5:21 In each of these six cases Jesus first related the popular understanding of the Old Testament, the view advocated by the religious teachers of His day. In this verse He introduced it by saying, "You have heard that the ancients were told"(NASB). This was an expression that the rabbis of Jesus' day used when they referred to the teachings of the Old Testament.270
Jesus quoted the sixth commandment and combined it with Leviticus 19:17. The "court"in view was the civil court in Israel.
5:22 Jesus contrasted His correct interpretation with the false common understanding of this command. His, "But I say to you"(vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44) was not a common rabbinic saying, though it did have some parallels in rabbinic Judaism.271It expressed an authority that surprised His hearers (cf. 7:29). Thus Jesus "fulfilled"or established the meaning of the passages to which He referred (v. 17).272
"Jesus implicitly claimed deity in at least twelve ways. He claimed three divine rights: (1) to judge mankind, (2) to forgive sins, and (3) to grant eternal life. He declared that (4) his presence was God's presence as well as the presence of God's kingdom and that (5) the attitude people took toward him would determine their eternal destiny. He (6) identified his actions with God's actions, (7) taught the truth on his own authority, and (8) performed miracles on his own authority. He (9) appeared to receive worship or obeisance. He (10) assumed that his life was a pattern for others, a divinely authoritative form of life.' He (11) applied to himself OT texts that describe God and (12) in several parables indirectly indentified himself with a father or king who represents God."273
When God gave the sixth commandment, He did not just want people to refrain from murdering one another. He wanted them to refrain from the hatred that leads to murder. Murder is only the external manifestation of the internal problem. The scribes and Pharisees dealt only with the external act. Jesus showed that God's concern ran much deeper. Refraining from homicide does not constitute a person righteous in God's sight. Anger renders one subject to judgment at God's heavenly court "since no human court is competent to try a case of inward anger."274
Jesus often used the term "brother"in the sense of a brother disciple. The term usually occurs on Jesus' lips in the first Gospel, and Matthew recorded Him using it extensively. The relationship is an extension of the fact that God is the Father of believing disciples. Thus all believers are brothers in the spiritual sense. The early church's use of the term undoubtedly originated with Jesus.
"Raca"is the transliteration of the Aramaic reka. It means "imbecile,""numbskull,"or "blockhead."275The "supreme court"(NASB) or "Sanhedrin"(NIV; Gr. synedrion) probably refers to God's highest court in view of the context, not the Jewish Sanhedrin of Jesus' day. "Fool"(Gr. mores) is another similar term that a person who felt hatred for even his brother might use. He, too, would be in danger of divine judgment. Jesus said the offender is guilty enough to suffer eternal judgment, not that he will. Whether he will suffer eternal judgment or not depends on his relationship to God. There does not seem to be any gradation or progression in these three instances of anger. Jesus simply presented three possible instances with an assortment of terms and assured His hearers that in all cases there was violation of God's will that could incur severe divine torment (cf. 3:12).
The word "hell"translates the Greek geenna, which is a transliteration of the Hebrew ge hinnomor "Valley of Hinnom."This was the valley south of Jerusalem where a fire burned continually consuming the city's refuse. This place became an illustration of the place where the wicked will suffer eternal torment.276Matthew recorded 11 references to it.
Jesus' demonstrations of anger were appropriate for Him since He was God, and God gets angry. His anger was always righteous unlike the anger that arises from unjustified hatred. It is possible for humans to be angry and not sin (Eph. 4:26). Here Jesus was addressing unjustifiable anger that can lead to murder (cf. Col. 3:8).
5:23-24 Jesus gave two illustrations of anger, one involving temple worship (vv. 23-24) and the other legal action (vv. 25-26). Both deal with situations in which the hearer is the cause of another person's anger rather than the offended party. Why did Jesus construct the illustrations this way? Perhaps He did so because we are more likely to remember situations in which we have had some grievance against another person than those in which we have offended another. Moreover Jesus' disciples should be as sensitive to making other people hate them as they are about hating others.
The offerer would present his offering at the brazen altar in the temple courtyard. It is more important to lift the load of hate from another brother's heart than to engage in a formal act of worship. Ritual worship was very important to the scribes and Pharisees, but Jesus put internal purity first, even the internal purity of another person.
5:25-26 The second illustration stresses the importance of making things right quickly. Two men walking together to the court where their disagreement would receive judicial arbitration should try to settle their grievance out of court. The offender should remove the occasion for the other man's anger and hatred quickly. Otherwise the judge might make things difficult for both of them. The mention of going from judge to officer to prison pictures the red tape and complications involved in not settling out of court. Likewise God will make it difficult for haters and those who provoke hate in others if they come before Him with unresolved interpersonal disagreements. Malicious anger is evil, and God's judgment is certain. Therefore disciples must do everything they can to end anger quickly (cf. Eph. 4:26).
