“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5 NIV
Jesus’ coming into the world confirmed a spiritual truth that has been in operation since the beginning of time. When God said, “Let there be light”, He meant far more than physical light because physical light, in the creation narrative, only happened with the creation of the physical universe, on day four.
Jesus’ presence at creation and His physical presence on earth came with the fulness of revelation about the Father, Himself the Son, the Holy Spirit and humans, that opens the way for us to have a place in God’s eternal kingdom.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.”
John 1:1-4 NIV
Jesus presented Himself as the very presence of God’s light in the world. His presence would dispel the darkness of unbelief and sin in the life of everyone who believes in Him.
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12 NIV
Unbelief allows humans to accept as truth anything that contradicts what God has said because the human heart is at enmity with God and refuses to accept truth. In fact, Paul wrote, people deliberately suppress the truth by their wickedness.
This rejection of truth causes the mind to become darkened.
“The Bible describes the darkness of unbelief as a state of spiritual blindness, alienation from God, and a willful preference for sin over divine truth. It is characterized as a condition where the mind is darkened in its understanding and the heart is hardened.” (Source: Google AI)
Let’s examine some of the ways in which darkness is evidenced in people’s behaviour…in particular, the downward trajectory of anger that ends in murder, either in intention or in action.
- Anger
Anger is the trigger that leads to the next step. Why anger? Let’s see what Jesus said.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Matthew 5:21-22 NIV
Anger is murder already committed in the heart.
- Covetousness
The Ten Commandments conclude with a comprehensive list of what people must not covet…
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Exodus 20:17 NIV
“In the Bible, covetousness is a strong, inordinate desire for what belongs to others, considered a serious heart sin and a form of idolatry, essentially replacing God with possessions or people as your ultimate satisfaction. It’s forbidden in the Tenth Commandment (Exodus 20:17) and described by Paul as linked to immorality and greed, leading to a lack of contentment and a divided heart, making a person an idolater.
(Source: Google AI)
Why would anger lead to covetousness?
- Envy
In Matthew’s record of Jesus’ trial, he slipped in this comment…
“For he (Pilate) knew that they had handed Him over because of envy.”
Matthew 27:18 NKJV
“Envy” is more the jealousy. It includes the idea of a corrupted, depraved heart that seeks to harm the person it envies.
Envy is the counterpart and inevitable consequence of covetousness. Envy often leads to a murderous intent.
“In the Bible, envy means feeling bitter sorrow or resentment at another’s blessings, success, or possessions, often coupled with a desire to harm them or take what they have, and it’s consistently condemned as a destructive “work of the flesh” leading to strife, division, and spiritual decay, unlike “jealousy,” which can sometimes reflect God’s zeal for His own glory. Key examples include Cain’s envy of Abel (Genesis 4) and Saul’s envy of David (1 Samuel 18).”
(Source: Google AI)
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”
Proverbs 14:30 NIV
“In the Bible, covetousness (wanting what others have) and envy (resenting others for having it, wanting them to lose it) are deeply connected sins, both stemming from discontentment with God’s provision and a lack of trust, often leading to idolatry, strife, and evil practices. Covetousness focuses on “I want that,” leading to greed, while envy focuses on “I don’t want them to have it,” leading to hatred and division, but both are rooted in selfish desire and a fleshly heart, as seen in Cain’s envy of Abel or Jacob’s early jealousy…”
“In essence, covetousness is the initial desire for what someone else has, while envy is the bitter resentment that they possess it, both leading to disorder and turning hearts away from God.”
Covetousness and envy drive the world, motivated by greed and…at the heart of this pattern is the choice to live in the kingdom of “I don’t need God. I am my own god.”
Murder is often the bitter fruit of covetousness. The one who covets takes the life of the victim to snatch the prize.
Jesus put anger as trigger for murder. It seems that covetousness and anger are bedfellows. One cannot simply covet without being angry with the person who, one deems, has no right to have what the other wants.
“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Matthew 5:21-22 NIV
The path to murder begins with anger, even if the deed in not literally carried out. Just as lust is the first step to adultery…so also murder is the inevitable outcome of anger…in the heart or in practice.
The human heart is a complex mixture of emotions…and difficult to disentangle at times. Very often, anger is a convenient coverup for emotional pain. A person is not angry by nature. He/she develops an angry disposition to hide the pain they are afraid to reveal.
The angry person may recognise something in the victim they crave, be it emotional or material. So, the goodness of Jesus, accompanied by popularity, and an enthusiastic following of the people, enraged the religious leaders. They refused to tolerate who He was. The outcome was illegitimately contrived murder.
Scripture’s solution is…guard your heart! Envy can only be eradicated by cultivating an attitude of contentment.
“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.”
1 Timothy 6:6-8 NLT
Paul himself had to go through the process.
“Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Philippians 4:11-13 NLT
Godly contentment is a barrier to envy that can’t be breached because it is Jesus who builds the protection and is, Himself, the guardrail. We can only immunise ourselves from murderous intent, even if in the heart alone, by remaining in Him, since, outside of Jesus, no one can know the lengths to which we can go to get what we want.