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Matthew 5:23-24 meaning

Concluding His example of how anger is a demonstration of disharmony (unrighteousness), Jesus shares a way this can be applied.

There is no apparent parallel account of this teaching in the Gospels.

Jesus’s example of offering a sacrifice upon the altar to God reveals a second Kingdom principle: the quality of our fellowship with God is conditional on our attitude toward other people. This means going out of our way to reconcile with others, prioritizing peace above acts of religious observance.

How we treat others matters a great deal to God. This is true not only of our actions, but also of our words and feelings. It is not sufficient for us to merely avoid murdering or physically harming someone in order to be righteous in our behavior (and therefore be pleasing to God, and gain His rewards.) We also must guard our tongues, which means guarding our hearts (Luke 6:45; Proverbs 4:23). Failing to do so risks missing the benefits of God’s kingdom. Failing to do so also exposes us to the very negative outcome of experiencing corruption and death (of relationships, opportunities, etc.) pictured by the garbage dump that is “fiery Gehenna” (v.22). This second Kingdom principle becomes even brighter in what Jesus says next.

Making an offering of sacrifice at the alter is encouraged in the Mosaic Law for seeking fellowship with God (Leviticus 1). At this point in history the temple still stood in Jerusalem, and all the Jewish disciples listening to Jesus would have regularly made offerings at the Jerusalem temple’s altar as a matter of religious observance. But Jesus says there is a priority over the religious observance of sacrifice: making peace with your brother.

Therefore, Jesus says, if you are seeking to be on good terms with God by presenting your offering at the altar, and happen to remember that your brother has something against you, stop right in the middle of your observance (v 23). Put the offering on pause. This dramatic situation shows the importance God places on His people seeking harmonious fellowship with one another.

To prepare an offering to sacrifice and transporting to the altar at the temple in Jerusalem would have taken days for those listening to Jesus near the Sea of Galilee. It is a distance of about 75 miles from the Galilee to Jerusalem. We can imagine the listeners thinking of a trip they had made to Jerusalem to present an offering. Perhaps they gathered a lamb, walked four days to Jerusalem, participated in all the ritual cleansing necessary to approach the altar with their offering. Now Jesus describes that they suddenly remember that their brother has something against them (v 23). Jesus now commands them to leave your offering there before the altar and go first be reconciled to your brother (v 24).

We can imagine the disciples thinking “Why wouldn’t I just go ahead and finish the offering and be reconciled when it is more convenient?” Jesus insists they stop in the middle of their offering and do what it takes to be reconciled immediately. Since Jesus says to leave your offering there before the altar, perhaps the brother is in the group that made the trek to Jerusalem, and near by (v 24). That would mean going out of the temple, being reconciled, then going back through all the ritual cleansing and back up the steps to the temple. But perhaps the brother is back home. In that case they would be repeating the four day trek, be reconciled, then turn around and head back to Jerusalem to present their offering. It doesn’t seem to matter how much trouble it will take, to be reconciled is the priority.

With this example, Jesus is making a dramatic point. He is emphatic that reconciliation between brothers takes priority over religious observance. It seems that reconciliation between brothers is even a prerequisite to effective religious observance, which is why it is worthwhile to go to all this trouble. The Lord’s Prayer will have this point as its primary emphasis. Seeking harmony with others is a prerequisite to seeking fellowship with God.

The Apostle Paul echoes this principle with respect to the Christian ceremony of the Lord’s Supper, also called Communion. He says those who partake of it in an “unworthy manner” may end up sick or even in death. The answer is for each man to “examine himself.” He says “if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged” (1 Corinthians 11:27-32). In each case, religious observance is inferior to having a proper heart attitude.

Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). Jesus will later say in Matthew that the entire law and prophets stand on the foundation of this greatest commandment, along with the second greatest, which is, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39). That means both are necessary for the law and prophets to be on a solid foundation. Jesus is saying that if you are unwilling to be reconciled to your brother, God is unwilling to accept your offering and be reconciled to you (v 24). People are a priority before religious observance. This will be the core point of the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:14).

Jesus is not teaching that religious observance should be neglected. It is a question of priorities. Seek to be reconciled to your brother first (v 24). Then come and present your offering to God second (v 24). Righteousness (harmony) does not merely come from the external act of offering a physical sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22; Hosea 6:6). It comes from sacrificing one’s pride and seeking reconciliation with those in our house and community. If we understand this, Jesus assures us “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (Mark 12:34). If we are faithful to actually do this in obedience to God, the kingdom of heaven and its blessings shall be ours to enjoy (Matthew 5:3-10). It will be our great reward.

On reflection, this is a highly practical point Jesus is making. A fellowship of people who resolve conflicts and do not harbor bitterness will bring joy to all its participants. Conversely, a fellowship of people in constant conflict and bitterness will be like living in Gehenna. Living Jesus’ kingdom principles has a great reward in this life as well.

Once again, through Jesus’s application we see two key principles of His Kingdom in action. First, that righteousness is an inward matter of the heart and not only an external work. And second, that the quality of our fellowship with God is conditional with our heart toward other people.

Biblical Text

²³ Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

The Gospel of Matthew was written to demonstrate to the Jews of Jesus, the Messiah’s generation that He was indeed the Christ. Matthew thematically substantiates the Messianic identity of Jesus beginning with the genealogy of Jesus, which ran from Abraham, the father of Israel’s people through King David who was promised to have a son who would be on Israel’s throne forever. Throughout his Gospel account Matthew makes use of numerous prophecies both explicitly stated and by way of subtle allusion to support his thesis. Matthew further makes use of parallel events in Jesus’s life to those of Messianic figures from the Old Testament (Moses, Joseph, David, etc.) to bolster his argument.

Jesus came to offer the Jews the chance to participate in the inauguration of the Messianic Kingdom. To do this, they would have to receive and follow Him as their Messiah. Jesus’s message was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). Ultimately, they rejected Him as their Messiah and condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. The Jews’ rejection of the Messiah opened the door for Gentiles to enter the kingdom (Matthew 8:11-12, 22:1-10). Matthew’s Gospel is therefore a call for the Jews repent of their murder of Jesus and to embrace Him for the divine Messiah He is.

Matthew shows how their rejection of Him and His brutal death was predicted not only by Jesus Himself, but also was foretold in the Jewish scriptures of the Messiah.

The main proof that Jesus was the Messiah was “the sign of Jonah” (Matthew 12:39, 16:4). This was Jesus’s death and resurrection from the dead. “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matthew 12:40).

Because Matthew’s Gospel was written to people who were already members of God’s eternal family by virtue of their faith in God’s promise to send the Messiah, Matthew emphasizes the “reward of eternal life” (aka “The Prize of Eternal Life”) rather than “the Gift of Eternal Life”. In other words, Matthew’s Gospel focuses on how to “enter the kingdom” rather than how to “be born again”.

Matthew’s Gospel demonstrates how Jesus came to fulfill the law and open a way for God’s people to participate in the Messianic kingdom if they would follow His example of worshiping God from the heart by forgiving and serving others.

For “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). If we have faith to follow the example set forth by the resurrected Messiah, whom all authority on heaven and earth has been granted (Matthew 28:18) and take up our cross for His sake (Matthew 16:24-25), then we will become great in His kingdom (Matthew 20:26).

Finally, Matthew provides extensive samples of Jesus’s teachings including “the Sermon on the Mount”, “the Little Commission”, and “the Olivet Discourse” and many parables, alongside accounts of numerous miracles and wonders, personal moments with His twelve disciples, interactions with seekers, and increasingly as his Gospel account progresses: challenges and confrontations with His adversaries – the Pharisees, Scribes, and Priests.

Chapter Context

Chapters 5-7 form the “Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus withdraws from the large crowds and focuses on teaching His disciples. This is Jesus’ kingdom platform. Jesus is the second Moses prophesied by Moses, giving a new word from God from a different mountain. Jesus’s sermon has the same purpose as the word from God on Mount Sinai—it shows humans how to live constructively in fellowship with God and one another. Jesus’s emphasis is on the spirit behind the law. Without a change of heart, rules don’t work. Jesus initiated a new covenant, where the law was written on the heart (Jeremiah 31:31; Matthew 25:28).

The Sermon on the Mount transitions from Jesus speaking to “large crowds” to speaking to a “crowd” that consists of His disciples. The “large crowds” included Gentiles from the surrounding nations who had come to be healed of physical illnesses. It is likely Jesus would have spoken Greek to the “large crowds” as that was the language of commerce of that time. It is widely held that Jesus typically taught in Aramaic when speaking to Jews. It was the street language spoken by the Jews after they returned from Exile in Babylon.

But Jesus, like most Jews of His day would also have been multilingual. He would certainly have been able to read and speak from the Hebrew scriptures. And, as mentioned, He also would most certainly have known Greek, the common language of the Ancient world. It is likely that his adoptive father Joseph would have had work as a tradesman in the nearby Roman city of Sepphoris, which would have required knowing some Greek.

He might have also learned some Latin, the official language of the Roman government. Matthew may have originally written all or part of his Gospel narrative of Jesus the Messiah in Aramaic, Hebrew, or Greek. But regardless of which language He originally wrote in, his gospel was preserved in Greek. It is from Greek manuscripts that all our translations are ultimately based.

Matthew 5:23-24 meaning

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Acts 11:27-30 meaning

Zechariah 3:1-5 meaning

Zechariah 1:2-6 meaning

Deuteronomy 24:7 meaning

Genesis 8:13-17 meaning

Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

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The Bible Project - Matthew Summary Pt. 1

The Bible Project - Matthew Summary Pt. 2

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