Murder Begins in the Heart
Matthew 5: 21-26 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Adultery in the Heart
27-30 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.”
Well, Jesus has just quit preachin’ and gone to meddlin’. As long as someone is simply preaching, we can listen or not, and remain unchanged. But when anyone begins truly proclaiming the Word of God, we will have one of two reactions: either we will be changed or our hearts will become even harder.
Here Jesus is telling us that anger begins with the little things, calling someone “Raca” or “empty head” or proclaiming him as a fool. We must continue to watch our hearts closely for sin begins in our hearts. The more we feed our anger and resentment, the stronger it will become until we will do something regrettable.
Now Jesus moves into another area: worship with a dirty heart. Jesus advises that if we want to worship God and we know we have sinned against someone else, we must go and apologize to that person and make things right. Failing to reconcile means our worship will be worthless.
What if someone has a legal case against us? Again, Jesus advises to settle the matter before it reaches court. Evidently, even in Jesus’ day, the only people who were really winning in court cases were the lawyers and not the plaintiffs.
Now Jesus moves into another problem area: SEX. Lust has been around as long as the human race. Jesus is advising not to allow lust to even get going, for once those lustful ideas start, it will be very difficult to stop them, particularly if they are entertaining. Those who have struggled with addictions to on-line pornography can testify to the truth of Jesus’ teachings.
Is Jesus really advocating that we maim ourselves? No. But Jesus wants us to realize just how serious these heart matters are so that we will be serious about repudiating bad thoughts as soon as they appear. If we begin to be entertained by thoughts of revenge, we may progress to physical acts of revenge. Far better to confess our problems to God and allow Him to handle them.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and cannot help ourselves change. Please cleanse our hearts and minds with Your Holy Spirit power. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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