Sermon Tone Analysis

6:27

Life Changing—Hardest Commandment to Keep

Importance of Message: Change your LIfe

I’m convinced that if we grasp the concepts that we are about to explore that your life can be dramatically changed.

There is nothing more important than what we are about to hear.

This is the time that grace is dispensed to us.

The sixth commandment is do not murder.

As we saw last Sunday, at first glance, this commandment seems to be the easiest to keep.

But when we read Jesus’ words about the sixth commandment we find this may be the most difficult commandment to keep.

Jesus says some shocking words in about this sixth commandment.

Traditional Interpretation: Jesus Equates Anger with Murder—Look Deeper

The traditional interpretation of this passage is that Jesus equates anger with murder.

That being angry with your brother is the same as murdering him in God’s sight.

Make no mistake, Jesus puts anger on the same playing field as murder.

But that traditional understanding of this passage is not exactly what the passage says rather plainly.

Most understand this passage to mean that Jesus is talking about the WRONG kind of anger, the WRONG kind of insulting, and the WRONGFUL calling of others fools.

Traditional Understanding: Anger without good Cause

Jesus didn’t say that being angry makes you a murderer, he said that being angry opens you up to the same kind of judgment as being a murderer.

He doesn’t say that calling someone a fool makes you a murderer, he says that calling someone a fool opens you up to even worse judgment than being a murderer.

He doesn’t say that calling someone a fool makes you a murderer, he says that calling someone a fool opens you up to even worse judgment than being a murderer.

So you can leave today being assured that you aren’t a murderer.

What a relief.

Another misconception....

Anger Without a Cause or Anger in General?

Most understand this passage to mean that Jesus is talking about the WRONG kind of anger, the WRONG kind of insulting, and the WRONGFUL calling of others fools.

In other words, Jesus is talking about the times we fly off the handle.

In other words, Jesus is talking about unjustified anger.

Anger without good cause.

KJV: Inclusion of Without A Cause

This even led the translators of the KJV to include the phrase, without a cause.

This even led the translators of the KJV to include the phrase, without a cause.

Look at the way verse 22 reads in the KJV:

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

~, KJV

Jesus: Moneychangers, Simon, Calling Friends and Foes Fools

The thinking is that Jesus must have been speaking about unjustified anger, because Jesus himself got angry, but didn’t sin in his anger.

In , , , and , we have accounts ofJesus driving out the moneychangers from the Temple.

He makes a whip, it was premeditated, it was public.

Jesus even insulted others, but didn’t sin.

Recorded in , There was the time that Jesus went to the house of Simon for dinner a woman comes and washes Jesus’ feet with her hair, Jesus knows that Simon is judging her and judging him, and and so Jesus insulted him in front of the guests by calling him out.

Jesus wasn’t sinning there.

Jesus insulted the religious leaders constantly and didn’t sin.

Jesus also called people fools.

He called his enemies fools in , he called his closest followers dull and foolish in , and the angel called his followers fools in Luke 24.

But didn’t sin.

So many would say that Jesus here can’t be talking about the righteous anger, the rightful insults or the times when we call someone a fool a fool.

But didn’t sin.

So many would say that Jesus here can’t be talking about the righteous anger, the rightful insults or the times when we call someone a fool a fool.

That Jesus is talking about unrighteous anger.

Anger where there is a cause.

So the thinking is that Jesus here is talking about anger without a cause.

KJV is Bad Translation

Jesus doesn’t differentiate between the times you have a right to be angry and the times you don’t have a right to be angry.

So is Jesus being inconsistent?

The reality though is that the KJV is one of the only versions that include the phrase, “without a cause” because the evidence to include it is extremely flimsy.

The phrase without a cause doesn’t belong there.

Additional Evidence: Adultery

Another challenge.

Most reading this say that Jesus is talking about the wrong kind of anger, the wrong kind of insults, and calling someone a fool wrongly.

They would say that Jesus got angry, but he didn’t sin in his anger.

Jesus insulted others…he was at dinner at Simon’s house once, and he insulted Simon….but he didn’t sin.

Jesus called people fools…but he didn’t sin.

So most would look at this and say, Jesus was talking about the kind of anger that doesn’t have good cause.

This caused those translating the KJV to actually add a phrase that says if you are angry with your brother, without good cause.

And that simply isn’t in any manuscripts.

Because I don’t think that was what Jesus was talking about.

The reality is, that Jesus doesn’t differentiate between the times you have a right to be angry and the times you don’t have a right to be angry.

So is Jesus being inconsistent?

Read it carefully.

Jesus doesn’t say that being angry makes you a murderer.

He doesn’t characterize this anger as sin or not sin.

That isn’t his point.

What does he say?

Jesus doesn’t differentiate between the times you have a right to be angry and the times you don’t have a right to be angry.

Do you know why I think he did that?

Because we would constantly justify ourselves as having a right to be angry.

We would constantly say that we have a right to call someone a fool.

He doesn’t let us off the hook that easily.

Because the real freedom is found in those who have a right to be angry, who have a right to hurl insults, who have a right to call someone a fool…but don’t.

Jesus didn’t say that being angry makes you a murderer, he said that being angry opens you up to the same kind of judgment as being a murderer.

He doesn’t say that calling someone a fool makes you a murderer, he says that calling someone a fool opens you up to even worse judgment than being a murderer.

So you can leave today being assured that you aren’t a murderer.

What a relief.

Additional Evidence: Adultery

Am I just trying to be annoying?

Am I trying to go against the grain?

Does it simply go without saying that Jesus is equating anger with murder and that Jesus is referring to the sinful kind of anger?

Anger without cause?

Reading Jesus’ words on next week’s commandment answers our question...

Example of Adultery Vs Murder

Because after Jesus talks about murder he talks about adultery.

:

He makes a distinction in verse 27 that he doesn’t make when it comes to anger.

So with murder, he never says that if you are angry you are a murderer.

But most people infer that is what Jesus was saying.

Why?

Because here Jesus does say that if you look lustfully in your heart, you have already committed adultery.

So Jesus would have said that anger was the same as murder if that was what he was driving at because he said later that lust was the same as adultery.

There is no way around that.

We would Justify Anger All the Time: Real Freedom

We would Justify Anger All the Time

So not only is Jesus saying we are on the same playing field with murder when we are angry, he is saying that whether we have a reason to be angry or not…don’t be.