Matthew 5:21–26

God hates it when people hate!

It is not just acts of murder that make God angry. It is thoughts about murder.

Jesus repeated Exodus 20:13. But he added something too. He said that the teachers of the Law had added to God’s Law. They added: ‘God will judge anyone who kills someone.’ Jesus said that they were wrong to do this. It was not just for what they said. It was for what they did not say. It was for what they did not emphasise too.

Here, Jesus used his authority as the Son of God. The Jews were not used to this. Their teachers of the Law and the Pharisees never did this. They always repeated other people’s opinions.

The Law forbade murder. This was to teach that life is important to God. This principle is in Genesis 9:1–7. This teaches that only God has rights over life. So, when anyone takes another life, he goes against God.

In Genesis 9:1–7 there is another idea. God made men and women as a copy of himself. (People use some words for this fact. They are: ‘in God’s image’.) This fact gives great worth to every human being. So, to murder someone spoils God’s image.

But, there is more. Two things are wrong. First, someone may behave as if another person’s life is not important. This is wrong. Also, it is wrong if anyone denies a person’s worth. Jesus gave three examples of this.

• He mentioned anger.
• Someone may say bad things about another person.
• Someone may say bad things to another person (Read 5:22).

But, that is not all. Jesus spoke about the other person as a ‘brother’. He chose to use this word. He had a reason for doing this. A good family looks after its own members (Cain did not do this. Read Genesis 4:9). God expects all people to look after each other. Anything less is not to obey God.

Ceremony must not be instead of actions

Notice Jesus’ words in verses 23–26. They continue from verses 21-22. This is hard for us to understand. Perhaps Jesus was thinking about some objections to his teaching (why people did not like his teaching). Some people may have thought that religious ceremonies were most important. Their quality of life was less important. But Jesus said that this is not what God wants.

Jesus gave an example. Someone was offering the correct gift. He wanted God to accept him. So, he did what God ordered. But, he suddenly remembered a certain person. It was someone who was angry with him. Jesus said that he must leave his gift. First, he must go to that person. He must try to make peace with him. Then, he could offer his gift. Otherwise, his gift was of no use at all.

Notice what Jesus did not say. It was not: ‘If you are angry with a brother’. Jesus did not say something else. It was not: ‘If your brother has a good reason to be angry with you’. There might be no good reason for it. But, Jesus still wanted him to try. He must try to make things right between them. If he did not, God would not accept his gift.

Jesus’ words show us something important. It is about anything that the Bible tells us not to do. Our thoughts must be good as well as our actions.

Jesus explained something in verses 25-26. It is urgent to become friends again. Jesus gave the reason for this. If the person does nothing, the relationship could get worse.

The standards are high in these verses. We may never achieve them perfectly in this life. But, we must try. The most important thing in life is to obey Jesus. Of course, he will help us. But we must ask him.

Questions

• Is there someone who is angry with you? What are you going to do about it?
• It is very important not to have wrong things between believers. (Note: This does not mean that believers must always agree about everything.) How might the members of your church emphasise this? Think especially about the Lord’s Supper. You may say: ‘Peace be with you’ at this special meeting. But is that enough?
• Many non-Christian groups oppose each other. How should Christians try to make peace between them?

More explanation

Capital punishment

(This is a law that some countries have. Someone kills another person. The law says that the killer must die too.)

The Bible emphasises that life is important to God. So, murder is a serious matter. Genesis 9 speaks about this. That is the reason why the OT laws were so strict. A person who killed someone was acting against God. He lost the right to live. In the OT, God sometimes appointed men to act for him. They were to take the life of a killer.

Today, we too must remember that life is important to God. We must think seriously about murder. But, there are other things to consider. So, when we apply God’s Word, the details will vary. There is a time for mercy. This is especially true when there is repentance. David was a murderer. But God forgave him. He died in peace. So, the OT laws remain in principle for all time. But we can apply them with mercy. We can forgive.

Jesus’ words in 5:18 still agree with the Law. He showed this in the rest of the chapter. Jesus wants people to use the basic principles of the Law. He does not demand that people must obey each rule exactly

War

The OT permits war. The NT emphasises another point. It applies to all of God’s people. It is that they should listen to their rulers (Read 1 Samuel 15:1 and Romans 13:1–6). This does not mean that the OT and the NT do not agree.

Some believers say that war may be necessary. They give a reason for this. The world in which we live is full of sin. The Christian has a responsibility to the state. Sometimes, this can mean ‘taking up arms’ against another person. This is not murder in the Bible. Perhaps one man kills another man. He wants to kill him. He does this because he hates that person. That is murder. In these verses, Jesus was discussing murder.

There is another subject. It is what people call a ‘just war’. Some people think that this could be a Bible principle. The subject is too big to consider here. But this passage, on its own, does not deny such a theory.