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 bout one year ago I was involved in a meeting with a group of people who were the leaders of a secular organization. About half way through the meeting, several individuals began to ask for some changes to occur. Their requests were simple but near the end of the conversation, one of members of this organization exploded in anger at another member. I was stunned at his reaction, but I was even more surprised when his victim responded by calling him names. In response the “attacker” called the victim “worse” names and then sat pouting like a child. It was a sad affair. Anger in the heart does not always explode and result in insults as in the situation I experienced. Anger can reveal itself in many different ways and to different degrees. For example, many people who are angry may simply withdraw from others and want to be alone. This is a wise response when attacked. It allows a person to cool down before responding. But sometimes people withdraw in anger and never want to meet or speak with the “attacker.” Proverbs warns us to not do this,
He who separates himself seeks his own desire, he quarrels against all sound wisdom. (NASB) Prov. 18:1 Sometimes anger results in gossip. Gossip is an attack on another person behind his/her back. If anger is not dealt with over a long period of time, it may result in martyr complexes, rebellion, constant nagging, complaining, or some other reaction. Anger has many faces and its disguises can be subtle. How do we deal with anger? What is this emotion we call anger?
Background.The answers to these questions will come from the lips of Jesus in this study in the Sermon on the Mount. Our study follows immediately after Jesus’ warning in Matt. 5:17-19 about the false teaching of the religious leaders of His day. While Matt. 5:17-19 told us that the Word of God will not change or disappear before heaven and earth are destroyed, Jesus also told us that He had come to speak the truth. He had come to fulfill the prophecies about Himself and to correct the false teachings of the scribes and Pharisees. Jesus fulfilled the scriptures in at least two ways.
Another Warning. When we come to this study in Matt. 5:20-26, we find Jesus giving His listeners another warning about these same religious leaders.
For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (NASB) Matt. 5:20 Jesus’ message was clear. Unless their righteousness “surpasses” that of their religious leaders, they were not going to make it into heaven. The Greek word that Jesus used for “surpasses” is PERISSEUO. It means “to have abundance,” “to lavish,” to surpass, or “to make over-rich.” Maybe the best five word definition is “more, more, more, more, and more.” If we reword Jesus' statement, we have “Unless your righteousness is more, more, more and more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you are not going to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” This must have been a shocking statement to His Jewish listeners because there was a Jewish saying that, “If only two people go to heaven, one will be a scribe and the other will be a Pharisee.” That statement indicates that the people highly respected their religious leaders as being very holy men. How do you regard your religious leaders?
In our last study Jesus had warned His listeners that their religious leaders taught error, and now He warns them not to follow the spiritual example of their leaders. They were warned about what they said and how they lived. Now there was nothing left to respect or to follow. |
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||