“You have heard that people were told in the past… but now I tell you…” – Matthew 5:21 – 22

As a great orator, our Lord Jesus Christ had a toolbox full of words, phrases and expressions that He could pull out whenever He needed to achieve a particular effect on His audience.

They are called ‘rhetorical devices’ in literature.

‘But I say to you’ was one of them.

He emphasized His authority and the deeper meaning He was conveying by using this potent ‘rhetorical device’ to draw attention to the difference between His own interpretation and the widely accepted opinion.

Jesus begins by quoting Exodus 20:13 (the 6th Commandment), which says: “You shall not murder.”

This was part of the well-known and universally accepted Ten Commandments in Jewish teaching.

For those who were open to the possibility of Jesus being the Messiah, His unique authority in interpreting and even seemingly modifying the meaning of the Law was a significant indicator of His divine nature and Messianic role.

Prophets in the Old Testament spoke with the authority of “Thus says the Lord.” Jesus was speaking with His own authority, which implied a far greater claim.

“But now I tell you” is a radical shift though not necessarily a contradiction of the Scriptures.

He was simply challenging the prevailing interpretations, comfortable assumptions and the way the people understood and applied those laws in their relationships with others in the community.

All Jesus is doing is putting His teaching side by side with existing interpretations of the Law that His listeners were familiar with (but which they failed to obey) and showing which of them is acceptable before God.

He isn’t just offering a new opinion; He is speaking as one with authority, even greater authority than that of Moses.

This was definitely quite radical and more so in a culture that deeply revered the Law of Moses and the Prophets.

Only Jesus Christ has the power and authority to show people how to be holy, righteous and acceptable before God – not their religions or traditions or cultures.

Traditionally, Jewish Rabbis taught by citing other authorities; Jesus cites Himself as the authority, which astonished His listeners.

Matthew 7:28–29 says: “He taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.”

In regard to how a person should relate with God and other people, Christ raises the bar from mere external actions to internal emotions and attitudes.

He’s not saying anger is the same as murder in every respect, but that hatred, contempt and bitterness – the root cause of murder – is itself morally culpable before God.

According to Jesus, God’s concern is not merely our actions, but the state of our hearts – the inner attitudes, thought patterns and motivations of the heart – that affect our relationship with God and others.

In other words, the mere thought that the person who has offended you deserves to die is as bad as actually murdering him because that very thought is rooted in an evil heart.

Undoubtedly, Jesus’ teachings, especially those introduced with ‘But I tell you’ did become a point of division among His listeners.

Some recognized His authority and embraced His teachings, while others rejected them as an unacceptable challenge to established tradition.

But in the final analysis, only Jesus has the power and authority to show people how to be holy, righteous and acceptable before God – not their religions or traditions or cultures.