The 6th Commandement Revisited Matt. 5:21-26

Introduction

As Jesus switches gears in His sermon, he is going to take the crowd past their self righteous and traditional view of keeping the law and expound on what these commandments truly mean. Tonight we will look at the 6th commandment revisited.

Commandment 6 Thou shalt not kill vs. 21

Thou shalt not kill seems pretty straight forward, doesn’t it?

One of the first crimes committed in the Bible was when Cain killed Abel

Genesis 4:8 “8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.”

In Genesis 9:6 we see the judgement of murder

Genesis 9:6 “6 Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”

Murder is not just wrong because it is the taking of someones life, but when you murdering someone you are murdering a human being that was made in the image of God.

In Exodus 20:13 we find the commandment Jesus is referencing here “Thou shalt not kill”

This commandment is against the intentional killing of another human being for personal reasons, whatever those reasons may be.

Satan is the original murderer

John 8:44 “44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”

An important thing we must all remember though is that while Satan is the father of lies and a murderer, man is still accountable for their sins, including murder.

One commentator said it this way “We do not sin simply because of Satan or because of social depravation, stressful situations, bad influences, or any other external cause. Those things may tempt us to sin and make sinning easier, but when we commit sin — or even intend to commit sin — it is because we decided to sin. Sin is an act of will.”

Look at Romans 1:28–31 “28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:”

In Proverbs 6:16-19 we find a list of seven things that are an abomination to God and on that list is “hands that shed innocent blood”

Proverbs 6:16–19 “16 These six things doth the Lord hate: Yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, Feet that be swift in running to mischief, 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren.”

Everyone in the crowd could get behind verse 21 because they were convinced that they were safe from judgement, but in verse 22 we will see Jesus attack the self confidence of the crowd by diving deeper into what murder is.

A deep dive into thou shalt not kill vs. 22

The Rabbi’s, scribes, and Pharisees had confused murder to being a civil issue that should be prosecuted in a human court, but while that was true it was deeper than that.

They had really confined murder to only a physical act and because of that they had disregarded what the scripture taught about the heart

The Lord told Samuel this in 1 Samuel 16:7 “7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

God sees our thoughts and knows our intents. While we can only see surface level God sees our most inward thoughts.

Here in verse 22 Jesus is about to shake up there view on murder.

He begins the verse by saying “But I say unto you”

This is not him adding to the commandment, but rather contrasting the teaching of the Rabbi’s and Scribes he spoke of in verse 21.

In effect Jesus is saying “let me tell you what the scripture says, what God’s truth is on the matter”

We must not allow our traditions to define what the Word of God says, we must allow the word of God define what our traditions are.

We must allow God’s word to direct our lives, not man’s traditions.

In a statement that may of shocked the multitudes more than any other statement Christ had made, He declares that a person guilty of anger is a person guilty of murder and deserves a murderers punishment.

1 John 3:15 tells us that everyone who hates his brother is guilty of murder.

In the context of 1 John, brother, refers to the Christian brotherhood

Here in Matthew, Jesus uses brother in the broad ethnic sense, meaning any Jewish person in that culture.

Jesus strips away their shield of self-righteousness

He swept aside the self justification that is common to all of us.

Christ’s main point here through verse 48 is that even the best of people in their hearts are sinful and so are in the same boat as the worst of people.

Here in verse 22 Jesus gives 3 examples of Murder

Anger

We see in the Scriptures and Jesus’ own life that anger is not prohibited.

It was a righteous anger that cleansed the temple from those who defiled it

John 2:14-17.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:26 “26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”

In our day of peace at any cost we need some Christians who will show some righteous indignation against the things that attack the kingdom and glory of God.

Psalm 7:11 “11 God judgeth the righteous, And God is angry with the wicked every day.”

Jesus here is not speaking about anger over God being dishonoured, but rather selfish anger against a brother because he has done something against us or simply irritates and displeases us.

The greek word here has to do with a brooding, simmering anger that is nurtured and not allowed to die

The writer of Hebrews calls it the root of bitterness in Hebrews 12:15.

Jesus tells them that if they have this type of anger against a brother they are held to the same judgement as the murderer

Slander

The word Raca was a descriptor used in Jesus’ day that has no modern equivalent

It was a term of malicious abuse, derision and slander.

It has been rendered as brainless, worthless fellow, silly fool, and so on…

David spoke of people who talk like this in Psalm 140:3 “3 They have sharpened their tongues like a serpent; Adders’ poison is under their lips. Selah.”

This is the type of word the soldiers would have used with Christ on the cross

Matt 27:29-31.

To slander a person made in God’s image is equivalent to murder, because the intent is out of a hatred toward a person.

The Council here is referring to the sanhedrin, a council of 70 who tried the most serious offences and handed out the most severe punishments.

Condemning Character

Psalm 14:1 “1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good.”

Psalm 53:1 “1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: There is none that doeth good.”

Proverbs is filled with references and warnings to fools.

We see from the word of God that there are fools in the world, and it is certainly our obligation to warn those who are clearly in opposition to God’s word.

Jesus here is prohibiting us from calling a person a fool out of self-serving anger and hatred.

Numbers 20:10 “10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?”

Hell fire here is a reference to the fiery valley of Hinnom, just outside of Jerusalem, where the refuse of the city was dumped and the bodies of the criminals were burned. No greater shame could be imagined by a jew than to be cremated.

Our worship effected vs. 23-24

When we allow things to get between us and our brother it effects our worship.

One commentator wrote”True worship is not enhanced by better music, better prayers, better architecture or even better preaching. True worship is enhanced by better relationships between those who come to worship.”

Nearly a thousand years before Jesus preached the sermon on the mount the Psalmist penned these words in Psalm 66:18 “18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear me:”

Even Samuel got this principle

1 Samuel 15:22 “22 And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to hearken than the fat of rams.”

Our relationships effected vs. 25-26

This illustration is a picture of sin against another person. Such sin must be resolved to avoid having to face the sentence of the divine judge.

We are to make every effort, with no delay, to make our relationship right with our relationship can be right with God and we can avoid chastening.

Conclusion

Jesus here shatters our self righteousness and points us to His righteousness, which alone is acceptable to God!