The Book of Matthew • Matthew 5:21-26

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Good morning, y'all caught me in mid-cough. If you have your Bibles, and I hope you do,

I want to invite you to join us in Matthew chapter 5. As you turn there, if you do not

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

have a copy of God's Word, we do have some there back in the back at our connections table. I want

to encourage you, if you're here and you do not have a copy of God's Word, make sure you swing by

there, get you a copy. We would love for you to have one as a gift from us to you. Also, if you're

a first-time guest at the end of the service, I will be back there. Pastor Dave will be back there

with me. We would love to be able to speak with you, and thank you for being here, for worshiping

with us. So we know that you've got somewhere to be, but if you wouldn't mind just pausing for just

a brief moment, we would love to be able to shake your hand and greet you, and thank you personally

for being here. We're going to continue on in our Sermon on the Mount, our Matthew series, as we look

at the Sermon on the Mount. And as we do, I would like to read to you guys 2 Corinthians 5,

18 through 19, to get our minds set on what the Lord may have for us this morning. Paul writes to

the church at Corinth, and he says, all this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world

to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of

reconciliation. Would you pray with me? God, thank you so much for this time and opportunity to be

gathered in here today. Lord, even as we sit here and we hear the rain outside, Lord, we thank you for

the warmth and comfort of this building, and we thank you for the rain that you have sent our way as

we desperately need it. God, I pray that as we study your word this morning, that through the power of

your Holy Spirit, you'd speak to our hearts. Convict us, Lord, and for some who were here who are not

followers of Jesus, that they would be brought into relationship with him. Lord, use me to speak.

Remove any of this that is of me or from me, and Lord, may it be of you and from you, and we will praise you

for it. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. So, we are in a key critical moment in the early

ministry of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is there. He's got a group of followers who have been

following him, and he is going to begin to speak into some areas that will draw out some of the DNA and

characteristics of the true followers of Christ and not the fraud followers of Christ. Sometimes people can

portray themselves to be something that they are not. I'd like to share with you a funny little story. I think

it's funny about this. From our pastor friend in India, Dr. Sam John. Sam was telling me one day,

we were having a conversation about how things are done differently in India than in the United States,

and there's lots of things that they do differently than how we do them. But one of the things that they

can do in India is on your driver's license, you can choose to have a title put by your name.

And so, Sam, being a student of theology, Sam, continuing to achieve higher levels of education

and the things that the Lord has given him opportunities, has earned the title of doctor.

So, when it came time to get his ID updated, they asked if he had a title, and he said,

sure, I would like for you to put doctor. So, on his driver's license in India, it says Dr. Sam John.

Well, one day he gets a call, and a church member is in the hospital. It's an emergency.

So, if you've ever been to India, I found this remarkable that there could ever be

such minimal traffic that you could speed. But Sam was speeding, and then Sam ran a red light.

Again, if you've ever been to India, lots of people run red lights. But Sam, in speeding and

running the red light, gets pulled over. The police officer comes up to him.

And says, can I see your ID? So, Sam hands him his ID. The police officer makes a comment about his

rate of speed and his running the red light. The police officer looks at his ID and says,

oh, I'm sorry, Dr. John, are you headed to the hospital? He said, I am. He said, is it an emergency?

He said, it is. He said, well, then you can continue on your way. And handed him back his driver's license.

Now, I say this, we had a good laugh at it, right? Sam didn't lie to the gentleman. He is a doctor of

theology. He was headed to the hospital, and it was an emergency. He answered all of his questions

truthfully, right? Sam was not falsely portraying who he was, even though it was the perception of the

police officer. Jesus is going to speak to, in these next few passages, as we work through this,

some of these DNA aspects that deal with the heart of the followers of Christ.

What Jesus is going to say in the audience, and in the culture, and in the context,

is greatly offensive to the audience. The people who would have heard the words would have been taken

aback by the things that he said. But it doesn't limit, it doesn't reduce, their offense does not reduce

the truth of the message. Here's my point. This week, in my flesh, I was offended.

That doesn't make the message less truthful. I'd be willing to bet over the next few weeks

that there will be something in your flesh that takes offense to the truth that is in God's Word.

Please, please, please, as a follower of Christ, fight against the offense and listen to the truth

and maybe, maybe respond in repentance to the truth that God has for you, right?

Be authentic.

Dallas Willard said, in his book, Divine Conspiracy,

actions do not emerge from nothing.

They faithfully reveal what is in the heart.

Actions reveal a lot about us,

both positively and negatively.

Jesus is going to share not just the standard for the world,

but instead, the standard for the kingdom.

Jesus is going to speak to those who will become followers,

those who are followers of Christ,

that this is not the worldly standard,

but that this is raising it a level to kingdom standards.

This reaches beyond culture.

This reaches beyond religion.

And this reaches into the heart

for those who follow the one, true, living God.

So let's read.

I want us to get the fullness of what Jesus says,

and then we're going to break it down into three different sections

as Jesus will speak to anger.

Starting in Matthew 5, verse 21, he said,

Matthew 5:21

You have 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 remember that your brother has something against you,

leave your gift 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.

We said earlier that actions reveal a lot to us

about the heart,

both positively and negatively.

For example, if someone has a greedy heart,

that will be reflective in their actions.

But if someone has a generous heart,

this too will be reflective in their actions.

If someone has a heart of lust versus a heart of purity.

If someone has a heart of love versus a heart of hate.

What we're going to see Jesus do in the next few weeks

is take the commandments that God has given them,

and he will say,

you have heard that it was said to those of old.

And then he will state what the commandment is.

But then Jesus will take the command,

and he will raise it.

He will elevate it to its principle,

or to the heart of the command.

And Jesus will surpass the law

by insisting that one should not just avoid sinful actions,

but that we should avoid sinful attitudes,

sinful hearts,

sinful motives,

sinful desires as well.

Jesus will get into the core

of why we do what we do

comes from who we really are.

Jesus in Matthew 21 through 26

gives us a pattern.

This will give you a sneak peek

into where we're going in our message this morning.

He looks at the act of murder

and the heart of anger.

I'll be honest with you,

it would be very simple

if Jesus left us there.

Don't get mad.

Don't get angry.

Don't get angry.

When you do get mad,

when you do get angry,

seek repentance

before the Lord.

But Jesus doesn't leave us there.

Jesus doesn't just deal with murder and anger.

Jesus speaks to the greater.

Jesus speaks to the more difficult.

Jesus speaks to what I believe

is impossible without the Spirit of God.

Jesus speaks that

what we should long for,

what we should desire,

what we should see within ourselves,

what we should pray for,

what we should plead for God

is a heart of forgiveness.

You see, it's not just simply

do not have a heart of anger

that Jesus is imploring

that in His people,

as is in their God,

is to have a heart of forgiveness.

And then from that,

it would be easy

if like, okay, Lord,

between me and you,

I'm moving on.

I'm moving past.

But Jesus is going to ratchet it up again.

And Jesus is going to say

that from that heart

is not just simply words

that say, I'm sorry.

Not just words that say, my bad.

Not just that say,

words, can we move on?

But the act of reconciliation.

You see, what we're going to find in here

is a beautiful picture of the gospel.

As offense

is met with forgiveness

and then is worked through reconciliation.

Just what Jesus did for you

and for me.

We offended,

He forgave,

and He reconciled.

You see, without reconciliation,

there is no relationship.

So let's look at these three sections

in Matthew 21 through 26.

Let's get the first two verses.

It says,

You have 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.

Whoever says,

you fool,

will be liable

will be liable

to the hell

of fire.

Jesus speaks to

the spread of sin.

Jesus speaks to

what begins to happen

when anger

takes hold

and becomes the cancer

that consumes

the heart

of what it moves to

and what it moves

from.

Jesus wants

His focus

on both

murderous acts

but also

murderous hearts.

I may never kill

anyone with my hands

but I may kill

them with my words.

I may kill

them with my mind

which all

comes from

the heart.

And you see,

we try to draw

lines sometimes

between

Old Testament

and New Testament.

instead of looking

at the unity

of Scripture

and the truth

found in both

and the story

of God

and the story

of redemption

and the act

of what God

is doing

what we look

back at last week.

So I think

it's important

for us

to see

that while

Jesus

is clarifying

and raising

the standard

of what we

are called

to be

that this

has been

the message

of God.

Psalm 37, 8

Refrain

from anger

and forsake

wrath.

Fret not

yourself.

It tends

only

to evil.

Proverbs

15, 18

A hot-tempered

man stirs

up strife

but he

who is

slow

to anger

quiets

contention.

Ecclesiastes

7, 9

Be not

quick

in your

spirit

to become

angry.

I love

this description

for anger

lodges

in the

heart

of fools.

Here Jesus

quotes the

law in

Matthew 5

and says

yes

if you

murder

someone

you are

liable

to judgment.

but he

also says

that when

your heart

when your

words

through

insult

or defamation

seek to

murder as

well

then you

are

liable.

Different

consequences

in the

world that

we live

in

but same

accountability

before the

Lord.

what

we are

liable

of

and

who

we are

liable

to.

Here's

what Jesus

has been

doing.

Remember

the theme

of Matthew

the portrayal

of what

Matthew

is giving

for us

to

the filter

to see

Jesus

through

the filter

to

understand

ourselves

and our

place

in this

world

is that

Jesus

is king

and that

as a part

of Jesus

being king

that when

we receive

Christ

as our

savior

it's not

just punching

the ticket

into heaven

but to

truly

receive

Christ

as our

savior

is to

receive

Christ

as our

Lord

and as

our

Lord

we bow

the knee

to him

we surrender

ourselves

we're

different

so the

king

comes

and the

king

gathers

those

around

and he

says as a

part of the

kingdom

let's talk

about kingdom

standing

the

beatitudes

this is what

it means

to be

blessed

he'll give

kingdom

he's given

kingdom

responsibility

be the

salt

and light

that he's

called us

to be

carry with

it the

the message

of the

gospel

as you

carry as

a person

of the

gospel

he's given

the kingdom

authority

the very

word of

God

that he

came to

fulfill

and now

he gives

us

the

kingdom

characteristics

kingdom

characteristics

place value

on who

you are

in your

heart

and what

you do

in your

actions

it's both

they're linked

together

they're not

separated

from

it's who

you are

in your

following

of Christ

as a son

and daughter

of the

living God

and then

flows through

who you

are as

you serve

him in

the world

that he

places you

so Jesus

can give

us

two

examples

two

examples

verses

23

through

24

is an

illustration

of this

and verses

25

through 26

is an

illustration

of this

so let's

look at the

first illustration

verses 23

and 24

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

the first

one deals

with

that Jesus

shares to

this group

this congregation

this gathering

is Jesus

deals with

the heart

of anger

as it's

found

in worship

he says

you've hurt

someone

or at least

they feel

that you

have hurt

them

there's

conflict

that exists

and the

point of

what Jesus

is going

to get

us to

is that

reconciliation

is critical

reconciliation

is critical

if proper

worship

is going

to take

place

reconciliation

is critical

if proper

worship

is going

to take

place

so when

we look

at anger

in our

life

what we're

looking at

is anger

is both

a spiritual

and relational

matter

it takes

place

in the

vertical

relationship

of our

life

between us

and God

and then

it is

impacted

through our

horizontal

relationships

that we

have

with one

another

and the

calling

that we

see

is that

in worship

in our

worship of

God

in this

in me

before him

and you

before him

because we're

not here

this morning

to worship

anyone or

anything other

than him

he is the

reason why

we are here

he is the

reason

that you

took that

very long

walk

and now

your hair

does not

look as good

as it did

right

because of

the rain

this morning

he is the

reason

and so

reconciliation

is at the

heart of that

because when

there is

conflict in

the heart

there is

conflict in

the relationship

when there

is conflict

in the

relationship

there is

conflict in

worship

and when

there is

conflict in

worship

folks there

is conflict

in the

body

and this

is what

Jesus

is

pressing

into

you're

going to

see

this group

with Jesus

Jesus

doesn't move

from the

sermon on

the mountain

and the

journey of

his ministry

and everyone

gets along

great

there's going

to be

conflict

but for

there to

be the

proper

worship

that's

there

the

conflict

needs

to be

worked

through

the

apostle

Paul

speaks

to

this

the

apostle

Paul

in his

letter

to the

church

at

Rome

puts

forth

a

challenge

to the

believers

who were

there

now let

me

explain

to you

a little

bit

about

what

the

church

of

Rome

would

have

looked

like

when

Paul

is

writing

this

like

in

the

world

for

Christianity

perspectives

at

this

time

there's

largely

two

groups

of

people

there's

the

Jewish

people

and then

there's

the

Gentile

people

and in

every area

of life

the

Gentile

people

and the

Jewish

people

find

conflict

but what

we see

in the

early

church

is

these

two

different

groups

of

people

come

together

underneath

the

banner

of

Christ

and the

unity

of

fellowship

within

the

body

and

then

often

times

with

that

because

people

are

different

people

are

having

a

hard

time

getting

along

and I

don't

know

if

you've

watched

the

news

lately

but

that

pretty

much

summarizes

every

news

story

you'll

watch

this

week

different

people

not

getting

along

so

it

hasn't

changed

so

Paul

in

this

in

this

mixed

congregation

understanding

that they

view

the

world

in a

secularly

different

way

understands

that

there's

conflict

this

conflict

is

racially

this

conflict

is

through

socioeconomic

conflict

this

conflict

is

through

political

conflict

and

in

some

instances

it's

an

ethical

conflict

not

in

a

biblical

ethic

sense

but

in

a

worldly

ethical

sense

these

two

people

can

find

it

difficult

to

get

along

you

ever

met

somebody

like

that

you

both

are

under

the

banner

of

Christ

you

both

are

going

to

spend

eternity

with

Jesus

but

yet

you

find

it

difficult

to

spend

five

minutes

in

the

same

room

with

one

another

here's

what

Paul

says

in

Romans

12

8

a

charge

to

the

holiness

of

living

he

says

if

possible

so

far as

it

depends

on

you

live

peaceably

with

all

now

in

these

words

there's

a lot

if

possible

have

you

tried

this

have

you

pursued

this

is

there

any

area

of

possibility

for

reconciliation

that you

haven't

considered

if

possible

well

you

know

I've

done

it

all

and

they

just

want

well

here's

the

thing

we

talked

about

this

in

the

parenting

class

that

we're

doing

this

morning

I

don't

know

about

you

but

I'm

terrible

at

getting

other

people

to

do

something

that

they

don't

want

to

do

so

Paul

says

if

possible

as

far

as

it

depends

on

you

so

stop

looking

at

why

they

are

so

difficult

and

you

look

in

your

heart

look

in

your

motives

look

in

what

you're

doing

if

possible

so far

as it

lives

depends

on

you

live

peaceably

with

all

live

peaceably

he

doesn't

say

agree

with

everyone

he

doesn't

say

go on

vacation

with

everyone

he

doesn't

say

that

in

every

area

of

life

you've

got

to

join

hands

and

skip

through

fields

with

flowers

flowers

for

whatever

reason

the

very

beginning

of

little

house

on

the

prairie

just

popped

in

my

head

right

with

people

that

you

struggle

with

but

we

can

struggle

with

people

and

live

at

peace

with

people

see

reconciliation

is

the

goal

and

within

this

it's

not

just

about

moving

on

it's

about

moving

on

together

when

we

see

this

that

Jesus

is

more

concerned

with

your

heart

in

worship

than

Jesus

is

with

your

action

of

worship

right

like

we

can

all

come

into

church

and

fake

it

we

can

all

say

holy

things

we

can

all

raise

hands

we

can

join

all

the

discipleship

groups

we

can

do

all

the

giving

and

Jesus

saying

all

that's

great

but

none

of

it

matters

to

me

as

long

as

this

is

what

the

heart

is

so

Jesus

says

when

you

come

for

worship

leave

it

go

fix

it

and

then

come

back

together

as

if

possible

so

far

as

it

depends

on

you

with

peaceably

with

all

Jesus

is

second

illustration

verses

25

through

26

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

in

this

illustration

the

conflict

has

grown

there

are

two

people

and

conflict

exist

within

the

two

of

them

and

it's

become

so

bad

right

this

is

the

first

instance

of

judge

duty

right

people's

court

has

taken

place

and

this

is

what

must

happen

and

Jesus

point

here

look

at the

first

four

words

come

to

terms

quickly

come

to

terms

quickly

Jesus

point

is to

settle

now

let's

talk

about

that

for

a

second

Jesus

doesn't

mean

this

word

doesn't

carry

with

it

the

idea

of

sweep

it

under

the

rug

it

doesn't

carry

with

it

the

idea

of

ignore

because

it's

already

become

a

situation

where

people's

hearts

are

battling

with

one

another

so

Jesus

looks

at

them

and

he

says

come

to

terms

quickly

settle

this

conflict

it's

escalated

it's

just

going

to

escalate

more

no

one

ever

walks

out

of

Judge

Judy

and

says

high

five

that

was

pretty

cool

wasn't

it

Jesus

says

settle

it

settle

it

settle

it

now

I

am

not

up

here

this

morning

I

told

you

Jesus

words

offended

me

every

possible

way

that

they

could

I

am

not

great

when

it

comes

to

conflict

especially

when

I

feel

that

I'm

attacked

or

someone

close

to

me

has

been

attacked

Jesus

works

and is

working

on my

heart

just as

he

is

with

so

many

of

you

years

ago

as I

saw

counsel

for an

area

of

conflict

in

my

life

where

I

thought

that

I

was

the

innocent

party

who

had

been

wronged

but

the

person

who

wronged

me

did

not

appear

to

show

forth

the

characteristics

that

I

thought

they

should

have

shown

I

sought

the

counsel

of

someone

older

than

me

someone

more

seasoned

than

me

someone

more

mature

in

their

walk

with

the

Lord

and

they

gave

me

three

areas

to

pray

and

to

seek

three

questions

to

ask

in

moments

of

conflict

and

I

want

to

share

those

with

y'all

as

they've

been

paramount

for

me

in

the

application

of

my

faith

number

one

in

this

conflict

what

am

I

responsible

for

what

am

I

responsible

for

now

I

have

found

that

in

my

life

and

maybe

this

is

where

you

are

as

well

there's

never

been

a

conflict

where

I've

been

100%

innocent

and

so

the

challenge

given

before

me

was

in

this

what

in

this

conflict

are

you

responsible

for

what

are

the

things

that

you

could

have

done

what

are

the

things

maybe

in

the

intentional

actions

or

the

unintentional

actions

in

the

intentional

words

the

unintentional

words

that

Bo

you

can

take

responsibility

for

so

so

that

when

you

can

come

together

if

God

grants

that

if

God

allows

that

that

the

fingers

aren't

pointed

at

you

jerk

but

it's

dealing

with

the

heart

of

the

person

who

feels

offended

what

am

I

responsible

for

number

two

when

I

feel

that

I

know

what

I'm

responsible

for

number

two

how

can

I

say

that

I'm

sorry

even

if

I

am

the

offended

the

largely

offended

party

how

can

I

come

to

someone

set

my

pride

to

the

side

pick

up

humility

and

come

before

them

and

not

an

I'm

sorry

with

a

but

you

but

I'm

sorry

not

a

passive

aggressive

you

know

I'm

sorry

that

you

dislike

me

I'm

sorry

that

my

very

presence

in

this

room

offends

you

not

that

listen

I

know

there's

conflict

between

us

and I

want

to say

to you

that

there

may

be

so