I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny. (Mt 5:20-26)
The Israelites lived with the idea of judgment. Whatever evil done would be judged by God and the consequence was expected. The righteousness of the Pharisees and the scribes was based on this partly. They were extra conscious of this and hence they were even worried about the words they used. Murder was one of the evils for which they were punished for. Life belonged to God and hence no one had the right to take away the life.
Jesus goes further deeper into the situation and told his listeners not even to get angry with the other. It is this that will slowly lead one to murdering the other. It is not the action which is alone makes one liable to judgment but also the attitude that one has against the other. One should be positive about life and his attitude should be in no way to hurt the other.
There will arise situations in which one is forced to be angry with the other or seeking judgement against the other. In such situations forgiveness should be the guiding force and not judgment. Forgiveness and settlement of the situation before going to the court is far greater than even sacrifice. This is not to belittle sacrifice or rituals but rather relationship, forgiveness are of greater importance.
