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In our Sunday evening studies, we are learning that Jesus did not come to introduce a radical new way of living but rather to restore God’s prescribed radical old way of living. That is, Jesus came to rescue and restore God’s formerly revealed righteousness and therefore Jesus would not destroy “the Law and the Prophets,” the Old Testament (5:17–20). As Jesus makes clear in the Sermon on Mount, he came proclaiming that those in the kingdom are to be holy—internally and externally. Such righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees (5:20). That is, the King’s subjects are characterised by whole-person righteousness (5:48) and therefore those who flourish (who are “blessed”) are those who have a righteous relationship with God the Father through God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

This righteous relationship is a far cry from the twisted external legalism of the Pharisaic dos and don’ts as applied to God’s commandments. Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 5:21ff. In each example, he begins with the authoritative words, “But I say to you” (vv. 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44) followed by a true and full exposition of God’s lawful intention. And yet, despite his rebuke of legalism, the Sermon on the Mount is too often interpreted legalistically. Consider this example.

In Matthew 5:21-26, Jesus makes the point that “kingdom righteousness” is more than merely not killing someone. Rather, a righteous person honours the sanctity of life in both action and attitude toward others. For this reason, Jesus spoke about the danger of insulting people, including exclaiming, “You fool!” Such are in danger of “the hell of fire” (v. 22).

On the surface, each of us probably feels the weight of this threat because each of us has probably, at one time or another, called someone a fool. In fact, we are in a long line of such. Job did (Job 5:3). King David did, often (Psalms 14:1; 39:8; etc). Solomon did, on at least 26 occasions (see Proverbs and Ecclesiastes). Isaiah did (Isaiah 32:5–6). Jeremiah quite passionately did (4:22; 5:21). In fact, Jeremiah went as far as to write, “They are both stupid and foolish” (10:8). (I used to have my mouth washed out with soap for such vehement language!). Paul called people foolish, in many instances, including the Galatian church (3:1). James did not seem to be bothered about calling someone who boasted in a dead faith a “foolish person” (James 2:20). And Peter, whom, you will recall, was an eye- and earwitness of the Sermon on the Mount, said that those who persecute Christian are “foolish people” (1 Peter 2:15). Was this just another example of sinful use of his mouth? Hardly. For Jesus Christ himself called people fools (Matthew 23:17; Luke 11:40; 12:20; 24:25—his own disciples!). In fact, he ends this sermon castigating those who reject his word as being foolish (7:26). Really, no fooling, it is not necessarily a sin to call someone a fool!

So then, what did Jesus mean and why does this matter?

Of course, what Jesus meant was that his people are to never treat people as though they have no value. We are never to treat people as though they are worthless. To “insult” (ESV) or to call someone “Raca” (KJV) means to treat someone as worthless or empty. To contemptuously refer to someone as a “fool” (“moron” in the Greek) is to dehumanise them. When the biblical characters mentioned above, including Jesus, referred to people as fools, there was no presence of animosity. On the contrary, there was great concern for the welfare of their souls.

A thoughtful church member engaged me Sunday night in a discussion about this very matter. When someone behaves like a fool (that is, like there is no God to whom they will give account [see Psalm 14:1]), it may very well be appropriate to use this descriptive word. The heart attitude behind the adjective is what we need to consider, while also evaluating the prudence of our vocabulary. Hence, to be angry at a sinner because of transgression, and to subsequently identify their behaviour as foolish, is not necessarily a violation of Jesus’s teaching. No fooling.

Conversely, just because we avoid using the words “fool” or “Raca” (I doubt that is in our vocabulary!) does not mean we have not transgressed the sixth commandment. If our hearts are full of contempt and animosity towards another, then “clean lips” is no protection against God’s heart-searching eyes and ears. Since whole-person righteousness requires love for God and his Law, finding legal loopholes in God’s law is not a means to flourishing. For this reason, Jesus uses absolute language to sober his followers to take God’s righteousness, and thus his word, seriously. So, if we will truly flourish as the Lord’s followers, we must examine our hearts, acknowledge our need for God’s grace, and then, in poverty and meekness of spirit, mournfully and hopefully respond amid a world that can make us angry. No fooling.

Doug