“You have heard that it was said to an older generation, ‘Do not murder,’ and ‘whoever murders will be subjected to judgment.’ But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says ‘Fool’ will be sent to fiery hell.” —Matthew 5:21–22
Here our Lord takes the sixth commandment (“You shall not murder.” [Deuteronomy 5:17]), and without adding anything to it, He limits and expands it! He restrains the adherence of it in order to expose our motivation and to prevent our abuse, while at the same time expanding the breadth, strictness, and spiritual nature of the command according to its true intent.
Jesus was neither doing away with the Law nor adding His own belief to it. He was simply giving a fuller understanding of the Law and exposing the depth of purpose behind it. The laws of God are eternal; they never change or become obsolete. Murder has always been and always will be forbidden by God.
Jesus’ teaching here extends the Law beyond the mere act of murder. What is the motivation behind anger or hatred so strong as to manifest itself in killing? What are the inward lusts from which fights and quarrels come? It is a fundamental error to teach a divine prohibition of an act without delving into the sinful thoughts lurking behind the action. Jesus tells us not only are we are not to murder, but we are not even to be angry to the point of wanting to murder.
The Pharisees felt righteous because they had not literally committed murder, yet they were angry enough at Jesus to plot His death. They thought they were not guilty because they did not dirty their own hands with the actual deed. It is easy to miss the intent of the law.
The Law of God is to be a hedge of protection around our lives. When we are “walled in” with this hedge we are able to lie down in green pastures with peaceful souls (Psalm 23:2–3). God desires for each one of us to be an example of His love to one another and the world.
The Apostle John writes:
“For this is the gospel message that you have heard from the beginning: that we should love one another, not like Cain who was of the evil one and brutally murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s were righteous. Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have crossed over from death to life because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.” —1 John 3:11–15
Jesus tells us we are not to slander our brothers and sisters in Christ. However light we may make of our gossip, one day we will answer for it. Slanderers and those who critically rebuke others have poison under their tongues. Jesus tells us out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks:
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for his mouth speaks from what fills his heart.” —Luke 6:45
Become More
“Though salvation is not by the works of the law, yet the blessings which are promised to obedience are not denied to the faithful servants of God. The curses our Lord took away when He was made a curse for us, but no clause of blessing has been abrogated. We are to note and listen to the revealed will of the Lord, giving our attention not to portions of it but to ‘all these words.’ There must be no picking and choosing but an impartial respect to all that God has commanded. This is the road of blessedness for the Father and for His children. The Lord’s blessing is upon His chosen to the third and fourth generation. If they walk uprightly before Him, He will make all men know that they are a seed which the Lord has blessed.” —Charles H. Spurgeon
Further Reflection
“Truth must enter into the soul, penetrate and saturate it, or else it is of no value. Doctrines held as a matter of creed are like bread in the hand, which ministers no nourishment to the frame, but doctrine accepted by the heart, is as food digested, which, by assimilation, sustains and builds up the body.” —Charles H. Spurgeon