Matthew 5:21-30

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13 Matthew 5.21-30

April 5th 2026

So, Yeshua continues from where we left off with a general statement about righteousness – remember He said,

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:20

And He makes a comparison between those who were listening to Him (the disciples and then us, the reader) and the righteousness of the Pharisees.

Remember, this was to them as the Pharisees mean little to us today.

But at verse 21, he begins to show, using the Law, what righteousness REALLY is, and what it looks like for them to “exceed the Righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, saying:

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, “Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Where it says, “Ye have heard,” all He is saying is “your well aware of the common interpretation found among the Jews.”

Then He proceeds to comment on some of the prevailing opinions among them in order to show that the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was defective and that men needed a “better righteousness” or they could not be saved.

Remember, He came to fulfill all righteousness, not take away from the Law that was in place.

So, He says,

“It is the common understanding among the Jews that people are not supposed to kill, but let me tell you what real holiness is.”

Now, while Moses and the prophets certainly taught that men should not commit murder and Yeshua would wholly endorse these teachings as being good, Yeshua typically taught most strongly not against Moses and the righteous moral law but against the false interpretations of the Law which were prevalent at the time.

Additionally, Yeshua was to fulfill the Law by showing that obedience to it was not the complete application of it.

See, where it says, “Thou shalt not kill” in Exodus 20:13, it literally just means that people should not take the life of another, with malice or with intention to murder him.

This was the Jews understanding of it and nothing more.

But Yeshua shows that God’s righteousness was far more than just the physical, but it was spiritual, and designed to extend to the thoughts and feelings of a man or our HEART, as well as to his external actions.

To obey the moral law written in stone – “thou shall not kill” can be fairly simple for most folks and manageable by most people except the psychopathic or criminally insane.

I have committed a lot of evil in my life but I have never sought or tried to take the life of another, with malice, or with intention to murder them. But my heart has been murderous from the womb.

Yeshua is teaching here that far more is required of people who wish to see the Kingdom of Heaven. And so He takes the Laws written in stone and AMPLIFIES them, saying,

“It has been said among you or it is written,” and then adds, without one whit of reticence, “But I say . . .”

That is powerful and it shows just who Yeshua is - God. So let’s listen to what He says in verses 21-22 together:

21 “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, “Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:”

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

The first rule in stone was thou shall not kill.

“But, Yeshua says . . .” and he gives us three hypothetical situations to consider as alternate forms of murder.

The first is:

“Whoso is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgement.”

The second is:

“and whosoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be in danger of the council.”

And the third is:

“but whosoever shall say, ”Thou fool,” shall be in danger of hell fire.”

The Jews considered but one crime a violation of the sixth commandment - actual murder, or the willful, unlawful, taking of human life.

Yeshua says that the real commandment is much, much broader. It not only relates

to the external act, but even to the feelings and words that are at the basis of the act.

Then He specifies three levels, if you will, that smack of the spirit of killing.

So, while we might be able to pride ourselves in keeping the Ten Commandments, because we have never murdered anyone, Yeshua is essentially asking every reader to examine their heart and see if they are guilty of murder in ANY form from their heart.

He equates such mental or heart-felt murder to:

(1.) Unjust anger,

(2.) Anger accompanied with expressions of contempt, and

(3.) Anger, with an expression not only of contempt, but of real wickedness.

This is why He does this and it is really quite fascinating.

See, among the Jews there were three degrees of condemnation and punishment.

And Yeshua uses them to teach there would likewise be grades of condemnation and judgment after this life and for them for the different ways they violated the sixth commandment.

We know this is what He is doing because nobody would ever be brought before the Jewish councils for being unjustly angry.

So, as these offences were not actually cognizable before the Jewish tribunals, He seems to have meant that they will be punished in the hereafter according to the different levels of severity in which they wanted to kill.

Bottom line? Hell had many levels of punishment in that day and under the heavenly economy of the Law.

The first thing Yeshua likens to murder is those who had, toward their neighbor, “anger without a cause.” To them He said they were in danger of the "judgment."

Judgment councils were local councils of seven men who would judge situations and determine guilt and punishment of those brought before them.

Yeshua likens the punishment for being “unjustly angry” with a neighbor (without cause) to a future punishment in the eternities. And the judgment council was the lowest court among the Jews.

Is it okay to get angry?

Sure.

Anger, or that feeling which prompts us to defend ourselves or others when in danger or have been wronged, is a natural feeling given to us by God.

So it’s entirely natural to get angry in the face of evil or when we witness someone being attacked unjustly.

Mark 3:5 says that Yeshua looked on the hypocritical Pharisees with anger. And Ephesians 4:26 says clearly to the Bride, “Be ye angry, and sin not.”

This type of anger, or indignation against sin, is not what Yeshua is speaking of here.

He speaks of anger without a cause; that is, unjust anger that is administered rashly and where no offence exists.

1st John 3:15 makes the seriousness of this kind of anger clear, saying “he that hateth his brother is a murderer.”

In other words, the anger that brings on hate and angry hate is of the very same spirit that if let run, may turn into murder.

Yeshua then likens someone who is not only angry without cause (like in the first example) but someone who is angry but also expresses their anger with words of contempt – and says they are in danger of “the council.”

In the Old Testament God states clearly that for certain crimes (like murder) the taking of life was required.

But He doesn’t always say who is to do the taking of life for life – and He left it up to the Jews and their societal order to establish their own ways and means of carrying the death penalty out.

In this second level of anger Yeshua says that someone who is angry and resorts to using ugly words was “in danger of the council.”

Now the word translated “council” here is, in the original, “Sanhedrim,” which refers to the Jewish tribunal of that name.

The Sanhedrim was instituted in the time of the Maccabees about 200 years before Christ.

It was composed of seventy-two judges (taken from the chief priests and elders and the scribes) and the high priest was the president who oversaw this tribunal.

Up until the time when Judea was put under subjection to the Romans the Sanhedrim had the power of life and death over their own people but while itl retained the power of passing the sentence of death” only the Roman magistrates had the right to carry out the executions themselves.

Just as an aside, the stoning of Stephen by the Jews was wholly against the Roman rule but in the face of His martyrdom, the Jews retreated in fear of response from the Romans opening the spread of the Gospel without much interference from the Jews for a while.

In this next level of mental murdering, Yeshua says those who say to their brother “Raca” are in danger of being brought before the Sanhedrim – again, as a metaphor for future punishment that was more severe than just being brought before the council of Judgment.

Raca is a Syriac word and is equivalent to us using the worst blockhead or airhead in English.

What Yeshua is teaching is that to use such words is a violation of the sixth commandment, or more appropriately, a violation of “the spirit of the sixth commandment,” and, if indulged in long enough, it just might lead to more severe evil – like murder.

It is interesting that anger alone is one thing but anger and the use of vile words is another, more severe, act of mental murder. In other words, we can think angry thoughts, but to speak them gives them life and power.

Yeshua gives many teachings about the tongue and here we can see another.

Then Yeshua leads us to the greatest example of mental murder, saying:

“but whosoever shall say, ”Thou fool,” shall be in danger of hell fire.”

Notice He starts off this teaching with “but.”

Everything before was “if you are angry without a cause, and if you are angry and say to your brother Raca, but here he alters the seriousness of the teaching and adds, “But,”meaning, “the first things are serious, but if you do this, watch out.”

And what is He warning about? Well, He says, “whomsoever says, Thou fool,” shall be in danger of what He calls hell fire.”

Whoa.

What’s the difference between angrily saying, “Raca” and “thou fool?”

Yeshua warns that calling someone a "fool" (mōre in Greek) warrants severe judgment because it is contemptuous speech that attacks a person's moral character, intelligence, and worth.

It goes beyond a simple insult, like raca, but acts as a personal curse that devalues a person made in God's image.

The term originates from a root of anger and hatred, indicating a heart condition that views others with contempt.

It is the hatred we see in misogyny, racism, bigotry, and person hatred for a creation of God.

The basis is a form of emotional or spiritual murder, as it unjustly diminishes another's value, dignity, and make-up.

Calling someone a "fool" often implied casting final, condemnation-like judgment on their character, a role reserved only for God.

And the term (derived from the same root as "moron") suggests not just stupidity, but moral failure or wickedness, akin to calling someone a godless apostate.

While Jesus used strong language to critique hypocrisy, His usage of the term addressed the deeds and public teachings of religious leaders in those positions, whereas the warning in Matthew 5 targets malicious, personal insults against them as creations of God.

And Yeshua says, “they are in danger of hell fire.”

The translation for hellfire is GEHENNA, which is made up of two Hebrew words which in the end refer to an actual place in Israel called the valley of Hinnom.

So, what Yeshua is teaching is there are some very bad levels of hell awaiting the most egregious sinners from the heart IN THAT DAY.

Now, we spend a lot of time talking about the goodness and the grace of God.

And yet in these few passages Yeshua has thrown down on people who simply get a bit angry and use a few harsh words.

Why? How?

God’s level of righteousness and His level of distain for evil is extremely high – proving to me the reality of freewill irrespective of our inherited faults.

So much so, that Yeshua, “who teaches all truth exactly how it is,” proving to them that to even get a bit angry and saying a mean word is worthy of burning hell.

I mean, we cannot kid ourselves folks. God’s demands are extremely high and human perfection is impossible.

To attain His level of Righteousness can therefore ONLY come through absolute perfection found in the life of His Son - alone.

See Gehenna was formerly a pleasant valley, near Jerusalem. And in this valley the idolatrous Israelites formerly performed worship to another God named Moloch, (as discussed in 2nd Kings 16:3 and 2nd Chronicles 28:3).

In that worship they had an idol made of hollowed out brass, that wore a crown and had the head of a calf with arms that were extended, as if ready to hold something.

Then they would heat the brass idol up by burning wood on the inside of it, and the brass arms would heat up to glowing amber, and they would toss their children onto the arms (while alive) and in order to disguise the screaming they made a great noise with drums being played all around the idol.

These drums were called “Toph;” and hence a common name of the place was TOPHET, (as we can read in Jeremiah 7:31-32).

Well after the Jews returned from captivity this place or valley was so abhorrent to them that it became the place where they would throw all the dead carcasses, animals and filth of the city. They would also perform executions there.

To keep the smell and filth to a minimum they would keep fires burning constantly and Yeshua, taking all of this imagery into account, likens the offensive, polluted, smelly, burning, sinful place to the place those who are unforgiven for fits of murderous anger.

Yeshua often used Gehenna to describe the future location for the punishment of the wicked in that day which was emblematic of the prison portion of Sheol or hell.

This is the setting and context of this teaching. We will move forward knowing that this is His aim TO THAT audience to move them to see their need for Him.

So, let’s read and I will not reiterate this objective as the content itself makes it plain. So now He says to them

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Here Yeshua flips the script and instead of them being indifferent to others who have an issue with us, he tells His disciples to be proactive in peacemaking before being religiously observant.

Verse 25

25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Again, it has direct cultural application to them and their Nation but to us principles apply.

Be wise, and don’t engage with an adversary or accuser – agree with them quickly and get out of their way. That is how my Kingdom will operate.

And then He hits them with a left hook and says,

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Same principle as murder. Same but I say, showing what He brought to the world goes much deeper than refraining from unlawful sex with another.

That is great. That is good. But then he adds, “But I say . . .”

I’ve been an alpha male for a long time. I know and listen to alpha males and I know and listen to beta males and the reasons we look on women do vary, but most heterosexual men with testosterone cannot help, unless their testosterone is gone, looking on “a woman LISTEN in order to lust after her.”

Men are like fish and are see things that attract them and fulfill their biological lust. Women learn this about them fairly early in life.

There are all sorts of differences and exceptions to this, and a man toward children is one, toward his daughters is another, but any other lure that meets his lustful ways is a fight – period.

I came into my life driven by lust for women in every way, not just sex – but that is often the leading lure. I warred with it through religion, guilt, a disfellowship and an excommunication, and with repeated failing as I was absolutely guilty of all forms of adultery, which in the end, my friends, bears all the elements of IDOLATRY.

I have mentioned this before but God allowed me to struggle big time with everything about the situation – and I have given it no small amount of time and attention relative to why it is so deleterious to the God, the world, our love and devotion for others, to unity, to His plan.

I want to work through the following, as a man who understands adultery, the Spirit of adultery, the devastation of adultery and the difficulty over overcoming it for the rest of our time together.

Of course, idolatry in the Bible is linked theologically with it even being described as "spiritual adultery."

God married Israel at Sinai and she covenanted to the Ketubah contract between them with God as her husband, agreeing to do all that He commanded.

To see the parallels of breaking that covenant and that people have with a spouse is not hard to imagine.

The Nation was to either have one God that she would honor, trust, love and serve alone or she would intimately engage with, trust, follow and love another.

Because of this YAHAVAH said in Jeremiah 3:8

And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

Right in harmony with this act of infidelity the Nation committed against God, Yeshua plainly said,

Matthew 5:31-32 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

The meaning, to that Nation in that day and age before the fulfilling of the Law, was YAHAVAH was free to have divorced Israel as Jeremiah makes plain and Judah (Israel was the ten tribes to the North and Judah was to the south) because she engaged in spiritual intercourse with other Gods, freeing up God to marry another – the Bride – thus fulfilling the importance of the whole marriage model established in His make-up of two being One, of Adam and Eve in the Garden, and then of He and the Nation at Sinai.

The elements of idolatry include looking to, pursuing after, engaging with another God, being intimate with, trusting in, loving them when our total devotion is to Him and Him alone. All the same elements are present when a spouse cheats on their partner.

IDOLARY

COMPARISON

ADULTARY

Having any

other God

DESCRIPTION

Having any other

spouse

Vertical

DIRECTION

Horizontal

Creator and Creation

COVENENTAL

(Intimacy through Intercourse)

Husband and Wife

God as the Husband Nation as the Wife

METAPHOR

Man as the Husband

Woman as the Wife

Selfish faithlessness

ROOT CAUSE

Selfish faithlessness

Dark powers, idols, money, fame, self, religion, icons, world, occupation, activities, substances

(With)

RESULTS

Opposite sex

Same sex

Anything that replaces spouse in love and devotion

To God

PROMISES BROKEN

Toward Spouse

In God

TRUST BROKEN

By Spouse

To God

LIES SPOKEN

To Spouse

Before God

DECEPTION EMPLOYED

To Spouse

Ahead of God

SELFISHNESS

Ahead of Spouse

In God

JEALOUSY CREATED

In Spouse

From God

DIVISION OF WHAT SHOULD BE

From Spouse

Toward God

HATRED/SHAME

From Spouse and children

Between God

RUINATION IN THE WAKE

Of Marriage and Family

The symbolism is deep as we have intercourse with God as He relates with us inwardly via His Spirit.

The idea that "when it comes to God, we are all female" is a theological concept often associated with 20th-century feminist theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether, who explored this idea.

While the specific phrase is often associated with modern theology, it is a development of the biblical idea in Galatians 3:28 that "in Christ" there is "neither male nor female," emphasizing equal spiritual status.

In other words, to Ruether, either Gender is capable of committing idolatry/adultery on God.

In the physical sense, adultery is carried out when a party in a marriage actually has intercourse with another.

Just as God with in us engaging will heal us, guide us, influence us, and bring us to a place where we produce greater fruits of love in the lives of others, when we engage with another we look to them, instead of our spouse to do the same and often find in others a person that seems to heal us, guide us, influence us and if we are not careful, create from or in us material offspring.

Back to Matthew 5, after saying

27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Again, Yeshua has taken the Law up a notch and his point was to show them that in their hearts they were all pretty much guilty of the act – which was His point – to get them to see the need for Him who was faithful in everyway to His father, never allowing any other God in between them.

As a means to illustrate what it would take to get themselves worthy to enter into God’s presence, Yeshua adds some really radical language, saying (not by way of advice but by way of an illustration -

Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

He had just told them that if they looked on a woman to lust they had already committed adultery in their heart and because that is the place God looks they were done for – so in an extreme illustration he says, “so if your right eye” (that looks on the woman with lust) offends you cut it out . . .

Then He gets even more radical and I think He is actually talking about self-castration here as he says,

30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

It is not a mistake that this is all the context that He will now add at verse 31

31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

In Matthew 19 we read a fascinating interaction Yeshua has with the Pharisees that gives added flavor to the whole topic on marriage. Remember, it was to them in that day who thought that they could materially get to God through their own righteousness failing to see their need for Him. And we read,

Matthew 19:3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

9 And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

Bottom line to everything about Christ and adultery? It is the physical expression of idolatry and idolatry is the Spiritual expression of adultery illustrating the severity of idolatry in the Spiritual realm and the severity of adultery in the physical as the latter literally produces materially in the world what idolatry produces in the Spiritual.

And frankly, vice versa.

See you next week.