In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, ‘Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment.” If we took a survey and asked everyone, “Have you ever murdered anybody?” what do you suppose the results would be?
A few years ago a man came to our church seeking financial assistance. Because of his criminal background, he was having trouble finding anyone willing to help him. As we talked, he shared that he had been convicted of murder not just once but on two different occasions. His first conviction was for killing his foster parents. His second was for killing his girlfriend’s old boyfriend. Though convicted, not even this man felt he was responsible for these three murders! In each case he justified himself!
So, if we took a survey and asked about any of these commandments we would all test positive for the “Rich Young Ruler Syndrome.” The rich young ruler syndrome? What is that? He was the young man in Matthew 19 who asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” When Jesus answers, “Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother; and love your neighbor as yourself.” … he announces, “All these I’ve kept, what do I still lack?”
You see we all have a tendency to take God’s commands at their most basic, surface-level application. But Jesus would always apply the “spirit” or the “intention” behind God’s law to the dark undercurrents of people’s hearts. He wouldn’t allow a person to wallow about in their self-justification nor escape accountability. If you’re familiar with the story of Rich Young Ruler, Jesus tells the proud man, “If you want to be perfect. . . go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
In the Sermon on the Mount we have the same syndrome, but a different case. Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. But I tell you everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment…”
If we talk about murder, it’s pretty easy to declare our innocence. But if we start talking about anger, it’s a completely different ballgame. You might wander what kind of conversation I had with that guy who murdered three people. We didn’t talk about his past guilt. And why should we? He’d already dismissed the evidence gathered by professional investigators, and dismissed the case presented against him in court. But when we began talking about his very obvious “rage” there was no escaping. He was filled with murderous levels of jealousy toward anyone he perceived a rival with his newfound girlfriend. He was filled with vengeful rage toward the guards and men who abused him in prison… He was filled with rage about the injustices of “the system,” men in blue, his former employer who just fired him, and his soon-to-be former landlord.
If we truly understand a commandment, we will feel the weight and sharp edge of that commandment. We won’t “exempt” ourselves from its application. We’ll feel less comfortable taking the speck out of someone else’s eye, or even condemning them, because we will recognize in ourselves that same power of sin and need for grace.
If we don’t start looking beyond the letter of the law and understanding the true spirit and intent of what God desires, we’ll come off as sanctimonious hypocrites. A sanctimonious hypocrite practices the very things he/she preaches against. We preach against murder while feeding murderous thoughts. We preach against greed while hoarding closets, garages, and storage units of possessions. We preach against Hollywood sexual exploitation, while lapping up their vile movies. God doesn’t want a “sanctimonious” church, he wants a “holy and sanctified” church. He doesn’t want a self-justified and morally satisfied church, he wants a people who hunger and thirst for very righteousness! So, let’s talk about our problem of anger, shall we? Let me share four observations Jesus makes concerning anger…
First, we carry a lot of stones.
In Matthew 5:22 he says, “Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court.” You see, Jesus doesn’t even leave the conversation at anger much less murder. What about our compulsion to insult others, or to so quickly “feel” offended by everyone and everything? One of the most basic insults in Jesus day was the word “Raca,” which lit. means “empty head… you idiot!” When we don’t deal with our anger, it manifests in the way we characterize and speak to people around us (i.e. everyone becomes an idiot)!
Back in the beatitudes Jesus said something about insults. He said, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” We, of all people ought to have the ability to just drop things and not carry them around. James 1:19-20 says, “My dear brothers, understand this, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for man’s anger doesn’t bring about the righteousness God desires.”
As simple as this sounds, it isn’t our practice! Nowadays, we’re so easily insulted. We’re so easily angered. We’re so easily offended. We so quick to gather up hurts and injustices. We hold on to our hurts with a death grip, replaying them in our head, over and over. We let our hurts fester and metastasize. We hate how courts have begun interfering in so many aspects of our lives. But when we become so psychologically fragile we can’t just drop an insult, Jesus brilliantly observes how the courts are more than happy to step in and referee!
What stones, what hurts, what offenses, what injustices are you carrying around this morning?
Second, we throw a lot of stones. In Matthew 5:22 Jesus gives a warning that, Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.” In Jesus day, to call someone a fool was to condemn them to judgement. Often when we insult somebody, we want them to recognize how much they’ve hurt us. But condemning is something completely different. When you condemn someone, you are praying for their destruction, you believe the world would be a better place without them!
I wish I could sugarcoat everything, but Jesus doesn’t pull any punches about the danger of condemnation. For example, in Matthew 6:12 Jesus teaches us to pray, “Father forgive us our debts and we also have forgiven our debtors.” And less we miss the point, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well; but if you don’t forgive others your Father will not forgive your offenses.” And there is more. In Matthew 7:1-2 Jesus says, “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use.”
In the beatitudes Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers…” In the gospels, there’s a story where a crowd picks up stones to condemns a woman caught in adultery, they were probably enraged at her because of all the marriages/families she’d destroyed in their community. But Jesus redirects them to consider the measure to which they were going. “Let him who is without sin be the first to cast a stone.” I’m just echoing Jesus here. Maybe its time to drop that stone you’ve been ready to throw.
Third, we stack stones.
We build walls. In Matthew 5:22-24 Jesus says, “So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”
Jesus is all about tearing down walls, pursuing reconciliation. Few verses are as powerful as Ephesians 2:12-14, 17-19. It says, “At one time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who made both groups one and tore down the dividing wall of hostility. . . He came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household.” We ought to be decimating walls, not erecting walls.
Fourth, we crush ourselves.
In Matthew 5:25-26, “Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him to the court, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.” These verses need little elaboration but let me say this. Every single person in this room has seen how quickly hurts can escalate. When we don’t root anger out of our lives, we’re the ones who end up paying the most. We’re filled with anger. Our marriage becomes filled with anger. Our children become infected by anger. Anger can completely consume our soul without so much as singing the hair of our enemies. Settle matters quickly. Don’t even let the sun go down on your anger. Take care of business before the weight of your anger crushes you.
It’s interesting to watch culture. The dark comedy won tons of awards was “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” What’s it about? A mother exacting revenge of her daughter’s brutal rape and murder.
Later this year another movie called “Acrimony” is being advertised. It’s about a wife exacting revenge on her cheating husband. The trailer reads, “Acrimony: Bitterness, anger, rancor, resentment, ill feeling ill will, bad blood, animosity, hostility, enmity, antagonism, malice, spite, spitefulness, peevishness, venom.”
We know how these movies play out… we know the script… James 1:14-15, “each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.” Man’s anger doesn’t bring about the righteousness God desires, so what shall we do?
This morning we want to invite you to a time of response. What stones/hurts have you been carrying lately? Who have you wanted throw stones at, and condemn, for all they’ve done to you? What walls have you been building? How are you being crushed, how are you being affected by the sheer weight of all your anger?
In the Old Testament God made a promise to his people that he would remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.”
I’m wondering this morning if you would be willing to come before God and exchange your heart of stone for a heart a flesh. I’m wondering if you would be willing to let Christ lead you in his way of love, in paths of righteousness?
Well what do you mean heart of stone? How can I know if I have a heart of stone or a heart of flesh? Well a heart of flesh is alive. A heart of stone is dead. A heart of stone no longer beats for the kingdom of God. It’s lost all sensitivity. It’s become calloused and cold. A heart of stone is incapable of feeling much less empathy. It’s unable to understand mercy, much less extend it, let along be transformed by it. A heart of stone has starved itself of any affection for Christ. But worse, the heart of stone starves the body of Christ and the world of the grace it needs to thrive. A heart of stone is more vested in justifying itself than every seeking justice by way of the cross. A heart of stone is proud and self-satisfied, and no longer hungers/thirsts for righteousness, it no longer welcomes the presence/power of God’s Holy Spirit.
Having a heart of stone is more than a physical crisis… it’s a spiritual crisis for which there is only one cure. You can take your heart of stone to the Cross of Christ and you can ask the great physician to do what no man, what not even you, can do for yourself. You can ask Christ Jesus to remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh!
Well what is a heart of flesh? A heart of flesh is a heart that beats for the things of God. It’s a heart that realizes its spiritual poverty, that grieves over the things that wreck the heart of God. A heart of flesh hungers and thirsts for the righteousness of God. It yearns not just that God would be seen and praised, but it years to be fully like Christ. It’s a heart that is no longer defined by offending or being offended… by hating or being hated… by abusing or being abused…. It’s a heart that desires to be a peacemaker… to hold out hope in a world darkened by sin… to be salt… to be like a light shining in a dark place… a heart that wants nothing more than to be a new creation.
To get a heart of flesh, you don't have to do your own heart surgery, but you must confess your need for it. You must humbly ask God to give you a heart of flesh. You must be willing to let the old, angry unforgiving, graceless, merciless man die in the waters of baptism and Christ Jesus himself raise you to New life. You must seek first his kingdom and righteousness no matter how angry you've felt, keeping in step with his Holy Spirit, inviting his presence and power into your life, so that people may see Christ's love in you and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
God invites you to trade in your heart of stone for a heart of flesh … by his blood he offers to take your burden of anger and cover you with his grace. But he asks that you not pick that anger back up. That you let him see your cause. That you let him be your God. That you leave room for his wrath if indeed wrath is inevitable. That you ask God to magnify his power and glorify his name not in spite if your anger but in the face of it…. that you no longer allow yourself to be defeated by anger but are finally set free from it.
If this is your prayer… during this song… we invite you to follow an ushers cue… and literally come forward, drop the burden of anger you’ve been carrying, and invite Christ to lead you (by his power) in his paths of righteousness…