“Go; First Be Reconciled” (Matthew 5:24)

The chapters in Matthew which contain the commandments, Go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister (Matthew 5:21-26), Do not seek retribution (Matthew 5:38-42) and Love your enemies have often been interpreted as ethical commandments or lofty ideals that were given to his disciples by Jesus.2 Since they require extremely high criteria of virtues, some scholars even argue that they are impractical instructions to follow.3 However, Jesus’ Massage in the Sermon on the Mount is, rather than teachings on ethics, the eschatological proclamation that says about the impending judgment for those who turn away from God. To understand these passages appropriately, we need to view to whom and in which context the commandments are given. The following questions will be whether these words of Jesus should still be practiced by Christians today, and whether they are unjustly applied to the weak and dispossessed of today s world to further inflict injustices and to silence any responses to the evils conducted by those in power. In this study, I would like to pursue the exegetical significance of the passages, especially focusing on the saying of Jesus, “go; first be reconciled with your brother or sister.”