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Psalm 19:1–14 • Exodus 20:1–4, 7–9, 12–20 • Philippians 3:4b–14 • Matthew 21:33–46

This week’s theme is God creates his kingdom community. In Psalm 19, the author praises God for his perfect and righteous ways, and he asks God that he might be directed in his ways. In Exodus 20, God provides the people of Israel ten commands to guide, shape, and reveal himself to them as they begin their covenant relationship with God. In Philippians 3:4b–14, Paul declares that his earthly accomplishments are nothing compared to what is given to him in Jesus. In Matthew 21:33–46, Jesus presents a parable that explores that way in which the Kingdom is inherited.

Reminder: This introductory paragraph is intended to show how the four RCL selections for this week are connected and to assist the preacher prepare the sermon. It is not intended to be included in the sermon.

How to use this sermon resource.

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God Creates His Kingdom Community

Exodus 20:1–4, 7–9, 12–20 ESV

For the seventh Sunday in a row, we join the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness out of enslavement in Egypt. They experienced tests that taught them more about this God who had delivered them from Egypt. In the passage explored last week, the Israelites flipped the script and put God to the test. The challenges of their journey had led them to ask if God was among them or not. God answers them through their leader Moses with a confirmation that God is indeed with them.

After this test, Israel continues their journey through the wilderness and arrives at Mt. Sinai. This is the place where God first spoke to their leader Moses and told him to lead his people out of Egypt. So, we could say that it is a special place in the storyline of Israel’s deliverance. Mt. Sinai is the setting for today’s passage.

When the Israelites arrive at Mt. Sinai, God initiates the beginning of a special relationship with the people of Israel through an agreement called a covenant. He sends Moses with a message to the people.

⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; ⁶ and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:5–6 ESV

The people respond that they will do these things. God then gives Moses instructions to prepare the people for an encounter with him. Moses prepares the people and God speaks:

20 And God spoke all these words, saying,

² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.

⁴ “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

⁷ “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy

¹² “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

¹³ “You shall not murder.

¹⁴ “You shall not commit adultery.

¹⁵ “You shall not steal.

¹⁶ “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

¹⁷ “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

¹⁸ Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off ¹⁹ and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” ²⁰ Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” Exodus 20:1–4, 7–8, 12–20 ESV

These instructions have become known by many as the Ten Commandments. God gives them to Israel as part of establishing a covenant — or agreement — with them. In some sense, we might think of the Ten Commandments as the “terms of agreement” for becoming God’s “priestly nation,” for entering a special relationship with God. But that is not to say that these Ten Commandments are designed to be transactional or conditional.

A better analogy might be a community agreement. Have you ever been part of a team or group that creates a community agreement? Simply, a community agreement is a list of commitments that the community makes to one another so that the community can be the kind of community it seeks to be and achieve what it desires to achieve. Another analogy could be wedding vows — commitments that are made when entering an agreement to establish a special relationship.

These analogies are helpful because often the Ten Commandments have a reputation as a rigid, impersonal, strictly enforced set of rules. Instead, what if we understood them as commitments, guidance, a vision for what it means to be in a special relationship with God? This is what it looks like to live as God’s people. And when you don’t live as God’s people, there are consequences.

Remember, the Israelites are being formed in the desert. They are learning who this God is that has delivered them from Egypt. It makes sense that they would also need to learn what it means to live in a special relationship, a covenant, with God. They were learning what kind of relationship God wanted with them. They were learning who God was shaping them to be as his people. The Israelites have spent generations living as an enslaved community. They now have to learn how to live as God’s priestly nation. In this light, we can view the Ten Commandments as a way for God to begin to create his kingdom community.

Let’s take a closer look at the Ten Commandments. What kind of kingdom community do they describe? And what might this reveal about who God is, who he is making his people to be, and the relationship he wants with his people?

First and foremost, we see that what it means to be God’s people is grounded in who God is. God begins with a statement, a reminder, of who he is and who he is for his people. The character and action of God is foundational to how he shapes his people and creates a community that reflects who he is. God is not a distant God, an indifferent God, but a God that delivered Israel from Egypt.

We also consider the way that God presents the ten commands. This is the first time that God has a direct encounter with all the people, not just leaders. Some Biblical scholars suggest this is the only direct encounter between God and the people of Israel without an intermediary recorded in the Old Testament. What is so important about this that God wanted to have a direct encounter? Maybe God wanted these guidelines for what it means to be his people, establishment of covenant, to happen clearly within the context of relationship. That learning to be shaped by God, to be obedient to God, from the start, is grounded in who God is, and in relationship to him. It creates an obedience that is relational rather than arbitrary or purely legalistic.

In the Ten Commandments, we see a clear theme that relationships, and the quality of relationships, are important for God’s community. The first three commands speak into the relationship between the people and God. The fourth command speaks into the relationship between the people and God as well as the people and all of creation. The remaining six commands address the relationships between the people. All Ten Commandments address relationships. The quality of relationships is something that will set apart God’s kingdom community from human-made community.

Rather than prescribe specific behaviors, these ten commands appear to define the outer boundaries of the community. While nine of the ten commands are presented in a negative form, “shall not”, these prohibitions are not a form of control, but rather a form of liberation. Defining the outer boundaries of the community creates clarity and clarity gives room for the enjoyment of freedom. Rather than identify every single expected behavior within God’s community, the Ten Commandments identify the outer bounds, which defines not only what is “off limits” for the community, but where the community is free to be.

We can also note that the Ten Commandments are not what are called “case laws.” Case laws are specific laws that are based on relevant precedents and established legal procedures . The commands are  established on the grounds of providing a loving relationship with God. This also suggests that the Ten Commandments are not static. They can be interpreted and reinterpreted for God’s community as directed by the Holy Spirit.

We see an example of this in Exodus 20:21–Exodus 23:33, where we do find case laws presented. These case laws serve as specific, contextualized interpretations of the ten commands for God’s people at this particular time and in this particular place. We see that throughout the Old Testament, and throughout the history of God’s people, there are nuanced interpretations that are discerned to be fitting for the context.

The Ten Commandments serve to shape the identity, character, and ways of God’s people. Israel needed to learn what it means to be God’s people — in relationship with him and with one another. And God reaches towards them in the form of the Ten Commandments to teach them. God creates his kingdom community.

The people are frightened by what they experience during this encounter with God. Moses reassures them in verse 20, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin” (ESV).

As in the previous tests in the wilderness, this seems to be a test that strengthens relationship with God. This is the kind of test where the objective is learning and formation. It is not a pass/fail or conditional test where their relationship is on the line. This is an opportunity to know God more, to grow in relationship with him, and to be shaped by him.

And when we take a minute to meditate on the ten commands, doesn’t that sound like an incredible community? A community where we live in right relationship with God and others. A community where we do not manipulate and abuse one another in the “name” of God. A community where we do not cause harm to one another. A community where we care for the well-being of one another. A community where we rest and enjoy the sacredness of God’s creation. A community with no murder, no betrayal, no manipulation, no selfish ambition, no disregard for dignity. That sounds like a community that we would want to live in.

If we continue to follow Israel’s journey documented in Scripture and if we reflect on our own lived experience, we find that this kind of community is far from our reality. Truthfully, it seems outright impossible.

Thank God for Jesus Christ!

God comes to us, as one of us, in Jesus Christ. It’s an infinitely more intimate encounter than the encounter at Mt. Sinai. Once again, through his life and his teachings, he gives us a vision for what it means to be God’s people. Except this time, Jesus fulfills this vision, living in perfect relationship with his Father and others. And he does it on behalf of all humanity. By doing this, he fulfills the Ten Commandments, remaining faithful to humanity’s covenant commitments to God. He lives out what it means to be a member of God’s kingdom community. In Jesus Christ, God creates his kingdom community on earth.

Not only does Jesus live as a human member of God’s kingdom community on this earth, but he also dies a human death and is raised to life in a glorified human body. When he rises to life again, he does so on behalf of all of humanity, bringing us into his new and redeemed humanity. He then brings us with him in his ascension to be with God the Father. In Jesus, we are drawn into his perfect relationship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. We are drawn into experiences of God’s kingdom community, even in this life.

In Jesus, a new special relationship, or covenant, is formed between God and his people. This covenant made the first one obsolete and extends beyond Israel as a representative for humanity. It includes all of humanity in Jesus Christ. This covenant is also made complete in Jesus Christ. In Jesus the covenant is fulfilled in both directions — from God to humanity and humanity to God.

God is creating his kingdom community in Jesus through the Spirit even now. And, just as the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, we have the great joy and privilege of participating in God’s creation of his kingdom community. We can be emboldened to move through the world in a way that reflects God’s  kingdom community because we are confident that in Jesus all of humanity has  been brought into a complete and whole kingdom community. We can do this confidently knowing that the establishment of God’s kingdom community is not dependent upon our capabilities or willpower but is made complete in Jesus. And it’s made real in us by the Spirit.

It is in this confidence that we are free to live as members of God’s kingdom community. We can live as those that worship only God and reject temptations to worship self, leaders, ideology, wealth, accomplishments, praise, and more. We can live as those who value the dignity of every human and make decisions that uphold the dignity of humanity.

We can refuse to take advantage, manipulate, oppress, and use people for our own benefit. We can refuse to treat people like objects. We can refuse to gossip. We can choose to be generous, compassionate, and kind. We can make choices that support our neighbors to have abundant lives. We can refuse to act selfishly, ambitiously, violently, or corruptly in the name of God. We can commit to rhythms of peace and rest for ourselves, our neighbor, creation, and even our enemy.

Living in this way is a reflection of the special relationship that Jesus has created with all of humanity. It gives witness to us and all the world about who this God is shaping us to be, and the relationship he wants to have with us. When we participate in God’s works of creating his kingdom community in our very midst, we proclaim the kind of community that God has establish for us to enjoy with him and one another forever.

God is creating his kingdom community, and in Jesus Christ, we belong. Let us rejoice in this beautiful relationship with God and one another.

Go Deeper:
Exodus 34:28 says, “So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.” This is fundamental to what applies today and what doesn’t. Ten commandments in Hebrew means the “10 words.” They are the shorthand for the whole covenant made with Israel. They, like all of us, were incapable of keeping the law. Jesus kept it perfectly on our behalf.

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Small Group Discussion Questions