Why does Jesus say that you must reconcile with your brother before offering a gift at the altar?

Question

I understand this is no longer necessary now that he has died for all Christians' sins, but at the time of his sermon, he seems to be saying that you must seek forgiveness from your brother before asking God's forgiveness. But what is verse 22 about? (At the time, sacrifices were made on the altar for atonement of sin.)

...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.
23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
24 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 5:22-24

Melvin: I see you've been reading Martin Buber!

Everyone seems to be saying that one must still seek forgiveness from the injured party, yet I don't recall having ever been asked to forgive a Christian. They must all be wonderful people who don't sin...

Answer 1

To me it means that He is asking that our devotion to our fellow man be considered on a level with worshiping God himself.

At least, it would be nice if that's what he meant. Kind of sweet, really.

Answer 2

I agree with you on the meaning of the verses, but to help me better understand, I looked up the term "Raca."

According to Wikipedia, "raca" is "a Biblical term of Aramaic origin meaning vain, empty, worthless. It is only found in Matthew 5:22. The Jews used it as a word of contempt. It is derived from a root meaning 'to spit.'"

I still think that the meaning is the same---each person who comes before God with a gift must be pure of heart and free from sin or his gift will be worthless.

Answer 3

Your question seems to say that Jesus' command is no longer valid. If that is true, I believe that this is incorrect for the following reason.
Jesus himself said that he did not come to invalidate the law. In fact, He said that not the least stroke of the pen would pass away. The laws that were given by God were created for a purpose. The purpose of the law is to reveal to us that we sin and cannot stop ourselves from sinning. We are in need of salvation from our nature, which is corrupt.
In 1 John it says that if you can't love your brother whom you can see, how can you love God whom you can't see? Jesus also says, "Whatsoever you have done unto the least of these you have done unto me."
Your concept of what God requires of a Christian may be more casual than God's view of the issue. Jesus gave his life for us, and the apostle Paul told us that "You are bought with a price, you are not your own, therefore Honor God with your body" This verse seems to indicate that the devotion God requires is total. Again, we are sinners and we cannot possibly live up to this, but I believe that God requires humility and devotion, not because He needs these things but because living life His way is better for us. The passage you quote appears differently in this light. I believe that the "gift" it speaks of is the gift of our special talents that we can use to serve in the church (ie setting up chairs, or doing the sound at church, or working on a church committee) and I don't believe that it is invalid in any way. I hope this answers your question or at least gives you something to think about.

Answer 4

If we say we worship God, believe in him and try to do what we wants us to do and we ask him for forgiveness but we have a problem with someone, especially if that someone is in our faith and congregation, our worshiping to God is worth nothing. The Bible was written a very long time ago but it contains advice that still is worth listening to today. We do not see God yet we say we believe in him and we worship him. We can see those around us, and those who do us harm, but if we do not try to fix things with those people or at least try to live in peace with them, our worship to God has no value in his eyes. Although we have Jesus' sacrifice, we can not take that for granted and think that we can worship God on our own way, we must worship him in the way he wants us to.

Answer 5

It still applies as prayer is our sacrifice of praise to God. (Yes even when we are praying to receive something;because it shows we believe in God's ability to grant it.)
Jesus instructs us, in the Lord's prayer for example, to ask God to forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. This is for our good as well as that of the one needing our forgiveness.
If we forgive, we free ourselves and the other person from guilt and distress. We cannot ask God to forgive what we do without forgiving others. Jesus taught this over and over in parables. Remember the one where a man asked forgiveness of a debt and received it, but then went and called for the imprisonment of his debtor?
Thank God for Jesus who cleanses us from all our sins!
If it is difficult for you to forgive someone, just ask Jesus to help you do it THROUGH HIM!
This has been effective for me and in time, with prayer like that, I have been able to both forgive and pray for many an enemy.
God bless you as you grow in faith and understanding.

Answer 6

Whoever wrote that one knows that kindness to others counts much more than public acts of piety. They know that harboring the grudge without any effort at reconciliation makes the offering insincere.

Answer 7

Raca-This word may be related to the Aramaic word for "empty" and mean "empty-head!" That verse is comparing empty head to fool. And it looks like, at least, back then fool was not a word to be used.

Answer 8

Jesus said it himself. You cannot love god and hate your brother. Christianity is a way of life...it's all about loveing each other in the name of God.

Answer 9

Christ is our sacrifice, once and forever.
Before asking Christ to forgive you go to your brothers and get forgiveness for your transgression.

In Christ all are, our brothers so go to them first.

Answer 10

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