In a long section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasted the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees with the spirit of the Law. In the first of this section, Jesus dealt with murder versus anger. The Jews were told that murder was a sin. It was a violation of the sixth commandment, “Thou shalt not murder” (Exodus 20:14 NASB; “Thou shalt not kill” KJV). What we have to infer here is that though they were teaching that murder is wrong, hate and anger were permissible. It seems as though they were teaching that it is fine to be angry with one’s brothers (without cause, KJV) and to hate them. You could call them all sorts of evil names (“Raca” or empty-headed) and say bad things about them (“fool” Matthew 6:22), and that would be okay because no one was actually, physically killed. The Law says “Do not kill,” but Jesus said not to hate or to be angry (without cause). Remember, also, that the Law says, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Our relationship with God is important, but our relationship with our fellow man can hinder that relationship with God. This is why Jesus taught that if a brother has something against another brother, he should go and make it right with him before giving his offering (Matthew 5:23-24). We cannot be angry people if we wish to enter into the kingdom of heaven.
