This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Moses has covered the
first five commandments,

and now starts unpacking the final five -
murder, adultery, stealing, lying, and coveting.

When it comes to murder, what is Israel to
do when someone is accidentally killed?

A distinction is made between
premeditated murder and accidental killing.

For those who murder,
the penalty is death.

But for those who are involved
in an accidental death,

a city of refuge is provided where
they can flee and be safe.

What about lying?

If a liar is caught trying to get someone
punished for a thing they didn’t do in court,

then the liar himself is sentenced to the very
punishment he was trying to put on someone else.

Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.

Then there is stealing and coveting which
is covered in the rules about spoils of war.

The armies must devote everything to destruction
when they take cities in the promised land.

But spoils may be taken from
cities outside the promised land.

Israel must show restraint and not covet or
steal that which God has devoted to destruction.

In these commands, we see that God is concerned
about protecting the innocent and punishing the guilty.

These are not at odds with each other
but are two sides of the same coin.

That coin is justice.

But neither us nor our societies have
protected the innocent or punished evil.

This is why the Gospel is
such baffling good news.

Jesus is both the just and the justifier.

He is the justifier because he has put
us in good legal standing before God.

But he is still just because our
punishment did not go undealt.

Jesus took our full punishment, eye
for eye, tooth for tooth, onto himself.

In a way, he protected the guilty
and punished the innocent.

We who were guilty have been protected
because he who was innocent was punished.

He is both sides of the coin of justice.

He is our city of refuge, where even
murderers can hide from penalty.

He was the one who was lied about in
court, but who took the penalty for liars.

He had every right to devote
the world to destruction,

but instead conquered the world
on the cross and made us his spoils.

Now that we have been justified freely by
him, we have experienced the grace necessary

to live a life that does obey
these last five commandments.

Because of the love Jesus has shown us,
and him living in us, we can be loving, chaste,
honest, generous, and content.

And we can affect the societies
we live in to act the same way

by sharing with them this just
and justifying love of Jesus.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would
open your eyes to see the God who

protects the innocent
and judges the guilty.

And that you would see Jesus
as the one who took our guilt

so that we could be protected
from what we deserved.