Anger

9. June 2008 by Bernice Davis.

Hello: 

Welcome back from the weekend.  I had a wonderful weekend.  I taught yesterday in church on the original purpose of marriage and the role of a man and woman and I actually was refreshed in my own marriage to revisit those issues in the text.   I also preached at the women’s prison that night and I taught on what it means to “see God.”  OHHHHHHHHH, I love the word, not only was the prisoners refreshed and encouraged but I also. 

Our text for today is Matthew 5:21 “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,  shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Earlier I taught that Jesus came to fulfill the law both in person and in teachings.  By person, we mean that he was the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and the one prophesized by the prophets of old as the long awaited Messiah.  In teachings, we mean that he corrects the false doctrines and teachings from the religious leaders.    We’re getting ready to go through a series of teachings where Jesus talks about the “spirit of the law” versus the “letter of the law.”   

When we talk about the spirit of the law, we simply mean the original intent behind the law when it was given.  When we talk about the letter of the law, we’re talking about doing just enough to “technically” say we did not break the law.   The true effectiveness of a law is found in its purpose and intent and not in its letter.  Let me show you what I mean by discussing this sixth commandment, “thou shalt not kill.”   

Jesus says, you have heard by them of old time, thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.  But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger ……..      

Let’s go over this.  Jesus opens this commandment  with teaching that not only is murder wrong but it is also wrong to have anger in your heart against your brethren for after all it is anger that leads to murder.    Jesus actually talks about three different stages. 

(1)     If you are angry with your brother without a cause you shall be in danger of the judgment.  Historically, this particular judgment consisted of a group of governing elders of about 36 that handled smaller matters for the courts.   Jesus was stating that when a person held such anger there was help needed from the elders in order to make sure that it did not escalate into something that could possibly lead to destruction or even murder. 

(2)     If you say to your brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council.  Raca is a phrase that historically meant worthless or empty-headed.  It is an Aramaic word that was commonly used by the ancient world to insult people.  To say that a person was empty-headed was accompanied with anger and contempt.   It was an attack on a person’s intelligence.   The council that Jesus was talking about here was the higher court of order called the Sanhedrin which was a step above the governing elders. 

(3)     Jesus says whosoever shall say “thou fool” shall be in danger of hell fire.   The word fool here is different and stronger than the meaning of fool we used today.  In our society the word fool is used in both joking and serious terms and it means a silly or stupid person or a person that lacks judgment or sense.  It also means someone who has been tricked or deceived to appear or to act stupid or it refers to a weak minded person.   The word in the text comes from a Greek word which means to show contempt for a person’s character.   It was done out of extreme hate and anger for a person whether through jealousy or enviousness, etc.   The contempt was so severe that murder was created in the heart.  Jesus said that this would bring danger of “hell’s fire.”   

We have to ask ourselves today, who we are angry towards.  Is our heart filled with intense emotions that keep escalating and growing to the point where you know you feel intense hatred towards that person?   We have verbally and openly insulted both their intelligence (raca) and character (fool) to the point that we have caused others to form an opinion of them without even getting to know them first.    Yes, technically (the letter of the law) we have not killed anyone but mentally we have murdered them in our hearts.      You will see throughout these teachings that Jesus is after the heart.   If we can get our hearts pure, we will have the ability to “see God” in our situations and in other people and experience phenomenal levels of spiritual growth.    I’m after the abundant life.  I don’t want any malice or ill feelings in my heart towards anyone.  I wanna be free.  I love life and love the freedom that comes through the word of God. 

Join me tomorrow as we discuss what Jesus instructs us to do when we have anger in our hearts.   God Bless. 

Don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily. 

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