We enter this week in the midst of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to see some of his hard sayings. The Sermon on the Mount was a sermon that turns the world upside down. Jesus’ understanding of the law meant more to him than just making sure that the letter of the law was kept. He cared about the principle behind it and the practicality of what that meant in daily life. In this passage, he takes the sixth commandment given to Moses on Mt. Sinai and he takes it one step further for the people and for us. He says you have heard that you shall not murder. If you do murder then you will be liable to judgment because of what you have done. Then he says but I say to you. When Jesus speaks he is not replacing the law with his command, but he is showing when rightly understood the law goes much further than the hearers believed it did. He includes not just murder in his command, but anger. Jesus understands that the action of murder stems from a heart issue. A heart that is angry opens the door to actions stemming from anger. An angry heart is prone to angry actions. From insults to curses and in the extreme case murder. Jesus is coming to us in the midst of an angry world and saying it is not enough for my people just to stay away from murder. Jesus’ desire for us is to check our hearts for the anger we hold onto. Christians should be known for the lack of anger in their hearts.