Yahweh, the Fountain of Life, says, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). And Jesus says, “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” (Matthew 5:21–22).
It might seem like it should go without saying, but it can’t: murder is evil. Murder is contrary to the blessed reality of life. Ultimately, murder is sin, which means it violates one’s relationship with the Triune God of love. Murder is the unlawful opposition to the life and good of a person who is made in God’s image. When we murder, we exalt ourselves above God’s law, we take matters into our own hands as judges of life and death. And—whether we’re talking about self-harm, suicide, hatred, abuse (verbal, emotional, or physical), bitterness, vengefulness, or outright homicide—when we murder, we pit ourselves against God, against his goodness and life as reflected in his human creation. We may not be able to harm God, but we can strike out against him by harming humanity, whether in our hearts, in our imaginations, by our words, or by our hands.
Jesus said that the devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). The devil has committed murder, not by forcibly causing our physical hearts to stop beating, but by tempting us to commit spiritual suicide, to sever our relationship with the God of life. When the devil won humanity to his side in warring against God (Genesis 3), humanity shortly became murderous like him. In Genesis 4, as soon as there was such a thing as a brother, Cain murdered him in a self-centered, jealous rage—over liturgical offerings! Even the “very religious” are perfectly capable of murder, which Jesus exposes when he calls the religious leaders of his day sons of the devil, the father of all murderers (John 8:44), because they opposed Jesus, the God of life incarnate.
Even though we were dead set against him and his ways, God did not return evil for evil, but remained faithful to his nature as the God of life and love. “The Lord of life, unable himself to die, contrived to do it” (George Herbert). God took upon himself our humanity in order to renew it as created in his image, to honor and serve the life and good of others. Jesus came and “brothered” us, so that we might have abundant life. He permitted himself to be murdered by his brothers in order to forgive those who have set themselves against him, and to restore our life with God that was lost through our spiritual suicide. Jesus defeated the father of murder, the devil, by giving his own life to grant us eternal life. And he has reanimated us by his own Spirit in such a way that we have in us fountains of life welling up to overflowing as we look to preserve and promote the true life and good of humanity in his name, especially in the ministry of reconciliation.
How have you broken the sixth commandment? Are you surprised to discover that you or others have murderous impulses? Are there ways in which, through faith in Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit, you have been surprised to discover yourself newly keeping the sixth commandment? How is the ministry of reconciliation a keeping of the sixth commandment? Some would say we live in a “culture of death”—what do you think this means, and do you agree? How can a Christian treat murderers? Is it possible to seriously and strenuously oppose others without opposing them murderously in our hearts? If so, what would that look like? Are there instances when the taking of a human life is lawful according to God? Is it “murder” to take a non-human life? (Read the Westminster Larger Catechism 135 and 136 for further reflection…)
