But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not murder’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before the court.’
Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
Matthew 5:23 Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Matthew 5:24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
The verse centers on "everyone", "angry", "brother", "shall", "guilty", "before", "court", and "whoever". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "everyone" and "angry", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 21's "You have heard that the ancients were..." into verse 23's "Therefore if you are presenting your offering...", so "everyone" and "angry" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.
A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "everyone" and "angry" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.