Why Reconciliation is Necessary and Urgent | Matthew 5:21-26
Series: All: All Authority, All Nations, All Allegiance
Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26 (main)
Title: Why Reconciliation is Necessary and Urgent? (Darien Gabriel)
Heavy credit: David Platt and Douglas Sean O’Donnell (See below for bibliography)
Summary of passage: Jesus lays out the principles and rules of kingdom living.
Bottom Line: Reconciliation with brothers and sisters in Christ is necessary and urgent.
Discussion questions for group and personal study.
1. Why does Jesus move from commands like "Do not murder"and "Do not commit adultery" to warnings against anger and lust?
What is the purpose of these antitheses?
2. Read Mark 7:20-23 again. How do our outward actions and reactions reveal the health of our hearts?
What is the solution to our evil actions?
3. Is Jesus teaching that anger and murder are equal sins? Why or why not?
4. Why is it important not to call our brother or sister "fool"?
What does this action reveal about one's heart toward one's brother or sister?
5. What is the principle from Jesus's illustration about giving an offering in the first-century context?
Can this principle apply to areas other than giving financially? How?
6. How does Jesus's warning to settle disputes contrast with appropriately using the legal system, for example, to further justice in the world?
7. Review the four important questions this chapter gives to assess your relationship with your brothers and sisters.
Are there people you need to reconcile with?
What steps can you take this week to do so?
8. How do Jesus's actions in the Gospel exemplify the type of reconciliation we should pursue?
9. What does this passage teach us about God's view of sin?
10. How do these antitheses relate to Jesus's call for a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees in 5:20?
Final Questions (optional or in place of above)
What is God saying to you right now?
What are you going to do about it?
Find our sermons, podcasts, discussion questions and notes at https://www.gracetoday.net/podcast
Opening to Sermon:
I have been at GCF for 16 years. Over those years there have been times when I’ve butted heads with someone. Sometimes it’s been with other leaders. We’ve said things to each other that we wish we could take back. We felt the sting of disunity and disharmony. I know what it’s like to try and worship under those circumstances. I know what it’s like to try and preach under those circumstances.
Jesus is going to challenge us to evaluate our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ. He’s going to tell us that reconciliation with people leads to authentic worship and reconciliation with God. He’s going to tell us it’s necessary and urgent.
Jesus starts out with a series of contrasts between what the Pharisees and teachers of the law say is the law and what Jesus the new Moses and lawgiver says is the law—and the heart of the law.
“I tell you” or “I say to you” — these phrases are basically 2 sides of the same coin.
“I tell” or “I say” — this is Jesus speaking with authority. Consider who’s speaking here. Our creator is speaking. No one has more authority in our life than he does!
“You” — this is who he’s speaking to. Anyone with the humility to listen. Anyone who wants to follow Jesus. Anyone wanting into the kingdom.
He’ll use this phrase every time he wants to set up a contrast between what the teachers of the law have taught (read traditions of the elders) and what Jesus would say is what the law says and means.
Notice that Jesus didn’t say, “It is written.” Because he’s not taking issue with the scriptures. He’s taking issue with the traditions the teachers of the law have built around the Law. This is where things got off track. This is what Jesus aims to correct and fulfill.
Jesus starts out with something that terrorizes our relationships—anger. He’s going to provide proper interpretation to this in the OT and then give 2 situations that illustrate that reconciliation is necessary and urgent. This may be the most challenging message you face this year. Throughly practical.
Jesus will continue to bring up key ethical considerations for the kingdom citizen in the passages to come. This is his focus in this section of the sermon on the mount.
Jesus will address reconciliation through this sin. Reconciliation is necessary and urgent in the family of God.
“Disagreement is inevitable. Division is a choice.” -Andy Stanley
I. Anger = Murder
Sinclair calls it murder without knives. When we harbor contempt in our hearts towards others that manifests itself in words, it’s not assassination but it can lead to character assassination. While the earthly consequences are vastly different in the short-term, they can lead to the same in the long-term. And God sees them as the same and what he thinks matters most.
Murder was against the law in Jesus’ day. (21)
Anger in the heart = murder in Gods’ eyes. (22)
“Raca” is like saying, “You idiot” with hate.
It’s attacking the intellect and it’s slander.
Name calling is much worse than we realize. (22)
“Jesus recognized that we cannot be trusted in our judgment of the seriousness of careless speech. We treat the damage we do with our lips very lightly because we do not see the corpses we leave behind. That is why Jesus invades our moral slumber by telling us how serious this is in the sight of God.” Sinclair Ferguson, P. 83
“You fool!” Is a moral judgment.
You’re judging the person’s character.
Slander is again in view.
Ex. “You’re a liar!” Can be this in some cases.
“…(Jesus) is simply stressing vividly that (these sins) are far more serious than most of us assume. In fact, our insensitivity to their real seriousness is indicative of the dullness of our spiritual senses.” Ibid.
II. Reconciliation is Necessary (23-34)
Why? Because it affects our ability to worship God.
Why? Because it affects the authenticity of our offering.
When we give, we should give cheerfully. This is difficult when you are not in fellowship with a brother or sister in Christ.
III. Reconciliation is Urgent (25-26)
Jesus tells us to deal with this quickly. Do not delay.
Delayed obedience is disobedience until you obey.
Better to get a bad deal with your brother than to leave it in the hands of the court.
You’re not responsible for how the other person responds. You can attempt reconciliation but you cannot control whether or not it happens.
Conclusion
Reconciliation is necessary for true worship.
Reconciliation is an urgent matter if you want to prevent others from taking matters into their own hands.
Who do you need to reconcile with today?
Do you believe Jesus knows best in this?
Will you submit to the authority of Jesus?
Pray
My notes
First murderer was Cain who killed Abel. (Gen 4)
Murder—the ultimate demise of a relationship.
Murder begins in the mind and heart. We’re guilty of murder in God’s eyes as soon as we dwell here. Murder is the progression of that internal fire left unrestrained or repented of. Cf. James 1:13-15
Notes from O’Donnell
“I say to you” was the key phrase of 5:17-48 not only because it’s repeated 9 times but because it summarizes 2 main themes:
Divine authority “I say”
Kingdom ethics “to you”
Now focusing on “to you”
We’re not to act like Pharisees in the unrighteousness “righteousness” but rather like God in his perfect love—loving others, even one’s enemies” p. 136
These 6 OT commands Jesus addresses put on this perfect love when applied as he commands.
Notes from Sinclair Ferguson
“The Law is the standard for evaluation in the kingdom of God (Matt 5:19), but not the standard for entrance into the kingdom. Rather than dispensing with righteousness, Jesus tells his disciples that unless their righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, they will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” P. 79
The statements following 5:20
share the same basic format
Are a contrast between what was said to those long ago and what Jesus tells them then. It’s a contrast
Between what things are said, AND
Between the people who say them
“But I say” is a statement of authority from Jesus the Christ.
“We might say, ‘I myself say.’ The issue at stake here is one of authority, not merely one of content.” P. 81
The words said to people long ago are not necessarily scripture. In some cases they even contradict. “This suggests very clearly that Jesus is not placing his own teaching directly against that of the OT.” P. 81
He is not dispensing with the law…he’s giving his exposition of it.
“The real contrast in this section is between
the meaning of the law according to Jesus and
The meaning of the law according to religious tradition and the ancient teachers.” P. 81
He does not say, “It is written,” but, “It was said.” He’s not referring to texts of scripture but traditions of men.
“Murder without Knives” p. 82
The law forbids murder. So naturally, they were asking the question what is murder exactly? This inevitably leads to a narrowing of the definition of murder. “Jesus points out that by doing this, the full force of God’s word is destroyed. Jesus explains that the commandment not only forbids the outward act but also every thought and word that seeks to destroy a man’s life.
Moreover, like every other command, by forbidding an activity, Jesus is teaching that we should take every possible step to promote the opposite. In this case, instead of murdering by hand or mouth, we should seek with all our powers to have right relationships with all of our brothers.”
“For Jesus, to kill with a knife, or to engage in character assassination through anger, or to belittle another by calling him ‘fool’ is part and parcel of the same spiritual sickness. Clearly, he does not mean that it makes no difference whether we gossip or stab, but he does mean that both activities reveal the same animosity of heart to our neighbors.” P. 82-83
“But the deliberate belittling of someone’s person because of the animosity and hatred of our own heart, and the desire to have mastery over them. That is murder.” P. 83
“Our words are the index of our true spiritual condition.”
“Jesus recognized that we cannot be trusted in our judgment of the seriousness of careless speech. We treat the damage we do with our lips very lightly because we do not see the corpses we leave behind. That is why Jesus invades our moral slumber by telling us how serious this is in the sight of God.” P. 83
“…(Jesus) is simply stressing vividly that (these sins) are far more serious than most of us assume. In fact, our insensitivity to their real seriousness is indicative of the dullness of our spiritual senses.”
“In the verses that follow (23-26), the necessity and urgency of reconciliation in place of animosity are stressed by two illustrations. Here Jesus is showing us that when an activity is forbidden in God’s word, its positive counterpart is commanded. If we are not to engage in physical or verbal murder, we are to engage in personal reconciliation.” P. 84
Illustration: “Picture a man in church. He is about to express his devotion tot he Lord in worship and in his offering. But he has not been enjoying fellowship with his brother. There is disharmony in the relationship. Jesus says the man should leave his offering, be reconciled to his brother, and then return to worship God with a clear conscience and full heart.
“The principle is clear: right relationships with others are part of the meaning of the commandment not to murder. They are essential if our righteousness is to go down deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees.”
“Jesus gives us another illustration. Two men are on their way to court to settle a dispute between them. They are re still arguing On the way! Jesus says the two men should settle the matter now, before they are in the courtroom with the judge. It maybe costly to settle it now; it will certainly be humbling. But if it continues, one man may find himself in prison and unable to get out until he has paid the last penny (5:26).”
Necessity and Urgency of Reconciliation
“They are, rather, illustrations of how vital it is to have right relationships with others. The illustration of the man in church underlines the necessity of reconciliation. The illustration of two men going to court underlines the urgency of reconciliation.”
Some of you need to get up right now and go try and reconcile with someone. You are free to go. Go!
“Animosity is a time bomb; we do not know when it will ‘go off.’ We must deal with it quickly, before the consequences of our bitterness get completely out of control. Most human relationships that are destroyed could have been preserved if there had been communication and action at the right time. Jesus says that the right time is as soon as we are conscientious that we are at enmity with our brother (Matt 5:23).”
“One further point should be noted from this section…(Jesus) is not urging us to share every thought in our hearts during the process of reconciliation…Jesus is not telling us to ‘hang out our dirty linen in public,’ but rather to real urgently and fully with all breakdowns in fellowship before the y lead to spiritual assassination.” P. 85-86
Notes from NAC, Blomberg
21-22: The one who murders stands condemned and therefore in danger of judgment. But there is a way out—repentance and faith in Jesus the Christ.
Brother = a fellow member of the religious community, usually referring to Jesus’ disciples.
It’s particularly bad for Christians to get angry at other Christians.
Murder
Swearing, cursing/cussing, insulting, name-calling with contempt
Slandering, judging
Judgment—>Sanhedrin—>Gehenna (i.e. eternal judgment)
23-24: Therefore, they urgently need to escape this judgment by dealing decisively with sin.
2 illustrations:
Worshipper called to personal reconciliation with someone else before worship/giving
Urgent reconciliation—out-of-court settlement between fellow litigants at least: 2 levels:
Legal—pay your debts or be imprisoned
Spiritual—pay your spiritual debts (sin)—oh wait, you cannot afford that. Therefore, turn to Jesus who has already paid for your sins on the cross.
Notes from Gregory Brown, Bible.org
V. 21-22 God sees anger towards another believer as murder in the heart and therefore making them liable and subject to judgment.
My question: If they are a believer, are they subject to the judgment of hell or just discipline? It reads like hell. But if they are a true believer and cannot lose their salvation, how do we reconcile this verse?
Jesus didn’t just say anger leads to murder. He said anger IS murder.
Cf. “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” 1 John 3:15
Summary of OT law is love God—love people.
“When others were mistreated, Christ was angry like a lion. When he was mistreated, he was gentle like a lamb.” Cf. 1 Peter 2:23
How to Maintain Peaceful Relationships
To maintain peaceful relationships,…
I. We must guard our hearts from evil thoughts including anger.
II. We must guard our tongues from evil speech—including slander. How?
Be slow to speak
Speak only gracious and edifying words
Remember God will judge our words
Submit our words to God
III. We must recognize that discord hinders our relationship with God.
Right relationship with others are necessary to have a right relationship with God.
IV. We must seek to resolve conflicts quickly.
We are to make every effort with no delay to reconcile our relationship with a bro or sis so we can avoid God’s discipline.
References/Bibliography:
“Preaching the Word” Commentary, Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Edited by Kent Hughes
“Matthew” by RC Sproul
“Jesus Manifesto” sermon series, by Darien Gabriel: https://youtu.be/x65i2tqFrXk
“The Bible Knowledge Commentary” by Walvoord, Zuck (BKC)
“The Bible Exposition Commentary” by Warren Wiersbe (BEC)
“Exalting Jesus in Matthew” by David Platt (CCE)
“Exalting Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount” by Daniel Akin (CCE)
Outline Bible, D Willmington
NIV Study Bible (NIVSB)
ESV Study Bible
ESV Gospel Transformation Bible (GTB)
"Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes" by Kenneth E. Bailey
“The Sermon on the Mount: Kingdom Life in a Fallen World” by Sinclair Ferguson
Bible.org https://bible.org/seriespage/12-maintaining-peaceful-relationships-matthew-521-26
“CSB Christ Chronological,” Holman