Digging Deeper – If Thoughts Could Kill
Feb 13
Let’s dig a little deeper into God’s Word. In your personal devotion or small group study this week, think about the following questions as you go through Matthew 5:21-24 (possible answers are below):
1) Read v. 21. Where would the people have heard the words Jesus is quoting?
2) What two things does Jesus equate to murder in v. 22?
3) So, as strict as the Pharisees were in following the law, who was even more strict? What part of following the law did the Pharisees miss, which led them to thinking they could keep the law?
4) Read vv. 23-24. Have you come to church while still holding a grudge against someone? Can we be as Pharisees when we do this? Does this apply only to worshiping in God’s house?
5) What if we try to be reconciled to our spouse, but we have some issues that we’re working through and haven’t figured out yet—should we not come to worship until they are resolved?
Answers:
1) From the Bible since it is the 5th Commandment (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5) and from their religious leaders who told them what the 5th Commandment meant and how to live it.
2) Being angry with someone and saying angry words. (Note: this is not righteous anger that Jesus exhibited when he cleared the temple, which was not sinful.)
3) Jesus was. The Pharisees followed the letter of the law, they went through the motions of the law by keeping them externally, but they didn’t keep them with their hearts.
4) I’m sure most of us have. Yes, we are doing the same things the Pharisees did, going through the motions of worship when a sin needs to be taken care of first through repentance and restitution. Since our whole lives are worship to God, we need to tear down the walls of anger we’ve constructed in every area of our lives to offer the proper worship God desires from us.
5) The point Jesus is making is that we make the attempt to be reconciled with our spouse so that forgiveness and love can be at the heart of the relationship. But we can’t control how they will respond. If they still want to hold a grudge or keep a fight going, but we’ve repented and asked for forgiveness, we should come to the Lord’s house to know we are forgiven for that sin and every sin.
