The RIGHTEOUS ANGER of Matthew 5:22 . . . As Seen in the UnCorrupted Greek TEXTS

PAPYRUS 67 of Matthew 3:9, 5:20-21-22, 

Courtesy of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

% Daniel Wallace, et al.

See this Link for a larger, non-blurry photo.
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 PAPYRUS 67 with Matthew 5:22 on it

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Is There a RIGHTEOUS Anger ?

YES . . . according to the Words and EXAMPLE of CHRIST JESUS our LORD.

But I+ say unto you,

That whosoever is angry with his brother

without a cause

shall be in danger of the judgment:

and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca,

shall be in danger of the council:

but whosoever shall say, Thou fool,

shall be in danger of hell fire.

Words of CHRIST JESUS,

Matthew 5:22

We all know anger oftentimes carries sin. The Apostle Paul warns us against that type of sinning.

Be ye angry, and sin not:

let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Neither give place to the devil.

Ephesians 4: 26-27

King Solomon also warns us about anger.

Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry:

 for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.

Ecclesiastes 7:9

However, there is a TIME and a PLACE for anger in this world, in the realm of men.

The LORD JESUS CHRIST HIMSELF+ set us the example.

As recorded in Scripture, The LORD JESUS became angry at times.

HE+ was angry at hardened hearts amongst brethren. . . hearts hardened in pride, hearts hardened in unbelief, hearts hardened in protecting the values of this world ( money, learning, religious tradition, etc. )    

And HE+ saith unto them,

Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days,

or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?

But they held their peace.*

*[ They were not at peace, but rather SILENT, Gk = esiWopWn.]

And when HE+ had looked round about on them

with anger**,

being grieved for the hardness of their hearts,

HE+ saith unto the man,

Stretch forth thine hand.

And he stretched it out:

and his hand was restored whole as the other.

Mark 3:4, 5

Those hardened hearts were found in men who knew what was right to do, but who REFUSED to acknowledge it before others and to HIM+. They knew of the character of GOD, but refused to judge rightly in the situation.

Those men knew it was right to do good on the Sabbath; they had been in Synagogue all their lives and heard the Scriptures about mercy.  They had kept the Passover, and perhaps even kept it at the Temple in Jerusalem as instructed by the Law, all their lives.  They knew what was right to do because they had arms and hands, too. 

So they justly received HIS+ ANGER,

His+ orgA** , His+ wrath.

This "anger" ( orgA**)  of The LORD in Matthew 5:22 is the word for WRATH and should have been so translated in the KJV.

The difference is between a controlled, fixed , passionate feeling ( Gk root: orgA )  versus a sudden outburst of anger and rage, delivered in the heat of passion ( Gk root: thumos).

In short,

The LORD'S wrath is utterly controlled

. . .and frightfully DETERMINED.

The LORD JESUS CHRIST was also very angry at those who refused to believe and  influenced others to follow them in their un-belief. HE+ was angry at those who compassed land and sea for the sole purpose of making others TWICE the children of hell as they were themselves.

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte,

and when he is made,

ye make him twofold more

the child of hell than yourselves.

Matthew 23:15

Not only was The LORD angry with this "religious" activity, but HE+ pronounced a determined JUDGMENT upon the ones doing this !

The scribes and Pharisees of His+ day were the equivalent of the modern-day Cult of Scholars who are changing Scriptures now, despite the factual evidence from the very manuscripts they laud. In short, the FACTS are there and are well-known; there is a hardened Cult of Scholars who refuse to acknowledge them.

This phrase , WITHOUT A CAUSE, has been removed by textual critics, this hardened Cult of Scholars,  who are re-writing our modern Bibles today, weakening the Church.  Out of the 59 Bibles listed on Bible Gateway.com, only 12 have retained that phrase, including two which have it somewhat re-worded.

Those 47 Bible versions which have REMOVED that clause are made by editors and committees who are following two  --- yes, only TWO --- uncial manuscripts and one Papyrus, Papyrus 67, according to the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, 26th Edition. [There are 50 extant uncials which contain Matthew, according to NA-26th, Introduction, pg 49. ]

The two uncials are the Codex Vaticanus B (03) and the Codex Sinaiticus a (01 ). These two Codices are teeming with errors, full of corrections, and generally are considered reflecting one locale of the early Christian world.

They have an un-traceable history; that is, they "suddenly" appeared in the textual arena. Reams have been written by language scholars of the caliber of DEAN John William Burgon and Herman Hoskier regarding the THOUSANDS of errors contained in the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.

Even a current series of internet documentaries by Chris Pinto, Adullam Films, has contributed to the FACTUAL evidence of the untrustworthy beginnings of the Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.   

Yet, modern scholars ignore the FACTUAL, meticulous evidence produced by these honest scholars and flock to follow in the foot-steps of Westcott and Hort to re-write the New Testament.

Papyrus 67 cited in the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament apparatus as "proof" that  WITHOUT CAUSE   should be omitted from Matthew 5:22, is highly questionable evidence, at best. 

This Papyrus 67 is a fragment, not a scroll. It is small. This fragment does not even contain SENTENCES, just isolated words or parts of words. A close-up picture is available at Daniel Wallace’s organization: The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts. See the LINK under the photo above.

Click on item # 1, which has words from 4 verses in Matthew, starting with Matthew 3: 9, according to the experts in Papyrology. Matthew 5: 22 appears to be at the bottom-most, full and partial line of the largest fragment.

Here is the full identity, should a search be necessary.

CSNTM Image Id: 153811

Image Description: Text
Image Type: Digital
Language: Greek
Material: Papyrus
MS Feature: Color Chart, Fragmentary, Ruler
Text: Matt 3.9, Matt 5.20, Matt 5.21, Matt 5.22

CSNTM Image Name: GA_P67_0001a.jpg

Papyrus 67 was found in Egypt embedded in two writings of Philo, who was not a Christian. He was a non-observant, apostate Jew who was held in esteem in the worldly, Greek philosophical camps in Alexandria.

Thus, the gift of the hardened Cult of Scholars to the rest of the Christian world is to REMOVE these Words of CHRIST JESUS, and that removal is based on extremely flimsy evidence.

Why is “WITHOUT CAUSE” so important ?

But I+ say unto you,

That whosoever is angry with his brother

without a cause

shall be in danger of the judgment

The LORD set the example for us. 

HE+ was not in sin when HE+ was angry at the religious "brothers".  HE+ was not in sin because HE+ had a GOD-CENTERED cause. HE+ was not in sin when HE+ cleansed the Temple, twice.

His+ wrath was directed at those who:

1) knew What Was Right but were obstinate against doing it, and / or

2) used religious means to make money

or establish their reputation, and /or

 3) influenced others to join them in their errors, and/ or

4) hindered others from coming to GOD.

The LORD showed us that there is a time to be angry. 

When that time comes, it will have nothing to do with lashing out in anger for personal insults or injuries to our Self. We will not involve ourselves in angry outbursts, thumus.

Instead, we will move under the UNCTION of The LORD JESUS and speak through the power of the HOLY SPIRIT. Our voices may not even be raised, but rather FIRM. Our total concern should be with the Kingdom of GOD and His+ Truth.

Of a truth,

if Christians do NOT become angry at some things,

their nonchalance becomes sin !

If Followers of JESUS do not become angry where The LORD JESUS is offended, when His+ Truth is twisted, then something is dreadfully wrong in the Christian camp. 

If there is no anger in Christians when the people of the land fund the butchering of babies by the millions inside the womb, when they freely parade their sins, perverting even the children who were not slain in the womb, then something is wrong in the Christian camp . 

When evil is lauded as "good" , and good is called "evil", there should be a determined anger welling up inside of Followers of JESUS.

Our anger should be like our LORD'S: directed against those brothers who are SUPPORTING evil, in the “name” of CHRIST.

If the Church, the Followers of CHRIST JESUS, do not keep His+ Righteous Ways, there is no standard in the land. Truth has fallen in the street. 

There is nothing left to bring conviction upon the erring Christian or the  Un-Redeemed. The un-Redeemed do not care about pleasing The LORD JESUS; they only live to please their flesh.

The Church is the pillar and ground of Truth, and Truth lifts up CHRIST. When HE+ is lifted up, then conviction falls upon the people.

But Brethren in the Church groups who have supported and given their approval to the evil-doers in the name of "tolerance", are causing immense damage to the Kingdom of GOD.  They are bringing in confusion and damnable heresies, masked as "love."

The LORD'S WRATH rests upon them. We should separate ourselves from them, as in the days of Korah, Numbers 16 and Jude 1:11.  

But I+ say unto you,

That whosoever is angry with his brother

without a cause

shall be in danger of the judgment . . .

We are not to be angry with our Christian brother and sister UNLESS there is a GODLY cause, a CHRIST-centered cause.

And THAT kind of anger is FIRM,

 not wounding.

If there is a serious, CHRIST-centered cause, then we had better stand with our LORD JESUS CHRIST and warn our brother. We will be accountable if we do NOT stand. 

Whether he receives it or not, is not our responsibility. Our responsibility is to be determinedly set against the evil being perpetuated by a Christian brother or Christian group. Our responsibility is to lift up the Righteous Standard.

That Standard is CHRIST.

We are not to keep silent in the prayer closet, so we voice our prayers unto The LORD.  We are not to keep silent with the brethren we know, and as The LORD leads, we are to speak Truth, not in cutting meanness, but in unflinching FIRMNESS.

We are NEVER allowed to be nonchalant and make them feel "okay" about their sin.  

And , we are not to keep silent when a GROUP of brethren embrace evil, either.

No, we do not become quarrelsome, picking at every error we think we see in their doctrines. We are talking about SERIOUS EVIL, evil which will damn their souls into hell-fire.

And NO, we do not pick up the sword nor fight like the world fights. We do not take them to court.  We simply speak, promote, and stand for the Truth. That will be enough to produce results.

That result may include a conviction of sin falling on the evil-doers. They will either repent . . . or . . . we will have to practice forgiving our enemies, as the anger of men directed by the devil will be soon directed at us.

But I+ say unto you,

That whosoever is angry with his brother

without a cause

shall be in danger of the judgment . . .

The LORD JESUS spoke those words, " without a cause " because we need to hear them.  Those very words tell us that there IS A TIME to be angry with brethren, if the case should arise.

This uncomfortable Truth, given by Example and Word by The LORD CHRIST, is what the re-writers of the New Testament have omitted.

In so doing, they weaken the Body of CHRIST, and hinder the conviction which falls when Followers of JESUS stand for righteousness with each other and with the world.

Thus, who is removing "uncomfortable" Truths from the Word of GOD ?

Who is directing this hardened Cult of Scholars to weaken the Body of CHRIST ?

We are certain of one thing:

it is NOT The SPIRIT OF CHRIST

which is doing this. 

Either we Christians:

1) don’t know about this, or

2) don’t care, if we do know, or

3) don’t wish to make trouble ( i.e., gain enemies )

Shall we then become the enemies of GOD, Who+ is THE  Truth ?

In modern times, there has developed an army of hardened scholars and translators perverting the Word of GOD.

Where is His+ Army  , the ones who are willing to stand for The Truth . . . And, having done all, are willing TO STAND against these heretical versions ?

[ Note: I do not have access to NA-27^th and 28^th edition apparatus to check their current documentation for variants in Matthew 5:22.

However, “without cause” ( Gk: eikh ) has not been restored into their NEWER Greek texts, which is an Alexandrian-based eclectic ( pasted-together) text… a bit from here, a bit from there, with each verse with multiple variants cobbled together from as many different manuscripts as there are variants!

 Eclectic means the Nestle-Aland Greek texts of any edition are not found in any ( any one or any of several ) ancient Greek manuscripts.  

To make matters worse, the United Bible Society’s ( UBS ) texts, 3rd and 4th editions, are replica’s of the Nestle-Aland’s Greek texts; some of the same scholars were involved in the production of BOTH Greek texts.

From this Bible Support program comes this statement ( at this LINK below ) :

  NA 26th AND 27th EDITIONS WITH THE UBS 4TH EDITION

 “ The Nestle-Aland text and the United Bible Society text were standardized. The NA26/27 & UBS4 use the same text with variations only in punctuation, such as how indirect discourse with ὅτι is rendered. For more information on such differences, see the Preface to the UBS 4th Edition.”

This is the Greek text Wycliffe requires its translators to use.

Thus , not only are 47 English Bibles missing “without cause” , but Wycliffe is exporting this error in translations ACROSS THE GLOBE. ]

+  +  +

But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men:

for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.

Matthew 23:13

+  +  +

Come out of her, My+ People,

and touch not the unclean thing.