but I--I say to you, that every one who is angry at his brother without cause, shall be in danger of the judgment, and whoever may say to his brother, Empty fellow! shall be in danger of the sanhedrim, and whoever may say, Rebel! shall be in danger of the gehenna of the fire.
Matthew 5:20 `For I say to you, that if your righteousness may not abound above that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye may not enter to the reign of the heavens.
Matthew 5:21 `Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not kill, and whoever may kill shall be in danger of the judgment;
Matthew 5:22 but I--I say to you, that every one who is angry at his brother without cause, shall be in danger of the judgment, and whoever may say to his brother, Empty fellow! shall be in danger of the sanhedrim, and whoever may say, Rebel! shall be in danger of the gehenna of the fire.
Matthew 5:23 `If, therefore, thou mayest bring thy gift to the altar, and there mayest remember that thy brother hath anything against thee,
Matthew 5:24 leave there thy gift before the altar, and go--first be reconciled to thy brother, and then having come bring thy gift.
The verse centers on "i--i", "angry", "brother", "without", "cause", "shall", "danger", and "judgment". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "i--i" and "angry", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 21's "Ye heard that it was said to..." into verse 23's "If therefore thou mayest bring thy gift...", so "i--i" 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 "i--i" and "angry" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.