You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. 23 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, 24 leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26 Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.
Jesus imposed a more stringent interpretation of the Torah than the Jewish religious leaders in spite of their many laws. He teaches about the original will of God with the authority of God. The style of teaching Jesus used was similar to the style used by the rabbinic schools of the day – “It was said ….. but I say.” Jesus, the new Moses, taught that the old Law “You shall not kill” (Ex. 20:13; Deut. 5:17) dealt with an external act but the new order demands that the more important internal spiritual consequences of anger be addressed.
Jesus’ audience would have been taught Jewish law, so they fully understood the meaning of what he was telling them when he equated the internal spiritual consequences of anger with the external consequences of murder. Jesus escalated the offense from anger, to insults, to calling someone foolish or empty-headed which was a sign of contempt. Such offenses, even the smallest occasions of anger, would be accountable before the tribunal of God and be subject to divine punishment.
Gehenna, the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, had an unholy reputation because human sacrifice was offered in a cultic shrine there (2 Kgs. 23:10). It later became known as the place of punishment for the wicked, and in Jesus’ time, it was an ever-smoldering rubbish dump outside Jerusalem.
The religious leaders’ interpretation of the commandment not to kill was inadequate because anger is often the prelude to killing. Jesus wanted them to focus on the day-to-day root causes of moral or immoral behavior. Jesus demonstrated, in a simple way, the true interpretation of God’s law. The Pharisees used a complex system of laws to try to achieve the same result. Jesus ended with the thought that there can be no authentic worship of God without justice. Do not offer worship to God unless you first reconcile differences with anyone you have offended or wronged. Love of neighbor (Mt. 22:39) is more important than liturgical worship or sacrifice.
Almighty God, in your mercy, send your Holy Spirit upon us to dispel all anger and fill our hearts with love so that we may respond with true charity to our brothers and sisters at all times. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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