We are examining the Sermon on the Mount, divided into 23 sections.
Matthew evokes the rejection of Pharisaic traditions in Matthew 5.21-48. The first point addressed is murder, thus taking up the fifth commandment given by God to Moses (Exodus 20.13). Matthew establishes a connection between murder, disputes with one's brother, offering and forgiveness.
Although Luke avoids this theme in this account, he addresses offering (Luke 18.9-14) and forgiveness (Luke 17.3-4) elsewhere in his Gospel, developing them differently.
Jesus the Messiah addresses several important points and clarifies the difference between the religious men's teaching and his own revelation of the law as the Son of God. He thus distinguishes the law's letter from its spirit. It is important to emphasise that the Jewish religious leaders had added many precepts to the original law, developing an interpretation increasingly removed from God's thought.
Jesus therefore unveils the Father's will, revealing a considerable gap between the application taught by religious men and the law's original spirit. Several times Jesus the Messiah says: ‘You have been taught this, but I tell you that.’ The difference is considerable. In this first case, Jesus recalls that a murderer must face judgement, but compares this situation to a man who becomes angry with his brother without reason. He shows that calling one's brother an idiot or a fool would bring the same condemnation unless one repents and restores peace.
Jesus the Messiah does not question the condemnation of murder, but shows that this crime's origin in the is also punishable. He broadens his analysis to apply to all people, including those who will not act on it. Thus, actions that seemed harmless to Jews take on crucial importance before God. The warning is clear: unless someone restores a normal situation, they deserve prison like a criminal. Placing murder and a conflict with one's brother on the same level is revolutionary. The warning remains solemn.
We observe that Matthew no longer speaks of prison but of Gehenna or hell, taking up the thought developed in Matthew 5.20: ‘For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the , you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.’
The who calls his brother a fool is filled with feelings that inexorably distance him from God's kingdom. Jesus goes further, showing that an abyss rather than a gulf separates the religious men's interpretation of the law from God's thought. This concerns an enduring condition rather than a momentary reaction.
The reference to an offering clearly shows that it does not redeem the situation and that only forgiveness makes a return to normal possible. Addressing foreigners unfamiliar with Mosaic law, Luke does not consider it useful to repeat this point. The word ‘hell’ translates the term ‘Gehenna’ used by Matthew 5.22, meaning ‘Valley of Hinnom’, south of Jerusalem, where the town's rubbish was burned. By extension, this name became synonymous with hell.