Reconciliation Before Worship Matthew 5.17-26

-Let me give you the context for these verses. Many of you will soon be reading Matthew as part of a year-long Bible reading plan so this context may help you read with more understanding.

-These verses are part of a larger portion of Scripture which is called the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5 through 7. Jesus begins His sermon with a series of 8 blessings that describe the person who is rightly related to God. Through this whole sermon Jesus describes what a true relationship with God the Father is like, both in attitude and behavior.

-Then Jesus explains His approach to the OT Law. Jesus has not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. This means Jesus has come to bring a fuller understanding of the Law, and also to be the One who brings to fulfillment its prophecies and types.

-Jesus goes on to commend those who practice the Law. To practice the Law is to be more righteous than the Pharisees and Scribes. Verse 20, which is the key verse for chapters 5 through 7, says “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus makes it clear that the righteousness that God accepts must surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and Scribes. God’s people must have a right heart and attitude in their relationship to God, and God’s people are to understand God’s Law from a heart perspective and not a duty perspective. God does not look at our external behavior but on our heart which is the source of our behavior. God has always looked on the heart. One of many verses that could be quoted, both from the OT and the NT is, “God sees not as a man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16.7). From 5.21 to the end of chapter 7, Jesus explains in detail His statement in verse 20.

-The first explanation that Jesus gives is on the 6^th commandment – Do not murder. In their teaching on this 6^th commandment the Pharisees and Scribes used Numbers 35 to interpret it. From their legalistic/duty approach to the Law, the Pharisees taught that if a person did not physically kill someone they were keeping this commandment. The Pharisees were guilty of reducing the meaning and requirements of this 6^th commandment to physical murder. By interpreting this commandment in an external way the Pharisees taught that the 6^th commandment was only about physical murder and was to be judged in the law courts. In their focus on outward obedience and duty the Pharisees missed the heart of God and the truth of God that murder includes any malicious intention toward others. The Pharisees did not understood sin as a violation of the character of God and the possibility of the wrath of God. For them the wrath of God was for the Gentiles and not for the Jews.

-Jesus was teaching his disciples that their righteousness must surpass the shallow, external, heartless, legalistic righteousness of the Pharisees. Jesus said to His disciples, “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.”

-The word used for anger means a long-standing grudge, a refusal to forgive, a smoldering bitterness. Hebrews 12.15 warns us, “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” This is ugly anger, the kind of anger that separates family members and friends for a long time. I cannot believe how common this kind of “I have not spoken to them in ten years” anger is today. I encounter this regularly.

-The result of this anger Jesus says is “judgment”. This judgment refers to the civil law courts where murder cases would be examined and the sentence handed out. Some of your translations reflect this meaning. Here Jesus is equating anger with murder.

-Jesus goes on and says, “Again, anyone who says to his brother, Raca, is answerable to the Sanhedrin.” Raca is an Aramaic word of insult and is untranslatable. It is a slanderous term of malicious abuse. Today we would say, “you good-for-nothing scoundrel or you’re a worthless piece of crap”.

-Jesus said that those who use these derogatory words to slander their brothers are answerable to the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was a group of 70 men who represented the highest court in the land and could impose the death penalty. In today’s understanding the Sanhedrin would be like the Supreme Court. Raca is not as serious or as deeply rooted in the heart as anger, but Jesus says that these people are answerable to a higher court.

-Jesus continues, “But anyone who says, ‘You fool’ will be in danger of the fire of hell”. Fool is the Greek word “moros” from which we get our word moron. Today we might say “you’re an idiot or what a dummy”. Calling someone a moron is not like bitter anger or even like slander but Jesus says that these people are in danger of hell which is more severe than a law court or the Sanhedrin court.

-Do you see what Jesus is doing here? The Pharisees said that murderers would be subject to the judgment of the courts, but Jesus said that anger is enough to deserve the judgment of the courts. Murder is about the heart and not about the action. Murder is about attitude not behavior.

-And not only is anger deserving of judgment at court but slanderers deserve the judgment of a higher court, the Sanhedrin. And not only is anger and slander deserving of judgment at court but name callers are in danger of hell.

–I want you to notice here that as Jesus decreases the seriousness of the offense toward a brother He at the same time increases the punishment for the lesser offence. What Jesus is saying by applying the greater punishment to the smaller offences is that God takes even the smallest malice toward our brothers very seriously. No sin is a small sin in God’s sight. We are all murderers in the sight of God when we look down on our brothers and sisters as dummies. When we have anything less than a heart of love for our brothers and sisters we are in need of forgiveness and of a renewed heart of love.

-There is always a danger in Christianity that we set up an external standard to keep and then believe that we are right with God because we keep that external standard. But God wants us to walk in the Spirit and not by an external standard. God desires that by the Holy Spirit we can detect in our conscience the slightest offence toward our brothers and sisters and seek forgiveness and spiritual renewal right away, and continue in fellowship with God. Our righteousness is to be a heart righteousness that knows the conviction of the Spirit of God when we sin against God in the slightest way. We are not to be like the Pharisees who based their acceptance with God on external religious duty and believed they were right with God and did not realize that in their hearts they were far from God.

-We are not to be angry with anyone, or to slander others, or even call someone a fool because we are all made in the image of God. There is such a thing as righteous anger when we are angry at sin and those who are causing people to sin, or those things that oppose the kingdom of God. God is justifiably angry with the wicked. We can call some a man and a woman a fool because of the way they think and act in opposition to the teachings of the Bible. But we are not to call our brothers and sisters in Christ fools, and certainly we are not to be angry with them and slander them. Hebrews 12.14 exhorts us “Make every effort to live in peace with all men” and Ephesians 4.3 says “Keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace”.

-Jesus follows up his teaching on the true meaning of the 6^th commandment with two examples of how we are to practice it. The first example describes a person coming to worship God. As this person approaches the altar he remembers that a brother has something against him. What he is to do is leave his worship and go and speak with his brother and be reconciled to his brother. Reconciliation with a brother is more important than worshipping God because we cannot worship God if we are not reconciled to our brothers and sisters. The opposite of a murderous heart is the heart that seeks reconciliation with others.

-The desire of the true believer is love and unity with the family of God and with all people that he or she knows. In this first example the one going to worship left the altar and went out of his way to reconcile an offended brother. The worshipper may have offended his brother in some unknown way and noticed a coldness and separation. By going to his brother, he is giving the brother a chance to forgive and be free from their offence, and to be reconciled, so that they can worship God together.

-In the second example we are the offending party. We are in someone’s debt because we have offended them. Jesus says that we are to settle matters with the one we have offended before things get worse. We are to ask for forgiveness and we are to be reconciled to the one we have offended.

-In either case, whether we are the offender or the offended one, we are to seek reconciliation. We are to forgive and to ask for forgiveness so that we can all worship God together as we should.

-Hatred, bitterness, resentment and even disrespect in our hearts toward others, especially fellow believers, is personally destructive to us, wounds the work of God and the unity of the Church, and above all else is sin toward God. Any malicious word or thought toward others is equal to murder in the sight of God. The slightest conceit toward brothers and sisters is an offense to God. Anger, slander, mocking others, disrespect for them, put downs, sarcasm, calling others fools, belittleling them, is an offence to the character of God because we are all made in the image of God. That truth demands love and respect on our part to all people.

-Paul writes in Philippians 2.3f, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and become obedient to death – even death on a cross!”

-When anger or slander or critical and offensive thoughts about your brother or sister come into your mind. When you consider yourself superior over the foolishness and stupidity and immaturity of others, consider these thoughts as murderous, and banish them. Instead kneel before that brother or sister in humble service by praying for them and helping them along their spiritual journey. Be an example of reconciliation and humility. By responding in this way you will better understand the Grace of God, the Cross of Christ, and the essence of Christianity.