Murder, Madness & Muttering

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7), Jesus made it clear that he had not come to destroy the law of God but to make sure that it is fulfilled in any and every way that it needs to be fulfilled (5:17-20). He concluded this section affirming the permanence of the Old Testament (lit. “the Law & the Prophets”) with the charge to his disciples that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees” that they would never, no not ever, enter the kingdom of heaven. Those were shocking words then and still are today! The thought that their righteousness would have to exceed that of the most legalistically righteous people in their world must have driven home their spiritual bankruptcy to them to their benefit (“blessed are the poor in spirit” v.3).

However, the righteousness of the Pharisees was legalistic and legalistic righteousness is flawed in that it goes to great lengths to precisely define the dos and don’ts in order to actually relax the real demands of God’s law on their lives. As R. Kent Hughes once wonderfully preached,

“The Pharisees’ righteousness was not so great. It was merely external. It focused on the ceremonial. Its man-made rules actually were unconscious attempts to reduce the demands of the Law and make it manageable. Those rules insulated them from the Law’s piercing heart demands. These men were self-satisfied….[but Jesus] was explaining in the most dramatic terms the impossibility of salvation apart from grace.”[1]

It was this Pharisaic tendency to attempt to make the Law “manageable” that prompted Jesus to address six examples (Matthew 5:21-48) or antitheses where there had come a relaxing or corruption of the original heart of God communicated in the law. He uses the formula, “You have heard that it was said…But I say to you…” to delineate each of the six examples.

This week, we will look briefly at the first law Jesus addressed the 6^th Commandment, the prohibition against murder. The Pharisaical view, legalistic righteousness, concludes that if we haven’t actually criminally killed someone then we have kept the 6^th commandment. Jesus takes a very different view.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. (v. 21-22)

Jesus was saying that murder starts in the heart when we act out our anger towards others because they get in the way of our having what we want when we want it. Such outbursts fail to recognize the image of God present in each and every person we meet. Our bullying words assault, abuse, and assassinate character long before blood is shed. Jesus says that waiting for blood to be shed is too easy and not worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

In addition to acting out our anger towards another, Jesus drove the 6^th Commandment even deeper into hearts and souls with the warning against speaking or thinking contempt for another person’s intellect or position (‘raca’ v.22). Likewise, there is no place for speaking or muttering contempt for the character of others even if we disagree with what they stand for. We are not to label others as clueless, worthless, or hopeless for that is not what God says about them. Such murderous labels kill our ability to see what God is doing in the life of another. Such pride deceives us into thinking that we are righteous in our own strength, ideas, and worth…killing our ability to enter the kingdom by grace through faith.

The only way we can enter and exist in the kingdom of heaven it to repent of our selfish pride, and its offspring—angry outbursts, verbal abuse, and inward contempt. Remember that this repentance is relational; it is not just a change of behavior but a returning to the Lord Himself! Jesus gives two examples of how we should apply this commandment and they both center on the urgent need for reconciliation—with our brothers and sisters that we have offended, and with our God to whom we owe more than we could ever pay. Jesus desires relationships to be healed not severed. In fact, 1 John 4:19-21 makes it clear that we cannot love God if we hate people.

I am reminded that Psalm 133:1-2 says,

Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!

The “precious oil” was the oil used only for anointing the High Priest, the Ark of the Covenant, and the furniture and utensils of the holy place—the sanctuary of the Lord. This olive oil contained large quantities of myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, and other fragrant ingredients (Ex. 30). Why do I mention this here? Because the word picture powerfully communicated to the ancient worshipper (on his way to offer his gifts at the altar of the Temple) the same message Jesus returns to in his examples. Simply put, when brothers dwell in reconciled unity it smells like heaven! O Lord Jesus, please bring the scent of heaven to our relationships today! Let heaven’s work be done in this community!

Jesus spoke with authority, not to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. Will we let him do that in our hearts, minds, words, and actions this week?

---

[1] R. Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, 96-97.