Murder, Adultery & Divorce
Notes
Transcript
You have heard...
You have heard...
Last time we studied how Jesus fulfilled the law.
Jesus now deals with a series of examples of how people have misconstrued the law that He fulfilled.
Murder
Murder
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
One of the most quoted mistranslations in the English speaking translations is
One of the most quoted mistranslations in the English speaking translations is
One of the most misquoted
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not kill.
The word translated “Kill”, [ratsach /raw·tsakh/], in this context means “Murder”
[ratsach /raw·tsakh/]
To kill intentionally and with premeditation.
Jesus reminds those He is speaking to that they have been told for a long time not to murder.
And whoever murders will be in danger of judgement.
Reading Numbers and Deuteronomy, we find a list of laws about how to treat those who have killed.
Including how to distinguish murder from manslaughter, (the unintentional killing of another human being).
And the judgements for the different situations.
But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
mt 5 22
But Jesus says that even being angry with your brother without cause puts you in danger of judgement.
I’m sure all of us at one time or another has looked at the sins of another and said, “I may not be perfect, but at least my sins aren’t as bad as that guy.”
“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
lk 18 10-
But God says that unrighteous anger can bring judgement, just as murder can.
It’s important to note that Jesus is talking about being angry without cause.
There are times when it is right to be angry with someone.
Human nature however, tends to be angry with little if any real cause.
That anger not only puts us in danger, but can lead us into acting badly.
The word “Raca” means “empty head”.
So calling someone stupid or empty headed can put you in danger of having to explain yourself before the council.
And calling someone a fool can put you in danger of hell fire itself.
Sounds like a lot of the things people do every day can get us in trouble.
And that our responsibilities to our fellow man are a lot greater than most of us tend to think.
As we’ll see, it’s not just what you do, but what how you react inside that God is concerned with.
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
Does this mean that God is not interested in your gift?
What this shows is that God is more interested in our relationships with our fellow believers than in what gifts we bring to him.
We all have people who have something against us.
We may not know that someone has something against us, but we do.
If we remember that someone has anything against us, that should take precedence over our traditions.
Who knows, God may have just reminded you about something.
Do we take as much concern over our relationship with fellow believers as the gifts and offerings we bring to God?
In the back of this church is a board that shows previous attendance and offerings,
There isn’t one that shows times relationships were reconciled?
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
We tend to think we are right, and that we must stand our ground.
How many of us have, or have seen someone, refuse to forgive because someone did something to them?
But Jesus says, if someone has something against you, reconcile with them quickly.
Do not give the situation time to fester.
Or you may find yourself explaining it to the judge.
And the judge may have you thrown in prison.
And you will pay a pretty price.
Would it not be better to come to terms with those we disagree with?
Even if we think they are wrong, can we not come to some understanding?
There are times when the offense is a sin before God.
We may not be able to give God’s forgiveness, but we should be ready to give our own.
That does not mean there are not consequences,
But you should be ready to stand before a judge for what you do.
Adultery
Adultery
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
We tend to think of ourselves as bodies that have a soul,
I think that is why we focus so much on what we say and do, and dismiss what we think.
But God see us as we truly are, souls that have a body,
Which is why I think God focuses not on what we do, but what we feel in our hearts.
Jesus says that looking at a woman to lust after her is committing adultery in your heart.
The act of adultery is wrong,
Many console themselves with only thinking and not doing.
But God says thinking is as much committing adultery in your heart as doing is committing adultery in your body.
It is a betrayal of your spouse.
And a betrayal of the covenant you made before God.
mk 5
Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
It is human nature to minimize your own sins,
It is human nature to minimize your own sins,
It is human nature to minimize your own sins,
But God points out their true nature, and it is ugly.
If we are caught in our sins, we say “I’m sorry”, and think that’s the end.
Jesus points out how serious it really is.
If your eye or your hand causes you to sin.
Did your eye jump out of its socket to go commit some sin?
Did your hand just go and do something bad all on its own?
All of us have sins we are prone to follow.
Maybe it’s something you look at, or something you grasp.
We think, it’s no big deal. Nobody got hurt.
God says it is a big deal.
Big enough for you to amputate the part of you that you tend to sin with!
Profitable [sympherei] means advantageous.
If it is advantageous for you to pluck out your eye or cut off your hand, just how bad is it to follow those sins?
Jesus says they may lead you to hell.
We moralize, we rationalize, and we even excuse our own sins,
But Jesus, who sees the truth puts those sins into context.
If your eye leads you towards sin, it would be better to remove it than suffer the consequences.
If you hand wanders toward sin, it would benefit you to remove it.
Amputation is an extreme and radical treatment for a damaged limb.
But sometimes it must be done to save a life.
How serious must those tinny little sins be if amputation is the recommended treatment?
That wandering eye or sticky finger?
I don’t believe Jesus is telling us to amputate our body.
I believe He is trying to convey just how serious those sins we minimize really are.
Divorce
Divorce
“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
This may seem like a change of context, from amputation to divorce.
But look at the progression:
Murder,
And the need to reconcile your disputes.
Adultery,
And the need to control yourself or risk hell.
To now divorce,
The severing of a relationship.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Yes, there is a joining of flesh in the marriage,
But there is also a joining of people.
And Adam said:
“This is now bone of my bones
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
After your relationship with God, there should be no one you are closer to that your spouse.
Someone who knows your body, warts and all.
Someone who knows your spirit, both your good traits and your bad.
Someone who is more important than your own life.
Yet today, we treat this joining of two people into one as little more than a contract.
A matter of convenience, sometimes even done for financial gain.
A relationship primarily or our own benefit.
A contract to get out of whenever we feel like it.
When God puts a man and woman together, it is the joining of two people into one.
What God has put together, let no man put asunder.
That is why the only reason acceptable to God to divorce someone is sexual immorality.
The betrayal we discussed just a few minutes ago.
Conclusion
Conclusion
A sin God
So what do murder, adultery and divorce have in common?
We see them as external actions, but each starts with an internal motivation.
Murder starts with anger.
Adultery starts with lust.
And divorce starts with a lack of commitment.
While we need to control our outward actions, we also need to disciple our inward mind.
Rather than focusing on the temporal, we should be working in the eternal.
And we should be thanking Jesus that he has already paid the penalty for our mistakes.
And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins!