Matthew 5:21–26 (ESV)
Anger
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; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there
remember that your brother has something against you,24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.25 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.26 Truly, I say to you, you will
never get out until you have paid the last penny.
Jesus is teaching about the Ten Commandments and he
takes it to a whole new level. He says “You shall not murder”, but digs deeper into it’s meaning and include anger and how you treat others. “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.” When it comes to murder, most of the people can say “Well, I have never murdered anyone.”
This excludes them from this Commandment. Jesus is saying to them… not so fast! By including “anger” to the equation, now everyone is included. Everyone has been angry with someone at some point. When Jesus
says “everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment”, he uses the word “adelphos” which means neighbor(s) or brother(s). Jesus tells us to “First be reconciled to your brother.” At this…
we all need to repent and to seek reconciliation with our brother. This is serious and our salvation is in jeopardy and says you “will be liable to the hell of fire.”
I pray: O Lord, I repent of this commandment and want to be reconciled. With you and whoever I have offended or mistreated. Forgive me and reconcile me. Take me back to the cross where Jesus died for all my sins and
let me joyfully be reminded of his forgiveness of my sins. Amen.