“You shall not murder.”

Sixth Sermon on the Ten Commandments

Lent II; March 12, 2006

Matthew 5:21-26

Note to readers: This sermon is intentionally shorter than usual, because we had a special mission speaker.

You’re probably used to hearing this one as “Thou shalt not kill.” More careful study of the verb has led more recent translators to be more specific; people have used the commandment as an argument against hunting, capital punishment, war, and eating meat. You are welcome to argue any of those matters, either side, based on your Christian faith, but you really should not use this commandment to do it. Essentially, what this commandment prohibits is taking the law into your own hands and killing someone, simply because you believe that he or she ought to be dead. Whether your motive is envy, like Cain’s (Genesis 4:1-16), or anger, or whatever, is not the commandment’s concern. The commandment is concerned with behavior, not motive.

Jesus is concerned with motive, and so he expands on the commandment considerably. If you harbor anger against another Christian, you are liable to judgment. You can be hauled before the Council for calling another Christian an insulting name. If you call him or her a moron, you might be hauled out to the place where they burn the garbage.

Does that sound extreme? Keep in mind two things about the teaching of Jesus: Jesus expects his followers to do better than what comes naturally, and Jesus is deeply concerned about the quality of relationships among his followers. First: he consistently demands that we transcend our natural inclinations. It’s perfectly natural to stew in hostile anger against someone who has harmed you, but if you’re going to be a follower of Jesus, you must overcome that which is perfectly natural. Remember what Jesus said about the people who beat him, whipped him, and nailed him to the cross? “Father, forgive them.” Jesus inspires us because he calls us to be better than we think we can be, and he shows us how to do it by doing it himself.

The same goes for the other person in the situation. Jesus says to one who has been harmed, “Don’t stew in your anger; don’t call the other person names.” And he says to the one who did harm, “If you recall that someone has something against you, go and be reconciled before you try to do your religious duty.” It seems to me that he implies that God isn’t particularly interested in what you have to offer so long as you owe an apology to someone. So go apologize, then bring your offering.

Do you have that? “Do better.” It’s not enough that you refrain from killing the person who cut you out of that business deal, who spread lies about you, who had an affair with the person you love. That’s all the commandment demands: don’t commit murder. Jesus calls for more from us, though: don’t harbor anger and don’t insult the person. It might make you feel better (Remember the line from The Wrath of Khan? “Vengeance is a dish best served cold.”), but you can do better, you who have the spirit of Christ in you.

The second point is that Jesus is deeply concerned with the quality of relationships among his followers. Even a quick survey of his teaching will show you that he doesn’t much care for you and me to stand on our pride, to demand our rights, to be stuck on our sense of what we are owed. He cares that you and I all love one another, that we submit our pride to the needs of others, that the basis of our relationships be forgiveness, not keeping score. Although the commandment guards simply against homicide, Jesus is concerned with harmonious, humble and honest relationships among his disciples.

Did you notice the word he uses to describe our relationships? “Brother/Sister.” To be a part of Jesus’ church is deeper than merely showing up for an event on Sundays, and finding your name on the same roll as some other folks. I belong to lots of groups and organizations, and they all have merit and I give a lot and I get a lot from each of them. But the Rotary Club, the National Association of Parliamentarians, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and all the other organizations I belong to are not the Church of Jesus Christ. In all those other groups, my fellow members are just that: fellow members. In the Church of Jesus Christ, my fellow members are my brothers and my sisters. We have a tie to one another, a bond of baptism, a family meal of the Body and Blood of Christ; as with a blood family, we are even stuck with one another.

So remember that, too, today. Remember that the commandment not to murder is, for the followers of Jesus, a reminder that as sisters and brothers we have a bond to one another that requires us to do better, to overcome our natural inclinations and learn to forgive one another. Just imagine what the world would look like if all the followers of Jesus Christ actually learned to do what he says!

Let us pray. God of all peoples, you have made us brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. Give us the Holy Spirit’s grace to learn to follow Jesus, living by his teaching and loving one another as he has loved us. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

Robert A. Keefer

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Clarinda, Iowa