Matthew 5:22

But I say unto you, that every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, `Raca,' shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, `Thou fool,' shall be in danger of the hell of fire.

Raca ... is an Aramaic expression, according to Dummelow, and means "empty head"![12] There are numerous epithets of similar import in constant use by many who fancy themselves to be Christians. Although there are definite gradations in the crimes and penalties here enumerated by Jesus, it would be a mistake to suppose greater or lesser blame for insults answering to "Raca" or "Thou fool." The expressions are essentially the same, and the plain teaching of our Lord in this context is that ALL insults of every kind are sinful and that all our derogatory and deprecatory expressions against one's fellow human beings are murderous. Those who resort to the use of such expressions are guilty in the eyes of the Lord. This is true because such expressions find their origin in a heart full of hatred and enmity. In the light of this, who could use such a term as "nigger" to set at naught a fellow creature, made like ourselves in the image of God?

The penalties arranged in precise order to correspond with the insults mentioned above are not to be understood as graduated penalties or punishments against crimes of more and more serious import; rather, they are to be understood as a three-fold reiteration of one overwhelming truth. They constitute three equivalent statements for the sake of emphasis, all of them dealing with a principle men find it very convenient to ignore. It is at this very juncture, relations with fellow humans, that the Christian is different from others. He is even denied by his Lord the right of worship, if his brother has anything against him!