
is,
so if
you're
coming to
a church
service,
if you're
about to
put your
money into
the plate,
if you're
bringing your
gift,
and then
He says,
if you
remember that
your brother
has something
against you.
So you've
come to the
church service
and you
remember that
there's a
brother or
sister that
has something
against you.
Now,
that something
against you
is somewhat
vague.
Jesus isn't
being clear
and He's
intentionally
being vague
because that
leaves open
the door
for this.
if I'm
coming to
the service
and I'm
remembering
someone who
I have
gotten angry
with and
offended,
or if I
remember someone
who's gotten
angry with me
and given me
offense,
it can be
either.
Someone with
something against
me.
What am I to
do?
What are you
to do?
You're to go
to them.
You're to put
down your
gift and
you are to
go to
them.
Go to
them for
what purpose?
To make
peace with
them.
Now,
I'm not sure
if you picked
up on this,
but there's
an urgency
with what
Jesus is
talking about.
I mean,
seriously,
worshiping God
in His
sanctuary is
like wonderful.
Big priority,
right?
Why is
God saying,
don't give
me your
gift.
Go to
your brother.
Why would
God tell
us to do
that?
Here's why.
God values
the unity
of His
people.
God puts
a huge
premium on
the unity
of His
people.
God wants
us to be
united with
each other
in our
worship of
Him.
And if
there's
something out
of sorts
between any
of us,
He says,
go fix
that first
and then
come
worship
Me.
God is
very concerned
about the
effects of
anger in
our midst.
Christ.
It can
bring
discord
and that
discord is
like a
disease to
the body
of God.
So the
Lord Jesus
is saying,
be quick,
make this a
priority.
If you become
aware of
someone with
something against
you,
you go to
them.
Go to
them to
reconcile
with them.
Go to
them saying
things like,
I know I got
angry with you
last week and
I know that
hurt you.
Would you
please forgive
me?
Or,
it's,
did I do
something to
provoke you
to anger?
And if so,
I am so
sorry.
I want to
be at
peace with
you.
So this
morning,
let me ask
you,
as you're
here,
together,
gathered in
the worship
of God,
is there
someone God
is bringing
to your
mind that
has something
against you?
Have you
offended them
or have
they offended
you?
In Jesus'
economy,
it doesn't
matter.
Go to
them.
Make peace
with them.
Seek peace
with them.
There's another
group of people
in here.
You may have
already gone
to someone.
You already
remembered someone
who has
something against
you.
And you've
already gone
to them.
But they're
not interested
in pursuing
peace with
you.
They're not
reciprocating
that.
What does
that mean
for you
now?
Does that
mean you
cannot worship
God with
God's people?
No, it
doesn't.
Come into
the house
of the Lord.
You've done
what you can
do.
Now,
cry out to
the Lord
to bring a
fullness of
peace to
that relationship.
Wait on
the Lord.
Wait on
the Lord.
And worship
Him as
you wait.
Ask Him
to soften
hearts.
So the
first example
Jesus gives
of, hey,
you're not a
murderer,
you're a
peacemaker in
God's house,
with God's
family,
and it shows
up in how
you prioritize
it on
coming on
Sunday
morning.
The other
area that He
points to
is small
claims court.
He says,
come to
terms quickly
with your
accuser while
you're going
with him.
And then in
verse 26,
He reveals
the nature
of it.
Truly,
I say to
you,
you will
never get
out until
you have
paid the
last penny.
Money,
lending money,
borrowing money
between people
can cause
all sorts
of issues.
And what
Jesus is
saying here
is,
hey,
if you owe
somebody money
or someone
owes you
money and
it's getting
in the way
of your
relationship,
if it's going
to go to
court,
go to
them.
You initiate.
And you bring
peace to
that.
Come to
terms
quickly
with your
accuser.
In both of
these cases,
what we see
here is
Jesus calling
us to
a righteousness
that exceeds
that of the
Pharisees.
He calls
us to
make peace
with people
who we may
have offended
somehow.
Or they
have offended
us.
And what
Jesus is
showing us
in both of
these instances,
be quick
to peace.
It affects
your worship.
It affects
your witness.
Be quick
to peace.
This morning,
I try to
remind you
who's speaking
that this is
Jesus the
King.
He has
all authority
to clarify
what the
Sixth
Commandment
really means.
And He did
for us.
He showed
us the
true meaning
and scope
of the
Sixth
Commandment.
It extends
into our
hearts.
It extends
into our
words.
It extends
the consequence
to being
an offense
to God
Himself.
An offense
that only
Jesus can
pay on our
behalf.
He bore
God's
righteous
wrath
for your
sinful
anger.
peace.
And finally,
He calls
us to be
peacemakers.
This exceeding
righteousness
to make
peace with
those whom
we've
offended.
To initiate
peace just
as God
in Christ
initiated
peace
with us.
peace
These words
of Jesus
show us
how
Jesus
fulfills
the law
and the
prophets
and they
show us
what a
righteousness
that exceeds
the Pharisees
looks like.
And if
you're like
me,
you hear
Jesus speak
this and
your response
is Lord
help me.
Help me walk in Your ways.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, these are searching words
You speak from the sixth commandment.
And they reveal our hearts for what they are.
And we're amazed that God,
You love us despite the murderous ways
of our hearts.
Thank You for coming for us.
Thank You for becoming,
taking God's wrath for our sin.
God, would You make us peacemakers?
Would You use Your Word here
to spur us on to be at peace
with brothers and sisters
and even with debtors?
God, make us light.
God, make us salt
in a decaying and dark world.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.