Jesus: Let me clarify this 'murder' thing...

And as they're leaving, I just thought we could all be honest about something this morning.

All of us get angry.

All of us deal with anger.

And so, you might be like Kilauea.

You know what Kilauea is?

It's the volcano in Hawaii that is constantly erupting.

You have an erupting kind of anger.

People know it when you're anger.

Stuff gets spewed out.

Lava flows.

Things rumble.

Maybe your anger is Kilauea-like.

Volcanic.

Obvious.

Or maybe your anger shows up more like Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park.

Beautiful, serene.

Or so it appears until you start thinking about why is Old Faithful here?

Why are there so many warm springs around here?

And then you start to realize underneath this very serene place is one of the biggest volcanoes on earth.

Many of us simmer in our anger.

It's just below the surface.

And it gets vented once in a while.

So some of us are erupting volcanoes.

Some of us are just kind of simmering under the surface.

But all of us have anger.

Now this morning, I just want to make sure,

as we turn to the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

He's going to say some things that are incredibly searching.

They're going to search your heart.

He's going to expose something in us all.

And what you need to know up front is,

Jesus is not going to call anger a personality quirk.

And Jesus isn't going to say,

hey, all of us are human.

All of us get angry.

So it's just a common human emotion.

So it's okay.

Jesus is going to bring anger under the sixth commandment.

He's going to call it murderous.

It's not okay.

At the heart of murder is anger.

And anger is this ember

that when aflamed can result in all sorts of destructive actions.

So would you turn with me now to Matthew chapter 5.

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

We're going to look at verses 21-26.

Jesus says,

You've 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's 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.

So if you're offering your brother

at the altar

and there remember that your brother has something against you,

leave your gift there before the altar and go.

First be reconciled to your brother

and then come and offer your gift.

Come to terms quickly with your accuser

while you're going with him to court.

Lest your accuser hand you over to the judge

and the judge to the guard

and you be put in prison.

Truly I say to you,

you will never get out

until you have paid the last penny.

This morning what Jesus does

is he shines the floodlight

of the sixth commandment on our hearts.

And what he exposes in our hearts

is a murderous anger.

A murderous anger

that will erupt into hateful words.

Destructive words.

And so this morning,

what Jesus helps us to see

is our anger in light of the sixth commandment.

He has come not to abolish the law,

but to fulfill it.

And so he helps us to understand

the true meaning and scope

of the sixth commandment.

He helps us to see our anger

for what it really is.

What Jesus is going to do here

is he's going to expose

our murderous anger

and then call us

to be kingdom peacemakers.

It's amazing what he does.

And so this morning,

I want you to see three things.

First is this.

I want to remind you

who the I is

of the one who said,

but I say to you.

We've got to remember

who's actually speaking these words.

And then the second thing

is the true meaning

of the sixth commandment.

We'll camp out in verse 22 for that.

And then we're going to see

the kingdom implications.

This exceeding righteousness

that Jesus calls us to.

And that's laid out

in verses 23 through 26

where Jesus calls us

to be peacemakers.

Let's look at this

first step.

The I.

Who is this one speaking?

Verse 22, if you'll notice.

But I say to you,

it's red ink.

Jesus is speaking.

Now, if you are familiar

with the book of Matthew,

up until this point,

Matthew's been making a case

about the one speaking.

If you just turn in your Bible

to Matthew 1,

chapter 1, verse 1,

we see the book

of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,

the son of David.

David.

He is going to...

He's the king.

The long-awaited king.

Son of David.

The son of Abraham.

The one in whom God

is going to bless

all the nations of the earth.

He is Emmanuel.

God with us.

That's chapter 1, verse 23.

He's the one that is worshipped

by pagan kings in 2.11.

He's the one that withstood

the temptations of the devil

with the shield of faith

and the sword of the Spirit.

He did what none of us could do.

And so what you need to know

of this one speaking,

this one who said,

but I say,

this is God incarnate speaking.

And He's speaking to us this morning.

And so when you step back

and you start realizing,

okay,

the king has come.

What we have here

in the Sermon on the Mount

is His inaugural address.

It's Him speaking to His citizens

and declaring to them,

this is how you live for me now.

This is His manifesto of the kingdom.

And so the Sermon on the Mount,

what we have in chapters 5, 6, and 7

is a sermon.

Last week I tried to show you

that the Beatitudes

are the introduction

and the close of the sermon

starts in chapter 7, verse 13,

where He calls us to two ways to live.

He calls us to decision.

And in between the body of the text,

Jesus says,

open up your Bibles

to the Old Testament

and here's my point.

The Old Testament

is fulfilled by Me.

He preaches Himself

from the Old Testament.

And so Jesus fulfills

the Law and the Prophets

in His person.

He's the Messiah.

But He also fulfills it

in His preaching.

He brings the true meaning

of the Old Testament.

What the Law and Prophets

really meant to say.

And that's what we see Him doing

right here.

In the next couple sections,

if you just look at Matthew 5,

starting in verse 21,

you probably have a heading over it

that says,

Anger.

And then if you continue to look,

there's another heading

called Lust, Divorce, Oaths,

Retaliation,

Love Your Enemies.

And in each one,

there's this contrasting statement

that leads that off.

Jesus says something

to the extent of,

you've heard that it was said

about adultery,

but I say,

anyone who lusts in his heart.

And so each time,

each of these six examples,

Jesus is bringing,

fulfilling the true meaning

of God's Law.

He is saying,

what the Pharisees and scribes

are teaching you,

disregard.

Listen to what I have to say.

I am the Incarnate Word

with all authority

to clarify this written Word of God.

And so, this morning,

we're looking at the first

of these six examples.

You've 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.

Remember the one speaking here.

This is God incarnate,

and He's speaking

with all authority

on what murder really means.

And to that end,

let's move to the true meaning

of you shall not murder.

Jesus is essentially saying,

let me clarify

this murder thing for you.

Would you flip back

in your Bibles

to Exodus chapter 20?

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

I'm guessing that you approach

the command,

you shall not murder,

kind of like the way

I approach,

you shall not murder.

And it's the way

the Jews of the time

approached,

you shall not murder.

So let's go to Exodus chapter 20,

Exodus 20 · chapter mention

the Ten Commandments,

and let's do a little

diagnostic test.

Okay?

How are you guys doing?

How are you guys doing?

Are you worshiping other gods?

Do you have any other gods

before you?

And you might say,

by and large,

no.

I'm a follower of Jesus.

I'm a worship of the triune

God of the Bible.

I have my moments,

but generally speaking,

I'm living for the one true God.

Check.

So the second question is,

are you making any carved images

of your God?

Are you building anything

in your house

to worship at?

And you say,

no.

Check.

And the next one,

you shall not take the name

of the Lord in your vein.

Are you using Jesus' name

as a cuss word?

No.

Check.

Next one.

Remember the Sabbath.

Are you taking one day of rest?

Rest every week.

Are you resting?

You're like,

most of the time.

Check.

Then we go to the next one.

Honor your father and your mother.

And you're like,

well, when I was young,

not really,

but now I'm doing everything

I can to help them.

Doing everything I can

to honor them.

And then we get to verse 13.

It says,

you shall not murder.

And in our minds,

we think,

I haven't killed anybody.

Check.

And what Jesus is saying here

is like,

no.

Slow down.

Because this command

has more to do

with just shedding blood.

This makes a claim

on the anger in your heart.

But,

at the time

of Jesus teaching this,

the current teaching of the day

was putting some restrictions

on the sixth commandment.

The Jews of the day

were limiting the sixth commandment

to just the physical act

of murder.

Of homicide.

Jesus is not addressing here

death and war.

He's not talking about

capital punishment.

What he's getting at

is intentional homicide.

And so the Jews of the day

were saying,

well,

hey,

it's just limited

to the physical act

of shedding blood.

That's the first restriction

they were doing.

And the second restriction

they were doing

is the kind of judgment.

The consequence

of shedding blood.

And you see that showing up

back in Matthew.

Matthew 5

where Jesus says,

you've heard that it said

you shall not murder

and whoever murders

will be liable to judgment.

The judgment there

is what was being taught.

It was kind of an expansion

of Numbers 35

Numbers 35:30

verses 30 and 31

where the focus was

if you're a murderer,

you go before a human court

and there needs to be

two witnesses

to prove your guilt.

And so the thought was

limited to human judgment.

Human court.

So the restrictions

taking place at the time

were a physical act

and the consequence

was focused on

a human counsel,

a human judgment.

We all do that.

We all tend to think

about murder that way,

don't we?

We all tend to think

about it as the shedding

of blood

and if we do,

then we've got to

stand before a judge

and jury someday.

In walks Jesus.

In walks the fulfiller

of the law

and the prophets.

And what He's about to say

is going to extend

the reach

of the sixth commandment.

Look what He says.

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.

What Jesus is doing here

is extending

the reach

of the sixth commandment

past the physical act

and into our hearts.

And He's addressing

anger in our hearts.

That destructive impulse

in us

that reacts

to when

we are personally offended.

It's like right there.

That's murder.

That's murder at heart.

That's murderous intent.

You're looking to destroy.

He's getting at

anger as something

that is a destructive attitude

within us.

Anger is at the heart

of murder.

That's what Jesus

is getting at.

And so He's putting this

on a continuum.

And so if murder

is the culmination

of something,

anger is the seed of it.

It's the starting point.

It's when we're personally offended.

Where our hearts go.

And it can result in

divisions

and disunity.

Anger can be dangerous.

Anger can be deadly.

Not only does Jesus

extend the reach

of murder

to include

this thing in our hearts

called anger

which we've all experienced.

Jesus extends the reach

of this

prohibition

to murder

to include

your speech.

Look back at

verse 22.

But I say to you

that everyone

who's angry with his brother

will be liable

to judgment.

Whoever

insults his brother

will be liable

to the council.

You see that word

insults?

There's actually

a word underneath there.

The word is

raka.

And what it is

is

it's a word

that basically

if we

use it today

would be like

blockhead.

Doofus.

And what it is

is

it's a word

that is used

to attack

someone's intellect.

And so

essentially

this insult

is a particular

insult.

It's calling

someone stupid.

stupid.

And so

what we see

here is

anger in our

hearts

progressing

to our speech.

Out of

the heart

the mouth

speaks.

And so

when he calls

someone stupid

it's murderous.

You're looking

to injure

them.

Harm

them.

Reduce

their worth.

Continuing on

verse 22

we read this.

Whoever says

you fool

will be liable

to the hell

of fire.

So we've

looked at that

word raka

which means

stupid.

This word fool

is getting at

a different

aspect of

someone.

Their character.

You're calling

someone a

scoundrel.

It's literally

character

assassination.

So Jesus

is saying

when you

call someone

raka

stupid.

When you

call someone

a scoundrel

those words

are murderous

words.

They are

aimed

to destroy.

They're aimed

to hurt.

To reduce

somebody.

Jesus is getting

at a progression

of sin.

Out of the

heart

the mouth

speaks.

Have you

ever said

something in

your mind

or heard

someone said

I wish him

good as

dead.

Have you

ever heard

anybody say

that?

Maybe that's

come out of

your mouth

before.

You see the

murderous intent

behind that?

I wish this

person off the

face of the

earth.

See what's

going on there

through this

grid Jesus

is giving

us?

Jesus

doesn't

just

extend

the reach

of the

sixth

commandment

to our

hearts

and to

our

speech

he extends

the

consequence

of it.

He moves

beyond

human

eyes.

Look at

that last

piece he

says in

verse 22

whoever says

you fool

will be

liable

to the

hell

of fire.

Literally

the fire

of Gehenna.

Gehenna was

a dump

outside of

Jerusalem

and it

was horrific.

The worst

stuff was

put there.

There were

smoldering

fires.

Corpses of

criminals

were put

in

Gehenna.

It was a

nasty,

nasty

place.

And so it

became synonymous

with outcasts,

destruction,

punishment.

And what Jesus

has in mind

here is

divine

judgment.

He's talking

about hell.

anger.

The consequence

of angry

hearts

moving towards

angry speech

that are aimed

to destroy

people,

it's murderous.

And it bears

not only a

human consequence,

but a divine

consequence.

You're offending

God.

Your sinful

anger is

provoking

God's

righteous

anger.

You might be

sitting in your

seat right now

and you're

like, oh

Jesus, come on,

let up.

Seriously.

Isn't there

this thing

called righteous

indignation?

How many

have gone

there so far?

But what

about that?

is Jesus

absolutizing

all anger

right here?

Is He saying

that all

anger for

all time

that comes

out of

every human

heart

is murderous?

Is He saying

that?

He's not

saying that.

Because elsewhere

in our Bibles,

like Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4,

26 and 27,

we're told

to be angry

and do

not sin.

Quoting

a psalm.

I mean,

we even see

in Jesus'

very life,

the God-man,

He never,

in His anger

and He got

angry,

He never

sinned.

God the

Father,

His wrath

is a

righteous,

holy wrath

so that we

know that

there is

this thing

called

righteous

indignation.

And so

Jesus isn't

absolutizing

here,

but He

is generalizing.

He's saying

by and

large,

our anger,

we flare

up against

personal

offense.

We take

things

personally.

And we

go

raka.

We go

you fool.

We have

murderous

intent

as a

result.

It's that

incendiary

reaction

when we

perceive a

wrong done

to us.

And Jesus,

so Jesus is

saying here,

you know,

there are

exceptions,

but by and

large,

all of us

know that

our anger

is an

anger that

is unrighteous.

So Jesus

isn't

absolutizing,

but He is

generalizing.

Just a

word of

caution.

If you

find yourself

in a

situation

where you've

got a

cause,

it's a

righteous

cause,

and it

makes you

angry,

and you

know that

this anger

is close

to God's

heart,

like God

is angry

over this,

be careful.

Even your

righteous

indignation

can be

unstable.

It can

result in

thinking of

people as

villains.

Be careful.

all anger

is dangerous.

So what I

want to show

you here is

this.

In Jesus

expanding the

sixth commandment,

this is what

He's done.

He's brought

His ten

pound

messianic

sledgehammer

to the

sixth

commandment,

and He

has just

smashed down

these walls

that have been

built up around

it that were

never supposed

to be there.

And He's

saying,

no,

don't limit

the sixth

commandment

to just

the physical

slaying of

blood.

Don't limit

it just to

the consequences

with man.

No,

no,

no.

Let me smash

these down

so that you

can see

this commandment

and feel

the claim

it makes

on you.

So murder

is not just

an outward

physical act.

It has to do

with your heart.

What goes on

the inside.

Your attitude

towards others.

Murder is not

just the

shedding of

blood.

It includes

this wounding

speech that

diminishes the

worth of

people.

It's the

literal character

assassination

in which we

kill people

with our

words.

And it's

just not the

consequence of

a human

court.

Our

unrighteous

anger provokes

God's righteous

wrath.

And so the

Pharisees had

restricted the

full impact of

the sixth

commandment.

And here Jesus

is the

fulfiller of

all the

Old Testament

saying this

is what it

really means.

Jesus is

fulfilling the

true purpose

of the law.

The law

exposes the

sinfulness of

our sin.

salvation.

It reveals our

hearts for what

they truly

are.

It shows us

that we may

do an initial

glance through the

Ten Commandments

and think we're

okay, we've never

murdered anybody.

But as we hear

Jesus speaking here,

we need to realize

actually we have

transgressed the

sixth commandment.

Why is anger

wrong?

It's murderous in

its intent.

It's destructive in

its intent.

But as David read

earlier, what the

law also does, it

just not exposes our

sin, it leads us

to Jesus.

It exposes our

need for our

Savior.

So listen to this.

This is what's so

amazing about the

one speaking.

Not only did He

come to fulfill

in His person,

in His preaching,

He came to

fulfill,

He lived a

perfect life.

He never sinned

in His anger.

And He went

to the cross

and died

and bore

the righteous

wrath of God

for the

murderous hearts

of those who

would one day

come and believe

in Him.

You and me.

Jesus died for

murderers.

Whether that's a

physical act

or it's the

attitude of your

heart

or it's the

words that you

say.

Jesus

bore the

fire of

hell

for the

anger

of our

hearts.

peace.

Do you know

what the result

of that was?

Peace.

Peace.

No more

wrath.

No more

hostility.

Jesus brought

peace.

The last

move I want

to show you

in this passage

is in

verses

23-26.

I'm going

to focus

mainly on

23-24.

But Jesus

here calls

us to

a righteousness

that exceeds

the Pharisees

and the scribes.

Jesus calls

us to be

peacemakers.

Blessed are

the peacemakers

for they shall

be called

sons of God.

The two

examples He

brings up

are a

worship service

and on your

way to small

claims court.

So in

verses 23

and 24

we read

this.

So if you

are offering

your gift

at the

altar,

notice where

this is

taking place?

This is

taking place

in the

temple.

People

bringing

their

gift

to the

altar

to worship

God.

And then

what Jesus

points out

is,

so if

you're

coming to

a church

service,

if you're

about to

put your

money into

the plate,

if you're

bringing your

gift,

and then

He says,

if you

remember that

your brother

has something

against you.

So you've

come to the

church service

and you

remember that

there's a

brother or

sister that

has something

against you.

Now,

that something

against you

is somewhat

vague.

Jesus isn't

being clear

and He's

intentionally

being vague

because that

leaves open

the door

for this.

if I'm

coming to

the service

and I'm

remembering

someone who

I have

gotten angry

with and

offended,

or if I

remember someone

who's gotten

angry with me

and given me

offense,

it can be

either.

Someone with

something against

me.

What am I to

do?

What are you

to do?

You're to go

to them.

You're to put

down your

gift and

you are to

go to

them.

Go to

them for

what purpose?

To make

peace with

them.

Now,

I'm not sure

if you picked

up on this,

but there's

an urgency

with what

Jesus is

talking about.

I mean,

seriously,

worshiping God

in His

sanctuary is

like wonderful.

Big priority,

right?

Why is

God saying,

don't give

me your

gift.

Go to

your brother.

Why would

God tell

us to do

that?

Here's why.

God values

the unity

of His

people.

God puts

a huge

premium on

the unity

of His

people.

God wants

us to be

united with

each other

in our

worship of

Him.

And if

there's

something out

of sorts

between any

of us,

He says,

go fix

that first

and then

come

worship

Me.

God is

very concerned

about the

effects of

anger in

our midst.

Christ.

It can

bring

discord

and that

discord is

like a

disease to

the body

of God.

So the

Lord Jesus

is saying,

be quick,

make this a

priority.

If you become

aware of

someone with

something against

you,

you go to

them.

Go to

them to

reconcile

with them.

Go to

them saying

things like,

I know I got

angry with you

last week and

I know that

hurt you.

Would you

please forgive

me?

Or,

it's,

did I do

something to

provoke you

to anger?

And if so,

I am so

sorry.

I want to

be at

peace with

you.

So this

morning,

let me ask

you,

as you're

here,

together,

gathered in

the worship

of God,

is there

someone God

is bringing

to your

mind that

has something

against you?

Have you

offended them

or have

they offended

you?

In Jesus'

economy,

it doesn't

matter.

Go to

them.

Make peace

with them.

Seek peace

with them.

There's another

group of people

in here.

You may have

already gone

to someone.

You already

remembered someone

who has

something against

you.

And you've

already gone

to them.

But they're

not interested

in pursuing

peace with

you.

They're not

reciprocating

that.

What does

that mean

for you

now?

Does that

mean you

cannot worship

God with

God's people?

No, it

doesn't.

Come into

the house

of the Lord.

You've done

what you can

do.

Now,

cry out to

the Lord

to bring a

fullness of

peace to

that relationship.

Wait on

the Lord.

Wait on

the Lord.

And worship

Him as

you wait.

Ask Him

to soften

hearts.

So the

first example

Jesus gives

of, hey,

you're not a

murderer,

you're a

peacemaker in

God's house,

with God's

family,

and it shows

up in how

you prioritize

it on

coming on

Sunday

morning.

The other

area that He

points to

is small

claims court.

He says,

come to

terms quickly

with your

accuser while

you're going

with him.

And then in

verse 26,

He reveals

the nature

of it.

Truly,

I say to

you,

you will

never get

out until

you have

paid the

last penny.

Money,

lending money,

borrowing money

between people

can cause

all sorts

of issues.

And what

Jesus is

saying here

is,

hey,

if you owe

somebody money

or someone

owes you

money and

it's getting

in the way

of your

relationship,

if it's going

to go to

court,

go to

them.

You initiate.

You initiate.

And you bring

peace to

that.

Come to

terms

quickly

with your

accuser.

In both of

these cases,

what we see

here is

Jesus calling

us to

a righteousness

that exceeds

that of the

Pharisees.

He calls

us to

make peace

with people

who we may

have offended

somehow.

Or they

have offended

us.

And what

Jesus is

showing us

in both of

these instances,

be quick

to peace.

It affects

your worship.

It affects

your witness.

Be quick

to peace.

This morning,

I try to

remind you

who's speaking

that this is

Jesus the

King.

He has

all authority

to clarify

what the

Sixth

Commandment

really means.

And He did

for us.

He showed

us the

true meaning

and scope

of the

Sixth

Commandment.

It extends

into our

hearts.

It extends

into our

words.

It extends

the consequence

to being

an offense

to God

Himself.

An offense

that only

Jesus can

pay on our

behalf.

He bore

God's

righteous

wrath

for your

sinful

anger.

peace.

And finally,

He calls

us to be

peacemakers.

This exceeding

righteousness

to make

peace with

those whom

we've

offended.

To initiate

peace just

as God

in Christ

initiated

peace

with us.

peace

peace

peace

peace

These words

of Jesus

show us

how

Jesus

fulfills

the law

and the

prophets

and they

show us

what a

righteousness

that exceeds

the Pharisees

looks like.

And if

you're like

me,

you hear

Jesus speak

this and

your response

is Lord

help me.

Help me walk in Your ways.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, these are searching words

You speak from the sixth commandment.

And they reveal our hearts for what they are.

And we're amazed that God,

You love us despite the murderous ways

of our hearts.

Thank You for coming for us.

Thank You for becoming,

taking God's wrath for our sin.

God, would You make us peacemakers?

Would You use Your Word here

to spur us on to be at peace

with brothers and sisters

and even with debtors?

God, make us light.

God, make us salt

in a decaying and dark world.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.