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Read: Matthew 5:21-22
Listen: Matthew 5

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, “Raca,” is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, “You fool!” will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:22

Jesus’s teaching focuses on the heart. While teaching about anger, Jesus reveals that anger is murder in seed form. After referring to the law given through Moses (“Do not murder”), Jesus clarifies that seething or simmering hatred of another is also what this command was originally against. “Raca” is a derogatory term that refers to someone as “empty-headed” or an “idiot.” Jesus says his followers are to be people who speak and live in life-giving ways rather than ways that foster or harbor hate.

The struggle with seething or simmering anger is just as common in our culture as it was in the first century. These hateful ways are revealed in cancel culture (that ultimately says a person no longer matters) or in various forms of non-verbal contempt. Jesus’s warning here is that any form of contempt or hatred of another has the same root as murder. As a result, his followers are to turn passionately from all forms of such contempt.

TODAY: Prayerfully consider the relationships in which you struggle most with anger and contempt. Identify someone you have struggled with in the past (a family member, coworker, neighbor, etc.). Identify any forms of contempt or hatred you have toward this individual and then confess these things to God. God knows your heart and welcomes you to be honest with him about any shortcomings.