I am a Jesus pusher!!! “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder’” (Matthew 5:21). Jesus calls us to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees by moving from not committing physical murder to not having an attitude of murder. Considering my brother stupid and viewing him as worthless is an attitude of anger. We can only experience this high level of righteousness in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is your helplessness filled with His nature. If you are the Kingdom, there is no need to offer sacrifices at the altar of God unless you go to your brother with the attitude of God. Oneness with the Father cannot be known except in the flow of His nature through us to others. Whether your brother accepts reconciliation with you is not the issue. The issue is the flow of God’s nature through you; anything less than this flow is murder.
The further Jesus proceeds in the passage (Matthew 5:21-26), the farther He gets from the subject of “physical murder.” He insists that we must render everything necessary to our brother, who becomes our adversary, to keep our differences from coming to the public court. My brother may refuse reconciliation and become my enemy. Does that nullify any requirement to cater to his desires or demands? Can I not shake the dust off my feet and depart? Have I not done my part to reconcile and need to go no further? Jesus is practical in His approach to the materialistic world and our relationship with His Father. We must render to our brother, who becomes our adversary, everything necessary to restore him, even paying “the last penny” (Matthew 5:26). It is the heart of Jesus. I am a Jesus pusher!!!