– Matthew 5.21-26 –

The Sermon on the Mount 5: Murder and the Kingdom

Introduction

Having established how the Kingdom relates to the Law as a whole and to the Scribes and Pharisees as a whole, Jesus begins to focus in on how the Kingdom relates to certain crucial commandments. He begins with the Sixth Commandment: You shall not murder.

Lesson

“You have heard that it was said to those of old . . . (21).” Jesus is not just quoting the Sixth Commandment; he is quoting the Scribes and Pharisees quoting the Sixth Commandment. He is calling to mind the currently reigning application of the commandment, which was to focus on physical murder and its consequences (21b).

“But I say to you . . . (22).” Contrary to popular opinion, Jesus is not superseding the commandment with his own, new, higher commandment. His words are not in the imperative (stating a command), but in the indicative (stating a fact). Jesus is correcting the superficial application of the Scribes and Pharisees (21b) by pointing out that murder is the fruit of a plant that begins with roots, stems, and flowers before it produces fruit – and the plant must be dealt with at the root level. The root of the plant is unrighteous anger (22). Its stem is estrangement (22b-c). The flowers are damaging words and conflict in all forms, from insults to liable to litigation (22, 25). Jesus’ thinking was already contained within the Law: “‘You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the LORD. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD (Lv 19.16-18).’”

“Therefore . . . (23-26)”. Now Jesus gives his commands, which address how to root out the plant. If you want to pull out the root, you must grab the stem. If you want to root out the anger, you must get rid of the estrangement; you do whatever you can to pursue reconciliation. Jesus focuses in on one side of the problem here. He specifically addresses the offender, one who has done something that might give cause for anger in a brother. Jesus knows his disciples will soon come under intense persecution even from relatives and lifelong friends (10-12; Jn 16.2-3). He wants his disciples to ensure they are suffering for righteousness sake, not for their own offenses. But later, Jesus will focus in on the other side of the problem; he will command the offendee, the one who has something against his brother, to take care of it by going to the brother (Mt 18.15). Jesus places the duty on the offendee and the offender (if he is aware).

Exhortation

So simple yet so hard to do. James helps us understand why. According to James, the plant we have been talking about grows in a certain type of soil, and that soil is made up of our “pleasures” – our passions, the things we really want (Jm 4.1). James explains how the plant grows. First, we “lust,” we set our heart on something (Jm 4.2). Then, when we don’t get it, we “envy” and “fight,” all of which James calls “murder” (Jm 4.2). The whole thing goes back to the fact that we don’t submit our desires to God in faith (Jm 4.2d-3). This isn’t a rare problem. James says that this was “the source of quarrels and conflicts” among Jewish Christians scattered throughout the empire in the first century (Jm 4.1). Are we better than they were? When we are really offended, the last thing we want is a restored relationship with the offender. We feel they have forfeited the right to a relationship. Perhaps this is why Jesus didn’t give us a heart command but an action command: Go to your brother and address the offense (Mt 5.24; 18.15).

Satan peddles in anger and estrangement. Satan has been a murderer from the beginning (Jn 8.44), and he does everything he can to encourage the growth of the plant that produces murder. Bitterness is simply unresolved anger – fomented anger. Anger can begin legitimately (with just cause) but quickly become unrighteous when we won’t resolve it. When we have unresolved anger, our focus is invariably on the offender, but it should be on Satan who is seeking to devour us (Gn 4.7; 1Pt 5.8).

The way of the world and the way of the Kingdom. The dynamic referred to by Jesus and described by James consumes the world. The Kingdom brings freedom from this vicious cycle. The Kingdom does not mean no offenses, but no unresolved anger among brethren. From the beginning, life has been coupled with fellowship and estrangement with death (Gn 3.24). As children of the Kingdom, we must offer the world life.