Sum\u00adma\u00adry: Jesus does not abro\u00adga\u00adte the Torah in the Ser\u00admon on the Mount, but inter\u00adprets it cor\u00adrect\u00adly. Thus he says that we should not only not kill, but also not cover our neigh\u00adbour with evil words. He gets to the root of the pro\u00adblem. In today\u2019s ser\u00admon we learn how to deal with each other with digni\u00adty in case of con\u00adflict. Sin\u00adce Jesus values life very much, it is very important to him that no one is shamed.<\/p>\n
In Eng\u00adland, a man rob\u00adbed a bank. He was caught and the\u00adr\u00ade\u00adfo\u00adre had to spend seve\u00adral years in pri\u00adson. During this time, he found a per\u00adso\u00adnal rela\u00adti\u00adonship with Jesus Christ through a pri\u00adson cha\u00adp\u00adlain. He deci\u00added that the first thing he would do after his release was to go to a church to say thank you to God. He did so and atten\u00added a church ser\u00advice. On a wall of the church he dis\u00adco\u00adver\u00aded the Ten Com\u00admandments. His eyes got stuck on \u00abThou shalt not ste\u00adal\u00bb. \u00abThat\u2019s the last thing I need. I know I\u2019m a thief. And now I\u2019ll be dam\u00adned again,\u00bb he thought. Alt\u00adhough he would have lik\u00aded to lea\u00adve right away, he remain\u00aded sea\u00adted and read through the sen\u00adten\u00adces again and again. Sud\u00adden\u00adly some\u00adthing chan\u00adged. He no lon\u00adger read: \u00abThou shalt not ste\u00adal\u00bb, but: \u00abThou shalt ste\u00adal no more!\u00bb \tWhat does Jesus do with the com\u00admandments from the Old Tes\u00adta\u00adment? What is the signi\u00adfi\u00adcan\u00adce of the\u00adse see\u00admingly tigh\u00adten\u00aded statements? <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sum\u00adma\u00adry: Jesus does not abro\u00adga\u00adte the Torah in the Ser\u00admon on the Mount, but inter\u00adprets it cor\u00adrect\u00adly. Thus he says that we should not only not kill, but also not cover our neigh\u00adbour with evil words. He gets to the root of the pro\u00adblem. In today\u2019s ser\u00admon we learn how to deal with each other in a digni\u00adfied way in case of conflict.\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[23],"wpfc_sermon_series":[72],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-matthias-altwegg","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-metamorphose","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-3456","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"hentry","10":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t
\nThou shalt not kill
\n\u00abYou have heard that it was said to the anci\u00adents, \u00abYou shall not kill\u00bb; but whoe\u00adver kills shall be guil\u00adty of judgment. But I say unto you: He that is angry with his brot\u00adher is guil\u00adty of judgment; but he that says to his brot\u00adher, Thou good-for-not\u00adhing, is guil\u00adty of the high coun\u00adcil; but he that says, Thou fool, is guil\u00adty of hel\u00adlish fire.\u00bb (Matthew 5:21f LUT<\/span>). Like the ex-con, such a text could crush us. A stern right one, this God! The Ser\u00admon on the Mount seems to tigh\u00adten the alre\u00ada\u00addy strict laws to a degree whe\u00adre no one can suffice.
\nThe\u00adr\u00ade\u00adfo\u00adre, we must read such text again and again until we hear the music of hea\u00adven. Com\u00admandments like \u00abThou shalt not kill\u00bb descri\u00adbe the cha\u00adrac\u00adter of God. He is the life. The Ser\u00admon on the Mount also descri\u00adbes God\u2019s natu\u00adre, his glo\u00adry. For a fol\u00adlower of Jesus it is not a com\u00admandment, but a pro\u00admi\u00adse. This is how it will be in the new world. It is the poten\u00adti\u00adal for growth for a Chris\u00adti\u00adan. To the ext\u00adent that we alre\u00ada\u00addy live the Ser\u00admon on the Mount today, hea\u00adven comes to earth.
\nThou shalt not be angry
\n\u00abBut I say to you, ever\u00adyo\u00adne who is angry with his brot\u00adher belongs in court [\u2026]\u00bb (V.22 NG\u00dc<\/span>). Jesus does not abro\u00adga\u00adte Moses, who recei\u00adved the Torah from God, but drills through him. Why does one kill? The root of kil\u00adling is anger. Becau\u00adse we are angry, we kill peo\u00adp\u00adle. Jesus is con\u00adcer\u00adned with our inner man, our moti\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon is decisi\u00adve for him. A sur\u00advey was made among a wide varie\u00adty of peo\u00adp\u00adle: If you could remo\u00adve a human being by just pres\u00adsing a but\u00adton, and you would have no nega\u00adti\u00adve con\u00adse\u00adquen\u00adces from it. Would you do it? 69% of all men and 56% of all women ans\u00adwe\u00adred YES<\/span>. The moti\u00adva\u00adti\u00adon is the\u00adre. The reason why it does not hap\u00adpen is the fear of being locked up.
\nThe inter\u00adpre\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon of the sixth com\u00admandment is not only about extin\u00adgu\u00adis\u00adhing life, but about rela\u00adti\u00adonships. And first of all about rela\u00adti\u00adonships within the com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty of belie\u00advers, becau\u00adse Jesus uses the term \u00abbrot\u00adher\u00bb seve\u00adral times. We must learn to love our imme\u00addia\u00adte neigh\u00adbours first, befo\u00adre we make a decla\u00adra\u00adti\u00adon of love to the who\u00adle world.
\n\u00ab[\u2026] Whoe\u00adver says to his brot\u00adher, \u00abYou fool,\u00bb belongs befo\u00adre the high coun\u00adcil [\u2026]\u00bb (V.22 NG\u00dc<\/span>). Jesus is tal\u00adking about anger, but also about insults. The Ara\u00admaic word raka means emp\u00adty or air\u00adhead. It is an insult to the intellect in the sen\u00adse of stu\u00adpid, moron or brain\u00adless. The punish\u00adments of banish\u00adment that are threa\u00adten\u00aded in each case were com\u00admon in Jewish rab\u00adbi\u00adnism at that time. Jesus refers to this and does not want to threa\u00adten us with harm.
\n\u00ab[\u2026] And whoe\u00adver says to him, \u00abYou idi\u00adot,\u00bb belongs in the fire of hell\u00bb (v.22 NG\u00dc<\/span>). In the Ori\u00adent, this is one of the hig\u00adhest levels of insult for a man. In other words, Lel\u00adla means, \u00abAs a man, you are no good at all!\u00bb You insult a person\u2019s cha\u00adrac\u00adter. To call someone Lel\u00adla in public is to des\u00adtroy his repu\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon and stan\u00adding. The digni\u00adty of the human being is deep\u00adly attacked.
\nWords can kill. \u00abHe who goes forth care\u00adless\u00adly with words stings like a sword, but the ton\u00adgue of the wise brings heal\u00ading\u00bb (Pro\u00adverbs 12:18 LUT<\/span>). Evil, mean, vile words can do more harm than out\u00adward blows. A bro\u00adken nose heals, but wicked, vile words can stay with you for a life\u00adtime and shape your per\u00adso\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty. That is why Jesus talks about mur\u00adder, anger and evil words in the same pas\u00adsa\u00adge. Jesus is life and gives high esteem to life.
\nIn my fami\u00adly of ori\u00adgin, a lot of kil\u00adling was done with words. We were five boys, all with enough cho\u00adle\u00adric and domi\u00adnant parts. The\u00adre was a con\u00adstant scram\u00adble for places. Any means was suf\u00adfi\u00adci\u00adent. We threw the cru\u00addest insults at each other. One of my brot\u00adhers felt so asha\u00admed and depri\u00adved of digni\u00adty that he almost died on the Platz\u00adspitz. A lot of things were bro\u00adken \u2013 and that, nota bene, in a pious fami\u00adly. I am so sor\u00adry that I was a con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adtor to this batt\u00adle\u00adfield. Shaming is equa\u00adted with kil\u00adling. Shame eats digni\u00adty. With vile words we attack the digni\u00adty of our neigh\u00adbour, we shame and mob him. As if we weren\u2019t asha\u00admed enough wit\u00adhout shaming. We are asha\u00admed of guilt, of wrong\u00addo\u00ading and of not living up to expec\u00adta\u00adti\u00adons. We are asha\u00admed of things for which we can\u00adnot do any\u00adthing. Some peo\u00adp\u00adle are asha\u00admed of their appearance, asha\u00admed of not being pret\u00adty, tall, thin and ath\u00adle\u00adtic enough. Old and sick peo\u00adp\u00adle are asha\u00admed becau\u00adse they depend on the help of others. Peo\u00adp\u00adle are asha\u00admed of not belon\u00adging. They are asha\u00admed of being out\u00adsi\u00adders. They even feel asha\u00admed when they have been the vic\u00adtim of an act of vio\u00adlence. Shame is powerful \u2013 and it often runs ram\u00adpant insi\u00adde us, hiding as anger. And then the cycle beg\u00adins anew.
\nGod loves to give digni\u00adty to peo\u00adp\u00adle. He is life and values life high\u00adly. When Adam and Eve were first asha\u00admed of their naked\u00adness, He cover\u00aded their naked\u00adness with an apron made of ani\u00admal skins. When the youn\u00adger son in the para\u00adble (Luke 15) retur\u00adned home hesi\u00adtant and asha\u00admed, the first thing the father did was to res\u00adto\u00adre digni\u00adty to his son, sym\u00adbo\u00adli\u00adsed by items such as a cere\u00admo\u00adni\u00adal dress, shoes and a fin\u00adger ring. Jesus chal\u00adlenges us with this text to look at peo\u00adp\u00adle with his eyes. Andre\u00adas, a grand\u00adson of Kon\u00adrad Ade\u00adnau\u00ader, says: \u00abIf God alre\u00ada\u00addy makes every flower, every snow\u00adfla\u00adke and every fin\u00adger\u00adprint uni\u00adque, how much love must he have for each of us human beings?\u00bb
\nThe\u00adre are three ways to deal with hat\u00adred or anger:
\nGive free rein to anger. May\u00adbe it will make you feel a litt\u00adle ligh\u00adter. But the situa\u00adti\u00adon will wor\u00adsen and mans\u00adlaugh\u00adter will ensue.
\nSup\u00adpres\u00adsing anger. Becau\u00adse Chris\u00adti\u00adans think that they are not allo\u00adwed to hate, this stra\u00adtegy is par\u00adti\u00adcu\u00adlar\u00adly popu\u00adlar among them. But it is very unhe\u00adalt\u00adhy becau\u00adse it does not make the anger go away, but only buries it. The truth is: you hate any\u00adway! The tra\u00adgic con\u00adse\u00adquence is that peo\u00adp\u00adle go to church with a grin\u00adning face and vent their anger in subt\u00adle ways, e.g. by being mean, cyni\u00adcal or spre\u00ada\u00adding rumours. Peo\u00adp\u00adle with repres\u00adsed anger often beco\u00adme bit\u00adter and suf\u00adfer nightmares.
\nTal\u00adking about anger. The best stra\u00adtegy is to walk with God and tell Him what we think about this \u00abpig\u00bb. He knows any\u00adway. Then we should go to the per\u00adson. If we go to the per\u00adson first in anger, it will not go well. Rela\u00adti\u00adonship pro\u00adblems are to be addres\u00adsed: \u00abSo if you bring your gift to the altar and the\u00adre it occurs to you that your brot\u00adher has some\u00adthing against you, then lea\u00adve your gift the\u00adre in front of the altar; go and be recon\u00adci\u00adled with your brot\u00adher first! Then come and offer your gift to \u00abGod\u00bb \u00bb (Matthew 5:23f NG\u00dc<\/span>). Oha! Even if the other per\u00adson has some\u00adthing against me, the respon\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty is on me to sort things out. And that\u2019s befo\u00adre I go to church, wor\u00adship or small group and also befo\u00adre I spend time with Jesus. Lea\u00adve the Bible, go to the brot\u00adher and recon\u00adci\u00adle with him.
\nSteps towards a recon\u00adci\u00adled relationship
\nA few chap\u00adters later, Matthew wri\u00adtes about wise action in rela\u00adti\u00adonship trou\u00adbles (Matthew 18:15\u201317).
\nFirst step (v.15): When con\u00adflicts ari\u00adse, peo\u00adp\u00adle like to go home to their spou\u00adse or to the regu\u00adlars\u00bb table and accu\u00adse the other per\u00adson of being a jerk. With that, the other per\u00adson is alre\u00ada\u00addy done for. How quick\u00adly a rumour can des\u00adtroy a person\u2019s repu\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon and kill them moral\u00adly! Jesus says, \u00abWhen\u00adever anyo\u00adne mis\u00adbe\u00adha\u00adves, it is only you and the other per\u00adson.\u00bb If we do it this way, most batt\u00adles have alre\u00ada\u00addy been won. Most of the time you can talk yours\u00adelf out of it and it fits again. In the pro\u00adcess, we can watch God do mira\u00adcles and rela\u00adti\u00adonships deepen.
\nSecond step (v.16): If we have tried to talk in pri\u00adva\u00adte, but it does not work, we should take two or three wise peo\u00adp\u00adle and dis\u00adcuss the mat\u00adter tog\u00ade\u00adther. May\u00adbe tho\u00adse two will lis\u00adten and say, \u00abWait a minu\u00adte dear fri\u00adend, the pro\u00adblem is not with him, it\u2019s with you.\u00bb When we have argu\u00adments, we are never objec\u00adti\u00adve. It\u2019s always the other person\u2019s fault. That\u2019s why we need the out\u00adside per\u00adspec\u00adti\u00adve and the admo\u00adni\u00adti\u00adon. With insight, you can ask for for\u00adgi\u00adve\u00adness and it\u2019s good again.
\nThird step (v.17a): In every church the\u00adre is huma\u00adni\u00adty and evil. You have tried to bring about recon\u00adci\u00adlia\u00adti\u00adon. But the other per\u00adson does not allow it. She con\u00adti\u00adnues to come into the church smi\u00adling. In the third step, the respon\u00adsi\u00adble lea\u00adders should con\u00adfront her: \u00abWhat you are doing is des\u00adtroy\u00ading rela\u00adti\u00adonships.\u00bb After the\u00adse three steps at the latest, most inter\u00adper\u00adso\u00adnal pro\u00adblems are solved.
\nAnd other\u00adwi\u00adse the fourth step fol\u00adlows (v.17b): If the per\u00adson does not reco\u00adg\u00adni\u00adse the jud\u00adge\u00adment of the church lea\u00adder\u00adship, he is to be trea\u00adted as a hea\u00adthen or a publi\u00adcan. How does this work? We know that Jesus espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly loved the\u00adse groups and fol\u00adlo\u00adwed them. Unre\u00adcon\u00adci\u00adled peo\u00adp\u00adle are to be expel\u00adled from the church so that they rea\u00adli\u00adse how they des\u00adtroy com\u00admu\u00adni\u00adty through their unf\u00ador\u00adgi\u00adve\u00adness. Today the\u00adre are hard\u00adly any expul\u00adsi\u00adons from the church. Such mea\u00adsu\u00adres would come to not\u00adhing in most cases. Some peo\u00adp\u00adle would say: Then I won\u2019t come any more! Or: You can talk about faith, but don\u2019t inter\u00adfe\u00adre in my pri\u00adva\u00adte life.
\nYou can remo\u00adve the basis for mur\u00adder and pro\u00admo\u00adte life by rea\u00adching out to peo\u00adp\u00adle you dis\u00adli\u00adke and to tho\u00adse who dis\u00adli\u00adke you. Do it, even if it is hard for you. Do it befo\u00adre you read the Bible next time or go to church. It is up to us to go and try to talk about it in pri\u00adva\u00adte. Whe\u00adther the other per\u00adson accepts the apo\u00adlo\u00adgy or rea\u00adli\u00adses that he is guil\u00adty of you, that is not in our power. The\u00adre is not\u00adhing more beau\u00adtiful than when two peo\u00adp\u00adle who have not tal\u00adked to each other for ten years recon\u00adci\u00adle and talk again. The same thing hap\u00adpens through Jesus Christ: He has recon\u00adci\u00adled us to God. It is not only about living recon\u00adci\u00adled with God, it is also about living recon\u00adci\u00adled with your fel\u00adlow brot\u00adher or sis\u00adter. That is the libe\u00adra\u00adting mes\u00adsa\u00adge. The\u00adre is not\u00adhing more beau\u00adtiful than recon\u00adci\u00adled rela\u00adti\u00adonships \u2013 with God and with people!
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\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small groups
\nRead Bible text: Matthew 5:21\u201326<\/p>\n
\n\tWho would you most like to kill if you could do it at the touch of a but\u00adton and not have to fear any consequences?
\n\tHow do you mur\u00adder with words? What is the con\u00adnec\u00adtion bet\u00adween shame and dignity?
\n\tIs the\u00adre someone who has some\u00adthing against you? How could you deal with this situa\u00adti\u00adon accor\u00adding to this text?
\n\tHave you insul\u00adted someone with words or in your mind \u2013 through swear words or rumours. Take it up with Jesus!<\/p>\n