Giving up Offenses

Lent Study week 4

BrokenRelationshipsMatthew 5:21-26

Giving up offenses

Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Haveyouevernoticedhowwhenpeopleareangry,thingstendtogetbroken.

Someonethrowsapunchandanosegetsbroken.

Expresstoomuchangerwhendiscipliningachild,andtrustgetsbroken.

Useangrywordsandperhapsaheartgetsbroken...

...Churchunitygetsbroken...

...Relationshipsgetbroken.

Asamatteroffact,angryoutburstsruinmanyrelationships.JesusaddressesthisvitalissueinHisSermonontheMount.

JesusisannouncingGod'sKingdomishereonearth.

HesurprisespeoplebytellingthemGodapprovesoftheminspiteoftheirimperfections. ThosewhofollowHimwillbeasdistinctiveassaltandlight.They'llstandout.

BecausethoseinthisKingdomwon'tattempttobeimpressedjustbyobeyingrules -theywillgaintheirgoodstandingwithGodthrougharelationshipwithJesus.

In Matthew5:20,Hetellsusthatourrighteousnessneedstosurpassthatofthosewholookperfectontheoutside.Becausefarfrombeingsatisfiedwithgoodappearances,Godislookingforheartsthathavebeenchanged.AndnowHe'sgoingtoillustratethiskindoftheheartinseveralways.

TheaverageAmericanwouldconsiderhimself/herselftohaveagoodheart,basically a goodperson.Acommonlineofreasoningthatexiststodayindeterminingifwearegoodsoundssomethinglikethis-"Well,I knowI'mnotperfect,butatleast I’mnotamurderer!"

Asifmurderisthelinebetweengoodandbad-perhapsalsoassumingthatmurderisthepointofnoreturn.Onceapersoncommitsmurder,theycanneverbeconsideredagoodpersoneveragain.

That'sactuallyaveryancientwayofthinking.(Ancientinthetruestsenseoftheword).BecausethatappearstobeexactlywhatsomethoughtaboutwhatitmeanttobeagoodpersoninJesusday. I’mbasicallyagoodperson. I haven’tmurderedanyone.

Jesussays,whoa!Notsofast.Givethissomethought.

"Youhaveheardthatitwassaidtothepeoplelongago,'Donotmurder."'(That'sintheOT.That'scommandmentnumber6ofthe 10Commandments.Donotmurder...)

SohereiswhatJesussays...

"ButI tellyou,thatanyonewhoisangrywithhisbrotherwillbesubjecttojudgment."(v.21)Hispoint?

ANGER ISSERIOUSANDDANGEROUS(v.21-22)

Hedescribes angerherelikeacrescendo-itbuildsthroughThree stages.

1. Thefirststage, ofAnger…Angerdirectedagainstanotherperson

Anyonewhoisangrywithhisbrotherissubjecttojudgment.Thatis...worthyofthesameconsequenceasmurder

Because...Angry thoughtsbreakthe murderprohibitiontoo.Howcanthisbe?

Anger,initssimplestform,isaspontaneousresponsethathasavitalfunctioninlife. Italertsustoanobstructionofour willsandimmediatelyraisesalarmand resistance,evenbeforewehavetimetothinkaboutit.

Notallangerisbad-evenJesusgotangrywhenpeoplewerehavingobstaclesputinthewayoftheircomingtoGodatthe Temple-Bibletalksofthe wrathofGod.

Theproblemisourangerquicklyturns to somethingmoreevil.Itincludesthoughtsofmakingapainfulimpressiononothers,whetherphysically,verbally,oremotionally.

Jesussays,weshouldn'tevenallowourselvestobecomeangryenoughtoconsiderharmingsomeoneinanyway(feelingstoo),becausethenwe'vealreadycommittedmurderinourhearts.

Angerisasseriousasmurderintheheart. It’s alsodangerous..

2. The Second Stage ofAnger...Contempt

Alsoinverse22Jesussays,"Againanyonewhosaystohisbrother'Raca,'isanswerabletotheSanhedrin."

"Raca"-anexpressionofcontemptRaca-means"emptyhead."

Thewordmayhaveoriginatedfromthesoundapersonmakesinclearingthethroatinpreparationtospit.Rrraaaacah!That'swhatI thinkofyou!

Jesussaidthisisagreaterevilthanjustanger. Inanger,wewanttohurtsomeone. Incontempt, wedon'tcareifthatsomeonegets hurtornot.

Instead ofRaca,todaywemightusedork,nerd,boneheadorsomethingworse-perhapsasexual,racialorculturalterm.Buttheintentisalwaysthesame. It’smeanttocastsomeoneaside-likespittingonthem-andsayingyoudon't belong.Sometimesthesewordshurtsobadthatmurderwouldalmostbeamercy.

JesussaidthatpeoplewhoexpresscontemptareguiltyenoughtobejudgedbytheSanhedrin-Thehighestcourtintheland-theSupremeCourt.

3. TheThird Stage of Anger…Malice

"Butanyonewhosays,'Youfool!'willbeindangerofthefireofhell."

"Fool"wasanexpressionofmalice

In highschoolI wouldn’tdarecallanyonea"fool"becauseJesussaidnotto.However, I usedallsorts ofotherR-ratedwords.Somehow I must havethoughtI wasasstillacceptabletoGodbecauseI didn’tsay"fool."

Fool,assuch,nolongercaptureswhatJesushadinmind.Forus,foolismorelikeRaca-empty head. No,foolisn'tsocutting,butwesurehaveplentyofotherterminologythatallowsustogoaheadanddoexactlywhatJesuswascondemningwithoutusingtheword"fool.”

Doyouthinkit'spossibleyouandI could everkeepGod'srulesbutoverlookHisintentions?That'swhat thePhariseesdid.

ThePhariseeswouldnevercommitmurder.Yettheywere angryenoughatJesustohavehimkilled.Buttheygotsomeoneelsetodoit.Keepingtherules-butoverlookingtheintentions. Soifsomeoneatworkmissesadeadline,someonecutsusoffintraffic andweshout,"Youbrainlessidiot!"Evenwiththosewords,we'vealreadygonewaytoofar.We'vegonebeyondtheintentionofthecommandmenttonotmurder.

Tobrandsomeonewithwordslikethatisaviolationofthesoulsodevastatingitjustifiesapersonwhosaiditof beingseverelypunished.

Jesusremindsus,itisnotpossibleforpeoplewithsuchattitudestowardotherstobethoughtofastrulygood,orrighteous.PeoplewhothinkthiswayareoutofharmonywithGod'skingdom.

Somemightthinkatthispoint,"So, I’mgoing to gotoHellforcallingsomeoneanerd?"No.Jesusisn'tsayingthat.He'sillustratingthefactthattheKingdomheartisaheart oflove.Aheartthatvaluesrelationships,anddoesn'tjustwanttogetbywiththerules, andsay,"Well,atleast I’veneverkilledanyone."

Thatkindofheartvaluesotherpeople.

FromJesus'perspective,wecanseewhythisissoserious.Healreadyknowswhatkindofdeathawaitshimatthecross.Soreadingbetweenthelineswecanhearhimsay,"Hey,youpeoplewhocutothersdownwithyourwords. I’mheretogivemylifeforthemand foryou.Thatguyyoujustcalledanidiot? I lovehim.He'ssovaluabletomethatevenifhewastheonlypersonintheworld, I’dstilldie forhim.Andyou'remakinghimsoundworthlessandinsignificant?What'sthatsayaboutmymissiontodieforhim?Howdareyou?That'snotthekindofheartinsideaperson whoistrulygood-insideapersonwhofollowsme."

Jesusisoperatingatheartlevel-whereangergrows.Angerembracedandallowedtogrowthroughthesetwo stagesisdangerousandserious.

Don'tgotherouteofanger.Don'tembraceit.Don'tharborit.Don'tnurseit.Don'tbefriendit.Don'tplaywithitinyourmind.Crushitwhileyoustillcan. It'ssoseriousitcancut youofffromGod.Sodangerousitcancrushyou.

AVOIDANGER, TAKEACTION IMMEDIATELY(v.23-26)

So what should we do?

Jesussetsthe sceneatthealtar-oneoftheholiestmomentsinlife.READ Matt 5:23-24

23"Therefore,ifyouareofferingyourgiftatthealtarandthererememberthatyourbrotherhassomethingagainstyou,24 leaveyourgiftthereinfrontofthealtar.Firstgoandbereconciledto yourbrother;thencomeandofferyourgift.

Settlethingswithothersbeforeattemptingtoworship

Wemightthinkofawedding,ordination,baptism,communion.

Rightthen youremember-someoneisangrywithme. I amatoddswithsomeone.Myactionshaveknowinglyhurtsomeoneelse.Jesussays,go!Settlematters -now! Hesaysitisfarmoreimportanttobereconciled tosomeonethanitistoengageinreligiousactivity.

Worshipbecomesashamifwe'vebehavedsopoorlypriortocomingtoworshipthatwe'veknowinglyhurtsomeone.

Jesussays, this isurgentbusiness.

Angercanturnyouintoahypocrite-Angercanlandyouinjail.Sosettlemattersquickly.Jesussays,"Rightnow! ifyouwait,itcouldturnouttobedisastrous."

Go and settle any dispute you might have.

Ask God to forgive me for the harsh words spoken against someone.

Give my anger to Jesus, instead of embracing it.

What ifthepersonrefusestobe reconciled?

Wemightwonder,AmI nevertogotochurchagain?Askourselvesthesequestions:

Doesourheartlongforreconciliation? Havewedoneallthatwecan?(Honestly)Doweactlovinglytowardtheperson?

Dowemournfortheharmthattheperson'sangerisdoingtowardhisownsoul,tous,andtotheothersaroundus?

Ifso,thenweareshowingthekindofheartthathasnodesiretoliveatoddswithanyone.This is thekindofheartJesuswantsustohave.