“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny (Mt. 5:21-26).”
Jesus imposed a more stringent interpretation of the Torah than the Jewish religious leaders in spite of their many laws. He teaches about the original will of God with the authority of God. The style of teaching used was similar to the style used by the rabbinic schools of the day – “It was said ….. but I say.”
Jesus’ audience would have been taught Jewish law, so they fully understood the meaning of what he was telling them when he equated the spiritual consequences of anger with the spiritual consequences of murder. Jesus escalated the offence from anger, to insults, to calling someone foolish or empty headed which was a sign of contempt. The religious leaders’ interpretation of the commandment not to kill was inadequate because anger is often the prelude to killing. Jesus wanted them to focus on the day-to-day root causes of moral or immoral behavior. Jesus demonstrated, in a simple way, the true interpretation of God’s law. The Pharisees used a complex system of laws to try to achieve the same result. Jesus ended with the thought that there can be no authentic worship of God without justice. Do not go offering worship to God unless you have first reconciled any differences with anyone you have offended or wronged.
Almighty God, your Son taught us that not all sins are equal, and just as there is a gradation of sin, there is a gradation of punishment. In your mercy, send your Holy Spirit upon us to dispel all anger and fill our hearts with love so that we may respond with true charity to our brothers and sisters at all times. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
References:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Jose M. Casciaro, Santiago Ausin, Gonzalo Aranda, Claudio Basevi, Vincente Balaguer, Francisco Varo, James Gavigan, Brian McCarthy & Thomas McGovern (Eds.). (2017). The Navarre Bible - New Testament. Dublin 8, Ireland: Four Courts Press.
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