leave there thy gift before the altar, and first go, be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Commento di questo versetto
Commentary on Matthew 5:24 — "Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
The priority of the brother over the altar
This is one of the most startling reversals in the Sermon on the Mount. The disciple is interrupted mid-sacrifice — already at the altar, gift in hand — and sent away from worship to mend a relationship. William Kelly draws out what kind of heart this presupposes:
William KellyThus the Lord enjoins the disciple who was bringing his gift to the altar, if he remembered that his brother had anything against him, to stop short of his devoted purpose as to God Himself, and be reconciled to his brother, before returning to offer his gift. What tenderness of conscience was looked for, brotherly affection, lowliness of mind, readiness to own wrong, and desire to win an offended brother! It was the very reverse of anger, contempt, or hatred, which He had just treated.
Kelly places the verse in its immediate context: Christ has just gone behind the act of murder to the root of anger, contempt, and biting words (vv. 21–22). Verse 24 is the positive counterpart. Where the flesh lashes out, the disciple of the kingdom hurries to repair. As Kelly puts it:
The Lord was not content, with authority peculiarly and emphatically His own, to lay down the hateful evil of anger in heart and word, even if not in violent deed. He proceeds to carry out the revealed mind of God for the kingdom by requiring reconciliation if any had stumbled one's brother. Throughout, disciples are in view, not mankind in general. Sin in disciples is exceeding sinful.
Notice the direction of the text: it is not my grievance against my brother, but his against me. The offender is the one sent. Kelly is careful that the original setting is Jewish — the altar still stands — yet he insists the moral weight carries directly over to the Christian.
Restitution before offering — the trespass-offering principle
C. H. Mackintosh makes a beautiful connection between this command and the order of the trespass offering in Leviticus. In Lev. 5 (trespass in the holy things of the Lord), sacrifice comes first and restitution second; in Lev. 6 (trespass against a neighbour), restitution comes first and sacrifice second. Matthew 5:24 operates on exactly the second principle:
C. H. MackintoshIf I wrong my fellow man, that wrong will, undoubtedly, interfere with my communion with God; and that communion can only be restored on the ground of atonement. Mere restitution would not avail. It might satisfy the injured man, but it could not form the basis of restored communion with God… Still, if it be a question of injury done to my neighbour, then restitution must first be made. "If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother has ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift."
Mackintosh then adds a striking footnote pairing Matt. 5:23–24 with Matt. 18:21–22, showing how the two sides of a quarrel are to behave:
The injurer is sent back from the altar, in order to have his matters set straight with the injured one; for there can be no communion with the Father so long as my brother "has ought against me." But, then, mark the beauteous way in which the injured one is taught to receive the injurer. "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus says to him, I say not to thee, until seven times; but, until seventy times seven." Such is the divine mode of settling all questions between brethren.
The offender must not linger at the altar; the offended must not linger over the wrong. Both sides are held under the same grace.
Worship is not pleasing while a brother is grieved
Arend Remmers, writing in Truth and Tidings, applies this pointedly to the gathered worship of Christians today:
Arend RemmersIt cannot be pleasing to God if we come before Him in worship without having first put our relationship with our brother in order. How easily relationships can be broken! Perhaps it was only a misunderstanding, or I may have deliberately hurt a child of God, a brother or sister. Anyway, he or she has something against me. The Lord says in this case, "Go."
And the means of repair is no vague gesture:
The disturbed relationship between believers can only be put in order again by reconciliation and this is unlikely to be achieved without an honest confession. Only then can brotherly love flow again freely. Our fellowship with our God and Father is then restored as well: "And then come and offer thy gift."
A note on the word itself
J. N. Darby, in a letter dealing with the doctrine of reconciliation, draws attention to the particular Greek verb used here — διαλλάσσω — which is distinct from the Pauline καταλλάσσω:
J. N. DarbyReconciling does suppose entering into good graces, where it is mutual, but that is properly διαλλάσσω, as in Matthew 5:24.
The word points to a mutual restoration of goodwill between two parties — precisely what is wanted between brothers, where both sides must actually come back into accord. It is not merely one party's disposition that is to change, but the relationship itself that is to be healed.
Synthesis
The force of Matthew 5:24 is that a grieved brother holds a higher claim on you in the moment than the altar itself. God will not take a gift from hands that have left a wound open in the body of His people. The Lord goes behind the outward act of worship to the state of the worshipper, and behind the worshipper to the condition of his relationships. As Mackintosh reads it through Leviticus, the order is fixed by divine wisdom: when the wrong is against a brother, restitution comes first, sacrifice second — because fellowship with God cannot be rebuilt on top of an unrepented wrong against a neighbour. As Kelly reads it through the Sermon on the Mount, the command assumes a heart marked by "tenderness of conscience… lowliness of mind, readiness to own wrong, and desire to win an offended brother" — the exact opposite of the anger Christ has just denounced. And as Darby reminds us from the language, what is asked for is a mutual setting right, not a private easing of conscience. The one who remembers the grievance is not excused by remembering it; he is sent — immediately, before the gift is ever offered — to go and make it right.