Matthew 5:21 - Meaning and Application

After laying down these principles, Christ shows that Moses and the prophets are still to rule his people, but the scribes and Pharisees are not. He then explains the law in several specific cases and clears it from the false meanings those teachers had added. He does not add anything new. Instead, he limits some permissions that had been abused and shows the law’s width, strictness, and spiritual nature. He also gives explanations that make obedience clearer and fuller.

Here he explains the sixth commandment, showing its true meaning and full reach. He begins with the command itself. “You have heard that it was said long ago,” that is, to your Jewish forefathers, “You shall not murder” (Matthew 5:12). These are not new laws. God’s laws are ancient, but they never become old-fashioned or lose their force. The moral law matches the law of nature and the lasting truth of God’s own mind.

This command forbids murder in every form, whether killing ourselves or another person, directly or indirectly, or helping bring it about. The law of God, who gives life, is like a hedge of protection around human life. It was also one of Noah’s commands (Genesis 9:5, 9:6).

Christ then exposes the way the Jewish teachers explained this command. They said only this: “Whoever murders will be liable to judgment.” That meant wilful murderers were subject to justice, and accidental killers could be sent to the city of refuge. The courts sat at the gates of the chief cities, and the judges usually numbered twenty-three. These courts tried, condemned, and carried out punishment on murderers.

But this explanation was badly incomplete. It made the sixth commandment seem only outward, as if it forbade the act of murder but not the inward desires that lead to it. That was the basic error of the Jewish teachers. They stayed on the surface of the law and never searched for its spiritual meaning. Paul, while he was a Pharisee, did not understand this until God used the tenth commandment to open his eyes to the spiritual nature of the whole law (Romans 7:7, 7:14).

They also treated this law as if it were only a civil rule for their nation and courts, as though it mattered only for them and their legal system. They forgot that the wisdom of God’s law does not die with one people or one nation.

Christ’s own explanation is what will judge us in the end, so it should govern us now. The commandment is very broad, and we must not narrow it to suit our own desires or human opinions. First, Christ teaches that rash anger is murder in the heart (Matthew 5:22). “Anyone who is angry with his brother without cause” breaks the sixth commandment. Here “brother” means any other person, even one who is below us in rank, like a child or servant, because all people are made from one blood.

Anger is a natural feeling, and in some cases it is right and even good. But it becomes sinful when it has no proper cause. The word means anger without cause, without good effect, and without moderation. It is sinful when there is no real provocation, or no good reason, or no serious reason. It is sinful when we fly into anger over a child’s mistake, a servant’s forgetfulness, or a small insult that we would excuse in ourselves. It is also sinful when we become angry for no useful purpose, only to show power, feed a fierce spirit, or stir ourselves up for revenge. Then anger does harm instead of good. If anger is ever right, it should wake the wrongdoer to repentance, keep him from doing the same thing again, clear ourselves of blame (2 Corinthians 7:11), or warn others.

Anger also sins when it goes beyond proper bounds, becoming harsh, wild, violent, or harmful. Then it breaks the sixth commandment, because a person like that would kill if he could and dared. He has already taken the first step toward murder. Cain began with anger before he killed his brother. In God’s sight, the one who carries murder in his heart is already a murderer, because God sees the heart, where murder starts (Matthew 15:19).

Second, Christ says that insulting our brother is murder with the tongue. This includes calling someone “Raca” or “You fool.” When such words are used gently and for a good reason, to correct foolishness, they are not sinful. James says, “O vain man,” Paul says, “You foolish person,” and Christ himself says, “You fools, and slow of heart.” But when these words come from anger and hatred, they are like smoke from a fire lit in hell, and they fall under the same judgment.

“Raca” is a scornful word that comes from pride. It means, “You empty-headed person.” It is the language of proud anger (Proverbs 21:24), the kind of speech that looks down on our brother and treats him as beneath notice. Words like, “This crowd that does not know the law is cursed” are of that same spirit (John 7:49).

“You fool” is an even harsher word, born of hatred. It does not merely say a person is foolish, but treats him as mean, worthless, and unworthy of love. It is like saying, “You wicked man,” or “You abandoned person.” The first insult mocks a person’s lack of sense. The second, in Bible language, attacks his spiritual state. It is worse when the insult reaches into his standing before God. The first is proud sneering, the second is hateful condemnation, as though he were cut off from God.

This also breaks the sixth commandment. Malicious slander and harsh judging are like poison under the tongue. They kill slowly and secretly. Bitter words are like arrows that strike suddenly (Psalm 64:3), or like a sword in the bones. A neighbor’s good name, which is better than life, is stabbed by them. And such words show the same bad will that would strike at a person’s life if the speaker had the power.

He tells them that, however lightly they may think of these sins, they will certainly be counted. Whoever is angry with his brother is in danger of judgment and of God’s anger. Whoever calls him “Raca” is in danger of the council, meaning punishment by the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, for insulting an Israelite. But whoever says, “You fool,” meaning a profane person or a child of hell, is in danger of hell-fire, because he has judged his brother worthy of it, as Dr. Whitby explains.

Some think Christ is using the different courts and punishments among the Jews to make his point. He is showing that sinful anger can lead to lower or higher punishments, depending on how far it goes. The Jews had three main capital punishments, each more severe than the last: beheading, which was carried out by the judgment; stoning, by the council or chief Sanhedrin; and burning in the valley of the son of Hinnom, used only in extreme cases. The point is that rash anger and insulting words are sins that deserve condemnation. Some sins are worse than others, and so some carry greater condemnation and a more severe punishment. Christ shows which sin is most serious by showing which punishment is most dreadful.

From all this we learn that we must carefully keep Christian love and peace with our brothers. If a break does happen, we should work for reconciliation by admitting our fault, humbling ourselves before our brother, asking his pardon, and making restitution or fair amends for any wrong done in word or deed, as the case requires. We should do this quickly for two reasons.

First, until this is done, we are not fit for fellowship with God in holy worship, as in Matthew 5:23-24. The case assumed is this: your brother has something against you, meaning you have hurt or offended him, either truly or in his own view. If you are the one offended, there is no need for this delay. If you have something against your brother, the matter is simple, you must forgive him (Mark 11:25) and let go of the injury. But if the quarrel began on your side, and the fault was yours at first or later, so that your brother has a grievance against you, go and be reconciled to him before you offer your gift at the altar, before you come before God in the worship of the gospel, in prayer, praise, hearing the Word, or receiving the sacraments.

When we are preparing for any religious duty, it is wise to use that time for serious self-examination. There are many things to remember when we bring our gift to the altar, and this is one of them, whether our brother has something against us. At such times we are usually more serious, so we should call ourselves to account then. Religious duties are not pleasing to God if they are done while we are angry. Envy, hatred, and lack of love are so hateful to God that nothing done from such a heart pleases him (1 Timothy 2:8). Prayers offered in anger are, as it were, written in gall (Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 58:4). Love and charity are better than all burnt offerings and sacrifices, so God wants reconciliation with an offended brother before the gift is offered. He is content to wait for the gift rather than receive it while we are guilty and living in conflict.

Even though a broken relationship makes us unfit for fellowship with God, that can never excuse us from our duty. Leave your gift there before the altar, so that you do not go away and then become tempted not to return. Many use their quarrel with a neighbor as a reason for not coming to church or to the Lord’s table. But whose fault is that? One sin never excuses another, it only adds to the guilt. A lack of love cannot excuse a lack of worship. The matter is not hard to settle. We must forgive those who have wronged us. And if we have wronged someone, we must make satisfaction, or at least offer it and ask for a restored friendship. Then, if reconciliation does not happen, it will not be our fault. After that, come, and come gladly, offer your gift, and it will be accepted. For this reason, we must not let the sun go down on our anger any day, because we should go to prayer before sleep. Much less should we let the sun rise on our anger on the Lord’s day, because it is a day for prayer.

Second, until this is done, we are in great danger, as Matthew 5:25-26 says. It is at our own peril if we do not seek peace quickly, for two reasons. In a temporal sense, if the wrong we have done to our brother in body, property, or reputation is serious enough to lead to a legal case, it is wise and right, especially for the sake of our family, to stop that by humble submission and fair, peaceful settlement. Otherwise he may recover it by law and put us in prison. In such a case it is better to settle and make the best terms we can than to keep fighting. It is useless to fight the law, and there is danger of being crushed by it. Many people ruin their estates by stubbornly holding on to wrongs they have done, when a little yielding at the start would have settled the matter. Solomon’s advice about suretyship is, “Go, humble yourself, and deliver yourself” (Proverbs 6:1-5). It is good to agree, because the law is costly. We must be merciful when we have the advantage, but we must also be just when others have the advantage over us, as far as we are able. Agree with your adversary quickly, before his stubbornness grows and he insists on the full demand, refusing the reduction he might once have made. Prison is a miserable place for those who get there through their own pride, wastefulness, stubbornness, and folly.

Spiritually, the warning is even more serious. Go and be reconciled to your brother, do what is right toward him, and be friendly with him, because while the quarrel continues, you are as unfit to bring your gift to the altar as you are to come to the Lord’s table. You are also unfit to die. If you remain in this sin, there is danger that you may be suddenly taken away under God’s wrath, and you cannot escape or argue against his judgment. If that sin is charged to you, you are lost forever. Hell is a prison for all who live and die in malice and lack of love, for all who are contentious (Romans 2:8), and there is no rescue, no release, and no escape from it forever.

This fits very closely with the great matter of our reconciliation to God through Christ. Agree with him quickly, while you are still on the way. Note, the great God is an adversary to all sinners, a law adversary, one who has a case against them and a claim in court against them.

Our duty is to come to terms with God and get to know him, so that we may be at peace with him (Job 22:21; 2 Corinthians 5:20). It is wise to do this quickly, while we are still “on the way.” As long as we are alive, there is still time. After death, it will be too late, so we should not rest until this is settled.

Those who remain enemies of God are always exposed to the arrests of his justice and the terrible signs of his wrath. Christ is the Judge to whom unrepentant sinners will be handed over, because all judgment has been given to the Son. The Savior they refused cannot be avoided as Judge (Revelation 6:16, 6:17). It is a fearful thing to be given over to the Lord Jesus when the Lamb becomes the Lion. The angels are the servants Christ will use to carry out judgment (Matthew 13:41, 13:42), and even demons serve in that role, since they hold the power of death as executioners of unbelievers (Hebrews 2:14). Hell is the prison into which those who stay enemies of God will be cast (2 Peter 2:4).

Damned sinners must stay there forever. They will not be released until they have paid the very last penny, and that debt will never be fully paid through all eternity. Divine justice will always be receiving satisfaction, but it will never be satisfied.