HAVE YOU MURDERED SOMEONE LATELY?
Matthew 5:21-26
A. WAYS TO MURDER YOUR BROTHER.
1. Physically Murdering Him.
Mt 5:21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court’
The murder rate in America is horrible.
Liberals will tell you that guns are at fault.
A gun may be a tool, but it is not the fault.
The fault lies in the fact that people are evil.
Murder is evil because the murderer robs someone of their very life because of killer’s own selfishness.
Jesus says here that the murderer has to answer for his crime and deserves to be put to death.
And it WILL happen- in this life or the next or both.
2. Harboring Hatred for Him.
Mt 5:22a But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court.
Anger- orgizo- a deep, brooding anger and hatred for someone.
It involves holding a grudge and wishing them to be dead.
* Here, Jesus reveals to us that you don’t have to literally kill someone to have murdered them. Murder in the heart is still murder in kingdom.
3. Murdering His Character and Reputation.
Mt 5:22b 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.
Raca- an epithet of slander, malicious abuse. Arrogant contempt of.
Fool- moros- malicious insult takes “raca” to a deeper level.
** How do thoughts and words murder someone?
When you slander people for sport, you are murdering their person. The body and persona may live on, but you have killed their “name”.
* God is serious about misusing His Name in our speech because we slander His Name by misusing it.
** Jewish legend- a pious rabbi leaves the synagogue and meets a stranger walking down the road. The stranger, who is very ugly, greets him with a warm “hello”.
The rabbi looks at him in disgust and says, “You raca! You are so ugly! Are all the men of your village this ugly?”
The man answered, “That I do not know, but go and tell our Maker who created me how ugly is the creature He has made.”
** There is a customer that shops at my pharmacy. He is a nice, polite man. He has a disfigured face and one eye doesn't look forward. Two of my Techs were eating lunch one day and he came in and sat across from them. Shortly, he asked them if it bothered them if he were to sit there. They replied, "Certainly not, Why would it?"
He responded, "Some people have told me before that they didn't like looking at me while they were eating."
How awful is that?!
Think about this; all people are created in the Image of God. God has called His Creation, man, very good. When you slander other people and call them worthless then you are calling God a liar– because He has already called His creation good.
How many Christians think of themselves as holy, good, and pious– but regularly gossip about others and tear them down?
** Gossiping Woman- Revival services at the church.
Speaker is preaching really hard about sin against other people.
He preached hard about sin. He said that people need to lay there sins on the altar.
At closing, the pastor is down front to receive people and watches as the biggest gossip in the county comes down and says “Pastor, I know I’ve been gossiping and I want to lay my tongue down on the altar.”
The pastor responds, “Lady, our altar ain’t that big!”
Why do some people feel the need to tear others down?
Because they are very small people that think they become larger by tearing others down. What happens, though, is that they make themselves even smaller in the process.
B. EFFECTS OF MURDERING YOUR BROTHER.
1. Our Relationship with God is broken.
Mt 5:23-24 23 Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
* A couple of times in my life I have been guilty of hating someone. One time, specifically, I remember this brooding hatred of someone that had done me much wrong. I couldn’t let go of it. Soon my spiritual life became dry and dead. I found out that I can’t be close to God, who is the source of pure love, if I harbor hatred for someone.
I knew I had forgive them, but I couldn’t.
I finally went to God and confessed my sin of hatred and admitted that I could not forgive him, but asked God to forgive him for me.
God knew what I meant. My heart wanted to hold onto the hatred, but my soul wanted to be set free from this burden.
John talks about this in 1 Jn 4:20.
1 Jn 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
2. Judgement will Come.
Mt 5:25-26 25 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. 26 Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
Here, Jesus speaks an earthly example of an eternal truth.
He says to reconcile with the person you are at great odds with.
Either forgive them or ask forgiveness if you’ve wronged them.
Why? Because if you’re found guilty, it will cost you a lot!
Beware, because Jesus is saying that judgement will be visited upon you if you don’t forgive others and make things right.
