The Sermon on the Mount is one of the more famous passages in the Gospels. Most of us are familiar with its contents, even if just in passing, and I’m sure most of you have read the following verse at least one:
“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:22).
Reading it at face-value, the command seems pretty straightforward. Calling people fools is wrong, so… Problem solved.
However, things start to feel less cut and dry when Jesus doesn’t appear to follow his own rule. A few chapters later, he calls the Pharisees “blind fools” (Matt 23:17), and elsewhere, he describes them as whitewashed tombs, blind guides, sons of hell, and a brood of vipers. John the Baptist uses similar language, and Paul has no qualms calling the Galatians foolish (Gal 3:1). Anyone who’s spent time in Proverbs also knows that the book repeatedly speaks of fools, mockers, and simpletons as recognizable categories of people.
So, we’re left with a dilemma. Either…
- Jesus violated his own teaching
or… - We’ve misunderstood what he meant
A lot of people try to skirt around the issue by claiming “fool” meant something else in the first century, or Jesus was only prohibiting a particular insult. I’ve known people who say something like “fudge,” instead of the usual f-word, because they think the words themselves are either good or bad.
But that’s not how it works.
As is often the case in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is not primarily concerned with external behavior. He’s exposing the condition of the heart. Murder begins before blood is shed, adultery occurs before anyone gets in bed, and contempt begins long before cruel words leave our lips. The issue is not simply what we call people, but how we view them, which leads into my thesis for this article:
Matthew 5 is not a prohibition against identifying foolishness, hypocrisy, or sin. It’s a warning about the progression from anger to contempt, which primarily reveals itself through speech, and devalues people made in God’s image. Jesus condemns the heart that delights in belittling others while simultaneously modeling truthful rebuke aimed at repentance.
Understanding that distinction not only resolves the apparent contradiction, but also reveals why contempt is far more spiritually dangerous than most of us realize.
Jesus Starts with Murder
I’ve already quoted the verse in question, but I’ll put it here again, along with the verse that precedes it:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
The famous part of the passage is the final phrase: “Whoever says, ‘You fool!'” But, as we can see, Jesus doesn’t actually begin there.
He begins with murder.
Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly moves beneath outward actions to the attitudes that produce them. He makes it clear that murder is not merely a physical act, but something that takes root in the heart. The same is true for adultery, which can be accomplished without ever having physical contact with another person.
There’s a progression that Jesus follows: he starts with anger, moves to insults, and arrives at the declaration, “You fool.” He’s tracing a trajectory that goes beyond the prohibition of a word or phrase simply because it could be considered insulting.
What makes the progression especially interesting is the term “Raca,” translated in many versions as an insult. While scholars debate its precise meaning, it was likely an expression of contempt or dismissal, something akin to calling someone empty-headed, worthless, or good-for-nothing.
In other words, Jesus may be describing the gradual erosion of how we view another human being. The progression moves from inward hostility to outward degradation. The person before us ceases to be a neighbor and increasingly becomes an object of scorn.
So, obviously, the issue is not with the words themselves. You can replace “fool” with any other word you want, but if your motivation is the same, it doesn’t make a difference. “You cherry” puts you at risk of hell fire the same as “You fool,” if your heart is in the wrong place.
Jesus is exposing a pattern of the heart, one that manifests itself through speech and, if left unchecked, ultimately shares the same spiritual DNA as murder itself. But…
That still raises an obvious question.
If Jesus is warning against anger, insults, and calling someone a fool, why does He later do precisely that?
Jesus the Rule Breaker?
If Matthew 5 forbids all negative labels, Jesus seems remarkably unconcerned with obeying it. In Matthew 23:17, while rebuking the Pharisees, he says: “You blind fools!”
That alone already seems to be a contradiction, but as I’ve already mentioned, this isn’t an isolated incident. The same chapter contains some of the strongest language in the New Testament, with Jesus rattling off a variety of names, and even telling them that they’re making their converts “twice as much a child of hell” as themselves.
The problem becomes even more pronounced when we widen our focus to people like John the Baptist, who greets the Pharisees and Sadducees with the words:
You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matt 3:7)
And to give a few fleshed-out examples from some previously mentioned passages:
- Psalm 14:1 – “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'”
- Proverbs 12:15 – “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.”
- Proverbs 18:2 – “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinions.”
Scripture is not uncomfortable with the category of “foolishness,” which means that Matthew 5 is addressing something beyond the mere use of negative language. Really, the question we should be asking is what separates a righteous identification of foolishness from the kind of speech Jesus condemns in Matthew 5.
Jesus wasn’t breaking his own rules when he called the Pharisees fools. Rather, he was giving us an example for when it’s appropriate to be blunt, and dare I say, harsh.
Let’s unpack that a bit more.
When is Harsh Rebuke Appropriate?
It’s tempting to pick an extreme and roll with it. For those who prefer passivity, it’s easy to take a step back and refrain from calling any harmful behavior, rhetoric, or hypocrisy evil. And certainly, it prevents one from speaking contemptuously.
But it also puts one in conflict with the warning in Revelation 21:8, which identifies the cowardly as having a portion in the “lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
On the other hand, those with more aggressive personalities might see Jesus’ actions as carte blanche permission to speak however one wants. But that’s also not the lesson here.
The tongue matters because it reveals what’s happening in the heart. As James 3:6 says:
And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
So, how do we know whether our harsh words resemble the rebukes of Jesus or the sinful speech he condemned?
Honestly… There’s not an easy answer for that.
Truthful statements can be spoken from sinful motivations, so honesty isn’t a reliable indicator. For example, consider two people who witness the same act of hypocrisy.
One says, “That was hypocritical,” and the other says the exact same thing. Outwardly, the statements are identical, yet one person may be speaking from genuine concern for truth while the other delights in tearing someone down.
And more often than not, the difference is invisible to everyone except God.
Overall, Jesus’ harshest words were attached to identifiable sins, hypocrisies, and false teachings. He exposed specific behaviors and beliefs that warranted correction, while also calling people names, which prevents the condemnation from being vague and totalizing.
In other words, evidence of wrong behavior is needed. It’s fine to call someone out for their hypocrisy if they’re caught in the act, but if you’re just assuming they’re a hypocrite because “they seem like they would be,” then you’re in the wrong.
What Happens After the Anger?
It’s also worth remembering that Jesus isn’t done talking once he’s said not to call your brother a fool. The passage continues to say:
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” (Matt 5:23-24).
That’s the ESV translation, but I actually think the LSB does it better here. Instead of saying, “So if you are offering your gift…” the LSB renders it as, “Therefore if you are presenting your offering…”
That word “therefore” connects the two sections. Jesus isn’t changing topics here; instead, he’s forcing you to change your perspective on the situation. Up to this point, the focus has been on your anger, insults, and words, then Jesus suddenly flips it and says: “If your brother has something against you…”
For a moment, the listener is forced to step outside of their own perspective and consider the conflict from the other side. Your brother is not merely the object of your frustration; they’re a person with their own hurts, grievances, and perspective.
And to be clear, this does not necessarily mean your brother is right.
At least, based on the passage, Jesus doesn’t seem to be concerned about who bears the greater share of the blame. Instead, his focus is on reconciliation. The relationship with your brother is important enough where you should pursue peace before they become further entrenched.
The irony is that many people become so focused on proving that their anger is justified that they never stop to ask whether it’s accomplishing anything good. The person who is truly concerned with righteousness will not merely ask, “Was I right to be angry?”
They’ll also ask, “What has my anger done to this relationship?”
Final Thoughts
So, did Jesus break his own command?
Not at all.
The apparent contradiction exists because many of us approach Matthew 5 as a lesson about vocabulary when Jesus is actually teaching about something much deeper. We see the progression from anger to insults to “You fool,” and Jesus’ warning exists to wake us up before we commit relational destruction that culminates in murder.
That’s why the passage ends with a command to pursue reconciliation.
So, let me ask you this: “What’s your anger and pain turning you into?”
I have a close relative who’s chosen to make her anger and pain her identity, to the point where she destroys every relationship around her. It’s tragic to see happen in real time, and it’s precisely this pitfall that Jesus tries to prevent us from falling into.
Your feelings aren’t meaningless, but they’re also not a license to inflict further harm. Take a step back, if you need to, but don’t actively cause more damage just because you’ve been wronged.
And if you are genuinely faced with a fool or a “son of hell,” Matthew 5 isn’t telling you to keep your mouth shut. It’s telling you to confront sin without allowing your own heart to be consumed by it.
