Capital Crimes

Sermon 58 in Series

Exodus 21:12-17
[12] “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. [13] But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. [14] But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die. [15] “Whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death. [16] “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death. [17] “Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death.

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   How does Scripture call fathers to gratitude, joy, and responsibility? In what ways do you lose sight of these?
2.   Why is intentional homicide so grievous in God’s sight? Why is the death penalty for murder increasingly unpopular today?
3.   What provision does God make for accidental killing? How do the words in v. 13, “God let him fall into his hand,” help us navigate the frustrations and accidents of life?
4.   How does this passage direct your treatment of your parents? What does it suggest about raising children?
5.   Discuss the story of Joseph and his brothers. What does it mean to say that kidnapping is the sister of murder?
6.   How do these death penalty laws humble us and point us to the gospel?

References: Exodus 20:13; Genesis 1:27; 9:6; 3:11; 4:8; 6:11; Numbers 35:15, 22-23; Exodus 20:12, 15; Proverbs 20:20; Genesis 37:28; 40:15; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:7.