Matthew 5:21-26
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RICHinCHRIST
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Matthew 5:21-26
I follow Jesus' train of thought here. However, I don't understand why He goes into the next few verses.
Why does Jesus start verse 23 with "THEREFORE"? I don't see how He is tying in His previous statements in verses 21 and 22 with the following statements. Usually 'therefore' is used to elaborate on what was previously explained. But Jesus talks about getting angry with someone in verse 21 and 22, but then switches to whether your brother has something against you. It's difficult for me to understand Jesus' flow here. Any thoughts?
Re: Matthew 5:21-26
Hi Rich,
Here is what I think about that:
To put the two segments in their broadest terms, the first portion is saying:
"You should never devalue you brother or your relationship with him,"
and the second segment is saying:
"Therefore, if you have been neglecting reconciliation with an offended brother, attend to that sooner, rather than later."
Here is what I think about that:
To put the two segments in their broadest terms, the first portion is saying:
"You should never devalue you brother or your relationship with him,"
and the second segment is saying:
"Therefore, if you have been neglecting reconciliation with an offended brother, attend to that sooner, rather than later."
Re: Matthew 5:21-26
Wikipedia has an article on Matt 5:23-24 - (I saw this thread a while back, but haven't posted).
Excerpted from Wikipedia:
These verses describe the ritual of offering a sacrifice to God at the Temple, known as the korban. This was generally an animal such as a sheep. For the average believer the offering of a sacrifice at the Temple would have been a rare and important event....
France notes that this would be one of the only times a layman would ever approach the altar of the Temple. What Jesus is believed to be saying is that even if in the middle of this process one realizes that there is a dispute with one's brother, that it would be better in God's eye to go and immediately try to resolve the dispute then to continue with the ritual.
Another Wikipedia article on the Temple of Jerusalem has why the early rabbis believed the Temple was destroyed. The Talmud (Yoma 9b) provides theological reasons for the destruction: Why was the first Temple destroyed? Because the three cardinal sins were rampant in society: idol worship, licentiousness, and murder… And why then was the second Temple – wherein the society was involved in Torah, commandments and acts of kindness – destroyed? Because gratuitous hatred was rampant in society. This teaches that gratuitous hatred is equal in severity to the three cardinal sins: idol worship, licentiousness, and murder.
=====================================
So Jesus was telling his contemporaries that if they were on their way to present and/or offer a sacrifice in the Temple, that they had best get their hearts right with their neighbor first while on their way. God has never liked what hypocrites do, even if they might going up to the Holy Temple to do a "religious" thing.....
Excerpted from Wikipedia:
These verses describe the ritual of offering a sacrifice to God at the Temple, known as the korban. This was generally an animal such as a sheep. For the average believer the offering of a sacrifice at the Temple would have been a rare and important event....
France notes that this would be one of the only times a layman would ever approach the altar of the Temple. What Jesus is believed to be saying is that even if in the middle of this process one realizes that there is a dispute with one's brother, that it would be better in God's eye to go and immediately try to resolve the dispute then to continue with the ritual.
Another Wikipedia article on the Temple of Jerusalem has why the early rabbis believed the Temple was destroyed. The Talmud (Yoma 9b) provides theological reasons for the destruction: Why was the first Temple destroyed? Because the three cardinal sins were rampant in society: idol worship, licentiousness, and murder… And why then was the second Temple – wherein the society was involved in Torah, commandments and acts of kindness – destroyed? Because gratuitous hatred was rampant in society. This teaches that gratuitous hatred is equal in severity to the three cardinal sins: idol worship, licentiousness, and murder.
=====================================
So Jesus was telling his contemporaries that if they were on their way to present and/or offer a sacrifice in the Temple, that they had best get their hearts right with their neighbor first while on their way. God has never liked what hypocrites do, even if they might going up to the Holy Temple to do a "religious" thing.....