February 12, 2026

Today's Reading: Catechism: Fifth Commandment

Daily Lectionary: Job 8:1-22; John 4:27-45

You shall not murder. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

This might sound absurd to say, but the Fifth Commandment is a hard life lesson to learn. Face value, it could be our favorite, though. You shall not kill? I will go out on a limb and say that everyone reading this devotion today can say, “Yes! I have kept this commandment! I haven’t killed anyone, mark it down as the only commandment I have kept!”  

Enter Martin Luther, who is the killjoy of the party. The Lord God says, “You shall not kill.” Luther says in his explanation of this Commandment, “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body…” (Explanation of the 5th Commandment)  How many can check that box? A few less to be sure.  

And then we realize Jesus has something to say about this. He says, “Everyone who is angry with his brother is liable to judgment… [and] the fires of hell.” (Matthew 5:22)

St. John even gets in on the action and says, “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15)

All of a sudden, we are all standing here condemned by the Law in the sight of God, realizing we deserve to be cast into the outer darkness, where Jesus says there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.    

Thanks be to God for the Gospel! Praise God, He has taught us through parents, pastors, and teachers that even this sin lies forgiven in His sight for the sake of Jesus. To the one who hates His brother, who has hurt or harmed his brother, even the one who has taken a life, Jesus took that to the cross and died for it.  

Understand, it is for this reason that God continues to send His messengers to call us to repentance. Jesus' death is the payment for ALL sin. What the prophet Ezekiel was inspired to write is true! 

“Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ezekiel 18:30-32)

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.

Chief of Sinners though I be, Jesus shed His blood for me. Died that I might live on high, Lives that I might never die. As the branch is to the vine, I am His and He is mine. (LSB 611:1)

Rev. Timothy Chase, pastor at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Truman, MN

Audio Reflections Speaker: Rev. Richard Heinz, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lowell, IN.

Better understand difficult and overlooked Old Testament passages in this new book by Authors R. Reed Lessing and Andrew E. Steinmann. Their conversational yet academic writing style makes learning about the Old Testament accessible to those at all points in their Bible reading journey. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter invite you to think more in-depth about what you just read and record your answers. To stretch your understanding, a list of resources for further reading is also included at the back of the book.