“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a
tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist
the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps
you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your
tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not
refuse the one who would borrow from you.” –Matthew 5:38-42 (ESV).
Known
as the “law of retaliation,” we read it in Deuteronomy 19:19-21: “Then you shall do to him as he had meant to
do to his brother. So you shall purge
the evil from your midst. And the rest
shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. Your eyes shall not pity. It shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth
for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Also we read in Exodus 21: 23-24: “But if there is harm, then you shall pay
life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn
for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” To us in a bit more
civilized society, this “eye for eye” retaliation sounds cruel and
inhuman. Did God actually intend for the
Israelites, as they settled into the Promised Land, to treat the people they
met there in that manner? The intention,
back in the early days of the Israelite nation, was to prevent inappropriate
punishment, with the idea being fairness:
“The punishment should fit the crime.”
It was to be imposed by civil authorities rather than individual to
individual. When Jesus said , “Do not resist the one who is evil,” He
was not speaking of resisting the Devil, which we all should do, but rather
resisting the retaliatory punishment for any wrongdoing an evil person
perpetrated against another. He is
teaching that persons should not seek personal revenge when wronged, but allow
the civil authorities to deal with the situation.
“But,”
we want to argue, “is Jesus teaching we should be victims of punishment,
turning the other cheek for another blow when we are attacked?” Jesus was teaching that to return a blow only
leads to escalating violence. To treat
kindly anyone who mistreats us is like “heaping coals of fire on his head” (Romans
12:20). And as to going the second mile,
a Roman law practiced in Jesus’ day decreed that if a Roman soldier passed
through a district, any Jew was compelled by law to carry the soldier’s armor
for a mile. The compulsory transport of
the soldiers’ goods was one way of paying Roman tribute. Jesus said, “When compelled to go one mile,
go two.” Do more than is expected of
you. Incorporated in this admonition
from Jesus is the idea that Christian citizens should pay their taxes and obey
the laws, all without complaining. How
do we stand on these issues? Then Jesus
touches on charity. Because of the
brotherly love which Christians ought to feel toward the improvident, they are
admonished to give to them that ask. But
at the same time we must be discerning.
Nowadays, our post office boxes are filled daily with mail begging for
donations. Which, if any, of these
should we heed? A good principle to
follow in our giving is to give and lend to that which helps people to help
themselves. Our churches have benevolent
and mission ministries that enable us to give to others in need in situations
geared to helping the improvident get on their feet again. The law of
retaliation as interpreted by Jesus is a hard lesson, one that we can read
again and again and not be able to grasp fully.
Pray concerning these matters. We
meet these situations every day and it is only through the Lord’s guidance that
we will be able to do what is right.
No comments:
Post a Comment