“You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 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. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 5:21-25

When reading through the Ten Commandments, the vast majority of us probably feel pretty confident when we read that “you shall not murder.” I imagine the same was true for people in Jesus’ day, so how do you think they felt when he raised the bar of expectations?

When was the last time you were really angry?

Jesus reveals that murder is the result of a heart that is darkened by anger. This thought goes all the way back to the story of Cain and Abel as the older brother was “very angry and his face fell” (Genesis 4:5).

The Apostle John echoed Jesus’ teaching in his first epistle –

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him

.1 John 3:12-15

Jesus raises the standard to include each one of us, because who has not been angry? Who has not insulted or verbally attacked someone out of anger? Jesus tells to to resolve the issues with other human beings before coming to worship God.

Is there someone who you need to be reconciled with today?