What did Jesus mean in the passage regarding calling people fools?

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Elena321

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There’s a bible passage:
o 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." (Matt. 5:22)

What does Raqa and Sanhedrin mean please and when Jesus said,don’t refer to people as fools,but isn’t it true that some people (or even ourselves) sometimes act foolishly?

Thanks
Elena
 
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The Sanhedrin were the council or group of Priests, of whom Caiaphus after Anais , was High Priest at the time of Jesus Christ’s Passion. They held courts, judged, etc.
They put Jesus on trial. It was a very tumultuous time politically. The Jews were under Roman rule. There was foment everywhere. The Sanhedrin would be trying to keep a
Lid on things. Jesus Christ had a huge following and was called King, Messiah, taught about God. He had been a target for some time.

Raca was a kind of put down, meaning proud , vain, worthless. So I guess its use as an insult made the insulter answerable to the Sanhedrin.

The insult ‘fool’ , must have been worse and meant hell.

But the lesson is to go make it right with the person you insulted, offended, fought with, slandered etc, before coming to the alter. Or else you will be judge similarily.

biblehub.com/matthew/5-22.htm
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Anger and Reconciliation
21You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell. 23Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,…

Matthew Henry Commentary
5:21-26 The Jewish teachers had taught, that nothing except actual murder was forbidden by the sixth commandment. Thus they explained away its spiritual meaning. Christ showed the full meaning of this commandment; according to which we must be judged hereafter, and therefore ought to be ruled now. All rash anger is heart murder. By our brother, here, we are to understand any person, though ever so much below us, for we are all made of one blood. Raca, is a scornful word, and comes from pride: Thou fool, is a spiteful word, and comes from hatred. Malicious slanders and censures are poison that kills secretly and slowly. Christ told them that how light soever they made of these sins, they would certainly be called into judgment for them. We ought carefully to preserve Christian love and peace with all our brethren; and if at any time there is a quarrel, we should confess our fault, humble ourselves to our brother, making or offering satisfaction for wrong done in word or deed: and we should do this quickly; because, till this is done, we are unfit for communion with God in holy ordinances. And when we are preparing for any religious exercises, it is good for us to make that an occasion of serious reflection and self-examination. What is here said is very applicable to our being reconciled to God through Christ. While we are alive, we are in the way to his judgement-seat; after death, it will be too late. When we consider the importance of the case, and the uncertainty of life, how needful it is to seek peace with God, without delay
 
Jesus often used very powerful statements when he wanted to make a serious point: e.g. if your eye causes you to offend, pluck it out.

He is telling us that using insulting and demeaning language to others is seriously wrong. St John goes so far as to say, in his first Letter, "If you refuse to love, you must remain dead; to hate your brother is to be a murderer … " (1 John 3:15). He writes this during his extended discussion of the New Commandment: “love one another as I have loved you.”

Unkind language transgresses the New Commandment that Jesus gave us at the Last Supper and that we will be recalling on Holy Thursday at the Mass of the Last Supper: “I give you a new commandment: love one another; just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.” (John 13:34).

For its importance, also consider Matthew 22:34-40. A scribe asks Jesus to tell him what the greatest commandment in the Law is. Jesus replies: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it:you must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets also.”

Note the sentence The second resembles it. Love of our brothers and sisters is as important as loving God.

Of course we can’t control the thoughts that come into our minds e.g. “What an idiot!” But we can control what we do with such thoughts. We can refuse to utter them. We can refuse to treat the person contemptuously. We can put such thoughts straight out of our heads as soon as we become aware of them.

Finally, a personal observation: I have written some novels, and hearing criticism or mockery of, or contemptuous words about, my writing is a very painful experience. I imagine it is akin to, though less painful than, the feelings of a parent hearing their child mocked or disparaged. Well, my thought is this: if I find contempt shown to my creation so horrible, if a human parent finds contempt shown to their child so agonising, what must God feel when I show contempt, not just to a creation of his, but to someone he created in his own image and likeness? Someone whom he regards as a parent regards a child, but with unimaginably more love than any human parent is capable of?

If one just thinks about God’s view of insulting language, Jesus’ strong condemnation of it becomes exactly what one would expect…
 
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