1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,920 Good morning, my name is Kimberly. 2 00:00:02,920 --> 00:00:07,360 Today's scripture reading is from Matthew chapter five, 3 00:00:07,360 --> 00:00:10,020 verses 21 through 26. 4 00:00:10,020 --> 00:00:14,320 It is page 836 in the Bibles in the back of the pews. 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:20,220 You have heard it, sorry, you have heard that it was said 6 00:00:20,220 --> 00:00:24,620 to our ancestors, do not murder, and whoever murders 7 00:00:24,620 --> 00:00:27,880 will be subject to judgment. 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:31,560 But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother 9 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,160 or sister will be subject to judgment. 10 00:00:35,160 --> 00:00:39,000 Whoever insults his brother or sister will be subject 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:40,400 to the court. 12 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:45,400 Whoever says you fool will be subject to hell fire. 13 00:00:45,500 --> 00:00:48,780 So if you are offering your gift on the altar, 14 00:00:48,780 --> 00:00:51,740 and there you remember that your brother or sister 15 00:00:51,740 --> 00:00:55,160 has something against you, leave your gift there 16 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:56,880 in front of the altar. 17 00:00:56,880 --> 00:01:01,400 First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, 18 00:01:01,400 --> 00:01:04,400 and then come and offer your gift. 19 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,620 Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary 20 00:01:07,620 --> 00:01:10,060 while you're on the way with him to court, 21 00:01:10,060 --> 00:01:13,500 or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, 22 00:01:13,500 --> 00:01:16,920 and the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown 23 00:01:16,920 --> 00:01:18,320 into prison. 24 00:01:18,320 --> 00:01:22,500 Truly I tell you, you will never get out of there 25 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:26,140 until you have paid the last penny. 26 00:01:26,140 --> 00:01:28,080 This is God's word. 27 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,720 All right, well we are, this morning we're actually hopping 28 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,820 back into our study through the gospel 29 00:01:33,820 --> 00:01:35,000 according to Matthew. 30 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,100 So if you have been with us for a little while, 31 00:01:37,100 --> 00:01:39,600 you'll know that we've hit, we've jumped into the study, 32 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:40,940 and then we jump out for a little while, 33 00:01:40,940 --> 00:01:43,480 and we jump back in, and we're making our way 34 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:44,780 back to Matthew. 35 00:01:44,780 --> 00:01:47,420 So I'm gonna give you a little bit of background information 36 00:01:47,420 --> 00:01:49,600 as we get started this morning, and then we'll get 37 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,540 to the text that Kimberly read for us, 38 00:01:52,540 --> 00:01:53,800 and we'll dive into that. 39 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:55,480 And hopefully this morning we'll kinda tear it apart, 40 00:01:55,480 --> 00:01:57,320 we'll look at it from a few different ways, 41 00:01:57,320 --> 00:01:59,880 and come away with something to take home, 42 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,800 some application as well as just glorying in who God is, 43 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:06,160 and what he's called us to. 44 00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:08,920 So Matthew, if you guys remember, if you were here, 45 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:11,160 if you didn't, Matthew was a tax collector, 46 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:15,600 and at that time a tax collector was not a good occupation 47 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:17,640 to be in, especially if you were a Jew, 48 00:02:17,640 --> 00:02:21,140 because to be a tax collector meant that you had allied 49 00:02:21,140 --> 00:02:24,180 yourself with the enemy, with the Roman Empire, 50 00:02:24,180 --> 00:02:27,560 the provincial emperors, and you were extorting 51 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:31,120 and collecting taxes from your fellow countrymen. 52 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:32,840 And this was not a good thing. 53 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,360 Most people hated tax collectors for this. 54 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,300 In fact, a lot of tax collectors, the way they made money 55 00:02:38,300 --> 00:02:42,280 personally was what they added on top of the taxes 56 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:43,560 that they needed to collect. 57 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,200 That's how they made their income. 58 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,840 And so you can imagine if someone was a decent person, 59 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:50,760 they might only add a little bit just for their living 60 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:54,680 expenses, but most people added a whole lot more. 61 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:58,520 And Matthew, like any tax collector, was despised 62 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,080 by those around him, but he encountered someone 63 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,080 named Jesus, and when he encountered Jesus, 64 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:09,080 he left his life of tax collecting and began to follow him. 65 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:13,000 And then later, after Christ's death and his resurrection 66 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:17,080 and his ascension, about 35 to 45 years after all 67 00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:20,840 of those events, Matthew sat down with his resources 68 00:03:20,840 --> 00:03:23,200 and his collections of writings and his eyewitness 69 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:25,760 testimony himself as well as those that he was with 70 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:29,480 and wrote what we know as the gospel according to Matthew, 71 00:03:29,480 --> 00:03:32,540 an eyewitness account of Jesus. 72 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,480 Now his audience was specifically those early Jewish 73 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,480 believers, and what he was trying to do was he was, 74 00:03:39,480 --> 00:03:42,200 he was going to great lengths to make that connection 75 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:46,160 back to the Old Testament to show that Jesus was 76 00:03:46,160 --> 00:03:49,520 the long-awaited Messiah, the promised Messiah 77 00:03:49,520 --> 00:03:54,520 of the Old Testament, that Jesus was in the line of David. 78 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:57,320 He was like the Davidic King, the anointed one, 79 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,280 but he was that one that we were looking forward to 80 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:05,280 to come and save Israel and mankind. 81 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,960 And so he tries to help his readers understand 82 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,280 that Jesus is the fulfillment, and so he uses 83 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:12,580 that language a lot. 84 00:04:12,580 --> 00:04:15,120 Jesus fulfilled what was written in the prophets. 85 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,880 Jesus, by doing this, fulfilled what was written 86 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,440 in this prophetic word or that prophetic word, 87 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,560 that he is the coming Messiah, he is the chosen one, 88 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:27,400 he is the anointed one, he is the Christ. 89 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:31,520 We began in chapter one and we've worked our way now 90 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,440 to chapter five. 91 00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:35,720 We've covered events surrounding his birth. 92 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,240 We jumped forward about 30 years into his early ministry 93 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:42,980 when he was baptized by John the Baptist at the Jordan, 94 00:04:42,980 --> 00:04:46,200 identifying with humanity, though he had no sin, 95 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,000 he was identifying with us in our uncleanliness, 96 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,480 in our need for cleansing. 97 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,040 He also went into the wilderness for temptation, 98 00:04:56,040 --> 00:04:59,340 we studied that during our Lent season. 99 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,320 Chapter five then began with what has been called 100 00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,280 the greatest sermon ever taught, the Sermon on the Mount. 101 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:11,560 And even in that, there's this picture of Jesus going up 102 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:14,480 to a mountain to begin to teach in the same way 103 00:05:14,480 --> 00:05:16,940 that Moses went to receive the words of God. 104 00:05:16,940 --> 00:05:20,120 Now Jesus goes up and begins to teach as if he's teaching 105 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,320 the very words of God. 106 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:24,560 And it's right in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount 107 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:26,680 that we're picking up this text. 108 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:30,000 We've already covered the beatitudes, these marks 109 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:32,920 or these traits of what it means to be a citizen 110 00:05:32,920 --> 00:05:34,680 of the kingdom. 111 00:05:34,680 --> 00:05:37,720 We talked about what it means to be salt and light 112 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,800 in this world, that kingdom citizens shine, 113 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:44,800 that kingdom citizens affect the culture around them, 114 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,600 that kingdom citizens preserve the righteousness of God 115 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:50,920 in their life and in this world, 116 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:53,560 that we are to be salt and light. 117 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,400 And then right before the scripture that Kimberly read 118 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:01,120 this morning, comes this one passage out of Matthew 119 00:06:01,120 --> 00:06:05,280 chapter five, verse 17, and I'll read that portion of it, 120 00:06:05,280 --> 00:06:07,760 beginning in verse 17. 121 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:12,760 It said, don't think that I came to abolish the law 122 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:15,200 or the prophets. 123 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:18,880 I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 124 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:21,960 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth have passed 125 00:06:21,960 --> 00:06:25,640 away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter 126 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:28,680 will pass away from the law until all things 127 00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:30,400 are accomplished. 128 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:32,920 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these 129 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:35,880 commands and teaches others to do the same will be called 130 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:37,960 least in the kingdom of heaven. 131 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:41,160 But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called 132 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:43,600 the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 133 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,120 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that 134 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:52,120 of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into 135 00:06:52,320 --> 00:06:54,240 the kingdom of heaven. 136 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:57,480 Now that was a shocking word. 137 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:00,400 I think when Jesus came on the scene, a lot of people 138 00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:03,000 were wondering, is he gonna bring a new teaching? 139 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,000 Is he going to honor the Torah? 140 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,480 Is he gonna honor the teachings of the Old Testament? 141 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,360 Or is he one of those radicals who's gonna deviate? 142 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,120 And he comes and says, I'm not here to abolish it 143 00:07:13,120 --> 00:07:15,080 but to fulfill it. 144 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:17,480 He's going to fulfill it. 145 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:19,920 Well, what is this idea of fulfill? 146 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:22,800 Well, you might say it's fill full. 147 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:26,760 It's filling full the laws and the prophets. 148 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,960 In a sense, the laws and the prophets had been delivered 149 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:33,320 and yet no one lived according to them, not even remotely. 150 00:07:33,320 --> 00:07:35,920 And we even see in Jesus' times that Pharisees 151 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:40,400 and the scribes, they knew the law to the letter 152 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:43,440 and yet they had completely missed the spirit of the law 153 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:45,880 and the reason and purpose for the law. 154 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:48,120 And Jesus has now come on the scene and said, 155 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:52,760 I'm here to fulfill it or I'm here to fill full 156 00:07:52,760 --> 00:07:54,480 the meaning of the law. 157 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:57,760 And this section that we get into, the first one 158 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,760 that we read earlier is actually six little sections 159 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:06,920 right here, six statements or examples. 160 00:08:06,920 --> 00:08:09,640 And you might think of these six examples or statements 161 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:13,920 as Jesus expounding on or explaining what he just said 162 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,840 in verse 17, that he's not here to abolish the law 163 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,520 or the prophets but to fulfill it. 164 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,160 And so we're gonna take this first one, first of six, 165 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:24,120 and these are examples, these aren't exhaustive. 166 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,920 He doesn't cover every single law in the Torah 167 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:30,680 but he takes six of them as a teaching opportunity. 168 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:35,680 Six to explain, to expose it, to interpret 169 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,000 what does it mean that this law that was given 170 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,320 to the people of Israel, either formally 171 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,520 in the 10 commandments as today's was 172 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,800 or later on throughout the laws or even some of them 173 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,640 are kind of this paste together, some from the Bible 174 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,360 and some from their Jewish teachings. 175 00:08:53,360 --> 00:08:55,120 And he takes those and he says, 176 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:58,280 what does it mean truly to do this? 177 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:02,560 How do I fill this full of meaning and purpose, 178 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:04,480 not just to surface understanding? 179 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,080 Scholars have in the past called these the antithesis 180 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,760 or the antithesis statements because you hear in him 181 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:14,960 in these statements, Jesus says, you have heard it said, 182 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:16,680 but then what does he say? 183 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:20,320 But I say or I tell you, and it can sound like he's saying, 184 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,240 oh, it was told to you in the 10 commandments, 185 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,440 do not murder, but I'm about to turn that upside down, 186 00:09:27,440 --> 00:09:30,480 go murder all you want, murder doesn't matter, woo. 187 00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:34,040 Right, that would be the antithesis. 188 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:36,320 Oh, murder doesn't matter, go murder, no, 189 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,080 he doesn't say that though, does he? 190 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,960 He actually takes the command and deepens it, 191 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:44,960 goes deeper into, actually it's a whole lot more 192 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,480 than you thought, it reaches much further. 193 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,600 In fact, a lot of you could probably say, 194 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:57,600 I've never murdered, check, and he says, hold, hold on. 195 00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:00,120 Let's go a little deeper. 196 00:10:01,600 --> 00:10:06,600 Verse 21, you have heard that it was said to our ancestors, 197 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:10,840 do not murder and whoever murders 198 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:12,800 will be subject to judgment. 199 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:18,880 Do not murder, that's out of Exodus chapter 20 verse 13, 200 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:23,400 the 10 commandments, the decalogue or the 10 utterances 201 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:26,960 or sayings that we're probably familiar with, 202 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:28,280 whether we've been in church or not, 203 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:31,120 those 10 commandments have been a part of our culture even 204 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:35,440 for quite a few years, and it truly does say, 205 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:38,000 do not murder, period, that's all it says 206 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,520 in that particular section, one of those 10 sayings. 207 00:10:42,360 --> 00:10:45,280 And he says, you've heard it said to our ancestors, 208 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:47,520 so he's probably talking about that actual exchange, 209 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:50,640 that delivery of the law at Mount Sinai, 210 00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:54,320 you've heard that it was said to them, do not murder. 211 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,240 Before we can go on into the scripture here, 212 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:00,680 we do need to talk a little bit about what does murder mean. 213 00:11:00,680 --> 00:11:02,800 Do not murder, so if we're gonna expand on it, 214 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:06,200 we're gonna go deeper, what does murder mean? 215 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:11,200 Now, the basic meaning of it is the unjust taking 216 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:13,160 of a human life. 217 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:17,360 Murder is the unjust taking of a human life. 218 00:11:17,360 --> 00:11:20,840 I think that's how we would even categorize it today 219 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:21,840 for the most part. 220 00:11:23,020 --> 00:11:25,380 Does murder include animals? 221 00:11:25,380 --> 00:11:28,300 No, you can't murder an animal. 222 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:31,720 You can kill an animal, but you can't murder it, 223 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:33,820 because an animal is not a human, 224 00:11:33,820 --> 00:11:37,580 and murder is the unjust killing of a human. 225 00:11:39,260 --> 00:11:41,080 What about capital punishment, 226 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:45,500 where we send folks to die by the electric chair 227 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:49,000 or lethal injection or however it has been over the years? 228 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:54,000 Is that murder, well, the unjust killing of a human being? 229 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:01,280 God actually has established laws and order 230 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:04,720 in which there is a justified killing of a human being 231 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,200 in relation to the law. 232 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:10,140 And the same goes with war. 233 00:12:10,140 --> 00:12:12,880 Romans 13, chapter 13, verse 4 through 7, 234 00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:16,440 talks about how he has given to the government 235 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,120 the power of the sword, and this is their authority 236 00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,280 from God, that the government has the power of the sword 237 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,880 to execute judgment on wrongdoers. 238 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,560 And so murder would not include all of those things, 239 00:12:29,560 --> 00:12:33,660 necessarily, it would be the unjust taking of a life. 240 00:12:35,120 --> 00:12:37,120 And so that seems pretty straightforward. 241 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:40,060 It doesn't really need a whole lot of explaining. 242 00:12:40,060 --> 00:12:41,760 It cuts right to it. 243 00:12:41,760 --> 00:12:43,920 So why does Jesus even take the time 244 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:45,040 to talk about murder? 245 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:47,160 Why does he want to even take it deeper? 246 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:48,760 That seems pretty straightforward. 247 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:50,120 It's the unjust killing. 248 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,960 Most of us in this room have not unjustly killed anyone. 249 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:55,760 Maybe, maybe you have, maybe you haven't, 250 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,360 but most of us haven't, and so most of us go, 251 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:02,360 yeah, not a murderer, not at all. 252 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,680 But Jesus begins to show that murder 253 00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:08,760 doesn't begin with the act. 254 00:13:08,760 --> 00:13:11,080 The act is where we tend to land murder. 255 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:14,080 It's once you've taken the life unjustly. 256 00:13:14,080 --> 00:13:16,720 Jesus says, actually, it begins before the act. 257 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:21,920 Murder begins with a certain disposition of your heart 258 00:13:23,320 --> 00:13:28,320 towards other humans, toward other image bearers. 259 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,960 And when your heart is off, when it's wrong, 260 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:36,520 when it shows contempt for other image bearers, 261 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,360 you might be walking down the path 262 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:42,120 that leads to the act of murder, 263 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:44,680 but either way, you're on the path, 264 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:47,440 and therefore, you might be guilty. 265 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:53,840 Genesis chapter nine, verse four, reads this. 266 00:13:56,000 --> 00:14:01,000 However, you must not eat meat with its lifeblood in it. 267 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,840 This is talking to Noah, God's covenant with Noah 268 00:14:03,840 --> 00:14:04,680 after the flood. 269 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:07,760 And I will require a penalty for your lifeblood. 270 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:11,640 I will require it from any animal and from any human. 271 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:15,200 If anyone or someone murders a fellow human, 272 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:18,320 I will require that person's life. 273 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,560 Whoever sheds human blood, by humans, 274 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:26,560 his blood will be shed, for God made humans in his image. 275 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:31,000 And so he lays out a just killing. 276 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,000 If someone unjustly murders or kills, 277 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,200 God has said the value of the life is such 278 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,400 that it demands of you your own life. 279 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,360 Murder doesn't begin, though, with simply the act. 280 00:14:45,360 --> 00:14:47,840 Let's read verse 22 here and go a little bit further. 281 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,360 But I tell you, everyone who is angry 282 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:55,800 with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. 283 00:14:55,800 --> 00:14:58,040 Whoever insults his brother or sister 284 00:14:58,040 --> 00:14:59,600 will be subject to judgment. 285 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:01,560 Whoever insults his brother or sister 286 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,880 will be subject to the courts. 287 00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:08,880 Whoever says, you fool, will be subject to hell fire. 288 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:12,240 And so he begins by saying, you've heard it said 289 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,360 that whoever murders, right, will be subject to judgment. 290 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:19,440 But I tell you, I deepen, I fill this law out 291 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,200 as it is always meant, that if anyone is angry 292 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:26,800 with his brother or sister, they will be subject to judgment. 293 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:29,600 And whoever insults his brother or sister 294 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:30,920 will be subject to the courts. 295 00:15:30,920 --> 00:15:35,920 And whoever says, you fool, will be subject to hell's fire. 296 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:38,960 So you actually, he lays out three experiences here. 297 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,960 One is this idea of anger. 298 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,280 And this particular anger is framed in the context 299 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:49,360 around this idea of this murderous anger or rage. 300 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:51,920 This murderous anger or rage that you might feel 301 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:53,800 toward another human being. 302 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,960 Have any of you ever felt what you knew to be 303 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:01,960 this murderous anger or rage and did not act on it, 304 00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:05,000 but you felt it in your heart toward another person, anyone? 305 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:07,120 Confession time. 306 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,120 I'll confess a time that happened when I was much younger. 307 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:14,960 My kids actually said, you've got to tell this story. 308 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,360 So I told a story a little while back 309 00:16:18,360 --> 00:16:21,040 about an experience that I had, multiple experiences, 310 00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:26,040 where my brother attempted to take my life in various ways. 311 00:16:26,040 --> 00:16:27,080 He wasn't trying to take my life, 312 00:16:27,080 --> 00:16:30,200 but he was putting me in situations and positions 313 00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,720 where he wasn't guarding me or keeping me safe. 314 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:34,920 And the last one was related to electricity 315 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:38,480 when he handed me basically a highly charged powered line 316 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:41,360 and had me hold it as a four or five year old. 317 00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:45,120 Well, me and my brother, I love my brother, 318 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:46,560 but we had this kind of weird relationship. 319 00:16:46,560 --> 00:16:49,200 He was older than me, I was trying to keep up with him. 320 00:16:49,200 --> 00:16:53,440 He'd get annoyed at me and I had anger issues as a child. 321 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:55,040 My mom will tell you straight out, 322 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:58,320 and my dad will tell you, this kid had anger issues. 323 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:02,680 I would go into fits and rage as a young child. 324 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,800 One time we were in our room 325 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:10,640 and my brother was messing with me. 326 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:12,240 We had bunk beds, so we shared a room. 327 00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:13,280 If any of you have shared a room, 328 00:17:13,280 --> 00:17:16,880 that alone can set a lot of people off with your brother. 329 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,440 But in our room, we were on our bunk beds 330 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:22,760 and he kept stealing, we had a flashlight. 331 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:25,080 This is gonna sound so trivial, it's almost embarrassing. 332 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:27,840 We had a flashlight and he kept taking my flashlight 333 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:29,800 and then I'd tell him, give it back to me. 334 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:31,200 And he would take it apart, 335 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:32,560 and I didn't know how to do this at the time, 336 00:17:32,560 --> 00:17:34,800 he would take it apart, all the pieces, 337 00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:38,160 and then hand me back a flashlight that didn't work. 338 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:42,040 And my brother was a very adventurous person, 339 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,520 so he would go into the house and get all kinds of things. 340 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:46,760 He reminds me a whole lot of my second born. 341 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,520 Who collects things from all over, 342 00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:50,680 and you're like, where did you get that? 343 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:52,680 Or where did you find that? 344 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:54,840 And how did it get in here, right? 345 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:59,840 Well my brother had found a small school dissecting knife. 346 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:03,240 You know those little razor blades, right, 347 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:04,480 with the little end? 348 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:05,800 And he had brought it into our room 349 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:07,320 and he had been messing with it and playing with it. 350 00:18:07,320 --> 00:18:12,200 And he set it on the desk and it was just sitting there. 351 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:15,840 Well I went into this rage, this moment of anger, 352 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:18,480 as he was messing with me, and I was smaller, 353 00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:21,520 and I was on the bottom bunk and I couldn't do anything. 354 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:25,720 And so this rage started to well up within me, 355 00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:30,720 and I walked over to the desk, I grabbed the knife, 356 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:32,880 I walked back to my brother, 357 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:34,800 and I stuck it right in his shoulder. 358 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,440 Now a dissecting knife is pretty clean cut. 359 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,640 So it was a nice surgical incision there. 360 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:47,680 And it was just sticking out of his arm, 361 00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:48,720 and he looks at me. 362 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:50,680 He looks at it. 363 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,200 It looks, and it was just like, it felt like forever, 364 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:56,880 him just looking, stunned. 365 00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:01,680 And then he just started, mom, mom, and ran down the hall. 366 00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:03,880 I jumped into bed, put the covers over my head, 367 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:07,640 and just curled up in a ball immediately full of regret, 368 00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,880 immediately realized what I had done, 369 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:13,680 and full of fear of punishment, 370 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:17,000 that was certainly going to come. 371 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,480 But I can't identify it, I can't dissect all that went on 372 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,040 inside of me at that moment as a young child. 373 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:26,600 It was quite a while ago. 374 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,240 But 20, 30, 40 years, whatever it is, 375 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:32,960 probably 40 years now, yeah. 376 00:19:32,960 --> 00:19:35,760 40 years ago when I grabbed that knife 377 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:39,520 and I did that thing, but it stuck in my mind for sure, 378 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:43,640 as a moment where something, I lost control. 379 00:19:43,640 --> 00:19:46,800 I gave into a content that I didn't care 380 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:49,160 about the results or the outcome. 381 00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,120 I just hated my brother in that moment. 382 00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,040 I hated my brother, and I wanted him 383 00:19:54,040 --> 00:19:56,640 to feel that hate in some way. 384 00:19:56,640 --> 00:19:58,440 It could have gone a lot worse. 385 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,400 The shoulder healed is probably not even a scar there now. 386 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:02,840 But it could have gone a lot worse. 387 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:06,120 But I had a moment where I experienced this first level, 388 00:20:06,120 --> 00:20:08,440 and he says here in this, it's interesting, 389 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,600 he gives these three levels of experience, 390 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:12,640 this murderous rage and anger. 391 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:15,440 And most scholars connect to this idea 392 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:17,600 of this murderous rage or anger back to the story 393 00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,360 of Cain and Abel, and you remember, 394 00:20:19,360 --> 00:20:21,760 Cain came to offer his sacrifice, 395 00:20:21,760 --> 00:20:24,720 and when it wasn't acceptable, he, 396 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,000 it says he became furious. 397 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,080 He became, he had a murderous rage, 398 00:20:28,080 --> 00:20:29,720 and what did he do with that murderous rage? 399 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:34,080 Well, he murdered his brother, and Jesus is saying, 400 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:37,240 well, yeah, I tell you that you may not actually 401 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:39,720 commit to the crime, but when that rage is present, 402 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:41,960 when that anger is present in your heart, 403 00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,440 you're on the pathway to the act, 404 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:46,360 which is as good as doing the act. 405 00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:50,480 Sure, it doesn't have the same physical consequences, 406 00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:52,840 but it means something in our heart. 407 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:55,680 And so he says anger is one, 408 00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:57,960 but then he goes to the next one, and he says insults. 409 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,080 If anyone insults his brother or sister, 410 00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:05,160 and this insult is this Aramaic word, raka, 411 00:21:05,160 --> 00:21:08,080 which basically means you empty head. 412 00:21:08,080 --> 00:21:11,360 It's not really insulting nowadays, but you empty head, 413 00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:15,400 and it's a way of saying you're worthless. 414 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,760 It's a way of showing contempt for someone, 415 00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:22,520 and saying you're worthless, you have nothing in there. 416 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,240 We might call people airheads, right? 417 00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:28,880 You got nothing in there of any worth. 418 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,480 It's a failure to see worth in someone else, 419 00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,760 and particularly the statement of raka would be 420 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,320 like a public curse you would do to someone. 421 00:21:37,320 --> 00:21:41,880 So publicly cursing or insulting someone 422 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:46,880 in order to vent your displeasure with them or your anger. 423 00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:49,280 And so he begins with this anger, 424 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,360 which is this internal murderous rage, 425 00:21:51,360 --> 00:21:54,320 and then he says this external raka, 426 00:21:54,320 --> 00:21:56,520 this contempt for your brother, 427 00:21:56,520 --> 00:21:59,960 this failure to see their worth, 428 00:21:59,960 --> 00:22:02,600 and to call them this insult. 429 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,440 And then he says, you fool, right? 430 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:08,800 If you say to your brother or sister, you fool. 431 00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:10,920 And so he shows these three, 432 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,800 and they're kind of in this descending order 433 00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:15,760 of external intensity. 434 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:21,440 First you began with this angerous, murderous rage 435 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:23,000 that if taken to its end, 436 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,880 it results in taking the life of someone else. 437 00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:29,240 But then you step back, and then it's just an insult. 438 00:22:29,240 --> 00:22:32,200 It's calling someone empty or empty headed. 439 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:33,680 It's calling someone worthless. 440 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,520 And then he says, oh, but you think 441 00:22:36,520 --> 00:22:38,760 that's where the line is for murder? 442 00:22:38,760 --> 00:22:40,840 No, no, let's take another step back. 443 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,680 You fool, which was kind of like the base level 444 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,040 on the streets as low as you can get 445 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,080 the base level insult for someone. 446 00:22:49,080 --> 00:22:50,920 You fool, you fool. 447 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,760 I wanna ask if you ever called someone a fool, 448 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:57,880 especially around the presidential election season. 449 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:01,800 But we probably all have, you fool. 450 00:23:01,800 --> 00:23:02,640 You fool. 451 00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:08,720 It's from this Greek root word called more, 452 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:10,240 which we get our word moron. 453 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,040 So if you ever called someone moron, it's the same word. 454 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,480 See, this base level, on the ground, 455 00:23:16,480 --> 00:23:18,960 kind of personal insult you might throw at someone 456 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:21,120 face to face or think in your head. 457 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:23,680 You moron, you fool. 458 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:28,280 And Jesus says, we began with murder. 459 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:30,240 You said, do not murder. 460 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,560 But I tell you, if you have that rage within you, 461 00:23:33,560 --> 00:23:36,360 that anger toward your brother or sister, 462 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:37,920 it's the same thing. 463 00:23:37,920 --> 00:23:41,040 I tell you, if you insult your brother or sister 464 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:43,240 in a public way and call them worthless 465 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,280 and don't see the value that God has placed on them, 466 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:47,440 same thing. 467 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:49,520 Actually, I'll tell you, even if you just say 468 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:51,320 someone's a fool, someone's a moron, 469 00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:53,640 someone's an idiot, same thing. 470 00:23:54,640 --> 00:23:57,880 Same thing as if you murdered. 471 00:23:57,880 --> 00:23:59,960 And so he has this kind of descending order 472 00:23:59,960 --> 00:24:03,120 of intensity, and he says the act of murder 473 00:24:03,120 --> 00:24:06,200 is the ultimate expression of the heart of contempt. 474 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:10,960 But there are far less obvious expressions 475 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:13,600 that mark the same pathway to murder. 476 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:16,520 Jesus is saying that the fullness of this command 477 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,200 to not murder is anytime we walk down that path. 478 00:24:20,200 --> 00:24:21,760 And if you wanna know what that path is, 479 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:23,400 walk the path backwards. 480 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,000 What led you to that act? 481 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,920 How did you view humanity? 482 00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:31,320 How do you view your brother or sister? 483 00:24:35,160 --> 00:24:37,080 All the way back to the heart. 484 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:40,200 Because at the heart is actually the place 485 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,960 that it must be addressed, not in the action, at the heart. 486 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:47,320 And so with these three experiences, 487 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:52,000 he then lists out with each of them three judgments. 488 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,520 And he says with the first one, and this is interesting 489 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,400 because the first level of judgment, 490 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,640 the first level of judgment, which is for murderous rage, 491 00:24:59,640 --> 00:25:01,240 he says, what? 492 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,560 Oh, he'll be subject to judgment. 493 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,520 Subject to judgment. 494 00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,400 And then he says, whoever insults his brother or sister 495 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,120 will be subject to the court. 496 00:25:15,120 --> 00:25:17,640 And then he says, whoever says you fool 497 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:19,240 will be subject to hell fire. 498 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:20,080 Do you see what he's doing? 499 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:22,040 He's actually inverted it now. 500 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:25,880 So we would say hell, there's a special place in heaven 501 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:28,440 and a special place in hell reserved for murderers 502 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:30,360 who do the act, who commit the act. 503 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:33,520 And Jesus flips it around and says, for murder, 504 00:25:33,520 --> 00:25:35,720 for the act, for that anger and rage 505 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,360 that ultimately comes out, expresses itself in the act, 506 00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:40,400 yeah, you'll be subject to judgment. 507 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,480 And that judgment could be interpreted as the local courts. 508 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,360 Wherever you lived, you had a local court 509 00:25:45,360 --> 00:25:46,480 who adjudicated cases. 510 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,280 And yeah, you'll be subject to justice there. 511 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,440 But if you insult someone, you say empty head, 512 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:55,800 you say, hey, you're of no worth or value to me. 513 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,760 Well, then you're gonna be subject to the Sanhedrin. 514 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:01,360 He says the court, but the word behind it is Sanhedrin. 515 00:26:01,360 --> 00:26:04,000 And this is like the Supreme Court. 516 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,120 Now we would think murderers should be subject 517 00:26:06,120 --> 00:26:07,800 to the highest court. 518 00:26:07,800 --> 00:26:09,760 No, he flips the script. 519 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:11,600 And this is where his audience would have gone, 520 00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:13,600 like, what's going on here? 521 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:14,760 What's Jesus doing? 522 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:18,000 He said, murder is subject to judgment 523 00:26:18,960 --> 00:26:21,760 at maybe the local level, the local court. 524 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,920 Insult is subject to the Supreme Court judgment. 525 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:27,920 And then he says, do you fool? 526 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,600 The least, the lowest level, the insult, 527 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:34,000 the you idiot, you moron, subject to hellfire. 528 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:36,960 And he's doing that on purpose. 529 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:41,960 This is his way of saying, you think it's all about the act. 530 00:26:42,680 --> 00:26:47,120 But I'm telling you, the smallest act of insult 531 00:26:47,120 --> 00:26:51,920 that dehumanizes or takes away the imago de, 532 00:26:51,920 --> 00:26:54,280 the image of God in another person, 533 00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:56,120 when you stand in judgment, 534 00:26:56,120 --> 00:26:58,920 when you stand in contempt of your brother or sister, 535 00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:01,600 it's as bad. 536 00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:04,200 He's not saying that murder, the act, or the rage, 537 00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:06,040 doesn't deserve judgment. 538 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:10,000 He's simply trying to get his audience to see. 539 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:13,600 You emphasize one to the neglect of the other. 540 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:18,440 He wants to show them the fullness of what it means. 541 00:27:18,440 --> 00:27:20,560 He says, hellfires in the actual Greek, 542 00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:22,400 it's the Gehenna of fire. 543 00:27:24,200 --> 00:27:26,480 For the slightest jab, you fool. 544 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:29,360 And it puts you before. 545 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:31,040 Gehenna of fire is a place of judgment. 546 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,080 Gehenna of fire was a valley 547 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:35,960 that was right outside of Jerusalem. 548 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,720 And in this valley, all kinds of detestable things happened 549 00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:40,520 when the kings were around. 550 00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:42,960 When the kings were around and they began to lose sight 551 00:27:42,960 --> 00:27:46,000 and they did evil in the sight of God, Ahaz and Manasseh, 552 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:49,080 they went to this valley that was right outside of Jerusalem 553 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:50,440 and they worshiped not only Yahweh, 554 00:27:50,440 --> 00:27:52,360 but they also worshiped other gods and deities. 555 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:55,720 They set up places for incense and they did idol worship. 556 00:27:55,720 --> 00:27:58,160 And they did something far worse. 557 00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,000 It says that they burned their children 558 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,040 in the fire in Gehenna. 559 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:08,120 They burned their children in the fire in Gehenna, 560 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:09,800 in the valley of Gehenna. 561 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,720 And there, they burned them and this is what Jeremiah, 562 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:16,240 if you have your Bibles, go to the book of Jeremiah, 563 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,800 chapter seven, because this is the judgment 564 00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,280 that ultimately comes from God 565 00:28:21,280 --> 00:28:24,640 as a result of their actions. 566 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:27,120 Jeremiah chapter seven, 567 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:32,080 beginning in verse 30. 568 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:37,080 For the Judeans have done what is evil in my sight. 569 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,560 This is the Lord's declaration. 570 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,520 They have set up their abhorrent things in the house 571 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,320 that bears my name in order to defile it. 572 00:28:46,320 --> 00:28:50,280 They have built the high places on Tofeth 573 00:28:50,280 --> 00:28:54,000 in Ben-Hanan Valley in order to burn their sons 574 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,480 and daughters in the fire, a thing I did not command, 575 00:28:57,480 --> 00:28:59,360 I never entertain. 576 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:03,960 I did not command, I never entertained the thought. 577 00:29:05,240 --> 00:29:08,560 It says that they built their high places of Tofeth. 578 00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,680 This was like the fireplace or the place of offering. 579 00:29:12,680 --> 00:29:16,160 It was kind of like the bed you would lay the dead people on 580 00:29:16,160 --> 00:29:18,800 in order to burn their bodies up 581 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:21,600 as a way of kind of their funeral, right? 582 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:23,960 Except he's saying you built up these Tofeths 583 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:28,040 up on the high place or in the valley of Gehenna, 584 00:29:28,040 --> 00:29:30,560 and you put your sons and daughters alive on them. 585 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:33,560 You burn them to idols. 586 00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,720 And so when Jesus says, the one who says you fool 587 00:29:38,720 --> 00:29:40,400 is subject to the fires of Gehenna, 588 00:29:40,400 --> 00:29:44,440 what he is saying is that the fires of Gehenna 589 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:46,840 is a way for him to kind of turn around 590 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:51,440 the activity of the Israelites back in the Kings 591 00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,560 and the Chronicles era when they used to do 592 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,560 this detestable practice, and everyone knew 593 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:58,800 at Jesus' time that this detestable practice took place 594 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,360 in that valley that was just outside of Jerusalem. 595 00:30:02,480 --> 00:30:04,200 They knew it, it was a part of their history. 596 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:06,000 It was written down. 597 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,200 And so when he says the fires of Gehenna, 598 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:09,840 the first thing that would come into their mind 599 00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:14,080 is the idea of these fires that were lit in Gehenna 600 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,040 with children sacrificed to false gods on them. 601 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:20,960 And he said, well, we're gonna be subject 602 00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:22,600 to the fire of Gehenna? 603 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:26,560 Yeah, because Jeremiah flips the script 604 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:31,040 and says ultimately that they will pay 605 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:32,280 for what they have done. 606 00:30:34,160 --> 00:30:37,000 Verse 32 of Jeremiah seven. 607 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:40,760 Therefore, look, the days are coming, the Lord declares, 608 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:43,600 when this place will no longer be called Topheth 609 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,520 and Ben Hanan Valley, but Slaughter Valley. 610 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:49,760 Topheth will become a cemetery 611 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,480 because there will be no other burial place 612 00:30:52,480 --> 00:30:54,720 for the corpses of these people will become food 613 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:57,760 for the birds of the air and the wild animals of the land 614 00:30:57,760 --> 00:30:59,560 with no one to scare them away. 615 00:30:59,560 --> 00:31:01,480 I will remove the cities of Judah 616 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:03,160 and the streets of Jerusalem, 617 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:04,800 the sound of joy and gladness 618 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:07,080 and the voices of the groom and the bride 619 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:10,480 for the land will become a desolate wasteland. 620 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,840 Basically, God is saying because you did these things, 621 00:31:12,840 --> 00:31:15,320 because you defiled in such a way, 622 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:17,720 I'm going to bring judgment on you. 623 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:19,240 And what's that kind of judgment? 624 00:31:19,240 --> 00:31:22,240 Well, he kind of re-states it there in Matthew. 625 00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:25,120 He's basically saying the fires that you lit 626 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,680 to burn your children will turn back on you. 627 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,800 The fires that you used to sacrifice to these other gods 628 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,360 and these idols with your very precious children 629 00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:37,080 that you put on there and you did not honor them, 630 00:31:37,080 --> 00:31:41,400 those fires will come back on you in judgment from God. 631 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,960 So when he says the hell fire or the fire of Gehenna 632 00:31:44,960 --> 00:31:47,560 is the judgment for you fool, 633 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:50,280 he's saying it's the same idea 634 00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:52,040 as if you took your children and put them on there 635 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:55,840 and that fire was turned back on you in judgment. 636 00:31:55,840 --> 00:32:00,360 Turned back on because you did not honor what God honored. 637 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:02,720 You did not honor the image of God 638 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:06,120 that is in the human beings that he has created. 639 00:32:06,120 --> 00:32:09,880 God gave them value, not you. 640 00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:17,880 And so then verse 23 through 26 in Matthew, 641 00:32:17,880 --> 00:32:20,560 we get to some application. 642 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:22,320 What are we to do with this Jesus? 643 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:25,720 What are we supposed to do with your teaching? 644 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:28,240 He says, 645 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:33,520 so if you're offering your gift on the altar 646 00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:35,720 and there you remember that your brother or sister 647 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:37,960 has something against you, 648 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:40,360 leave your gift there in front of the altar, 649 00:32:40,360 --> 00:32:43,960 first go and be reconciled with your brother or sister 650 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:46,360 and then come offer your gift. 651 00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:49,080 Now we all probably have heard that scripture before 652 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:51,600 and people will pull it out like, 653 00:32:51,600 --> 00:32:53,480 hey if you've got something against your brother 654 00:32:53,480 --> 00:32:54,800 or your brother's got something against you 655 00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:57,800 for something out here or maybe they're just mad at you 656 00:32:57,800 --> 00:32:59,360 but it was a misunderstanding. 657 00:32:59,360 --> 00:33:01,440 Look in the context of the scripture here. 658 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:03,080 What is it saying? 659 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:06,200 It says if your brother has something against you, 660 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:08,840 this isn't you hurt their feelings 661 00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:10,280 or they have hurt feelings 662 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:12,480 because they misunderstood something that you did. 663 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,400 This is because you did something in the context of this. 664 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:18,960 This is you either called them fool, you insulted them 665 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,360 or you had murderous rage or anger toward them. 666 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,960 They have a justified reason to have something against you. 667 00:33:27,080 --> 00:33:28,640 They have something against you 668 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:30,960 and if you remember you come to offer, 669 00:33:30,960 --> 00:33:32,320 maybe it's your once yearly, 670 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:34,720 he's speaking in kind of the area of Galilee right now, 671 00:33:34,720 --> 00:33:37,680 so maybe it's your once yearly trip to Jerusalem 672 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:39,280 to offer your sacrifice 673 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:41,640 and you've traveled the long distance with the pilgrims 674 00:33:41,640 --> 00:33:44,640 to go up to the house of God and to offer your sacrifice 675 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:46,920 and if you get all the way there 676 00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:48,440 and you're standing in front of the altar 677 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,440 with your sacrifice and you're about to give it, 678 00:33:50,440 --> 00:33:52,600 Jesus says, don't bother. 679 00:33:54,840 --> 00:33:57,240 God wants you to leave it there. 680 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:02,720 Go all the way home and reconcile with your brother or sister 681 00:34:02,720 --> 00:34:03,760 that you've offended. 682 00:34:03,760 --> 00:34:06,760 Reconcile with your brother or sister that you called a fool 683 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:08,960 or your brother or sister that you said 684 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:11,880 is an empty headed idiot, moron, whatever it is 685 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:13,800 or that you had rage or anger for. 686 00:34:13,800 --> 00:34:16,360 Leave it there and once that's reconciled, 687 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,320 then go back and offer your gift. 688 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:20,000 Then go back. 689 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:22,160 It's that important. 690 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:24,920 It's that important to not leave it and just go, 691 00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,560 you know what, I'll do this really quick to God 692 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:30,160 and then I'll take care of it when I get home. 693 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:34,160 That's it, I don't want it, I don't need it. 694 00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:38,960 Go reconcile with your brother or sister first. 695 00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:42,080 That's far more important. 696 00:34:42,080 --> 00:34:45,240 That's far more, that's how significant 697 00:34:45,240 --> 00:34:47,840 Jesus is making this teaching. 698 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:50,960 He says go and be reconciled. 699 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:53,000 God takes this so seriously. 700 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:55,360 He says don't even bother offering your gift 701 00:34:55,360 --> 00:34:56,760 until this is fixed. 702 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:00,200 And then verse 25 through 26, 703 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:06,440 he says, reach a settlement quickly with your adversary 704 00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,640 while you're on the way with him to court 705 00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:11,360 or your adversary will hand you over to the judge 706 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:13,040 and the judge to the officer 707 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:14,840 and you will be thrown into prison 708 00:35:14,840 --> 00:35:18,040 tell, truly I tell you, you will never get out 709 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:21,200 until you have paid the last penny. 710 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,200 In a sense he kind of switches the illustration 711 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:24,040 a little bit here. 712 00:35:24,040 --> 00:35:25,400 He went from brother or sister 713 00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:26,440 that you have something against 714 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:27,560 or they have something against you 715 00:35:27,560 --> 00:35:28,640 because you've done something. 716 00:35:28,640 --> 00:35:31,040 And now he says adversary or enemy. 717 00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:33,360 You're adversary or enemy and you're going to court 718 00:35:33,360 --> 00:35:35,920 and he says you better raise up and fix this thing 719 00:35:35,920 --> 00:35:38,960 before it gets to court because once it gets to court 720 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:40,440 and you might think in your mind 721 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,280 he's giving practical legal advice here. 722 00:35:43,280 --> 00:35:46,280 No, they know what he's talking about and we should too. 723 00:35:46,280 --> 00:35:48,720 This is about interpersonal relationship 724 00:35:48,720 --> 00:35:51,640 with believers and human beings. 725 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:53,560 The first part being brothers and sisters, 726 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:55,600 those who are, you know, you can think 727 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:58,640 if this is 35 or 45 years later written, 728 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:02,400 Matthew is also now in the context of the early church. 729 00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:04,000 So he's thinking, he's writing to people 730 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:06,360 who are gathered together like we are. 731 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:07,760 And he's thinking how do you guys, 732 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,160 what should be your disposition towards this? 733 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:11,440 You need to go reconcile 734 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:13,440 with your brother, it's that important. 735 00:36:14,440 --> 00:36:17,240 But he also says you have adversaries and enemies 736 00:36:17,240 --> 00:36:19,240 and you've done wrong to some people 737 00:36:19,240 --> 00:36:21,440 and they have things against you. 738 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:25,080 And if you don't reconcile with them, 739 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:28,040 you might find yourself all the way in front of the court. 740 00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,840 And with Jesus, his teaching was both practical 741 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:36,520 for every day but it was also in a sense eschatological 742 00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:38,840 in that he was bringing in a new way of thinking, 743 00:36:38,840 --> 00:36:40,640 a new kingdom of God. 744 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:43,440 And so this court isn't just about human courts 745 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:45,720 that you might end up with with your adversary, 746 00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:48,640 it's about ending up in the courtroom of God 747 00:36:49,440 --> 00:36:52,440 with an offense that you did not reconcile. 748 00:36:52,440 --> 00:36:54,840 And what happens if that judge, 749 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,120 when you stand before him, says you owe, 750 00:36:59,320 --> 00:37:01,720 you are under judgment 751 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:05,080 because you did not reconcile with that one that you hurt, 752 00:37:05,080 --> 00:37:07,720 you did not reconcile with that one that you hurt. 753 00:37:07,720 --> 00:37:10,720 You did not reconcile with that one that you hurt, 754 00:37:10,720 --> 00:37:12,520 you did not reconcile with the one 755 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,320 with which you were angry, murderous rage, 756 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:18,320 or that you call the fool or empty-headed. 757 00:37:19,720 --> 00:37:22,120 Don't get all the way to there 758 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:26,320 and find out that you're gonna be thrown in prison 759 00:37:26,320 --> 00:37:27,920 and it's gonna require everything. 760 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,320 I mean, the saying to the last penny 761 00:37:31,320 --> 00:37:32,720 is just a way to emphasize it. 762 00:37:32,720 --> 00:37:35,920 He was talking about the quadrants, 763 00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:37,320 which was this Roman penny. 764 00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:40,120 It's 1.64 of a day's wages. 765 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:44,520 So down to the last little tiniest bit that you have 766 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:45,720 will be required of you. 767 00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:48,320 Full judgment. 768 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:53,320 The act of murder may land you in a human court 769 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,120 and it may land you under judgment, 770 00:37:57,320 --> 00:37:59,120 but there is another court 771 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:02,520 and that court is always in session. 772 00:38:03,720 --> 00:38:05,920 And that court is weighing each and every one 773 00:38:05,920 --> 00:38:09,720 of your thoughts and actions 774 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:13,320 against God's will and coming kingdom. 775 00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:18,320 God has established the worth and value of other humans 776 00:38:18,320 --> 00:38:20,720 and that is not ours for the taking. 777 00:38:20,720 --> 00:38:22,720 We don't have that prerogative. 778 00:38:22,720 --> 00:38:24,720 We haven't been given that license 779 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:27,320 to establish the worth or value of other humans. 780 00:38:27,320 --> 00:38:31,120 We don't get to say you're more valuable than him or her. 781 00:38:32,720 --> 00:38:34,320 That's God's prerogative. 782 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:37,320 What is ours is as kingdom citizens 783 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:40,520 is to think thoughts at the deepest level 784 00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:42,520 that are generous and gracious 785 00:38:42,520 --> 00:38:45,520 towards our brothers and sisters and even our adversaries. 786 00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:47,520 We'll see that love your enemies 787 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:51,320 is the final one he uses, the illustration he uses. 788 00:38:53,520 --> 00:38:57,320 We are to mirror or image God's standard here on earth 789 00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:00,120 and he upholds the worth of every human. 790 00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:02,120 But I believe that only when you feel 791 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:03,520 the weight of your own guilt 792 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:07,120 do you recognize the need for a savior, right? 793 00:39:08,920 --> 00:39:11,520 Jesus is gonna take six examples 794 00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:15,120 and every one of them you and I are gonna be guilty of 795 00:39:16,520 --> 00:39:17,320 in some way. 796 00:39:18,320 --> 00:39:20,520 And that's gonna leave us under guilt 797 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:22,720 if you just sit in it. 798 00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:26,520 I hazard to guess 799 00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:29,520 that Jesus is gonna leave us under guilt 800 00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:31,120 and I hazard to guess 801 00:39:31,120 --> 00:39:35,720 that if we opened up your life, every one of you, 802 00:39:35,720 --> 00:39:38,120 and we had access to every moment of it, 803 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:42,520 we are all under judgment of murder 804 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:46,120 in the sense that Jesus laid it out. 805 00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:49,920 We have all shown contempt for a brother or sister 806 00:39:49,920 --> 00:39:52,320 or enemy or fellow human being. 807 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:55,520 We have written off people. 808 00:39:55,520 --> 00:39:57,720 We might say it in very pleasant ways. 809 00:39:57,720 --> 00:40:01,920 We might say it as, I don't care about them. 810 00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:02,920 I have no need for them. 811 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:04,120 No, they can do whatever they want. 812 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:05,520 I don't care. 813 00:40:05,520 --> 00:40:09,520 But then our heart be like, no, to me they're dead. 814 00:40:09,520 --> 00:40:11,520 To me they don't exist. 815 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,720 To me they're not worth a thought. 816 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:18,320 We might show contempt for others. 817 00:40:19,920 --> 00:40:24,720 One of the major signs that a marriage is going downhill 818 00:40:24,720 --> 00:40:27,320 is when one party shows contempt for the other one. 819 00:40:27,320 --> 00:40:31,520 It's the inescapable vortex that pulls you in. 820 00:40:31,520 --> 00:40:33,320 When they begin to dismiss them as if, 821 00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:35,720 like, I don't even care about you. 822 00:40:35,720 --> 00:40:37,720 That's a hazard sign. 823 00:40:38,720 --> 00:40:41,320 It's also, and part of Jesus' teaching here, 824 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:45,120 it's the same as if you took a rock 825 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:47,120 and hit them over the head. 826 00:40:47,120 --> 00:40:48,920 Have you harbored anger or rage in your heart 827 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:49,920 towards someone? 828 00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:53,520 And this might be even someone who has actually hurt you. 829 00:40:53,520 --> 00:40:55,920 This might be someone who has actually done 830 00:40:55,920 --> 00:40:57,520 terrible things to you. 831 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:01,720 Maybe they hurt you in a real way. 832 00:41:04,220 --> 00:41:07,720 And yet, we are called nonetheless by God 833 00:41:08,620 --> 00:41:13,220 to face humanity and take it on his terms 834 00:41:13,220 --> 00:41:15,820 that we were made in his image and likeness, 835 00:41:15,820 --> 00:41:18,220 that we have dignity and value. 836 00:41:18,220 --> 00:41:23,220 And God's kingdom citizens will live in this way 837 00:41:23,220 --> 00:41:25,720 as we enter in to his kingdom. 838 00:41:29,320 --> 00:41:31,020 It's not easy to do this, is it? 839 00:41:31,020 --> 00:41:33,720 It's not easy to obey because you can already 840 00:41:33,720 --> 00:41:35,620 probably think of areas where you might go, 841 00:41:35,620 --> 00:41:36,520 I don't know about that. 842 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:38,320 I don't know if I'm ready to give that one up 843 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:41,620 or I kinda like holding onto that rage right over here 844 00:41:41,620 --> 00:41:43,120 on this person because of what they did 845 00:41:43,120 --> 00:41:45,220 and I wanna make them pay. 846 00:41:45,220 --> 00:41:47,320 I think in the end, we'll all find that we don't have 847 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:49,420 the strengthening of ourselves and that is the beauty 848 00:41:49,420 --> 00:41:51,820 of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 849 00:41:51,820 --> 00:41:55,420 The gospel, the good news, is that Christ has fulfilled 850 00:41:55,420 --> 00:41:59,220 all of the righteous requirements of the law for us. 851 00:41:59,220 --> 00:42:01,820 The gospel that lifts our heads in our weight 852 00:42:01,820 --> 00:42:03,720 and our guilt is that through faith 853 00:42:03,720 --> 00:42:05,720 that is marked by repentance, 854 00:42:05,720 --> 00:42:09,620 we can change, his heart can be planted 855 00:42:09,620 --> 00:42:12,520 and we can get a new heart that changes our disposition, 856 00:42:12,520 --> 00:42:16,720 that over time, he can renew us in our minds 857 00:42:16,720 --> 00:42:18,720 and prepare us for the future. 858 00:42:18,720 --> 00:42:21,420 That if you do have that murderous rage in your heart, 859 00:42:21,420 --> 00:42:24,220 even now, or that contempt for your fellow human being, 860 00:42:24,220 --> 00:42:25,720 you can say, I don't want it. 861 00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:29,520 Take it Lord, I don't want it anymore. 862 00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:32,820 I don't wanna sit under the judgment of it anymore. 863 00:42:32,820 --> 00:42:35,720 I wanna offload this, I can't carry this. 864 00:42:37,320 --> 00:42:40,820 And he can come and he can begin to work in your heart 865 00:42:42,320 --> 00:42:46,720 to remove that contempt, to clean you from the inside out 866 00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:48,920 because it's at the heart that all of this begins 867 00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:50,720 and that's where Jesus traced this thread 868 00:42:50,720 --> 00:42:54,420 all the way back to the heart and it's only then, 869 00:42:55,720 --> 00:42:58,720 only in the place where we have received forgiveness 870 00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:00,520 from Christ, where we have confessed 871 00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:05,020 and we lay it before him and his righteousness is ours, 872 00:43:05,020 --> 00:43:07,720 only when we have experienced that kind of love 873 00:43:08,920 --> 00:43:10,220 and that love has changed our hearts, 874 00:43:10,220 --> 00:43:14,220 can we begin to even hope to love others in that way. 875 00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:19,020 The gospel is not the doorway though. 876 00:43:19,020 --> 00:43:21,420 It's not the thing you did when you first accepted Christ 877 00:43:21,420 --> 00:43:23,420 and now you gotta move beyond the gospel. 878 00:43:23,420 --> 00:43:26,020 The gospel is for each and every person here today. 879 00:43:27,020 --> 00:43:29,720 Sure, we're not gonna have an altar call where you, 880 00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:32,420 give your life to Christ, but you can give your heart 881 00:43:32,420 --> 00:43:34,820 to Christ today, over and over again, 882 00:43:34,820 --> 00:43:37,320 give your sin to Christ as Nick led us 883 00:43:37,320 --> 00:43:39,520 through our confession time. 884 00:43:40,420 --> 00:43:43,320 He's saying, I don't even need your gift, 885 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:45,920 bring your gift of sin. 886 00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:48,680 Lay it on my feet, confess it freely. 887 00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:51,280 Lay it before me, I can bring healing. 888 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:55,120 The one thing you don't wanna do though, 889 00:43:55,120 --> 00:43:58,420 is you don't wanna hold it and say, you know what? 890 00:43:58,420 --> 00:44:00,320 Not putting this thing out there. 891 00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:03,520 I like this baggage, I like this hatred, 892 00:44:03,520 --> 00:44:06,320 I like this anger, I'm gonna carry it all the way 893 00:44:06,320 --> 00:44:07,720 until I stand before God. 894 00:44:08,640 --> 00:44:11,320 Jesus says, don't do that. 895 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:14,420 Don't do that. 896 00:44:14,420 --> 00:44:18,420 Only in a place of forgiveness can we begin to love this way. 897 00:44:18,420 --> 00:44:22,620 And only when we've been brought into the love of God 898 00:44:22,620 --> 00:44:24,820 and that love has been brought into our hearts, 899 00:44:26,020 --> 00:44:28,620 can we love from our hearts toward others 900 00:44:29,620 --> 00:44:30,720 as we're commanded. 901 00:44:30,720 --> 00:44:32,620 We are invited through this series 902 00:44:32,620 --> 00:44:35,620 and through Jesus' words, you and I are invited 903 00:44:35,620 --> 00:44:37,620 to live into the kingdom of God. 904 00:44:38,820 --> 00:44:42,620 To begin to set aside and let go of the sin 905 00:44:42,620 --> 00:44:46,420 and to set aside and let go of living in our own kingdom 906 00:44:46,420 --> 00:44:48,220 or in the kingdom of this world 907 00:44:48,220 --> 00:44:51,020 and begin to live into the kingdom of God. 908 00:44:51,020 --> 00:44:54,120 And it begins for our series today 909 00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:56,420 with the idea of anger and murder 910 00:44:56,420 --> 00:45:15,420 and attempt for others.