Mt 5:20-26
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 20“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
21“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.’ 22But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raqa,’ will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
23Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, 24leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. 26Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
ANGER: In the antitheses of the Sermon of the Mount, Matthew gives six examples of the conduct demanded of his Christian community. Each deals with the commandment of the Torah introduced by the formula, “You have heard that it was said to the ancestors.” Then follows Jesus’ teaching in respect to that commandment introduced by, “But I say to you.”
The first antithesis deals with murder which is prohibited by the Decalogue, in the fifth commandment: “You shall not kill” (Ex 20:13). Jesus attacks the root of murder, the motivation behind it, which is anger. Insulting epithets as well as the very deed of killing are prohibited. Raqa is a variation of the Aramaic word reqa which probably means “imbecile,” “blockhead,” or “fool.” It is certainly a term of abuse.
Matthew then invites his community to go back to what Jesus expects of his followers: to let peace and reconciliation reign in their midst. The emphasis on one’s fellow man instead of the cult, a thrust which goes back to Jesus himself (Mk 7:15), leads the evangelist to the imagery of offering sacrifice. The almost inconceivable act of interrupting or stopping a cultic act for the sake of reconciliation, for the sake of one’s brother, underlines further the importance of peace which gives the sacrifice its true value.