Murder, anger, insult, and hate

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Matthew 5:22

Jesus addresses the heart. It is the heart of anger that underlies conflict. Murder was addressed in the Law as the worst way humans go on the attack. And anger is an attack. Insults are an attack. Slander is an attack. And dare I say it?… Social media put downs are an attack. And Jesus places the ultimate peril’s consequence for hateful anger: hell fire burns for those motivated by attack upon others.

Jesus calls us to peace. It is so important to be at peace that unresolved conflict impedes worship according to the Lord. Reconciling with a brother is more important than sacrifice to God. Jesus recommends hasty, timely, prioritizing of conflict resolution as the motivation for those in conflict. Reconcile now! Reconcile ASAP! Avoid further damage in the conflict (Matthew 5:23-26).

In an age of hasty attack and political polarization, anger and judgment of others (even our brothers and sisters) is at an all time high. I have to think that Jesus’ warning should rule our motivations both in face-to-face conversation and online discussion. Will we love Jesus and check our attitudes?

The One Who fulfills the Law

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Matthew 5:17

Jesus came to show us what the Law was meant to do… to draw us in obedient love to God the Father. He was not a destroyer of the Law. He did not cast it aside as useless. Instead, His perfect life would fulfill all the obedience of the Law, and His perfect sacrifice would cover all the sin that the Law demanded by atoned. His resurrection would bring new life, and a new confirmation of His complete fulfillment of the Law, removing by His resurrection all the curses of breaking the Law for all who will believe Him.

Jesus fulfilled the Law by getting to the heart of the Law’s intentions. In fact, His teaching amplified and expanded the intentions behind the Law. Anger was bigger and at the root of murder. Lust was worse than sexual sin and was the root of adultery. Casual commitment was the root of failed marriages. Pride was the root of oath taking. Hateful retaliation and pride were at the root of conflict. Jesus shows light on the motivations and the deep roots of our sin, not just the letter of the law.

Jesus also fulfilled the Law by teaching us to hold to His heart standards as He transforms us. We do not relax either the commandments or His teaching about them (Matthew 5:19). Instead, we rely on a greater righteousness than the mere obedience of the Pharisees. We let the Savior look into our hearts. We let His Spirit and His Word root out our motivations. His redeeming, renewing work gets at our motivations, our deepest musings, our choices, and our hardest feelings. And then, clothed in the righteousness of Christ (because we are so aware of our insufficiencies as our core is exposed), we let His Spirit live in us, transform us, and call us to a better obedience, a better relationship, and a true understanding of our lives with God and with His Word.

salt shaken

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.

Matthew 5:13

We are the salt of the earth. We Christians benefit the world by the spread of the gospel like so many grains of salt scattered abroad into the world. We flavor a tasteless culture and preserve a dying generation. We add the seasoning holiness of God so that some will thirst after God and His righteousness. We are indeed the ONLY salt of the earth.

As I think of being a living picture of this sermon metaphor from Jesus, my mind creates an acrostic to tease out the implications of being the salt of the earth. This is not inspired. It is not meant for this acrostic to exposit the phrase. Rather, it stirs thought for a few reflective applications:

S - Season what is bland. Their world is tasteless when it comes to holiness. Evil is now good. My life in Jesus are a few shakes of salt to flavor a world with the salt of righteousness in the gospel. That salt, when mixed with Christian community, adds holiness in distinct flavor differences to the garbage slop dishes served up in a rotten world.

A - Attract with the flavor of Jesus. Salt adds the attraction. Salty Christianity is winsome, not repulsive. Sinners flocked to the grace of Jesus. And so they should when the Church is truly salt.

L - Live in love. That’s how Jesus said the world would know His people to be radically different (John 13:35). The love of Christ is the saltiest seasoning, but it is not truly shaken out into the world unless it is sprinkled out by the reality of the gospel. A social gospel devoid of the cross and the resurrection is bland. We lovingly live and proclaim the love of God in Christ by proclaiming redemption and restoration in Christ. And we do it because God loves the world.

T - Teach the gospel generationally. The gospel will preserve Christ’s church as we make lasting impact to each new generation. We are always preaching the good news of the kingdom, always making new disciples of Jesus, always making Jesus known. We stop doing that? The salt has lost its saltiness and we are “no longer good for anything.”

The advantage of disadvantage

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:3

Your kingdom Lord,

can be found

in my great need,

Vulnerable,

I will come

to You and believe.

Impoverished,

poor in spirit

nothing I bring.

Mourning,

bereft of hope,

still I sing.

Meekly aware,

O Friend of sinners

now with me.

Hungry and thirsty,

driven by want

to see You holy.

My need / Your supply!

My hunger / Bread of Life!

My thirst / Living Water supplied!

My inability / Your power!

My grief / Your comfort!

My poverty / Your riches!

O Lord,

Your kingdom comes.

Your will is done.

I come in need.

Your power exceeds.

I feel Your embrace

of enabling grace!

Amen

God is near our broken hearts!

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted

and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

The heart breaks so easily. It can shatter into a thousand precious shards. Some ways the heart breaks:

• Shattered dreams. They could be relational, vocational, or aspirational. But what we hoped to do or be is often broken by brutal reality. It is just not our experience. Our hearts break for the dream that is lost.
• Broken relationships. This is all too common in a day and culture where selfish visions screaming “Fulfill me!” hoist heavy sinful expectations on relationships. That will guarantee a broken heart eventually. But relationships don’t always break from a selfish overload. Often they break from the actions of the other person. Sinners who love sinners will inevitably hurt one another.
• Loss. Hearts will break in grief. We can grieve a hurt or an imperfect situation. We can and should grieve the death of someone we love. And a string of these can leave a person feeling alone, vulnerable, and broken-hearted.

Enough of these experiences can crush a person’s spirit. Some soul-crushing examples:

• Homes dealing with abuse, divorce, or desertion.
• Diseased bodies and minds struggling to get through each day.
• Cultural or societal upheavals like poverty, epidemics, war, famine, political instability, or persecution.

All these heart-breaking, soul-crushing experiences are all too common. But take heart… God is not distant! He is near! 

Jesus suffered with broken-hearted, soul-crushing agony for us, carrying all our sins and sorrows on His cross… wrongs we have done… wrongs done to us. He then rose again over death and death-like experiences. God is near in His Son and in His Holy Spirit. He saves us and mends broken hearts! God rebuilds and refills crushed souls!

It is written

But he answered, “It is written,

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:4

“It is written…”

those three words

make the devil turn

when the tempter lied

Jesus strongly replied

with “It is written.”

“It is written…”

the Word of God

from the Son of God

silenced temptation

Bringer of salvation

trusted “It is written.”

“It is written…”

So we must

confidently trust

scripture’s power

in our trying hour

believing “It is written.”

“It is written…”

will form our souls

will make us whole

in truth we live

victory He gives

because “It is written.”

watching and waiting safely

O my Strength, I will watch for you,

for you, O God, are my fortress.

My God in his steadfast love will meet me;

God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

Psalm 59:9-10

In times of trial, as we wait for the Lord to deliver us, to make His strength known in our weakness, to hide us in His fortress, we will know a faithfulness even as we wait. The waiting itself becomes sustaining. I have known this in ways deeper than I ever thought possible. God is near in the waiting. That nearness produces confidence in our faith.

David wrote this psalm from a specific circumstance. It was composed during that awful time before David’s kingship, when Saul was bent on killing him. The jealous rage of a commander-in-chief who had become unhinged had put David’s home under military surveillance. David thus could not go home. He had to hide. But David hid not in caves or the wilderness alone, but in the protective care of God. He fell back in faith into the fortress of His God. 

This was not a retreat of defeat. This was a turn to trust that hoped for the future triumph of God over anything that opposed David. David believed God Who had already anointed him king and made promises to David. He let God handle the details of his defense even as it looked like the system was irreversibly stacked against him.

Saul’s mania and minions would all run their course. The jealous king would eventually die by his own hand, wounded in battle against Israel’s foes. Saul would fail in his campaign against God’s plan. And in God’s timing, the forces aligned against David fell in one day. David’s wait, in faith, was well worth it when God’s timing came.

And so when we watch for God to work, let us take heart from this psalm of praise. God will surround us with His protection as we do so. God’s grace and power will lead us beyond the trial if we only stay faithful and lean in!