Matthew 5:38-42

Matthew 5:38-42

You heard that it was being said, “An eye in the place of an eye and a tooth in the place of a tooth.”  But I say to you all: do not resist the one who does evil.  But rather, whoever strikes you on your cheek turn the other also to him.  And to the one who desires to judge you and to take your tunic, produce your cloak to him also.  And whoever will compel you to go one mile, go with him two.  And give to the one who demands with urgency.  And do not refuse to help the one who desires to borrow from you.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Now Jesus lifts up the lex talionis – “An eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.”  This is the oldest law known to mankind and can be found in legal documents dating back to 2200 BC in Babylon.  It has made its way into the Old Testament, occurring in Exodus 21:23-25, Leviticus 24:19-20, and Deuteronomy 19:21.  It should be noted that from the modern perspective these laws are seen as cruel and giving permission for violence to those who seek retribution.  In reality, these laws were written as the beginning of grace.  Rather than giving permission to the vengeance-seeker it limited the extent of the vengeance.  Human beings like to escalate retribution until it goes too far and soon people are dying over what started as a small squabble.  Lex talionis is intended to limit the amount of vengeance that could be sought after by the offended.  It is in this context that we hear Jesus’ words.  We often read these words as Jesus trying to contradict lex talionis.  But that is not the case.  As with the points of teaching before this one, Jesus is trying to elevate the standard.  In other words, Jesus is trying to make the standard harder to attain.  He’s trying to lift the bar, not destroy it.

Do you often read these verses – especially verse 38 – as if Jesus is trying to contradict lex talionis?  Why is it important to see that Jesus is not trying to contradict or abolish that teaching?

Second Thought:

How does Jesus go about elevating the standard of lex talionis?  Jesus knows that human beings like to escalate.  Jesus also knows that if people repay like for like that the feud between people will still not get better.  So what Jesus proposes is teaching that if someone wrongs you, seek less revenge.  Do less to them.  In fact, Jesus even tells the people to not seek any revenge at all!  If someone strikes you, rather than striking them back as your legal right allowed perhaps we should offer the other cheek for them to strike as well.  In other words, although we have a certain right to legal recourse, perhaps the Christian thing to do is to receive the abuse and not return in like kind.  In this teaching I find the example of Christ.  Christ was beaten and crucified.  He easily could have looked to God and said, “They struck the first blow, I’m not dying for them after all.”  But no.  Jesus is arrested, beaten, and humiliated.  And then He turns the other cheek and says, “Don’t just reject me, but let me die for you so that you can have a chance at relationship with the Father.”  That’s what Jesus is talking about here.  Rather than seek the legal vengeance to which we have the right to seek, we should accept the abuse and seek a way to draw people into God’s love.

Is this easy advice for you to hear?  Why do human beings naturally desire to seek revenge?  How do you fight this within you?

Third Thought:

Jesus takes the scope of this and broadens it even further.  Jesus then begins to talk about demonstrations of love outside of persecution.  When people ask us to do something for them we should go above the request.  When people ask us to give them out of what God has given to us as a blessing, we should go above the request.  Jesus is telling us that we should not just see persecution as an opportunity to catch people by surprise with God’s love.  We should see relationship and the give-and-take of community as an opportunity to go above and beyond the call.

Are you willing to go the extra mile when people make requests of you?  Are you willing to give people not just that for which they ask but more?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 5:43-48