Solving the “Fool” Problem
David W Palmer
We have been sitting at Jesus’s feet during the first classroom phase of our apprenticeship with him. We are trainees of Jesus as he fulfills his learning contract with us: “Follow me, and I will make you competent at fishing for men” (Mat. 4:19 DKJV). Let’s sit back now, and prepare ourselves to be taught by the master:
(Matthew 5:21–22 DKJV) “You have heard that it was originally said to people of old (in Exo. 20:13), ‘you shall not murder’; and (in Num. 35:12} ‘whoever kills anyone will be liable to judgment.’ {22} But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause will be liable to judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘you stupid (empty-head),’ will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘you fool,’ will be liable to hell fire.”
In this passage, our Lord declared a disastrous judgment for whoever says to someone, “You fool.” We need to delve into this to ensure that we are not guilty of this eternity-risking trap.
I believe we need to take particular note of the word Jesus chose to specify the perpetrator, “brother.” Before we even begin to try to apply what Jesus said, let’s ensure we know exactly whom he is talking about when he says, “his brother”; and why he makes such a strong declaration as, “liable to hell fire.” After all, this seems to be a very harsh judgment for a few negative words.
In the Western world, we think of a brother as someone with the same mother and father; in other words, for us it is about DNA. But is that what Jesus’s audience was hearing when he said the word, “brother”? To find out, we look for other passages where Jesus implied his definition of what he had in mind when he said “brother.” For example:
(Matthew 12:49–50 NKJV) And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! {50} For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
The people of Jesus’s day and geography viewed a son as someone who was a replica of his father—doing his father’s will—or as one who imitated his father. In Jesus’s case, he used this view of sonship to prove that he was the Son of God; he imitated his Father in heaven, and did the works of God:
(John 5:19–20 NKJV) Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner. {20} For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him greater works than these, that you may marvel.”
(John 8:38 NKJV) “I speak what I have seen with My Father, and you do what you have seen with your father.”
From these verses, we see that a person that Jesus calls a “brother” is someone who does the will of God—someone who does and says what they see and hear with him. If they are truly imitating God, and then you call them a “fool,” you are indirectly saying that the actions they copied from God are foolish. In that case, God hears you say that he is a fool. No wonder Jesus says that if you make this judgment, you will be in danger of hell fire. Oops!
The very next thing Jesus says is, “therefore …” This means that what follows is stated to give clear instruction to anyone to whom this applies—anyone who has indirectly called the actions their brother imitated from God, foolish. Hence, this ultimately comes down to a problem between the critic and God.
If this is you, Jesus says that before you can worship with a cleansed, pure conscience, you need to go back and undo the knot in your relationship with God by reversing it at its source (which was calling someone who is imitating him a fool):
(Matthew 5:23–24 DKJV) “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, {24} leave your gift there before the altar, and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come back and offer your gift.”
Again, Jesus is speaking only of a genuine brother or sister in the Lord. He even says to delay your worship until you deal with this matter; it is that important. If you have been angry with your brother without a cause, called him a stupid empty head, or even worse, a fool, or anything similar; do what Jesus says here without delay; postpone even your worship to rush to your brother. “First be reconciled” to him or her, and then come back to your worship, prayer, devotion, or seeking God.
To clarify this further, Psalm 14:1 and 53:1 both say, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (NKJV). So Jesus is not calling a person who says, “There is no God,” a brother. Anyone who says that, has already been judged by God as a “fool.” But even so, we don’t have to judge them, or call them a fool from our own initiative. However, Jesus is warning us not to speak negatively or critically of someone who is doing or saying what he or she has heard or seen with God. If we do, we are directly criticizing and judging God—the one who initiated the words or actions. This is extremely serious.
I encourage you today; do not speak negatively, or judge in any way, people who genuinely want to imitate God—especially if you don’t understand what they are doing. After all, if they are imitating God you may not be able to tell this right away: “his ways are past finding out” (Rom. 11:33 NKJV). Jesus didn’t say you will know them by their words and actions; he said you will know them by their fruit (Mat. 7:16, 20). We can only tell if what they are doing is “wrought in God” when we see the fruit that develops—over time—and not before.
Have you made this unwise judgment? Perhaps you have called a brother or sister stupid, or a fool. If you said it in their hearing, or if others reported to them what you said, Jesus says to drop everything spiritual until you go and put it right. Confess to them that you were wrong, and ask them for forgiveness. Next, confess it to God and ask him for forgiveness too. Even if the person doesn’t know that you made the judgment or declaration, confess it to God right now. This is because, indirectly, your judgment and criticism were aimed at him—if, that is, the brother was truly imitating what they saw and heard with him. Then, in Jesus’s name, cancel your negative words out of existence.
Although other brothers and sisters are involved—and we certainly need to go back to them to put right what we said—we should take on David’s attitude in this:
(Psalm 51:3–4 TPT) “For I’m so ashamed.
I feel such pain and anguish within me.
I can’t get away from the sting of my sin against you, Lord!
Everything I did, I did right in front of you, for you saw it all.
Against you, and you above all, have I sinned.
Everything you say to me is infallibly true and your judgment conquers me.”
Let’s get this right today. If any of this applies to you; make that call, write that letter, visit that person. Your spiritual life will experience a completely new freedom if you do … plus, you will extricate yourself from being in danger of hell fire.
