Matthew 5:21-26

The context

This is the first of the antitheses in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus sets the ancient command alongside his own authoritative reading. He does not abolish the prohibition of murder; he extends it backward, to the anger and contempt that precede it. The passage ends with a practical instruction about settling disputes quickly.

What it establishes

It establishes that the command's reach includes disposition and speech, not only the act, and that reconciliation is urgent enough to interrupt worship. The escalation of penalties marks the seriousness of contempt.

What it does not establish

It does not equate anger with murder in penalty. Jesus names a judgment, a council, and a fire, not a civil sentence for a feeling, and the terms are not a legal code. The precise force of the Aramaic insult and the identity of the fire are disputed.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Dear Friends,

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.