⭐WEB · Matthew 5:22
What does Matthew 5:22 mean?
"But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna."
— Matthew 5:22 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ will be in danger of the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.
“If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,
leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.
Explanation
Matthew 5:22 records Jesus intensifying the commandment against murder by addressing the root from which murder grows: unchecked anger and contempt toward another person. In plain language, Jesus says that harboring anger against a brother or sister without just cause makes a person liable to judgment, just as murder would. He then escalates the point with two examples of contemptuous speech. "Raca" was an Aramaic term of scorn, roughly meaning "empty-headed" or "worthless" — an insult aimed at someone's intelligence or dignity. Calling someone "You fool" went further still, questioning their moral character or standing before God. Jesus says these escalating expressions of contempt bring escalating exposure to judgment, culminating in the "fire of Gehenna," a reference to the burning garbage valley outside Jerusalem that had become a vivid image for final judgment and destruction.
This verse comes from the Sermon on the Mount, where Matthew presents Jesus teaching his disciples on a mountainside early in his ministry. Jesus is not abolishing the Mosaic Law but revealing its full depth. He introduces this teaching with "You have heard that it was said... but I tell you," a pattern he repeats throughout Matthew 5. The original command, "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13), was understood by many of Jesus' contemporaries as a prohibition strictly against the physical act. Jesus, addressing a Jewish audience steeped in the Law, pushes past behavior into the heart, showing that the law was never meant to
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