A Tale of Two Tales

Only two verse have thus far been discussed in dealing with the kingdom heart. The first deals with anger and the second with contempt. 

Showing that anger and contempt are such serious maters only lays a foundation for the final move in this first contrast that Jesus makes between the kingdom heart and the older teaching about "rightness."

We are instructed not to be angry with our brother and not to deride him with contemptuous remarks such as "Raca", or, in other words, insert expletive "here", I prefer idiot or moron. But Jesus does not stop here.

Now he states a remarkable "therefore" (v.23) that leads us out of mere negations or prohibitions into an astonishing positive regard for our neighbor, whom we are to love as God loves.

But wait, this is not the point in the Bible where Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. In fact, this is not the point where Jesus tells us to do anything. A new set of laws would not capture how he wants us to be living our lives. To define the way to live by a set of rules would be to place our individual, free selves in a box, one which we would always be looking to escape. Jesus flattens the box and our excuses in one sweep of his hand. He gives examples, pure illustrations of a good and God heart set in motion in the world.

First, you are with the Temple officials before the altar, about to present your sacrifice to God (Matthew 5:23). It is one of the holiest moments in the ritual life of the faithful. The practice was that nothing should interrupt this ritual except some more important ceremonial matter that required immediate attention.

Suddenly, right in the midst of it all, you remember a brother who is mad at you. Realizing how important it is for his soul to find release, and pained by the break between yourself and him, you stop the ritual. You walk out of it to find him and make up. That illustrates the positive goodness of the kingdom heart.

Without making any new laws or dismissing the old ones, Christ has suddenly both freed us from the law and elevated the heart above what used to appear as the most holy, most important feature in all religion. More important than singing hymns or saying prayers or giving tithes or doing good deeds, God cares how our hearts respond to our brothers and sisters on this earth. So important are they in his eyes, that all the ritualistic and glorious deeds we do cannot cover up a heart that is hard and unloving towards them.

This, I think, is what sparked Martin Luther to write what he did and oppose the regime of his day in such an adamant way. This is also what sparked Paul to write that, "Though you can speak in the tongues of angels and move mountains by your faith, yet if you have not love, it is worthless." (1 Corinthians 13) It is also what caused Jesus himself to later say, "Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'"(Matthew 9:9)


The aim of this illustration - and it is an illustration - is to bring us to terms with what is in our hearts and, simultaneously, to show us the rightness of the kingdom heart.


Willard has caught on to the anti-legalism that Jesus brings to the table. If you have ever wondered why Jesus is always harping on the Pharisees, who are the most religious persons of his day (think pastors, seminary professors, televangelists), is because they so deeply missed the point of what God desires and wants from us in this world. Says Jesus, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." To the extent of the heart, the dikaiosune, we all fall into the second category.


This can be seen in the second illustration Jesus gives, when he tells us to settle matters quickly with an adversary who is taking us to court. Understand that he gives this example precisely after he has told us not to be anger or contemptuous with others. If this is the case, then what have we to gain by a legal battle that may be settled outside of court through a loving heart and genuine care for the other individual?


Jesus here gives us a second illustration of how the kingdom heart will respond. He does not tell us what to do, but how to do it. Indeed, go to court or not - as makes sense in the circumstance. But do whatever you do without hostility, bitterness, and the merciless drive to win. And keep a joyous confidence in God regardless of what happens.

We live unique lives, in a different time and place than anyone else who has existed before us or will exist after us. The beauty of Jesus' words is that they last for all time. They deal with our hearts, and nothing has changed about the human heart in the last two thousand years.


If you find yourself desperately desiring to know God and his will, and if your heart is precisely aligned to love your neighbors and not yourself, then I firmly believe you will cease to find all those "moral dilemmas" through which some saying in the Bible confuses or confounds what you should or shouldn't do in a present situation.


Of course, there is plenty more to living the eternal kind of life now, but that's why we have the other half of this book still to get through. Still, where we are is a great place to start, and even these small steps can drastically change someone's life. As always, Willard summarizes it best:

We do not control outcomes and are not responsible for them, but only for our contribution to them. Does our heart long for reconciliation? Have we done what we can? Honestly? Do we refuse to substitute ritual behaviors for genuine acts of love? If so, we are beyond "the righteousness of scribes and Pharisees" and immersed in God's ways. We can certainly find an appropriate way to act from such a heart without being given a list of things to do.