Matthew 5:21-26 21You have heard that it was said to those long ago, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.” 22But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever says to his brother, “Raca,” will be liable to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, “You fool,” will be liable to the hell of fire.
In the next part of the Sermon, Jesus quotes various laws and how the Jews interpreted them and then gets to the deeper motives of the heart. He shows his disciples how their righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees. Kingdom ethics go beyond what we should do and gets to what we can do with God’s help. The Jews may have thought that they were fulfilling the sixth commandment by not committing murder, but Jesus gets to the cause of murder hidden in the heart.
The first topic Jesus takes up is a major human struggle. Anger is an emotional response when something goes against our plan, preferences, or priorities. Anger is a natural survival response when we are threatened in some way. Many animals growl when threatened. People also growl, but they just put words to the noise that comes out of their mouths. Anger can be a warning light that something is not right and that we need to stop and see what is the problem. As emotional beings, we all get angry. What matters is what we do with that anger. We may not think that our anger comes across in a negative way to other people. We think we are just offering our “opinion” about something; we call it “constructive criticism.” Anger is one of the most power and destructive weapons humans have against one another. On occasion, anger can lead to positive results by getting us motivated to change a situation, but most often, it leaves injured people and broken relationships. Although anger begins as a natural emotional response, it can grow slowly or quickly until it explodes in a verbal or physical response. It needs to be dealt with as soon as it occurs.
Jesus gives a strong warning about uncontrolled anger towards another person. Those who do not deal with their anger will be liable to judgment and are just as bad as those who commit murder. We will have to give an account to God for all of our misspoken words and angry outbursts. One way people express their anger is by ridicule and name calling. Jesus quotes the Aramaic word raca, which was a serious word of contempt and ridicule meaning “dimwit” or “fool.” Jesus goes one step further and warns that ridicule like this (the Greek word for fool, mōre, comes into the English as “moron”) can send a person to hell. We are accountable not simply for our outward actions but our inner thoughts. The words we say to others must come from a pure heart that builds them up, not an angry heart full of bitterness, jealousy, or anger.
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