Jesus Warning Against Anger
Matthew 5:21-26 (ESV):
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’
22 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.
23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
25 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.
I am not sure if you know Stan Mikita. He was a remarkable and legendary professional hockey play er who played for the Chicago Black Hawks in the late 60s and 70s. Before he became a productive player, he used to get into many fights during games. He only stopped when his eight-year-old daughter asked a very grown-up question: "How can you score goals when you're always in the penalty box, Daddy?"
In the same way, so many people have been robbed of productivity in life because of their uncon trollable anger. This issue may be one of the reasons why Jesus Himself addresses it in the Sermon on the Mount. But for sure, there are also other essential reasons why Jesus had to talk about it. Let me mention two more:
1. It gives the Devil the opportunity to distract and destroy us.
When the apostle wrote the Ephesian church, he warned them about this truth by saying: Ephesians 4:26-27 (ESV):
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Undoubtedly, the Devil is always looking for an opportunity to distract us from following the Lord or destroy us. Our anger could be the gateway for him to take advantage of us.
2. It can poison the good people around us.
Proverbs 22:24-25 (ESV):
24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,
25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
Many times, we wonder why we are so full of anger. Reading these verses in Proverbs 22 could pos-
sibly explain why - we always hang out with some angry people. I remember reading a story about an author for the READERS DIGEST who did a study with Amish people. He spent many hours observing them while preparing for an article about them. At one time, it dawned on him that the Amish children never screamed or yelled. This really amazed him, so he spoke to the school principal where these children attended. He remarked how he had not once heard an Amish child yell and asked why the principal thought that was so. The school master replied, "Well, have you ever heard an Amish adult yell?" This incident certainly affirms what Proverbs 22:24-25 says.
Often, we are too slow to raise the red flag about anger. I hope and pray that everyone who gets an gry will listen to our sermon this morning. Of course, if you are a person who does not get angry, then you are exempted from listening today.
But before we go further, let’s have some context about our passage. As we have studied in the past sermons, in all of these teachings on the Mount, Jesus was helping the people following Him to understand what true righteousness meant. During Jesus’ time, the Pharisees explained that righteousness consisted of performing certain actions and activities. However, when you carefully examine the emphasis in Christ’s teachings here, it always points to the attitude of the heart. It is always internal and not external.
Of course, this is not something new. There are so many places in the Old Testament where this con cept is communicated. A great example of this is found in the last words of King David to his successor, Solo mon:
1 Chronicles 28:9 (ESV):
9“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.
In this verse, David reminded his son, Solomon, that God searches all hearts. Now, studying our main text, let’s examine the three major divisions in the Lord’s teaching about anger.
I THE INSCRIBED RULE (v. 21)
Last Sunday, Bro. Roy did an excellent job helping us understand how Jesus Christ established that He was committed to fulfilling the Old Testament Laws and not abolishing them. Now, a major application of His task in fulfilling the Laws was helping His people to understand them properly. So, as we begin reading our main text, verse 21 opens up with a very familiar commandment - “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.” These words directly came from Exodus 20:13 or Deuteronomy 5:17.
Well, why begin with murder? Perhaps, one reason is that one of the very first sins committed in the Bible is murder. This happened in Genesis 4 when Cain murdered his own brother Abel. Another reason would probably be because murder would easily be considered one of the most terrible or dreadful sins a person can commit. Even the penalty attached to it is dreadful:
Genesis 9:6 (ESV):
6 “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.
However, in the sinfulness of the human heart, there are still many people who
would directly violate this command. Take, for example, in the United States alone; ac cording to the studies published by Statista Research Department on June 2, 2023, for 2021, there were 22, 900 reported cases of murders or non-negligent manslaughter. So, on average, it is about 62 or 63 people are murdered daily in our country. Of course, this does not include suicides (self murder) and abortions (pre-birth murders).
With these numbers, you can understand why Jesus addresses it. However, when Jesus referred to the commandment, it is obvious that His emphasis was not so much on the written commandment but on how the Pharisees interpreted it. He said, “You have heard that it was said,” Unfortunately, although God’s people had access to God’s Word, they relied heavily on how the Pharisees interpreted the commandments. And the big problem was that their interpretation was very limited. They interpreted this law to mean that if one did not take another’s person’s life, the person was innocent of breaking the law. And as a result, the person was acceptable to God. Their core interpretation lies in the physical act of murder.
Allow me to remind all of us - Yes, having people who can help us interpret the Scriptures is helpful. But total dependence on other people’s interpretations of the Scriptures can also be dangerous to our spir itual health. Jesus Himself challenges His people, saying:
John 5:39 (ESV):
39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
We all have the privilege and responsibility of searching the Scriptures so that we will know exactly whether we are saved or not. Of course, for people like me who teach God’s Word, we have this great ac countability in ensuring we won’t lead people astray. The Bible is filled with serious warnings against leading others astray.
2 Peter 2:1 (ESV):
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction.
This verse provides a perfect example of what can happen to false teachers - they will bring into themselves swift destruction. In our church, where we encourage people to find opportunities to disciple and teach others, we need to put it out there that we have to interpret and teach the Word of God rightly.
II THE INTERPRETED REVISION (v. 22)
After Jesus Christ addressed the common interpretation of the Pharisees regarding the law against murder, He proceeded and gave His own interpretation. You and I should not miss this phrase at the begin ning of verse 22, “But I say to you.” With these words, Jesus was asserting Himself as someone with greater authority over the interpretation of the law. He was not denying the law prohibiting murder but giving a
much deeper understanding of it. He will do this approach repeatedly, not only here but even in the next Mosaic Laws He would be dealing with in the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.
So, how did Jesus interpret this Law? Here’s His emphasis - “everyone who is an
gry 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.” To understand this interpreta tion better, let’s divide it into two aspects:
A. The Unholy Anger - “everyone who is angry with his brother”
When we study the subject of anger in the Bible, we would realize quickly that not all anger is sinful. God many times had expressed and demonstrated anger over sin. Jesus Christ Himself was angry and over turned the tables of the money changers in the temple (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-18). So, we need to make a distinction between holy anger and sinful anger:
⇒ Holy Anger
Before I explain what holy anger means, perhaps, it would help to establish the comment of two Bi ble scholars, Rick Brannan, and Israel Loken, in their book, “The Lexham Texttual Notes of the Bible. They wrote:
“The earliest manuscripts have “is angry at his brother,” but some early manuscripts and related later witnesses have “is angry at his brother without a cause.” When “without cause” is present, the possi bility of unjustified anger is removed.”
So, if we incorporate the reading - “is angry at his brother without a cause,” the Lord Jesus is help ing us understand that this anger is not acceptable or justifiable to God because it doesn’t have the right causes. When is anger justified? Well, based on the examples of God and Jesus showing anger, their anger is justified because they are always directed against sin or injustice. In other words, our anger is only valid when we are angry because God’s standard of righteousness and justice is violated.
⇒ Sinful Anger
This type of anger happens when we feel we have been offended by someone who treated us un justly or when we have been personally insulted or offended. Dr. Kent Hughes, a New Testament scholar, explained this type of anger, saying:
“Jesus was angry at sin and injustice, but He never became angry at personal insult or affront. Peter says that when was dying, “When He was reviled, He did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but continued entrusting Himself to Him who judges justly (1 Peter 2:23).”
The quote from 1 Peter would help us understand why Jesus did not get angry when He was person ally insulted because He was fully aware that God is the judge who will hold people accountable for their wrongdoing. I believe this truth also adds to our understanding of sinful anger. Our anger also becomes sin ful when we have prolonged our anger which results in bitterness and vengeance. Here are cross-reference verses for us:
* Prolonged Anger - Ephesians 4:26
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
* Vengeful Anger - Romans 12:19
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[a]to the wrath of God, for it is
written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Whenever we get angry, and I’m sure we will. We must seek the grace and help of God so that we don’t find ourselves constantly falling into this sinful anger. Why? It makes us guilty of the sin of murder. Note that Jesus did not say that this sin of anger leads to murder, but this anger is equal to murder.
B. The Uncivilized Anger
Another aspect of being guilty of this sin can be seen in the second half of verse 22 - “whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”
I refer to this as uncivilized anger because this anger is expressed in insults (verbal abuse) and rude calling of names. The word “fool” in this verse literally came from the Aramaic word “Raca,” which could be translated as “Empty headed” or “stupid.” It is clear that Jesus is condemning this anger which is expressed in contempt words or verbal abuse. You and I may think it is not as bad as other sins, but Jesus disagrees with us. Don’t miss this emphasis from Jesus when He attached these phrases in the verse:
♦ “will be liable to the council” - refers to the highest court or the Sanhedrin. So, during the times of Je sus, when someone insulted a brother, this could lead to condemnation in the Sanhedrin.
♦ “will be liable to the hell of fire” - This refers to the Valley of Hinnom or Gehenna. During the time of Jesus, this Valley was the burning dump of criminals outside Jerusalem. This was a figure of the fires of hell which shall never be quenched.
The inclusion of these words in the verse plainly shows that this kind of anger is truly serious and should not be ignored. Dr. Sinclair B Ferguson, in his book, The Sermon on the Mount, wrote:
“Jesus is probably not placing these sins on a scale of seriousness in the kingdom of God; He is simply stressing vividly that they are far more serious than most of us assume. In fact, our insensitivity to their real seriousness is indicative of the dullness of our spiritual senses.”
In other words, we can often be insensitive to the seriousness of this sin that we can easily take it for granted. Jesus wants to remind us that we will be liable to God whenever we commit this sin. This reminds me of the Spanish Proverb that says:
“Arrows pierce the body, but harsh words pierce the soul.”
III THE IDEAL RECOMMENDATIONS (vs. 23-26)
In these last verses, to avoid falling into prolonged anger and vengeful anger, Jesus gave us very prac tical recommendations. He said to do at least two things:
A. Settle Right Away (vs. 23-24)
Jesus, in these two verses, is reminding us that if we have unresolved anger, it is going to affect our worship of God. Imagine the person is already at the altar with a thanksgiving offering and realizes that he or
she offended someone else. The recommendation is that they should first settle the issue and be reconciled. Why? The worship of God is useless when there is unresolved anger.
B. Recompense Right Away (vs. 25-26)
Jesus provides a picture in these last verses of two men on the way to the court to settle a dispute between them. Instead of trying to settle their dispute, they are still argu ing. What they need to do is settle before they go to court. If they end up settling in court, one might end up in prison and be obliged to pay the maximum penalty (last penny) before being released from imprisonment.
These are great recommendations coming from Jesus Himself, and we should never ignore them. As sinful human beings, anger will certainly be a part of our lives. Now, if we often find ourselves committing unholy anger, we should humbly come to God, ask for His forgiveness, and seek to be reconciled with people whom we have unresolved issues with because God will surely hold us accountable for this sin.
Allow me to leave you with this passage in Romans 12:19-21:
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[a]to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
I’m sure there have been times in our lives when people have hurt us deeply and badly. We need to watch how we would respond in times like these. We definitely cannot live in bitterness. Instead, let’s hum bly ask God for great grace and help so that He dissolves our anger and teaches us to forgive in the way He forgave us. May our eyes be fixed on the cross of Jesus that reminds us that though we have wronged Him so
many times, He still found a way to love us and reconcile us to Him.