You Have Heard it Said about Murder - Matthew 5:21-26

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your class today. You know, I look at many of you and some of the ladies that can’t be here today for whatever reason, and I realize even more the legacy that New Harmony women have established as an example of how to live lives in a way that is fulfilling and honors God. To each of you that I have had the privilege of watching you and seeing how you handle things that happen in your life, I say thank you. Thank you for being that example, thank you for being so faithful, thank you for loving this church and its members in such a way that you teach others without speaking, your words are cherished because others see howl you live and honor God. It is a blessing to be with you today.

When Nancy called and asked me to teach, I had not looked at the lesson, and low and behold, it was speaking about the sin of murder. Obviously, the first thing to come to my mind was, “What can I possibly present that those ladies in this class do not already know?” It was in that moment that I realized it doesn’t make any difference what our stage of life happens to be. We need to be reminded of the basic laws that were given by God and taught by Jesus. It is always an extra blessing to me when I study the very words that Jesus spoke. In our lesson today, I find that Jesus not only addresses the sin of murder, but He addresses the equality of sins in the eyes of God.

I want us to read our lesson text. Matthew 5:21

King James Version Chapter 5

21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

First of all: Can God look upon sin? I think we often grow up with the misconception of how God views sin. Turn in your Bible to Habakuk 1:13.

King James Version Chapter 1

13  Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil,

And canst not look on iniquity:

Wherefore lookest thou upon them nthat deal treacherously,

And holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?

Think about it like this:

Did God see Cain kill Abel?

Did God see the sinful people before the flood?

Did God see what was going in Sodom and Gomorrah?

Sure He did. However, He accepted some sacrifices for those who sinned. The priests and all his helpers stayed very busy offering sacrifices, not only for themselves, but for the sins of the people.

It is in the New Testament that God gives us a new covenant and a permanent sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. Jesus is our mediator who goes between God and us to allow us to be forgiven.

Back to our first verse. Even though God had given the commandment not to kill in the Old Testament, Jesus came and reminded us the murder is wrong, and He goes even further to say, “Whoever does kill, is in danger of the judment.”

What is the only thing that will keep a person who has murdered another person from God’s judgment? Of course, forgiveness by Jesus.

Verse 22, goes on to say, and this is another one of those where Jesus says: “But I say unto you.” Let’s look in our Bible in Matthew 5, and we find that six times Jesus reiterates something.

21 - Ye have heard that it was said

22 - But I say unto you

27 - Ye have heard that it was said

28 - But I say unto you

31 - It hath been said

32 - But I say unto you

33 - Again, ye have heard that it hath been said

34 - But I say unto you

38 - Ye have heard that it was said

39 - But I say unto you

43 - Ye have heard that it hath been said

44 - But I say unto you

I am sure we will get into the others in future lessons, but the point is, Jesus is telling us some things have changed because he came. He is saying that unconfessed murder and a plea for forgiveness is the only way to avoid judment and eternal life in hell.

So, let’s look at what Jesus says about murder.

King James Version Chapter 5

22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Jesus in this verse goes on to say, “Wait a minute, back this bus up. You may not have murdered anyone, but you are so angry with your friend, your husband, your child, your other family member that you don’t even talk to them. Wow! That is heavy. So what Jesus is saying is that in the eyes of God murder is equal to being angry with that person in your life. He even goes so far as to say if you use the slang word “Raca” you are in danger of being judged by the highest court in the land. The word “Raca” is a derogatory expression used by Jews of the 1st century to show open contempt for another. Raca is derived from an Aramaic and Hebrew term meaning empty or worthless. Literally meaning “empty headed,” probably insinuates an intellectual stupidity or inferiority rather than a moral deficiency.

In the OT it is comparable to

the worthless lot that Abimelech hired to follow him (Jgs 9:4), the idle men who gathered around Jephthah (Jgs 11:3), and

the scoundrels who joined up with Jeroboam (2 Chr 13:7).

Michal accused David of acting like “one of the vulgar fellows [raca]” who “shamelessly uncovers himself!” (2 Sm 6:20).

Rabbinic literature used this term to describe an immoral, untrained person.

Jesus warned against calling a brother “Raca!” (Mt 5:22). According to Jesus, the perpetrator of the insult was to be judged by the highest court of the land and punished by its severest penalty. The commandment against murder (Ex 20:13) not only prohibited the deed itself but also the thoughts of unrighteous anger and expressions of unwarranted contempt for one’s fellow man.

Elwell, W. A., & Beitzel, B. J. (1988). Raca. In Baker encyclopedia of the Bible (Vol. 2, p. 1815). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

Then, Jesus, really lays it on heavy and says, “But if you call someone a fool, you are in danger of hell fire

There is that word danger again. Jesus is saying without verbalizing it, whatever sin you commit is too much to get you out of hell without a sacrifice for that sin, and I came to be that sacrice. Of course, we know Jesus goes on further in His teachings to explain that His eventual death on the cross will prevent a person from spending eternity in hell for those who trust, believe, and have a personal relationship with Jesus. Even the thief on the cross had a relationship with Jesus, be it all a very short period of time.

Jesus then tells us what to do if we are having a problem with someone that has not been resolved.

King James Version Chapter 5

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

He starts out by saying, “God doesn’t want your gifts and your offerings while you cannot even get along with your family and friends.” He tells us to take care of our relationships with others first. He even goes on to say you and your enemy need to come to an agreement.

We have all lived long enough to know that forgiveness for others is sometimes not for them, but for ourselves. Have you ever gone to someone else to say that you are forgiving them and you want their forgiveness only to find they will not forgive? Do you remember how you felt when you forgave them anyway knowing that you were not receiving their forgiveness? It is rather cleansing, isn’t it? There is a peace about it. Your heart may hurt because things are not the same as they were before the offense, but you feel like you have done your part which is what Jesus asked. Notice that Jesus did not say, go settle the differences with your enemy if it is your fault. He said, “Clear up the problem with your family member or former friend, and then come back to offer your tithes and offerings.

And Jesus goes on to say, “Do it quickly.” Do it before it escalates into something bigger such as your enemy taking you to court and maybe you eventually ending up in prison where you can’t get out until you have paid every last dime that was encountered because you were taken to court. You know Jesus is just telling us to be practical in this world. Settle your differences with others while keeping in mind that all of us are going to live eternally. Some in heaven and some in hell.

A guide that I was given for this lesson suggested some ways for us to apply these verses:

Obey the command to not commit murder.

Avoid the error of ongoing anger towards others.

Avoid the error of name-calling that insults someone’s intelligence.

Avoid the error of calling someone a fool or insulting a person’s moral worth.

Obey the command to deal with personal conflicts quickly before attempting to worship the Lord with whatever gifts we may offer.

I would like to add one more to that: Remember that God’s forgiveness outweighs anything we do or say if we will repent and ask for that forgiveness. Some of you may still struggle at times with the validity of your salvation. I want to tell you a story that settled that for me.

I hope that you, too, have been to the cross where your sins were posted because it is there that the blood of Jesus can wipe that slate clean for you and God will see you through the blood of Jesus.

I hope your week is filled with good and peaceful things. It has been my pleasure to be in your class today.