The Big Ten - Don't Murder

Exodus 20:13: You shall not murder.

Through the past weeks, we have been looking in depth into the Ten Commandments, God’s rules for living. We started with God’s introduction — the commandments come only in the context of who God is. After God’s people had disobeyed God and experienced the consequences of disobedience, we read God’s response as recorded in Isaiah 48:17-18: Thus says the LORD, your redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the LORD your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go. O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river, and your success like the waters of the sea. 

There are rewards for following God’s will, and there are consequences for not. God gave us the Ten Commandments, not to beat us into submission, but to teach us how to live in right relationship with Him and in harmony with one another. 

Last week we shifted from the first commandments, which focused on our relationship with God, to the second set, which focus on our relationship with one another. This week’s commandment might seem obvious with this context: You shall not murder. 

This seems like it probably doesn’t even need said. We somehow instinctively know that murder is bad. But why is it bad? Why is it wrong to take someone else’s life? 

Here’s the reason: because that life is not yours to take. When God is confirming His covenant with Noah, he blesses him and his family, telling him, “Be fruitful and multiply.” He again confirmed humanity’s dominion over all the created world, but he left them with this command, in Genesis 9:4-6:  “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each human being, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of another human being. 

“Whoever sheds human blood, by humans shall their blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made mankind.”

Leviticus 17:14: the life of every creature is its blood;

The big idea here is that life belongs to God. All life. Therefore we have no right to take it. Indeed, the Hebrew word that we translate “murder” also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence. In other words, we don’t even have the right to accidentally kill someone. All life belongs to God.

It’s pretty simple. So simple that we sometimes might feel like we can ignore this commandment. We haven’t killed anyone, and we’re not planning to. So we’re safe, right?

Right. Except that Jesus had something to say about this commandment. In Matthew 5:21-26, as part of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “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; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. 

Did you get that? Jesus is saying: “we all know murder is wrong, and whoever murders will face judgment for it. We all agree on this.” But he goes on to say that he is not simply interested in us getting our behavior correct. We often live our lives as if this is the case. As long as you don’t murder anyone, it doesn’t matter what you do to them. 

We call this “behavior modification” and it focuses on behaviors. As long as I behave correctly, as long as I work really hard to do the right thing (or to not do the wrong thing) then I’m fine. But that’s not what God wants from us. Man looks at outward appearances, but God looks at the heart.

Has your heart been transformed? Or do you harbor anger toward a brother or sister? Is your mouth full of insults? Are you judgmental? Even if you haven’t killed anyone, you might be guilty. So what do we do with anger? After all, isn’t it natural to be angry at someone? Thankfully, Jesus addressed this.

So if you are offering your gift 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 are 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. 

So while the commandment says “do not murder,” Jesus is saying, “you must forgive.” Forgiveness does not let your opponent off and it does not condone what was done to you. Forgiveness actually frees you from the burden! It makes a real change in your heart, which is what Jesus is really after: transformation. 

This brings us into the realm of the living, which is God’s realm. In John 10:10, Jesus says that the thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy. Death is the realm of Satan. But Jesus goes on to say that He had come to bring life — abundant life. That’s God’s plan for His people.