Murder: Jesus exposes the heart—not just the hands.
This weekend at Anchor Church, we continued our journey through the Ten Commandments by going deeper into the sixth: “You shall not murder.” Last week, we looked at the sanctity of life—that every human being bears God’s image, and to take life unjustly is to attack God Himself. But this week, Jesus takes us even further.
In Matthew 5:21–26, Jesus doesn’t just warn against murder—He exposes the seeds of it. He tells us the sin starts long before blood is spilled. It begins in our hearts: with unchecked anger, quiet contempt, cutting words, and withheld grace. You don’t have to take a life to devalue one—you only have to treat someone as if their life doesn’t matter.
Jesus presses in with these hard but necessary words because He’s not content with behavior modification. He came to transform our hearts.
TRUTH #1: God Cares More About Your Heart Than Your Record
“You’ve heard it said… but I say to you…” With these words, Jesus reveals the deeper intent of the sixth commandment. He names three heart-level violations that echo murder in God’s eyes: unresolved anger, dehumanizing insults, and moral condemnation. Each reflects a heart poisoned by pride and contempt.
This is where Jesus’ teaching stings. Because most of us haven’t physically harmed anyone—but we’ve used our words to tear down, manipulate, gossip, or silence. We’ve spoken death when God called us to speak life. And Jesus says it matters. Our words are not meaningless. They’re evidence of our hearts.
So here’s the question: What do your words say about what’s in you? Who have you condemned in your heart, even if you’ve kept your record “clean”?
TRUTH #2: Contempt Turns People Into Problems Instead of Image-Bearers
Jesus’ warning isn’t just about individual emotion—it’s about how we see others. When we harbor anger or speak with disdain, we stop seeing people as sacred. We see them as threats, obstacles, or annoyances.
Contempt is the seedbed of murder. And it’s everywhere in our culture. We label, dismiss, and divide—online and in person. But the Gospel calls us to something radically different. James 3 reminds us: we can’t bless God and curse those made in His image with the same mouth.
Every person you are tempted to label or dismiss is someone Jesus died for. They are not “less than”—they are image-bearers. Let’s be a church that refuses to call worthless what God calls precious.
TRUTH #3: The Gospel Doesn’t Excuse Our Anger—It Offers to Heal It
Jesus doesn’t stop at diagnosis. He points us to healing. He says that before we worship, before we sing or serve—we need to deal with the division in our hearts. Reconciliation is not optional for God’s people—it’s central to the Gospel.
The cross of Jesus is the proof: God didn’t ignore our offense—He absorbed it. Jesus bore every angry word, every insult, every hateful thought. And from the cross, He didn’t retaliate—He prayed, “Father, forgive them.”
That’s our model. And that’s our hope. The Gospel isn’t “Try harder to be nice.” It’s “Come to the One who was murdered for your anger—and be healed.”
TRUTH #4: The Spirit Makes Peacemakers Out of Former Murderers
Jesus closes this section with a call to urgency: deal with your anger now. Don’t let broken relationships linger. The Spirit of God is at work in us—not just to keep us from harm, but to make us agents of healing. In Galatians 5, Paul contrasts the fruit of the flesh—anger, division, rivalry—with the fruit of the Spirit: love, peace, kindness.
If the Spirit lives in you, He empowers you to live differently. Not just to avoid conflict—but to pursue peace. To initiate reconciliation. To speak blessing where there was once bitterness.
You are never more like Jesus than when you choose restoration over retaliation. Let’s be that kind of church.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
Who have I wounded with my words, or in my heart?
Where is anger still lurking beneath the surface?
What relationships need repair before I approach the Lord’s table?
How can I speak life this week, instead of death?
PRAYER RESPONSE: Father, You see our hearts even when we try to hide them. Forgive us for our anger, our contempt, our harsh words, and our cold silence. Thank You for the mercy of the cross—that Jesus bore even our murderous hearts. Make us a people who reflect Your love, who pursue peace, who speak life. Let the Spirit uproot bitterness and grow in us the fruit of reconciliation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
MEMORY VERSE: “You have heard that it was said… ‘You shall not murder’… But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…” — Matthew 5:21–22 (ESV)
