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Why Jesus Equates Name Calling With Murder
Seems a little harsh, no?
One of the most challenging passages of the Bible comes from Jesus’s famous Sermon on the Mount. During his teachings, Jesus says something strange and rather extreme. He equates name-calling with murder and says anyone caught disparaging another person is at risk of incurring God’s judgment and wrath. It seemed harsh then, and it seems harsh now.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. — Matthew 5:21 — 22
How can calling someone a fool or an idiot be on par with physically murdering someone? What did Jesus actually mean?
Jesus was confronting a problem within Jewish society at the time, and he gives us a glimpse into how God sees each of us. Many of the Jews, especially their religious leaders, were following the letter of the law but not the intention of the law. Jesus called the Pharisees whitewashed tombs. Beautiful and clean on the outside but dead and empty on the inside. People were refraining from murder, which was good, but they were harboring anger…
