"Anger"

Good morning, church.

Would you turn with me to Matthew chapter 5?

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

As we continue our series in the Sermon on the Mount,

we're looking at Matthew 5, verses 21 through 26.

Matthew 5:21–26

Let me pray for us, and then I'll read our passage.

Father in heaven,

we have just sung a prayer of how great we need you.

Lord, we acknowledge that even knowing you

and hearing your word

is something that we don't have the capacity

in and of ourselves to do,

that you must grant us in your grace.

Faith.

And ears to hear.

And hearts to receive.

So we pray that you do that now.

Do that because you're faithful to your promise.

Do that because your character is consistent

with what we see in our Lord Jesus Christ.

That you are good in all your ways.

We pray this in his mighty name.

Amen.

All right, Matthew 5, 21 through 26.

Jesus says this,

You've heard that it was said to those of old,

you shall not murder,

and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.

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 if you are offering your gift at the altar,

and there remember that your brother

has something against you,

leave your gift there

before the altar

and go.

First, be reconciled to your brother,

and then come

and offer your gift.

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.

Truly I say to you,

you will never get out

until you have paid the last penny.

So remember where we are

in the Sermon on the Mount.

Now, Jesus has just made the stunning claim

that he has come

not to abolish the law,

but to fulfill it

and to inaugurate the kingdom of God.

And Jesus has said to his followers

that participating in this kingdom

will mean living out a righteousness

that exceeds even the righteousness

of the Pharisees.

What an incredible claim.

The Pharisees

were the extra, super, holy people.

They were serious about religion.

They were serious about dotting their I's

and crossing their T's.

How could anyone

have a righteousness greater than theirs?

But you see,

the righteousness of the Pharisees

was wide,

but it wasn't deep.

They covered everything

with a religious rule

or a pious principle,

but it didn't penetrate to the heart.

They had all the right words,

all the right external actions,

but it didn't go deep.

And Jesus says to his followers

and to us,

I'm calling you

to a greater righteousness than that,

a righteousness that's deeper,

a righteousness that goes down

through your whole person,

a whole life,

a whole heart righteousness.

This isn't going to be

like adding more religious stickers

to the outside of a shirt

to make it look nice.

This is going to be

like dyeing the whole fabric,

changing the whole color

through and through

from the inside to the outside.

And isn't that what we're really longing for?

That whole life,

whole heart righteousness.

Isn't that what we're longing for

in ourselves,

in our leaders,

in our relationships?

Not just external rectitude

or propriety,

but whole heart character.

And this greater righteousness

is what Jesus begins to explain

in our passage.

In fact,

that's going to be the theme

of the rest of the Sermon on the Mount.

But in the rest of chapter 5,

if you scan over that chapter,

you see that he gives us

six illustrations or examples

of what he means,

of the sort of life

he's calling us to live.

And the first illustration

or example of this

whole life righteousness

has to do with anger,

with contempt.

Let's look again at verses 21 and 22.

You've heard that it was said

to those of old,

you shall not murder,

and whoever murders

will be liable to judgment.

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 if we're going to live

into this greater righteousness,

here's the first point.

That you must confront your anger

and not excuse it.

Confront your anger.

Don't excuse it.

Jesus begins by quoting

the sixth commandment.

You shall not murder.

And it would be easy,

wouldn't it,

to look at your life

to look at my life

and say,

well,

I haven't murdered anyone

recently,

so I guess I'm good.

I guess I'm living the life

God intends me to live.

Don't murder.

Check.

Righteousness achieved.

But is that all

God intended

in this commandment?

Jesus helps us to see

otherwise.

You have heard it said,

but I say to you.

What stunning words.

Jesus has come

with utter authority

over the law

to interpret it

and apply it perfectly.

You see,

every other human being

is rightly under God's law.

Jesus is not.

He stands

over God's law.

You have heard it said,

but I say to you.

How could that be?

How could he be

over God's law?

Well, friends,

there's only one

who is over God's law.

There's only one

who commands God's law,

and that one

is God himself.

You see,

Jesus is not just

a new Moses

delivering a fresh law

from God.

Jesus is God

in the flesh

before our eyes

explaining

and applying

and delivering

God's law

in its purest form

and interpretation.

And he's telling us here

that merely

avoiding murder

isn't the sort

of righteousness

God intends

for us

as image bearers.

It goes so much deeper.

It's about

our whole regard,

our whole disposition

to our brother

or sister,

to our neighbor.

Okay,

you haven't

taken their life.

That's good.

But do you

harbor anger

against them?

Do you insult them?

Do you hold them

in contempt?

Are you willing

to confront

not just murder

but even your anger?

It's easier

to excuse it,

isn't it?

In fact,

we're very good

at excusing

our anger.

We might begin

by remembering rightly

that anger itself

isn't necessarily bad.

In fact,

God himself

expresses anger

at sin.

So yes,

there is

righteous anger.

And yes,

we too

can share

God's proper

opposition

to sin and wrong.

We can,

as the Apostle Paul

says in Ephesians,

be angry

and sin not.

Yes!

But look at our hearts.

Is it not true

that our anger

is much too often

directed

not at wrongdoing

but at the wrongdoer?

If we truly

shared the heart

of God,

we would be

opposed

to wrongdoing

but have hearts

of mercy

toward wrongdoers.

In fact,

part of our opposition

to wrongdoing

would be for the sake

of the wrongdoers,

longing for their

repentance

and healing

and restoration.

But sadly,

the anger

in our own hearts

is not so.

Anger too quickly

becomes

almost immediately

animosity

and contempt

toward those

who have wronged us

or hurt us

or disappointed us,

toward those

who have stood

in our way

or made our life

difficult.

So that's one way

we try to excuse

our anger

by saying,

well,

all anger

isn't bad.

It's very hard

to excuse

our anger

that way.

How else do we

try to excuse

our anger

and contempt?

Well,

we try by comparison,

don't we?

We tell ourselves,

well,

we're not as bad

as so-and-so.

This is just a trifle

compared to what

they're guilty of.

Or we tell ourselves

that, well,

our situation's different.

Ours is the exception

to the rule.

If you only knew

how terrible

so-and-so treated me,

you would realize

how justified I am

in my anger of them

and my hatred of them.

But friends,

rather than excuse

our anger,

Jesus invites us

to take a look at it,

to confront it,

to acknowledge it,

to bring it out

into the open,

to see it

for what it is.

First thing we see here

is we see that

anger grows.

Look at how anger

grows.

We get angry

with a brother

or sister in Christ.

They've hurt us.

They've disappointed us.

They've wronged us.

But the anger

doesn't stay there.

It grows.

Notice the progression

of verse 22.

The animosity

in the heart

becomes an insult

in the mouth.

It bubbles up.

It blurts out.

The Greek there says,

you say raka

to your brother,

right,

which is sort of

this term of derision

that just sort of

comes out.

We might even

surprise ourselves

at what comes

bubbling up.

But it doesn't

even stop there.

From anger

to insult

into a settled

contempt.

In our eyes,

as our anger grows,

that person

has become

nothing but a fool.

Not worthy

of our attention.

Not worthy

of God's attention.

Nothing to do

with them.

They've become

worthless to us.

You can see now

why the apostle John

says,

everyone who hates

his brother

is a murderer.

1 John 3, 15.

In your mind,

in your heart,

you have consigned

them to death.

This is how

anger grows.

But Jesus also

shows us here

where anger

goes.

What does it

lead to?

And here Jesus

is again very clear.

Anger and contempt,

these things are not

mere trifles.

Rather,

they make us

liable

to God's judgment.

Confronting our anger

means realizing

that it's far more

serious and more grave

than we'd like to admit.

It's not a thing

to be played with.

Too often,

we kind of nurse

animosity

in our hearts,

thinking that no one

sees,

thinking that it

does no harm.

But God sees,

and His judgment

is just.

One commentator

translates the end

of verse 22

like this,

the man who tells

his brother

that he is doomed

to hell

is in danger

of hell himself.

Friends,

Jesus doesn't put it

this way lightly.

He wants us to see

the seriousness

of our sinful contempt.

Anger is like a fire

that grows.

It starts small

but left unaddressed.

It turns into

a massive blaze,

and suddenly we're

thinking and saying

and believing things

that put us

at odds

not just with that person

but with God Himself.

So we must confront

our anger,

not excuse it.

But Jesus

doesn't just want us

to see how dangerous

anger can be.

The greater righteousness

that Jesus is calling us

to doesn't merely

stop there.

It's not as if

Jesus is simply saying,

well, yes,

you should avoid murder

but I'm going to add to that,

you should avoid hatred too.

You see,

it's not just about

not doing something.

There's a positive response

we're to take.

Yes,

we can respond to anger

destructively.

We see that in verse 21

and 22.

It grows like a fire

into contempt and hatred

but we can respond

to anger constructively

as well.

The greater righteousness,

the kingdom righteousness

of Jesus

isn't merely about

anger management.

No,

it's actually

something radically different.

So how do we respond

to growing animosity

in the heart

toward a brother or sister?

If there's a destructive pattern,

what's the constructive approach?

Well,

Jesus lays it out for us

in verses 23 through 26.

Rather than letting anger grow,

he says,

go

and be reconciled.

Repair the relationship.

Pursue

eager

reconciliation.

So if the first point

of our passage

is that you must

confront your anger,

the second point

is you must

pursue

your accuser

and be reconciled.

Let's read again

verses 23 through 26.

So if you're offering

your gift at the altar

and there,

remember that your brother

has something against you.

Leave your gift there

before the altar

and go.

First be reconciled

to your brother

and then come

and offer your gift.

Come to terms quickly

with your accuser

while you're 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.

Truly I say to you,

you'll never get out

until you've paid

the last penny.

Eager

reconciliation.

That's what Jesus

is calling us to.

Leave your gift

at the altar

and go.

In other words,

even external acts

of worship,

even those external acts

prescribed by God,

those external acts

that are good

for our souls,

those are not

more important

or urgent

than pursuing

reconciliation.

So rather than letting

wrongs

and hurts

and disappointments

grow into anger

and animosity

and contempt,

Jesus says,

go.

Go deal with the wrong.

Go deal with the broken

relationship

before it grows

and consumes

both you

and them.

Verses 23 and 24

don't just make the point

that we ought to be

urgent about this.

Leave your gift

at the altar

and go.

But they also tell us

that there's no

substitute for this.

You see,

we often think

that if we do

some good things

over here,

it'll make up

for the bad things

over there,

right?

We think,

well,

if I say a harsh word

or if I wrong

a Christian brother

or sister over here,

well,

I can make it up

to God

by serving more

or reading more

or praying more.

But those extra acts,

as good as they may be

in themselves,

aren't going to change

the fact

that the relationship

needs to be repaired.

Reconciliation needs

to happen.

You need to admit

where you were wrong

and ask for forgiveness.

Of course,

in this passage,

it sort of sounds easy,

doesn't it?

Go and be reconciled,

then come on back.

And you know,

the truth is,

if we are eager

to do the work

of reconciliation

early and often,

it is much easier.

It's much easier

to sort of stamp out

a couple coals

that spit out

of the fireplace,

right?

Than to stop

a blaze

in the whole house.

It's when we let

these things grow

and fester

that they become

so much harder

to untangle

and address.

And that will often happen.

So the truth is,

the process of reconciliation

may take time

and effort

and help.

It may take the help

of a mutual friend.

It may necessitate

the help

of an older,

trustworthy Christian,

like an elder

or a pastor

or maybe a small group leader.

and you know,

sadly,

in this fallen world,

the truth is,

not every relationship

will be reconciled.

We may go

as far

as we can

but find

that the other person

simply doesn't want

to be reconciled.

what do we do then?

Well,

friends,

we forgive

the other person.

We pray

for their good.

We entrust them

to the Lord's care.

We vow

not to speak evil

of them to others.

We tend

our own heart

from the seeds

of bitterness

through ongoing prayer

and forgiveness.

And then,

if the opportunity

does arise

in God's grace,

in God's timing,

then we will be ready

to complete

the reconciliation

when the time comes.

Of course,

one of the things

that makes reconciliation

hard

is that it's rarely

ever a one-way street,

is it?

Often,

there has been

mutual hurt,

mutual disappointment,

mutual wrongs,

mutual animosity.

And our hearts

can often recoil

at this call

to eager reconciliation

because we think

that the other person

has more to apologize

for than we do.

And you know what?

That may be true.

Perhaps they did

have a bigger part

to play in the wrong.

But still,

you must own

your part.

You must obey

your Lord

regardless of what

the other person

has done or not done.

Consider the illustration

that Jesus uses

to close this section.

On the one hand,

it's another illustration

that encourages us

to be eager

in our pursuit

of reconciliation.

Jesus is saying,

look,

you wouldn't let a lawsuit

get all the way to court,

all the way to conviction

if you could help it,

right?

No,

you'd be eager

to settle

and find a solution

before you're standing

in front of the judge.

Better to work hard

at a settlement

out of court

than to end up

in debtor's prison.

In the same way,

Jesus is saying,

be eager to pursue

reconciliation

with your brother

or sister.

But you know,

it's more than

just an illustration

encouraging us

to be eager

and quick to reconcile.

It's also a reminder

that we're all debtors

of one sort or another.

So if you owe anything,

even the smallest amount,

pay it.

Perhaps in a broken relationship,

you think you didn't have

the greater part to play,

but friend,

figuring out

who has the greater share

of the blame

shouldn't be your concern.

Do you owe something?

Then make it right.

Did you say a harsh word?

Did you give a cold shoulder?

Did you fail to give credit

when due?

Did you offend or ignore?

Then make it right.

Perhaps in your view,

they did ten times

the offense,

but that, friend,

is between them and God.

You must obey

what God is calling you to do.

Settle quickly

before you get to court.

Everything you owe,

you will have to pay.

So pay it.

Don't make the mistake

of holding on to your debt,

because you think

the other person owes more.

What will happen in that case?

You will still be

the one in prison.

Your soul will still be locked

behind the bars of anger

and animosity.

You will still owe a debt

to them and to God.

So settle quickly,

no matter what you owe,

no matter how big

or small in comparison.

don't delay.

Don't delay.

So here

is the greater righteousness

to which Jesus

is calling us,

his first

sort of example

of this greater righteousness.

It means not just

avoiding murder,

but addressing

the anger and contempt

in our hearts

through concrete practices

of reconciliation.

reconciliation.

But where,

oh where,

do we get the strength

for this?

If we're going to

confront anger

in our own hearts

and not excuse it,

if we're going to

pursue our accusers

and not avoid them,

how will we get

the power to do that?

Because if you think

about it,

it's easy

on some level

to practice

the righteousness

of the Pharisees.

I'm guessing

few of us

have literally

committed murder

in this room.

Most people

can meet that mark

in their own strength.

But if we're really

going to live

the way God

intends us to live,

it's going to take

strength from outside

of us.

And this is where

we need to zoom out

from the Sermon on the Mount

and put this passage

in the context

of the whole gospel.

Because in order

to live the Sermon

on the Mount,

you need to look

to your Savior,

not to yourself.

Specifically,

you need to look

at what Jesus

has done for you.

That's the only thing

that will really

enable us to turn

from anger and hatred

and pursue reconciliation.

That's the only thing

that will really enable us

to settle quickly

with our accusers,

even if we owe

so much less

in comparison,

we think.

Because before

the cross of Christ,

we realize

that there is

no comparison.

At the cross,

we see that our debt

was infinite.

That the Son of God

left heaven

to pursue reconciliation

with me,

his enemy.

And he paid the debt

that I owed.

My debt

was paid

by another.

So now,

the debts

that others owe me?

How could I possibly

treat them

with contempt?

Have they hurt me?

Have they wronged me?

Yes,

but there is a Savior

who covered

my every wrong,

who mended

my every hurt,

who took

my place

in love

so that I could

walk out

of the prison

of my sin

and judgment

free of charge.

How could I

not now

treat others

with the mercy

and patience

that I have received?

But you know,

in the gospel,

we receive not just

this sort of new

status,

this new freedom

from our debt

of sin

that is life-changing.

We receive not just

a new status,

but we receive

a new heart.

Through faith

in Christ,

the Holy Spirit

gives us

a new disposition.

Our old disposition,

what does it want?

It wants

only my rights.

But the new disposition

wants something greater.

It longs

for God's glory.

It longs

for the beauty

of the Savior

to be magnified.

And what will display

the glory of Christ

more

than the radical

act of forgiveness,

of reconciliation.

And this new disposition

that loves

not just God's glory,

but it also

has a genuine love

for our fellow

brother and sister

in Christ.

The Holy Spirit

enables us

to see past

the wrongs

someone has done,

past the hurt

they caused,

so that we might

see them

in their humanity.

That even though

they are a sinner,

even though

they may have

sinned against me,

I can still view

them as a creature

made in God's image.

And if a Christian,

then a child of God,

and yes,

a brother,

a sister in Christ,

we can love them

in this new disposition

we have through the Spirit.

For Jesus' sake

and for their own sake.

So in Christ,

we are given a new status

and a new heart,

but also a new hope.

there is a day coming

when every wrong

will be made right,

when every broken

relationship

will be healed,

when every hurt

will be mended,

when every tear

will be wiped away,

when every loss

will be returned.

And because of

the resurrection

of Christ,

this hope

is not some wish

or some dream.

It is as solid

and secure

as an anchor

rooted to the ocean floor.

In the hope

of the gospel,

you and I

are completely safe,

completely secure.

You need not fear.

Will it be costly

to pursue reconciliation?

Will it be hard work?

Will it require sacrifice

and time and energy?

Of course.

But you have nothing to fear.

Your future is secure.

The end of your road

is determined.

Your destination

has already been won.

He's gone to prepare

a place for you.

There's no need

to hold

so tightly

to your rights,

to your wrongs.

Why would you sit

in the prison

of anger

and bitterness

all the days

of your life

when the doors

of heaven

have been flung

open for you?

Why demand payment

from those

who wronged you

when the treasures

of heaven

have been opened

for you?

Even the great losses

of this life,

the deep hurts,

are nothing

compared to what God

has prepared for you.

So open your hands.

Settle quickly

with your accuser.

Live in light

of the hope

you have.

Christ is risen.

Christ has reconciled

you to God.

You will enjoy

his peace

now and forevermore.

so let go

of your anger.

Go.

Be reconciled.

And then Jesus says,

come and live.

Because, friends,

this truly is

the way of life.

The way of greater

righteousness

that only the gospel

brings.

This is the way

of salt and light.

Henry Nouwen

once wrote,

and we'll close with this,

he said,

so much of our energy

and time and money

goes into maintaining

our distance

from one another.

Many, if not most,

of the resources

of the world

are used

to defend ourselves

against one another,

to maintain

or increase our power

and to safeguard

our own privileged position.

Imagine.

Imagine all that effort

being put

into the service

of peace

and reconciliation.

Would there be

any poverty?

Would there be

crimes and wars?

Just imagine

that there's no longer

fear among people,

no longer rivalry,

hostility,

bitterness,

or revenge.

We say,

I can't imagine.

But God says,

that's what I imagine.

a whole world

not only created,

but living

in my image.

Let's pray.

Father,

by your spirit,

make us a people

who turn away

from our animosity

and contempt

and who pursue

your way

of peace

and reconciliation.

We know

all too well

how hard this is,

but you have not

left us

to do it alone.

You have canceled

the debt we owe

at the cross.

Now make us

those who are eager

to cancel debts

and be reconciled,

eager to admit

where we have been wrong

and to seek forgiveness.

And would our life

as a church

and our life together

be a sign

of that coming day

when your peace

will reign

over all the earth.

In Jesus' name

we pray,

our reconciler,

our redeemer.

Amen.