Keeping the Fifth Commandment
1 Since God's grace has changed our hearts, our behavior will be different too. Jesus talked about a righteousness which was beyond the righteousness of the Pharisees. The crowd could hardly imagine a stricter obedience to the LAW than the Pharisees'. But Jesus made it clear.
You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever (angrily) says to the brother, 'Ra'ca! (numbskull) shall be in danger of the council (the great Sanhedrin which alone could hand out death sentences). But whoever (angrily) says, 'You fool!' (bonehead) shall be in danger of hell fire.
"Judgment", "council" and "hell fire" all mean the same thing in this verse. The sentence is death for those who commit these wrongs. But what jury would condemn a man for becoming angry, yet doing nothing? What civil court would sentence a man to death for calling someone a numbskull? And what judge would send a man to hell for calling someone a bonehead?
If my brother took me to court for being angry with him, the judge might well ask, "But did he do anything?" The answer being "no" the judge would throw the case out. If we showed up in court again the next week; my brother accusing me of calling him a "numbskull", the case would be thrown out. Likewise if we dared show up again a third week, my brother saying that I had called him a "bonehead", the case would be dismissed.
So what is Jesus talking about? He cannot be speaking of any civil court on earth. No, He is talking about God who judges the hearts of men. And He is talking about the sins of the heart against the fifth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill (murder)." Jesus did not come to replace this law, but to fulfill it! As John the apostle later wrote...
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. I John 3:15
The Pharisees prided themselves in rigid obedience to the letter of the Law, but Jesus was interested in the intent of the law. It was a matter of the heart. A heart changed by grace would be full of God -- not hate. Our righteousness in Christ is greater than mere stiff obedience to the law.
2 But what if something happens? What if there is a cause to be angry? Then what? What would a heart full of grace do? In fact, what if somebody has a reason to be angry at me?
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way, First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24
The meaning of this verse is clear. If you have done something wrong to anyone, and you know it, your worship will not be acceptable to God until you make it right. Reconciliation is what God requires. A mere apology might not be enough. Some restitution might be good in some cases. (If the person refuses to be reconciled, you are not to blame. You have done what God requires. Your worship will be accepted.)
Once again this goes beyond the righteousness of the Pharisees. The Old Testament only required the one who did the wrong to go to the temple and offer a sacrifice for sin. But in this example Jesus has already made the sacrifice for sin. We do not need to do that anymore. Instead, the grace of God calls us to keep the fifth commandment in a better way: A wrong has been done -- so it must be removed. Once that has been done, the fifth commandment has truly been kept. This is done by a heart full of God's grace that seeks continued fellowship with God and with the person who has suffered.
Only a different kind of person would do this -- the kind that had been transformed by the healing power of God's grace.
3 But what if the other person does not want to be reconciled? Does God have any warnings or instructions for him? Read on...
Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. Matthew 5:25-26
Here is a picture of the debtor's prison. For surely the one who has been wronged and has suffered has a debt to pay. It is the debt of forgiveness he owes to the one who wronged him. There is a strict warning if he does not -- he will be thrown in prison and not get out until he has paid the debt!
"But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matthew 6:15
"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32
This is grace. And once again God goes to the heart of the matter. This is the true meaning of Moses' law. The scribes and Pharisees missed it.
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