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.
Jesus is speaking here from a hillside in Galilee in what is called the Sermon on the Mount — a long, pivotal teaching recorded in the gospel of Matthew. He takes familiar commands from Israel's ancient law and pushes them deeper. The law said not to murder; Jesus says the contemptuous anger that underlies murder is already a spiritual problem. 'Raca' was a common Aramaic insult meaning something like 'worthless' or 'empty-headed' — a word designed to strip someone of dignity. The Sanhedrin was the highest religious court in ancient Israel, reserved for the gravest offenses. Jesus is deliberately escalating the stakes: treating another person with contempt is not merely rudeness — it is a serious matter before God.
Jesus, You know me better than I am comfortable with. You see the contempt I dress up as frustration, the dismissiveness I call being realistic. Soften something in me toward the people I have written off. Help me see them the way You do — as worth everything. Amen.
You have had the thought. Maybe in traffic, or in a meeting, or reading a text from someone who pushed your last button — the eye-roll, the silent 'are you serious right now,' the quiet internal decision that this person is beneath your patience. Jesus is not shocked by that. But He takes it far more seriously than most of us do. What He is naming here is not just explosive rage. He is talking about contempt — the posture that writes someone off, that treats another human being as less than worthy of your full attention or basic regard. Contempt is different from anger. Anger can be honest, even righteous. Contempt is what happens when you stop seeing someone as a person at all. It is the slow erosion that eventually hollows out every relationship it touches. The hard part of this verse is not the dramatic cases — it is the ordinary ones. The family member you have quietly written off. The coworker you have decided is not worth understanding. Jesus says: that matters. Not to condemn you, but because He knows what contempt costs — the person receiving it, and the one doing it.
Jesus moves from 'do not murder' to 'do not hold someone in contempt' — what is He revealing about how God sees the connection between our inner attitudes and our outward actions?
When have you noticed contempt forming in your own heart toward someone — not explosive anger, but a quiet dismissal? What conditions in your life tend to produce that in you?
This is one of Jesus's most demanding teachings. Do you think He is using exaggeration to make a point, or do you think He means it literally? What difference does your answer make for how you actually live?
Think of a relationship where contempt — yours or someone else's — has done the most damage. What would genuinely beginning to see that person differently actually require of you?
Is there one specific person toward whom you have been holding contempt? What is one small, honest step you could take this week toward seeing them with more humanity?
Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
Ephesians 4:26
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
James 1:19
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
1 John 2:9
If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
1 John 4:20
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
1 John 3:14
Neither give place to the devil.
Ephesians 4:27
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
1 John 3:15
And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
1 John 4:21
But I say to you that everyone who continues to be angry with his brother or harbors malice against him shall be guilty before the court; and whoever speaks [contemptuously and insultingly] to his brother, Raca (You empty-headed idiot)!' shall be guilty before the supreme court (Sanhedrin); and whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fiery hell.
AMP
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.
ESV
'But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty [enough to go] into the fiery hell.
NASB
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.
NIV
But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
NKJV
But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
NLT
I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
MSG