If you would please turn to Deuteronomy chapter 5. Deuteronomy chapter 5. We're skipping ahead just a little bit. I'm glad you are here among us this morning. If you're a visitor, welcome to HEC's first ever Mother's Day sermon and likely the last Mother's Day sermon that will ever take place. You just happened to come on the right Sunday. And so we find ourselves in Deuteronomy chapter five. We took up verse six last week and we're skipping down to verse 16. The reason should be obvious. Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God commanded you that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. You may be seated. Please pray with me. Gracious Father, most of us who have gathered this morning in the name of your son were at one time strangers, alienated. Father, having no hope, we had no access to you, having no partnership with Israel. But your son, through the shedding of his blood, through his substitutionary atoning sacrifice, has brought us near. We come in him, into your presence, trusting that you receive us because of his person and work. Having forgiven all of our sins, having adopted us as your beloved children, having made us a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, your own treasured possession, we gather this morning confident of your love that was made manifest through the sending of your son. And Father, we want to hear your word and to be transformed by it. having minds renewed, better able to discern what is your will, what is good, perfect, and pleasing as we live in this present evil age awaiting the return of your Son who will make all things new. Gracious Father, would you help us to hear and to respond in a way that honors and glorifies you, your Son, and your Spirit. And Father, I pray for those who do not know you in our midst, would you be gracious to save. according to the name of your son. And we ask it in his name, amen. All right, so a familiar passage, even if you're not familiar with your Bible, you probably know this commandment to honor. your father and your mother. So it makes it actually a little more difficult to preach precisely because you know it, think you know it so well. So I'm going to ask you, really encourage you to, just for a moment, whether you think you got a good grasp of it or you're barely familiar with it, to set everything you think you know about this commandment aside, that we might take it up and see that the big idea of this command in its context is that the family is God's conduit for covenant continuity, that the point of the command is covenant continuity. That's important. Let me say it one more time, the point of the command is covenant continuity. So we're gonna get to that by considering what is the command? What is the actual imperative that we find here? Who are fathers and mothers? I know you're thinking, duh, Pastor Jeff, but just hold on. All right, so who are fathers and mothers? And lastly, why should Israel obey? Actually, lastly, why does it matter to us? Why does it matter to us? All right, so let's begin. What is the command? The imperative is easy to see, honor. That's the command, honor. Honor your father and your mother. Notice that in the context of the Ten Commandments, it is one of only two of what we might refer to as positive commandments. All the others are in the negative form of thou shall not. Do not, right? These two, that is observe, that is keep the Sabbath and honor your father and mother, the fourth and the fifth commandment are the only two that come in the the positive form. I would also point our attention to Leviticus chapter 19 verse 3. You don't necessarily need to turn there. It's what's referred to as the holiness codes in Leviticus. But we find these two commandments together there as well, and I think it's significant. So the holiness codes starting with, you are to be holy as I, the Lord your God, am holy. Peter quotes it in 1 Peter 1, applying it to us, his people. But what follows that is in verse three, these words, every one of you shall revere, a different word, but with a very similar connotation or meaning, revere his father and mother, and you shall keep my Sabbath. So God's people are to be holy, and then immediately at the head of other commandments are these two. Revere your father and mother and keep the Sabbath. I'm going to just say straight out of the gate that part of the reason we see that in Leviticus chapter 19 verse 3 in that context that way is because of the significance of covenant keeping attached to both of these commandments. This command is clearly of great importance to the Israel project. Honor your father and your mother. But what does it mean? What does it mean to honor? Well, the Hebrew term means, it can mean to be heavy, like physical weight. So, for instance, in Exodus chapter nine, verse 24, the plague of the hail, we read in that verse that the hail was very heavy. It was heavy. Often the term, though, is translated glory. or honor and refers figuratively to someone's prominence, someone's importance, someone's eminence. As in Exodus chapter 14 verse 4, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them and I will get glory. Same term, I will get honor over Pharaoh and all his hosts. That is the greatness, the worthiness of the Lord would be manifested or demonstrated or revealed through his defeat of Pharaoh, that his people might honor him, fear him, praise him, listen to and obey him. All of these are attached to that one idea of honor. I believe the usage there, referring to the Lord, is similar to the usage in Deuteronomy chapter five, verse 16. Remember, that's not surprising given that the relationship between a father and a son is analogous to the relationship between the Lord and his people, right? Between the Lord and Israel. Furthermore, taken with the term, the different term used in Leviticus chapter 19, verse three, which can be translated fear or honor, We might come up with a working definition, something along this line. To give proper esteem or deference through subjection and obedience. Proper esteem and deference through subjection, being subjected to one's authority and obedience. In other words, to honor is to, in simpler terms and English terms that are more understandable, maybe respect and obey. Respect and obey. Israelites were to respect or highly esteem their fathers and mothers. This esteem is due them, by the way, both by creation and command. God's plan from the very beginning, as we see in Genesis chapters one and two, is to fill the whole earth with His glory, with the knowledge of His excellencies through His image, His image bearers. And the ordinary means that that project was to be fulfilled, accomplished, was through, first, marriage. We see that through the establishment of marriage between Adam and Eve, and then through procreation. They were to be fruitful and multiply, and an important part of that is not just procreating, but also discipleship. They were to convey to their offspring all that God, in fact, you can think of it this way. In the garden, what is established is the headship of the husband, Adam, and the helper, Eve, both were to, so Adam conveying the word of God to Eve, and both were to convey that same word to their children so that all walked in the ways of the Lord, and the earth would be filled with godly offspring. Isn't this what God desires? Yes, by the way, if you don't know the answer. It's a rhetorical question, the answer is yes. So to honor is to acknowledge this God-ordained role, the father and mother's derived authority, and to show them proper esteem and deference. and is to listen also, and this is important. In fact, I'm gonna argue that this is absolutely critical. In context, it is to listen to their voice and walk in their ways because the assumption is that they are teaching Torah, instruction, the way of the Lord. More on that later. The idea in the fifth commandment is conveyed in multiple places, I think in the Proverbs, in ways that are easy to understand. We heard one read, this morning, Proverbs 1, verses 8 and 9, this is the idea. Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's Torah, her teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. And so, honoring would be actually listening and applying those words, that instruction, receiving and walking in that instruction. That would bring, by the way, honor, thinking of it slightly differently, honor to the parents. There's no greater shame than the child who, as a fool, forsakes the covenant and brings shame not only upon himself, but also upon his father and mother. As Proverbs 19 verse 26 puts it, whoever robs their father and drives out their mother is a child who brings shame and disgrace. Of course, this command, as we've considered it both specifically in the garden, but as we need to also remember as we consider it as part of the Mosaic covenant, it is complicated by the fall. This should be obvious. This command, is complicated by the fall. After the fall, the family is fractured. Listen, there is no such thing as a functional family. So I hope that brings great relief to many of you this morning. No such thing. After the fall, no such thing as a functional family. Your family is either more or less dysfunctional. We're striving for less dysfunctional. Marriage is infected. According to Genesis chapter three, we see it. We see it in the opening chapters of Genesis, do we not? That marriage is infected with alienation, blame shifting, and conflict. Parenting, Genesis chapter four, produces godless offspring leading to fratricide. Right? Listen, saints, the Bible is a true story. It's history. Does it not reflect your life? Instead of the earth being filled with the image of God and the dominion of God, as God designed, instead prohibited marriages, produce godless offspring that fill the whole earth, not with the glory of God, the knowledge of God, but with violence. That's only the first six chapters of the Bible. Therefore, honor your father and mother after the fall is both necessary and contextual. It's necessary because it's precisely what we don't do anymore naturally. That is, because as sons of Adam, because we're sons of Adam, born of that line, we actually come out rebellious, not just against God, but even against those authority structures established by God, parents, government, et cetera. We are naturally, according to the fallen nature, if you will, naturally rebellious. We don't naturally walk in the instruction of our father. Isn't it crazy if you just look at history? Every generation has its own rebellion, massive rebellion against society. I mean, every generation has its own cause, throwing off the yoke of their parents and throwing off the yoke. I mean, everyone's got to throw off a yoke. Everyone has a yoke that must be thrown off. Therefore, this command is necessary, but it is also contextual, because after the fall, fathers and mothers fail to instruct their children in the ways of the Lord. And I'm asserting and I'm going to prove, I hope, I'm asserting that the assumption here is that parents are instructing their children in the ways of the Lord and therefore children are to honor their parents by walking in their instruction. So any attempt to generalize or universalize this without contextualizing it will run afoul of the greatest commandment. Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, strength. This post-fall context also leads to another question. Who is my father and my mother? All right, let's start with the easy one. A father and a mother are referred to those who lead in a household. Okay, I know I've got to be very specific nowadays. I mean a man and a woman joined together in holy matrimony. That's the idea here, but we've got to explore that. We've got to unpack that just a little bit. We all have a natural family. Let's start there. We all have natural That is, we, I believe it goes something like this. Someone quipped once that if your parents didn't have children, you won't either. And I think that's 100% correct. You can verify it afterwards. But, so we all have a natural family. And so in the first place, in a perfect world, that father and mother would be those natural parents who continue to abide in the home as leaders of that household. father as the head and the mother as the helper, both responsible for discipling the children. That's the ideal. But as we have already made clear, we live in the real world, really impacted by sin, post-lapsarian, post-fall. We live east of Eden. So immediately, as we consider this command, we are reminded of our place, if you will. We receive one of those signs, like you are here. Many of you have lost your father or your mother. Some of us lost a father and a mother who continued to live but was not present. Many of us were raised by a father or a mother who were not our natural parent. As the book titled goes by Cornelius Plantinga, this is not the way it is supposed to be. The absence of a natural father or mother, whether through death or divorce, is a reminder of where we are. We live east of Eden. It is a clear, unmistakable indicator of our context. We live in an evil age where families are still fractured. God's good design for the propagation of godly offspring is still hindered. This is a sign, a real sign of the times, if you will. And so this command refers to those whom the Lord provides as the head of the household and his helper. whether natural parent or not. The one or ones who are providing for, protecting, and most important to this command, most important to this command, as we will see, discipling their children. I asked Zach for permission to share about his relationship with his stepfather, Tom, who recently passed away. honor and privilege of reading the words they spoke at his memorial service and they were beautiful, beautiful words. Testimony to the impact of a man who was not Zach's father, but who was. in every conceivable way, led him and cared for him and provided for him and was present. And Zach honored him with the words they spoke at his funeral. This, by the way, does not mean that that removes our obligation or the application to natural parents, by the way. It's important to note that. Just trying to be as clear as possible about what is intended in this context. There is an application that extends to natural parents who aren't present. I'm not going to concern myself with that this morning. In addition, one more side note before we try to push on, I recognize that for many this is a matter of degree. And by that I mean that our condition as we experience it in this broken world means that some of us have multiple fathers and mothers, not in the silly sense, I'm not even going to attempt to address that this morning, in the sense that We have natural fathers who are somewhat involved, somehow involved. We have stepfathers who are really present and with whom we are engaging all the time. We have a variety of situations and we have an obligation for those who are in a position of authority to honor them. We're going to see in just a moment that these terms father and mother actually apply far more broadly in the Old Testament context than they do in our in our context. We tend to think of the terms fairly narrowly in regards to a home, a natural father, a natural mother, or some other situation, just recognizing that there are degrees here. But, and this is important, the primary concern here, the primary concern in Deuteronomy chapter 5 verse 16, the primary concern is authority, leadership, because the primary concern here is covenant continuity. That's the primary concern. This is the primary concern that is passing on. Think about it in these terms, and this really reflects the context of the situation. What is being commanded here is the passing on of the gospel of the Old Testament. The children were to ask and the fathers and the mothers were to explain daily even that they are a people who redeemed out of Egypt and brought to the Lord and entered into this relationship that the Lord made them his people and he is their God. And so they were to rehearse that. That is what they're to pass on, the promise of blessing. the way and instruction that leads to life. All that is being conveyed to them through the prophet was to be conveyed from the father and mother to the children. Simply saying that what I will eventually prove that the primary concern here is respect for and obedience to those who have the primary responsibility for the formation or discipleship of the household. I'm gonna say it one more time, because there's lots of ways that we could apply this, okay, lots. But the emphasis here, the focus here is respect for and obedience to those who have the primary responsibility for the formation or discipleship of the household, regardless of whether they participated in beginning the child. If you're not sure what beginning means, I'll explain afterwards. Part of the way the Lord makes this clear is through Moses' exposition of this command in Deuteronomy 16, verse 18 through 1822 to 1921, depending on how you mark that passage out. But remember that Deuteronomy as a whole is set up as you have the 10 commandments, and then you have the exposition of those commandments. So as we're moving through the body of the law, as it's given in chapters 12, through 26 that you will see that what is addressed first is the first commandment and second commandment and third commandment and there's this movement towards so what what precedes chapter 16 verse 18 if you understand what I just said you should be able to to guess what what precedes chapter 16 verse 18 an exposition of the The Sabbath, that's the fourth commandment. You see how that works? So moving from left to right, or right to left, if you're reading your Bible in Hebrew, either way, you're moving from the exposition of the fourth commandment to the exposition of the fifth commandment. Why that's important is because when you get to the exposition of the fifth commandment in chapter 16, verse 18 and following, what you find is laws about authority. Laws about judges, kings, priests, and prophets. It's laws regarding that structure of authority that is established for the commonwealth of Israel. The Westminster Larger Catechism asks, who are meant by father and mother in the fifth commandment? And it answers, by father and mother in the fifth commandment are meant not only natural parents, but all superiors in age and gifts, and especially such as by God's ordinance are over us in place of authority, whether in family, church, or commonwealth. All right, is that the Westminster divine just pulling some stuff out of thin air and making some stuff up? I assure you it's actually not. All right, there is a lot of biblical support. In what form? Well, the term father and mother is used in precisely these ways. So for instance, Genesis chapter four, verses 20 through 22, Jabal was the father of all those who live in tents and have livestock. It's not just a reference to his kids. All right, or his brother was the father of all those who play the lyre and the harp. Again, obviously, clearly not a reference, like his kids were the only ones who ever played those instruments. So that's why the Westminster refers to them as those who are superior in gifts. And age. Age and gifts. Likewise. Genesis chapter 45 verse eight, so then it was not you who sent me here, this is by the way, Joseph, when he reveals himself to his brothers, listen carefully to what Joseph says, he says, so then it was not you, speaking to his brothers, who sent me here, but God, he made me, that is God made me father of Pharaoh. Joseph, what, moved into Pharaoh's house and like had him start calling him dad? clearly know what does the term mean. It means that he was in a superior position. We always think of him as the right hand of Pharaoh, but there's a sense in which he even was father to Pharaoh. That's an incredible statement, by the way, which deserves its own exposition, but Elijah's departure At Elijah's departure, Elisha says, my father, my father. And again, Naaman's servant calls him father in chapter five, verse 13. And we could just keep going on and on. All right, so sometimes a king refers to a prophet as a father, sometimes a father refers, I'm sorry, a prophet refers to another prophet as a father. What is unique to all of these is the position of superiority or authority. I know we don't like that because, you know, we wanna be egalitarian, but I'm sorry. Like, it's just, it's baked into the cake of creation, and it's in the law. Like, God has established authority. And we are to be, I'm sorry, Israel was to acknowledge that authority structure. They were to esteem those who God had appointed, whether father or mother, king or prophet or priest or judge or elder in a town. They were to have the utmost respect for that authority and they were to listen and they were to obey. By the way, it even works its way into the New Testament, doesn't it? Paul says in Galatians chapter 4, and there's many references here, I'm just going to reference Paul in Galatians, but when he refers to the Galatians as my dear children, for whom I am again in pains of childbirth until Christ is formed. you. There is a clear relationship being distinguished there, as Paul is in a position as an apostle, a position of authority. You want to understand that better, you can listen to Pastor Jason's sermon from Wednesday night. To be clear, there is a priority and responsibility here, and we'll see this as we come back to this, okay? As we pass back through the Ten Commandments, but there is a There is a priority from home to throne, from home to throne. That is the primary responsibility of the discipleship of the generations, if you will, fell to the fathers and mothers, to the homes, and then that was to be reinforced and promoted at every other layer of society. This means that obeying this command requires us to honor every office or authority established by God. It means that when this command comes to us through Christ, that what we're hearing in Romans chapter 13 or 1 Peter chapter 2 is actually the application of this commandment. It's the exposition of this commandment. This command has a covenantal context, though, that we have to remember, right? We've been doing this week by week. As we consider this command, we must acknowledge the unique context in which this command is given. This covenant context is critical, by the way, to each of the 10 commandments, and we'll see it as we come to each one, and I'm not going to stop beating this drum, okay? And if you're like, oh, I didn't know you had said this before, really? This is a covenant made by God with Israel. Chapter four, verse 13, I highly recommend everyone just memorize that verse. The basis for their obedience was, as we saw last week, their unique relationship which this covenant established as part of the redemption that God accomplished by bringing them out of Egypt. So this command is really the case in point of everything that I have argued over the last two sermons. This is case in point. So far we've seen that to honor means to respect and obey, to fear and to be subject to those whom God has placed over his people. Israel was to highly esteem and obey those who were responsible for teaching and ministering his law. These fathers and mothers were the ones who who were to answer the questions of the children, you think Exodus chapter 12, verses 26 and 27, Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 20 and 25. When we hear this command in context and we understand that these fathers and mothers are the very fathers and mothers, catch this, the very fathers and mothers who are to have these words on their heart, chapter 6, verse 6. Okay? And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart, you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise, you shall find them. So, that's the context. That's the context. The context is Proverbs, father and mother who fear the Lord and whose teaching, whose Torah is a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck. Why is that important? Well, does everything that comes from the mouth of every father and mother, does it qualify as a graceful garland? No. No. Are they all pendants for your neck? No. The immediate context is the fathers who take to heart the second commandment, recognizing the great responsibility placed upon fathers to lead their family, to first and foremost, for themselves, offer true worship to the true and living God. The second commandment makes it very clear that there are consequences that come to the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of unfaithful fathers. But the context is the commandment to fathers to not do that and to offer true worship to the true God, that is to demonstrate to their family and the leadership of their family in every sphere of life who this true and living God is. And the children are to not turn to the left or to the right. This is further substantiated, by the way, through the why question. That is, why was Israel to honor fathers and mothers? Why, why? Look at verse 16 again. Honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God commanded you, so that your days may be long. They may be prolonged. Prolonged days is life. Short days is death. Prolonged days is life. Following? Sometimes it's hard to tell. That's all right. And that it may go well. Just insert their blessing so that the Lord may bless you. So that the Lord may bless you. The reason given in verse 16 anchors this commandment. It anchors this commandment in the covenant context. It anchors it. It's basically the same words we read at the end of verse 40 of chapter four, the end of Moses' first sermon. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and commandments which I command you today. Why? Why should they keep the commandments? Why should they keep the statutes? That it may go well with you and with your children After you and that you may prolong your days. Well, there it is. Those are two same phrases used here in regards What is the Lord after? He's after covenant continuity covenant Fidelity so that God can do what he promised to do which is to bring blessing to his people who are to be the conduit of blessing to all the families of the earth and The Lord chose Abram, later renamed Abraham, for this purpose, right? The Lord promises him in chapter 12, verses one through three, that he'd make him a great nation, and he would bless him, he'd make his name great, and that he would bring blessing through him to all the families of the earth. And then he says this to Abram in chapter 18, verse 19, Actually, about Abram, I'm sorry. The Lord says it's about Abram. I have chosen him, that is, I, the Lord, have chosen him, Abraham, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him. There's a lot more to this commandment than be nice to your mom and dad. It's almost like the whole future of humanity and all of creation hangs on the continuity of the covenant, or to say it another way, a godly offspring. A godly seed which keeps covenant with his Lord. Again, the purpose was to bring blessing to every family of the earth so that all the families of the earth might receive the promised spirit through faith. That according to Galatians chapter 3 verse 14, that was the promise. That was the promise. So this command has a purpose. It has a specific purpose. In its context, it has a purpose. Honoring faithful fathers and mothers was the ordinary means of covenant continuity. This is the ordinary means. Living long in the land and things going well depended on keeping the covenant which was passed from fathers to son. Just passed right down the line. This covenant fidelity required undivided devotion to the Lord. This covenant fidelity honoring father and mother necessarily, necessarily infers everything that's come before it. In other words, having no other gods, no other images, not using the Lord's name in vain, keeping the Sabbath, keeping covenant. You can't just excise that and bring it over here to this context over here and say, well, you don't have to actually love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength if you just honor your father. You can't honor your father without honoring your father. There is no way for you to honor your mother and father without honoring your heavenly father. Not as God requires, to be clear. Not as God requires. Or to state it another way, you can't lower this bar. You can't lower this bar so that we can fulfill it by doing anything less than loving the Lord our God, which was the very thing the father was supposed to pass on to the child. Why does it matter? Because this command, when rightly understood in the context of the Bible, this is why it matters, this is why it matters. Because this command shuts every mouth. It's the very first thing this command is actually supposed to do. If it is simply fulfilled by trying to be nice or trying to respect the opinions of our parents or otherwise esteem them in some way, then the reality is we got this, right? I'm gonna text my mom later. I'm gonna honor, you know, and boom, check. Got the fifth commandment under my belt. At least I don't have to worry about that one. No given account for that one. I texted my mom on Mother's Day. Are you kidding me? Honoring your father and your mother in this context is loving the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. In other words, we don't got this. We don't got this. We don't, you don't, I don't, we don't. How do I know? Well, because Deuteronomy is followed by Joshua, which is followed by Judges. If you haven't read it, you need to. That's followed by, in the Hebrew Bible, by Samuel, which is followed by Kings. Judges, Samuel, and Kings. By the time you get to Kings, you realize Israel don't got this. And then we circled back to it and we're like, it's not that hard, I don't know why, what'd they do wrong? All you gotta do is be nice to your parents. All you gotta do is show them a little bit of respect. All you gotta do is think about them once a year on Mother's Day and send them one of those gifs that have fireworks and hearts exploding all over the place, and then you got this. Israel failed. Israel didn't got this. And we also had fathers and mothers who had images. And we also were rebellious sons who did not heed their instruction, even their bad instruction. And the law speaks to us and the law says, whoever strikes his father or his mother shall be put to death. And the law speaks and says, whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death. And Jesus speaks to us and he says, if you have ever struck your father in your heart, You are worthy of the fire of hell. If you have ever cursed your mother or your father in your heart, then you are worthy of not just the first death, but the second. You are liable to the fire of hell. Don't lower the bar. Let the law do what it's supposed to do. Let the law shut your mouth. Let the law humble your heart. Let the law reinforce your utter ruin apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Let the law send you fleeing to Christ to make him your whole salvation, not part of it, not just like a stepping stone or a help me up and so he dusted you off and said now you got this. No, the whole salvation. Recognize that your very best work Your very best word, your very best thought is still tainted with sin. In the end, in the final analysis, it would maybe rise to the top. It would rise to the top of a heap of transgression. It would rise to the top of a pile that is like ruined rags before a holy God. Because this command shuts every mouth is why it matters. And because this command testifies to Christ. There is only one. And it's not you, in case you weren't listening. There's only one who has honored his mother. And though he had no natural father, he honored perfectly his earthly father Joseph as well. His life demonstrates what we have seen this morning, that this law is about covenant continuity, covenant fidelity, so that through God's faithful son, the godly offspring that God desires, God might bring forth blessing as far as the curse is found. That's the whole point of the Old Testament. Jesus' whole life honored Joseph and Mary as he kept the whole law in which they had instructed him." Isn't it just marvelous to think of toddler Jesus? We had a group yesterday, we were doing a parenting class, and it came up for a moment, like, did Jesus ever get spanked? Did he, like, you know, did he let me try to roll over when they were trying to change his diaper and get a little swat? You know, not that he sinned. The reality is that Jesus was raised, he was taught and instructed by earthly parents. Those earthly parents instructed him in the Torah and he kept the whole law perfectly fulfilled all righteousness. Jesus's whole life honored Joseph and Mary as he did so, as he kept the law that they had instructed him in. No mother has been more honored by a son than Mary was honored by Jesus, fulfilling all righteousness on her behalf, keeping the covenant that she taught him even unto death, keeping the whole law by living every second for the honor, the glory of his father in heaven. Jesus honored his mother by walking in the Torah, the instruction in which she raised him. Listen, and there are places where I think this is accurate, this is correct, even when she failed to understand the full significance and meaning of the Torah herself, he was walking in the way that she had brought him up in. No mother has been more honored than Mary was when Jesus laid down his life for her and for us, whom he loved to the end. You see, because it shuts our mouths and testifies to Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of every old covenant promise, We can actually respond to this commandment in a way that honors and glorifies God. Natural family and natural leaders must be honored. Absolutely. The reality is that because Christ lived for us and died for us and was raised for us, we have been brought into a new family. There's now a distinction that was not clear in the Old Testament between the natural and the spiritual. Under the Old Covenant, they were all kind of conflated together. Not only the natural and the spiritual, but also the spheres. Where do you divide? Israel was a family. Israel was the church. Israel was the state. The three were one. But now that Christ has come and in his resurrection has brought forth the new creation, has initiated the kingdom of God, there is now a clear distinction. We can recognize that yes, we have a natural family and we should honor them both by creation and by mandate. We should honor our parents, but that is going to be severely modified. It's going to be severely modified for some of us who have non-believing parents, non-believing family. For some of us, this commandment in chapter 5 verse 16 actually comes over fairly easily. There's not nearly as much modification. It's why Paul can take this command and apply it rather directly to the church at Ephesus, calling children to honor their father and mother and even even mentioning that this is the first commandment with a promise. Why, what's the promise? Well, the promise is that this is the way, the natural, ordinary means that the covenant is transferred, if you will. Now just hold on, hear me out. What I mean by that is that you kiddos who are raised in a gospel household, the Lord has appointed for you, believing parents, and their teaching is a gracious garland, pendants to be worn around your neck, do not reject the gospel. Parents, be faithful. Instructing your kiddos the ways of the Lord. Be clear, this command is for children, but there's a clear implication for fathers and mothers, both spiritual and otherwise. We are to be a people who proclaim clearly the gospel of the new exodus, the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, who call our children to walk faithfully in the way, the truth, and the life. That is, we are constantly proclaiming Christ, holding him out to our kids, that they might come to possess him for themselves by faith alone, through faith alone, by grace alone. So, Much more, but I am surprisingly out of time. There is in the scriptures, by the way, a clear prioritization of the spiritual over the natural. For so many people throughout the world, this just happens quite naturally. Following Christ means, ultimately, being estranged from their natural family. It costs them their relationship with their earthly father or mother. Likewise, We have been placed into a spiritual family. Go read 1 Timothy 5, verses 1 and 2, and really following, and see there that some of you have never had natural children, and yet you're surrounded by spiritual children. Speak to them. Encourage them in the gospel. Proclaim Christ to them. Some of you have never had maybe a mother or a father that you've known or known well, and yet you're surrounded by fathers and mothers in your midst. This is the household of God. There was a priority. So if you want to honor your father and your mother, I encourage you to extend the application of Deuteronomy 5, verse 16 to your natural parents if they are not believers. Absolutely, this is right and good in the Lord, but more so. Understand that this is your spiritual family. Honor the mothers and fathers in our midst, the spiritually mature, those who have spoken the gospel into your life, those who have encouraged you to walk in the ways of Christ. Honor them not only with your words, but honor them with your life, imitating Christ. The more you look like Christ, the more your spiritual parents are honored. So. First step in understanding this, hearing this, applying this better, is hearing and believing this distinction between the natural and the spiritual. The second is to prioritize your relationship with God by prioritizing your relationship with his household. Third, honor all those to whom honor is due, especially those of the household of faith. Final encouragement exhortation, I'll close. Don't worry, your family is only more or less dysfunctional than the family to your left or to your right. I want you to be encouraged by that this morning, okay? And next, rotation. Look to Christ, who has built the first and only fully functional family. Though we don't look like it, this is it. We're a functional family. Someday, all will see. Praise be to God for the family of God. Let's pray. Oh, gracious Father, Lord, we thank you for transferring us out of various families and into the one family of God. Father, we thank you for our spiritual mothers and fathers. We thank you for those who faithfully proclaimed the gospel to us. Father, I thank you for my grandmother. for her faithfulness in preaching the gospel, proclaiming the gospel to me every visit, every time I was with her, and Father, how faithful she was to pray. Oh, I know she prayed. Oh, Father, thank you that by your grace, my life is honoring her. Father, would you help us to be more faithful as we seek to apply this command through Christ, as it comes to us through Christ, to apply it to our lives. Father, would you help us be faithful in the raising up our kids and the fear and admonition of the Lord, for kiddos to listen carefully and to walk in the ways of their parents, and for all of us to more and more be faithful to our Father Christ, our King, our Prophet, our Priest. who has shepherded us and overseen us and who will bring us all the way home. O gracious Father, we thank you for him, in whose name we pray, amen.