Anger

We are going to continue in our series called Camping With Jesus.

Today’s message is called. “Anger”.

I don’t have time to do much review but lets do a quick synopsis so far.

Jesus has a large crowd of people - most people believe it was at least a few thousand people. He begins with the Beatitudes where he literally redefines blessing in their eyes. 

The poor, mourners, the meek the hungry, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted. Most of that list is stuff we think we DON’T want. Yet Jesus is saying it is a blessing or at least comes with a blessing. 

Then Jesus talks about salt & light and how our actions matter.

Then he talks about the law which is what we covered for the last 3 messages.

Where we ended last week was with this thought.

The way we determine right and wrong in the eyes of God is through the totality of scripture. 

Not just sound bites and pieces of unconnected verses. 

Understanding that is so important because Jesus goes immediately from His comments about the law being fulfilled vs. abolished to a list of moral teachings. So let’s read on.

Matthew 5:21–26 (ESV)

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…

Let me pause right here for just second - this is the section I have often referred to as the “But I say” where Jesus takes the bar of what we think is good enough and basically raises it to a higher level. Let’s continue.

Matthew 5:21–26 (ESV)

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. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny. 

Now remember that the important thing we always need to do is remember the context we are studying. If we take this out of the context and look these verses in isolation we can come up with different ideas of what we think Jesus is saying in this passage.

So here is the main context:

The standard is unreachable. 

I think it is as if Jesus is saying to us - that you thought the standard of Righteousness was hard to reach but not impossible.

You thought it where if you stood on your tippy toes you could just reach it - or if you stand on chair or even got a ladder - maybe it took a lot of effort - but with that effort you could reach it. But I say - even on a ladder you can’t reach it. It is an unreachable standard. That is what the whole talk about the law was about. 

“Unless your righteousness EXCEEDS that of the scribes and Pharisees you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” 

So does that mean if the standard is unreachable - that we should not try reaching for it? Absolutely not!

Jesus is not saying don’t even try - he is saying two things.

This is NOT what saves you.

But…

This IS how you should behave.

Ok so lets look at this text with that understanding. 

Matthew 5:21 (ESV)

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 

So he starts with what they and we already understand - murder is wrong. Murder was wrong under the law - it is still wrong even though the law is fulfilled. 

Matthew 5:22 (ESV)

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. 

So do you see it? Being angry with your brothers, insulting others and calling someone a fool - carries the same penalty as murder. 

But I am guessing that most of us have never killed anyone. 

But I am also guessing that every last one of us has been angry with our brother or sister. 

Who is our brother? First, I don’t think for a second this is applicable to men only. Second, I don’t think this is meant to apply only to other believers, meaning you can be angry at those you perceive to be non-Christians. I believe Jesus is talking about our fellow man… All other people. 

Have you ever been angry with anyone?

Does that mean it is NEVER ok to be ANGRY with anyone for any reason?

Of course there are times when anger is the RIGHT reaction to something. Jesus himself demonstrated this when he turned over the tables of the money changers in the temple. John Chapter 2. 

He made a whip out of ropes…

Psalm 4:4 (ESV): Be angry, and do not sin; 

This is what I am talking about when I say you need to use the totality of scripture to understand what is right and wrong in the Bible. If you fail to see the entire message - you get hung up on one thought and that thought becomes your version of righteousness. 

Let me give you and example. How many of you would say it is ALWAYS wrong to tell a lie.

Rev 21:8 clearly says that all liars will end up in the lake of fire. 

So is it ever ok to tell a lie?

Well, if we focus on the letter of the law - 9th commandment - vs the heart of the law then we will certainly believe that a lie under any circumstances is a sin.  

James 2:25 NLT

Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.

What were her actions?

Joshua 2:4–6 (ESV)

But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from (lie). 5 And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out (lie #2). I do not know where the men went (lie #3). Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them (lie #4).” 6 But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.

Rahab was a liar.

• Yet James records her as example of faith.
• Hebrews lists her in the faithful hall of fame
• And Matthew lists her in the genealogy of Jesus. 

I get that I am running the risk of being accused of saying - that is it ok to lie. I am not saying that.

People accused Jesus of breaking some of the laws, like harvesting on the Sabbath and healing or working on the sabbath. That is what those who put their faith in the law always do - they try to hold everyone else to it as well. On some level, they live their lives trying to fulfill the law - which almost always leads to trying to enforce the law.

Matthew 12:1–8 (ESV)

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” 3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” 

The point is that Jesus is not saying here - that if you ever angry with someone again - you are going to hell. 

He is saying that if you never murdered anyone - yet you have an angry bitter heart - you don’t understand the heart of God. 

Again context is the key - get anger and bitterness out of your heart.

Matthew 5:23-25 (ESV)

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. 

This is so huge. Jesus is saying “there is something I want more than your gift”… I want you to make things right with your brother. Do you see it. Making amends with each other is more important to God that whatever it is we think we give to him.

Notice it does not say - you remember you have something against someone else. He says you remember your brother has something against you.

Faithlife Study Bible: something against you Likely refers to a legitimate complaint.

This next verse adds credibility to that idea. That “something against you” refers to things you know you have done wrong or not handled well.

Matthew 5:23-25 (ESV)

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.

Title Screen

The judge would hand you over - because you were in the wrong.

Remember Jesus is saying…

• This is NOT what saves you.
• This IS how you should behave.

You are not worthy of heaven because you have never murdered anyone.

What I want from you is to get anger and bitterness and offenses out of your heart.

Be reconciled to your brother. Jesus said, I desire mercy - not sacrifice.