21 “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 . . .- Matthew 5:21-22a
This passage is the first of six unique teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount that have been called “the antithesis.” These teachings follow some version of the formula, “it was said… but I say to you….” In each of these teachings, Jesus takes a saying known to his hearers (sometimes directly from the pages of scripture), and then he reinterprets it for them, sometimes drastically changing the meaning. In doing so, Jesus makes it clear that he is the authority and the ultimate source of truth!
In the verse that we have for today, the known saying is one of the big ones… it’s one of the 10 Commandments: “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). This might be one of the most universally agreed-upon ethical principles in or outside the Bible. No one disagrees about this one. How could Jesus suggest an “antithesis” for this of all commands? Well, as is often the case, Jesus surprises us.
Notice his words, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry . . .” Jesus’ “antithesis” is not a contradiction of the original command, but a relocation of the sin. You see, the original command suggests that the sin is purely physical. It is just something that is done on the outside. Jesus’ reinterpretation of the command suggests that sin starts well before we get to the physical action of murder . . . it starts in the heart or mind of the person. It is on the inside. Jesus is radically shifting the way we understand sin. Sin is no longer just the things that we do, it is also the way we think.
So, to answer the question suggested in the title, Jesus is not saying that anger is equal to murder. Of course not! Murder is much worse because it is actually two sins. It is the sin of hate-filled anger in one’s soul followed by the sin of physically murdering another human. Anger doesn’t equal murder, but it can lead to it, so it must be stopped when it gets too bad. This new interpretation is a much more helpful interpretation because it gets people to think about their anger before it becomes a problem. But what I love most about this interpretation is what it says about God. By suggesting that our inward thoughts and motivations are morally significant, it suggests that God has the power to know our inward thoughts and motivations! On one level, for the people listening, this was brand new! But on another level, this was very old. In 1 Samuel 16:7, we learned that “the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Let him see your heart today.
Josh Rose
Family Pastor