Sermon by Rev. Ray Silverman

Sermon: When God manifested Himself on earth as Jesus Christ, He had many things to say. His words were carefully chosen and His topics were divinely selected. Within the first two minutes of His first sermon, He chose to focus on the commandments, beginning with the commandment against murder. “Ye have heard that it was said of old, ye shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.” [Matt. 5:21] This was also the first commandment that Jesus mentioned when the rich young man asked which commandments he should keep. Jesus said, “You shall not murder.”

The rich young man had believed that he had kept all the commandments, but Jesus tried to show him that he must not be smugly self-satisfied with his achievements. There is always more to learn, greater heights to strive towards, loftier summits to attain. Jesus advised the young man to sell what he had and give to the poor. Spiritually, this is to acknowledge that we are poor and far from perfect. Regeneration and spiritual development is an eternal process. Emanuel Swedenborg tells us that even the highest angels are continually being perfected in wisdom and love. (see HH 221, for example) When Jesus advised the rich young man to sell what he had and give to the poor, he let it be known that we must never be content to rest on our laurels, that spiritual life calls us ever onward, ever upward into greater and greater degrees of light and love.

As we steadily progress, the sunshine of the Lord’s love and wisdom fills our days with greater warmth and greater light. When we love the Lord above all and our neighbor as ourself, our days are long upon the land which the Lord is giving to us. We may be approaching perfection, but are never perfect. Therefore it is never satisfactory for us to proceed through the Ten Commandments in a mechanical way, saying, “I do not murder, I do not commit adultery, I do not steal, I do not lie or covet. Please, open the gates of heaven.” It doesn’t work that way. The commandments are divine, handed down by a loving God Who knows that each commandment has deeper and deeper levels of meaning.

As we begin the process of our regeneration, we strive to keep the commandments in a literal way. We see them as speaking about the physical world and material objects. We restrain ourselves from the desire to murder those who oppose us, we refuse to enter into extra-marital sexual unions, we refrain from stealing our neighbor’s material possessions, and we try not to tell lies. All this is proper and necessary. It is the only way we can begin the process of spiritual development, but it is only a beginning. It only takes us to a certain level. It only prepares us for the next stage of the journey.

As we enter this new stage, we begin to see that the commandments are not merely about our relationships on the physical plane of life. More deeply, they are about our thoughts, our emotions, our underlying attitudes and motives. It is not so much what we say and do in the outer world that determines who we are, but rather, what we think about, what feelings we embrace, what desires we yearn to fulfill. This is why, when Jesus came into the world, He made it very clear that He came to deepen our understanding of the
commandments. He came, not to destroy the commandments, but to take us to a new level of understanding. “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law and the prophets. I have not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17) He not only full-filled them; He in-filled and deepened them.

Jesus emphasized how every jot and tittle of the law was holy, and He said that whoever keeps the commandments and teaches them would be called great in the kingdom of heaven. But He also added these words, “I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) What did He mean by this? In what way should our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees?

In order to answer these questions, we need to understand that the scribes and Pharisees were primarily concerned with the external observance of the law. They believed, as did the rich young man, that an external show of piety, long prayer, fasting, and keeping the commandments at a literal level would gain them access to heaven. But Jesus came to take people beyond the externalism of the day. He came to lead people into a new righteousness, not merely of outward actions, but a righteousness that exceeded that of the scribes and Pharisees. He showed the way into an inner righteousness. People could no longer be content to wash the outside of the cup and dish, while the inside remained full of dirt and grime. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,” Jesus said, “You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of violence and selfishness. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, when you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. Outwardly you appear like righteous men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matthew 23:27, 28)

Immediately after telling His disciples that their righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus gave them an illustration of how this might be done. He focuses on the commandment which forbids murder, and then deepens their understanding of this commandment. These are His words: “You have heard that it was said by those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment; but I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ will be brought before the council; but whoever calls his brother a worthless fool will be in danger of going to the fire of hell.” (Matthew 5:21, 22)

As we enter into the deeper meaning of this commandment, let us keep in mind that Jesus never condemned outward acts of piety. In fact, He continually urged His disciples to pray and to keep the commandments. As He left their physical presence, He encouraged them to keep up their regular worship in Jerusalem. “Tarry in the city of Jerusalem,” He said, “’til you receive power from on high.” (Luke 24:49) "And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God" (Luke 24:53). Jesus encouraged outward acts of piety and public worship. He did not condemn these things. What He condemned was external ritual, external observance of the law, without a corresponding emotion in the heart. He condemned hypocrisy. “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites,” He said. “As it is written, this people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.” (Mark 7:6)

The opening up of the deeper levels of the law was to help people deepen their lives. Jesus wanted His people to know that smug self-satisfaction and self-righteousness were not a blessing, but a curse. He wanted them to look deeper, to wash the inside of the cup and dish, to see that they were not perfect, and that they had a great deal of spiritual work to do. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” He said. They were no longer to compliment themselves self-righteously because they had never murdered anyone physically. Jesus came to show them that they must not commit murder in their hearts, that they must not be rashly angry with their brother, that they must not call him a good-for-nothing or a worthless fool. Jesus wanted them to know that this was a deeper level of murder. It was the inside of the cup and dish.

In commenting on this commandment, Emanuel Swedenborg tells us that he who is outwardly moral but inwardly immoral hates everyone who opposes him, and is therefore continually committing murder in his heart. (see Heaven and Hell 531, for example) Swedenborg says that murder at the deeper spiritual level is “to act as the devil and destroy men’s souls.” (Doctrine of Sacred Scriptures 67:4) It is to turn men away from God, away from religion, and away from divine worship.

Let’s reflect for a moment on the ways in which we can break this commandment on a deeper level. Jesus spoke about the belittling, disparaging comments and criticisms we make that can kill other people’s aspirations and reputations. He warned us to call no one a good-for-nothing or a worthless fool, and yet we sometimes find ourselves thinking and uttering words that may discourage others. An aspiring young person says, “I want to do something good for the world,” and the killing response comes back, “You are just one person. Forget it.” A small child, trying to help her mother, drops a dish. Without ever saying a word, the mother gives her the glare that can kill. Next time the child slips quietly away from the table, and doesn’t even try to help. Something in her has been murdered. A father, furious with his son for deceiving him, says, “You are a deceitful liar. How can I ever trust you? You will never be any good. No one will ever be able to believe you.” Something in this boy is being murdered.

To murder, as Swedenborg said, is to act as a devil and destroy men’s souls. At the deepest level, it is to bear hatred against the Lord and all that is from Him. Is there a place in us where we feel that God doesn’t care for us? Is there a place in us where we feel that our prayers are in vain, that God is not here, that God, religion, and divine worship is a waste of time? This is the level where the deepest form of murder takes place. It is a deep-seated hatred which comes in the form of depression, discouragement, and profound cynicism. It eats away at the marrow of our life, destroying not merely our aspirations to be useful in this world, but more deeply, it destroys our aspirations to be useful in the kingdom of heaven. Although God is not yet denied, there is an arousal of disdain for all things of religion. Prayers seem petty, selfish, worthless and foolish; reading the Word seems useless; praising God is something only the simple and ignorant do. God solemnly warns us to beware of this level of discouragement, for it is the deepest from of murder.

The Lord came into the world to give light to people who lived in darkness. But the people hated the light because their deeds were evil, and they murdered the very source of that light. The Lord comes into each of our lives, bringing that same light, and gives us frequent opportunities to see the less flattering aspects of ourselves. He lets us see that we are not perfect, not rich young men, but struggling, as others, to overcome our limitations. This is how the Lord calls us to take up our cross, whatever limitations we might have, and follow Him. He encourages us with the promise that we shall have treasures in heaven.

But sometimes, in our anger at the Lord, we refuse to see the blessing He is giving us. We refuse to see ourselves as we really are. We refuse to acknowledge our weakness and limitations. We prefer to exalt ourselves by putting others down, but this leads us into the severest form of murder – spiritual suicide. We can never kill the Lord, but we can destroy our opportunity for spiritual growth. We can in this way begin to die spiritually, as a branch that is cut off from the vine. The Lord in His mercy has given us this commandment against murder because He knows that in murdering the truth about ourselves, we murder our most important opportunity for spiritual growth.

In this commandment the Lord calls us to declare a truce, to put down our weapons of criticism and condemnation that hurt and cut and destroy the aspirations of others. He calls us to see the goodness and worth of our fellow man and be an encourager, one who uplifts and inspires. Our Lord encourages each of us to go forward, honest about our limitations, but assured that we are of great value in His eyes.

Long ago He said to Moses, “Command Joshua and encourage him, and strengthen him, for he shall go over before this people into the Promised Land.” (Deuteronomy 3:28) Today His call is ever the same: Do not murder; encourage one another; strengthen one another; and go over this day into the Promised Land.