Expelling Murder From Your Heart - Matthew 5:21-26

0:40But Happy Mother's Day. And as a celebration, just I don't think it was announced. We're having dinner on the grounds again tonight, but we're bringing in pizzas. So to give mothers a break, but still give everyone an opportunity to come up and fellowship and bring something they would like, regardless. But certainly take a holiday and enjoy. But Mother's Day. I thought I'd do something different today. I thought I would interrupt our series and preach a sermon geared towards Mother's Day. And so the title of my sermon is Murder on Mother's Day.

1:26You're probably going to say from now on just stick to what you were doing. Don't get out now. You know why we don't want you to do this again for the next 12 years, right? But I guess one of two things is going on here, two possible issues why I chose this title. Number one may be that I just simply need a sabbatical, and that might be the case. Or I want to talk to you about a very serious matter that really affects all of us, that has touched me deeply, and I think may be going on even in this room right now. And so I hope it's the latter and not that I just simply need a sabbatical, why I chose this title. But something happened years ago, I mean, many years ago, in my late teens, around my senior year in high school, I witnessed an exchange between a married couple that has stayed with me ever since. The husband brought the wife some flowers, and with a great display of pomp and ceremony and affection, he gives the flowers to his wife. The wife took the flowers and threw them aside and said, This is not what I want, and stomped out.

2:50Wow. So, what was going on there, right? I thought, well, man, maybe women are complicated. You know, this didn't really seem to Just, but I've reflected on this. Now, I was close enough to the couple to know that the husband had recently done something uncaring, very insensitive, that legitimately offended his wife. And looking back, I understand a little more about what took place or what was happening at that moment. The wife was struggling with murder in her heart, and the husband was doing nothing to release her of that burden. And the flowers were a poor attempt to smooth over an issue that needed to be dealt with a little differently.

3:41In fact, the flowers were really an attempt to encourage the wife to keep carrying her burden instead of helping her remove that burden that was going on in her heart. You see, flowers could be very easy, right? They take no humility, no repentance, and no restitution. Very easy when you're dealing with some weighty matters of the heart. So, murder on Mother's Day is really unthinkable, right? Never kill anybody on Mother's Day. And yet, I'd venture to say that murder could be happening right here in this room at this very moment.

4:30Because you see, in God's economy, murder is an attitude, not an act. Murder is the termination of a relationship. And murderers are those who move in the direction of terminating relationships. You see, physical murder is just an extreme expression of wanting a person out of your life. That's what physical murder is. Wow, pretty extreme. Want them so bad, I'll take them out, right? But we make subtle expressions of murder all the time. I don't want that, I want nothing to do with you, right?

5:12Physical murder is just a more extreme expression of murder that's already in the heart. You see, Jesus has some very convicting words on the nature of murder. And we're going to come to those in a moment. But first, I want you to see the regard that Jesus has for Scripture. And that'll set the backdrop for his thoughts on murder. Look at verse 17. And it's clear that Jesus had the highest regard for Scripture, and this is seen in his own relationship to Scripture. Verse 17 says, Do not think that I came to abolish the law or prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. And it's clear what Jesus is saying here in verse 17 is that he sought to advance murder. God's instruction, not dismantle it. To abolish it is to do away with. He didn't come to dismantle the law of God or the righteousness, the prior revelation that was given in the law. He didn't come to dismantle that. He came to advance it to completion. Christ came to advance what was already there. He didn't come to reinvent the law, to set it aside, to contradict it, to negate it. He came to advance it.

6:32It's also clear in verse 18 that Jesus saw the words of Scripture as more sure than the elements of the physical universe. Look at verse 18. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. You see, Jesus, being that perfect expression of the law, he didn't just obey the law and thus fulfill it. He didn't just explain the law and thus fulfill it. He was the very perfect expression of the righteousness of God incarnate. The law reflected him.

7:14And he was saying, not the smallest letter, not even the tiniest particle of Scripture will pass away from the law until all is fulfilled, carried out, should become. Reality. So in Jesus' mind, the tiniest particles of Scripture are more stable than the particles that hold the universe together. So he certainly has a high regard of Scripture. And such high regard for Scripture is also seen in his evaluation of how others relate to Scripture. Notice in verse 19. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Notice three categories of people here. And Jesus designates them. This is how Jesus himself designates them. They're the least in the kingdom of heaven. And they're the ones who annuls, looses, unties, lightens up one of the least of the commandments. And I believe the commandments that he's going to go on to elaborate going forward. But certainly he is the expression of the law, and he is no minimalist. He is not undercutting. He is not rolling back. But he is advancing the principles of Scripture in the law and the prophets. So he is advancing thee. And those who do the opposite, who loosen them up, they shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But then there are those who are called greatest in the kingdom of heaven. In fact, the word is named. There are those who are named least and those who are named greatest. And the ones who are the greatest are those who keep principles of Scripture and teach principles. That is the one who is named great.

9:23But then in verse 20, there's another category of people. Look at verse 20. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. So he speaks about the least in the kingdom of heaven. He speaks about the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And then he speaks about those who are outside the kingdom of heaven. These did not have a righteousness that was sufficient to enter. You see, the problem was never with the law, but with those who taught it.

9:59The righteousness or the unrighteousness of the Pharisees. Their righteousness was insufficient because they had become experts at loosing or experts in setting aside the law of God, not experts in obeying it. And I hope that you and I will become experts at carrying out the instruction of God in our lives. And that's what I want to do this morning as we look at this principle of murder. Obeying the law was always a matter of the heart. The instruction of God was and still is spiritual in nature. It is from one spiritual being to another spiritual being. We are spiritual beings, God is spirit. And so obedience to the law has always been a matter of the heart, a matter of the spirit.

11:03And God expects heart-level obedience. And nowhere does Jesus demonstrate this expectation more than he does in our passage this morning in verses 21 through 26, dealing with murder. Let me read it: You have heard that the ancients were told, you shall not commit a murder, and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court, and whoever says to his brother, you good for nothing, shall be guilty before the Supreme Court, and whoever says, you fool, shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Therefore, if you are presenting your offering on the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are. With him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly, I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid the last cent. Well, I want you to understand this morning Jesus' teaching on the nature of murder, so that you will know how to love the people in your life.

12:27And like a true expositor, Jesus comes to the scripture, he cites a very simple text of scripture, then he expounds it, and then he applies it, just like a master expositor. He is the master expositor. And what he does, simply he cites the text, he explains it, and then he applies it. And so that's what we're going to look at this morning. We're going to look at Jesus' teaching on the nature of murder. First thing, notice, is that murder must be punished. Look at verse 21. You have heard that the ancients were told, you shall not commit murder, and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. In other words, you have heard this said. This is what was reported to the ancients, and this is what you were told. Very simple truth. Everyone can relate to this, right? And no one disputes it. If you kill somebody, if you murder somebody, You deserve punishment. Physical murder deserves punishment. And those who commit murder are subject to whatever punishment the court decides, right? Very straightforward. Now, there may be some dispute today what that punishment should be for someone who commits murder, but the law of God was very clear on this. Those who murder deserve death. You cut someone off from the land of the living, you yourself deserve to be cut off from the land of the living. Very straightforward, very simple principle. And almost seems like, okay, well, I've got that one. One of the easy ones in the Ten Commandments, because most of us think, oh, yeah, we're not murderers, right? Jesus, that's what they were told. That was reported to the ancients. But let me tell you, there's more in this command than you realize. And Jesus doesn't add anything there. He brings out the principle and brings it to bear upon their lives. See, the problem with the laws of men is that they can only see on the outside, they can only measure actions. Motivations of the heart cannot be seen outside of actions, right? Nowhere was I made more aware of this than a few years ago. We had a situation with the mission, Emmanuel Lighthouse mission, a violent crime. Criminal got out of jail, and he had affections for one of the ladies in our guest house. And Marilyn, being Marilyn, who is very protective of the ladies in there, inserted herself in the middle of this love triangle. And I tell her over and over, stay out of the love triangles. They're dangerous. Well, she, out of protection, really stepped in the middle. This young lady had come to Christ, and Marilyn wanted to protect her from this now-violent criminal who was out on the street, who was looking for her. Well, things escalated. It got death threats were involved, very scary there for a while. And to the point that five detectives had gotten involved in the case.

15:54And long and short of it, we're asking the law enforcement to get involved because we know there's murder in this man's heart. And I never will forget the day when one of the detectives reported, or the law enforcement spokesman said, you know what, ma'am, we cannot do anything until an incident occurs. I said, well, that doesn't do any good. You know, and so I tell Marilyn, stay away from the church. And she said, Says, well, I'm ready to die. I said, I know you're ready to die, but I'm not ready to lose a director. I don't want to go through all that again. So just out of my sake, for me, serve me in this capacity, okay?

16:42But the bottom line is: man's courts cannot see murder in the heart, but there is one who can. So, Jesus' teaching on the nature of murder, first of all, murder must be punished. Second, murder is a spiritual action, it's something that takes place long in the heart before it takes place in the hand. And there is a court that measures that and sees that. Look at verse 22. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court. And whoever says to his brother, you good for nothing, shall be guilty before the Supreme Court. And whoever says, you fool, shall be guilty enough to go into fiery hell.

17:42Notice the three-step progression here that ends with a horrifying judgment. It's an anger that's on a trajectory. This is not, Jesus isn't speaking about an anger that reflects a holy dissatisfaction. But this is an anger that moves in a despising direction. First of all, there's angry, anger in the heart. They're guilty before the court. God sees that when you despise your brothers or sisters or your mother or anyone. And notice the next stage: Raka. And whoever says to his brother, you good for nothing, it's the word raqa. And that we might translate that as you numbskull, you not head. It's a word I've used. Or you dummy. You empty-headed person, but in a despising way. Not in a light, but in a very despising way. You numbskull.

18:48And then that person shall be guilty before the Supreme Court, the highest court of heaven. Remember, we're not talking about some earthly court here. We're talking about the highest court. And whoever says, you fool, that's the word more. We get the word moron from that, right? And it's that you stupid, you idiot. Do you hear the despise in that? That's why it's a good word not to say in your home, right? But it's the word moron, you worthless, good for nothing. You have absolutely no value in life. No absolute, you have no value in my life. Get away from me, you moron.

19:41That's the expression. And that's what murder does, a despise. Right? And where is their punishment? Into the trash dump. You see, the valley of Hinom, the word we get for hell, is the valley of Hinom, right? That trash dump outside the walls of Jerusalem that was constantly burning. So there you shall be subject to, you will go into that burning trash dump of worthless human souls. That's powerful, right? What a picture. You see, the point: murder is a spiritual action, and it's a spiritual attitude that is seen by God.

20:36Well, back to Marilyn's story. I didn't mean to leave you hanging there, right? Oh, I remember the day when that final threat came, after the police said that they could not step in and do anything until an incident happened. Marilyn got a phone call from this man. He left a very frightening. Vile threat, murderous threat. I heard the threat. She gave me the phone. I listened to it. So there is murder in this guy's heart, and there is no one between us except for us and God. We got down in my office that day, and others there with me, and we prayed, and we cried out to God and said, God, no one can see this. No one can step into this situation, but you see it. And we ask you to step in and deliver. This was on October 30th.

21:40The next morning, October 31st, a detective comes by Marilyn's office and says, Marilyn, you're not going to have to worry about this man's threat anymore. A few hours ago, a truck ran him over. He's dead. Now, we didn't pray for that. We did pray for God's protection. Our heart was praying for God to intervene and to protect, and He did. We saw the murder coming, and so did God. And He stepped in in this situation. Jesus teaching on the nature of murder. Number one, murder must be punished. Number two, murder is a spiritual action that is seen by God.

22:45And then, number three, this is where he applies it. How to live in a world filled with murder? How do we live in a world filled with murder? This is the case. This is the nature of murder. And yet it's a reality in our day-to-day lives. So how do we live? How do we live with the reality of murder in our world? And how do we live with the reality of murder even in our own hearts?

23:14Well, Jesus, being a good expositor of Scripture, goes on to apply the principle to his audience. And he applies this principle in two ways. First, the first way it involves a situation with a brother that has something against you. And the second involves an adversary that's coming against you. So the first situation involves a brother. The second situation involves an adversary. So how do we live? Two ways. First, we need to seek to release people from holding grudges against you. You need to seek to release people from holding grudges against you. Look at verse 23, 24. Therefore, in light of what's been said about murder, If you are presenting your offering at the altar and there, remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go. First, be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your offering.

24:15So here's a temple sacrifice scene. Here is somebody bringing their sacrifice to the altar, maybe a lamb, bringing it to the altar, and they're going to offer it up. And there at the altar, this person remembers: ah, this person has something against me. Now, notice, notice that the legitimacy of the complaint isn't involved. It's just, this brother has something against you, and you're aware of it. But notice the importance of this command. In this situation, it's more important to seek reconciliation with your brother or your mother or your friends or close relationships, whatever, than to go on presenting a sacrifice to the Lord. I mean, what could be more important than sacrificing before the Lord?

25:16Or reconciliation with your brother. You see, loving God and loving your neighbor summarizes the whole law. And biblical love seeks to build relationships on truth, right? You see, the sacrifice of the humility, the time, the effort, the patience, the repentance, the restitution, and whatever is involved in bringing about reconciliation is the kind of sacrifice God prefers. You see, murder terminates relationships, and a murderer is someone who has an attitude to terminate relationships. Now, I want to take a moment in this context, and I want to talk a little more deeply about the parties involved and how they might be inclined to murder in this situation.

26:16So, we can think about obviously the person holding the grudge could be guilty of murder, right? In which case, considering the horrific consequences of murder, the loving thing to do is to go quickly with an attitude of reconciliation to release that burden from your brother or your mother or whoever. You know, this last week I did the unthinkable. I went to Cotton Patch with my wife for a nice lunch, and I got to my table, and there was this big pile of goop on my seat. So, I used the only napkin I had to clean the sink. Okay, so I'm wanting to wave down my waitress. Now, she comes by, and she's very bubbly, very cheerful, takes our order, runs off, and I forgot to get the napkins. So, I'm thinking about, okay, how do I get the napkins? And then somebody comes over and starts visiting with me. And then here comes my waitress. She sneaks by me, and I did the unthinkable. I snapped my fingers.

27:31You ever done that? That's the first time I've ever done that in my life, right? It is. It really was. But it was a chaotic moment, and I was trying to get her attention. She snuck around, and I quickly, I didn't know her name, and I just said, I said, excuse me. And she was gracious. She was fine. She went and got me the napkins, brought them back. But I noticed something. She didn't look me in the eye that time.

27:54And then I noticed that when she came back to the table, she talked to my wife. So I'm like, you know what? I bet you I offended her. I bet I did. And so, first opportunity I got, well, you can imagine what's going on in her mind, right? What a jerk. Or maybe, what a moron. Right? Moron on table, too, right? I think, you know, really, she's struggling. There's a broken relationship there, and she's irritated. And I, you know, so I, first chance I got, I asked. Asked for her forgiveness. Like I said, I'm sorry, I didn't, there was a chaotic moment. You were sneaking by, and I just, I, please forgive me. I did not intend anything by that. And she got this big grin on her face, and she said, You're good.

28:50And she said, Can I get you some water to go? Or can I get you anything else? She's very pleasant. Now, our relationships were firing on all cylinders again. I had to give a little extra tip that time, you know, around. But she was struggling with an attitude of murder. And by me going to her and reconciling with her, she was freed from that attitude. But see, she wasn't the only one struggling with taking a murderous path. I too could have taken a murderous path. It was looking different for me. I wasn't offended by her or anything like this. But here's what was going on in my mind. Oh, I'm sure she'll get over it. She shouldn't have ducked by so fast anyway. She needs to learn, you know, I mean, just take care of the customer, right? You see, the path of murder in my heart was very different than hers, but it was real. You see, sometimes contentment to do nothing can be murderous and bring about the termination of the relationship.

29:53I was aware of her offense, and to do nothing would have promoted the death of our relationship. Relationship. Now, back to those flowers I told you about. What was the woman really wanting from the man instead of flowers? You see, she was holding on to a grudge and wanted him to care enough about the relationship to take responsibility and release her from that burden. She didn't want flowers to smooth it over. She wanted to be released from a burden, a murderous burden.

30:38You see, murderous thoughts come in a variety of shapes and colors. And so Jesus is cautioning us of any attitude that promotes the death of a relationship or is content with letting someone else terminate a relationship. Blessed are the peacemakers. He's already said in verse 5:9. So, how do we live in a world filled with murder? Well, first application that Jesus gives us is to seek to release people from holding grudges against you. So, in addition, I can think about this just as a, as we're talking about Mother's Day. Go ahead and give the flowers. Go ahead and write the cards, but maybe think for a moment.

31:29Is there anything? That you have offended? Is there anything that maybe your mother holds against you? Now, maybe your mother is very gracious and has let it go, but if there is something in your heart that you need to make right, do so. And listen, I'm talking to everybody with brothers and sisters, talking to little kids, young and old, listen to me. Have you ever despised your brother or sister to the point of saying something like, You moron?

32:02There's murder in your heart. And Jesus is saying, Come away from that. But he gives a second application. How do we live in a world filled with murder? Well, first, seek to release people from holding grudges against you, but also seek to release yourself from the hostility of your adversaries. One views others, and the other views a situation that involves an opponent coming against you, an adversary. Look at verse 25. Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you were with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly, I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.

33:01So, the second applicational thought involves a courtroom setting. And the thought is dealing with somebody who's out to get you. And the implication here is that such a person has a legitimate claim against you, or certainly a claim that they can make in a court of law, and the judge would side in their favor. So, this person has a strong case against you, if not a valid case, right? And this person simply isn't holding a grudge against you, but is actively retaliating against you.

33:37So, what's the murderous thing to do? Well, retaliate, right? Fight back. Destroy them before they destroy you. Get to them before they have a chance. Throw the first punch. Take them out first, right? That's the murderous thing. That's what destroys the relationship. But the loving thing to do is to seek to make friends. It's interesting language here. You be thinking kindly of your adversary. You be seeking to make friends and do so quickly. Very different than our world system. The world system would be very quick to murder that relationship and get what you can and get out quick, sever the relationship.

34:20So the loving thing to do is to seek to make friends. Agreement. And also, verse 26 makes it plain that the loving thing to do is also the Wise thing to do. We live in a world where we will inevitably meet up with people who will have murder in their hearts against us. And their goal will be to extract from us every single ounce they can. And so sometimes the wise thing to do is the loving thing to do. Seek to be friends, agree, and move on.

34:59Such is the nature of murder. And that's Jesus' teaching, right? He's the model expositor. He cites text of Scripture out of Exodus 20. He expounds on it, and then he applies it. Bringing it back to our situation here today, murder is the closing of the heart to a person. Murder prefers termination of a relationship rather than reconciliation. And I would ask you to scan your mind, your heart, your soul right now, and think of ways that you may have had murder in your heart. Think about the relationships, all the relationships that are going on in your world. Let the Lord put his finger on those that you need to be going, and you need to be going quickly.

36:00Seeking reconciliation, seeking honestly to live before God and to truly follow this Christ of Scripture who has given us these words. He doesn't add anything to the scripture. All this is bound up in this principle: do not murder. I do not want you moving in a direction at all of severing relationships. I want you to always be moving in a direction of reconciling. God is a God of reconciliation, and we are to be moving in that direction.

36:37So, to everyone, I come back to Mother's Day, I would encourage everybody to seek to release people from any burden that they may have against you. Do so in all your relationships. Since it's Mother's Day, begin with Mother, right? You know, but then I'd also say this to everyone else and to mothers: no matter who you are, don't go through life being easily offended. Be long-suffering, be patient, be slow to keep records of wrongs. I noticed something after six kids and lots of toys that have come and gone in our house.

37:23Toys that break easy cannot be played for very long. And if by chance we keep fragile toys around, guess what? They're really only good for sitting on a shelf and just looking at. So it is with people who are easily offended. You know, in our recent move, I noticed that fragile toys that took up a lot of space were the first to go. So it is with relationships. I would encourage you to go through life letting things go, not holding on.

38:08And of course, this relationship or this message doesn't just apply to mothers, right? I think you got that from the very beginning. It applies to all of us. And what the law of God wants, as Jesus has expounded upon, the law of God does not want us on a trajectory of murder, right? Doesn't want us on a trajectory of closing our hearts. That's the opposite of what he wants, to love. And I hope this sermon has helped you know the Christ of Scripture better and has helped you know what the Christ of Scripture wants you to do and how to love people in your life. And what a great day to do it on Mother's Day. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for. Your instruction. We thank you for your sending your Son, the very perfect embodiment of your righteousness.

39:09Father, thank you that the law, the prophets, and all of Scripture are a mere reflection of your righteousness. We thank you for this wonderful knowledge. Father, thank you for the relationships that you have placed in our lives. Thank you, Father, forgive us where we have been murderers at heart. And Father, I confess I'm among the best. And I pray, Father, that you would move in this church and in your people, Father, to such a degree that we would be done forever with thoughts of murder and always be seeking to love and to exhibit the love that you have for us, Father. And we can do this because you have first loved us. Father, thank you. Thank you for all this in Christ's name. Amen.