Why Did Jesus Connect Anger with Murder?

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Yeshua the Rabbi | Week 7: A Fence Around Anger

Scripture: Matthew 5:21–26; Leviticus 19:17–18; Genesis 4:3–8

When we come to the sixth commandment, prohibiting murder, most of us probably feel that we have managed to keep that one. We may struggle with patience, generosity, or the words that come out of our mouths, but murder is not something we ordinarily imagine ourselves committing. We understand its seriousness, and we have no difficulty agreeing that God has forbidden it.

Then we come to the Sermon on the Mount, and Yeshua (Jesus) begins talking about anger.

He reminds his listeners of the commandment against murder, something every Jewish person listening to him would have recognized from the Torah. Yet as his teaching unfolds, he moves the conversation into the ordinary experiences of human relationships, where anger, contempt, wounded pride, and unresolved disagreements can become deeply rooted. What began as a discussion about one of the most serious offenses against another human being becomes a searching examination of how we regard the people around us.

This is one of the remarkable characteristics of Yeshua's teaching. He knew the Scriptures of Israel, and he expected his listeners to know them as well. When we read his words within that Jewish biblical setting, we begin to recognize how carefully he draws upon the instruction God had already given his people.

The Torah Had Already Addressed the Heart

In Matthew 5:21–22, Yeshua begins with the commandment recorded in Exodus 20:13, which prohibits murder. His listeners would have known this commandment as part of the covenant instruction given to Israel at Mount Sinai, and they would have understood its importance for the life of the community. Human life was sacred, and the taking of innocent life was a grave offense before God.

Yet the Torah's instruction concerning our relationships with other people was never limited to the most extreme forms of wrongdoing. In Leviticus 19:17–18, God commands Israel not to harbor hatred in the heart, not to seek revenge, and not to bear a grudge against another person. In the same passage, he instructs them to love their neighbors as themselves.

I find the placement of these instructions particularly interesting because they show us how closely love, correction, anger, and forgiveness are connected in the life of God's people. The Torah recognizes that relationships will sometimes involve disagreement and wrongdoing. People will offend one another, misunderstand one another, and occasionally cause genuine harm. The instruction is to address these situations honestly while refusing to allow hatred and vengeance to govern our responses.

This is important when we consider what Yeshua is teaching in Matthew 5. He is speaking to people who already possess a biblical foundation for dealing with anger and broken relationships. His words belong within that continuing conversation about holiness, righteousness, and love for one's neighbor.

The people standing before him knew that murder was forbidden. Yeshua now calls them to consider how anger and contempt can affect the way they treat another person long before anyone raises a hand in violence.

A Fence Around the Torah

There is an expression in Jewish teaching that helps us think about this passage. It is the idea of making a fence around the Torah, a phrase preserved in Pirkei Avot 1:1, part of the Mishnah's collection of ethical teachings.

The concept concerns the protective instructions that Jewish teachers developed to help people avoid violating God's commandments. A fence establishes a boundary, encouraging someone to recognize danger before reaching the point of disobedience. The image is a helpful one because it acknowledges that our choices rarely appear in isolation. Our habits, attitudes, and smaller decisions often shape the direction of our lives.

We should remember that Pirkei Avot was compiled after Yeshua's earthly ministry, and Matthew does not identify his teaching as a formal fence around the Torah. Nevertheless, the comparison provides a useful window into the seriousness with which Jewish teachers approached obedience. They wanted God's people to consider how their daily conduct related to the commandments they had received.

Yeshua's teaching brings that concern into sharp focus. He begins with the commandment against murder and then addresses the anger and contempt that can develop within human relationships. He does so with the authority that characterizes his teaching throughout the Sermon on the Mount, calling his disciples to a righteousness that reaches into their thoughts, their speech, and their conduct toward others.

We can see the wisdom of this instruction when we return to a story found near the beginning of Genesis, long before Israel stood at Mount Sinai.

Cain and the Anger That Grew

The account of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4 is familiar to many of us. Two brothers bring offerings before the Lord, and God regards Abel and his offering while not regarding Cain and his offering in the same way. Scripture tells us that Cain becomes very angry and that his face falls.

What interests me most about this account is the conversation God has with Cain before the murder takes place. God asks him why he is angry and why his face has fallen, and then warns him that sin is crouching at the door. Cain is told that sin desires to master him, but that he must master it.

Think about the timing of that warning. Abel is still alive, and Cain has not yet committed the terrible act for which he will be remembered. God addresses Cain while there is still an opportunity for him to respond differently. The warning does not treat Cain's anger as something beyond his control, nor does it suggest that his emotions have already determined his actions. Cain is being called to recognize what is happening within him and to take responsibility for what he chooses to do next.

Tragically, Cain does not heed that warning. His anger develops into violence, and he murders his brother in the field.

The story provides a sobering picture of what can happen when anger is allowed to govern a person's choices. It also helps us understand why Scripture speaks so seriously about the attitudes that develop within the heart. The outward act may be sudden, but the decisions leading toward it can begin much earlier.

When Yeshua addresses anger in Matthew 5, he calls his listeners to recognize this same danger. The commandment against murder remains, but he directs attention toward the attitudes and behavior that can lead people away from the love and righteousness God requires.

What About Righteous Anger?

We should be careful in our reading of this passage because Scripture does not teach that every experience of anger is sinful. Anger can arise when we encounter injustice, witness cruelty, or see someone being mistreated. There are circumstances in which anger is an understandable response to something genuinely wrong.

The question Scripture repeatedly brings before us concerns what we do with that anger.

Psalm 4 calls for restraint and quiet reflection, while Ephesians 4:26–32 warns believers about allowing anger to become an opportunity for sin. James also reminds us that human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. These passages acknowledge the reality of anger while placing responsibility upon the person experiencing it.

In Matthew 5, Yeshua connects anger with contemptuous speech and the deterioration of relationships. His examples remind us that the way we speak about another person often reveals what we have allowed to develop in our hearts.

I think most of us have experienced this in some form. A disagreement begins over something relatively ordinary, perhaps a careless remark or an unmet expectation. Instead of addressing the matter, we continue thinking about it, rehearsing what was said and imagining what we would like to say in return. Before long, the original disagreement has become part of a much larger story we tell ourselves about the other person. We begin interpreting their actions through the lens of our resentment, and the relationship becomes more difficult with every passing encounter.

At times, we may even discover that we enjoy having an audience for our grievances. It can feel satisfying when someone agrees with our assessment of another person's faults, but that satisfaction rarely moves us toward peace.

Yeshua's teaching asks us to examine these moments carefully. Anger may begin as a response to something that genuinely needs attention, yet it can become destructive when it produces contempt, cruelty, or a desire to retaliate. The Torah's instruction to address wrongdoing honestly while refusing hatred and vengeance offers a wise foundation for understanding what faithfulness requires.

Why Would Yeshua Interrupt Worship?

One of the most striking moments in this passage appears in Matthew 5:23–24, where Yeshua describes someone bringing a gift to the altar and remembering that a brother has something against him. His instruction is to leave the gift, seek reconciliation, and then return to present the offering.

We can easily miss how significant this example would have been to his first-century Jewish listeners. The altar was associated with the Temple in Jerusalem, the sacred center of Israel's worship. Bringing an offering was an act of devotion rooted in the instructions God had given his people. For many worshipers, this involved travel, preparation, and a serious awareness of approaching the place where God's name dwelt.

Yeshua places his illustration within that setting. Someone has come to worship, perhaps after making a considerable journey, and is preparing to present a gift before God. Yet at that moment, the person remembers a relationship that needs attention. Yeshua tells the worshiper to pursue reconciliation before continuing with the offering.

There is a detail here that I think deserves our attention. Yeshua describes a person remembering that someone else has something against him. He does not simply tell his disciples what to do when they feel offended. He asks them to consider their responsibility when another person has a grievance against them.

That can be a much more uncomfortable instruction because most of us would prefer for the other person to make the first move. We may be willing to talk once someone approaches us, but taking the initiative requires humility. It asks us to consider whether our own words or actions have contributed to a broken relationship and whether there is something we should do to address it.

The connection between worship and our treatment of others was already familiar from Israel's Scriptures. The prophets repeatedly warned against religious observance that was separated from righteousness, justice, and mercy. Isaiah 1, for example, records God's rebuke of worshipers whose religious activity continued while wrongdoing remained within the community. The people were called to learn to do good, seek justice, and defend those who were vulnerable.

Yeshua's teaching belongs within this larger biblical understanding of worship. The God who receives our prayers and offerings is also the God who instructs us to love our neighbors. Our relationships with others are part of the life of obedience we bring before him.

The Difficult Work of Reconciliation

Reconciliation sounds beautiful when we discuss it in a Bible study, but living it out can be considerably more complicated. Relationships involve memories, expectations, disappointments, and wounds that are not always easily repaired. Sometimes the offense is small, and a sincere apology can restore peace. At other times, the history is long, and rebuilding trust requires patience and a willingness to make meaningful changes.

Yeshua's instruction calls us to take responsibility for what belongs to us. If we have spoken harshly, we may need to acknowledge our words. If we have misunderstood someone's intentions, we may need to listen more carefully. If we have allowed resentment to shape our treatment of another person, we may need to examine what we have been carrying in our hearts.

There is also a necessary distinction between seeking reconciliation and pretending that wrongdoing has not occurred. The Torah's instruction in Leviticus 19 includes the responsibility to address wrongdoing honestly. Biblical love does not require us to deny what has happened, nor does pursuing peace mean that trust must be restored immediately.

Some relationships have been damaged by serious betrayal, manipulation, or abuse. In those circumstances, appropriate boundaries and protection may be necessary. A person can seek to live without vengeance while still recognizing that a relationship is unsafe or that reconciliation is not presently possible.

We cannot make another person acknowledge an offense or respond to an invitation to reconcile. We are responsible for our own conduct, and we can seek God's wisdom about the steps that are both faithful and appropriate.

What Yeshua places before his disciples is the seriousness of allowing anger and unresolved hostility to govern their relationships. He calls them to pursue peace with the same sincerity they bring to worship.

Learning to Live as the Rabbi's Disciples

As we continue our study of Yeshua the Rabbi, I hope we are beginning to see how closely his teachings are connected to the Scriptures of Israel. His words in the Sermon on the Mount are filled with the language, commandments, and concerns of the Torah and the Prophets. Understanding those connections helps us hear his teaching as his first listeners would have heard it, within the covenant story of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Last week, we considered Yeshua's teaching about the fulfillment of Torah and the promise of God's instruction written upon the heart. This week, we encounter a practical example of what that inward formation looks like. A heart shaped by God's instruction must learn to deal faithfully with anger, speak with care, and take responsibility for relationships.

These are lessons we practice in the ordinary places of life, around our dinner tables, in conversations with our spouses and children, among friends, and within our congregations. We may know the commandments well and still discover that patience, humility, and self-control require daily attention. That is part of the ongoing work of discipleship, as we learn to bring our responses and our relationships under the instruction of our Rabbi.

The story of Cain reminds us how seriously we should take anger when it begins to grow, while Leviticus teaches us to address wrongdoing without surrendering ourselves to hatred or revenge. Yeshua brings these truths together in his call to reconciliation, placing the condition of our relationships beside the sacred act of worship.

As you read Matthew 5:21–26 this week, I encourage you to spend some time considering one question: Why does reconciliation belong beside worship?

Perhaps there is a conversation you have been avoiding or an apology you know you should offer. Perhaps you have been carrying resentment that has quietly shaped the way you think about another person. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom to recognize what belongs to you and courage to take an appropriate step toward peace.

Following Yeshua requires us to pay attention to the condition of our hearts, because the way we love and treat one another is part of how we demonstrate our faithfulness to the God we worship.

Continue Your Study

Yeshua the Rabbi | Week 7: A Fence Around Anger

Read Matthew 5:21–26, Leviticus 19:17–18, and Genesis 4:3–8 together, paying attention to the relationship between anger, responsibility, and reconciliation.

This week's free study guide is available through the Netivyah International Learning Center.

Weekly Anchor: Anger becomes dangerous long before a hand is raised.

Weekly Practice: Take one honest, appropriate step toward repairing a relationship.

Netivyah International | Understanding the Bible Through Its Jewish Roots