You fool!
It was OK for God to call someone a fool. At one time Jesus told a parable in which he portrayed a man worried about his security. The man was already wealthy enough to own a barn, but decided to tear it down and build a bigger one. Even though the new barn made him feel secure,his life was about to be taken from him, so God addressed the man as “Fool!” (Luke 12:20). Jesus also called people fools, e.g. for building on sand (Matt 7:26) and their muddled thinking concerning oaths (Matt 23:17). So too did Paul (1 Cor 15:36 KJV). The issue with calling a person a fool was clearly not the language used, but the intent behind it.
(Matt 5:21-22 WEB)5:21 “You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, ‘You shall not murder;’ and ‘Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.’
5:22 But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna.”
In danger of judgement
Jesus quotes the sixth of the Ten Commandments, then reminds his audience that those who committed murder stood in danger of judgement. That was because God instructed his representatives, the priests, to judge such cases. However, murder was not the only way in which one became subject to judgement, God also judges our anger toward others, and even our opinions of them.
Under some circumstances expressing anger or calling someone a fool is appropriate, for God instructed prophets to do such things and did them himself (see panel). So Jesus is not prohibiting all anger and insult, but only their misdirected use. God will ultimately judge when such behaviour is called for, but, before he does so, there will be a judgement by his servants and an escalation to the council.
The three penalties of local judgement, being called to account by the council, and being judged by God, were the familiar steps in the Jewish escalation procedure for the trial of a capital crime. If the judgement of God’s local representatives is ignored, then the matter progresses to the council, if their decree is then ignored the matter is judged by God. The context, murder, and the final penalty, fire, are reminiscent of an infamous incident in the Hebrew Bible, the murder of a Levite’s concubine at Gibeah. Following which, the failure of the tribe of Benjamin to consider seriously the rebuke of the council saw God intervene, its cities burned, and the tribe almost destroyed completely.
The anger Jesus speaks of here finds its first occurrence in the Hebrew Bible when Joseph urges his brothers to lay aside any sense of grievance at Benjamin being treated better than the rest of them and not to become angry with one another on the way. This both links back into the way of righteousness theme found in the beatitudes, and establishes the rejection of Jesus’ authority (and John the Baptist’s) as a particular cause of misplaced anger that Jesus had in mind. The Aramaic “Raca!” was an insult implying that one was empty headed and used in first-century Syria for summoning unresponsive servants, whilst “You fool!” suggests a number of Hebrew words.
Tracing Jesus’ original alliteration, it becomes apparent that behind “You fool!” lay a Hebrew word that had the alternate meaning of combustible or fit to burn, thus providing a play on the penalty of the fire of Gehenna. Gehenna was where anything that was of no practical use ended up, so the person who resolutely maintained that Jesus’ agenda was foolish would ultimately be deemed worthless by God, just as the worthless men of Gibeah were. To many today, Jesus’ gospel still seems foolishness, but the outcome he envisaged for those who remain resolute in that opinion is terrifying.
These verses may contain an implicit rebuke to the Jerusalem authorities of Jesus’ day, but they also contain some sound and generally applicable moral advice. Those who are quick to announce that others thinking or behaviour is worthless, had better be sure that God concurs with them, and that there is no jealousy or malice behind the statements. Best to pause and consider, before calling someone “thick as two short planks” *, that it may be you, not they, that ends up on the bonfire.
. . . commentary continues with Matt 5:23-26
This page is just an overview. For a detailed analysis of Matt 5:21-22, with supporting material and citations, see the further notes on Matt 5:21-22.
* This saying is a slang expression in the UK for someone who is stupid. It derives from the construction of wooden buildings, where, if planks were stupidly cut short, two would have to be overlapped and fixed together to male one thicker plank.