- Jan 9, 2024
- 4 min read
“You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:21-26). The first of the commandments that Jesus wants to correct is the one about not killing people. I think this is an interesting place to start because most of us are good with not killing people. The majority of us live our lives without ever murdering anyone. BUT do we go through our lives not wanting to murder people? Do we ever get so angry that we say things that equate to murder?
And that is the point that Jesus makes here with expanding the law given to Moses. Anger with our neighbors is the root of murder. Insulting our neighbors is the path that leads to seeing them as something other than the image of God. So, forgiveness, although not expressly stated in His words, is the idea that governs this commandment in His expansion of the law. We need to love our neighbors and forgive the things they do that may, rightfully or not, make us angry.
I see this problem growing more and more in the world and in Christians today. Humans have an anger problem that only predates their stubborness problem and both are major issues of the heart. So often we justify why we should be angry. There are so many legitimate reasons we can make for being angry. There are so many reasons we can create for holding on to anger, resentment, and hate. We hold grudges against folks for years. We treat folks that don’t agree with us as enemies. We get angry when things do not go our way or at the slightest inconvenience when we should be showing the grace and forgiveness of God.
One thing that always surprises me when reading the Tanakh is that people still exist. God has legitimate reasons for all of us to not exist. Just take a few weeks and read through the books of Moses and you are going to see a stubborn and unforgiving people that should rightfully be wiped out. BUT God doesn’t wipe them all out. He is merciful even when they complain about everything. And they complain about everything. If God can allow people to exist, then I can forgive folks for inconveniencing me. I can find it in me as His representative to overlook what I need for the gift of being able to show His grace and forgiveness. That is what He calls me to do. He doesn’t call me to judge my neighbor. He doesn’t call me to get angry at my neighbor. He doesn’t call me to murder my neighbor. He calls me to forgive. That is what being a light to the world is all about, reflecting His light. God shows a lot of grace for not shutting down this whole humans in the image of God project. And He comes really close to shutting it down a few times in the Tanakh, BUT through Jesus, God incarnate, He comes to earth and becomes one of us. He doesn’t just not give up on the project, He goes all in on people. He goes so much in that He becomes a people to save us from ourselves. I don’t know about you BUT I always find that really awesome. The idea that God cares so much about me that He got involved in this world when He didn’t owe it to me. He could, as creator, just as easily uncreate it all too. BUT he chose to create me AND save me. That’s just awesome.
So when folks get on your nerves, when folks drive like maniacs, when folks disagree with us, when folks call us names, when folks make us wait, when folks do whatever it is that sets you off, take a moment and think about how God is so forgiving and give some of that grace to your neighbor, your friend, your family, and even your enemy. God wants us to model His grace and forgiveness in His Kingdom.
"Forgiveness doesn't mean 'I don't really mind' or 'It didn't really matter'. I did mind and it did matter; otherwise there wouldn't be anything to forgive at all."
N. T. Wright