I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 21 “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 begins with a warning: “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” His listeners would have known the scribes and Pharisees as serious students and careful observers of the law. Yet Jesus says that entry into the kingdom requires something more.
He does not reject the commandment, “You shall not kill.” Instead, he presses deeper. The prohibition against murder is clear and absolute. But Jesus turns to what gives rise to murder: anger, contempt, and insult. He moves from the outward act to the inner source. A person who harbors anger toward a brother is already moving in the direction of harm. Words such as “Raqa” and “You fool” are not minor irritations. They express disdain. They reduce another person to something less than a brother.
The progression in the passage is deliberate. The commandment forbids killing. Jesus addresses anger. Then he names insults. Finally he speaks of judgment. The movement shows that sin begins in the heart before it appears in visible action. Murder is the extreme expression of a deeper rupture.
Jesus then shifts to worship. “If you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother.” Reconciliation is not presented as optional. It takes precedence even over offering a gift to God. The command is direct: go first, be reconciled, then return.
This does not mean worship is unimportant. It means that worship cannot be separated from the way we treat others. A person cannot approach the altar while clinging to hostility. The gift offered to God is tied to the state of one’s heart. If anger and resentment remain unaddressed, worship becomes divided.
The final image reinforces urgency. “Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.” On one level, this is practical advice. Do not allow conflict to harden into something worse. But the language of judge, prison, and final payment also points beyond ordinary courts. There is accountability before God. Delayed reconciliation carries consequences.
In this first week of Lent, the passage places the focus on the heart. It is not enough to avoid grave external sin. The kingdom calls for a righteousness that seeks peace before it seeks ritual completion. Jesus does not abolish the law; he reveals its depth. The commandment against killing includes the call to uproot anger. The act of offering a gift includes the obligation to repair broken relationships.
True righteousness, then, is not merely correct behavior. It is a heart conformed to the will of God, a heart that refuses to let anger grow into contempt, and that seeks reconciliation before standing at the altar.
Lord Jesus, show me where anger has taken root in my heart. Give me the courage to seek reconciliation quickly, and purify my worship by purifying my heart. Amen.
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Sources and References
- New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE), Mt. 5:20-26.
- Ignatius Catholic Study Bible, The Gospel of Matthew, pp. 15-16.
- New Jerome Biblical Commentary (1990), pp. 641-642, paras. 28-29.
- The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century (2020), pp. 1182-1183.
- Navarre Bible: St. Matthew, pp. 62-63.
- Paulist Biblical Commentary (2018), pp. 920-921.
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