So, should the subtitle be, “You heard it said…” or, “But I say to you…”? Rather than pick, let’s recognize that together these two phrases provide a solid structure for looking at the words of Jesus. Let’s dive into the passage.

5.21 Ēkousate hoti errethē tois archaiois: ou phoneuseis; hos d’an phoneusēi, enochos estai tēi krisei. 5.22 egō de legō humīn hoti pās ho orgizomenos tōi adelphōi enochos estai tēi krisei; hos d’an eipēi tōi adelphōi autou rhaka, enochos estai tōi sunedriōi; hos d’an eipēi mōre, enochos estai eis tēn geennan tou puros. 5.23 ean oun prospherēis to dōron sou epi to thusiastērion kakei mnēsthēis hoti ho adelphos sou echei ti kata sou, 5.24 aphes ekei to dōron sou emprosthen tou thusiastēriou, kai hupage prōton diallagēthi tōi adelphōi sou, kai tote elthōn prosphere to dōron sou. 5.25 isthi eunoōn tōi antidikōi sou tachu heōs hotou ei met’autou en tēi hodōi; mēpote se paradōi ho antidikos tōi kritēi kai ho kritēs tōi hupēretēi, kai eis phulakēn blēthēsēi; 5.26 amēn legō soi, ou mē exelthēis ekeithen heōs an apodōis ton eschaton kodrantēn.

5.21 You heard that it was said to the ancients: You shall not kill. And whoever kills will be liable to the judgment. 5.22 But I say to you that everyone being angry with their brother will be liable to the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, “Rhaka!” will be liable to the council; but whoever says, ”Fool!” shall be liable to the gehenna of fire. 5.23 Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 5.24 leave your gift there before the altar, and first go be reconciled to your brother, and then returning offer your gift. 5.25 Quickly be peaceable to your opponent while you are with him on the road; otherwise your opponent will deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the attendant, and you will be cast into prison. 5.26 Truly I say to you, by no means will you leave that place until you repay the last quadrans.

Jesus begins to elaborate on his statement, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees,” by pointing out the disparity between the requirement of the law, and the reality of the heart. To any who thought they could hold a grudge without consequences, Jesus is clear that there will be judgment that goes far beyond the simple statement of the law. A harsh word might leave one standing before the authorities, but even a word of disparagement, dismissive and cross, could result in eternal suffering. And rather than believing we have some right to harbor ill will towards our opponents, Jesus called his followers to place their own interests second.

This “being peaceable” might even be considered by some as a negative, being a pushover. I’d rather be a pushover than be hard-headed and immovable to the word of God! But it is not cowardly at all. It is persistent and positive, preemptive and powerful. Rather than waiting for resolution that may never come, we must get our relationships right, then offer our gifts to God. Not that our actions make us qualified to offer the gift. Our actions prepare us to give with real thanks! A heart that is truly willing to set things right has already experienced God’s life changing power, and his lifestyle will validate the purpose of the law.

On a technical note, this passage is highly patterned. It uses repeated instances of a syntax called the future more vivid conditional sentence. Early on, a specialized form for a relative protasis is used. But in either case, the syntax bears out the idea, “if someone does/is doing something, something is certain in the future to happen/to be happening.” It describes a relationship between actions that is very certain.

Matthew 5:21 begins, as each of the subsequent passages do, with, “you heard that it was said…” As already mentioned, Jesus addresses each statement in turn with, “But I say to you…” This repeated set of phrases gives body to this portion of Jesus teaching. Even the casual observer can tell that Jesus wants to address the misunderstanding the religious leaders propagate. Jesus has no qualms with the law. Rather, the scribes and Pharisees are teaching a lie about the law in order to maintain their position. They are not really living up to the expectations of the law, though they might claim they have met its terms in their own understanding.

The final line in verse 26 could be written as, “…until you repay the last penny.” In fact, the quadrans, a New Testament coin, had less value than a penny. In a sense, this assumes that that Jesus is talking about a situation where we really are at fault, not just being accused by our opponent. So the question we ought to be asking is, why would we not seek to make the matter right before it comes to legal proceedings? But all too often, either pride or some sense of our rights or the past makes us think it is not our responsibility. Certainly we will not be held accountable. But Jesus says that if we have some fault in a conflict it is our responsibility to make the matter right. God would rather we get our affairs right with men than have us pour gifts at his feet. The actions have to match the stated belief and testimony!