“You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13
The next five commands have to do with one’s relation to others. Here’s how it goes: We cannot abuse the physical life, the sexual life, the possessions, or the reputation of those around us- if we are to remain in covenant with God. Nor dare we allow ourselves to think that if we were just in someone else's shoes, enjoying what they possess, we would be happy. And today we consider murder.
I doubt you’ve ever heard a sermon on MURDER, because right away we think. Well, haven’t done that, I’m clear… until we look deeper. And today we will look at what Jesus says about murder – and realize this runs MUCH deeper and MUCH closer to home than any of us have ever imagined. In fact, consider this, when we get to Jesus’s words on this commandment, we are confronted with commentary on the command from the One who GAVE IT.
We’re going to break this sermon down by looking at three murders in the Bible that will help us return value to human life. Like Clue, I want us to do a little investigation of our own- into Scripture and into our own lives- as we ask three questions:
Let’s investigate:
- Who did it? Who is the suspect, the guilty one?
- How? What was their weapon of choice?
- Where? Did this happen?
