21 “You have
heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder,
and
anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’
22 But I tell you that anyone
who is angry
with a brother or sister
will
be subject to judgment.
Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister,
‘Raca,’
is
answerable to the court.
And anyone who says, ‘
You fool!’
will be in
danger of the fire of hell.
23 “Therefore,
if you are offering your gift at the altar
and there remember
that your brother
or sister
has something against you,
24 leave your gift there in front of the altar.
First go
and be reconciled to them;
then come and offer your gift.
"Raca" is an Aramaic term of abuse. It means "idiot." (See R.T. France, The Gospel According to Matthew, p. 120)
Anyone who calls a brother or sister in Christ an idiot is answerable to the Sanhedrin. (Greek synedrion.) France writes: "Jesus here threatens ultimate divine judgment on anger, even as expressed in everyday insults." (Ib.)
If I call someone an idiot am I really relegated to the garbage heap where Israel's rubbish was burned? No. Jesus is using exaggeration, as he often does, to make a point. (This is called Semitic hyperbole.) But the point is important. This is "an injunction to submit our thoughts about other people, as well as the words they give rise to, to God's penetrating scrutiny... We cannot worship God with grudges unsettled."
Anger is no excuse for insulting people. It is non-redemptive and alienating.
If you are a Jesus-follower, and you ridicule a brother or sister, your worship is inauthentic, and unacceptable to God.
***
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