Christ, the Law, and Anger

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.  Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  "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.  Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.  Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.- Matthew 5:17‭-‬26 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Our relationship with the law

Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. He doesn't take anything away from the entirety of the law. This includes the prophecies about the Messiah. His birth, his life, and his death. He is the only one who fully lived out the law in his life. He also fulfilled the law by dying upon the cross. He fulfills the old testament by embodying all that those books eluded to. We saw the shadows in the old testament, but Jesus is the one who fills in all the blanks. Jesus is the one who illuminates the old testament.

Whoever takes a cavalier attitude to the old testament is considered the least in God's kingdom. Relaxing any of the commands makes you the worse in God's kingdom. But the Christian ignores many commands from the old testament. How do we make sense of this? There's civil laws that apply to Israel during that time and place. We are not bound by civil laws. The kingdom is not bound to a time or place. There are ceremonial laws. How do we relate to God? But Christ has changed how we related to God the Father. We are no longer bound by ceremonial law. But there is a third law, the moral law. The ten commandments are a prime example of the moral law. There is still a need to obey the need to love our neighbor. We still need to read and understand the first two types of laws. They illuminate sin and how much God cares and loves us.

We look at this position on the law and it will steer us to avoid two pitfalls, legalism and licentiousness. Obedience and self control are required for a well-lived Christian life. Maturity in following Jesus requires obedience and self denial. This obedience does not come from fear, but from love and treasuring Jesus. Jesus is Savior and Lord. Jesus calls the shots in our lives, not us.

The righteousness God requires

The righteousness must supercede the scribes and Pharisees. These people were not slouches. We vilify them. These people were experts in the law. They followed the law of God, all 613 rules and regulations. When God called for fasting, they did the number of days required and more. They tithed everything, down to their spices. But the experts in the law did not take the God of law seriously enough. External obedience was insufficient. They obeyed the letter of the law, but completely missed the spirit of the law.

Reframing anger

So what does true righteousness look like? What kind of righteousness is acceptable to God? Jesus uses anger to demonstrate true righteousness. The commandment is "one shall not murder." But Jesus goes further. Murder is liable to judgement before the courts. But everyone who is angry with others should receive the same punishment, hell. So murder and anger both deserve judgement. How can insulting others in anger be placed in the same category as murder?! Because they both come from the same heart... one that treats others with contempt and anger. Most murders don't come out of nowhere, it starts with a heart of anger. The difference between one who murders and one who is angry and treating others with contempt is simply external actions. The seed of murder is in both hearts. It is only a difference of circumstances and upbringing. So obedience calls us to reconcile and make peace rather just avoiding anger and not murdering. It is more than not breaking the law. The law illuminates how far we are from righteousness.  It gives us the feeling of helplessness. But it is meant to show us our need for Jesus and empowering by the Spirit.

Run, John, run, the law commands, 
But gives us neither feet nor hands. 
Far better news the gospel brings: 
It bids us fly and gives us wings.

Poem attributed to John Bunyan (1628-1688) by Corrie ten Boom