What could be
sweeter than revenge? So much in our society, especially the movie and entertainment
industry, promotes personal, angry, hateful revenge. The audience is led to want the hero to be filled with rage and
adrenaline, and to strike the villain personally, painfully, and brutally. And
the viewers feel a sense of satisfaction when that happens.
Is that right? What
does Jesus teach His disciples on the mountain?
God ordained
judicial retribution. If one broke the law, the judges were to carry out God’s
prescribed punishment that fit the crime. They were to act swiftly, decisively,
and impartially. They would thus express God’s authority and deter others as
well. But the Jews had heard that they could personally be vindictive and
return evil for evil. What would Jesus say?
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Reading: Matt 5:38-42
Mt 5:38 “You have heard
that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 “But
I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right
cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 “If anyone wants to sue you and
take your shirt, let him have your coat also. 41 “Whoever forces you to
go one mile, go with him two. 42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do
not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
God’s Prescription: Lex Talionis
Latin for the law of
judicial retribution.
What you take you
will lose: no more, no less. Eye, tooth, hand, foot, burn, bruise, wound.
Key: godly judges,
not incensed individuals.
Ex 21:22-25; Lev
24:17-22; Deut 19:16-21
Matt 5:25-26; 7:1-2;
25:31-46
Rom 13:1-7; 2 Cor
5:10; Rev 20:11-15
Ex 21:22 “If men struggle
with each other and strike a woman with child so that she gives birth
prematurely, yet there is no injury, he shall surely be fined as the woman’s
husband may demand of him, and he shall pay as the judges decide. 23
“But if there is any further injury, then you shall appoint as a penalty life
for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.
Le 24:17 ‘If a man takes the
life of any human being, he shall surely be put to death. 18 ‘The one
who takes the life of an animal shall make it good, life for life. 19
‘If a man injures his neighbor, just as he has done, so it shall be done to
him: 20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he
has injured a man, so it shall be inflicted on him. 21 ‘Thus the one who
kills an animal shall make it good, but the one who kills a man shall be put to
death. 22 ‘There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the
stranger as well as the native, for I am the Lord your God.’ ”
Note especially Deut
19:16-21, which specifies that the Lex
Talionis was to be administered, not by angry individuals, but by appointed
judges. (Our nation’s founders followed this principle in setting up our system
of judges and courts.)
Dt 19:16 “If a malicious
witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, 17 then both
the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests
and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 “The
judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness
and he has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him just
as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from
among you. 20 “The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do
such an evil thing among you. 21 “Thus you shall not show pity: life for
life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”
Jesus recognized the
proper role of the judge and the court as well.
Mt 5:25 “Make friends
quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that
your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer,
and you be thrown into prison. 26 “Truly I say to you, you will not come
out of there until you have paid up the last cent.
Jesus insisted that
God is the ultimate Judge who will impartially carry out the Lex Talionis.
Mt 7:1 “Do not judge so
that you will not be judged. 2 “For in the way you judge, you will be
judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
Jesus taught that
sheep would be rewarded and the goats cursed, again with the idea of fair
judgment.
Mt 25:31-46 “But when the Son
of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His
glorious throne. 32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He
will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from
the goats …
Paul by inspiration
also emphasized the judicial role of God-ordained governing authorities.
Rom 13:1 Every person is to be
in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except
from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore
whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have
opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not
a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of
authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for
it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid;
for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an
avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it
is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for
conscience’ sake. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers
are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to
all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to
whom fear; honor to whom honor.
Paul wrote of the great
Day of Judgment to come.
2 Co 5:10 For we must all
appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed
for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
John saw the books
and the Book of Life.
Re 20:11 Then I saw a great
white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled
away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great
and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another
book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the
things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead
which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their
deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This
is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not
found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Note the statue of
Lady Justice, always blindfolded.
Multiple warnings to
judges in Scripture re: no partiality, no bribery, etc.
God’s Provision: Fairness
A way to judge evil
acts objectively and blindly.
A way to fit (yet
limit) the penalty to the crime.
A way to deter
others with fear of punishment.
Deut 13:11; 17:13; 19:20; 21:21; Eccl 8:11
A way for victims to
seek and ensure justice.
A way to prevent
personal, hateful revenge.
Dt 13:11 “Then all Israel
will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you.
Dt 17:13 “Then all the
people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again.
Dt 19:20 “The rest will hear
and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.
Dt 21:21 “Then all the men
of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your
midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.
Ec 8:11 Because the
sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of
the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil.
God’s Precaution: Non-Retaliation
Pr 20:22 Do not say, “I will
repay evil”. Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
Pr 24:29 Do not say, “I will
do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
1 Th 5:15 Never repay evil
for evil …
1 Pet 3:9 No insult for
insult, but blessing …
1 Th 5:15 See that no one repays
another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one
another and for all people.
1 Pe 3:8 To sum up, all of
you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9
not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing
instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a
blessing.
God’s Preventive: Love
Apparently the scribes and Pharisees had minimized the following
commands, given by God to prevent the very thing that they wanted to justify –
hateful revenge.
Lev 19:17 “You shall not
hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely
reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because
of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear
any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love
your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”
5358 נָקַם [naqam /naw·kam/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1413;
GK 5933; 35 occurrences; AV translates as “avenge” 18 times, “vengeance” four
times, “revenge” four times, “take” four times, “avenger” twice, “punished”
twice, and “surely” once. 1 to avenge, take vengeance, revenge, avenge
oneself, be avenged, be punished. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to avenge, take
vengeance. 1a2 to entertain revengeful feelings. 1b (Niphal). 1b1
to avenge oneself. 1b2 to suffer vengeance. 1c (Piel) to avenge. 1d
(Hophal) to be avenged, vengeance be taken (for blood). 1e (Hithpael) to avenge
oneself.
5201 נָטַר, נָטַר [natar
/naw·tar/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 1356; GK 5757 and 5758; Nine
occurrences; AV translates as “keep” four times, “keeper” twice, “reserve”
twice, and “grudge” once. 1 to keep, keep guard, reserve, maintain. 1a
(Qal). 1a1 to keep, maintain. 1a2 to keep, guard.
Man’s Perversion: Revenge
“Do unto others as
they have done unto you.”
“Don’t just get mad.
Get even!”
“To overcome evil,
become (more) evil!”
“Hate, don’t wait!
Settle the score plus more!”
“Gun them down! Beat
them up! Blow them out!”
Isaac or Herodias?
Gen 26:12-25 –
Conflict Over Wells
Isaac: “Let it go!
Re-dig another well!”
Mk 6:14-29 –
Conflict Over Marriage Law
Herodias: “Let it grow!”
“Chop off John’s head!”
What Isaac and
Herodias share: Response-ability.
Christ’s Pro-Action: Response
When insulted with a
slap, turn the other cheek.
When sued for one’s
shirt, offer your coat also.
When coerced into
service, go a second mile.
When begged for
money, give, do not turn away.
Whatever happens:
response-ability.
Christ’s Practice: Salvation
Lk 23:34 But Jesus was
saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And
they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
1 Pet 2:23 … while being
reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats,
but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 and He
Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross …
1 Pet 2:21 “an example … walk
in His steps …”
The ultimate example
of response-ability is Jesus Himself. Even when beaten, blindfolded, spit upon,
and ridiculed, He was still response-able – able to choose His response. The
result? Our salvation from sin, and our model to follow when we are mistreated.
Possible hymns:
None of Self and All
of Thee
More Like Jesus
Angry Words
Lord, Speak to Me
