The Sermon on the Mount_ The Key to Success in Life - Emmet Fox [23]
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee:
Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way: first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
(Matthew V)
The Old Law, dealing as it did with an earlier and lower state of the race consciousness, concerned itself necessarily with external things, for man’s apparent evolution is from the outer to the inner, just as his fundamental spiritual growth is from the inner to the outer. He begins by giving his attention exclusively to externals, thinking to find in them Cause as well as effect; but as he progresses, the truth gradually dawns upon him that outer things are but the finished article, the result of causes and happenings on the inner; and when he has reached this stage, he has started definitely upon the search for God. So the Old Law concerned itself, at least in the letter, almost altogether with external observances, and it was satisfied if these were fulfilled. It said “Thou shalt not kill,” and, provided man did not murder, he kept the law, regardless of how much he may have desired to commit murder or how bitterly he might still hate his enemy. It said “Thou shalt not steal,” and provided he did not appropriate his neighbor’s property, he was held to have fulfilled the law, irrespective of what he felt about it.
Jesus came to carry the human race forward to the next great step, the most important step of all, which can indeed be the final step in the overcoming of all our limitations, if only we can understand clearly what that step implies, and take it. The heart of the whole Sermon on the Mount, which is itself the essence of the Christian message, is the insistence upon the need for his very step—the understanding that outer conformity, absolutely essential as it is, is no longer sufficient in itself, but that now, if we are to “come of age” spiritually, we have not merely to conform outwardly to outer rules, but to change the inner man too.
The Old Law said “Thou shalt not kill,” but Jesus says that even to want to kill, nay, even to be angry with your brother, is sufficient to keep you out of the Kingdom of Heaven; as, of course, it is. It was a distinct gain when primitive, barbarous people could be persuaded not to murder those who had offended them, but to develop sufficient self-control to master their anger. Spiritual demonstration demands that anger itself be overcome. It is simply not possible to get any experience of God worth talking about, or to exercise very much spiritual power in the way of healing, unless and until you have got rid of resentment and condemnation concerning your brother man. Until you are prepared to get rid of this sort of thing, your prayers will have very little effect. It may boldly be said that in prayer, the more love, the more power; and this is why people of developed spiritual perception take such constant pains to keep themselves free from thoughts of criticism and condemnation. They know that they can have either their demonstration or their indignation,