Daily Devotional For Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Good morning or afternoon or evening Southside! It is “Wonderful Wednesday”! We are making our way through Jesus’ Sermon On The Mount. Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday. Look at Jesus' words in Matthew 5:22-23, “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca, is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (NASB). Anger is a normal human emotion. Anger is not the issue; it’s what we do with it that is.
We saw yesterday that the anger Jesus is addressing is selfish anger – the anger that simmers, boils, holds grudges, gets bitter and resentful, and the anger that refuses to forgive and forget. This kind of anger is sinful. Righteous anger is the anger we feel when we see an injustice, or abuse or a crime or someone is victimized. This kind of anger is not sinful. One of the ways our anger can be sinful is when we resort to labeling or name calling.
Jesus used two terms here to show this: “Raca” and the word “fool.” “Raca” is the Greek New Testament word [ῥακά, raka]. This word is so rare that it is almost untranslatable. By looking at other Greek documents from around the same time we can draw the conclusion that this is a term of malicious abuse, derision, and slander, it has been variously rendered as brainless idiot, worthless fellow, silly fool, empty head, blockhead, and the like. It was a word of arrogant contempt. Jesus says that contempt is a form of “soul-murder.” Such people are committing “spiritual suicide.”
As New Testament scholar William Barclay says, “Raca is an almost untranslatable word, because it describes a tone of voice more than anything else” (Source: William Barclay, The New Bible Study Commentary Series, “Matthew,” p. 161).
In our own culture we use terms such as fool and idiot in a joking way. It is the tone of voice that lets one know if one is joking or mocking and being funny or condemning. King David refers to such condemning people in Psalm 140:3, “They sharpen their tongues as a serpent;
Poison of a viper is under their lips” (NASB). It is possible this was the same tone of voice used by the Roman soldiers against Jesus on the cross in Matthew 27:29-31:
“And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (30) They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. (31) After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him” (NASB).
Pastor and author John MacArthur recounts this story:
“A Jewish legend tells of a young rabbi named Simon Ben Eleazar who had just come from a session with his famous teacher. The young man felt especially proud about how he handled himself before the teacher. As he basked in his feelings of erudition, wisdom, and holiness, he passed a man who was especially unattractive. When the man greeted Simon, the rabbi responded, “You Raca! How ugly you are. Are all men of your town as ugly as you?” “That I do not know,” the man answered, “but go and tell the Maker who created me, how ugly is the creature He has made” (Source: John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, “Matthew,” p. 295).
The point is: to slander a person made in God’s image is to slander God Himself and it is in God’s eyes the same as murdering that person. This is why Jesus adds to this prohibition: “Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca, is answerable to the court. In Jesus’ day, this would be the Sanhedrin – the Supreme Court for Jews. This was a court that consisted of 70 of Israel’s best experts in the Jewish Old Testament Law.
Jesus does not stop with “Raca,” but includes the word “fool,” which we are not to call someone. The Greek New Testament word translated as “fool” here is [μωρός, moros]. This is where we get our English word “moron.” The word means “stupid, dull.” In Greek literature it is used of an obstinate, godless person. Some scholars think it is a play on words of the Hebrew word [מוֹר, mara]. We read this in the Book of Ruth, when Naom told the women in Bethlehem to call her this in Ruth 1:20, “She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi (pleasant); call me Mara (bitter), for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly (mara) with me” (NASB).
Jesus says if we call a person “raka” or “fool,” this is what should happen to that person, “And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell” (NASB). The actual word Jesus uses for ”fire of hell” is the Greek New Testament word [γέεννα, geenna]. This word is derived from Hinnom, the name of a valley just southwest of Jerusalem that was their trash and human waste dump. It was a place where trash and human waste was continually burned and where the fire, smoke, and stench never ceased.
One of the first times we hear about this place is in 2 Chronicles 28, when King Ahaz, a wicked king used this valley to erect an altar to the pagan god Molech, an altar on which one’s children sometimes were offered by being burned alive. It would later be called by God “the valley of Slaughter” in Jeremiah 19:6, “Therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter” (NASB).
As part of his godly reforms, King Josiah tore down all these altars and turned the valley into a garbage and human waste incinerator. It kept this name and meaning all the way up to Jesus. In Jesus’ day it was also used to be a metonym for the place of eternal torment. To call a person a fool is the same as cursing him or her and murdering him or her. Jesus says this sin’s guilt makes one worthy of the eternal punishment of fiery hell.
New Testament scholar Bruce B. Barton writes this:
“It’s not the words that put us in jeopardy of hellfire. We could think of a lot worse names than “you fool” to call people. It’s the attitude. By calling someone a fool, you write that person off as worthless, a zero, nothing, nobody. And what is the problem with that? That worthless nobody (in your judgment) is someone made in the image of God. If God’s image is a fool, doesn’t that make God a fool too? Next time you write someone off, think about whom you’re really talking about – God. Jesus put anger and murder in the same category. He saw a direct connection that we usually deny. In this and other relational matters, like adultery, Jesus taught that intention is a significant part of wrongdoing. Anger leads quickly to a whole range of emotions and actions. When anger is not righteous (see Ephesians 4:26; James 1:19), it becomes destructive. Anger tends to be like a gushing spring that quickly floods its surroundings unless it has a clear channel through which to flow. Anger can destroy its host as well as anything or anyone against which it is directed. Anger may require the following controls:
- Confrontation—expressing anger in appropriate ways
- Contemplation—examining why we are angry
- Confession—asking God and others for help in dealing with our anger
- Condemnation—revising inappropriate expectations that lead to anger
Based on Jesus’ warning, we cannot assume that anger will go away by itself. It must be directed, controlled, and resolved. Angry words and name calling, whether directly irin one’s thoughts, reveal a heart far from God. ” (Source: Bruce B. Baron, The Life Application Bible Commentary, “Matthew,” pp. 92-93).
Questions To Consider
- What would you say is your biggest weakness with your anger and why?
- Jesus equates out of controlled anger with murder. Why?
- Jesus says that contempt is a form of “soul murder.” Why?
- Jesus equates name calling as not only a put down to another person, but also to God because that person is created in the image of God. Jesus says such a person that uses name calling in their anger via thoughts or in person deserves to be in the fires of hell. So, how does this impact your own life and why?
- Listed above are four controls: confrontation, contemplation, confession and condemnation. Which of these do you need as controls in your own life due to your anger? Why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Ecclesiastes 7:9, “Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Jesus, I have to admit that at times my thoughts of people do not honor You. Please help me with my anger and please help me not to resort to name calling because that is to call You that same name. I love you Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside!--Pastor Kelly