Hate, Hurt, and the Heart: What Jesus Really Says About Murder in Matthew 5:22 Murder starts in your heart - long before you hurt someone.
In the Sermon on the Mount, the Gospel of Matthew records some of the most powerful words ever spoken by Jesus Christ. Early in this passage, Jesus challenges the idea of what it means to break God’s commandments. I can imagine the shock of the crowd gathered on that mountain to hear this traveling preacher when he said that God cares about more than outward behavior alone. God also weighs the hidden attitudes of the human heart!
“But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment…” — Matthew 5:22 (KJV)
At first glance, this verse may seem extreme. Most people define murder as the physical act of taking another person’s life. Yet Jesus reveals that the roots of murder begin long before violence occurs. According to His teaching, sinful anger, hatred, contempt, and bitterness are the seeds from which destructive actions grow.
Jesus Destroys Our Shallow Definition of Murder
Earlier in the chapter, Jesus quotes the sixth commandment: “Thou shalt not murder.”
Many religious leaders throughout the centuries have focused solely on outward obedience to the Ten Commandments. Even today, you often hear priests and preachers condemn acts of violence. Unfortunately, they rarely speak with equal intensity against the attitudes within their communities that give rise to these senseless acts. In effect, they teach that you are innocent of breaking this commandment if you haven’t physically killed someone.
That’s the exact opposite of what Jesus taught!
He taught that God considers not only actions but also motives, emotions, and thoughts. Someone might avoid physical violence yet still hold rage, resentment, envy, or hatred inside. From God’s perspective, this inner state is the start of murder because it shows the attitude behind every act of killing.
Jesus was not dismissing murder; He was revealing its true depth.
Many religious leaders throughout the centuries have focused solely on outward obedience to the Ten Commandments. Even today, you often hear priests and preachers condemn acts of violence. Unfortunately, they rarely speak with equal intensity against the attitudes within their communities that give rise to these senseless acts. In effect, they teach that you are innocent of breaking this commandment if you haven’t physically killed someone.
That’s the exact opposite of what Jesus taught!
He taught that God considers not only actions but also motives, emotions, and thoughts. Someone might avoid physical violence yet still hold rage, resentment, envy, or hatred inside. From God’s perspective, this inner state is the start of murder because it shows the attitude behind every act of killing.
Jesus was not dismissing murder; He was revealing its true depth.
Your Heart Is the Starting Place
Human behavior never appears out of nowhere; it’s always the fruit of the heart—whether good or evil. We tend to focus on the final act of murder, but murder has a starting point: unresolved anger, bitterness, jealousy, pride, dehumanizing others, refusing to forgive, contempt, and insult. Sooner or later, it spills from the heart and turns into harm.
In Matthew 5:22, Jesus even includes verbal attacks, warning against speaking with hatred or scorn. He’s not just saying that words hurt—though they do—but that your words reveal the true condition of your heart.
If you follow Jesus’s logic, there’s almost no gap between an insult and an assault with a deadly weapon. Once your heart has lost the battle, the only thing standing between you and a life sentence is your will. But God has already examined your heart. And because he is the perfect Judge, he never gets the verdict wrong.
In Matthew 5:22, Jesus even includes verbal attacks, warning against speaking with hatred or scorn. He’s not just saying that words hurt—though they do—but that your words reveal the true condition of your heart.
If you follow Jesus’s logic, there’s almost no gap between an insult and an assault with a deadly weapon. Once your heart has lost the battle, the only thing standing between you and a life sentence is your will. But God has already examined your heart. And because he is the perfect Judge, he never gets the verdict wrong.
Anger Itself Isn’t Sin, But It Might Be the First Step in That Direction
Not all anger is sinful. Scripture affirms healthy anger against evil and injustice—Jesus himself showed this when confronting hypocrisy and corruption. But in Matthew 5:22, Jesus calls you to examine not just your outward actions but also the attitudes you nurture in secret.
Most people will never commit physical murder, but heart-level violence is common: online hatred and harassment, character assassination, simmering resentment, racism and prejudice, and revenge fantasies. Jesus’ words are still urgent today, in a culture that normalizes outrage and contempt and slowly hardens the heart.
The Bible repeatedly warns against letting anger or bitterness take root. Any wound left unchecked can harden into hatred if it’s not surrendered to God. Reconciliation and forgiveness are not optional add-ons to faith; they are central to it.
Most people will never commit physical murder, but heart-level violence is common: online hatred and harassment, character assassination, simmering resentment, racism and prejudice, and revenge fantasies. Jesus’ words are still urgent today, in a culture that normalizes outrage and contempt and slowly hardens the heart.
The Bible repeatedly warns against letting anger or bitterness take root. Any wound left unchecked can harden into hatred if it’s not surrendered to God. Reconciliation and forgiveness are not optional add-ons to faith; they are central to it.
God’s Solution: Fix the Heart
Jesus’s message isn’t, “try harder to be nice.” It’s a call to radical transformation.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows that real change starts inside. God wants to replace hatred with love, bitterness with forgiveness, and pride with humility. But none of us can do this on our own; for that to happen, God must do a deep, radical work in your heart.
And it starts with forgiveness. You need God’s forgiveness for the sinful attitudes in your heart. From God’s forgiveness flows the power to forgive others who have hurt you.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus shows that real change starts inside. God wants to replace hatred with love, bitterness with forgiveness, and pride with humility. But none of us can do this on our own; for that to happen, God must do a deep, radical work in your heart.
And it starts with forgiveness. You need God’s forgiveness for the sinful attitudes in your heart. From God’s forgiveness flows the power to forgive others who have hurt you.
A Free Resource
Matthew 5:22 uncovers a profound spiritual truth: all harm originates in the heart. Murder isn’t simply about actions; it reflects the condition of your heart, which God alone judges.
Because I have experienced God’s radical forgiveness for my wicked heart, I want to help others experience the same gift of God’s grace. That’s why I recorded Episode 6 of The Warrior’s Soul miniseries.
I want everyone to know the peace I found in my heart, even on violent battlefields. That’s why I’m giving this episode away completely FREE. If you or someone you know wants to learn more about exactly what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:22, tell them to check out this miniseries here!
Because I have experienced God’s radical forgiveness for my wicked heart, I want to help others experience the same gift of God’s grace. That’s why I recorded Episode 6 of The Warrior’s Soul miniseries.
I want everyone to know the peace I found in my heart, even on violent battlefields. That’s why I’m giving this episode away completely FREE. If you or someone you know wants to learn more about exactly what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:22, tell them to check out this miniseries here!
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